whether you like it or not, everyone seems to have developed some theory or rationale as to which is the “best” route to the ‘rot for that nessecity called food.
i’ll admit it. i was wrong. for little reason at all, i’ve been a promoter of the route by umble when walking to the ‘rot. heres a breakdown of the 3 main routes. i measured the distances with a GPS unit, starting that the north entrance of Kratz and Ending at the doorway to the ‘rot.
the all sidewalk route: here you go between umble and wyse, taking brick and sidewalk all the way to the ‘rot. this distance is 354 meters.
mostly sidewalk route: here you cross the tracks, walk through the commuter parking lot, cross the lawn on the east end of the science hall and then walk the sidewalk parallel to the science hall and then down to the ‘rot. if you’re a “no walking on grass person” then you can walk the south side of the building and cross on the brick pathway instead. either way, this distance is 329 meters.
the yard route: when theres not much snow, you take the above route except you cut across the yard instead of walking along the science center. its a well and established pathway, tracking down the grass and snow. this distance is 323 meters.
we assume that also walking across the new kratz/miller yard would be the ultimate shortest route. however, there is no established path through the snow and its usually wet territory in other seasons. in the meantime, stick to the science center route and dare to cross the yard. it’ll get you too the delicious ‘rot up to 22 seconds faster than fools like me walking by umble. (assuming that we both walk at 3.3 miles per hour)
feel free to be stuborn and stick to your current path. or, you can convert like i did.
remember the good old county fairs? summer wasnt right if it didnt include a wristband special (unlimited rides) on the midway, a demolition derby, and of course showing cow’s with 4-H. you may laugh, but its the truth. last summer, while touring the old fair grounds after a 3 or 4 year hiatus, i was informed that my pic was on display. sure enough… clip and show winner. i forget what year it was. so in short… if you’ve ever wondered what a “cow haircut” includes. here you go. this is taken from a website.
“Clip the head, neck, ears, tail, and udder (cows and springing heifers only). Other parts of the animal can be clipped on an “as-needed” basis. Clip the front and rear legs so as to have the appearance of greater flatness of bone and to remove stains. Trim toplines to improve straightness. Clip the withers to a sharp point to improve angularity. Body clipping is acceptable, especially when the body hair is excessively long. Do not clip the belly and udder of heifers that have not calved and are not springing.
Most people start clipping with the head. Clip the entire head and neck as short as possible. This is accomplished by clipping against the hair. Leave the whiskers on the nose because this makes the muzzle appear wider. Clip the inside and outside of the ears. Blend the neck and shoulders by clipping in the direction the hair runs. Start at the point of shoulder, and clip upward to the top of the shoulder blade. Use the clippers to make the point of withers as sharp as possible.
Clipping the tail and tailhead area is easier, and some people prefer to start here. Clip the tail from a point about 4 inches above the hairs on the switch. Clip against the hair on the tail until you reach the tailhead. Blend the longer hair and close-clipped area at the point where the tail lies over the pinbones. You can blend the clipper lines by clipping with the hair. Don’t clip all the hair off the topline. If the topline is not level, clip the high areas and blend these into the lower sections of the topline.”
and of course a pic… (also from the site. if i was home, i’d be able to find some of my own action.)
i hope you enjoyed the agricultural enlightenment!