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Still uncertain about all that paving, but it looks great. I'm glad A&M is investing in the Corps!

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If we could only find someone living in College Station who has access to the quad to do a temperature study measuring the difference between the pavers and the grass

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Why bother? Is there any doubt pavers are hotter? This is a done deal and only time will tell if they made the better choice in opting for durable pavers over cooler grass in the elephant ears. Let it go.

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The quad is a giant lab for numerous fields of study (agriculture, meteorology psychology, environmental studies, engineering, etc); and we all know that learning doesn't have to take place in the classroom, but through practical application.

I'm sure you've heard the term "heat island effect"; the climate of the Quad has been modified by the change from grass to pavers, why not study the effects of the change on the surrounding landscape (grasses, trees, etc)?

Who knows if a future landscape architect, or ceramics engineer, or water conservationist is in the corps and would enjoy the study, but they need a little push in that direction?

Fitch............

Do you have any more current pics of the new front half of the Quad???

Sorry, but I haven't been up to College Station in the last couple of weeks. Here are a couple of pictures from the interiors that were on social media last week though...

New Starbucks in the Quad:







New LLC:





Arches:

Fitch, you are the man!!!!

Video of morning formation and the new Quad

https://www.facebook.com/AggieCorps/videos/10153693690125766/

A few from social media:

Looks great! I look forward to the tour the Class of '71 is going to get on the Friday before the South Carolina game.

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Looks great! I look forward to the tour the Class of '71 is going to get on the Friday before the South Carolina game.

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Photos please when you do!

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Just explaining my decision, CanyonAg. Its never easy to make those kinds of decisions, but those memorials have been moved before, and still nobody knew where they were. My hope is that they will now, and thats good enough for me.

And BTW - Final Review, Parents Weekend Review, SCONA Review, and at least one football game review are going to be conducted at Simpson Drill Field, just as they have for the past 3 years, and were for decades previously.

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Good enough for me, too.

I am delighted to be reassured Simpson Drill Field will continue to be the site for corps reviews. Memories of marching there are among my fondest while a student.

Where is the Band quartered now that their end of the Quad is being renovated. Will they not fall out for chow with the rest of the Corps in the meantime?

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Where is the Band quartered now that their end of the Quad is being renovated. Will they not fall out for chow with the rest of the Corps in the meantime?

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BQs are in the Commons along with part of the wings. They go to formation and chow with everyone.

Any chance Phase II is completed before next August? Seems like they have less to do on that end of the Quad......

I was hoping maybe by Christmas, but obviously I was being way too optimistic. Good hearing from you here again, btw.........

I was worried about it, but it looks very professional. With the trees and their continued growth, it also looks really good.

Quite a change from the grim, spartan environment I walked into in August 1967!

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Quite a change from the grim, spartan environment I walked into in August 1967!

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Old Army, any chance you want to rethink that. You never lived in a non air conditioned room without a phone. My fish year we had one pay phone for the entire BQ dorm. Most of the time it was on the fritz because one of the butts was a karate freak and liked to get drunk and kick it through the wall.

My father '44 always told the story that when he got off the train in College Station, he thought his parents had sent him to a reform school.

Anyway, I don't ever remember using the phone. Are you sure there were phones? I never remember calling my parents or girlfriend except on pay phones. I do remember the air conditioning, which was very nice.

Maybe you're right. Come to think about maybe the phones didn't come into the room for another year or two. I know I had one of a senior. In fact I just remind my self my roomie from my senior year still owes me for some long distance calls.

We definitely had phones when I was a p-head.

Thankfully, they didn't have caller ID in those days.

One desolate weekend night in the spring of 1969--we had had to stay on campus for some damn drill or other--two buddies and I hatched a crazy scheme. One of us, Ricky, could imitate our CO's voice like nobody's business. He sounded more like the CO than the CO did.

We decided to put this talent to good use. We would have him call our first sergeant's room and tell him to get his sergebutt buddies and fall out in pisspots and raingear in ten minutes.

We practiced over and over and over what he would say: "Gordon, this is Rudy. I want you and all the sergebutts to fall out in pissposts and ponchos in front of my room in ten minutes."

Over and over: "Gordon, this is Rudy." "Gordon, this is Rudy." "Gordon, this is Rudy."

We decided he was ready, and we dialed Gordon's phone number. He held the receiver and said, "Rudy, this is Gordon...."

Aghast, he slammed the phone down, and we turned out the lights and lay low for a couple of hours. No one ever knew.

Interesting! Are all the rest of the memorials now on the front Plaza?

This link was posted today. The Quad looks great!

http://slyworksphotography.com/spawglass/tam-rotc-06aug2016/slideshow#h745d65c4

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This link was posted today. The Quad looks great!

http://slyworksphotography.com/spawglass/tam-rotc-06aug2016/slideshow#h745d65c4

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Damn! Makes me want to go back for another four years in the Corps! Beautiful.

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Video of morning formation and the new Quad

https://www.facebook.com/AggieCorps/videos/10153693690125766/

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Great clip! Anyone planning to take a similar video of the entire Corps falling out and forming up tomorrow morning for the very first time in the new Quad? History in the making, Ags..........

Nice clip of full Corps formed-up in the new Quad and breakfast at Duncan: Yellow Death

(Scroll down to the clip with the US flag.)

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Imagine a couple of these mixed in to the trees on the quad:



Just a suggestion.

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Native to Southeast Asia. What we need is more non-native species. I am all for nice live oaks, maybe some red oaks mixed in for that fall color.

After watching some of the formations on video the flag pole in the center of the quad and the paved over grass areas are growing on me.

They're pretty useful when the rain decides to start pouring in the middle of the afternoon, too...

You know, those rain shots offer a good angle on the new tree spacing. If those Cathedral Oaks grow to anything like their specs, it looks like their branches should easily touch, eventually creating continuous shade along and over the walkways. Also, looking at the aerial shots of the elephant ears from a recent post, I'm much more comfortable how much shade a mature ring of oaks will cast there, as well. It's all good! OAKS

Does Phase II include installing the new multi-color brick walkways all the way to the front of Duncan and to dorms 11 & 12 on each side of it?

Wow, I think everything turned out beautifully! Well done.