Pete's Log: On the granularity of the continuum

Entry #1328, (Life in General)
(posted when I was 24 years old.)
I hit a deer. At least I think it was a deer. It may have been a large dog, or perhaps a very small elephant. Possibly even a gazelle. And it would actually be more accurate to say that the deer hit my car.

I was driving to the animal hospital last night to bring Meg some food and when I was just South of Douglas on 933, between ND and SMC, a deer-sized animal suddenly jumps out and hits the front side of my car. I was pretty shocked and just sorta kept driving in a daze. I pulled over as soon as there was a spot to do so and checked out my car. Big dent on the front right side, and all the lights on that side are out. When I drove back by later I didn't see any deer, so it must have run away.

Dad almost hit an elk yesterday. It jumped onto the road right in front of him. So the wildlife appears to be plotting against the Rijks. I told my class about the incident, and one of my students told me that there is apparently an overpopulation of deer on the SMC campus and that they've opened up the forests around SMC to hunters. I found an online story that confirms this. Crazy.

The remainder of our trip to DC was fun. We went to an idealist.org job fair. I met some cool people who deal with technology in the non-profit sector.

Flying in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is cool. If you ever do, make sure you sit on the left if you're flying in and on the right if you're flying out. We got lucky and were always on the proper side of the plane to have a good view of the national mall and all that fun area.

Washington National has this crazy regulation where you have to stay seated on the plane for the last 30 minutes of the flight on the way in and for the first 30 minutes of the flight on the way out. The plane we flew out on had a near emergency on its way in. Some deaf guy hadn't heard the announcement and got up to go to the bathroom, so the plane was nearly diverted. This was my first time flying since June 2001, so I was amazed by how much stricter security is.

Oh, and I think I've neglected to mention this yet: I've now got an interlocking ND tattoo on my right upper arm. It's neat.