What's New With Mick

Tag: graham

  • People come from all around to watch the magic boy

    This week both of our boys had holiday concerts at school. Graham is playing the cello now in the fourth grade orchestra and Thomas plays the double bass for his middle school chamber orchestra. Graham was very nervous before his concert appearance but I think it was all over so fast that he didn’t have time to think about it too much. The chamber orchestra was great (as always) and Thomas was even featured on a song from Lost called “Mist”. We’re very proud of both our boys and their musical ability. I’m glad for them because I’ve never really had the ability to play music except in the most robotic sense.

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  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2500
    Van odometer: 154003
    Weight lost (in pounds): 0
    Aches & pains: left shin (scab gone), lower back, all my muscles
    Current reading: My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
    Recent listening: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box), News from Lake Wobegon, Science Friday, Coverville, DrugMusic
    Recent viewing: Olympics, Democratic National Convention, Republican National Convention, The O’Reilly Factor
    Recent playing: Chain Factor, Spaceward Ho!
    Recently accomplished: Upgraded DSL, cleaned cat boxes, setup VPN access for work, office cleaning, office moving, office remodeling, cardboard recycling
    Imperative To Do: Craigslist items for Thomas/Graham, install Tina’s bike computer, get rid of office junk, freecycle, activate new Tivo, oil change for van, weeds, clean garage, moss

  • And the sun shines on the bay

    I had to get up early this morning for another trip to EFI HQ in Foster City, CA. The 7:30 flight translates into a 5:00 am wake up time and I failed to get to bed before midnight. I’ll probably “nap” on the 2 hour flight but it will likely make no difference today. I’ll be attending a series of meetings today and tomorrow welcoming and orientating me and a colleague to our new team at EFI. You can bet that I’ll be hitting the free espresso machine whenever I get a chance this afternoon.
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  • Deep inside we’re all the same

    Thomas left for Camp Baldwin on Sunday and will be gone for a week with Troop 820. Tina and Graham just got back last week from three days at Gilbert Ranch with his den in Pack 4. Tina blogged extensively about the latter starting here. While she was there, she twisted her ankle again but I think it’s been healing pretty well since.

    I hurt my back while at our neighbor’s BBQ over the weekend and spend all day Sunday laying flat on my back hoping for the best. It no longer hurt to stand up on Monday morning but it still feels a little “tight” at times. I have to be careful not to strain it any further. As I’ve mentioned before I heal much more slowly since I turned forty.

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  • Leaves were falling, just like embers

    I’m sitting beneath the picnic shelter at the Wolf Lodge Campground in the beautiful Idaho panhandle near Lake Coeur d’Alene. Today it’s just me and the dog watching over the camp as everyone else in our party cavorts at the Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park. I didn’t bring a laptop with me but the dog’s owners brought several so I bummed one for the day. The dog is completely deaf and not a good conversationalist so I will amuse myself with some blogging, assuming this HP laptop doesn’t drive me crazy first (windows keep popping up every minute and it chooses to ignore many of the letters I type).

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  • A Few Disparate Links

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  • Memorial Day Family Bike Ride

    Distance: 11.8 miles
    Riding time: 98 minutes
    Max speed: 20.3 mph
    Average speed: 7.2 mph
    Temperature: 70º
    Soundtrack: n/a

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  • Happy Mother’s Day

    Graham quietly woke me shortly after 7:00 this morning so I could help him prepare our annual “surprise” Mother’s Day breakfast. We made our plan and I advised him that we should wait until at least 8:00 before starting it. Graham watched TV while I napped on the couch until Tina came out at 7:45 asking where everybody had gone. I emphatically told her that she should go back to bed and she eventually understood. Graham and I then went to work making french toast, warm syrup and with orange slices on the side. We served it to Tina in bed but she decided to bring it out to the kitchen since we don’t have a good tray for eating in bed anymore.

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  • Hey, I recognize that view!

    CNN has an article about the bike trail on which Graham crashed a couple of weeks ago.

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2395
    Van odometer: 151992
    Weight lost (in pounds): 8
    Aches & pains: left achilles tendon, sciatic
    Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
    Recent listening: Rage Against The Machine, This American Life, Bob Wills
    Recent viewing: Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Warren Miller’s Ride, Suns vs. Spurs, South Park, The Office, Numbers, Cavaliers vs. Wizards
    Recent playing: TypeRacer (top speed about 75 wpm)
    Recently accomplished: Cat boxes, recycling, clean and lube bikes, adjusted Thomas’ “old” bike for Graham, weed & feed, 401k loan, mowed lawn, changed voter registration, weed & feed
    Imperative To Do: Sell G4, get rid of junk (couch, vacuum cleaner, mower), buy trailer for van, activate new Tivo, develop comprehensive reward/punishment plan for homework, oil change for van