A quick update

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Not a lot going on here this weekend, between having a 4 hour class on Saturday morning and the college football season being in full swing, it is hard to do much else.  Not that I'm complaining, it sounds like a good way to spend a day to me.

Last weekend, we had a weekend guest from Virginia.  After my  welding class, we piled into the car and drove east to Bloomington, Indiana. Yes, we went from one Bloomington to the other in order to go to the University of Virginia vs. University of Indiana football game.  Considering the fact that Indiana is a basketball school, they had a nice football facility.  Too bad they couldn't fill it!  UVA took an early lead, only to blow it in the second half.  Then, out of no where, they drove back and tied it up with 1:30 left.  We thought we were headed to overtime when a UVA play stripped the ball from the IU quarterback and UVA kicked the winning field goal as the clock hit 00.  It was a great ending and made the long trip worthwhile.  We got there a little early, this was the pregame warm up for UVA:

Karen and I had our first golf class last Monday night.  It was pretty interesting, I had no idea so much went into a good swing.  I guess that is why everyone isn't playing on the PGA tour...  Our second class is tomorrow night, I hope we both see some improvements in our technique afterwards.  I could see myself getting hooked on this sport, just what I need, another expensive hobby.

Speaking of hobbies, the welding class is going well. I was nervous the first week because we were doing oxy-acetylene gas welding. Basically using a flaming torch to heat the steel to 2000 degrees and melting it together. Very cool. This week, we did MIG welding, which uses electrical current to instantly melt the filler wire and the metal you are welding together. The process produces a very bright arc of light that you can't look at with unprotected eyes, you have to wear a welding helmet. Here is a picture of the classroom that the welding class is in:

And here are some pieces of steel that I welded together using the torch, insert your best Tim Allen grunt here: