Testing new app to post blog updates
I wonder if g+ will be updated too?
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
More car karma
(This should have been posted 1/16)
The temperature today was about the same as yesterday. It was lower than -20 again. On my way to work again, I come over the same bend, and in the same spot, there was another car that had spun out, in the exact same spot.
Nobody had stopped to help yet. Since I had experience (!) I jumped out of the car with my little ice scraper, ready to dig out the car again. I soon learned that this car was going much faster than the car the previous day. I tried to poke at the snow to free the front of the car, but there was too much, and it was densely packed. Luckily, there was somebody else who stopped, and this person had a shovel. Thank goodness!
After the car was dug out, the two of us went running back to our cars. This time, the guy jumped out of the newly freed car, and yelled thanks and made sure to shake our hands.
I've been meaning to put a shovel in my car, but I haven't done it yet. Maybe tomorrow.
posted by RICHARD
The temperature today was about the same as yesterday. It was lower than -20 again. On my way to work again, I come over the same bend, and in the same spot, there was another car that had spun out, in the exact same spot.
Nobody had stopped to help yet. Since I had experience (!) I jumped out of the car with my little ice scraper, ready to dig out the car again. I soon learned that this car was going much faster than the car the previous day. I tried to poke at the snow to free the front of the car, but there was too much, and it was densely packed. Luckily, there was somebody else who stopped, and this person had a shovel. Thank goodness!
After the car was dug out, the two of us went running back to our cars. This time, the guy jumped out of the newly freed car, and yelled thanks and made sure to shake our hands.
I've been meaning to put a shovel in my car, but I haven't done it yet. Maybe tomorrow.
posted by RICHARD
(I wrote this 1/15)
So today, we woke up to a temperature so cold, the digital thermometer would only say "0Fl" There are so many different things that you can interpret from those 3 characters, but I think the real message was, "It's too cold for me to tell you what the temperature is." The old fashioned analog thermometer was hovering somewhere around -23. When I got into my car, and backed out of the garage, the car said it was -22. Needless to say, it was very cold today. The local weather station reporter was featured on CNN. One of the stunts he pulled was using a regular banana to pound in a nail. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/weather/2009/01/15/kare.banana.hammer.cnn ) You just gotta love this state.
On my way into work, I was looking around. It was so clear! There was a wonderful rainbow around the sun, where the ice particles in the air would reflect the sun. It was too cold for clouds to form, or because there were no clouds acting like a blanket, it was cold. I'm never sure which one it is. Either way, it was cold, and the roads were just like an ice rink. Normally, I enjoy driving in these types of conditions. I'll slide my car around the corners, and slam on the brakes when I come to a stop sign, using the ABS to stop my car. But today was an exception. Today was one of those days where you don't want to make any mistakes. With a temperature this cold, any mistake can cost you your life. Being stranded on the side of the road turns from a major inconvenience to a Weather Channel survivor story. So, I was very cautious on my way into work today.
As I was cresting the hill on our frontage road, I saw some cars in front of me. One car was in my lane and facing 90 degrees to the way it should be. There was another car in the left hand side of the road, facing me (for those of you in the UK, this car is facing the right direction.) Anyway, I am now coming down the hill in a heavy SUV, driving on ice, and I have a small window in which to place my car. Fortunately, I'm able to slow down in time. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes time slow down like having your car heading towards an accident, and having your foot matting the brakes, and nothing happening. I stopped in plenty of time, but the feeling of helplessness will make your body drop a ton of adrenaline into your body.
As I pass the sideways car, I see that it spun out, and was stuck in the embankment. The other car that stopped had a guy, who was helping to get her car unstuck. This is one of those times, where you can close your eyes, and keep on driving, or pull over, and try to do the right thing. I didn't really stop and think, I just knew that somebody was stuck, causing a hazard, and I should help. I found a safe spot to stop my car, and headed back up to see what I could do. I hoped up into the snowbank (snow up to my shins) and started pushing the car, while the lady put the car into reverse, and hit the gas. Nothing. The front wheels would just spin. So, I start pushing down on the hood, trying to get the car to bounce on the tires, thus getting more traction. The font of the car will not budge in any direction. She stops spinning the tires, and I take a quick look underneath. Lots and lots of snow/ice under the engine. The car is high centered! At this time, I really wish I had a shovel! I kick at it a little bit with my boots, but doesn't really help much. By this time, two other cars had stopped, and we had 4 of us helping. I ran back to my car, and grabbed my ice scraper. It is about 2 feet long, and has a hard plastic edge for scraping the ice off of the windshield. I took the edge, and started poking it into the snow under the car. Snow started coming out, so I kept on poking. After about 30 seconds, the car drops about 2 inches. Success! She puts the car into reverse, and backs out. Yay.
Here is where things get a little funny. In sunny California, we would probably all pat each other on the back, and talk about things. In frigid cold Minnesota, as soon as the car moved, we all started dashing back to our cars! Job done, danger averted, time to get warm! By the time she got out of her car to say "Thanks", all of us were half way to our cars, able to look over our shoulder to say "You're welcome."
I feel I earned one more karma kredit today. But the funny thing about karma, is you never really know when it is paid back. Things that happen behind closed doors (can you say layoffs?) can effect you in big ways. I'll keep my eyes open.
posted by RICHARD
So today, we woke up to a temperature so cold, the digital thermometer would only say "0Fl" There are so many different things that you can interpret from those 3 characters, but I think the real message was, "It's too cold for me to tell you what the temperature is." The old fashioned analog thermometer was hovering somewhere around -23. When I got into my car, and backed out of the garage, the car said it was -22. Needless to say, it was very cold today. The local weather station reporter was featured on CNN. One of the stunts he pulled was using a regular banana to pound in a nail. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/
On my way into work, I was looking around. It was so clear! There was a wonderful rainbow around the sun, where the ice particles in the air would reflect the sun. It was too cold for clouds to form, or because there were no clouds acting like a blanket, it was cold. I'm never sure which one it is. Either way, it was cold, and the roads were just like an ice rink. Normally, I enjoy driving in these types of conditions. I'll slide my car around the corners, and slam on the brakes when I come to a stop sign, using the ABS to stop my car. But today was an exception. Today was one of those days where you don't want to make any mistakes. With a temperature this cold, any mistake can cost you your life. Being stranded on the side of the road turns from a major inconvenience to a Weather Channel survivor story. So, I was very cautious on my way into work today.
As I was cresting the hill on our frontage road, I saw some cars in front of me. One car was in my lane and facing 90 degrees to the way it should be. There was another car in the left hand side of the road, facing me (for those of you in the UK, this car is facing the right direction.) Anyway, I am now coming down the hill in a heavy SUV, driving on ice, and I have a small window in which to place my car. Fortunately, I'm able to slow down in time. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes time slow down like having your car heading towards an accident, and having your foot matting the brakes, and nothing happening. I stopped in plenty of time, but the feeling of helplessness will make your body drop a ton of adrenaline into your body.
As I pass the sideways car, I see that it spun out, and was stuck in the embankment. The other car that stopped had a guy, who was helping to get her car unstuck. This is one of those times, where you can close your eyes, and keep on driving, or pull over, and try to do the right thing. I didn't really stop and think, I just knew that somebody was stuck, causing a hazard, and I should help. I found a safe spot to stop my car, and headed back up to see what I could do. I hoped up into the snowbank (snow up to my shins) and started pushing the car, while the lady put the car into reverse, and hit the gas. Nothing. The front wheels would just spin. So, I start pushing down on the hood, trying to get the car to bounce on the tires, thus getting more traction. The font of the car will not budge in any direction. She stops spinning the tires, and I take a quick look underneath. Lots and lots of snow/ice under the engine. The car is high centered! At this time, I really wish I had a shovel! I kick at it a little bit with my boots, but doesn't really help much. By this time, two other cars had stopped, and we had 4 of us helping. I ran back to my car, and grabbed my ice scraper. It is about 2 feet long, and has a hard plastic edge for scraping the ice off of the windshield. I took the edge, and started poking it into the snow under the car. Snow started coming out, so I kept on poking. After about 30 seconds, the car drops about 2 inches. Success! She puts the car into reverse, and backs out. Yay.
Here is where things get a little funny. In sunny California, we would probably all pat each other on the back, and talk about things. In frigid cold Minnesota, as soon as the car moved, we all started dashing back to our cars! Job done, danger averted, time to get warm! By the time she got out of her car to say "Thanks", all of us were half way to our cars, able to look over our shoulder to say "You're welcome."
I feel I earned one more karma kredit today. But the funny thing about karma, is you never really know when it is paid back. Things that happen behind closed doors (can you say layoffs?) can effect you in big ways. I'll keep my eyes open.
posted by RICHARD
Friday, April 04, 2008
This is something Iwrote back in 1998. I had just completed the running relay race "The Relay" . This is a 193 mile race, which is shared by 12 people. There are 2 vans of 6 people each, and they make runner exchanges at marked points along the road.
I wrote this just a few days after finishing the race, and recently thought of it again. I had a copy hidden in an old account, and thought it would be good to take it out of the corner and dust it off for everyone to see again.
And now, presented with its original typos, is my experience!
"I can't run, but if you need someone to drive, I'll do it."
I wrote this just a few days after finishing the race, and recently thought of it again. I had a copy hidden in an old account, and thought it would be good to take it out of the corner and dust it off for everyone to see again.
And now, presented with its original typos, is my experience!
"I can't run, but if you need someone to drive, I'll do it."
These were the words that started me along the path to run in the 1998 The Relay. Little did I know what a huge commitment I was making at the time.
It sounded like a lot of fun. Driving around with some friends, sharing some jokes, lots of waiting around. I decided to bring a book and my beach chair. That way, while I was waiting around for the runners to come in, I could just sit back, maybe catch a ray or two, and relax. I even brought along my camp stove to make some hot chocolate during my long waits at night.
I figured I'd drive both vans. That way, none of the runners would have to drive. I might have to have one sleep session during the night, if I didn't catch enough sleep during the cat naps while waiting for runners to show up.
At least that was the plan.
The day started off nice. I arrived at the SEI parking lot around 6:00am, and parked in the safest spot in the lot, right next to Shawna's Trans Am. The drive up was pleasant, and we arrived at the starting line around 9:30. Two and a half hours before out noon start. No problem we thought, we'll check in, grab some lunch, and come back for our start. Well, during check in, we hear out team name announced at the 10:00 start. I ran over to the announcer, and asked if she had just listed the 10:00 starting teams. She said yes! They had moved us up to 10:00 and not told us!!!
If I've learned anything about foreshadowing, we should have just left and gone home right then.
Guntram, our first runner, jams back to the van, while I grab the video camera to try and take his picture. Someone else on the team talks to the announcer, and she says we can delay until the 10:30 start. Phew! A 30 minute stay of execution. But, that leaves out 90 minutes that I had scheduled in my head. During that 90 minutes, I was going to look at maps, talk to runners and see what they want during their runs. Well, that time is gone, and now I've gotta wing it!
Meanwhile, Van #2 is running around. Something about a lost key. I'm glad I'm not in Van #2.
At 10:35, the starting gun goes off, and Guntram takes off! Woo hoo! The race is on!!!!
Now what? We all go back to the two vans. Apparently van #2 has found the keys. I'm still glad I'm not in van #2. So, while Guntram is out running, we are all kinda kicking back, looking around, and trying to figure out what to do next. It finally occures to us that hey! we need to get to the next leg. So, we finally get everyone who needs to be in van #1 into the van, and take off.
Unfortunatly, we zig when whe should have zagged, and took the wrong road to find Guntram.
If I've learned anything about foreshadowing, we should have just left and gone home right then.
After hanging a U-turn near the Calistoga Police station (I think) we get back on the road.
We pass Guntram out on the road. What a rush it is to see the team runner out there, running. We drive on ahead to drop off the #2 runner, and turn around to cheer on Guntram. After he passes us, we drive on ahead to cheer him on again. We finally get to the next leg, and have about 3-5 minutes of waiting before he comes in.
Wait a minute, what about my book?
What about my rays?
What about my hot chocolate?
It looks like it ain't gunna happen. The previous routine is repeated 5 more times. The time is getting close to 3:00 in the afternoon. None of us have eaten all day, except for the Costco muffins, apples, and banannas. We are all so busy keeping track of where the runner is, and where we are, that none of us stop to eat anywhere.
Oh yeah. During this leg, I learn that I get to run leg #16. An easy 5.5 mile jog. I smile with anticipation.
Around 3:00, we approach the first Van Exchange. The plan was for me to change over to van #2, while van #1 showers, eats, and rests. As we pull in and talk to van #2, I look at Shawna and say, "There is NO way I can drive both vans with this schedule." She understands and takes off to try and catch up with Phil, who was long gone by now.
Mmmmmm Spagetti was served at the van exchange. Red spagetti sauce will sometimes upset my stomach, but I don't have to run for *several* more hours. Should be no problem.
After several people shower (thank god!) and we eat and rest, most of us feel alive again. We make a mental note that food is good.
We drive on ahead to the next van exchange. Traffic was horrible, and there were thoughts that the runners in the other van would beat us to the exchange. Thankfully, traffic cleared up, and we were then several hours ahead.
The van exchange is near the top of a hill, out in the middle of nowhere. The unfortunate thing about this is that we have no cell phone coverage. That means that van #2 could come at ANY SECOND! Well, I get on a public telephone, and call them up. They are still a while away. Phew, thats a relief. We all get in our sleeping bags, and lie down in the grass, just as the sun sets.
Unfortunately, I didn't note the time I called van #2, so I knew we had plenty of time, but I didn't know exactly how much. So, as I lie in my bag, I worry that we will miss the exchange. This bit of sleep is very similar the the sleep I got on Thursday night. None.
After about an hour of being horizontal, I get out of my bag. There is just no use trying to sleep. I try to be quiet as I get up, and the other van members all sit up as I get out. Apparently they were sleeping just as soundly as I was.
This is not a good sign. I break out my peanut butter and jelly for sandwiches. I remember that food is good. I'm not that hungry, but I eat one anyway. Later, I remember that I left the food on the picnic table when we left.
It turns out that I wake up over an hour before Shawna makes it to the line. Since we are out of phone contact, we are all on edge. The road is very narrow and very windy and very very dark. Does she have a vest?? Does she have a flashlight?? We don't know.
After a time slightly less it takes to read War and Peace, van #2 finally comes in, and it turns out that Shawna is still a long ways away, about 30~40 minutes. We learn that she does have reflectors and a light. This is good. Now Guntram can get ready for his 2nd 10k of the day.
When Shawna finally does show up, we all gasp. It is obvious that this leg took a lot out of her, and she didn't let it get the better of her. She had attacked the leg with everything she had, and she had won.
This turned out to be my inspiration for my run.
As we took off after Guntram, we noticed something different; it was dark. Spotting runners in the daytime was easy, but at night it was next to impossible. That made the job of driving that much harder.
The next few legs went easily. I still wanted to stop and have my hot chocolate and my book, but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen. Suddenly, I realize that I have to run the next leg! My adreneline started pumping. What was my leg like? I know there were no hills, but was it in the country, or a city? Maybe it would be a nice run by the bay, that would be nice!
As we pull into the parking lot for my leg, half of the van heads for Safeway and food. I wish I could go in too, but I've got to get ready for my run. We don't know when Geri will be in. Her 10~12 minute miles were looking more like 8 minute miles when we caught up with her at mile 3. And the second half was downhill, so she could show up at any time.
The handoff point was near a residential area. There was a house across the street from the handoff location. They called the cops on us because of the noise. The police showed up and talked to the people in charge. They tried to tell us to be quiet, but if you've ever had to deal with 40 runners who have been running for 12 hours, then you know that he had no effect on us.
Suddenly, there is Geri. She stops, and I take her flashlight, while Guntram transfers the blinky red light to the back of my shorts. And I'm off!
Woo hoo! I'm running in The Relay!
I'm stoked. I'm following this woman who has a 2-way radio. She is talking to the people in her van. Apparently, they bought it at Costco, and its working great. I make a note that next year (please note that at this point, there still is the possibilty of running again next year) our team should get one of those. I ask her if that thing played Metallica, or some other great running music. Unfortunatly, it didn't.
Ok, so I'm out, I'm feeling good. My run has 3 turns, one that is 2 miles out, one that is 4.5 miles out, and one near the end. In about 20 minutes, I come across the first turn. 10 minute miles. A little faster than I anticipated, but I should be able to run that fast. Unfortunatly, the run thus far is on sidewalks in the dark. Now, if you've never run sidewalks in the dark, well, let me tell you, it ain't easy. At every driveway, I had to make sure not to do a header as the sidewalk dropped down and then raised back up. I couln't get into the zone and just put one foot in front of the other.
The van (with Guntram driving) passes me by, as I give them my jacket, they cheer me on.
At about mile 2.5, I start to get tired. I hadn't trained at all for the run, and the last time I had gone more than 2 miles was over 2 months ago. I figured that it was mostly mind over matter anyway. So, around 2.5, I feel like walking. Then, I think of Shawna, and how she looked at the end of her hard leg. It was obvious to me that she didn't give up, and she pushed herself as hard as she could. We were all part of the same race, so I couldn't just give up and walk because it would be more comfortable. So I pushed on.
Then I remembered the spagetti I had for lunch. (No, it doesn't taste better the 2nd time!)
Then I remembered I forgot to go pee before my run
Then I remembered I hadn't gone #2 all day either.
So, here I am at 11:00 at night, running through a strange town, and I had three bodily functions all wanting to come out at the same time.
I knew I should have gone home this morning.
Everytime I wanted to slow down and walk, the van was always parked just ahead, cheering me on. I couldn't walk with them in site, so I'd jog by them as best I could.
Every now and then, I'd hear other runners come by and pass me. Now, I'd expect them to say things like "hows it going" or "how are you doing." But they were saying to me "Are you alright?" Man, I must have looked baaaad.
Finally, after 62 minutes, I see the exchange point. Woo hoo! Fortunatly, its next to a round table pizza. I make the pass off to April, and hit the rest rooms. Woo hoo!
So, I made it. Now, all I have to do is drive.
Guntram is still driving, and I find a seat near the back of the van. It's starting to feel very comfortable. Its near midnight, I've been up since 5:00am. I've had a costco muffin at 8:00, a plate of spagetti at 3:00, a PB&J around 9:00, and thats it. Food is still the farthest thing from my mind.
As Curt runs down through Sausalito, we notice how clear it is. There is no fog out. We see the City across the bay. What a beautiful sight! I take some pictures that don't do it any justice.
Guntram drives us into the next van exchange, as Curt runs over the Golden gate at 1 in the morning. What a rush! We meet up with van #2.
They had the same sleep experiece as we had previously... none. At this point, I'm having problems keeping my eyes open, so I know how they are feeling, and they have 6 hours of running to do. This can't go well.
We decide to head off to Canada college for some shut eye. I don't know how, but Guntram ends up driving. I don't remember how that happened, after all, wasn't I suppoed to be driving? I was very tired, and was glad that he took over. (Some driver I turned out to be, huh?)
I fall asleep in the back of the van. For those who know me, they know that I don't sleep sitting up. I was so tired, that I just fell asleep. When I woke up, we were driving around, looking for a food place, a safeway I guess. Well, as luck (?) would have it, we pass by a Jack in the Box. April starts getting excited about the prospect of having some of Jack's breakfast sandwiches. Well, 4 out of 6 of us had never heard of them, but by this time, they could have given me Hagus and I wouln't have cared. So I put in my order for 2 of them little guys, cuz as April says, "They are too small to eat just one!" I wish I had a video camera for the van and for the drive through worker at this time. Picture this, its about 2:00 in the morning, a big van drives up to the speaker, and we order:
"11 Jack's breakfast sandwiches please."
"Will there be anything else?"
"No."
The sandwiches show up, I look at mine, and wait until morning before I can look at it again. My stomach hurts (gee, I wonder why?) and I'm dead tired. We finally make it up to the gym, where 100 or so people are camped out on the floor. We put down our sleeping bags, and I put my phone right next to the pillow. This is one wake up call I'm not looking foward to. As I wonder if I can fall asleep with all the other people around, snoring and talking, I fall asleep.
The next thing I know, some asshole's phone is going off. I wish he would get it. Then I realize that its my phone. Shit! I reach over, answer it, and get under the sleeping bag so as not to wake anybody else.
I'll try to transcribe the phone message as I remember:
"Hi Richard, this is Shawna"
"huuuuuhhh. Hi Shawna. Hows it going"
"Bad. I'm puking. Phil is out. Geri is out"
"Oh shit"
"Yeah, they had to split up my leg, with three runners each running two miles."
"Oh shit"
"Yeah"
"Where are you?"
"Starting leg #24" (Our van starts leg #25)
"Where?"
"Starting leg #24"
"Where is that?" (I'm not doing numbers right now.)
"At the corner of highway 92 and Canada road." (I hear the words Canada and corner. I'm thinking they are already at the exchange point, waiting for us)
"Oh, so you are almost here?!??"
"Yeah."
"So, how are you doing?" (Morning are NOT my strong point)
"Not good. I'm puking"
"Oh man, thats not good. So, what are we doing?"
"It's bad. I'm puking, and Phil is out."
"Hmmm. Well, we'll figure it out. Take care Shawna"
"bye"
So, I wake up Dirk, and tell him the wonderful news. I then tell him to go and find Dirk, once again showing that mornings are not my strong point.
At that point, I feel tired and sick. I want nothing more than to sleep another 10 hours and then wake up to take a nap. The rest of the team feels the same way. Dirk decides that when the runner comes in, we'll have a pow-wow and discuss where we want to go. We are 2/3 of the way done with the race, and the hardest third yet to go. I'm all ready to give up at this point. Words don't describe how horrible I am feeling. If you had told me that I spent the previous 12 hours drinking shots of tequila and eating Pork Rinds, I would have belived you. I felt that bad.
So, Dirk and I (and maybe others too?) go down to pick up Paul, the runner coming into the exchange. After getting lost, we make it down there. I have to park far away, so Dirk takes off running towards the exchange. As I walk down, I see Paul. What is he doing here? He tells me that he just saw Dirk, and Dirk took the baton and started running??? Huh? What about our pow-wow? I see Phil pull in behind us, and he says that he feels great, and that he was *out* running Shawna's leg.
Once again showing that morning are not my strong point. So, we have to grab Guntram, and the rest of the van for this series of legs, and find Dirk. The race is on again!
I try to conceal my excitment.
I look around, and find my Jack in a Crack breakfast sandwich. The egg has gotten cold and hard. Mmmmmmmm. I take one bite, and feel life rush back into me. Could it be that I feel sick because I haven't eaten? I take another bite. A little better. Damn, this little breakfast sandwich is saving my life. Unbelievable!
Because our team was short of runners, I volunteered to do another leg. This one was classified as 3 miles and Very Hard. I said I'd do it, but I would walk all the way. I looked at the map, about a thousand vertical feet in 3 miles. Oh fun!
Because I had to run that leg, I didn't finish my breakfast sandwich. I had learned my lesson the day before with that yummy spagetti.
I took off on my 3 mile uphill leg jogging slightly. Hey, this isn't too bad! It's mostly flat, with a gentle uphill. I'm going slowly, and I notice someone else walking/running. I start walking and we start to talk. Her story was very inspirational.
She told me that she woke up one day, I think it was her 40th birthday, and was tired of being >200 pounds! She went down to Jenny Craig, signed up as a lifetime member, and started to use walking as an exercise. Well, that was 8 years, 4 marathons, countless relays (TheRelay and the Hood to Coast near Portland) ago. She told me that she had torn a muscle in her leg, so she wasn't competing. But she really needed the exercise, so she was doing this leg for fun!
Anyway, she was in much better shape than I was, and I had to stop and walk while she continued. She did have much higer modivation than I did; she had a margarita waiting for her in the van. Again, I make a mental note of how to make next years run better! (next year?!??)
It turns out that the first mile was the flattest, and then it got hard. I huffed and puffed my way up the hill. Vans were not allowed on the road, but a few snuck by and offered me drinks (H20 only, no margaritas!) The support of all the teams was outstanding. I told my team that it would probably take me an hour to make it to the top, so you can imagine my surprise as I crest the hill and see the transfer station at only 50 minutes into my walk. Woo Hoo! I jog down and see Brian. He has this look of disbelief on his face. His first comment to me was something like:
"Damn, you are early. Curt is on the crapper."
You know, there are times to make jokes, and there are times to be serious. Unfortunately, he was serious.
So, I finish my leg in 50 minutes, but have to wait an extra 10 minutes at the transfer station while Curt finishes the paperwork and stretches. Curt more than makes up for the missed transfer by absolutly spanking the rest of the hill, doing a similar 3 miles climb in 40 minutes.
So, thats it for van #1. We pass the baton off, and we are done with the relay. All we have to do now is hope that van #2 can finish.
What a huge exercise in trust and teamwork! I mean, we are done, finished. We (van #1) have finished our commitment, but the goal has not been achieved. The only thing to do is meet them at the finish line.
So, after a breakfast/lunch break at a Mexican restraunt, its back to the SEI parking lot, where we empty the van into our cars, and head home for showers! Back home, I shower, and eat a little bit more. I have some caffine, which I realize I hadn't had in about 48 hours.
I start getting nervous, and a little guilty. I'm at home, clean and relaxed, while the runners in van #2 are out busting their butts on the last few legs. So, I decide to head down to the finish line. Now, my original place in the team was to drive and document the trip. However, my role changed somewhat, as I ran two legs of the race as well. I wanted to cross the finish line with the team, but I decided that it would be better to document the finish with pictures. Before the race started, many team members expressed that they wanted pictures of the finish, so I didn't want to let them down.
I waited around the finish line for about 20 minutes, until I got a call on my cell phone. Shawna was still about 45 minutes out, so I had some time to relax and enjoy the sun (finally!)
At the appropriate time, I wondered down to the finish line, and got my camera all setup. After what seemed like eternity, they all showed up around the corner. I put the camera on continuous mode, and took as many pictures as I could of the team crossing the finish line. Woo Hoo! They did it!!! We did it!!!
If you would have told me that morning that we would finish, I would have laughed in your face.
Some how, we all managed to keep it together through the rough times, and pulled through to finish a 193 mile race in 29 hours 35 minutes.
Something I'll remember for the rest of my life, but I may forget just in time to run it again next year.
Friday, October 26, 2007
New Camera
So for my 40th birthday (sigh) I bought myself a new toy.
I've been looking at cameras again. Back in High School and College, I really enjoyed photography. I was a photographer for the HS newspaper, with full access to the B&W darkroom! After that, I worked in a couple of photo labs in Montana and California.
One of the reasons I gave up the hobby was the cost of processing, and the lack of quality. Back when I was in the darkroom, I developed my own stuff, and printed the pictures the way I wanted to. When I worked in the photo labs, I had less control, but I did have my employee discount, and I was able to control several elements of how my prints were processed.
When I started my "real" job, I was able to buy a nice camera, and a few lenses. I was able to make some nice images, but overall, I wasn't having as much fun. My prints would come back too dark or too light. I would also realize that my composition was wrong. I needed more practice! I needed to shoot more and more rolls of film. It started out to be an expensive, not-so-much-fun hobby. So I put photography on hold for a while, and had fun doing other things.
Since that time, digital photography started coming out. The early cameras where about 1 Mega Pixels. Jill had one of those (Merry Christmas dear) and she loved it. I would look at the prints she made (from her ink jet printer) and "poo-poo" them. "Look at the pixels by the eyes" I would say. "This technology stinks! It will never catch on!"
More years passed. 1 Mega Pixel cameras turned into 4 Mega Pixel cameras. Ink Jet prints were no longer being done, and the local photo labs were printing digital prints onto real photo paper. Things were looking better. I no longer "poo-pooed" this new technology, and started seeing the real benefit. Take as many pictures as you want, review them on the pretty screen that is on the camera, and download the ones you like onto your computer. Point and shoot cameras could now make decent looking photographs, which could be printed large and hung on a wall.
Last year, when Jill got her latest digital point and shoot camera, I got a little jealous. We bought the camera for our UK trip. I took her old hand me down camera, and took a couple of hundred photos during the trip. I had a great time, and made some great pictures too!
So I was content to use the super small point and shoot camera. It fit in my pocket, and took nice pictures. However, a few things were happening that would really piss me off. First of all, I would take out of focus pictures. Why the camera wouldn't focus at infinity during a sunrise landscape shot is beyond me. I also wanted to control the size of the aperture, to control the Depth of Field. While technically possible, I needed to memorize a large book, and navigate 10 levels of menus before I could adjust it. I was frustrated that I could not quickly create the images that I knew I could.
I'm not sure exactly what happened, or when it happened. A good friend of mine got a nice Digital SLR camera (DSLR), a Nikon D80 last year. This camera is not your simple digital point and shoot. It is larger than most film cameras were 10 years ago. You can buy lenses to place on this camera, which are just like a "real" camera. Then, about 2 months ago, my neighbor got the same camera. I started to feel the itch again to get back into photography.
But the camera is not cheap (but I am) and it was hard to justify to myself that I should spend a ton of money for something that I essentially already have.
Then I turned 40....
I figured I had to do something when I turned 40. I needed to go an buy a sports car or start hanging out in strip clubs.... something life changing. So I threw caution to the wind, as well as a few dollars, and bought myself a nice Nikon D80 DSLR camera, with a beautiful 70-300 telephoto lens.
I've been out several times taking pictures, and I'm having a blast. I want to post a few pictures a week of what I've been doing. So check back if you want to see whats going on.
Here are a few from my first trip out.
I'm finding that I really enjoy nature photography. I can go for a walk in a local park, and it is full of birds, bunnies, and deer. Our backyard is full of squirrels and bunnies. I figure I can practice on them, and by the time I make it out to someplace like Yellowstone, I'll understand my camera enough to take some great shots.
That's it for now. More pictures later.
posted by RICHARD
I've been looking at cameras again. Back in High School and College, I really enjoyed photography. I was a photographer for the HS newspaper, with full access to the B&W darkroom! After that, I worked in a couple of photo labs in Montana and California.
One of the reasons I gave up the hobby was the cost of processing, and the lack of quality. Back when I was in the darkroom, I developed my own stuff, and printed the pictures the way I wanted to. When I worked in the photo labs, I had less control, but I did have my employee discount, and I was able to control several elements of how my prints were processed.
When I started my "real" job, I was able to buy a nice camera, and a few lenses. I was able to make some nice images, but overall, I wasn't having as much fun. My prints would come back too dark or too light. I would also realize that my composition was wrong. I needed more practice! I needed to shoot more and more rolls of film. It started out to be an expensive, not-so-much-fun hobby. So I put photography on hold for a while, and had fun doing other things.
Since that time, digital photography started coming out. The early cameras where about 1 Mega Pixels. Jill had one of those (Merry Christmas dear) and she loved it. I would look at the prints she made (from her ink jet printer) and "poo-poo" them. "Look at the pixels by the eyes" I would say. "This technology stinks! It will never catch on!"
More years passed. 1 Mega Pixel cameras turned into 4 Mega Pixel cameras. Ink Jet prints were no longer being done, and the local photo labs were printing digital prints onto real photo paper. Things were looking better. I no longer "poo-pooed" this new technology, and started seeing the real benefit. Take as many pictures as you want, review them on the pretty screen that is on the camera, and download the ones you like onto your computer. Point and shoot cameras could now make decent looking photographs, which could be printed large and hung on a wall.
Last year, when Jill got her latest digital point and shoot camera, I got a little jealous. We bought the camera for our UK trip. I took her old hand me down camera, and took a couple of hundred photos during the trip. I had a great time, and made some great pictures too!
So I was content to use the super small point and shoot camera. It fit in my pocket, and took nice pictures. However, a few things were happening that would really piss me off. First of all, I would take out of focus pictures. Why the camera wouldn't focus at infinity during a sunrise landscape shot is beyond me. I also wanted to control the size of the aperture, to control the Depth of Field. While technically possible, I needed to memorize a large book, and navigate 10 levels of menus before I could adjust it. I was frustrated that I could not quickly create the images that I knew I could.
I'm not sure exactly what happened, or when it happened. A good friend of mine got a nice Digital SLR camera (DSLR), a Nikon D80 last year. This camera is not your simple digital point and shoot. It is larger than most film cameras were 10 years ago. You can buy lenses to place on this camera, which are just like a "real" camera. Then, about 2 months ago, my neighbor got the same camera. I started to feel the itch again to get back into photography.
But the camera is not cheap (but I am) and it was hard to justify to myself that I should spend a ton of money for something that I essentially already have.
Then I turned 40....
I figured I had to do something when I turned 40. I needed to go an buy a sports car or start hanging out in strip clubs.... something life changing. So I threw caution to the wind, as well as a few dollars, and bought myself a nice Nikon D80 DSLR camera, with a beautiful 70-300 telephoto lens.
I've been out several times taking pictures, and I'm having a blast. I want to post a few pictures a week of what I've been doing. So check back if you want to see whats going on.
Here are a few from my first trip out.
I'm finding that I really enjoy nature photography. I can go for a walk in a local park, and it is full of birds, bunnies, and deer. Our backyard is full of squirrels and bunnies. I figure I can practice on them, and by the time I make it out to someplace like Yellowstone, I'll understand my camera enough to take some great shots.That's it for now. More pictures later.
posted by RICHARD
Why?
This has happened to me several times, and I'd like to know why...
I go to the gym in the morning. I'm usually done with my workout around 8:30. When I goto my car, I usually see several other cars "circling" the lot. When I happen to have a day when I get a parking spot close to the front door, and I walk towards it, there is a feeding frenzy with the nearby cars. They seem to race each other to get into position to take my spot.
My quesion is this. Why are you going to the gym to begin with? Most people go running on the treadmill. Would walking an extra 30 yards to the front door be such a bad thing? I can understand that during a rain storm, or when it is cold out, that the extra 30 seconds walking is a big deal, but this happens to me on nice days too.
One day, I had to make a phone call in my car after my workout, and when I made it to my car (I had ROCKSTAR parking that day) I had somebody waiting for me already. I wanted to just sit and make my call, but I felt obliged to drive over to the empty area before I made my call.
posted by RICHARD
I go to the gym in the morning. I'm usually done with my workout around 8:30. When I goto my car, I usually see several other cars "circling" the lot. When I happen to have a day when I get a parking spot close to the front door, and I walk towards it, there is a feeding frenzy with the nearby cars. They seem to race each other to get into position to take my spot.
My quesion is this. Why are you going to the gym to begin with? Most people go running on the treadmill. Would walking an extra 30 yards to the front door be such a bad thing? I can understand that during a rain storm, or when it is cold out, that the extra 30 seconds walking is a big deal, but this happens to me on nice days too.
One day, I had to make a phone call in my car after my workout, and when I made it to my car (I had ROCKSTAR parking that day) I had somebody waiting for me already. I wanted to just sit and make my call, but I felt obliged to drive over to the empty area before I made my call.
posted by RICHARD
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
More updates coming soon!
I hope to "revive" this blog in the upcoming days. I have lots of cool things to add, but for some reason, I haven't added anything in a long time.
Upcoming titles to look for:
Upcoming titles to look for:
- Being in Sturgis, South Dakota during Harley week (not on purpose!!)
- Driving on the wrong side of the road in Scotland.
- Don't throw your cigarette butts out the window in Santa Cruz!
- Running in the cold.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Automatic Weapons update
I haven't been running the last few weeks. Call it my summer coma. When winter turns to spring, I am full of energy, and need to be outside every minute of every day. After a few weeks, the excitement of the sun wears off a bit, and I just want to lay around.
The laziness wore off this week, and I finally made it back out to the park where I run. I was still curious to find out what prompted the police to show up with automatic weapons a few weeks ago, so I found the park employee I had talked to a few weeks ago, and asked her what she had learned. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of an update. But she did say that a day or two later, management sent down some flyers about "dangerous animals" and a "what to do if" type checklist. She speculated that somebody reported seeing some sort of animal, and that they didn't want to take any chances.
Was she telling me a story? Or was it the truth? I don't know. I thought they would call the park rangers instead of the police if there was an animal to be caught. But there were no signs posted around the park warning us about dangerous people or animals. So it is hard to tell.
When I was done with my run, I was walking to the spot where I stretch. This area is close to the big "kid zoo." The park has a big jungle gym setup on the side of a hill. It looks like one of those McDonalds play areas, but about 10 times bigger. Anyway, a mom was trying to get her two young daughters to come out of the tree area to go to the car. When the kids were ignoring her, the mom said, "You better come out of there. (pause) I hope the bears don't eat you!"
At first I thought it was a mean thing to say to a young child. By lying to the child, and manipulating her feelings, it might scare the child the next time they come out to the park. (It worked though, the kids came out of the wooded area!) But then I thought about the cops with guns I had seen earlier, and then the lack of warnings telling me to stay out of the woods. Should the park warn us if there are dangerous animals in the woods? Should they tell us about the report, and what the cops found? Or is it better to be oblivious, and go play where the bears might eat me?
Tuesday's BunnyCount was high. Somewhere around 15. About half were BabyBunnies. BabyBunnies have no fear of joggers, and won't run away until we are about 10 feet away. But at that critical distance, they run fast, but don't know where to go. Instant entertainment for us joggers!
posted by RICHARD
The laziness wore off this week, and I finally made it back out to the park where I run. I was still curious to find out what prompted the police to show up with automatic weapons a few weeks ago, so I found the park employee I had talked to a few weeks ago, and asked her what she had learned. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of an update. But she did say that a day or two later, management sent down some flyers about "dangerous animals" and a "what to do if" type checklist. She speculated that somebody reported seeing some sort of animal, and that they didn't want to take any chances.
Was she telling me a story? Or was it the truth? I don't know. I thought they would call the park rangers instead of the police if there was an animal to be caught. But there were no signs posted around the park warning us about dangerous people or animals. So it is hard to tell.
When I was done with my run, I was walking to the spot where I stretch. This area is close to the big "kid zoo." The park has a big jungle gym setup on the side of a hill. It looks like one of those McDonalds play areas, but about 10 times bigger. Anyway, a mom was trying to get her two young daughters to come out of the tree area to go to the car. When the kids were ignoring her, the mom said, "You better come out of there. (pause) I hope the bears don't eat you!"
At first I thought it was a mean thing to say to a young child. By lying to the child, and manipulating her feelings, it might scare the child the next time they come out to the park. (It worked though, the kids came out of the wooded area!) But then I thought about the cops with guns I had seen earlier, and then the lack of warnings telling me to stay out of the woods. Should the park warn us if there are dangerous animals in the woods? Should they tell us about the report, and what the cops found? Or is it better to be oblivious, and go play where the bears might eat me?
Tuesday's BunnyCount was high. Somewhere around 15. About half were BabyBunnies. BabyBunnies have no fear of joggers, and won't run away until we are about 10 feet away. But at that critical distance, they run fast, but don't know where to go. Instant entertainment for us joggers!
posted by RICHARD
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Even more weird things I've seen while out running
You know, sometimes I think the world throws things at you, just so you can tell others.
During my run yesterday (6.5 miles with 6- 2:00 intervals) I come across a guy cross country skiing.
Granted, I was on a cross country ski trail, but this is the first week of June, with the temperature of 80+. Haven't seen snow for a long time.
It looks like this guy made/bought a device which looks likes skis, and has rollers on it. Imagine 2 2x4 boards, each about 5 feet long. Sandwich these two boards together, and put some ball-bearings and springs between them. So you can push off and "glide", then pick up your other foot, and the springs will push the "ski" back in front of you, so you can land and push off again.
I swear, I can't make this stuff up.
Running count:
BunnyCount: 4
turkeys: 1
deer: 1
turtles: 1
Apparently the turtles are laying their eggs now. They try to get as far from the water as they can. I think that is why they are coming up on the trails more-and-more lately. It has been kinda fun seeing them.
Oh, and today is 6/6/6. We played volleyball at lunch, and our team won. There is no connection, but I think there was a chance I did see a snowball...
Enjoy!
During my run yesterday (6.5 miles with 6- 2:00 intervals) I come across a guy cross country skiing.
Granted, I was on a cross country ski trail, but this is the first week of June, with the temperature of 80+. Haven't seen snow for a long time.
It looks like this guy made/bought a device which looks likes skis, and has rollers on it. Imagine 2 2x4 boards, each about 5 feet long. Sandwich these two boards together, and put some ball-bearings and springs between them. So you can push off and "glide", then pick up your other foot, and the springs will push the "ski" back in front of you, so you can land and push off again.
I swear, I can't make this stuff up.
Running count:
BunnyCount: 4
turkeys: 1
deer: 1
turtles: 1
Apparently the turtles are laying their eggs now. They try to get as far from the water as they can. I think that is why they are coming up on the trails more-and-more lately. It has been kinda fun seeing them.
Oh, and today is 6/6/6. We played volleyball at lunch, and our team won. There is no connection, but I think there was a chance I did see a snowball...
Enjoy!
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