Copes

Radial Arm Saw Discussion

This weekend, I sold my radial arm saw. I sold it for $5 (5x more than I was asking). I wanted it gone the same day I listed it. I effectively got paid to have it removed. Aubrey thought I should have listed it higher, around $40. I checked other listings of the same saw and they are still up days after being posted. What do you think? Should I have listed it for more and made Aubrey park her car outside until it sold or be happy its gone?

FYI – The guy who bought it came from Glendale and I-17.

I Passed my Qualifier’s Exam

The exam went very well. My presentation took just over 40 minutes.  One of my committee members couldn’t make it due to bad weather in New York. I had very good constructive comments and questions. After a few minutes of discussion, I heard my result… Pass.

Thanks for everyone’s support and well-wishes. Below is the presentation…

Eric Cope – 2009 Qualifier’s Exam

PhD Qualifier Exam 3/30

My PhD Qualifer Exam is on 3/30 at 9:15am. The title is Estimating Human Movement Using a Three Axis Accelerometer. In the event you need help falling asleep, here is a link to the report (Qualifier Report). But be forewarned, nausea may follow.

Shooting – 2009-Mar-12

I went shooting with Mario today. It was a great way to spend the morning. I shot around 120 rounds. Below are my results. I did not include the last magazine where I shot one handed from 15 feet. That score was 9/11 out of 12. That means 9 high the 7″ target, and 11 hit the 8×11 piece of paper. Considering that is the test for the CCW, I am not concerned. Dry firing has really helped my grouping. It prevents that muscle memory from wanting to drop right before the gun fires. Great tip from Mario. We also did some 60 yard shooting with Mario’s subcompact Sig 357. Mario did very well, hitting the cardboard and the paper target. I got the target, but no paper. It was another great shooting event. Can’t wait until next time.

Happy Birthday Kathy

Happy Birthday Kathy. Post any fun photos from your day.

Eric’s List of 5 Passions/Addictions

Inspired by the Adams’… These are in no particular order…

1. Exercise – I love exercising in ways that don’t seem like exercise. I play ultimate frisbee (2 hours of sprinting), mountain biking (the cliffs and cacti keep your mind off the calories you are burning), flag football. I love being outdoors, getting my heart rate up, and feeling the adrenaline when I catch the long huck or am rock crawling my way down National. Its way too cool to give up and I hope to share them with my kids.
2. Politics – There is something addictive about personal freedoms and liberties. The liberty bug bit me and I keep feeding it to keep it near. I’ve gotten better about my soap box, but I still like sharing my ideas and debunking others. I think shooting my gun falls in this category too.
3. Family – My only reason to have passion in the first place, hopefully I get to share my passions with my family. Roughhousing with Ethan or watching a movie with Aubrey is way too good to give up.
4. Work – I am addicted to work. I need to specify this. I work at Medtronic 40 hours a week, thats it. Outside that, I am always looking for more web design/development to push my skills. I constantly need to have my plate overloaded, hence my PhD, Primerica, Web Design, Work, Ultimate Frisbee, Flag Football, music class with Ethan, and anything else I cling to.
5. Beer - Beer is my friend. There is no better beverage than a cold dark beer. Fat Tire (see 1), Moose Drool, Kiltlifter, Arrogant Bastard are just the beginning. We are living in a beer revolution right now and I love every minute of it. The important thing is Ethan likes it too.

Us and Monkey Parents

It turns out we have more in common with monkeys than we may appreciate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7934852.stm