Life of a Graduate Student

... captured in two pictures.

Well, I must admit, the beer filled refrigerator is a little exaggerated since this was when friends were in town over New Year. Unfortunately, the empty refrigerator is a reality and was taken this afternoon as I debated on what to have for lunch - will it be toasted english muffin or toasted bread?

Ice Storm '09

Our Backyard. August 2006.

The storm became visible Monday afternoon with ice starting to accumulate on cars. By late Monday night the weather seemed to be progressing like any other winter storm we've had since our arrival in Arkansas - speculation of intensity; a teaser. Turns out it was a creeper.

Early Tuesday morning (5:30AM early), I was awoken by my annoying vibrating phone announcing an incoming email, text, call or some other digital leash. I got a text followed by a voice mail followed by an email - sure, in that order. This was a first in getting notifications from the university via my phone. They all informed of a campus-wide closure on Tuesday.

It rained heavily Tuesday morning, then by early afternoon the precipitation had turned to freezing rain, then heavy freezing rain. By Tuesday evening, the weather moved on to sleet. Snow was to follow overnight. With at least 1/2 inch of ice accumulation on trees by Tuesday evening, the over-stressed trees synchronously (it seemed) began to bend until ultimately limbs began cracking, snapping and crashing down with a bang - mostly in the yard, but every 30 minutes or so a loud thud on the roof could be heard, alerting us to pause the movie and inspect. During one such inspection we discovered that one of the loud bangs was a felled tree in our backyard.

Tuesday evening. The first tree goes down.


Considering the neighborhood-wide cacophony of falling branches and trees, I rightly assumed that I would get another 5:30AM call announcing the closure of the university a second day. Sure enough, the text, voice mail, email barrage came on time and campus was closed on Wednesday. By this time, the storm had passed and we were left with destruction.

Wednesday morning. Two felled trees, two split trees.
"A Tree Graveyard"

The temperature on Wednesday hovered around 25F and kept things iced over throughout the day and overnight into Thursday morning. Surely, I thought, the university will be open on Thursday. Not so. The Thursday morning digital combination announced that the university will be closed on both Thursday and Friday.

By around 2PM, when the sun had warmed the temperature above freezing, I realized why the campus was closed for two more days. All the ice that was now packed in the trees, dangling on wires, or hanging around building edges had been formed into dangerous "ice daggers" waiting to fall on unsuspecting pedestrians. Throughout the day tree branches were still continuing to break, but now, with the weight of melting ice, 1 inch think sheets of ice were also smashing to the ground with the branches.

Thursday afternoon. The ice melts revealing lots of work and a new backyard.


Internet went down quick, around Tuesday afternoon and came back up Thursday afternoon, then was down again until Saturday evening. Power was out variously citywide. No roof damage and no car damage. Just a foreseeable giant bonfire and a new, less shady, backyard.

More photos at flickr.

Christmas Day - Hiking at Devil's Den

Some pictures from a Christmas Day hike out to Yellow Rock in Devil's Den with some fine examples of erosional forces, exacerbated by trail use.

left - Upper trail as it exits onto Yellow Rock.
right - Looking SE from atop Yellow Rock, Lee Creek at base

Lower trail as it exits onto Yellow Rock.

Deer and the Dog

This morning, as usually, we let Jenny out to do her thing before we depart for our daily ritual. When I opened the door to call her into the house, four white-tailed deer were grazing in the backyard. Having deer in our yard is not uncommon so I always find it funny when Jenny just sits there wondering what do to. The deer were cautiously eating away, probably at the pecans on the ground, only 40 meters or so away. I finally, spooked them... only then did Jenny run to investigate.

Taken with my iPhone (which has no zoom) standing on the back door stairs. A forth deer is behind the tree.
Jenny (lower left hand corner) simply sitting wondering what to do about these visitors only a few meters away (upper right hand corner).

The Toadies - In Fayetteville

So, The Toadies are technically from Ft. Worth but I've seen them so many times in Austin, I consider them part of the Austin music scene (what is left of it). Toadies shows in Austin always attract a huge crowd and, as a result, a level of intimacy with the band is difficult to obtain (such as getting up real close to the band without having to deal with idiots). Actually, ones ability to immerse themselves with a band during a performance, on a somewhat personal level, was lost all together with the destruction of Liberty Lunch - but that is an entirely different topic.

A nice thing about Fayetteville is that it is small. Clubs are small, crowds are small and the ability to get up close to the band is easily facilitated with little or no hassle. When "Austin" bands come into Fayetteville (which there are many) I try to make time to see them. It is like going back in time seeing these bands at the small clubs back in Austin, when they existed and when these bands were unknown enough to be able to play them. The Toadies in Fayetteville (George's Majestic to be specific) was one of those occasions and I offer some photos:

From the back of the club at the bar. Pretty small and intimate, huh?
Stage right. Up close with no effort - I didn't even spill my PBR.











Left: Sharon enjoying the front row; Right: Toad Lewis working the guitar
After the show. A blurry, PBR induced photograph of Sharon showing off the guitar pick that was handed to her by Todd Lewis - only achievable in a small venue.

Bikes, Blues, BBQ

Every year Fayetteville hosts the Bikes Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally. During the rally 350,000 bikers overtake the city of Fayetteville (pop. 65,000) and turn the city into one large rumble of bikes and people. Most students that I know here hate it and some even make plans to leave town. I'm just the opposite. I enjoy it. Sure, it is loud but it really is a great example of an American sub-culture in action. Another reason why I enjoy it, is because I used to (if owning a bike is a criteria) be a member. Although it is always a blast to do some serious people watching down on Dickson street, I am reminded of the Heritage softail that we had to sell in order for me to come to graduate school. Graduate school is full of sacrifices and selling the bike was one of them.
Riding around the Austin Hill Country was always a blast and the miles put on that bike will always be remembered. It would have been nice to keep to ride around the Ozark Mountains but such is life. I'm sure another bike purchase is not far away and maybe even when living in Fayetteville. Until then, Bikes, Blues and BBQ will have to be enjoyed from the sidewalk.

Arrrrruuuuu!

This is what it looks like when fire engines go zipping by our house. Sorry, no sound but one can easily imagine the cacophony of howling hound dogs.

Signs, Signs, Signs

I had a recent urge to post some pictures taken in various places. I think it was the marque at the Quality Inn in San Marcos that got me to go back and look at some pictures I took of signs. It was tough to narrow my selection down to these few. Anomalous, mostly interesting and often informative signs are everywhere and I, oddly, take pictures of them.
Our luxury hotel in Manchester, TN while conducting a geophysical survey at Old Stone Fort State Park. I ate the breakfast, it certainly was not blessed.

Heading northeast toward the Bitterroot Mountains and into Missoula. Leaving Nez Perce Indian Reservation - Kooskia, ID

Five days of hot, windy, muggy and sweaty of geophysical survey work at Ft. Pierre-Chouteau Historical Site - Pierre, SD

The Big Drive Summer '07 - Milage accumulated at that point while parked at the Larson site in North Dakota. Left to go -> 4,000

Spiffy Biffs. He was a life saver. It was very clean and, of course, spiffy. - Bismarck, ND

Not what you think, unfortunately. - Regina, SK

This place rocked! - Saskatoon, SK

"We dig Arkansas". I also dig Arkansas, but in smaller amounts. - Wilson, AR

Toad Suck Park in Conway, AR. I'm tempted.

The intersection in downtown Natchitoches, LA

Los Adaes State Historical Site - Robeline, LA

Perfect, I thought, because I speak English most of the time. San Marcos, TX

Now this one doesn't make sense to me. I get the issue but not the proposed solution. Fayetteville, AR

A Day of Snow

Living in Fayetteville has changed our relationship with the seasons. In Austin, we got only two seasons - hot and warm. Around here, we get a nice mix of all four seasons. Our first introduction to this was last winter where I remember on several occasions the thermostat in my car measuring 10 degrees on my way to class. That certainly was a shock to our central Texas bio-systems. However, as we roll into our second winter season in Fayetteville, we are enjoying our first snowfall and expecting a few more to visit us before the winter season turns to a perfect spring.

Where the city of Austin would have shut down completely, things happened as usual around here with not much of a stir. Sharon headed into work the next day and I went into the field. It was quite nice for me being down along the Mulberry River working in a picturesque setting - albeit for very violent reasons - listening to the river move downstream interspersed with a subtle cacophony of remote sensing equipment beeping and investigators qualms about informant details. Odd, I know, but something different...a major benefit of field work.

Bubba and Jenny explored the fresh snow but not for very long.
Our eerie backyard filled with wintery ghosts and ghouls.
Sharon heading out to work. Same routine, different colors.
My drive into the Ozark National Forest to work in the morning.
Not many people drive down this road, regardless of the season.