Shaking

Evidently we had an earthquake in Portland on Sunday night, but nobody I know noticed. In fact, everybody here has forgotten because of the massive flooding that’s happening everywhere. I’m sure they’ll all forget about the flooding when the pestilence comes next week.

Top seven songs to play on the occasion of an earthquake:

  1. I Feel The Earth Move by Carole King
  2. Shake, Rattle and Roll by Bill Haley and the Comets
  3. Shaking by Eddie Money
  4. Shake It Up by The Cars
  5. Earthquake Weather by Beck
  6. Rumble by Link Wray
  7. And the Cradle Will Rock by Van Halen

Did I miss any?

When the rain comes

The rain has begun. It started about a week or two ago. After it starts, you lose all track of time of when it started and when it will end. Current forecasts have it clearing up sometime in June (that’s the old joke here). Some mornings when I get up I just can’t motivate myself to get on my bike clothes and voluntarily submit to a soaking. Most mornings, though, I can.

Saturday was another day of football. I dreaded spending five hours standing around in the wind, rain and cold, but only the rain showed up for the game. I discovered that my raincoat, which leaks a great deal when I’m on my bike, doesn’t leak at all when I’m standing around watching football. Other than the rain (and clouds), it was really quite nice out. The boys got to find out all about playing football in the mud. They both did really well again and had team pictures taken after their games.

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 20.3 miles
Riding time: 1:42
Max speed: 27.1 mph
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Temperature: 46-52º
Route:

  • 162nd to Halsey
  • Halsey to 102nd
  • 102nd/Fred Meyer parking lot to Glisan/205 bike path
  • 205 bike path to Springwater Corridor
  • Springwater Corridor to detour on Tacoma
  • Tacoma to Sellwood
  • Sellwood through back streets to Springwater Corridor
  • Springwater Corridor to Hawthorne Bridge to downtown

Here comes the rain again

The last few mornings have been very nippy. I could even see my breath yesterday morning as I rode my bike up the hill to Burnside. Last night I put my winter cap on for the first time as well as my rain coat. This morning was my first ride with my “bike pants” – a pair of very old gray sweats. I keep forgetting to drop my winter gloves into my bike bag. Once I remember that, I’m sure the rain will start and won’t stop until next June.

Over the weekend Tina and I had pizza for the first time in many months. I also had a slice of birthday cake. I’ll see Thursday how that affects my weight loss.

For the last few nights I’ve been waking up to find my mask removed, but I have no memory of removing it. I’ve just been putting it back on and going back to sleep, but last night I couldn’t find the chin restraint anywhere, so I probably opened my mouth quite a bit. Perhaps I am demasking in my sleep.

Fall Means Football

Yesterday I finally had the chance to attend a Saturday flag football double-header starring Thomas and Graham. The action started at around 10:30 in the morning on a perfect football day: brisk and sunny with the wind blowing very hard out of the east (as is normal for our position in The Gorge). So hard, in fact, that people’s chairs were being blown over and kids were chasing their lighter stuff all morning.

Graham’s game was first and resulted in a tie. This was the first time that they didn’t lose, so there was some improvement there. These little kids don’t understand most of the rules of football and do things like run the wrong way sometimes. Still, Graham is understanding the game much better and pulled his first three flags yesterday. He also returned the first kickoff the equivalent of about 60 yards on their shortened field. He really enjoyed himself, too, which is the important thing.

Thomas had practice almost immediately following Graham’s game and then a game after practice. Thomas is the biggest kid on his team and so gets to play on the line, in the middle on both offense and defense. I think he wishes that he could get his hands on the ball every once in awhile, so I tried to emphasize the importance of his position. At one point, the two big kids on the other team (who were both bigger than him) were double-teaming him to keep him from rushing. I explained to him how important this was but I’m not sure he understood. During the latter part of the game, though, he got two flags in a row and then took one to give the other team a big loss a short time later. He was very happy about that. And his team won big with three or four touchdowns to none over a team that had beaten them the previous week.

Here’s some oddities of flag football I found interesting:

  • There are no fumbles. Once the ball hits the ground, the play is ruled dead.
  • If the flag belt falls off the ball carrier, the game turns to tag football.
  • For the younger kids, the coach joins his team in the back field to coach them up close.
  • First downs happen at stationary points arranged every 20 yards on the field.
  • Teams must declare which action they will take on fourth down. If they choose to punt, the defense is not allowed to rush the punter.

Vital Statistics

I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday party. Thirty of my best friends showed up and we partied way past dark. In the day time it was lots of kids, sunshine, music and burritos. At night it was music and adult conversation around the fire pit on the deck. My life is good at 40.

Yesterday I received a mystery CD in the mail. It has readings by Jack Kerouac and came from Cheektowaga, NY. I’m quite sure I did not order it and have no idea why I received it. It came addressed to “Mick Ring” which rules out all of the places I order from online. If you know why I received this CD, I would love to hear from you.

My mom offered to help me refinish my deck this week, so I’ll probably take a day or two off work so we can get that done. After a few rainy days last week, it’s been sunny and is supposed to continue that way. We should take advantage of it while it lasts!

Bike odometer: 201 miles
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: n/a
Recent viewing: Giants at Seahawks, Bengals at Steelers, Sportscenter, 60 Minutes, The Simpsons
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: recovering from party
Imperative To Do: Refinish deck, hair cut, new rear fender for bike, finish old blog entries, fix toilet (call plumber), rake
Cool Links: Some Scion stuff:

Vital Statistics

I’m waiting in the airport now for my flight to board for SFO. I had a middle seat but I bought a $24 upgrade for “Economy Plus” that gets me a window seat on the exit row. It’s a scam, but still worth it.

Yesterday Thomas and I went on the annual bike ride for his Cub Scout pack. This year I chose the route and it was quite enjoyable. There’s a length of bike path on Marine Drive along the Columbia that is about 4 miles long. When we got to the end, we pushed our bikes down to the beach and the boys played in the sand for over an hour. It was hot by the time we headed back and I was sucking wind by the end. Thomas really enjoyed it, though, and wants to go on more bike rides. I need to make time for that!

Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: Last Week’s Album Chart
Recent viewing: Dead Zone, Countdown, Sportscenter, Pee Wee’s Playhouse
Recent playing: Snood, Halo
Recently accomplished: Packed for trip, Cub scout bike ride, Costco shopping, filled up propane tank, paid bills, cleared Tivo bandwidth, laundry
Imperative To Do: Fly to San Francisco, check in to Marriott, pack money clip
Cool link: Flying man (or is that “falling with style”?)

Vital Statistics

Looks like we’re looking at 90+ degree heat later this week. Saturday might be the day we go see the new Superman movie in Digital Super High Def at Cinetopia.

Bike odometer: 39 miles (I think my bike odometer needs a new battery)
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: DrugMusic, Lynryd Skynyrd, Run DMC by Run DMC
Recent viewing: The ESPY’s, Sportscenter, Countdown, The 4400, Monk
Recent playing: Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Lubed bike, returned cans, pulled huge blackberry vine, sequenced CDs for my sister
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, buy battery for bike odometer, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, burn CDs for my sister
Cool link: Chris Bliss: Awesome juggling act choreographed to the final medley on Abbey Road.

Vital Statistics

It’s been very hot in Portland the last few days but it cooled down today. On Monday, we set a new high (102) the venus factor for June in Portland. Usually it’s still raining in June so I think this is a nice departure for us. It’s back down to the 80s today, though, which makes for a much nicer bike ride to work.

Read more at topsnoringmouthpieces.com.

Bike odometer: 6410 miles
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
Recent listening: DrugMusic, Leonard Cohen, The Game by Queen
Recent viewing: My Life on the D-List, Thief
Recent playing: Poker Room, Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Installed air conditioner, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Secondhand smoke debate ‘over’: An interesting article about secondhand smoke in USA Today.

Vital Statistics

Yow! I started this entry over 10 days ago! Time flies by in the summer. Tina’s dad, Leroy, was here to visit this week. The boys really enjoyed that. The NBA Finals are over and so I’m expecting some free time to become available, but it probably won’t work out that way.
The weather has been great here but it’s getting hot today. Probably need to put the air conditioner in the window.

Current reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, NPR Story of the Day
Recent viewing: My Life On The D-List, NBA Finals, Sportscenter, Pardon the Interuption, Futurama, Cars
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently accomplished: Deposited checks at the bank, mowed the lawn, stripped the picnic table, made appointment with sleep doctor
Imperative To Do: Install air conditioner, call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Flash Flood: Flash animation illustrating the sequence of events that led to the flooding of New Orleans.