December 25, 2008

Mary Chriss-mus

Seasons Greetings from. . .

Farkus 

Scut Farkus,

Snowzilla


Snowzilla,


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my new dance partner "Killer",

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the good engineers who brought you DuPont Nomex and DuPont Kevlar,

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La Nina, who is on an extended visit from the Great White North,

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Recession Santa,

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our hungry deer neighbors,

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our Seussmas tree,

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and our new lolcat, Bebe Geesus.



December 18, 2008

Reasons I Love Spokane #1

So the next blog series I wanted to start was "reasons I love Spokane." There are many reasons I enjoy living here and have been pondering how to order them. However, with our recent weather as an impetus to start the series now, I think I'll just start listing reasons in no particular order.

In short, days like today are something I love about living here. It snowed for about 36 hours, dropping at least two feet of snow locally. We are, quite literally, snowed in. We got hit with some cold arctic air last week, and the foot of snow we were supposed to receive in the valleys never materialized (though a much needed foot of snow fell in the local mountains). The cold air from the north stuck around and some moisture finally followed. I get the impression that the two collided in the sky right over our fair city, bringing both to an abrupt halt, spilling the entire load of snow. Of course, this was a record setting storm, blowing away the previous record of 13 inches in 24 hours, set in 1984, so it isn't something we are likely to see again any time soon. But every year we always get a handful of good storms that slow down everyday life and bring a quiet hush over the city.

Fortuitously it was Boofis' birthday today, so I had scheduled the day off--and the schools were closed (in the 7 years we've lived here I can only recall the schools closing a total of two times because of snow--the other time being this past January). As a result, we were prepared with lots of good food (pancakes, bacon, and hashbrowns for birthday breakfast) and plenty of time to enjoy being in the deep powder (4.0 inches snow water equivalent, which is quite high for us--it means the snow is light and dry). This morning the kids played in the back yard. The snow was actually too deep to sled in, so the girls followed me as I made a little cross country track along the bottom of our hill. Veep entertained Sal by making a fort and shoveling snow off the trampoline.

I also spent a couple hours getting to know the new snowblower we got earlier this fall.  I was beginning to think I'd wasted my money.  I'm an avid snow shoveler and reluctantly bought the snowblower knowing our new driveway is just way too long to even imagine shoveling by hand.  I've quickly developed a love hate relationship with the thing.  It is LOUD and burns gas, producing fumes--which ruin the joy of being in the quiet, fresh air.  But, in a snowstorm like this it was really satisfying to get the driveway cleared with relatively little physical effort.  Though at this point our road is still full of snow (again, literally snowed in) since it is a private road in the county and we haven't yet seen the hired snow plow/landscaper.

Later in the day I went snowshoeing. Another thing I like about living here is that I can mountain bike on trails right out my front door and road bike on nearby country roads with little car traffic. I infrequently feel the need to put my bike on my car in order to drive to a spot good for riding. By the same token, when we get snow like this, it is possible to ski or snowshoe without driving as well.

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I went up the driveway, up to our cul-de-sac, and up the hill.

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This is a representative photo of what it looked like everywhere.

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The snow was deep.

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The snow was at my knees even with boots and snowshoes on.

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Mature ponderosa--something else I like about Spokane.  Evergreens are essential for the soul during a long winter.

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"Name that intersection."

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It is fun to bring out gear you haven't used for a while, and satisfying to have it work well.

Needless to say, my hip flexors were sore from breaking trail for a couple miles.  I relaxed by taking another round with the snowblower.  Still no snowplow.  I'm planning on skiing tomorrow but I'm not sure if I'll make it up to Mt. Spokane or hiking up the hill again.  It's nice to have the option.


Dr. Seuss, Politics, and Parenting

The other night at bedtime I read Yertle the Turtle to Sal.  If you don't have kids or don't regularly read Dr. Seuss, it's the one where there's this turtle (Yertle) that is the ruler of a little swamp--"the king of all he sees."  In his thirst for power he stacks his subjects so he can see farther and thereby expand his turtle kingdom.  As the turtle tower grows and grows, the poor turtle at the bottom, Mack, sheepishly complains that his legs are tired.  Yertle barks back that he has no right to speak to him, because he rules over all he sees--blah, blah, blah.  Shortly thereafter, the pile of turtles comes crashing down when Mack, of all things, burps.  He doesn't rebel, there's no revolution, natural bodily functions simply take over and a regime collapses.

I was struck by the overt political message of the story.  This is, of course, no great revelation.  The book has been around for years and the parallels to fascism are obvious and deliberate.  Of course, being more of a Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish type of guy I hadn't read Yertle the Turtle in many years.  As is my habit these days, I immediately started drilling holes in Geisel's analogy.  Turtles are like a fascist regime?  C'mon, it will never hold up.  My dislike of analogies is not suspended, even for the good Dr. S.  After a few minutes, as is also my habit these days, my mind wandered to something else.


Later I decided to do some super sleuthing on the internet.  I love the internet--it has almost all the answers.  It was clear that Seuss had some political agenda that I had never considered, and I found it necessary to learn more.  Many of you have probably had a similar experience and may already know all about Dr. Seuss and his politics.  If so, I apologize for recycling some information here.

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Before writing children's books Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel, of course) was a left wing political cartoonist for PM magazine and ardent supporter of U.S. involvement in World War II (before Pearl Harbor, when intervention was highly controversial and a potentially stark change in U.S. foreign policy).  Some of his caricatures of Emperor Hirohito and other Japanese remain controversial.  Interesting.  Considering the events that followed his views on WWII don't seem unreasonable, though at the time he was on the extreme left.  I do wonder what he would say now about Japanese internment camps.  Regardless, as I am no expert on the history of WW II or foreign policy then or now, my point is that Dr. Seuss had a life before writing children's book (though some accuse the current administration and many conservatives to be similarly "Rooseveltian", if that's a word, in their policies) and he had leftist leanings that he stuck to.  It makes sense that his ideas would find their way into the books he later wrote, even if they were for children (which isn't unique to Dr. Seuss either--as there are even college courses about left wing politics in childrens' literature).  


I also came across this blog entry by a concerned mother.  


I found this even more interesting.  Of course anyone with a heartbeat and a thread of cognitive function knows that "socialism" has gotten a lot of play in the media over the past few months (thankfully the election is over now and the sound bites have died down).  I know when people say "socialism" I'm supposed to be scared, though I'm not entirely sure why.  But arguing about socialism and taxes isn't what I'm getting at here.


What I really wanted to dwell on is the concerned mother's response to "Ten Apples Up on Top" and her answer for protecting her daughter from Dr. Seuss' "subliminal message that socialism is ok."  Her answer:  "I will stuff this book to the back of my daughter's book shelf and hope she forgets about it."  


So again, let me state, I'm not an expert on foreign affairs, U.S. history, tax codes, or, in this last instance, effective parenting.  However, I've grown extremely tired of unfounded and unsubstantiated fear being used as a marketing or political tool.  So now conservatives need to be afraid of Dr. Seuss because he's a "socialist?"  And, in fairness, as I want to be somewhat impartial here (because I don't really dig partisanship), leftists should be afraid of Dr. Seuss because he's pro-life?

In these situations I fall back on my mantra of serenity:  "Whatever."

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So last night I read a few books to Sal at bedtime.  First we read "Ten apples up on top."  He didn't even blink at the subtle ideological undertones.  Then we read one of the post humous Dr. Seuss books (cobbled together from a partial manuscript with the help of others), "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day."  It is the story of a silly school with all kinds of peculiar and interesting teachers, and a principal paralyzed with fear that the students may not be learning everything they need to pass an impending standardized assessment test.  If they fail, their beloved school will be torn down and they will be transferred to the dull school in neighboring "Flobbertown."  Though not a classic, it has the usual Seussian rhythm and feel, as well as a moral.  Right before the exam Miss Bonkers, one of the more popular teachers in the school, offered words of encouragement:

Miss Bonkers rose, "Don't fret!" she said.

"You've learned the things you need

To pass that test and many more--

I'm certain you'll succeed.

We've taught you that the earth is round,

That red and white make pink,

And something else that matters more--

We've taught you how to think."

So, in the end, maybe the thing we should fear the most is that our children won't learn to think.

But before I close this post that has wandered into the world of politics, I thought I'd leave you with a photo that was forwarded to me yesterday by a friend of mine, with its included text.  Can you guess what they're afraid of?

"Time Person of the Year"

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You guessed it--smokers.

End Comment:  Now that the sound bites have died down, I'm forgetting why I'm supposed to be afraid of this guy.  I seem to remember something about being "elitist."  I'm confused, where's his latte?



December 16, 2008

"Blogservations" #1

True to my new, expanded blog definition, I'm going to begin a new mini segment of blog observations.  Not observations that are "bloggable", but rather observations about blogs that are "bloggable." Though these observations will be objective, the reader may at times sense a degree of sarcasm or subtle criticism.  These subtleties are intentional and not meant to insult any one blogger.


With that said, here is my first observation:


I'm always hit with a sharp pang of sympathy when I find an old post that closes with a specific question, looking for input from readers, and no thoughtful readers have bothered to leave comments.


Has anyone else out there experienced the same?



December 11, 2008

Blue State

Us 


Say what you will about partisan politics, I like living in a blue state--much better this time of year than a white or grey state.  We'll see if this NOAA forecast actually materializes.  I remain skeptical.



December 7, 2008

The Highs and Lows of Thanksgiving 2008



Ah yes, Thanksgiving has come and gone again.  It is now a distant memory as the more sensational, commercial, and excessive signs of Christmas are upon us.  However, I'm not above reporting a week late as I am in need of blog fodder with the snow staying away and the in between season lengthening. 


As the holiday name states, time to give thanks.  In brief, I am thankful for a supportive family.  I'm thankful for a wife who tries to understand me and who will ride or ski with me.  I'm thankful for each of my kids--unique in their own way.  I'm thankful for a headstrong 10 year old daughter who can accomplish just about anything she sets her mind to (she just has to set her mind to it).  I'm thankful for our 8 year old daughter who is a quintessential peacemaker (living up to her middle child status) and who already has a deeply rooted love of learning.  I'm thankful for a carefree 4 year old son who is truly free of malice and who can often be heard laughing out loud in his sleep.


But enough of that.  Thanksgiving is also a time to throw as many people around a table as possible and eat, talk, visit, play, laugh, argue, fight, eat some more, cry a little, and eventually leave.  So here is a brief rundown of our holiday weekend in true Veep "high and low" format (from my perspective):


Low:  Veep leaves for Salt Lake with the kids on Monday afternoon leaving me alone to work and attend meetings for 3 days.  My aversion to Utah, which stems directly from this abandonment, ticks up a few points.


High:  Tuesday morning I awake to a strange presence in the house.


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The mylar balloon has finally descended.  I suppose there is a profound lesson here but it's a little fuzzy for me.  Sometimes virtues like patience are a great justification for being lazy and procrastinating a job that is fully capable of taking care of itself.


High:  I fly down to Salt Lake after work on Wednesday.  Glad I missed the drive.


Thanksgiving day.  


High:  Hiked up Rock Canyon with Veep. Oddly enough we see someone I knew from our time in Portland.  Utah has a way of doing that.


Low:  Two mountian bikers pass us on our way down.  It would have truly been a great morning ride and I was searing with jealousy and bumbling with regret for not putting my mountainbike on top of the car.


High:  We watched the masses of cousins as they filled the playground at the park by my inlaw's house.


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I don't think you can appreciate it in this crappy cameraphone photo (my resolution was on the lowest setting for some reason), but the playground was completely filled by kids from the same gene pool.


High:  We played in the obligatory Thanksgiving morning soccer game.  I discovered a few muscles I haven't been using.


Low:  On the last play of the game (or what became the last play, as the last play is usually tragic in these situations) I slide tackled Veep's youngest sister while trying to end the stalemate tie.  I totally made her twist her ankle and felt like a dolt.  Maybe my Mother-in-law and some of the older, more conservative sisters, will thank me, however, for keeping her from tromping around in the impractical, towering high heels she loves so much and they detest so abhorrently.   


High:  We enjoyed an excellent, traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Veep was very happy she didn't have to cook (that's two years running now, not bad).  Though she doesn't want this to be her legacy, my Mother-in-law can bake some amazing rolls and pies.

  

High:  Visited with extended family I hadn't seen for a while (I have a strict "every three years" policy of visiting Utah) and had fun catching up and playing a mean game of Mexican train dominoes.


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Low:  The anticipated snowstorm wasn't materializing.


High:  Friday morning Veep and I headed for Alta anyway.


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Nothing like getting your first turns in November.  Even though there wasn't a ton of snow, there were four inches of fresh the night before, covering large patches of ice from the several warm days earlier in the week.  Alta holds some good memories for me.  Maybe Utah isn't so bad.


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Low:  Saturday I should have gone skiing but felt lazy and tired.  At this point the fun of having large numbers of people in tight spaces was aging.  It was starting to feel like a Beijing job fair where no one could decide which booth they wanted to go to.


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High:  The long drive home started on time Sunday morning.  It was nice to spend time with the kids, even if they were sequestered in the back seat against their will.


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We stopped in Idaho Falls for a late breakfast, hit the Patagonia outlet in Dillon, and made it to Missoula just as darkness was falling.  We saw this weird, upside down cartop bike rack on the drive into town.


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I don't really understand why you would want to mount your bike this way, I can't think of a single advantage.  If you have hydraulic brakes it would certainly be a bad idea.  Interesting none-the-less.


High:  Slept in my own bed Sunday night.


B.I.D.: Blog Identity Disorder

Lately I've been pondering the purpose of my blog.  I've had the blogging blahs lately.  For some reason l over think stupid little things I want to post, decide they're stupid, and post nothing.  I've also had Veep stealing blog photos and content though, in fairness, I did it to her first.


This blog originally started out as an online scrapbook/journal to keep extended family informed of what we're up to here in Spokane.  That was about 2 years ago.  Since that time Veep started her own blog, sharing some of the "family reporting" duites, and I've felt less of a need to report solely on family activities and have branched out--talking about my main hobbies, primarily biking, and occasional random thoughts.  As I've read more and more blogs over the years I've come to appreciate the range of blog styles.  Some are very specific, with a defined purpose that is not to be strayed from.  Others are much more casual, with posts about whatever esoteric topic crosses the writer's mind that day. This blog is, I think, more akin to the latter.  
So, as I've thought about restating my blog's purpose, goal, theme, code, intent, aim, target, objective, thesis statement, topic sentence, what have you,  I've decided that I should be allowed to post about just about anything I want.  After all, it's my blog and I've found all kinds of crazy people out on the blogosphere saying just about anything.  I figure, as a fairly reserved person who doesn't speak out in the public forum a whole lot, or dominate many daily conversations, that blogging is therapeutic and validating.  And while I am self consciously aware of my audience (Hi Mom) my hope is to make this thing a little more interesting, substantive or, at the very least, mildly entertaining.  This way I figure I will be able to post more freely and more often.

So in my thinly veiled and shallowly suppressed obsessive compulsive way, I'd like to list some topics I would consider writing about (in no particular order):

1.  Family stuff.  Everything along the spectrum from the most mundane daily events to special occasions or extraordinary happenings that are normally reserved for the much anticipated, but often scorned, yearly Christmas brag letter. 
2.  Spokane.  The other day Veep said she was jealous of my zealous appreciation of Spokane.  At least weekly I think of a couple things about this place that make me like it more.
3.  Biking.  I like road biking, mountain biking, and I want to take my first real tour this next summer.  I don't race or see myself as a guru or sage of any kind, but I think some of my experiences may offer a nugget of insight every once in a while.
4.  Skiing.  I like to telemark.  My ambition is to backcountry ski.  To this point, however, I've mostly stayed in bounds as I don't currently have any friends with the same interest.  I've taken avy courses and read books and got gear, but lack experience.  Now that I've got my life insurance updated, the time seems ripe to head out to at least the side country this season.  This is an area that I could certainly blog about more.
5.  Opinion.  So like I said, I've found some crazy blogs out there with people saying or arguing just about anything you can imagine.  So why can't I?  I do have opinions but have so far chosen not to really express them for fear of controversy.  However, as I've engaged in political rants via email with some of my colleagues, I've kind of enjoyed a little controversy.  Argument can really help you work out a particularly complex issue in your mind and help you understand it from a lot more perspectives.  Of course I would probably start with small opinions like "After going to the Banff film festival a few weekends ago, I've come to the conclusion that Jeb Corliss is a doofis."
6.  Logic.  I'm no expert in logic, but I know there is a lot of false logic out there.  The same email rants that have gotten my thinking about complex issues have also uncovered buckets of bad analogies.  This is a topic on my list of "things I'd like to learn more about."
7.  Humor.   All I can say here is I'll try.  But I do like funny blogs (as well as stand up comics, funny TV shows or funny movies).
8.  Radiology?  Question mark here.  Do I really want to blog about work?  I personally think radiology is interesting, but most people probably don't.  But hey, it's my blog.  If I find something I just can't stand not to post, I will.
9.  Random.  Whatever.  This category makes the preceding list pointless as everything above could also be included in this single category.

So with this new blog identity, above is a post about Thanksgiving that is strikingly similar to what I've been posting for the past two years.



November 23, 2008

Qwik Update

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Sal has taken to playing an old thrift store guitar Veep picked up a while back.  He's gotten a little frustrated that it sounds so loud when one of us plays along side him.  However, he has persisted and keeps making up songs which he asks us to make up words for.  He has learned the chorus of Don McLean's American Pie and insists we sing along.  I took him and the girls to a free kids concert the local NPR station puts on--songs of the Civil War.  It was well done with a History professor from a local university giving a little background about Lincoln and a local bluegrass band covering a spectrum of 19th century music.  Sal was impressed with all the different instruments--guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle, mandolin.  He was anxious to get home and play some more.  He insisted Veep put the guitar case in front of him and put some dollars in it.  Perhaps we should take him on the road.  

Tonight we made a last minute decision to go to Utah for Thanksgiving.  I still loathe Utah, but since the snow has still not decided to fly here, I will deign to ski the 22" Alta is claiming (though there is snow in the forecast midweek).  Good thing I rode a bit this weekend, I need a bull market in the quadriceps department if I'm going to lay down any decent tele turns.  Getting rid of the cobwebs early will be good.  Last year I was jonesin' far too late into December (I rarely use the word "jonesin', but I don't know how better to portray the middle age angst in between seasons).

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By the way, I found some projects in the corner of my room.  I don't understand how this pile grows, but it seems that the textbooks are alway on the bottom.


November 19, 2008

Bore-dumb

Lately I've been bored.  I suppose that is why I haven't posted much lately.

The other day I worked an evening shift, so I had the morning and afternoon free.  I scooted around the house aimlessly, looking for something to do.  Mostly I just annoyed Veep.

I did take some time on the thinking couch, trying not to look at the mylar balloon (it has moved from one truss to the other by the way).  I was trying to figure out why I was so bored--usually I'm not.  Part of it is the lack of exercise.  I did commute to work over the weekend, which was the only thing that kept me sane, but overall my energy is feeling like the global economy--full blown recession.

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Thinking couch boredom from my vantage.  

I thought blogging would entertain me, give me something to do.  But I couldn't think of one interesting thing to blog about.  So I asked Veep, "Am I boring?"  To which she replied, "Yes." She missed the "am I fat" subtext that I'm so apt to gloss over when she asks me a similar question (I have been accused of being too honest at times).  So that got me thinking.  Am I boring?  I suppose I would put myself on the lower half of the spectrum of interesting if I were the one in charge of assigning everyone's "interesting score", but I'm ok with that.  I still find life worthwhile and like to think I learn a something new every day.  And apart from this blog, I don't really subject others to my hum drum lifestyle.  So I figure I'm harmless.

Anyway, in my bored state, I surfed my usual blogs and came across Lance Armstrong's Twitter page, via BikeSnob NYC (my latest conspiracy theory is that BSNYC and LA have made a super secret symbiotic marketing pact--LA wears the Snob's T-shirt and Snob mentions LA on his blog twice each week.  It is the next level of marketing, if you will.  Although I'm not sure what they're selling yet--cancer research or ironic opinions.  And I'm sure Fatcyclist is at least peripherally involved.  Yes, I'm that bored).  If you are older than me and don't know what Twitter is, it's basically blogging to the second power, a page where you remotely post what you're doing hour to hour.  And it makes sense that a celebrity might benefit from using Twitter--to keep their public abreast of their very interesting and undoubtedly profound daily movements.  Certainly Mr. Armstrong is interesting.  And I'm sure it has much to do with his "transparent" return to cycling and, in this instance, is acutually somewhat useful.  For the average user, however, I see Twitter contributing an inordinate share to internet pollution--mountains of binary code piling up to the stratosphere with information that is 99.9% useless.

In the same vein, I've watched Veep having fun on Facebook, reconnecting with people, getting friend invites, invites to join causes, getting pokes, writing on walls, chatting, etc.  After a while I thought I'd give it a try, so I signed up.  I've found a few old friends, and it has been great.  But somehow I haven't gotten quite the response she has.  After a week on Facebook, she had 100 friends, and more showing up all the time.  After about a month, I've got like 30, the bulk of which are nieces, nephews, and in-laws (so they have to accept my friend invites).

So, as I continued to stay fixed on the thinking couch, I pondered what it would look like if I started "twittering."  How painful would it be for someone else to read my theoretical twitter page?:

Read a sweet article on Idiopathic Hyperphosphatasia.  Lights out.  11:13 pm from twitterberry

Gave in and ate a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  10:12 pm from twitterberry

Reminded Schmoopie to turn the computer off in 5 minutes and get to bed.  9:55 pm from twitterberry

Just nagged the girls a third time to finish up their homework and take showers before bedtime.  8:47 pm from twitterberry

Just played MarioKart with Sal, let him win.  Again.  8:14 pm from twitterberry

Just spent about 45 minutes surfing bike sites, 15 of those minutes drooling over the high res pic of the Co-motion Americano that I want to get next year.  7:34 pm from twitterberry

Skipped the evening business meeting.  Ate spaghetti with the kids (meat sauce and garlic bread, yum)  6:46 pm from twitterberry

Heading home.  5:04 pm from twitterberry

Just about one hour left  (more like 1.5).  So far, the case of the day goes to a textbook cam type femoral acetabular impingement.  3:20 pm from twitterberry


Afternoon injection done.  It was a knee, used my beloved anterolateral approach.  2:25 pm from twitterberry


Ready to eat lunch and pull up the daily Bike Snob post.  The tally for the morning:  7 knees, 4 shoulders, 2 hips, 1 ankle, 1 wrist, and a finger.  Plus a batch of radiographs (one good case of gout).  12:14 pm from twitterberry


Quick shoulder injection, pain reduced.  8:42 am from twitterberry


Showered and clean, time to work.  7:50 am from twitterberry


 I’m up, got my gear together and am off to work.  6:49 am from twitterberry


You get the picture (by the way, I don't have a theoretical balckberry, but if it's good enough for Lance. . . ).  As a point of clarification, putting a needle in someone's shoulder or hip or knee may sound interesting, but after doing it a few hundred times it ain't.


I think the idea of Twitter would be more interesting if people's random thoughts were involuntarily captured.  This, of course, would require more than the 140 or so characters that each twitter post is allowed to have.  Maybe I would move a few spots up the "interesting spectrum" if some of my odd thoughts were "Twitterable" or, if you will, "thinkerable":


Sal is the Michael Jordan of pre-k art.  7:14 pm Nov 14 from thinkerberry


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Schmoopie and Boofis are lucky they aren't lefty.  I think left handed scissors are proof of discrimination in the public school system.  We need more than just another left handed president (which is the real reason I voted for Obama), we need a left handed secretary of education.  Or perhaps a lefty lobby.  A grassroots effort would be even better, but with only 7-10% of the population being lefty, we'll need to reach across the aisle to our right handed friends and neighbors.  7:59 pm Nov 14 from Thinkerberry


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I think I skipped teenage angst and now have middle age angst, but I'm not sure what that means.  Perhaps an analogy would help:  Middle age angst is like this stand of bare aspens in the middle of the woods.  Hmmm.  Perhaps an analogy won't help.  I still don't know what it means.  Analogies are stupid.  4:42 pm Nov 19 from Thinkerberry


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Wow, that's a blurry picture.  Cameraphone, you let me down.  4:43 pm Nov 19 from Thinkerberry


Hmm, I hope I don't catch any strange disease reassembling this deer skeleton.  Three adjacent cervical vertebrae, cool.  I wonder why the coyotes didnt eat these ribs.  2:19 pm Nov 18 from Thinkerberry


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I think I should get a haircut.  Or maybe I shouldn't since more hair could help me stay warmer with winter approaching.  I get the impression Veep likes spiky hair and all my hair wants to do when it gets long is feather.  Veep definitely doesn't like the feather.  Maybe I was born too late.  1:25 pm Nov 18 from Thinkerberry


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I like bagpipes with drums.  I don't like bagpipes without drums.  Marimbas and banjos are cool too.  Folk festivals are fun.  12:21 pm Nov 8 from Thinkerberry


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Hmmm.  Well.  I think I might have actually slipped a few spots.


I think I just need a new project to keep me busy and off the couch.








Bore-dumb

Lately I've been bored.  I suppose that is why I haven't posted much lately.


The other day I worked an evening shift, so I had the morning and afternoon free.  I scooted around the house aimlessly, looking for something to do.  Mostly I just annoyed Veep.

I did take some time on the thinking couch, trying not to look at the mylar balloon (it has moved from one truss to the other by the way).  I was trying to figure out why I was so bored--usually I'm not.  Part of it is the lack of exercise.  I did commute to work over the weekend, which was the only thing that kept me sane, but overall my energy is feeling like the global economy--full blown recession.

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Thinking couch boredom from my vantage.  

I thought maybe blogging would entertain me, give me something to do.  But I couldn't think of one interesting thing to blog about.  So I asked Veep, "Am I boring?"  To which she replied, "Yes." She missed the "am I fat" subtext that I'm so apt to gloss over when she asks me a similar question (I have been accused of being too honest at times).  So that got me thinking.  Am I boring?  I suppose I would put myself on the lower half of the spectrum of interesting if I were the one in charge of assigning everyone's "interesting score", but I'm ok with that.  I still find life worthwhile and like to think I learn a little something every day.  And apart from this blog, I don't really subject others to my hum drum lifestyle.  So I figure I'm harmless.

Anyway, in my bored state, I surfed my usual blogs and came across Lance Armstrong's Twitter page, via BikeSnob NYC (my latest conspiracy theory is that BSNYC and LA have made a super secret marketing pact--LA wears the Snob's T-shirt and Snob mentions LA on his blog twice each week.  It is the next level of marketing, if you will.  Although I'm not sure what they're selling yet--cancer research or ironic opinions.  And I'm sure Fatcyclist is at least peripherally involved.).  If you are older than me and don't know what Twitter is, it's basically blogging to the second power, a page where you remotely post what you're doing hour to hour.  And it makes sense that a celebrity might benefit from using Twitter--to keep their public abreast of their very interesting and undoubtedly profound daily movements.  Certainly Mr. Armstrong is interesting anyway.  And I'm sure it has much to do with his "transparent" return to cycling and, in this instance, is acutually somewhat useful.  For the average user, however, I see Twitter contributing an inordinate share to internet pollution--mountains of binary code piling up to the stratosphere with information that is 99.9% useless.

In the same vein, I've watched Veep having fun on Facebook, reconnecting with people, getting friend invites, invites to join causes, getting pokes, writing on walls, chatting, etc.  After a while I thought I'd give it a try, so I signed up.  I've found a few old friends, and it has been great.  But somehow I haven't gotten quite the response she has.  After a week on Facebook, she had 100 friends, and more showing up all the time.  After about a month, I've got like 30, the bulk of which are nieces, nephews, and in-laws (so they have to accept my friend invites).

So, as I continued to stay fixed on the thinking couch, I pondered what it would look like if I started "twittering."  How painful would it be for someone else to read my theoretical twitter page:

Read a sweet article on Idiopathic Hyperphosphatasia.  Lights out.  11:13 pm from twitterberry

Gave in and ate a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  10:12 pm from twitterberry

Reminded Schmoopie to turn the computer off in 5 minutes and get to bed.  9:55 pm from twitterberry

Just nagged the girls a third time to finish up their homework and take showers before bedtime.  8:47 pm from twitterberry

Just played MarioKart with Sal, let him win.  Again.  8:14 pm from twitterberry

Just spent about 45 minutes surfing bike sites, 15 of those minutes drooling over the high res pic of the Co-motion Americano that I want to get next year.  7:34 pm from twitterberry

Skipped the evening business meeting.  Ate spaghetti with the kids (meat sauce and garlic bread, yum)  6:46 pm from twitterberry

Heading home.  5:04 pm from twitterberry

Just about one hour left  (more like 1.5).  So far, the case of the day goes to a textbook cam type femoral acetabular impingement.  3:20 pm from twitterberry

Afternoon injection done.  It was a knee, used my beloved anterolateral approach.  2:25 pm from twitterberry


Ready to eat lunch and pull up the daily Bike Snob post.  The tally for the morning:  7 knees, 4 shoulders, 2 hips, 1 ankle, 1 wrist, and a finger.  Plus a batch of radiographs (good case of gout).  12:14 pm from twitterberry


Quick shoulder injection, pain reduced.  8:42 am from twitterberry

Showered and clean, time to work.  7:50 am from twitterberry


 I’m up, got my gear together and am off to work.  6:49 am from twitterberry

You get the picture.  (by the way, I don't have a theoretical balckberry, but if it's good enough for Lance. . . )


Somehow I think the idea of Twitter would be more interesting if people's random thoughts were somehow captured.  This, of course, would require more than the 140 or so characters each post is allowed to have.  Maybe I would move a few spots up the "interesting spectrum" if some of my odd thoughts were Twitterable:










November 6, 2008

Thursday, 11/6/08 23:15.  It's official.  The weather is now cold and wet enough to justify riding the trainer in the basement.  I knew it would come to this, I was just hoping that it would hold out until after my four day weekend.

I did, however, make preparations for this eventuality.  And, as is my custom, I offer the details in the form of another numbered list:

1.  TV and DVD player.  Certainly it makes sense to watch a training video while riding.  I do this from time to time, but more often I just watch ski movies.

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You can't tell, but here I'm watching Nick Devore get "Chugach-ed" in the new Powderwhore Tele-porn flick "The Pact."  I find ski movies inspiring while pedaling, it gives me purpose.  And with 13 inches of snow at the top of Mt. Spokane earlier this morning, that purpose is looming.  Without a TV, the reality of blown in insulation and two-by-fours is stifling.  Without it I don't think I'd ever get on the trainer (excuse Veep's big exercise ball).

2.  Reading material.  I like to be efficient.  I think I'm a pretty busy guy, so any time I can do two things at once I consider it a huge bonus.  Journal articles make for great reading material, keeping my mind occupied while spinning for an hour or two.  I get a little exercise and a little education.  I've photocopied a small stack so there is always something on hand.  Unfortunately, because I'm riding stationary and there is no wind to dissipate my sweat, which is measured in buckets, many of the articles are soaked by the end of the ride.  This is especially true when there is fine print that necessitates using my drops (the lower part of the handlebars). 

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Here one can appreciate the shiny puddles of sweat and a discarded article.  A productive ride on two counts.

3.  Music.  This is a given.  No photo here as my MP3 player is merely my cameraphone's alter ego, unable to photograph itself.  I am currently enjoying the new one from "I'm From Barcelona" entitled Who Killed Harry Houdini.  Ophelia is a particularly catchy track.  Time on the trainer is well suited for listening to new music, which requires a little attention, or listening to long time favorites that can still excite.  I've loaded my MP3 player with a little of both.

So those are my main distractors.  I've been trying to think of some other ideas to keep my interest in the trainer up, but haven't come up with much.  Veep has a trainer too, so riding together may be fun.  I figure there is a way to "race" on side-by-side trainers, but haven't quite worked it out yet.  Any ideas out there?

Riding indoors is really unnatural, but sometimes a necessity.  I'll still ride outdoors on weekends, but with so little daylight now, my commuting has dwindled.  I'm telling myself that I'll work up to winter riding next year.  For now, the trainer will have to be my bread and butter.  [sigh].




November 1, 2008

Fall

Autumn is in full swing.


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And so is Sal.


October 31, 2008

Don't Forget to Vote

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1.  As if you could "forget" to vote.


2.  Now that I've voted, can we cancel the rest of the inane political coverage?  (and move on to the inane coverage of election day?) 



October 29, 2008

My Week Off: Lessons Learned

The only thing worse than going back to work after a week off is working two weeks straight after a week off.  I was actually off for a total of 10 days, which is the longest period I haven't worked for nearly two years.  And it was probably the longest "vacation" I've had in the last 5 years where I wasn't tasked with a do-it-yourself inter state move or other similar project.  So staying at home with nothing really to do was a welcome proposition.


Of course, after Veep left mid week I did have to do the cooking and cleaning and get the kids places, but it was kind of a fun novelty for me since I'm usually out the door just as everyone else is waking up.  Plus I got to keep my eyes on the landscaping crew and watch their progress.


In lieu of a cohesive narrative, here is a partial list of the things I did--and what I learned:


On Monday I rode to Mt. Spokane.  I learned several things.  

1.  It was in the upper 50s in town, so I didn't bring gloves.  At the top of Mt. Spokane it was much colder.  And windy.  Next time I will wear gloves.  

2.  I also brought 4 power bars, calculating that one power bar for every 20 miles would be plenty.  It wasn't.  When I finally crawled back downtown, to Riverfront Park, I bought a baker's dozen from "Bartlett's Mini Doughnuts."  

3.  As I patiently waited for my fried and sugar-coated calories, I was educated on what a baker's dozen is and isn't (it isn't 13).  I'll let you get the story from the fine gentleman who works at "Bartlett's" as he really explains it much more eloquently than I ever could.



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On Tuesday night, I took Schmoopie and Boofis to see The Phantom of the Opera.  Shout out to emptynest on this one.  Actually, earlier this summer the girls watched the movie of the musical that was released a few years ago.  I got the impression they enjoyed it.  So when tickets went on sale for the traveling company here in Spokane, I snagged some good seats.  The girls were excited to go.  It seemed like a sort of family tradition that I could continue since my Mom made us go see the thing with her like three times.  I learned some things from seeing it again.

1.  I actually paid attention to the story--unlike the times we went when I was a kid.  Watching as a teenager, once the brief pyrotechnic bits were over, I was counting the minutes until the thing ended.  I've concluded that the Phantom, despite being some sort of deformed circus genius or something you're supposed to feel sorry for, was a jerk.  What's up with the notes, the ransom/salary he demands, and the weird control thing with Christine?  Teach someone to sing and you own them?  Whatever.  

2.  Judging by their reaction, I think the most memorable part for the girls will be the explosions.  Some things are just universal.

3.   Overall it was still fun and a good show.  Though I think I liked Les Miserables better.  It had the music emptynest would play air drums to in the car (I think that is how I'll remember her 20 years from now--playing air drums in the Pontiac 6000 while picking up CJ3 and Sijbrich from school).





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I cooked three meals a day most of the days Veep was gone.  Through this hands on experience, I figured some things out.

1.  Boofis, who normally shuns traditional breakfast food for microwave burritos, will actually eat hashbrowns.  Lots of hashbrowns.

2.  Crockpot roast with onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup is as good as I remember.

3.  I find bean with bacon soup disgusting but, for some unknown reason, the kids love it.  Ok, so this is something I already knew.  But I did figure out just how easy it is to make.  However, I still don't understand how you can naturally add smoke flavor.

4.  I've known for some time that I hate packing a lunch for myself in the morning.  I learned that I also hate packing lunches for other people in the morning.  I know, this sounds irrational and possibly petty, but it is true none the less.  I especially hate packing a lunch for someone when they only ate half of their yogurt the day before and decided to save the leftovers in their lunch bag and this eventuality is only discovered the next morning when the lunch bag is opened in a rush to get the current day's lunch packed and the food can only get put in the lunch bag after about 10 minutes of wiping it out.


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Food photos, after the manner of Sijbrich.


Wednesday night I took the kids to our Radiology group "Family Movie Night" at the Garland theater.  I've established a tradition of taking the kids to movies and gorging on buttered popcorn and soda.  This experience, however, had a few twists.

1.  We got coupons for free snacks and had enough for the obligatory popcorn, plus some extra for candy.  We don't normally get candy at the movie theater because it is ridiculously expensive and you don't get free refills (the popcorn is ridiculously expensive, but at least with one adult and three kids, we put enough away in refills to make it somewhat cost effective).  I learned that junior mints are the perfect complement to buttered popcorn and Diet Coke.

2.  We watched the WALL E movie a second time.  When surrounded by people you work with and their families, hearing a huge gaggle of kids giggling and talking and asking questions, a family movie like this is ten times better.

3.  What is up with the seats at the Garland?  I hadn't been there in a while, but I don't remember the super reclining seats with the low backs that feel like you're going to fall into the aisle behind you when you sit down.  I was sure the seat was going to break with Sal on my lap, holding the popcorn, squirming to pass it to his sisters on either side and get a drink of soda for himself.

4.  For the first time ever, on the way home, Schmoopie declared that she ate too much popcorn.


Friday was my birthday. 

1.  While Sal was at school I went for a bike ride on the trails near home.  It was a beautiful, crisp Fall morning.  Two hours of riding went by in a moment.  I realized that if I didn't have to work, I would probably just stay at home and ride every day while the kids were at school.

2.  Sal and I burned a few hours downtown after he got out of preschool, waiting to pick the girls up.  We ate at his "favorite mall"--he went for his usual white rice and I enjoyed an aptly named D'lish's double cheeseburger with grilled onions (in my book it is the Spokane equivalent of In-n-Out, though it doesn't get the attention I think it deserves).  Because of this burger alone, I think it may be my favorite mall too.

3.  Sal and I also hung out at the toy store where I picked up some paper and balsa gliders for us to build and fly together.  The building proved to be more involved than anticipated, but we've had fun flying it off the back deck together.  I think we will have some real adventures together as he gets a little older.


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6.  On Monday, Veep came home.

A.  While I thoroughly enjoyed my time running the house and interacting with the kids more, I was really happy when she arrived.  I learned that no matter how well I watch the kids, there is a really big piece missing from our family when she's gone.

B.  However, in December, when I have some more time off, I may send her some place just to do it all again (unless it's snowing).


October 20, 2008

Big Dummy Fender Odyssey

Fall is here.



A few weeks ago, anticipating some wet weather, I decided to slap some fenders on my Big Dummy. It seemed simple enough. I've mounted fenders before--but not on a Big Dummy. Little did I know this would turn into a three week project.



First, many bike shops don't stock the wider fenders that the 2.35" wide Big Apples I'm running demand. So I had my LBS order some silver SKS P65 full mount fenders. I don't exactly understand why, but after I was told they would arrive in two days, they didn't show up for nearly two weeks. However, LBS karma was with me and I only faced a few light drizzles over the interval.



After I finally picked up the fenders and brought them home, I started looking at the Big Dummy to figure out just how I was going to mount them. The Big Dummy frame and fork have literally about 50 braze-ons for all kinds of brakes and racks--and fenders. Rather than just making something up I decided to take some time and look around online to find out how other BD owners had opted to mount fenders. This took a few days since I hit a run of evening work meetings. Vic did this and Dylster did this. Both used Planet Bike fenders. I had PB fenders on my old commuter but figured I'd try something different since they wouldn't transfer onto the BD.



So the first free night I had, I mounted the front fender.



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The front fork has eyelets for fenders at the ends of the drops as well as braze ons mid way up the fork. While tempting, the lower eyelets aren't compatible with disc brakes--the caliper gets in the way of the fender support. So I attached the supports to the upper braze on. I like this option because the supports ended up shorter and, I think, tighter and more stable.



The SKS fenders come with these little plastic mounts for some sort of quick release of the front fender supports. The piece below gets bolted onto the eyelet or braze on at the tapered end, and then the support clicks into the opposite flat end.



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I tried using them, but with the tension the supports are under when the fender was properly aligned, the supports kept popping out. So I kept it simple and just screwed the supports directly onto the fork.



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There is also a bracket that attaches to the fork crown. With the monster tire clearance of the fork, the fender sits off the tire more than I'd like, even when adjusted to its lowest level (best appreciated on the top photo). I could have figured out some way to extend this down, but decided to worry about that another time.



The second free night I had, I mounted the rear fender.



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This one was a little tricky. I struggled with whether to run the fender supports along the inside or along the outside of the rounded part of the rear frame extension. I've seen it done both ways (see linked photos above). I ultimately decided that it didn't really matter and the bottom line was simply to make sure to apply tape to the frame so that where the support abuts the frame it won't get scratched up. Also, the eyelets for the rear fender supports were a few inches behind the dropouts, which was somewhat counter intuitive. I finally opted to run the fender supports outside of the frame, as you can see, since it subjectively required less bending of the support.



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Securing the front part of the rear fender to the bridge behind the bottom bracket was fairly simple, requiring only a small bracket that sits flush with the fender and a single bolt.



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What I didn't show was trimming the supports that extended beyond the outer edges of the fenders. The supports extended quite a bit beyond the fenders as a result of using the upper braze ons on the fork and the more posterior position of the eyelets for the rear fender. I probably dulled them badly, but just cranked on some cable cutters to do cut them. The fenders did come with these little plastic covers that fit in the brackets for the fender supports, covering the end of the support.



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I didn't use these but could put them on later. After getting the curve of the fender just so, the last thing I wanted to do was loosen everything back up and have the supports pop out of the brackets.



Overall I'm pleased with how the fenders look and how solid they feel. I don't hear them rattle around like the Planet Bike fenders did on my old commuter. I like how tight the rear fender is along the tire and will have to come up with a way to lengthen the bracket along the front fender to get it to look the same.



There you have it. In the end, fenders are quite easy to mount on a BD, and they really look nice and natural. So now that they are on, I'm wondering how long it will stay dry. Maybe until later today?



Next up--setting up the indoor trainer (NOT for the BD).