The Cause

Of my abdominal affliction was this.

- b

Midst of a Trauma

"Leave a message and I'll call you back..."

Mom's in the hospital with blood clots in her leg, I have a mild hernia or some other abdominal abnormality, big presentation and deadline due today, blah blah blah.

Gretchen did really well this morning passing another biker on the trail. She even seemed to ignore the two deer we spooked.

- b

Comments

It has been reported that leaving comments here is too difficult, so I tried to make it easier.

I also fixed the guestbook link on the picture pages from this spring.

Not like anyone reads any of this anymore.

- b

For Mother

Mother's laid up with a sprained ankle and wanted to see some flowers.



The Peoniese are about to bloom


- b

Crossing Guard

There was a crossing guard at the intersection down from our house this morning.

It wasn't actually this guy. Looked like a younger male. He had a little black mohawk of feathers up over his head. Damn turkeys are really stubborn. Every car waited and went around him. He never budged.

Took Gretchen on another ride this morning. Turns out last Sundays ride was actually three miles. Today we went 4.5. Will probably keep it there for a week or two to be sure she's ok with it.

Through a field she ran out beside me as if to say "Look at me! This sure is fun!", then dropped back behind me before we turned into the single track. At least I hope that's what she was thinking.

I had forgotten what early morning rides were like before you've had any coffee. The vision and reaction times can be a bit dull. Makes for some interesting situations.

- b

Dancing is Done

We graduated Bronze II and used up all the lessons we paid for almost two years ago. They wanted us to renew, but understood when we told them "it's too freaking expensive."

It's a shame. It was really fun at times.

Never could figure out why it was so expensive. It's not like your paying for track time or event insurance?

- b

Grill's Gone

I put the old grill out for bulk trash pick-up yesterday. It was gone before the garbage men got here. Someone saw fit to give it another life.

I guess that helps the new grill guilt a bit.

- b

Miss Mess

Came home to eight little puddles tonight.

Apparently the dog walker left Gretchen's gate loose enough for her to open (at least we hope that's what happened). In the absence of superiors and having free reign of the house, she left eight little anxiety filled puddles.

I suppose this is just one of many reasons for me to start buying beer two cases at a time.


- b

ps. the puddle is not a picture of pee. It's Nature's Miracle.

pps. sorry Ma. I know you wanted pictures of flowers, but it was dark and stormy when I got home - both inside and out.

Hot Monday Afternoon

What do two over-worked techies do on a hot holiday Monday afternoon?


Play on their computers of course.

At least we were outside enjoying the deck.

Got the Marsh Creek boating pictures up. Check them out here.

- b

Tarpaulins

How to wash a tarpaulin?

Because they get dirty and need washing before folding and stowing.

There is the old stand-by. Throw them over a line and spray with the hose.

This works fine for normal size tarps, but what about bigger tarps.

What about gigantic tarps?

I mean huge.

Every year I dread cleaning the pool cover. I think this year I figured it out.

How did people live before pressure washers?

- b

Water Works

The hanging pots are self watering. In the top of the basket is a one gallon plastic reservoir. The white strips you see is one long piece of felt that wraps under the reservoir then down into water up top. That's it. The strips soak up the water and distribute it under the reservoir to the dirt, where it soaks down to the plant. So far, they've soaked up and dripped down a gallon of water a day.

I never would have thought that little felt strip would soak up a gallon a day. There might be some evaporation going on, but the puddles under the plants say most of it is soaking through.

- b

Grillz

Jen and I splurged and bought a new grill.

Big deal right? Everybody buys a grill this time of year. Not me. I've never bought a new grill or even a used grill. My last grill was a hand-me down.

A friend was upgrading, so I took her old one. The one I had at the time was something I found in the trash. It went on to live with Jeff for a while.

That was 10 years ago. It still cooks, so why a new grill?

I dunno.

Once you're at the store, it's all about which new grill. There's so many features! Multiple burners, stainless, porcelain - you name it, it's a sellable marketing point. When you've had the same clunker for 10 years, it's a bit overwhelming. The simple fact the new one isn't rusty, was enough for us to get excited.

We picked the simplest most economical one we could find. Other than the working thermostat

it cooks like the old one.

Considering it's new and we got a bomber cover for it (the key to grill longevity)

It could be around for quite a while.


At least I hope so. Something has to relinquish me of my new grill guilt.

- b

Water Dog

She's not.

She didn't hate it, but she definitely prefers the trail.

I'll try and get the rest of the pictures up today sometime.

- b

First Ride

Took Gretchen on her first ride this morning.

She did really well (probably better then me) and seemed to like it. It was a short ride - only two miles, but she's got an entire day of doggy play ahead of her.

She was a little camera shy for this shot. Every time I put the camera down at my hip, she'd switch sides.

She did really well staying behind. Once in the beginning she tried running out front, but clearly didn't like it and never went back. A couple of times I got nervous switching lines on a downhill. I wasn't sure how close she was and how quick she'd react, but all went well. A chipmunk distracted her once, but a quick "hey" had her back on track.

I'd been wanting to do this for a while, but not having my car sort of complicated things. Finally I gave up and threw the rack on the Durango.

We'll give it a workout today for sure.

- b

Pool's Open

Though a little chilly for swimming.

- b

Out Too Late

An old friend is in town, so I went out last night. Old friends are fun to hang out with and talk about the past. Old friends are fun to catch up on the present.

During the course of the night I met an unhappily married woman, a bartender wanting to join the peace corps, a woman whose marriage fell apart when her husband started requesting she have sex with other women (for him to watch), a guy that did Stallone impressions, and a friend who's changed.

It was an adventure, but one that went on far too long and too deep into the scope of the ways people change.

For the better

or worse

- b

Home by 9

I don't feel so guilty getting into work at 9:30am when I get home at 9pm.

Last nights movie was I am Legend. Not a very relaxing movie after a long day at work.

- b

Smell the Roses

Our First Rose
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've taken an new approach to my evenings and left the laptop shut. Instead Jen and I have been exercising our Netflix account. The relaxation helps.

It was another busy weekend for us. Started off Saturday by moving the last of the wood pellets to their new inside home.

That little job served two purposes. It gets the leftover pellets from under a tarp in the rain to inside, and paves the way for opening the pool soon.

After the pellets were done, it was off to Petsmart for the last dog training class. We got our diplomas, then accidentally left them on a shelf somewhere in the store. That basically sums up our experience for that round of training. We just weren't into it this time around.

After dog training it was grass cutting, weeding and mulching. Pretty much sums up every weekend lately.

Sunday morning started off bright and early at French Creek. There were some "hot spots" that needed tending after last weekends race. Nothing too terrible or more then mother nature could have taken care of herself, but it's important to get out and put on the show for continued park privileges. A before/after picture would have been nice for the trail section I worked on, but I left the camera at home. It was definitely a beautiful morning to be in the woods.

Back at home I jumped on a "concept project" for Jen. She wants to try one of those hanging gardens where you grow tomatoes and what-not upside down. Problem is you need something to hold 80lb pots - three of them in Jen's case. I threw this behemoth together. We'll see how it does.

It's an experiment in two cases. Will it hold three 80lb pots through the summer and will they grow. Stay tuned for more on all that.

The afternoon was riddled with passing showers. Between two passing storms, I completed another pet project for Jen.

The oak just didn't go, and like any little project it didn't go easily.

The end result was worth all the trouble.

Time for another movie, till next time...

- b

Had to Share

This is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: "Hello 'dis Walmarts, how can I help you?"

Customer: "Yes, I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week."

Walmart Employee: "Whachu want on da cake?"

Customer: "Best Wishes Suzanne." And underneath that, "We will miss you".

- b

Snow Day

I need one terribly. A couple of them would be perfect. They're better than vacations or sick days, because they're freebies. There are no expectations for a snow day, so I wouldn't be pressured for anything.

If it was just 10 degrees colder, maybe we'd have one.

- b

French Creek Race

So much work. Two full days actually. The race was Saturday, but we started Friday at 10am marking the course - in the rain.

At least we had a warm fire to dry out our gear and ourselves

Not to mention the home cooked fajitas

After a restless night under the fluttering of bats and pitter/patter of rain, we were up at 5am to get it going.

Overall it went pretty well. We had 450+ racers. Parking wasn't nice (a mile or more away), but we have to play by the park's rules.

There were certainly things we learned - things we would have done differently and things we regretted, but a lot of the feedback I got was positive. I'm sure if I checked the message boards (which I won't), I'd get a different perspective.

The Endurance part (the one I was specifically responsible for) went well too. We had to cut it back from 6 hours to 5, but I got the impression 5 hours was plenty for a wet day at French Creek.

Now it's time to clean up the mess. Looks like another long day.


- b

Victory and a Loss

Went to the reopening of Victory last night. It was pretty nice. Very crowded, but nice though that probably had more to do with the company I was with.

Also went to pick up my car yesterday after being in the shop for five weeks. It wasn't ready. They told it was ready, but it's not. It still needs buffing, some reassembly and a replacement for the floor mat they lost. The manager at the shop I went to pick it up from (not the shop that did the work) said she was embarrassed.

Maybe one day I'll look back and laugh.

- b

Excitable Boy

I'd like to meet his tailor.

- b

Las Puertas

- b

Dug Myself a Hole

Actually hit water in the bottom.

- b

Some Ideas

I have a very poor perspective of things right now, but I'm adjusting - trying to make sense of it all.

Last year I was training and racing the best mt. bike season of my life. A year ago this weekend I was at a 12 hour endurance race (it started at midnight). My team demolished the competition. That was a lot of fun. I was at peace with myself and position in life - it's tough not to when you're winning.

With this new job, I haven't been on a bike since December. I don't see my friends anymore. I don't know or get to experience the things that used to bring me happiness. That may not necessarily mean my current situation is bad. It could just mean I haven't found the happiness yet. It could be there and I'm just not seeing it.

Yesterday I noticed for the first time a junior developer that smiles every time I approach. That's really nice. That's something I should do for others when they approach.

I have a colleague that's really smart. Between the two of us (him on the technical side and me on the functional), we're really kicking ass. We have the spotlight of our company watching us now. It's kind of cool, scary, and annoying.

Currently it doesn't bring me the joy/peace/happiness that I used to have. I either have to give it more time, or create some kind of balance. It's only been 5 months. In the scheme of things, that's not a long time.

Though winning that race last year was cool, it seems minuscule to the kind of achievement I'm on the brink of. Influencing my team, executives and customers is huge or could be huge.

I think it's simply a choice I have to make, though it will take time. Just like winning races took time.

- b

Motorcycle Gang

My Dad and his buddies loaded up their bikes and hit the road Wednesday.

They were headed to Florida for the Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally. Sounds fun. Wish I could play.

I got some more pictures up from the backpacking trip. Check out my "Rosetta Stoned" moment here.

- b