Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, "Grow, grow." The Talmud
Finals were completed Thursday afternoon. Somehow the classes this module proved to be much more challenging than those of the first module, as my grades will no doubt reflect. In any case, I'm glad to be done. Welding actually turned out to be really fun, and I quite enjoyed torching through steel with a really hot flame. But the guest instructor was stubborn and infuriating during the theory sessions, so I can't say I learned as much as I ought. Hydraulics was the opposite situation: I always enjoy theory sessions with Don, but the lab portion was a bit of a nightmare. The sole purpose of the lab was to devise a contraption to perform work using hydraulic power. The group I was in didn't really gel. We had difficulty deciding on a project. When a project hypothesis was proposed, we had difficulty deciding on a design. When we'd decided on a design, there was debate over specifics, and so on, ad infinitum. Everyone in the group gets along well outside the group, it was just that, in the confines of the group project, we all just wanted to bitch-slap each other most of the time. With time running extremely short, we finally decided on the most basic of all hydraulics lab projects: the hydraulic can crusher.Other groups were far more original. The best of these was the hydraulically-powered mechanical bull, which utilized 2 different actuators: one to shift the bull to and fro, and another to rotate. The bull was widely discussed, but who would ride the bull was even more widely discussed: the group's members were hell bent on getting Dan Vasey, MDT Program Director and Wisconsin farm boy extraordinaire, on the bull. When push came to shove, Dan obliged and rode the bull proficiently. Several others also stepped forward to ride the bull, most notably, an advanced-semester student by the name of Jacob.The MDT program is 2 semesters in length. There are other courses a student can take to augment the MDT curriculum, but the basic certificate can be obtained at the end of the second semester. So at the end of each semester (because the program can be started in either the fall or the spring), there's always a group of students leaving. And because the program is small, and so intensive, we all get to know each other pretty well. Maybe a bit too well.Jacob and some other advanced students took Thursday to celebrate their impending graduation. After a few hours of imbibing, they stopped back at the MDT facility, for whatever reason. They happened to arrive just at the point when we were beginning to showcase our hydraulics lab projects.I don't know why, but Jacob was wearing the bright yellow speedo under his shorts (you must remember that this is a diving program, so half-clothed boys barely faze me anymore, so common is the sight). I don't know why it was important to ride the bull in the neon speedo. But it certainly made for a memorable last day of class.And despite the unlikelihood of ever seeing Jacob again, I don't think I'll soon forget him.
This is hilarious!!
i like how it ends with CLo clapping in the foreground.
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2 comments:
This is hilarious!!
i like how it ends with CLo clapping in the foreground.
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