Matthew Singer » Personal Updates

It’s going to be a busy semester

Matt — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:11:44 +0000

Somehow, I had arranged the semester to be fairly light allowing me to work on my research. I was only signed up for one class, the work of which parallelled the work I have to do for my degree, namely write up a dissertation project proposal. On top of that, I was slated to teach one lab section, so overall my class and teaching load would be light. Funny how things actually work out. I am taking 3 classes, though one not for credit, and teaching two sections of lab. 314 lab isn’t really that bad, it’s all computer-based, but the extra time committment and grading will be a [read more...]

Happy Thanksgiving

Matt — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 23:09:46 +0000

Holy crap it’s Thanksgiving already! Well I’ve been thinking about what to make this post about. There are several great options: The real story of thanksgiving and how it became what we perceive it to be today, the start of the commercial materialism season, the nature of human behavior, and so on. But I think rather than the normal cynical post about our need to celebrate lies and propaganda, I’ll just fill you in with a brief update of what I’ve been up to.

For starters, it’s been a busy semester. The past month, I’ve been breeding the 3rd generation of selection fish with mixed success. Several families have [read more...]

I went to Florida

Matt — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:47:59 +0000

I went to Florida, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

Taking a break from the usual trips into the mountains, I went to Florida last weekend to celebrate the marriage of one of my good buddies. The wedding was in Pensacola Beach, with the actual ceremony on the beach outside of town.

I’ve been to Florida before, but not the Gulf coast, and especially not the panhandle, and so when I got there, I was quite surprised at just how built up it was. When I think of Florida, it’s [read more...]

Storms

Matt — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:30:38 +0000

Last night, we had the storm of storms come across the Palouse. It was a quick, but powerful cell the big lightning strikes every few seconds that produced enough power to disrupt phone service (land line) each time a bolt struck the ground. Luckily, we had no major power surges and all of the electronics in the house work just fine. But the ligntning and thunder show was both awesome and a bit frightening. I stood outside with the camera as the storm approached, [read more...]

Escaping the Heat

Matt — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:07:45 +0000

Escaping the Heat at over 6000 feet. This view is from Crater Peak. Below is Crater Lake and Lookout Mountain is the rocky peak in the distance.

While the east coast has contended with an earthquake and a hurricane, we have been enduring our summer heat wave, temperatures in excess of 90 degrees. It rarely gets to 95 out here, but when it does, it’s brutal. Of course, when it’s in the mid-90′s up on the Palouse, it’s over 100 down in Lewiston. Currently, our weather [read more...]

2010, Volume 2

Matt — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:48:48 +0000

There’s a new book in my bookstore. I finally got around to completing 2010: A Year of Change, Vol. 2. Volume 1 followed the first half of the year as I finished working in Virginia, got married and prepared to leave the eastern United States. Volume 2 continues the journey, starting with a visit to Idaho in February to visit the school and the area, then the road trip from Maryland to Moscow, and some exploration around my new home as we settled in and started school. Pick up your copy by clicking on the badge below.

Exploring

Matt — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:17:48 +0000

The past week, my parents were in town visiting and we spent the week exploring and showing them our favorite places in the area. We’d usually leave fairly early in the morning and get back kinda late, always exhausted. As a result, I haven’t been able to post some detailed updates on the awesome places that we’ve been. I’ll try to summarize the week here.

Saturday, July 23: Picked my parents up from the Lewiston airport. Turns out, there was some kind of airplane festival going on so we decided to [read more...]

Bad Ass Sunset

Matt — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:15:39 +0000

Fire in the Sky

Last night was full of bad-assery. Yeah, that’s right, it was so bad-ass that I made up a word to describe it. After a cold spell, temperatures quickly rose into the 80′s yesterday making for a hot and somewhat muggy day. The conditions were ripe for evening thunderstorms. As I arrived home, I heard reports on the radio that there were some severe storms just west of Orofino. But looking around, all I saw was sunshine and blue skies. The storms were passing to the south [read more...]

Personal Updates

Matt — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:24:16 +0000

It’s been an eventful week, and I should have posted more often, but I’ve been busy and tired and uninspired to write. So I’ll give you the update on the past week, and then some.

Last Monday was our actual anniversary, and even though we celebrated the week before with a getaway to Oregon, we still wanted to make the day special. We decided to drive up to Spokane, spend some time at REI, and have a nice dinner. For the longest time, I’ve been desiring [read more...]

Home Theater

Matt — Wed, 18 May 2011 06:57:06 +0000

A few weeks ago, we received our federal tax return, and with the First Time Homebuyer tax credit, we got quite a hefty sum. The bulk of that money is going right back into the property with a few home improvement projects. But we took a small chunk and set it aside to complete the entertainment system. So I went ahead and bought a receiver and a set of speakers. What a difference it makes. I’m not new to the 5.1 surround scene. In college, I had a shelf stereo system that was actually an all-in-one theater system: a 3 CD/DVD changer, two boom box speakers, and three satellites [read more...]