Last night when I got to my car the remote didn't unlock the door. So I unlocked it with the key. When I turned the key in the ignition, nothing happened. Literally nothing, no lights came on, no needles fluttered, and the engine might as well have not been there. The Pearl was dead in the water, so to speak.
Thus begin my adventures for the week so far. I pushed the button on the wall and called up security, and they dispatched a truck to come jump my car. I was planning to go to the temple with friends, but wasn't sure if the car would start again. After driving home, showering (we had been playing basketball after work) and changing my faith was rewarded when the engine sputtered to life without issue. After the temple it started for a second time on it's own; I decided to tempt fate and stopped to fill my empty tank, and it started on its own power for a third time at the gas station on the way home.
Once home last night I got my things together so that this morning all I had to do was roll out of bed and shave, then I started the three mile bike ride to avoid the construction on my street to get to work. Once at work I logged my ride as a workout, then used the showers at the fitness center to clean up and get dressed for work.
Once ready I walked upstairs to the cafeteria across from my work area and ordered an omlette for breakfast and bought a minute maid orange juice to reward myself. I feel like He-man today.
Wednesday, July 14
Thursday, July 1
Texas.
It just happens to be my new home.
The second largest state in the union both by geography and population (but let's be honest, it's the biggest truly inhabited state in the union) with a total of 268,601 square miles and 20,851,820 inhabitants as of 2000 (second only to California, but probably not for too much longer). Two presidents (Eisenhower and LBJ) were born here. The state motto is "Friendship," stemming from the original tribes of eastern Texas who called their collective nation "Tejas" meaning "those who are friends."
Dinosaurs that have been found in Texas include Acrocanthosaurus, Alamosaurus (no joke!), Brontopodus, Camptosaurus, Coelophysis, Deinonychus (my favorite), Dimetridon, Edmontosaurus, Hypsilophodon, Iguanodon, Kritosaurus, Megatherium, Orinthomimus, Panoplosaurus, Pawpawsaurus, Pluerocoelus (this is the state dinosaur), Protohadros byrdi, Quetzalcoatlus, Shuvosaurus, Stegoceras, Technosaurus (the nerdy species), Tenontosaurus, Texascetes (even dinosaurs had pride in this place), Torosaurus, and of course Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The state animals are the mockingbird, the Texas longhorn, Armadillo, free-tailed bat, monarch butterfly, Texas horned lizard, and the Guadalupe bass. The state shell is the lightning whelk. The state flowers and plants are the bluebonnet, prickly pear cactus, pecan tree, and chinese crepe myrtle. The state fruit is the grapefruit, the vegetable is the onion. The state fiber is cotton (which I am proudly wearing at this moment; probably you, too). The state grass is sideoats grama. The state stone is petrified palmwood and the state gem is the Texas blue topaz.
San Antonio itself was named after the Portuguese Saint Anthony by Spanish explorers (must have been before nationalism?) in 1691 and served as the capital city of Texas until sometime after the Mexican-American war. There are nine different sister cities to San Antonio, including two in Spain, two in Mexico, one in India, one in Japan, one in Taiwan, one in South Korea and one in Israel. One city in Germany is listed as an alliance city, but I'm not sure how the Germans could help San Antonio very well in the event that we needed an ally.
There are four military bases inside San Antonio, and one just outside the city (although with its aggressive annexation policies, it may one day be inside the city as well). About three-fourths of the city's area has been annexed since 1960. In effect there are no real suburbs, as any that did exist are now completely enveloped by the city limits and act as little island townships within the city. There are over 100,000 students and 31 higher-education facilities in the San Antonio area. San Antonio also boasts the most inexpensive public transit systems in the nation.
United Services Automobile Association (USAA) was founded in 1922 by military officers who were unable to procure insurance due to the perception that they were high risk. The company was one of the pioneers of direct marketing from the start, selling insurance directly to customers instead of working through agents. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA operates five other offices in Phoenix, Tampa, Norfolk, Colorado Springs and Frankfurt. The main campus occupies 286 acres of a former horse farm with one of the largest single-occupancy buildings in the USA, rivaling the Willis Tower and the Pentagon. Technically the insurance arm of USAA is not a corporation, but rather an inter-insurance exchange, which allows it operate differently than almost any other Fortune 500 firm at Wall street. Also by working on this basis recently USAA lobbyists were able to push through an amendment to the Volker rule that allows the company to continue its unique operations. Also because of their unique member owned organization, the company returns unused profits to the insureds at year end, similar to dividends for stockholders.
Isn't it great what you can learn from the internet?
The second largest state in the union both by geography and population (but let's be honest, it's the biggest truly inhabited state in the union) with a total of 268,601 square miles and 20,851,820 inhabitants as of 2000 (second only to California, but probably not for too much longer). Two presidents (Eisenhower and LBJ) were born here. The state motto is "Friendship," stemming from the original tribes of eastern Texas who called their collective nation "Tejas" meaning "those who are friends."
Dinosaurs that have been found in Texas include Acrocanthosaurus, Alamosaurus (no joke!), Brontopodus, Camptosaurus, Coelophysis, Deinonychus (my favorite), Dimetridon, Edmontosaurus, Hypsilophodon, Iguanodon, Kritosaurus, Megatherium, Orinthomimus, Panoplosaurus, Pawpawsaurus, Pluerocoelus (this is the state dinosaur), Protohadros byrdi, Quetzalcoatlus, Shuvosaurus, Stegoceras, Technosaurus (the nerdy species), Tenontosaurus, Texascetes (even dinosaurs had pride in this place), Torosaurus, and of course Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The state animals are the mockingbird, the Texas longhorn, Armadillo, free-tailed bat, monarch butterfly, Texas horned lizard, and the Guadalupe bass. The state shell is the lightning whelk. The state flowers and plants are the bluebonnet, prickly pear cactus, pecan tree, and chinese crepe myrtle. The state fruit is the grapefruit, the vegetable is the onion. The state fiber is cotton (which I am proudly wearing at this moment; probably you, too). The state grass is sideoats grama. The state stone is petrified palmwood and the state gem is the Texas blue topaz.
San Antonio itself was named after the Portuguese Saint Anthony by Spanish explorers (must have been before nationalism?) in 1691 and served as the capital city of Texas until sometime after the Mexican-American war. There are nine different sister cities to San Antonio, including two in Spain, two in Mexico, one in India, one in Japan, one in Taiwan, one in South Korea and one in Israel. One city in Germany is listed as an alliance city, but I'm not sure how the Germans could help San Antonio very well in the event that we needed an ally.
There are four military bases inside San Antonio, and one just outside the city (although with its aggressive annexation policies, it may one day be inside the city as well). About three-fourths of the city's area has been annexed since 1960. In effect there are no real suburbs, as any that did exist are now completely enveloped by the city limits and act as little island townships within the city. There are over 100,000 students and 31 higher-education facilities in the San Antonio area. San Antonio also boasts the most inexpensive public transit systems in the nation.
United Services Automobile Association (USAA) was founded in 1922 by military officers who were unable to procure insurance due to the perception that they were high risk. The company was one of the pioneers of direct marketing from the start, selling insurance directly to customers instead of working through agents. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA operates five other offices in Phoenix, Tampa, Norfolk, Colorado Springs and Frankfurt. The main campus occupies 286 acres of a former horse farm with one of the largest single-occupancy buildings in the USA, rivaling the Willis Tower and the Pentagon. Technically the insurance arm of USAA is not a corporation, but rather an inter-insurance exchange, which allows it operate differently than almost any other Fortune 500 firm at Wall street. Also by working on this basis recently USAA lobbyists were able to push through an amendment to the Volker rule that allows the company to continue its unique operations. Also because of their unique member owned organization, the company returns unused profits to the insureds at year end, similar to dividends for stockholders.
Isn't it great what you can learn from the internet?
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