Lame Saturday Night Activities: How Bad Is It?

[femurphy77]

Super lame both of you. My wife, daughter, and I just finished the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

Speaking of lame: ALIENS, REALLY???

And they're talking about another chapter Maybe they'll go looking for snowflake zero to see if there's a cure.

 

[KellyinAvon]

I'm doing calculus homework.
On a Saturday night.
At age 53.

Lame.

I took classes from Fall 2009-Spring 2016 (while working full-time.) I never did homework on Friday night. Saturday through Thursday? Definitely. Wait a minute, aren't you an Engineer? Don't you do Calculus for fun?? HHHHhhhmmmm?? Seriously though Rhino are you working on your Masters? If it's your Doctorate I will not call you "Doctor Rhino", although that would be a cool forum handle.

 

[femurphy77]

I took classes from Fall 2009-Spring 2016 (while working full-time.) I never did homework on Friday night. Saturday through Thursday? Definitely. Wait a minute, aren't you an Engineer? Don't you do Calculus for fun?? HHHHhhhmmmm?? Seriously though Rhino are you working on your Masters? If it's your Doctorate I will not call you "Doctor Rhino", although that would be a cool forum handle.

Nah go for something cool; Dr Death, Dr Gun Dude, Dead Pool, no wait that last one's been taken.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Nah go for something cool; Dr Death, Dr Gun Dude, Dead Pool, no wait that last one's been taken.

Dr Death, Dr Gun Dude, Dead Pool... that sounds like a bootleg movie box-set. In Doha, Qatar I saw The Dirty Dozen, Dirty Harry, and Joe Dirt as a three disc package.

 

[femurphy77]

Dr Death, Dr Gun Dude, Dead Pool... that sounds like a bootleg movie box-set. In Doha, Qatar I saw The Dirty Dozen, Dirty Harry, and Joe Dirt as a three disc package.

Well I do know this guy. .. . .

 

[deo62]

Coffee and reruns of Bonanza

 

[KellyinAvon]

Well I do know this guy. .. . .

Was that the guy selling the rare Singing in the Rain, Purple Rain, and Rain Man set?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Dr Death, Dr Gun Dude, Dead Pool... that sounds like a bootleg movie box-set. In Doha, Qatar I saw The Dirty Dozen, Dirty Harry, and Joe Dirt as a three disc package.

Was that the guy selling the rare Singing in the Rain, Purple Rain, and Rain Man set?

You know, it occurs to me that this could be the beginning of a new INGO thread... "Unlikely Box Sets" or something. The movies don't have to have anything in common other than one word in their titles.

 

[femurphy77]

Was that the guy selling the rare Singing in the Rain, Purple Rain, and Rain Man set?

Sounds like you've got the hookup already brah!!

 

[red_zr24x4]

This was my Saturday night -
Big adventure Yesterday-
The wife found a sectional couch she wanted, An hour and a half away in Ft. Wayne. I get my brother and a borrowed trailer and we head out.
In between Plymouth and Warsaw we blow a trailer tire. Good thing the wife is following us in the car. Head to Plymouth with the trailer rim. 2 tire shops are closed, Walmart doesn't have one, TSC has one on a rim for $130, back on the road.
Drive to Ft. Wayne and load up the couch. Heading home about a mile away from where the first tire blew, the second one goes. My wife is still in Warsaw, she stopped to get KFC for when we get home. She runs to the TSC there. No tire. TSC to their credit calls Big R for her to see if they have one. They do and set it out by the register for her to pic up.
Our 4 hr adventure turned into a 7 hr nightmare

 

[CallSign Snafu]

Super lame both of you. My wife, daughter, and I just finished the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

^^ this ^^ sounds worse than the calculus homework.

 

[rhino]

And this...

I took classes from Fall 2009-Spring 2016 (while working full-time.) I never did homework on Friday night. Saturday through Thursday? Definitely. Wait a minute, aren't you an Engineer? Don't you do Calculus for fun?? HHHHhhhmmmm?? Seriously though Rhino are you working on your Masters? If it's your Doctorate I will not call you "Doctor Rhino", although that would be a cool forum handle.

An explanation is in order . . .

Some of you have observed my whining about not being able to secure employment as an engineer (without relocating) due a long and weird series of circumstances that are no longer important to the story. The key is that for years when I whine, people have suggested that I return to school to finish my PhD or just to refresh some basics so that I could be employable at the entry level. My response was always that I couldn't really do that because my math is essentially gone. I could do very simple calculus, but not much that would be useful beyond studying business or accounting.

While that's a valid reason, it's also an excuse. Recently some (more) coworkers were removed from the payroll after 30+ and 20+ years of service, and the two who are my friends are very competent and fill vital rolls in our machine. The portion of their duties which overlapped my work have suddenly been shifted to me, even though I was not formally informed of their layoffs or that this would happen. Given the rate at which my colleagues are being cut loose, I am reminded that my tenure with the company may be shorter than I anticipated, even with the added "security" of more duties.

I am late, but I need to make preparations to create more options for myself. So, since my excuse has always been that my math is too weak, I decided to rebuild my foundation. I'm doing differential calculus this summer and will do the companion integral calculus class in the fall semester. After that, I need to find a 3-D/vector calculus class to complete, followed by a couple of differential equations courses. Once I have that minimum foundation restored, I can start re-learning engineering and physics fundamentals, whether for potential employment or for a return to school.

Even if I choose a different path, retraining my brain with math will help me, whether I apply it directly, it's necessary as prerequisites, or just to reorganize the shambles inside of my skull. I believe that it will be net positive for me, regardless of what I choose to do next or what opportunities I am able to identify and pursue.

So that's why I'm doing calculus homework on a Saturday night (and now a Sunday morning). The summer term is only eight weeks instead of 16, so the work load is a big higher. So far, all is going well. I won't say that "it's all coming back" to me as most people say things will, but I do notice that some concepts that confused and vexed me in high school and even as a freshman in college seem easier to comprehend and apply. I think that's because my brain works differently now and the mental "noise" that we all have when teenagers and young adults has abated significantly over time. While I don't have the stamina or raw brain power I once had, I think I can focus more readily on specific tasks than I could when I was younger. As long as I take things in manageable bites and I continue to plod forward at a steady pace, I will succeed.

In retrospect, this topic seems like an excuse to bait people into asking me about so I could tell this story. However, that is not the case. First and foremost, I was actually thinking about how lame it was to be sitting around doing high school and college level homework as a middle aged guy who should have been sleeping in front of the television. Second, I'm not shy about interjecting my stories whenever the hell I feel like it. Heh.

My lame Saturday night activities has a less lame motivation, but it's still lame!

Finally, I originally used the word "pathetic" instead of lame, but my friend chezuki's use of "lame" fits this situation much better.

 

[Thor]

Good luck with that...I'm glad I'm only a couple of years out from retirement and everyone is fooled into thinking I'm the smart guy they can't do without.

 

[rhino]

Good luck with that...I'm glad I'm only a couple of years out from retirement and everyone is fooled into thinking I'm the smart guy they can't do without.

That's a good position, sir. Of course, there's also the fact that no one else can do your job because they can't lift the damn hammer.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I played Yahtzee with my 7-year old. Barely beat him. So it could’ve been worse

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Watched Pacific Rim 2 with Nephews Dry and Fear while they field stripped and re-assembled different guns.

As wild a time as I want to have now.

Good luck on your studies, Joe!

I note that you did not call for my help on your calculus homework and this is after my stunning B+ in freshman calc in undergrad. I note this!

 

[HoughMade]

I talked my son through diagnosing and intermittent no-crank problem with “his” car over FaceTime because he’s spending the summer in Kentucky.

 

[KellyinAvon]

^^ this ^^ sounds worse than the calculus homework.

^^^^^This!!^^^^^

 

[rhino]

Watched Pacific Rim 2 with Nephews Dry and Fear while they field stripped and re-assembled different guns.

As wild a time as I want to have now.

Good luck on your studies, Joe!

I note that you did not call for my help on your calculus homework and this is after my stunning B+ in freshman calc in undergrad. I note this!

I have you on speed dial for when I need help!

 

[Lt Scott 14]

Watched 3 Resident Evil movies and had popcorn. I had a 16oz Mountain Dew, and enjoyed my midnight shift. Yawn........ till 0500 am.