UA engineering students use storm recovery as theme for concrete canoe project
31.12.69
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- A group of University of Alabama engineering students are putting the finishing touches on their boat for a regional concrete canoe competition this weekend.
The event, which is part of the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers Southeast Student Conference at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, challenges students to design and race canoes made from concrete, aggregates and foam. The winning team will move on to 25th annual ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition in Reno, Nev. in June.
The 16-student Alabama team began designing the boat in August 2011, choosing to call it "April's Fury" to recognize tornado recovery and rebuilding efforts in Tuscaloosa.
Source: al.com (blog)
Mary's view from the South
31.12.69
I’m sitting here in the Fairburne (sic) library now, as I have been since 12 o’clock. (it’s past 4 now.) It’s really nice. Alice is mad because they won’t let her go into the adult section.
Everything’s so new here! There’s none of the old houses you see around H.H. (Haddon Heights, N.J.)
The motel we’re staying in is really pretty crummy, but it’s clean except for the possibility of roaches. Anyway, it has a TV and a bed.
The trip down here was good. Dad seemed to fall asleep all the time! We stopped at 3 rest stops on the way down so he could take short naps. I’ve never seen him act that way before. We didn’t have any arguments, though. I really like the picnic area and the lake. I can’t wait until I can take out [Dad’s] canoe.
Source: The Citizen.com (blog)
On the Spot
31.12.69
When kayakers ask about sight-fishing for giant Indian River Lagoon spotted seatrout, I generally recommend they stay seated and content themselves with casting to likely lairs such as sand potholes and dropoffs. The sharp-eyed, upward-looking, wary old beasts usually lie buried in the grass or on a pothole edge, and are just too adept at noticing high-profile anglers and the more-pronounced pressure waves that emanate from a vertical fisherman casting from a shaky platform.
Redfish may be another story. They can’t match the camouflage of trout, and frequently reveal their presence with wakes as they hunt on the move, their tails or backs often exposed. Because a red’s mouth and pharyngeal crushers are best suited to catching and crunching crustaceans, attention is focused downward, rather than on approaching surface threats.
Source: Florida Sportsman Magazine