Tag: Biking

Vital Statistics

There was no school Friday, so Graham went with Tina to her school and Thomas rode his bike with me to work. This was his first big ride and the first time he took his bike on the Max. He did great and enjoyed playing games with they guys at work.

Bike odometer: 6211 miles
Current reading: Barrel Fever by David Sedaris, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent viewing: Pistons at Cavaliers, Spurs at Mavericks, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Punk’d, Cavaliers at Pistons
Recent playing: GooBall
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, Graham’s birthday present, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: Evolution of Dance: Awesome video with all your favorite dance steps

Vital Statistics

I pulled a calf muscle on Saturday when I was playing basketball with Thomas. I tried to dunk the ball on the lowered hoop and pulled the muscle on the jump. Tina was amused at my foolishness but said I looked good! It’s almost all better now.

Bike odometer: 6176 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks, Wasp Star by XTC
Recent viewing: Spurs at Mavericks, Pistons at Cavaliers, The West Wing (first and last episodes), Medium
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Lubed and cleaned bike, receipts and bills, yard work, voted
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: Baby Suit (defies description)

Vital Statistics

After the article appeared in the Oregonian two weeks ago, I had a lot of people tell me, “You’re famous!” After having heard this several times from people I knew, I began correcting them. “Famous means that complete strangers recognize you,” I said. “The only people who have commented on the article are people that I know.” Graham also thought it meant I was famous and bragged to everyone who would listen that his dad was in the paper. Overheard several times at Cub Scouts just the other night:

“Do you get the paper?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see my dad in it? He was in it.”

Well, today as I ordered my lunch from the burrito cart, a woman who was waiting for her lunch said to me, “This may seem weird, but I read this article in the paper awhile ago…” And so, now I am famous. A complete stranger recognized me and we had a nice chat about the article and how I am now famous and that she was the one that made me famous.

Bike odometer: 6150 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Rattle and Hum by U2, Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, Express by Love and Rockets
Recent viewing: Mavericks at Spurs, Cavaliers at Pistons, Nets at Heat
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Picked up my new pedals, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: The Daily Show Excerpt: Stewart busts Bush on Goss

Vital Statistics

…it’s been a damn fine grill for 10 years.


The last time we used the grill, Tina couldn’t get the burners to turn off and there were flames coming out of places that they shouldn’t. Tina bought this grill for me for Father’s Day years ago when we lived in the Mall house. It only cost $150 from Sears and over the years I’ve had to replace the burner bar and the grate and had to buy a new tank for it when they changed the laws regarding the connectors. Even so, it’s been a damn fine grill for 10 years. We bought a grill cover in the beginning, but it was always a hassle to get on and off, so it was soon lost. I also made an effort early on to keep inside during the rainy season, but that also fell by the wayside after a couple of years. Thus, it has been just outside our patio door underneath the eaves all year round whenever we cared to use it.

Well, we wanted to have steaks yesterday, so I was tasked with fixing the grill. I fired it up and soon found the problem: the burner bar was completely rusted through in the middle. The current grate was also quite rusted, so the combined replacement cost of these convinced me that it was time for a new grill. So after dinner we dropped by Lowe’s to see what they had. They saw us coming from a mile away because they had a nice array of pre-assembled grills displayed outside. After I briefly tried to convince the family that the $119 model looked like an excellent replacement for our current grill, we decided that stepping up to the $199 was a better idea.

You can see the details by clicking on the picture, but here’s the main selling points:

  • 640 sq. in. cooking area (rated for 28 burgers in their flier)
  • Three burners that produce 42,000 BTUs
  • Porcelain cooking grates
  • Porcelain heat tent
  • Stainless steel
  • Push-and-turn ignition

 

We fired her up tonight and cooked the steaks. The push-and-turn ignition is sweet and it heated up pretty quickly. The steaks were fair and cooked a little uneven. I’ll have to learn the cold spots on this grill.

Bike odometer: 6122 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: A Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me
Recent viewing: Lakers at Suns, Cavaliers at Pistons, Mavericks at Spurs, Nova, Sportscenter, The West Wing
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: bought a new grill
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: The Wrongness Singularity

Vital Statistics

I continue to assume that smokers don’t know this.

This morning, because I was starting a new book, I chose to climb the big hill on 162nd so that I would have a shorter bike ride and a longer Max ride. By the time I get to the Max station at 162nd and Burnside, I’m pretty out of breath and end up sucking wind while I do my doctor-prescribed back stretches as I wait for the train. Today I was unfortunate enough to suck in some unexpected smoke while I stretched. I looked up and some kid was smoking the last two puffs of his cigarette 10 feet away from me. I was standing directly under the No Smoking sign and considered getting his attention and pointing to it, but I chose to do nothing since he was nearly done with it. Nevertheless, during my entire ride and even up until now, I’m plagued with a cough that I just can’t get rid of. It started out as “the tickle”, but evidently coughing once or twice made it worse.

I continue to assume that smokers don’t know the effect they have on people.

Bike odometer: 6113 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Not Blue by Various Artists (compilation by Curt Nelson), Grace by Jeff Buckley, Dreamboat Annie by Heart, Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks, Science Friday
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, My Name Is Earl, Distraction, The Daily Show
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping
Cool link: Hallelujah: Excellent Wikipedia entry about an incredible song. I totally dig the explanation of the “secret chord” in the first verse and how the lyric explains the chord progression of the song.