Matt’s Blog

Recently I’ve been watching a lot of the BBC show Top Gear, which is amazingly clever in it’s own right but not the focus of this post. A while ago they did this piece on the Toyota Hilux, which is basically the more awesome (read diesel-powered) version of the Toyota Tacoma sold overseas. The hypothesis was that the Hilux, which has an outstanding reputation for durability, was indestructible and experiments were devised to test this.

The results in three parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

So basically the Hilux is a diesel-powered small-mid sized pickup that can survive accidents, drowning, crushing, wrecking balls, fire and explosions.

Although the things go new for around $30,000 they’ve been known to log up to 300,000 miles. That’s $0.10 a mile. Plus, I imagine you you would never have to buy another one again.

Sign me up, although mine would look more like this:

So I realized my professional blog hadn’t been getting any love lately, and since I had some things to say about Windows 7 I decided to throw some words in that direction.

You can check it out if you’re interested.

And so starts my last semester as a student at Tech, and most-likely as a student anywhere.

One of the consequences of being so near the end is that you get all reminiscent and spend down time thinking over the time you spent in whatever place it is you are about to leave. Perhaps too my own personal reflection is intensified by my decision to move cross-country in addition to the imminent end of my schooling. I guess there is a keen understanding now of all that I will be leaving behind, and a real motivation to enjoy all that I may have taken for granted in the past.

That said, as I think back on the time I’ve spent in Georgia I realize Spring has always been one of the most interesting seasons for me. I’ve always seen Spring as a beginning of sorts. For the first three years of my GT experience the spring marked the return to Colorado and the start of work. Nearly every relationship I’ve had started in the spring. I started at Kimley-Horn as an intern during or shortly after spring semester both years I worked for them. In spring the weather changes and things start growing, which in Georgia is no small event. Thinking back, I can pinpoint all sorts of fun events throughout my time in GA most of which happened in the spring. The malibu mixer, various formals, playing frisbee in the park, hiking stone mountain, road trips…

I guess it’s traditional to set all kinds of goals at the new year. And even though I think that’s crap because you should meet and set goals all year long, I guess this once I’ll participate. This spring/summer I have only one goal:

Fully enjoy the remainder of my time in GA by re-living past fun times and creating new ones.

I’m a big fan of lists and organization, and so in the interests of supporting my main goal I’ve come up with a non-exhaustive, prone to expansion, likely to change, list of supporting goals:

• Finish my thesis.
• Finally deliver the Cobb Parkway report.
• Hang out at Piedmont Park.
• Go to Malibu Grand Prix.
• Bike/Hike around and up Stone Mountain.
• Mellow Mushroom Mondays (MMM)
• Starbuckheads
• Finish my website.
• Catch fireflies.
• Visit Dustin in Nashville.
• More CS Lewis dates at Jason’s Deli.
• Read The Fountainhead.

While I love football season, and have plenty of positive memories of time spent in the classroom and stadium in the fall I must admit that my fondest memories were formed in the spring; and this one is no different. Many months from now I hope to look back on this time in my life and remark that it was the end of something great and the start of something even better.