Skiing Sal

Sal has been up skiing a few times this year.  Veep took him Friday and shot some video.  I just got the new iLife '09 with the new version of iMovie and was inspired to experiment.  Mushy snow, nice and slow for learning.

BTW, the song is from my brother's new album (CJ3).  Go to his site to pre-order.

Back in the Saddle

I finally gave up on any new snow or getting any meaningful exercise on the trainer and got back on the road.  I rode the Hangman loop Friday morning and Saturday afternoon.  I've got some Schwalbe Marathon Winter studs in the mail, should arrive Monday (in case any snow does decide to fall) and I'll be riding to work again.  I just wish work started later or finished earlier so that I'd see daylight during one ride or the other.  

Back to Blogging

Newton's first law of blogging has taken over these past few weeks and I've done little online living.  I figure if I don't end my little blog sabbatical soon I may as well scrap this little blog.  So, here is an update on what I've been doing instead of blogging for the past 4 weeks.

1.  We went to Boise for a few days right after Christmas.  In relative terms it was downright tropical.  It was fun to visit with family, which I haven't done in a while.  We got delayed for a few hours on the return trip due to another dump of snow.

2.  Like the rest of Spokane, I spent the dwindling days of December and the first week of the new year doing some snow shovel cross training.  I've got toned shoulders and a stronger lower back to show for it.  As I write, we are in the uglier stages of winter snow with rock hard, dirty brown ice berms all over the city streets.  We need more snow.  I made a little album of snow photos on the upper right, taken during the more pleasant powdery white, tree sloughing stages.

3.  I took a trip to Idaho Falls.  This was a mix of business and pleasure.  My first time skiing Grand Targhee was fun despite the lack of new snow.   I enoyed the deep bluebird skies and inversion that raised temps at the top to over 50 degrees, a fitting way to spend inauguration day.  Plus, not having experienced the epic dry powder they get, I have a ready excuse to go back.

And you can't beat the scenery (unless perhaps you're on the Jackson side of the Tetons).

The heat made me thirsty.  I've decided that my favorite thirst quenching beverage for the week is ice cold Ruby Red Grapefruit juice.  It goes equally badly with everything.

This run fixed the voice of Artemis in my head (from "It's Always Sunny" fame).  "Shakin' it at the coyote uh-g-lee."  How's that for free association.

On this trip I also got to explore the boisterous hamlets of Idaho Falls and Rexburg.  One of the highlights was seeing the completely ironic band "Love You Long Time", which is apparently a local favorite. 

Yes, even without blogging regularly, the camera phone has kept me ripe with useless photo fodder.

I was the only un-ironic person in the room.  And the only one besides my brother over the age of 24.

4.  The day before I left for the IF (as the locals call it), Veep and I scored some tickets to the Gonzaga game against USF.  It was the first home game at the McCarthy center that I've been to.  A consistently good local sports program is a good thing to have in town.  While it may not be worthy of its own "reasons I love Spokane" post, it is definitely something I appreciate, though admittedly not for everyone.  Veep was a good sport and was willing to stay to the bitter end despite a 30-point blow out.

That's our view of the student section stomping out the beat to AC/DC's "Thunder."  Almost enough to make me miss Freshman year in college.

5.  I painted our bedroom a darker shade of green.  Few things are as demoralizing as building a home, handpicking the wall colors, paying to have the house painted, and then changing your mind about the color before you even move in.  Alas, it will probably not be the last time I paint either.  In fact, it definitely won't since the next painting assignment is awaiting as soon as I can catch my breath and have a little more time off work.  I have to admit, it does look a lot better.  Plus we ordered some new furniture which really lent some urgency to the job.  Plus I had a healthy buzz going for about three days.

6.  And once you start one "home improvement" project, others rear their heads and scream for attention.  The day I got back from my relaxing trip I had two immediate issues--a cracked dining room window (either from water in the wall, the cold temps, or the house settling--I can't decide which) and a stolen mailbox.  Yes, a stolen mailbox.  The window is still under warranty, so isn't a big deal.  Fixing the underlying cause for the crack may be a bigger deal, we'll see.

The mailbox however, was a headache.  You know the economy is bad when people will pull a big locked metal box off its pole to just maybe find some mail that just maybe will be valuable enough or contain very specific sensitive information that they just might be able to make some money with it.  Sure, identity theft is a worry, but luckily all the sensitive mail we usually get--mortgage statement, credit card statements--had already come for the month.  It doesn't seem like the return could possibly be good enough to warrant a federal crime.  I still hope it was a bunch of dopey, bored high schoolers who ended up throwing it in a ditch somewhere.  And if you're reading this Mr. thief, we've already reported it to the police, post office, credit card companies and bank, so your chances of getting away with something if you in fact got anything worthwhile, are even less.

So I bought a cheap mailbox and retrofitted it to the pole they left in the ground.  It is a sad, humble little thing that will probably never draw a thief's attention, ironically.  Topping the list of things I don't like about Spokane would be "stolen mailboxes."

7.  This past weekend I skied at Mt. Spokane.  Rock had snow pack.  We need more snow.

Well, those are the highlights.  

To include one bike related thought, I have decided to do a little tour this summer when my parents return from China--Spokane to Boise.  It will be a good first multiday tour, about the right distance with several small towns along the way to give me several options for mileage and routes.  I'm thinking of primarily traveling down highway 95, but I want to study the map and see if there are any other routes with good scenery, less traffic, and not too steep of climbs.  I found an interesting map on the Idaho DOT site that actually tells how wide the shoulders are on the major roadways throughout the state--a nice resource (the link may take a few minutes to load).  If anyone happens upon this blog and has firsthand experience on a good biking route between Spokane and Boise, please let me know.  

Oh, and I smell another bike build in the near future.

Mary Chriss-mus

Seasons Greetings from. . .

 

Scut Farkus,

Snowzilla,

my new dance partner "Killer",

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

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

Recession Santa,

our hungry deer neighbors,

our Seussmas tree,

and our new lolcat, Bebe Geesus.

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.

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

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

The snow was deep.

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

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

"Name that intersection."

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.

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."

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"

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?

"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?