Web-log archive: 2012

December
Kiddos in front of the Forester, eating apples
2012-12-28

Subaru Forester

Today we sold our Subaru Forester. We bought this car new five years ago, actually it replaced the previous Subaru (itself only a few months...

2012-12-27

5200 miles

In 2012 I rode my bike(s) 5200 miles, which works out to 100mi/week. In my life, I’ve had plenty of weeks where I rode more...

2012-12-08

The Hobbit

We tried reading The Hobbit a few months ago but got bogged down by all the words. We put it away for awhile, but this...

November
2012-11-20

Lord of the Rings vs. Star Wars

Lately Orion is all about Lord of the Rings. As a media-lite household we receive most of our pop culture through the Lego catalog. Lego...

2012-11-19

Race Report: Kruger’s Crossing, Nov. 17, 2012

For later: season recap, report on my less-than-spectacular DNS yesterday, and thoughts about Cross Crusade. For now: Saturday’s non-series–but–awesome Kruger’s Crossing. This is my third...

2012-11-07

Now that the election’s over: Politics!

Couple thoughts I’ve been sitting on through this election.First: if ever there were an election where I could’ve been persuaded to vote Republican, this was...

2012-11-02

Drive to work

Yesterday I drove to work. Actually, before I drove to work I fell down the stairs and hurt my foot. OK, my toe.[1] The toe...

October
2012-10-22

Be a dolphin, not a turtle

The rains have arrived, time for the ritual BikePortland “what do you wear on your winter commute” thread. We’ll get to my “advice” in a...

2012-10-04

DNF: lessons and excuses

Is it better or worse to DNF or DNS? On Council Crest last night, freezing cold, tired legs, I thought: “I’d rather be home with...

September
August
2012-08-29

Lance

My pals Thom and Chris have some thoughts about Lance Armstrong. I started to reply via Facebook but it got unwieldy.I am also of two...

2012-08-13

You don’t need a fast car…

A young friend just posted to Facebook: Three friends have gotten engaged in the past week. I'm 30 and single. I need a fast car,...

July
2012-07-27

Sticks and stones

Last night I realized I was wearing my heart rate monitor during yesterday’s little adventure. Interesting to note the fight-or-flight stuff going on here. The...

2012-07-26

Grasping a hot coal

First: I am fine, the bike is fine. Scrapes and bumps for both of us. I get worse than this almost every week racing.Second: this...

2012-07-15

1988

Because it’s late and I’m feeling thoughtful, I’m thinking of 1988, which was 24 years ago. 1988 was one of about five or so really...

2012-07-03

Cars vs. Phones

Serious question: if you were forced to give up either 1) driving a car or 2) using an iphone/android/smartphone/cel phone/whatever…which would you choose?I ask because...

June
2012-06-19

Race report: Short Track MTB #3

Not a lot to report. Pre-reg callups meant I staged near the front (second row). Finished 12th of 63. I didn’t crash. I rode very...

2012-06-15

Mat Barton

I learned this morning through the OBRA mailing list that Monday’s injury at the Short Track Mountain Bike race was far worse than the usual...

2012-06-14

Why I Live Here, Part 326

The arborists who trimmed our Doug Firs measured them at at least 165' apiece. I had guessed 100' and thought that guess a little high.The...

2012-06-12

Two regrets about bicycles

I am a naturally regretful person. I regret almost every decision. Simultaneously I have such gratitude for my life, rich in love if not much...

2012-06-06

Race Report: Short Track MTB #1

Sorry for the delay. Been busy. Can’t waste time with pronouns.First race of the season. First race for the Gunnar.Conditions tacky and dry. Rain early...

May
2012-05-28

Programming is like an analogy

I have a one-liner I like to whip out whenever someone tries to explain what programming is “like.”Programming is like an analogy.(This is a joke...

April
2012-04-19

Taxing bikes is like lassoing bumblebees

Treehugger just published The Terrible Catch-22 That Happens When Cities Choose BikesThe gist of which is: when more people ride bikes, revenues from the gas...

2012-04-15

Screens = booze

Clay Shirky, in an interview about e-books, says: The reading experience is so much more valuable now than it was ten years ago because it’s...

2012-04-13

The Gordian Knot of Lifestyle Happiness

I just finished reading Tom Vanderbilt’s excellent 4-part series “America’s Pedestrian Problem,” and he knocks it out of the park at the end with this:...

March
2012-03-30

Don’t break the chain

I’m two weeks into the Strava Classic Challenge (climb a cumulative 100,000' feet from March 15 to April 30). So how am I doing? (Day...

2012-03-19

One way or another I will regret this

I just joined the Classic Climbing Challenge from Specialized on Strava. Climb 105,312 vertical feet between March 15 and April 30. I’ve already climbed 4156...

2012-03-13

Synchronicity: Three Things

Three things today that I have to get on paper. Er, electrons. For later.Thing One A healthy product company is, confusingly, one at odds with...

2012-03-09

Why I ride

It’s fun.  The first thing my wife  ever said to me was “do you know any good bike rides?” It saves money.  (My family saves...

2012-03-08

Real life vs. college

I’m trying to scrape up $70 for a copy of The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Jenny and I give ourselves $100 (each) every month for...

2012-03-04

Letting Go

The garage is now three bikes lighter. Just this very afternoon I sold two bikes, including the 2007 Soma Double Cross that was my do-everything...

2012-03-02

Ten Years Ago

I can’t reckon the exact date but it was more-or-less ten years ago this week that my ex-wife and I split for good. Or rather,...

February
2012-02-27

The Instructions of Shuruppak

Well, I’m off to a strong start on The Stupidest Awesome Idea. I just finished The Instructions of Shuruppak, a collection of pithy wisdom from...

2012-02-21

The trees are the right height

Once when flying into Nebraska (from Oregon) I was sitting behind some high school kids who were (kind of surmising here...) visiting a sibling/friend/cousin attending...

2012-02-19

The Love Competition

I just watched this remarkable short film, The Love Competition. The film puts seven “contestants” in an MRI and asks them to meditate on love,...

2012-02-09

Dieting and Training

I don’t “diet” and I don’t “train.” Neither do I “work out” or “watch what I eat.” I might be lucky in my genes (more...

2012-02-03

Wannabe

Cyclist Stereotypes, by Bikeyface There are, to generalize, two kinds of people who will describe a cyclist (stereotypically: one in lycra, on a city street,...

January
2012-01-19

My Commute Today

Painting: “Ride to Atlantis” by James Gurney I love riding my bike in warm, wet weather like this. Makes you feel good to be alive....

2012-01-18

DeClouding

I suck at Resolutions (New Year’s or otherwise). I lack follow-through. So instead of resolving to do, I did. I took my life off the...