You can have wealth and fame, all I want is POWER!

Really, we had it very good. Our home held up through the storm (unlike the included picture). We had ample food and water. We had transportation. Our cell phones worked reasonably well. Compared to the pioneers, we had it great.

But it was really uncomfortable being without power. No AC, no lights at night, no electronic gadgets... as well as the uncertainty of when we might get power back with the possibility of being without power for 2-4 weeks.

As it turned out, we were extremely fortunate and were only out of power from Friday evening of the storm until about Monday afternoon.

Our Experience with Hurricane Ike

Thanks everyone for your prayers.

We fared quite well from the storm. We are physically well, and our house has no damage that I've found yet. Our fences did take a beating and we lost a section of the back fence.

I'm grateful for the camping and emergency preparedness items that we have. We have two hand crank radios, and it was nice to have some contact, albeit one-way, with the outside world. Headlamps are great for keeping your hands available. I'm also grateful for the storm shutters that came with our house. Having ample bottled water and a backup filter that we didn't need to use. A spray bottle and battery powered fan were also great in the heat.

Things that would have been helpful.

A more powerful power inverter to keep the fridge running (use your car as a generator).

A generator

Grill with lots of charcoal (we had gas still, but it heats up the house unnecessarily)

Adapter to charge our cell phone from our hand crank items, and to have the car charger available (I found it the day after we got power).

And a special thanks to the Cox's in our ward, who opened their lovely home (with power) to us for a couple of days.

Prepping for Hurricane Ike

Well, we've got our first real hurricane headed towards us. Gustav just didn't get us worked up all that much. But Ike had a chance to be the real deal. It did have the possibility to get to Category 4. That's about where we would have decided to evacuate. As it is it should be getting here in the middle of the night. We've boarded up and stocked up so that we could hunker down.

Here's my current favorite website for checking out hurricanes (thanks, Elena).

I feel like I've had some bad luck with hurricanes. Last time they cancelled work in August on a day I was getting off anyways. This time, most people got today off, but I had to work until about 11:30 because I was post-call. Yesterday, I did get to go home for the afternoon to start boarding up the house though.

I'm not looking forward to the power going out and losing water and internet... but I'll keep bravely posting as long as I'm able. ;)

(I stole this idea from Afton, to try to encourage come commentary and feedback...)
What do you like to do on a rainy day?
What's the worst catastrophe/natural disaster you've been through?

Physics Exam

Today was the 1st of my three board examinations in Radiology. The subject was physics. I've had people ask me why I have to know any physics as a radiologist. I've sometimes asked the same question while studying.

It's important to know how each of the different 'imaging modalities' (x-rays, ultrasound, CT scans, MRI, fluoroscopy, PET scans, and other nuclear imaging studies) work. That way you know what the limitations of the exams are, what 'artifacts' (messed up images) are present, and how to fix things when they go wrong. We also learn about the harmful effects of radiation, and what the most likely risk is (very small).

The test went fine. I was glad there were no random numbers I should have memorized or bizarre equations to use. It'll take a while to get my results back though. If I pass, then I'll be 1/3rd a radiologist.

Are you the kind of person who's curious about how things work?
Do you feel like knowing the basics behind things at your job make you better at it?
Are you excited about the new large hadron collider?

New Calling

During the week, we got a request for Elena and I to meet with the Bishop before church. One of my favorite things to do is to ponder what might happen with our callings, Elena says that's bad of me to do. I don't make predictions on what I want to happen, or what I think should happen, but on what could happen. I figure as long as I'm not judgmental about it, I'm alright.

Anyways....I'm staying in my calling in the nursery. I'm glad of it. I'm enjoying it. Nobody else appreciates their teachers in church as much as nursery kids...usually. Elena's new calling is as a counselor in the young womens. She's excited and overwhelmed.

What's the favorite calling you've ever had?
Do you ever covet a calling?
Do you like to guess about callings also?

Speed Settlers

About 3 years ago, I had an idea. A group of friends in the village would often get together to play games. One of those games that I enjoy very much is Settlers of Catan. We have the game along with all of the major expansions. If you haven't played it, I recommend it. However, you have to keep the game moving, or it can take a long time.

My idea.... speed settlers. We finally tried it out with Mike and Mindy. We started with 30 second time limit and went two or three rounds. While 30 seconds worked, we decided 45 seconds would work better. The game was fun, Elena won (she's on a streak of winning games), and she enjoyed it. She said she wasn't looking forward to playing, but that she enjoyed it. The game only lasted about 30 minutes.

For those people interested in playing yourselves. I used my watch as a timer, it resets automatically. We decided that a left over time from the person before you could be used. The decreased time is particularly difficult if a 7 is rolled and you're over the limit, and it really cuts into your time for trading. We may increase it a little next time we play.

An option that Mike came up with would be individual timers, and your given a limit for the game. For example, if you wanted the game to last just an hour and four people were playing, you give 15 minutes a piece on their individual timers that count down. If you run out of time, then you lose automatically.

Other favorite house rules... match play in Uno, $500 bonus when you land on go in Monopoly.

What games do you enjoy playing?
What are some of your favorite 'house rules'?

Welcome to Elena

Elena finally said, "I want to be able to post!" She's been invited the whole time, but had not yet shown interest, and so now she's signed up. I anxiously await her first post.

And here is an adorable picture of Kara before going to church today.

Updated Links, and Etiquette

So I want some input. I've just updated the links.

Is there anyone missing? I tried looking through everyone's links, but I'm sure I've missed someone. Please leave a comment and let me know who I might have missed. (I'm sure I've missed some of Elena's High school friends.

If you want to be listed differently (don't worry Brady and Shawnee, by default I go without last names) let me know. I like that you've spelled out your wishes on your blog (Shawnee). Some of you I put down your blog title as well...

Is there an appropriate way to ask to be linked back to somebody else's blog? What's the etiquette on blog links. Is it... if I link you, you link me? Do you give a link in a comment to let someone's blog you're reading that you have a blog as well? Or is this all handled better by email?

So to summarize (answer any you wish)
1. Who's missing from my links?
2. Do you want your link changed (or removed)?
3. What is proper blog etiquette regarding links?

Happy Birthday, Elena

Today is Elena's birthday. I won't say how old she is, but I'll give you a math hint. It's the result of a number raised (exponent) to itself.

Give her a call and wish her a Happy Birthday. I unfortunately will be working (on call all night).

New Pictures

I'm putting this post on just for some of the newest pictures of Kara, as requested by many people. I'm also in the process of getting caught up from our Utah trip, and you can see some posts below...