Poultry Days 2007

By far, the best Ultimate trip to Ohio that I've ever experienced. (In college I went to a tournament in Ohio, and with all of the crappy traffic we hit, and the crappy games that we played, I vowed never to return to that state... I've obviously, and gratefully gone back on that pledge. Flaming Moe and Poultry Days have saved Ohio for me.)

At the end of last week, Änna and I suddenly realized that we were actually going to play Ultimate - at a tournament - with Flaming Moe! ...something that we felt we hadn't done in a really long time... (7 months!) ...and something that we hadn't realized we'd been missing as much as we had.

Bright and early Friday morning, with expectations high, we got on the road.
The trip was relatively quick, and uneventful... which was great. We picked up Alicia in Rochester on the way down, ate some fast food, listened to some Dan Brown... We got into Versailles with enough light to set up tents and hang out/throw for a bit, before going to bed (early - like, 10pm... maybe trying to sleep a little extra for those who wouldn't be arriving for another couple hours).

Saturday we were matched up against a variety of teams that weren't as good as we were. :) Where every once and a while there would be a player on the other team that could match some of our players in individual skills/talent/speed, no team could match the cohesive offense and stifling team defense that Moe is already showing this early in the season. All of the tryouts vying for the last few spots on the team played well, both generally, and with in the Moe O and D systems. I do not envy the captains in their upcoming decisions.

Saturday night was fun. Much food was eaten. Lasagna, breadsticks, cheeseburgers, apple sauce... funnel cake! Watching Alicia in the All-Star game. Awkwardly walking through the carnival, waiting for it to get as fun as it looked. :) Circling back up at the tents, Moes expressing love via sarcasm. (Good point in your email, Dave, about how this can translate to the field.) Also, pistachios and vanilla wafers.

Sunday morning started off a little weird. The TD went nuts at us because we went into a huddle for a quick talk when the game was supposed to start. Instead of just letting us start a minute late, he yelled at us to get seven on the line, argued with us about the importance of starting on time, and caused us to start the game 2 minutes late. Pick your battles, dude. Anyway, Dave later talked to him and he regretted the incident, blaming the pressures of TDing for his attitude.

Then a major blow - Anton dislocates his shoulder laying out for a deep pass. It looked really painful. That sucks. Especially for Anton as one of the last few tryouts. I have no idea what the recovery process can be like for a dislocated shoulder (probably depends on if/what he tore), but I hope he can bounce back from this.

We got a bit down, and down on each other after this, and it showed in the game. Even up 7-4 at half some of us looked like we'd not only just lost the game, but that we'd caught our own teammates kicking puppies behind the wood pile on the other sideline. Dave said something like, "Come on guys! We're BFFs! We're winning! And those were evil puppies!" And everybody got there heads on straight to finish the game.

The next game we had was against a much higher caliber team. The kind of caliber that Moe most enjoys playing against. There were great plays coming from both teams, making the game easily the most exciting to both play in and watch. It seemed like we traded points in groups of three. Us, them, break, break. After our last run we were tied at 10s, they take a time out, and eventually score the last three. It'd been better if the pattern wouldn't have stuck there at the end of the game, but start-to-finish, each point was played hard, every disc contested, so I'm still happy with the result. Quarters finish for our first tournament.

Highlights: Mike and Elliot had some memorable layouts. Jaime ('that tiny girl!') kept beating everyone covering her. John was good in the air on 'O'. Mike's pulls. Jeanine and I got Callahans. Änna flicking everybody off.

I shouldn't have gone there...


The drive home's highlight was Ruby Tuesdays. We gorged on salad bar and burgers for a good hour. We got home just after 1am, which is so much better than 5am (although I think I'd still be able to blog at work either way). Meeting tonight to decide the final '07 team. I don't see how it can go smoothly. :) But I'm excited for the next tournament either way.

*Oh, and maybe I'll bring the video camera to check out footage from the weekend. I don't think I got anything awesome, but it could still be fun. (Could a Video Blog Post be on the horizon?!)

Summer Plans, etc.

So are you anything like me? Are most of your weekends now busy... through, say, November?! This seems to happen every summer - being an Ultimate player, it's sort of expected, but it's still crazy looking at my calendar and seeing all the events that get packed into a summer.

It looks like it'll be a fun one though - there are some 'firsts' this summer that I'm especially excited about. Like backpacking in the Beartooths with the Melbys. We're thinking that'll happen the first full week in August. And I found out yesterday that I'm scheduled to go on a 'business trip' to Phoenix the 25th-28th of July. (Someone's moving up in the world!) On top of that, Flaming Moe has the most interesting and challenging schedule we've ever had.

So it looks like it'll be a good one, however busy.

Upcoming events:
Poultry Days in Ohio this weekend.
Film Club hopefully next Saturday.
Father's Day stuff next Sunday.
Boston Invite the 23rd and 24th.

*I've been really bad about posting my training stuff... mostly because I've been really bad about training. Tryouts always kill my motivation to workout, but at least they've been happening 3 times a week (keeping me pretty active). I've still been running a couple times outside of tryouts, and lifting maybe once a week. Last night I was really good - I lifted for 45 minutes AND THEN went on a good run. So that's that.

Track '28'

[For Jay, and all those others of you preparing for World War Z... I thought it was about time there was a 'z' themed rap.]

Blood drips
-Off his teeth and his lips

He can’t quit
-All his thoughts been eclipsed

By a need
-By a need to commit-

By some cryptic desire to FIND FLESH and RIP IT!


A slight shift
-A wrong turn of the hips

All it takes
-And his next victim slips

Soon enough
Has her wrists in his grip

Nearby someone screams “It’s the a-pocalypse!”


‘It is the apocalypse!’ ‘Is it the apocalypse?’ ‘It' is the apocalypse!’ ‘Is it the apocalypse?’

Far off
On the deck of a ship

The air’s tense
Men are loading their clips

They have doubts
They doubt they’re equipped

To-deal with-an-evil no-army’s-yet wit-nessed

'The horror'
Watching men conscience-stripped

Devour
Their own ‘cause they've flipped

And become
Become like horses whipped

IT overtakes all life
Like the ol’ movie script.

'script'

'script'

'script'

Training Links

http://www.mapmyrun.com/

Easier than trying to use Google Maps, or some such program to determine routes, etc. Just draw it on the map!

http://www.thestick.com/

Does anybody know where to get one of these locally? If not, I'm thinking of buying a couple... I know quite a few Ultimate players with hamstring issues right now. Without borrowing one of these last year, I don't think I could have played Saturday of Nationals.

Tryouts '07

Well, Flaming Moe had its third tryout for the '07 season last night. And I finally started playing. The first two tryouts were fine, but I was playing quite "conservatively." I had a couple opportunities that I could have done more with on D, especially. Last night was a little bit better though. I shut down a couple people, beat someone out in the air, and had a couple of nice throws completed. I don't want to sound like Lou here (wink wink), so I will admit that I'm still a work in progress for this season... I just finally felt like I was coming into my own a little bit. (It's a true luxury to be a returner at tryouts, because I have the opportunity to 'come into my own...' I'm trying to take as little advantage of that as possible though - it's definitely a lot more comfortable to play my way onto the team.)

Other than on the field, it's been fun talking to tryouts on the sidelines and getting an idea of what Moe '07 could look like. There's going to be a lot of weight on the returner's shoulders this year - and especially, I think, in the handler postitions. But when I take a step back and consider only the top 10% of the field (the top tryouts), I see Moe being better than before (Best Case Scenario), or just within reach of the talent we had last year (and that's Worst Case Scenario). Best of luck captains.

I Wooted.

Er, excuse me?

:)

In case you haven't heard, Woot.com is a web- site/community/lifestyle that offers products on a one-per-day basis. The Woot team apparently has a huge warehouse full of random junk (most of it consumer electronics) and they select one item each day to sell until it's sold out. There's no bidding or anything - the price is set at midnight each night for each product.

So each night the more committed Wooters wait for their atomic clocks (purchased on Woot) to signal the change of day, and the release of some new product into the Wootsphere. About 25% of Woot's sales are committed between that hour of midnight and 1am.

Anyway, I've been excitedly waiting for the first product that I could justify Wooting, and today it came. It's just a bottom line (many of Woot's products are no-name, refurbs, etc.... but the price is always right) wireless card that I could/might use for my desktop - but my first Woot nonetheless.

My Feet Hurt.

Training Log -- 4/19 - 5/13

Moe had another pick up game last night, which was pretty fun. Maybe more competitive than the last one, although a little less poorly attended. I'm not sure who is benefiting the most from these pick up games... But I've decided that I am benefiting to some degree, so that's a good thing. :)

Joe was right when he said it last night: Only Ultimate can really prepare you for Ultimate. Although I've been running 3 days a week very consistently for the past month, I still can get destroyed on the Ultimate field during these games. So I'm benefiting from these games when I come out knowing that I need to work harder to come into tryouts a bit stronger. Or maybe just better prepare myself for competition.

Another major part of Joe's Ultimate true-ism that I [re-]discovered last night was just the wear-and-tear kind of toll that Ultimate takes on your body. Last night for me it was my feet. Stupid, frustrating things like breaking in cleats can be just as bad as breaking in out-of-shape lungs and legs. Running on straight paths in perfectly comfortable shoes doesn't quite cut it, but I guess it has to start somewhere.

My lifting has suffered these past weeks. I've pretty much taken on the mentallity that running is more important than lifting for me now, and most nights I only have the time and energy for one or the other. So I run. I'm still doing my push ups and sit ups, and when I remember, 'supermans'... we'll see if it pays off.

Support MN Ultimate!

--- from whatmoves.com ---
Some of my teammates are getting together fund-raising ideas to cover jersey & travel expenses this season and one idea that's currently on the hot plate is MN Ultimate shirts/jerseys. We're thinking that Minnesotans are pretty proud people, and that Ultimate players from the Central Region are just as proud to represent their sport and their home state. Furthermore, with the growth of Ultimate as a sport there are hopes that local teams will develope a fan base, both within the Ultimate community (including High School, College, Club, League and Pick Up players) and among people introduced to the sport via friends and family. So without futher ado, here is the concept design for MN Ultimate apparel!



*Notice* These designs do not [yet?] have any affiliation with TCUL or mnultimate.com...

Wal-atin?

I was always a little cocky about not having any allergies. In my group of geeky friends only I could eat anything, pet any animal... I never got Poison Ivy...For a couple summers I even tried to rid myself of histamines so that not even mosquitos could bother me. I'd think, these reactions that other people have to tasty and/or cuddly things... to nature... are defections. Impurities.

Lately (fortunately) my extreme views on allergies and allergy sufferers have relented -- or at least have become subconscious. :) But I think that it was those same idyllic notions of purity that kept me from coming to the realization that I too have become a victim of nature's air-borne arsenal. I'm not sure how many years I've been in denial about this. Last year though I can clearly remember complaining of a cold that seemed to last the entire spring and summer.... At some point this winter/spring, and with the addition of a second shedding cat to our household, it clicked.

Dang. I have allergies!

And lately they've gotten pretty bad. I wake up most mornings at 4-5am because I can no longer breathe... my nose clogged and my mouth like sand paper after trying to take over breathing duties. (Humidifier be damned!)

Gross.

So I'm on my 3rd day of allergy medication. I went to get some Claritin™ at Walgreens, but ended up with Walitin™... At $5 for 10 once-daily pills, they're half the price of Claritin™, so probably worth checking out.

And so far, so good (?). Judging by my wake up times... Yesterday (Day 2) I woke up at 6am, but in same condition as pre-medicated. Today it was 7am. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up with my alarm, and still able to breathe!

One can only hope.

Scooter Update and Training Log.

What a glorious past week for scootering! And this week is shaping up to be just as nice. I've been scootin' to work just about every day, and I've found it to be pretty relaxing way to get around the city. Why? Because on my scooter at least, you CAN'T be in a hurry. Where ever I go I have the throttle wide open, just to maintain 27 mph. So what's there to do (?), but settle in and enjoy the ride. I guess stop-and-go traffic can be annoying. Some days it's pretty bad going through the construction on Lake St. But not as bad, I usually decide, as if I was in my van! Bottom line: it's easy to be content upon a scooter.

Training Log, uh, for this last week or so.
Dang. I've been distracting myself away from working out. I think I've gone running twice since my last post, but I've only lifted once. I have been doing my situps on off days still, but admittedly, I've been slacking. It was nice to get out and play Ultimate the other day though. Not exactly the toughest game, but still a little workout. Goal for tonight: lift before going on a run. Tryouts are a week and a half away!

1987 Honda Elite SE50P

Hello all,

I know that I've been a little behind on the posts lately, so I hope that this explains what I've been up to the last couple weeks...

- so -

A year or so ago I bought a beat up, piece of junk scooter from my friend Mario. And although the price seemed a little high at the time - especially for a scooter that had definitely seen better days - it was the novelty and potential of the machine that attracted me, and I couldn't help but go forward with the purchase. Since then, however, the scooter has been rusting away in the garage... leaned up against my dusty drum set; alongside my home-made didgeridoo; within reach of my corroded climbing gear; and just in sight of my crusty keyboard...

But earlier this spring, and just as the weather was getting better, something called out to me, motivating me to work on the scooter. Maybe it was the desire to delve into mechanics a little... to get some grease on my hands... or maybe it was my eco-consciousness reminding me of the 90-100mpg rating of the engine... or maybe it was the groaning of the mini van over those potholes that led me to work towards a better way.

...or maybe I just wanted to look cooler and feel the wind through my hair on the way to work...

Regardless, the project began.

After getting the Title/License & Insurance stuff out of the way, I took the scooter to work a couple times. The thing still ran pretty well, especially considering it had old oil and not super new gas in it. Yea! Then it snowed and got cold again, so I had to wait a couple weeks before I did any riding or tinkering. Boo. In the meantime, however, I was able to learn a lot about Honda scooters from "the Internet" and plan my course of action.* Yea!

The body was in really bad shape. Cracked and broken plastics, missing lights and lenses... Some new parts were definitely needed. And this is where things got a little out of hand.




Soooo [re]addicted! I still spend a good chunk of time at work each day searching "honda scooter" "honda elite" "honda se50" and so on, and so on. Good news is, I found a lot of what I was looking for. (Not everything though! If somebody had a right side fairing for an '87 Elite I'd probably promise to name my first son after them for it.)

Like I said, a couple weeks went by and I started accumulating parts, and knowledge. And the first Saturday it was supposed to be above 40* I was out in the garage at 7:30am working on my ride.






So with a LOT of sanding, painting, screwing, cranking, tapping, cleaning, grunting - a couple trips to HondaTown on Lake St. - and another couple weeks later, this is where I'm at:





And I'm pretty happy.


*Something I did try to remedy, but unsuccessfully, was the top speed of the scooter. Right now I can do 27 mph (according to the on-board speedometer) while going on a flat or down-hill slope. Apparently there are 2 models of the '87 Elite: the S and the P. I have the P, which stands for 'Ped, or moped, which accounts for the restricted speed. Some scooters can be easily brought back up to speed by taking off clutch restrictor plates and/or washers in the muffler - unfortunately mine has neither, so the restriction is built into how the machine runs as opposed to being added on the way out of the factory... I'm not interested in soupin' up the scooter and negatively effecting its longevity, gas mileage, etc, so I'll just have to live with the top speed.
Until I get another scooter. :)

Training Log - 4/16 - 4/18

Again, I've been pretty good so far this week. (Yea!) Both Monday and Wednesday I lifted before going on a run. Lately I feel really slow when I'm out there running... I hope that goes away. The season is really sneeking up on me!

Training Log - 4/9 - 4/16

Looks like this has turned into a weekly entry at this point. Which I still think is OK. Keep on me if I dip below that...

Anyway, I kept on the lifting schedule last week, and as long as I do Day 1 of the program today, this week should go alright too. I went running yesterday and plan on going again today. I'd like to get up to 3-4 days a week running, even if it's only a mile or two some days. Adding plyos to a short run makes for a pretty good day-off-of-lifting workout.

The Way Of The Swayze

Friends, especially Jay, I thought you'd like this article (and Zach definitely would if someone forwarded it to him).

The Way Of The Swayze: How To Be A Thoughtful Hunk

Happy reading.

And have a scary Friday the 13th.

Lynch Weekend

"Spend an amazing weekend with filmmaker David Lynch and quantum physicist John Hagelin (“The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We Know?”) May 25-27."

http://lynchweekend.org/

Wow. That could be pretty amazing. Unfortunately it will be right in the middle of tryouts... if someone (Davin? Jay?) was super psyched about this and was going anyway I could see myself taging along...

Hmmm.

SNL

Too lazy to go out and do anything Saturday night after a movie, Jay, Davin and I found ourselves in front of the TV. *Flick* Charlie's Angels? *Flick* Man vs. Wild? *Flick* History Channel? Each were given their chance to impress us, and each were passed by... I guess we were looking for something truly special this night. And on the way back around, back through the network stations, we found our entertainment in an unexpected place.

It's 11:30pm, and we arrive on channel 22. NBC, that is, on Comcast basic cable. Saturday Night Live is on... Huh... And if you're like me, there's good reason to be skeptical of what SNL has to offer these days. Many nights I wouldn't have taken a second look. More commonly I'd make it through half a skit before moving on - shaking my head - once - twice - three times - partly out of pity, remembering what was; and partly to clear my head of their brand of comedic rubbish.

Expectations low - maybe getting desperate(?) - we settled in for whatever this (largely 'unknown' to me) SNL cast could deliever. And, well, we made it through one skit... and we were laughing?! I thought, "Was that a fluke? Could it last?" But then there came another, and yet another, actually funny skit! At one point I remember saying, "This is the funniest SNL I've seen in 10 years," conveniently forgetting some of the great skits by Farrel et al, but being truly enthusiastic about a show that I'd basically left for dead.

AFI was the musical act, and their poor performances brought us down a little by the end of the show... also, the last skit was definitely the worst of the bunch, so that was another unfortunate downside... But overall (and with some time to reflect) I'd say that I'm ready to try out SNL again.

AFI really does suck though.

Training Log - 4/3 - 4/9

Let's see. I did OK last week, although I did have to skip a day of lifting. I got out running twice I think (the days that it was only 10-15 degrees below normal... like yesterday). I'm really looking forward to the weather warming up, just a little, so I can be more excited about training outdoors. Anyway, I'm all caught up, and will likely do Day 2 of lifting tonight or tomorrow.

Training Log - 3.28 - 4.01

I lifted on Friday, and meant to again on Sunday, but found myself too sore from the 3 games (of Ultimate!) that I played on Saturday (at Spring Ding, down in Winona)... It's been a rough couple weeks for the lifting schedule. :(

Playing outdoor Ultimate was pretty fun though. (And imagine if it hadn't been 40 degrees and raining!) I was actually pretty suck-tacular... my throws were OK, but my hucks were less than awesome. I did get to flop in the mud a couple times though. Two offesive layout grab attepts, one of them succesful, and a layout D. I'll say that brings me back over 50% for the weekend... You hear that?! OVER 50%! YE-HAH! ...and I'm sure that makes Moe really excited to take me for this next season...

Training Log - 3.27 - 3.28

Well, I'm almost back on track. Tuesday I did a good lifting session - not necessarily a specific "Day" (1, 2, or 3) on my workout schedule - but a combination of lifts to help bring be up to speed. Yesterday I went a a good run too. 4 miles, and I ran down off of River Rd. to the 'trails' (in various stages of maintenance) that run along the river. So it was a little bit of stop-and-go, but more interesting and fun than usual.

Now I know...

...how a father feels after a child finally does something you feel proud of...

...or something like that.

That's sweet.


(What's this guy's name?)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE! - There's yet another EZ tattoo out there!
How many of these guys did this on Spring Break?!

Training Log - 3.21 - 3.26

I'm falling behind! AH!

Most days I've been too busy to get a real workout in (this is what I hate about getting freelance work). I still haven't done Day 3 from last week... but Änna and I did go on a 4 mile run last Thursday (+ light plyos)... so I'm sitting at about a C-... The worst part is, I know that when I get home there's still a project waiting for me that needs to be done by tomorrow, so I doubt that I'll be catching up at all tonight. That will put me at a solid D, meaning Tuesday I'll have to do some A+ workin' out to get that average back up.

ASS.

Training Log - 3.9 - 3.20.07

Friday the 9th was a sad day. It was the first time since the New Year that I didn't do a "workout" of any kind... after flying in to CO and then driving to Boulder, I just collapsed into bed (with visions of ski slopes swishing through my head) without doing any push-ups or sit-ups. Boo.

Saturday and Sunday (10th & 11th) - downhill was a good workout. Some of my usually-un-used muscles got a rude awakening on some of those black diamonds. :)

Monday's (the 12th's) - "workout" was pretty 'lax'... just an hour long hike. But I was still acclimating, so get out of my grill.

Tuesday and Thursday (13th & 15th) - was some, at times, pretty grueling, but mostly very enjoyable XC skiing.

Wednesday and Friday (14th & 16th) - those hikes left my quads and lungs burning.

Saturday (17th) - I failed again and did nothing for a workout. (But I did drive 900 miles!) Really though, I wish I could be as good at working out every week that I was on vacation last week.

Sunday (18th) - Day 1 of the workout week + plyos.

Monday (19th) - Push-ups & Sit-ups.

Tuesday (20th) - Day 2 of the workout week + 2 mile run.

The Conclusion of the Spring Break Saga

Where I last left off, Änna was still holding that tarantula... Sorry to leave you in that situation, honey. But from the jungle (it was really sticky in the Pavilion) to the snow covered mountains - our story continues at the Eldora Nordic Center.

What I really found incredible about Boulder was how quickly we could go from walking down Pearl St. or The Hill (in a t-shirt and shorts, temps in the 70s), to clamoring up the side of a mountain, or even to skiing on well maintained, completely covered cross country trails. We did something like this every day, and because it never took more than a couple of hours to hike a nearby mountain, or to ski at Eldora, we would get back and still have half a day to go find something else to do.

Tuesday afternoon's skiing was excellent. And even though our skis weren't waxed quite right (hard to do for 40-50º weather and 30-40º snow...) it was still pretty amazing to be skiing in only tshirts with views of the mountains all around us. I could get used to that. Oh, and a crazy side-note... Änna and I were heading back to the car when who do we run into on the trail? Laura Hannah! Laura was a friend of mine from high school who I'd recently heard was living in Boulder and dating one of the Johnny Bravo guys...
I introduce my wife... "Wife?!" says Laura... and then she asks, "Do you know a guy named Pokey?" To which we both laugh and explain our connection to Katy and Pokey (Dan).
It's a small, small world.

The rest of the week, in brief:
Dinner Tuesday gave Änna her first Fondue, and we either met up with Katy and Dan for pool, or went over to their place to hang out... my nights are getting confused now. Hot tubbing happened one of these nights as well... Wednesday started with a relaxing morning, followed by a run that turned into a hike (we ran a mile and found ourselves at the foot of a mountain, so we went up), finished by a dramatic dinner at the Tea House (made dramatic by the frat boy and sorority girl who drunkenly broke up, and even more drunkenly got back together, all in the first 45 minutes of our dinner...). I also had a first, sending back my very well done ribs for a fresher rack. Thursday we almost didn't go back to Eldora (the plan was to ski) because it was raining in town, only to drive up and find a sunny mountain top waiting for us. How nice! My wallet was accidentally stolen by some geezer skiers who took home the wrong shoes (?!) and there was a couple of hours where we didn't know how easy it would be for me to buy drinks (or anything), let alone fly home in 2 days (although it turns out that wouldn't have been a problem either... I'll explain later.) Thursday night we postponed our dinner until 10pm to take part in Hapa Sushi's happy hour. I think we got the most sushi I've ever seen a table of five get... and we finished all of what could have been 100+ pieces. (FYI - Dan can really put away the sushi after a workout! Dang.) Friday turned into much the same kind of day as Wednesday, more chillin' and more hiking (this hike was cooler than Wednesday's, although we had to drive a whole 5 minutes to get to the base...). We finished the day with a nice Mediterranean dinner, and we said our goodbyes back at our hotel after trying to watch Running with Scissors on pay per view... I should say right now, things started to get weird at the end of our trip... maybe just a sign that it was time to go home....

For instance:
1. Thursday - The wallet/shoe dilemma.
2. Friday - We couldn't figure out the bill at the restaurant.
3. Friday - The $13 pay-per-view movie's sound was all messed up.
4. Saturday - We wake up with 2 messages. The first is that, although our waitress said it was IMPOSSIBLE, we have been double charged for our meal Friday.
5. Saturday - The other message says that our flight that was supposed to take off in 3 hours has been canceled due to weather out east and we will not be able to leave until Monday afternoon...

Saturday - we rent a car (our hotel lobby happens to house a Budget car rental desk - furthermore, the guy tells us that a car came in from Montana that we will be allowed to take one-way to Minnesota) and drive home.

In spite of the inconveniences at the end of or trip (and even those were fairly entertaining), we had an awesome time. Who knows, in 2 years maybe Änna will land some job at a firm out west and we'll have to move out there... I wouldn't be complaining very loudly. :)

1000 Visitors! + Blogging Thoughts.

I thought I'd take a quick detour from chronicling my Spring Break to celebrate my blog's 1000th visitor who came yesterday (March 17th - St. Patrick's Day) at 12:16:22pm.

Thank you, friends, for helping me out with my self-worth... I don't plan on quiting the blog anytime soon.

---

While writing at a coffee shop this weekend I was asked the question, "Why do you have a blog?"

My initial response was a silence that became pregnant with the awkward supposition [by my inquisitor] that I was [silently/awkwardly] coming to the realization that this "blogging" that I so enjoy doing is mostly a pointless waste of time - a cry out for attention from a want-to-be writer, with less talent than ambition, or less ambition than talent - a desperate stab at stardom, scrawled upon the vast bathroom-stall-door that is the internet blogsphere...

"To let friends know what I'm up to," I recovered, finally realizing that my friend's question wasn't meant to be the pseudo-psychological probe that I let it become.

---

There's a lot of The Dream wrapped up in blog culture. The Dream of Being Read. The Dream of Being Recognized. The Dream of Being Appreciated. The Dream of Affecting Someone's Thoughts and Life.

---


Maybe that's dipping a bit too far under the surface for something so mainstream right now - and I doubt the majority of bloggers would agree with me some points - especially considering how darn functional blogging can also be.... For travel and news sites it's great. Writers can post from anywhere with an internet connection and need only basic word processing skills. Reading about my friends' trips abroad, in Rich Text, with pictures, has been great and exciting. And maybe it's just because this technology is new and hot right now, but blogs seem to be a format that people [both writers and readers] want to return to. On a couple occasions that's happened right here - unlike the bathroom-stall-door, blogs have the potential to [conveniently] cultivate dialogs, and I feel privileged to have some documented in my archives.

So like I said, for now, I'll keep blogging. And then later I'll decide what was a waste of time and what wasn't.

Again, thanks for reading.

Spring Break pt. 2

Tuesday morning our plan was to head out to the Butterfly Pavilion, located just 10 minutes South of Boulder. Anna had heard about this educational and scientific center in a Boulder travel magazine and even the guys at our hotel's front desk were pretty enthusiastic about the place when we asked for directions.


And although my camera was barely functioning (LOW BATTERY!) I still got a couple neat pictures.








I do have to admit that I wasn't as excited for the butterflies as Anna was, but it turned out to be a pretty cool addition to our trip. It was almost other-worldly to be surrounded by 100s of those delicate, beautiful bugs. (The 100s of 5-15 year old kids I could go either way on... haha.)

Aside from the butterflies at the Pavilion, there were a number of other creatures on exhibit: leaf bugs; stick bugs; spiders... And if you know anything about Anna, you know that she has a very real fear of spiders... So you might be a little surprised when you hear that she made it a personal goal for herself to hold Rosie, the Pavilion's tarantula. (Ok, you're probably not surprised that Anna made a personal goal... but she seriously, if not stubbornly, faced her biggest phobia. It was a proud moment.)

I guess uploading those pictures wore me out. Still coming up: Eldora Nordic Ski Center, more good eats, and hiking.

Spring Break, pt. 1

Just because I'm not in college anymore doesn't mean I don't get a Spring Break, right?

(Even though I already took a week off to go to Mexico in January this year... but, uh... that was for our Honeymoon, kind of. Haha.)

Ok. I'm spoiled, so what?! I wasn't about to let Anna's Spring Break go to waste.

And you're thinking, "What a guy."

But Colorado has been awesome. Right now we're taking our first real break from traveling and hitting all the hot spots around CO to chill and study - and to update blogs, of course!

Our trip so far...

We flew in Friday night, late. I think we landed at about 10:50pm, but didn't get out of the airport until midnight. Longest-baggage-claim-ever. My dad, coincidently, had planned a ski trip with some friends that just happened to overlap with the weekend that we were coming to visit, so on top of being able to see Karin (my sister, a senior at Boulder) and Katy & Dan (friends who now live in Boulder), we'd be able to ski and hang out with my Dad too. He and Karin picked us up from the airport. Our trip from Denver to Boulder was uneventful and we got to Karin's apartment at around 1am. We got the bed, my Dad got the couch (Sorry, Old Man!).

Saturday morning we got up early to head out to Breckenridge. Neither Anna or I are very experienced downhill skiers, so skiing with my Dad (who recently got back from skiing at Alta) and Karin (who basically lives part-time on the ski hill) was a challenge, to say the least. I think we both impressed ourselves though, me more so on the first day, Anna more so on the second. It was a blast, really, and I wish that I had a camera that I wouldn't mind carrying up on the mountain because the views were absolutely breath-taking. And the place we were staying wasn't too shabby either. We were upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite with a fireplace which was nice to come back to after shredding those black diamonds. Oh, and the outdoor hot tub was more than OK...

Our plan was to come back Monday so Karin could make it to class. This was a very hard thing to do waking up Monday morning in the mountains, but we had a lot more to see in Boulder, and our legs would benefit from a couple days' rest before we hit the slopes again, so we (however remorsefully) headed back.

Monday Anna and I cruised around Pearl St. after quickly dropping off Karin for school and checking into our hotel. Probably the biggest surprise of the trip so far has been the weather. Monday and Tuesday the highs were flirting with 80(!), and we soon realized that we'd over or under packed - depending how you look at it. Shopping for shorts and flip-flops became a priority. :) In the afternoon we met Katy for some hiking and throwing in the park. Then more cruising-around and back to the hotel to change for dinner. Which was awesome. We met Katty and Dan at an Ethiopian restaurant not too far from our hotel (nothing is really too far away here, it seems) and had a pretty un-top-able meal. If you've never had Ethiopian (we hadn't before Monday) wait until we get back and we'll go with you!

...

That's all for now. On my next installment: Butterflies, the Eldora Nordic Center and more good eating, of course.

Two things.

I was searching the web for "open source video editing" and came across two programs that might actually handle some serious video work... The first, and apparently more supported of the two is called Jahshaka. (It has a cooler-looking website, that's for sure.) The second is LiVES. Better or worse than (the also free) iMovie or Windows MovieMaker? I don't know. (I doubt they can be as sophisticated and stable as Premiere, Final Cut, Vegas, etc... :) Please, prove me wrong!) But for now I figure these are worth checking out.

Also, Louis found this place, Open Studio, from MIT (again - these guys seem to be on the cutting edge of open-things). I joined and played around a little bit. Good for a diversion from work if nothing else.

Training Log - 03.06 - 03.08.07

Tuesday and Thursday were just push/sit-up days. Wednesday I did Day Two of the workout week and waxed my skis for Colorado instead of skiing. Tonight I'll try to get in Day Three but then it'll be skiing instead of lifting for the next week. I'm excited!

Memory Lane.

My lunch today: 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, potato chips, and a glass of milk; with a nice Girl Scout cookie finish.

Our cupboards have been slowly accumulating these ingredients over the winter months (the peanut butter, jelly, potato chips, and Girl Scout cookies are not exactly mainstays in the Hagstrom household) to finally present themselves in the form of this throwback meal from the days of babysitters and weekend lunches at my friends' houses. Occasionally, my own mother would concoct a dish as specifically remarkable as this, but more often my siblings and I would have to thwart off offerings of mustard and mayo on turkey or ham... with lettuce.

Yuck.

Our sal-i-vation would only come when we could escape away to other, ordinary families' houses where they appreciated the comestible advances of white bread, JIF and skim milk.

In the past 15 years or so my cravings for the PB&J have subsided, with only a brief cravings-spike during the time that I spent in Australia (where my roommates and I discovered the full range of abilities of our sandwich griller/maker)... that is, until lately.

In recent times when I have wanted a sandwich, not surprisingly, I've made for myself the sandwich that my mother would have liked to make me. Usually turkey, provolone, lettuce or spinach, and a smidgen of mustard and/or mayo on whole grain bread. But not today. Today was different. Today, I had an escape back to my childhood - served up with a side of potato chips - and I fulfilled an ancient craving that has been building up since my adolescence. And at a time in my life where I could go out and get whatever I wanted for lunch, I found it was nice to have what I really wanted from a time when I couldn't do anything about it.

Training Log - 03.05.07

Did a Day 3/Day 1 combo lifting day to keep on track + plyos.

Training Log - 03.02 - 03.04.07

Fridays are never good for working out (for me). Especially when we have evening plans... it's a night that I just want to cool out on. I did push ups before bed.

Saturday and Sunday I skied pretty hard. 8-10k (5-6 miles) on Saturday at Como and a little more than that on Sunday at William O'Brien State Park. I was thinking I'd do Day One of lifting on Sunday night, but I could feel the weekend's skiing in my arms and legs all night, so I just rested. That means lifting tonight.

The coolest thing I heard all day.

A cockroach can loose its head (literally) and live for another 9 days. It finally dies, not because it bleeds to death (or the cockroach equivalent of that), but because it's starving...

For the right kind of movie, that'd be a great opening theme... the crime drama/thriller movie metaphors abound...

Training Log - 02.27 - 03.01

I went skiing on Tuesday night, and I'm glad I did, because now all Hell's broken loose! (In a good way!)

Wednesday and Thursday (tonight) became just push up/sit up nights because of the weather, but I'll be out on this snow as soon as the blizzard's through!

Training Log - 02.26.07

I ended up not feeling great on Sundayafternoon, so I never ended up going skiing OR lifting. But last night I did the lifting for Days 1 & 2 of the new week to get ahead/back on track, and to leave myself some time to get out on the new snow tonight and/or tomorrow. Let me know if you're up for a ski.

Training Log - 02.23.07 - 02.25.07

Friday: Just a push ups and sit ups day.

Saturday: Day 3 of workout week. Front squats, bench, triceps, inverted row, etc.

Sunday (today): Does shoveling count? (Proud to be the first on the block to have the walks cleared!)
I might also try to go skiing if the snow lets up. Theodore Wirth Park said they were grooming early this morning, but I don't feel like driving, or skiing, with the snow in my face today. Alternative: do Day 1 of the next workout week...

Training Log - 02.22.07

2 mile run + plyos.

Is this funny?

I don't know...

Training Log - 02.21.07

Easy day. Just push ups and sit ups last night.

Training Log - 02.20.07

2 mile run, followed by plyos.

Änna and I decided that this route would make a good timed 2 mile run after we establish a base. We ran it in 16 minutes last night (so 8 min. miles), but there is a significant hill for the last 1/4 - 1/2 mile. Maybe I'll be able to bring it within 13 minutes later in the season.

+

Day 2 of the workout week.

Back Squats, Incline Bench, Hamstrings (still trying to find a good alternative workout here)... can't remember what else. Stretching. Later, sit-ups.

=

I feel pretty good today. Not nearly as sore as I was when I started lifting, etc. The plyos aren't killing my calves the next day anymore. I'd like to find a good 3 mile running route. We have 2 and 4, which are sometimes too short and too long, respectively, for what I want to do/feel like doing. Maybe I'll try to find that tonight. My problem is that I hate backtracking. It's so morally defeating. :) Loops are so much more... pretty.

Hey Joe, BTW I still think Tivo is a huge scam.

I got in a mild argument with a friend while watching the Super Bowl a couple weeks back about the incredibly useful, but decidedly deceiving Tivo DVR system.

Joe's argument: "I love the Tiiiivvvo!"
My argument: "I cannot believe that Tivo is getting away with charging a for their devices as if they were providing a monthly service... for what is basically a glorified harddrive!"

Tivo: "You had me in your home another month, give me more money. *cough* [Shut up, Bjorn] *cough*"

What services are we charged for monthly? Telephones/Cell phones, cable/dish, Internet... And why do these services require periodic charges? Because they all stream their users information. These services, as overly-expensive as they can be, are still at least services. We pay for bandwidth, satellites, towers, maintenance, etc. every month, and sometimes nothing for the hardware.

Tivo knowingly has it backwards, somehow they've fooled everybody, and they must be making a killing. I bet Steve Jobs is wishing that he included a monthly service charge on all iPods for the, uh, service of storing TV shows, movies and music, just like the Tivo...

Here's the kicker. You can make your own DVR! Make Magazine has an article explaining how to do it here.

Unfortunately making your own DVR isn't exactly easy, or cheap. You actually have to be pretty resourceful mod an old PC to work like a Tivo. So whereas, NO, I don't think that people are stupid for just buying a Tivo over making their own; YES, I do think it sucks that Tivo has set this standard for DVR technology so that no competitor (who would easily have the resources to cheaply put together the described components in the Make article and mass market them) would ever come out with a piece of DVR hardware that required no monthly charge... In fact, I'm still shocked that this hasn't happened already, so I assume that there's some kind of bullshit licencing on DVR technology.

Anyone have an PC they want to get rid of?

Training Log January 1st - February 19 2007

I thought it might be a good idea to post my workout schedule:
1.) So my friends and teammates can see where I'm at and encourage (er, ridicule) me to work harder when I'm sluffing off and,
2.) at the times where I am on top of my game they might be inspired to work harder themselves.

I think it will be good both personally and as a teammate to be held accountable for what I'm putting into my fitness.

Training notes (roughly - these should get more specific from now on):
• Since New Years I've done push ups and situps everyday that I don't do some other kind of workout.
• Those other kinds of workouts have been xc skiing, which was great when I could do it (5-6 times, not enough!), lifting (pretty sporadically, but I now plan on adhering to Jason's program from last year - minus Olympic lifts, plus plyos). I think I'm on track on Week 2, Day 2.
• Änna and I went running yesterday and it was pretty good. We went 4+ miles, mostly along River Road. We have a pretty nice area to run around. Let me know if you're up for joining me/us.

News.

So CLX broke up.

Seiler is starting an Open team, and good for him, really, but what about the other (now former) CLXers? I ask not because I want to judge, but really because I am just curious. I feel really out of the loop on this... Are people upset? Surprised? I guess an easy answer is yes, of course some people are upset, but are there a handful of players in Iowa without a team now? I'm thinking especially about the women.... Seiler mentions that a number of the men on CLX are following him, but it might not be as cool for the ladies who will have to splice themselves on to a foreign feeling women's squad. I don't know. Maybe it's not a big deal at all. If it were MOE, I'd be thinking the same thing. (I would enjoy playing Open with the Moe men, and some women would go play for Bait... but some people would probably feel screwed.)

All that being said, I really hope the Van Buren Boys are a successful Open team. Best of luck in '07...

Another first.

Well, I had my first Water Cooler Discussion today. One of those things that you think of as "classic workplace," although [like me, previously] you've never had a WCD, witnessed a WCD, or even heard of anyone having a WCD, outside of TV and movies.

Well now you have.



We talked about work.

Dear Ultimate,

It's been awhile, and after a good, long, needed rest from all things Ultimate, I find myself drifting back into the world that has been, at many times, the most dominant aspect of my adult life. It seems like the lack of Anna's and my presence in Winter League, tournaments, and conversations has been noted, and with rumors of "who's playing/not playing next year," etc., flying around I thought I'd lay out my intentions for the next year.

1. I have been, and do plan on scaling back my Ultimate involvement this year. No more league, or random pick up. I WAS burned out a little bit last year. Maybe not even because there was too much Ultimate in my life, but comparatively.... with my first full year of full-time work, personal stuff... Ultimate took a too large a piece of the Bjorn pie. And OK, I don't plan on getting married again this summer, so I'll probably have time to spare, but that's EXACTLY what I want. But at the same time I see this scaling back as a FOCUSING. Focusing my energy and time so that Club Ultimate can be a place where I can release my pent up energy and excitement about this sport (instead of sometimes having to create it when my body and/or mind are less than willing). God bless those of you who can still play 8 days a week.

2. I do, however, also plan on adhering to a pre-season training regiment, trying out, and making MOE '07. I plan on devoting all that I can to that team for at least another season. Regardless of how early/late the season starts, how extensive the travel/tournament schedule is, and what the make up of the team is come our first tournament, I'm going to do what I can to make sure I fit with this team and that they value my commitment.

3. Lifting - Regionals time is 35 weeks away, I had this week marked on my calender as a key date to buck up training (Jason's program from last year had a 35 week schedule that I'm going to follow loosely). I am dropping some aspects of the lifting that I did last year. The squats, for one, did little for me. Mostly, I know, because I had knee issues, and then ankle issues, and then comfort issues with Olympic lifting in general. The Back and Front squats I'll probably continue, actually, and maybe some weightless Overheads because they felt like they were doing some good for my crooked back and shoulders. Other than that I'm going to implement the Air Alert II pylo. program to generate more leg power. Running - as much as I don't enjoy running, and as much as I've heard that any kind of distance running will hurt your top speeds, sprinting, etc... I think I'm going to try to get back into that this season.... I want to say that this is counter intuitive, but it's my intuition that's got me going in this direction. Counter-productive? I don't think so. I HOPE not. Let's face it, I wasn't about to break any land speed records anyway and I feel the most in shape when I'm distance running a couple times a week. It worked for me in college, and I feel like trying what's worked for me in the past this season. (I don't have to be in any better shape than I was in college, just smarter. And I guess that's a whole 'nother challenge in itself.)

I don't know if I want to get into much else in this post. I do have some thoughts about season length, try-outs, tournaments...

Shoot, I guess I'll write a little more.

I do know that I was at least happy with my playtime last year, although I've realized now that it never really mattered how many points I played as long as my captains (and teammates) made me feel like my skills were needed, and subsequently utilized. Dave and Anna did a great job of this throughout the Series especially. This makes me feel that Moe could possibly take on a few 'projects' during tryouts (increase roster = easier tryouts for team-builders + expanded potential/future of team?).*** I guess my main point is that PT need not be represented by statistical equality, and that this insight will somehow help the tryout process... Anyway, I felt good with my PT last year and could still feel good with less as long as I felt we were using our strengths at all times.
Easier said than done.

Whatever.

Next.

I'm not going to Boston, Poultry and Seattle twice... but I think that's ok. It's great even. I think that a Moe & Friends team would be great at Potlatch, Poultry... Aquatenial and Cooler for that matter... Playing those tournaments full squad vs. not playing/half of us playing them/all of us and our siblings playing them... I can't see it as a sure GOOD THING or BAD THING. Loosing shit points in shit games all weekend... all summer, even if we win the whole tourney, is [part of] what makes us freak out about not having what it takes. And on the other hand winning those same points might just fluff our ego, sending us unprepared into the next battle. That's over-analysis, of course, but I'd be happy to see a heavier, competition-wise, and lighter, # of tourney-wise, shorter moefficial schedule, if such a thing is possible.

What else? Maybe I'll try to save the rest for the meeting(s).
Thanks for reading.
#22

*** After reading a recent email from Dave I realized that cutting the team down to 25 was a good move last year and I don't think there's any good reason to go back on that. To quote myself, "we never needed any more pieces to finish the puzzle, we just needed to know how to put them together."

Clean Plate Club, Follow Up.

I love when you're thinking, writing, or talking about something and it later pops up on the news, in a book/show/movie, or in another conversation... It feels like a validation of universally worthwhile thought...

Anna was listening to MPR last Friday and during their Mid-Morning program they had on Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. Dr. Wansink has been doing research on the way we Americans eat and has conducted some pretty interesting experiments (and has gotten some even more interesting results!) . I listened to the show during a bye at an indoor Ultimate tournament this weekend and thought I'd pass along the link.

Bon Appetit!

Boston Bomb Scare

Major highways, bridges and tunnels in the Boston area were shut down last week after someone reported seeing what they thought could be a bomb attached to an overpass...

I'm sure all of you heard about this, and if you haven't, Google "Boston Bomb Scare" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Turns out the "sophisticated electronic devices," as I heard one news-caster describe them, were no more than ["guerrilla"] publicity devices for the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim tv show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

When I heard about the incident I at once felt both sorry for the cops who had no choice but to respond seriously to a potential bomb sighting, but at the same time surprised at how long this 'scare' apparently went on and how much I had to hear about it as national breaking news... especially considering the following:
*38 of these devices were placed in Boston, WEEKS before last Wednesday's 'scare'...
*The ad campaign has been installed in 11 major cities. The 'perpetrators' were said to be mostly confused about why this happened in Boston, and why now?!
*And here are pictures of the 'suspicious' devices.



Wouldn't the cops have found the first one and been like, "Oh, that's not a bomb," and played it off like any other bomb threat that turns out to be nothing? I don't know. I can see both sides of this one, but Turner seems to have been made into a big target just because they'll be able to shell out to the city [ies?] for this mishap. And the Boston city officials are really playing the victim - not even accepting the public apology from TBS. That's low. (Poor Turner Broadcasting, I know.) But what would happen if it was just me, putting up Brite-Lites that said "BJORN!" all over Minneapolis?

I don't think it's worth trying...

Kool-Earth, Man!

Give me that peace sign!

"...will only get you so far..."

This is something that was pissing off both Anna and I, and hopefully most of the ESPN audience, as we watched Serena Williams advance to Quarters the other night at the Australian Open....

There are a lot of stupid things said by sportscasters. But Mary Carillo's comments of Serena (and in the past with Venus, I hear) bordered on personal hatred. And, OK, we get it, Serena could be in better shape. You've made your point Mary.

But then you bring it up again, and again...

[I'll paraphrase]

Mary: "If she was in better fitness she could endure in this heat."
After a 30+ stroke volley, Serena wins the point.

Mary: "Maybe this will motivate her to get back in the gym."
Serena gets her 9th ace to her opponent's zero.

Mary: "Without top fitness you can only get so far."
Serena advances, yet again, in one of the top tennis tournaments in the world.

And this is where they really loose me, because where, like Mary I can only wonder what Serena's fitness potential really is, but unlike her I take a step back and look at where and who Serena is... Serena has the fitness of a professional athlete because she is a professional athlete, and not only that, she's proven herself to be one of the best in the world, just as she is now.

So get the hell out of Serena's grill! She has an impressive physique, although unconventional(?), and a will to win that cannot be matched. Repeatedly calling her fat on national TV makes you seem jealious and stupid, getting proved wrong so consistently. (Not to mention what it says to the Athlete girls/women of America who are Serena's size [not fat] and already have a hard time justifying their muscle weight.)

I hardly want to watch anymore because when Serena finally does lose out all these announcers be able to say is "Well, _x_th place... Hmmm, just think how well she would have done if she was in any kind of shape."

Sorry for the rant.

Bandwidth Meter

This is kind of fun.

Let's you know how fast you're going on the information super highway...

Did you know that our "High Speed" connections are many times slower and more expensive than in Europe, Asia? There was a great program on MPR about this that I couldn't find, but I did come across this CNN article that goes over much of the same stuff.

Clean Plate Club

How many of you were members?

How many of you still are?

After a conversation I had the other week, I realized that to this day I cannot leave food on my plate at the end of a meal. So even although I haven't received any documentation, I think I must be close to an appointment within the cabinet of this Club's president...

The Club's President.

Ok, but what are the real benefits of being in the Club, or why was this Club imposed upon us?

I do believe that our parents and their parents before them had good intentions in their promotion of this Club. Among them there were two major camps that arose from the depression and pre- depression eras, each supporting the Club's ideals. First there was the health conscious, eco-friendly group, Fortunate to Eat Vegetables Everyday, Really. (F.E.V.E.R.) Then came the more popular, moral front, There Are Starving Kids of Foriegn Origin that Really Cannot Eat. (T.A.S.K.F.O.R.C.E.) I was lucky enough to grow up in a bi-partisan household that allowed for both of these views to flourish - subsequently leaving me as I am now. Aside from never leaving food on my plate, I eat FAST, and I eat TOO MUCH! I feel like much of my generation stands in these shoes (cross trainers, with extra support). And for those out there who either have a poor metabolism, a thicker DNA helix, or an aversion to athletics, hmm... good luck finding clothes that fit if the Club was as ingrained in you as it was/is in me!

As parents across this country pat themselves on the back with one hand while they do the already-mostly-clean dishes with the other, what is more prominent in the minds of their children as they finish their dinner? Not taking so much food next time? Proper diet? Children in Africa?

Or is it, simply, eat that food!

What I'm asking is that parents reinvestigate their motives on this matter. Wasting food might still be a problem, but by blindly following our parents' stratagems - without looking at their results (this generation's gastronomy) - I think we'll end up wasting a lot more.

Davin, you should start your own blog.

But until you do, I'll [happily] keep posting about the cool things you share with me.

MIT OpenCourseWare

This is pretty damn slick. For all of you 'self-learners' out there, MIT (yes, that MIT) is publishing its coursework online for anyone to access, with out registration, payment or anything like that. Just go to the site and click through to the subject and specific course you might be interested in... Once there you'll be able to download .pdfs of the syllabus, many of the readings, assignments, etc. You can also 'Download this Course', and browse through all of the available material from your computer (faster, although still through a web browser). I tried this for both Logic 101 and Introduction to Astronomy. Because the astronomy course required an additional, physical textbook there wasn't as much information to gain immediately (although looking at the completed tests was a good review for me), whereas for the logic course most, if not all of the readings were available in .pdfs and I could feasibly go through the class, assignment by assignment, test by test, gaining everything but the college credit from the course. Wow.

The amount of credible information is stunning. Many of the courses provide external sources for info, and all of the .pdfs that I saw were chock full of bibliographic information. With resources like this people will be able to better trust the information they find on the web.

Dear Mexico,

Thanks for the white sandy beaches, the sunshine, the swimming, the snorkeling amongst the coral, fish, sting rays, sea turtles & barracuda (even though I didn't see them), the sea kayaking, and exploring the ruins, the spelunking with bats, seeing the animals, cats, snakes, dogs, monkeys, pigs, parrots, swimming in cenotes & brackish water, feeling the breeze, eating ceviche, tacos, enchiladas, chiles relleno, chips & salsa, guacamole, peppery Cheetos®, Oreos®, apple soda, fruit, slushies, pastries, reading 4 books in one week, dining at Mexican/Italian/Chinese restaurants, wathcing the sunrises, sunsets, walking, playing games, the evening rains, and the starry starry nights.

Mexico

Alas,

Anna, her parents, our friend Steve and I are all going to Mexico for a week. I've never been, so I'm really excited. And I believe we're staying here! Holy Crap that looks nice!

Hope it snows more while we're gone! (I want to be able to ski this winter!)

Be back on the 11th.
Bjorn

Further Recomendations

I mentioned Inkscape, a scalable vector graphics editor, in my last post, but I forgot about two other important open source apps: the first being Gimp®, a program that is supposed to replicate, if not replace both Adobe® Illustrator® and Photoshop®; the second being OpenOffice®, a competitor for Microsoft's® Office Suite®.

Has anybody tried these? Let me know if you have/do. I think I'll definitely try these guys first next time.... that is, whenever I can afford that Powerbook I've been drooling over for so long...