Bike odometer: 354 miles
Average speed: 10.6 mph
Weight lost: 42 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed this week: 10 (1 day)
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs
Recent listening: Authorized Greatest Hits by Cheap Trick, Greatest Hits by Bob Seger, Stardust by Willie Nelson, Europe ’72 by Grateful Dead, Coverville, KBOO Bike Show
Recent viewing: Wolfen, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Colts at Patriots, Heroes, CSI: Miami
Recent playing: Zuma, Halo
Recently accomplished:Â Paid bills, cleaned filing cabinet, bought Tina’s birthday present, voted
Imperative To Do: Follow-up with Thomas’ principal, recycle cardboard, finish old blog entries, get Thomas’ computer to boot, rake, clean garage, install new permanent Tivo hard drive, fix laundry room door
Cool Link: Faith Hill is a bad loser: Even if she was joking, it’s disrespectful to the winner.
Sleep update
The longer I use the CPAP and the wigkussen I got from slaapcity, the better my sleep seems to get. I’m no longer waking up because my mouth opens (as described earlier) and it isn’t waking Tina, either. So either it’s not happening or we’ve both grown used to it. I’m now sleeping all the way through the night and often wake up before my alarm. I haven’t been able to tell what time it is when that happens because it’s dark and I can’t really see the alarm on the other side of the bed with the mask on. However, I decided to just get up the other day when it happened and it was almost exactly seven hours after I had gone to bed. A few years ago I zeroed in on seven hours as the perfect amount of sleep – any more or less would make me feel tired. I think the fact that I’m waking up unassisted now after seven hours is an excellent sign that I’m returning to normal sleep patterns.
Take a look at these Mattress Sizes & Bed Size Dimensions I was looking up online to improve my good night sleep and back pain.
Next week I take the CPAP machine to the technician so she can read the results. It uses changes in air pressure and resistance to record a number of statistics. The week after, I have an appointment with my sleep doctor to discuss the CPAP stats and anything else I’d like to talk about, I am also going to see if I can start using the maternity pillow at night. It will be interesting to see how the machine’s log matches with the log that I started keeping when I began using the CPAP. The only complaint I have now is that my mouth is very dry when I wake but I doubt anything can be done about that.
Vital Statistics
Graham got an extremely late birthday present today – I finally got around to wiring his bedroom for the internet. I did manage to get him a new computer on his birthday, but many weekends have passed since where I have promised him that I would get it installed but never found the time. He’s been understanding the whole time. Last night I told him that we could do it today if he would help and he was very excited to do it. His most important part involved traversing the crawl space from Thomas’ room (where the “hatch” is) to our room and back. There are several pipes and heating ducts in the way that make it very difficult for me to do it. When I wired Thomas’ room about five years ago, it probably took me an hour to make my way to our bedroom and back to Thomas’ room. This afternoon it took Graham about three minutes to do the same thing. Probably half of that time as me explaining to him where he needed to go. He was my Briar Rabbit today. Anyway, we got it all done and Graham is very excited to have iChat and his own computer for playing internet games.
After my first night with the CPAP, things have gone down hill. The chin restraint keeps my mouth from flying wide open, but my lips still open a tiny bit during REM sleep. This produces a hissing sound that makes Tina think that her ocean-sound alarm is going off. No, it’s just me so she rolls over and taps me on the lip so I close my mouth again. After the first morning of that (I usually go into REMs at around 4:00 am), I adjusted slightly and have since been getting the “chipmunk cheeks”. The valve (for lack of a better word) in my throat opens and air rushes into my mouth puffing up my cheeks. This wakes me enough to close the valve and go back to sleep. However, it’s not making for very good sleep and I’ve had a couple mornings where I slept past 10 hours. On Friday Tina and I saw my sleep doctor and he said to be patient with it. I go back to see him in 6 weeks and take my CPAP in for evaluation (it also records sleep data) in 4 weeks. If it’s not better by then, I’m going to insist on getting fitted for a nose-and-mouth mask.
I think I’ve noticed more motivation in myself on the weekends lately. It’s probably related to the weight loss I’ve had since Tina and I started South Beach about 6 weeks ago. But the whole sleep diagnostic experience has also made me more hopeful about my life in general, I think. I can’t tell you how great it feels to wake up after 8 hours of sleep and be completely rested. I’m looking forward to when every day is like that.
Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Humpy’s Soul Show, The Jumpoff, Dave Allen’s Neighborhood (all available here)
Recent viewing: Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Ed vs. Spencer, Countdown
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Installed network in Graham’s room, new music for Tina
Imperative To Do: Labels for my sister’s CDs, test drive new bike seats, bank
Cool Link: Spam: An excellent gift for a 40th birthday (the variety pack would be awesome!)
Vital Statistics
We joined Thomas at Adventure Cove on the Oregon coast this afternoon and helped him lug his bags to the van. After that we dined and watched their last “campfire”, which is sort of their nightly show. Thomas had a great time all week. We’re all pretty tired from all the up-and-down hill walking in the camp. Thomas and Graham both fell asleep on the way home after they polished off their Blizzards. Tomorrow their Grandma Jan arrives and they are plenty excited about that, too. Isn’t it great to be a kid?
Since there have been a few comments about our decision to buy the Scion, I thought I might tell you the specific criteria that we developed and how the xB fits them:
- Gas mileage: We spend $50 to fill up our Caravan now. That hurts. We definitely wanted something that gets better mileage and the xB fits the bill: 30 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway. That’s the rating for the manual transmission, but I’m sure my granny driving will get even better mileage.
- Cargo capacity: We need room to fit Thomas’ cello and possibly a bass if he decides to switch later. While the xB does not have nearly the cargo capacity that our Caravan has, its 60/40 fold down rear seats make enough room to fit the instrument.
- Reliability: The last couple of years have been a real drag on us for auto repairs. We wanted something reliable and with a good warranty. The Kia 10-year warranty is pretty incredible, but we think the Scion warranty will probably be good enough: 3 years bumper-to-bumper with 5 years on the drive train. In addition, if we want to purchase an extended warranty, it only costs about $800.
- Price: Although Tina convinced me to check 6 Online Communities About New Electric Vans For Sale You Should Join and with info I decided that a new car was what we needed, I still was pretty unwilling to go into new car pricing territory. We set our price range at $15-17k and the xB was easily the least expensive of any other car we were considering: $14,570 MSRP with standard options.
In summary, the xB tested nearly perfectly for our criteria. What I hadn’t counted on was how much I would love driving it. Even though it’s got a tiny little motorcyle engine in it, it’s got tremendous get-up-and-go. The interior is totally Spartan but that also appeals to me because I hate having to pay for interior amenities. The amount of interior space is also pretty incredible, especially the amount of leg room in front and back.
If you’re really interested, you can go to the Scion xB showroom to get all the details, but here’s a few of the standard options that we appreciate:
- Air conditioning
- Power windows
- Power locks
- AM/FM/CD player
- Auxiliary audio input jack on the console (iPod pluggable – nobody else had this)
- Bucket seats similar to the ones in our van including the height at which you sit
- Extra cargo space under the floor in the rear
- Anti-lock brakes
- Driver and passenger air bags
- Shoulder belts for all five passengers
As you can probably tell, we couldn’t be happier. Tina wants one in Salsa Red (I don’t care about color) and we’re told one arrived in the Port of Portland. We’re calling tomorrow morning to reserve it. We’ll see how long it takes to get it.
Finally, lest it sound like I actually did anything aside from nodding my head occasionally, I have to give all the credit to Tina for finding this car. Not only did she find a great car for a great price, she resolved the conflict between us about what exactly we should do for our next car purchase. What a great wife she is.
Bike odometer: 59 miles
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Rufus Wainright by Rufus Wainright, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses by Slipnot, Abraxas by Santana, Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Humpy’s Soul Show
Recent viewing: The Daily Show
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Got the boy back
Imperative To Do: Setup Airport Express, install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs
Cool link: zunafish: Trade the stuff you’re done with for the stuff you want
Vital Statistics
Graham and Tina are at Cub Scout Camp this weekend so Thomas and I are having a bachelor’s weekend. Some of the agenda items include: returning cans and bottles to the store, poker at Jonathan’s, Halo, Bust-A-Move and maybe some yard work if we find time.
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dead Kennedys, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Brainiac, Mythbusters
Recent playing: Bust-A-Move, Halo
Recently accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, burn CDs for my sister
Cool link: Gaussboys Super Magnets: Purveyor of rare earth magnets. These are super-powerful – check out the Crazy Pics link.
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.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 6307 miles
Current reading: Heaven Is A Playground by Rick Telander, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Express by Love and Rockets, Story of the Day, Hindu Love Gods
Recent viewing: Last Comic Standing, Sportscenter, Countdown, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
Recently accomplished: Cleaned the garage, strung Tina’s art project, paid bills, receipts
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Driving Test: GMAC Insurance 2006 National Driver’s Test
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
First Place
Yesterday was a great day in the history of Pinewood Derby cars at the Ring household. I knew it was going to be a good day after only two races when both Thomas and Graham came in first with a big lead.
The track that we race on has four lanes with electronic timing. Each car gets to race on every lane in order to minimize the impact of slower/faster lanes. A computer schedules all the races and tabulates the time for each car. At the end of the round-robin tournament, each racer has four times that are added together. The two lowest total times are chosen as 1st and 2nd place for each of the four dens in our pack. These winners may all participate in the regional competition. The eight den winners then compete for the honor of best in the pack.
After the round-robin, Thomas and Graham were both first in their den and participated in the pack championship round. Thomas took first in 3 out of his 4 races, but Graham didn’t fare as well in the stiffer competition. Graham finished 4th or 5th in the pack and Thomas finished 1st!
I went to the post office in the morning to make sure that both cars were regulation weight (no more than five ounces), and so we had some last minute weight stuck to both cars. Both boys had two golf club weights on their cars because they are light enough to get you very close to regulation weight (more weight means more speed). In these pictures, they are the flat, rectangular weights that are light silver in color. On Graham’s they are mounted vertically (at his insistence) and on Thomas’ they are are flat against the body near the rear (by the fin):
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During one of the two races where Graham and Thomas raced against each other, all four weights came off their cars. Evidently, that had been happening to Graham’s car for awhile, so the race official just slapped all four onto Graham’s car where they remained until after the racing was all done. When I picked up Graham’s car after it was all over, I was perplexed to find the extra weights on the car. I couldn’t figure it out until I saw Thomas’ car without the weights and then it all became clear.
I weighed Graham’s car right before we left and it said 5.4 ounces, which might have been a big advantage to Graham, but probably was also a disadvantage to Thomas. Or was it a disadvantage? Physics experts, please weigh in!
There are more pictures here.
Tina’s blog entry is here.
Vital Statistics
I cleared a bunch of space on my Tivo last night in anticipation of the Olympics and it started rebooting every 10 minutes. The second drive has been going out for awhile, I think, and it’s on its last legs now. Took it to the office today to have our resident Tivo expert dupe the dying drive onto another drive I have laying around. Nevertheless, I am without Tivo tonight.
Current reading: Armor by John Steakley
Recent listening: Meat Is Murder/The Smiths, Evil Empire/Rage Against The Machine, Got No Strings/Michelle Shocked, DrugMusic
Recent viewing: (not applicable)
Recent playing: GamesGrid Poker
Imperative To Do: Pinewood Derby: Paint, Renew driver’s license, Take out garbage
Cool link: Tina’s Art