Race Report: Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #10, Santa Cross 2013-12-16 I planned so well for this race. I calculated that, depending on the field size, I would need only a 10th to 15th place finish...
Race Report: Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #9, Winter Cross 2013-12-03 Winter Cross was muddy, chaotic, slippy, flat out climbing fun. This was classic Pacific Northwest Cyclocross, right down to the beer sponsor. Just spectating the...
Race Report: Cross Crusade #8, Barton Park 2013-11-18 On Facebook, Thom remarked: Had the legs for 60th place, but earned 6th place. I, on the other hand, had the legs (and staging) for...
My expedient Walden 2013-11-16 Last weekend I had the brilliant notion to take my laptop to our HOA pool house, which is unused now for the winter. I have...
Race report: OBRA CX Championships/Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #8: Pedalers @ the Poor Farm 2013-11-12 I am so glad Jenny and Thom talked me into racing this. I was going to skip it: too much work, no callup, and a...
Race Report: Cross Crusade #6, Washington County Fairgrounds 2013-11-04 Photo: tyarnellphotography Even less to report than usual this week despite this being my third-best race ever by percentile finish. 11 of 163, and I’m...
FFR: Astronomically-correct horoscopes 2013-11-02 The newspaper says I’m a “Virgo,” which implies that the sun was in the constellation Virgo at the moment of my birth. It wasn’t. It...
Race Report: Cross Crusade #4 and #5, Deschutes Brewery 2013-10-29 Rereading my race report from two years ago demonstrates how far my racing has come. Despite being Not My Kind of Cyclocross (too dry! Too...
Race Report: Cross Crusade #3, PIR Heron Lakes 2013-10-22 One of my least favorite (and favorable) courses but a great race. Finished 12 of 201; now 11th in series. Weather promised warm (70°!) and...
Effective heckles 2013-10-21 “Dig deeper you APE” “If you catch that guy you’ll be in [nth] place” “You are gonna get LAPPED” “That guy only had ONE gear.”...
Race Report: Cross Crusade #2, Rainier H.S. 2013-10-15 I was hoping one of the pro photogs would have some photos of my Best! Race! Ever! but alas. You’ll have to settle for pics...
Race Report: Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #6 (Heiser Farm) 2013-10-10 When we studied narrative structure in my Junior high English class I learned there are basically two kinds of stories: Man vs. God and Man...
The hardest hill 2013-10-07 So on Fridays I work at home. When I chariot Orion (10mi) to school and then turn around and ride home again, my elevation profile...
Race Report: Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #5 (Ninkrossi) 2013-09-29 Photo: Matt Haughey Short version Remote venue, ideal conditions, my best race ever. 6th of 56 Long version Remote venue Prior to, eh, about a...
Race Report: Grand Prix Erik Tonkin #4 (Zaandercross), 9/21/2013 2013-09-22 A good day, tons of fun and not a bad race for me. You could read last year’s report to get a feel, the course...
Race Report: Blind Date at the Dairy #1, 9/18/2013 2013-09-19 I had moment early in Lap 1 where I thought: “that’s it. I’m done with racing.” 89 entrants in my category — eighty-nine! — for...
Eyes and feet 2013-08-26 This morning Orion and I rode to his eye doctor appt. at OHSU. This was a big day for us. First, because Orion was really...
How to take a nap 2013-08-05 Drink a cup of coffee. Lie down flat in your clothes. Get up in 20 minutes. Do this early in the afternoon (about an hour...
Race Report: Short Track MTB #7 2013-07-30 I wasn’t DFL so I’m going to declare victory. This week’s excuses: Haven’t raced in four weeks. Disspiriting head injury in my last race. Recent...
Sleep fantasies 2013-07-07 My first year out of college I worked the weekend graveyard shift at a 24-hour copy shop near the University of Nebraska. I’m a lifelong...
Massive Head Trauma (Race Report: Short Track MTB #4) 2013-06-25 OK well not “massive” but I busted my helmet and have a powerful hangover today. And, warning: I am totally gonna blame my bike for...
The College Sweetheart 2013-06-24 (Cross-posted to Medium) I dated The College Sweetheart for three years: from our Freshman through Junior years. Early one Saturday morning in May, 1992, she...
Content-first design ain’t herding cats 2013-06-21 (Cross posted to Medium) Kill Lorem Ipsum for good I use the term “content-first design” a lot, but haven’t had to explain it in great...
Oregon weather happens in cycles 2013-06-21 Today is the first day of summer. This doesn’t mean the same thing in Oregon as it does in my native Nebraska. My first spring...
My worst race ever! Race Report: Short Track MTB #3 2013-06-18 Whoo hoo. My worst race ever barring serious crashes or repeat mechanicals. 47th of 51 This was my first race in Cat 2, which was...
The twelve months of the Oregon year 2013-06-12 January February March April Mayvember Junuary Julcember Summer Fritestember Crosstober Mudvember Wafflemas Addendum This wee list sparked a heated (?) conversation on FB. It led...
Inside baseball 2013-05-31 I just got an advocacy call from the American Lung Association (“Can I speak with Mr. Soe Durz?”) The script was dreadful. It took the...
Notches on the bedpost, 1999 – 2012 2013-05-08 These are all the Internet thingies I was paid to touch. Code or pixels or wireframes or words. All the ones I can remember, anyway....
A long bike ride with Orion 2013-05-02 Orion (age 4.9) wanted to ride his new 16"-wheeler from Gabriel Park to our house (near Tryon Creek SP). It was not my idea. Jenny...
This production photo from EMPIRE STRIKES BACK tells us why action movies in 2013 are so boring 2013-04-28 This photo almost singlehandedly explains why Empire is the only Star Wars film that actually qualifies as “good cinema.”
The hardest week ever 2013-04-21 How about a little misery to end the Hardest Week Ever? Well I use the word “hardest” advisedly. It was certainly hard for America. And...
A manifesto for the rest of my career 2013-04-15 I work for me, for now I just got out of a long-term relationship. It was a good relationship but I’ve been single exactly one...
The Last Week 2013-04-08 My wireless mouse threw a “low battery” warning so I had to swap for fresh ones from the charger. I realized: this is the last...
The holes got rounder and I stayed square 2013-03-27 Before I say anything else: I believe in Mercy Corps. I believe in its mission of empowering the world’s poorest to improve their own lives,...
Amanda Blum wrote something thoughtful about Adria Richards and PyCon 2013-03-21 If you know what my headline is about and want to read something that will make you think, read this. (If you don’t know what...
Negative Visualization and Gratitude 2013-03-18 On her excellent Maternal Journey blog, my friend Kirstin wrestles with gratitude: Have you ever tried to do a gratitude practice? Keep a gratitude journal?...
Why do Lego Friends exclude my son? 2013-03-12 We are just starting to get into Lego Friends at our house. By “we” I don’t just mean Iris. In fact, I especially don’t mean...
Manly Men 2013-02-28 Attention fellow penis-owners! Affecting interest in the following items will not, in fact, make you “manly” Bacon Cigars Firearms Whiskey Straight razors Muddy bicycle races...
Mottos 2013-02-22 Fish or cut bait. Boredom is a luxury. Be nice. The deal with rain is that you get wet. Let the dog drive. Anyone can...
SRAM Apex 2013-02-12 About two weeks ago I was in a (minor) bike/car accident. (Technically: I was right hooked from the far lane by a car turning into...
Here comes the future, you can’t run from it 2013-02-12 So the USPS plans to cease (most) delivery on Saturdays. Not hard to predict the impact on our family. At our (literate, college-educated, closer-to-retirement-than-high-school) household,...
Django vs. Drupal 2013-02-05 I spend most of my work day hammering on a Drupal site which is why I (re)built my free-time website in Django. Django isn’t “better”...
About this site 2013-01-31 I (re)built Axoplasm in about one week in Django. For the longest time — OK, about four years — this site was built with Drupal....
Puncture Your Sofa 2013-01-28 Just-slightly-more-than 17 years ago, during winter break of my first year of graduate school, I designed my first website. In early December 1995 I kinda...
