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.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 297 miles
Average speed: 11.1 mph
Weight lost: 40 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed this week: 32:30 (three days)
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: The Rock Report: Decemberists Interview, Box Set by Buffalo Springfield, Back To Mine by Morecheeba, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn by Bright Eyes, Necktie Second by Pete Droge, Half Nelson by Willie Nelson
Recent viewing: Cold Case, World Series, Countdown, Larry King Live, Martha Stewart (Amy Sedaris was on)
Recent playing: Zuma, Halo, Klax
Recently accomplished: Paid bills, returned stuff to hardware store
Imperative To Do: Finish old blog entries, get Thomas’ computer to boot, rake, clean garage, clean gutters and downspouts
Cool Link: Crazy Biker Chick—An open letter to motorists who dislike cyclists.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 257 miles
Weight lost: 35 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 9.2
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Pronounced Leh’-nerd Skin’-nerd by Lynryd Skynyrd, DrugMusic, NPR Story of the Day, Science Friday, Planet Waves by Bob Dylan, Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam, Second Helping by Lynryd Skynyrd
Recent viewing: Countdown, Sportscenter, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Drawn Together, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, My Name Is Earl, The Office
Recent playing: Zuma, Halo
Recently accomplished: Paid bills, trying to figure out Thomas’ hard drive
Imperative To Do: Finish old blog entries, get Thomas’ computer to boot, rake, clean garage, return stuff to hardware store
Cool Link: Nintendo DS and other folding things: Thomas releases his first animated short to the world.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 243 miles
Weight lost: 32 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8.5
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Glimmer by Kim Richey, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses by Slipnot, KBOO Bike Show, John Prine
Recent viewing: Crash, Steelers at Chargers, Cowboys at Eagles, Charlie Rose (Bob Woodward), Meet the Press (Bob Woodward), Drawn Together (season premiere!), Without A Trace
Recent playing: Zuma, Halo
Recently accomplished: Fixed Thomas’ hard drive, installed new OS for Thomas, lubed and cleaned bike
Imperative To Do: Finish old blog entries, get Thomas’ computer to boot, rake, clean garage, return stuff to hardware store, pay bills
Cool Link: Blogs – and God’s Youth: Does God want you blogging?
Vital Statistics
It had been at least five years since I last cleaned and refinished our deck so it was far overdue for some care. The weekend before my birthday, I rented a pressure washer and cleaned the deck very thoroughly. After my mother offered to help me finish the job while she was here, I took Wednesday and Thursday off last week and we did just that.
On Wednesday we cleaned the entire deck including the railings with deck detergent. I mixed the detergent into a high concentrate so I could use my Ortho Dial ‘N’ Spray to spread it on the deck. Pretty clever, eh? What was not clever was sticking my hand into the liquid with the brush when we were scrubbing it onto the wood. At that concentration, the detergent is evidently highly corrosive and I ended up with about six small but deep holes in the tips of my fingers. Ouch!
Thursday was refinishing day. I decided on the $40/gallon Brazilian rosewood oil (BRO) which blocks 99% of ultraviolet light. Presumably this means I won’t have to do this job as often so the extra cost was not really a factor. Of course, as I bought my sixth gallon Thursday afternoon, I was definitely questioning the sanity of my decision. We spent most of the morning applying the BRO to the railings with paint brushes and then I did the same to the floorboards of the deck using a nifty sponge-on-a-stick contraption. The instructions recommended two coats, but we decided the railings would only need one. I finished the last coat to the deck boards just as it was getting dark on Thursday.
Bike odometer: 209 miles
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, NPR Story of the Day, Science Friday, Coverville, DrugMusic
Recent viewing: World Series of Poker, Sportscenter, My Name Is Earl, The Office, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Cleaned deck with finger-eating detergent, filled in cracks in sidewalk and driveway, refinished deck with rosewood oil, hammered in nails that were sticking out on the deck (most of them), treated blister on thumb from hammering, hair cut, paid bills, made new fender for bike, bought a gift of appreciation
Imperative To Do: Finish old blog entries, rake, install new hard drive for Thomas, clean garage, return stuff to hardware store
Cool Link: Jimmy Dean Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick: The ultimate breakfast on a stick
Vital Statistics
I think I got better sleep last night, but I still woke up many times either because the mask was leaking or my mouth had opened. After blogging this weekend, I went back to Wikipedia to see if there was any information about my problem. At the end of the CPAP article, there were a number of links that I tried including one for CPAP Talk, an online forum for CPAP users. I found an article by a guy who had the same problem as I have (mouth opening during REMs) that solved it by taping his mouth shut. I’m going to continue as I have for a couple of more weeks, but if I keep waking up because of my big mouth, I’m going to give my doctor a call and ask him his opinion about taping it shut. Sounds pretty simple!
Five years ago today I drove my little truck to work instead of biking or riding the Max. I think I forgot the faceplate for my stereo because I didn’t listen to the radio on the way there. Usually, I would listen to NPR if it was early enough, or Mark & Brian if it was later. When I got to work, Tina called me and told me to go to CNN.com. That’s how I found out about the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. We turned on the satellite receiver attached to our projector at work, but we had let the subscription lapse. So I wasn’t subjected to the media coverage until I got home that night. I remember driving to work for days after watching the taller buildings expecting a plane to fly into them. I remember how happy I felt when I heard a plane fly over our house again after the airport was silent for a week. Little did we know then that it would be used as justification for the biggest mistake this country has ever undertaken.
Bike odometer: 137 miles
Current reading: The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, John Prine
Recent viewing: Bad Santa, U.S. Open Men’s Final
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Paid bills
Imperative To Do: Labels for my sister’s CDs, test drive new bike seats, bank, refinish deck, hair cut, service van
Cool Link: HowStuffWorks: A great site with easy explanations, diagrams and animations to show how stuff works. Examples: How Car Engines Work, How Blogs Work, How File Compression Works, How do stringrays kill?
Vital Statistics
I rode all the way to work this morning – all 14 miles. It’s the first time in over a year and I felt pretty good. Well, except for my sore butt.
Bike odometer: 108 miles
Current reading: The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: DrugMusic, John Prine, Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Running On Empty by Jackson Browne
Recent viewing: FIBA Quarterfinals, The 4400, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Finally reached beta on one project at work and GM on the other, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Install network in Graham’s room, sell truck, labels for my sister’s CDs, fix Newton server, kill and pull weeds
Cool Link: Keith Olbermann Responds To Rumsfeld (click on one of the video links to watch)
Vital Statistics
Our new car arrived at the dealer on Wednesday and Tina picked it up that evening. I celebrated by driving the van to work two days in a row – the first time I’ve driven to work in months. We’re all excited about our new Scion. The racks come in next week and Tina has to drop by the dealer to get them installed.
As I mentioned before, I slept at the sleep clinic again on Tuesday. They hooked me up with all the wires and I wore the CPAP nose mask all night. It went pretty smoothly until I started my R.E.M. period around four am. Evidently my mouth drops open during R.E.M.s which causes all the air to rush out. What’s more, I woke up startled and choking a couple of times until I finally awoke completely around five and couldn’t get back to sleep for about 15 minutes. During that time, the mask pushed the nostril microphones (yes, nostril microphones) into my septum. I awoke at 7:30 with a very sore septum. They’re probably going to give me a chin strap to keep my mouth shut. We’ll have to see if that works. I have an appointment with my doctor next week.
Tina’s mom has been here all week. We’re having some mutual friends and Tina’s cousins over tonight for a little farewell BBQ. After we bid adieu to her tomorrow morning, my friend Don is coming over to help me reinforce the railings on our deck with a nice built-in bench. I’ll take pictures.
Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: KBOO Bike Show, He’s Drunk/Plus Also Too by Scrawl, Spirit Trail by Bruce Hornsby, This Is The Moody Blues by The Moody Blues, Grace by Jeff Buckley, Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground by Bright Eyes, Has Been by William Shatner
Recent viewing: The Daily Show, 30 Days, Sportscenter, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Zuma Level 12-7
Imperative To Do: Build bench to reinforce deck railing, install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs, pay bills, fix Newton server, kill and pull weeds
Cool Link: United Nuclear: Online purveyor of cool and geeky stuff. Looking for a place to buy thermite? This is it!
Vital Statistics
This morning I was nearly a victim of the “right hook” (explanation here). A burgundy pickup passed me as I ented an intersection and then turned directly in front of me, passing within a foot of my front wheel. The violation was so blatant that I got mad enough to turn around and attempt to catch up with the vehicle in question. Unfortunately, he/she had a two block head start on me and disappeared around a corner. I cruised the street for a few blocks but they were long gone.
Tonight I spend the night at Portland Adventist where I will be fitted with a CPAP device. I’m bringing my camera this time and hope to get some good pictures of me all wired up.
Bike odometer: 74 miles
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: DrugMusic
Recent viewing: The Daily Show, 30 Days, Sportscenter
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Zuma Level 12-6
Imperative To Do: Install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs, pay bills, fix Newton server, kill and pull weeds
Cool video: Naked basketball
Vital Statistics
Saturday morning I awoke to extremely sore calf muscles. Evidently, all the hiking/walking we did at Adventure Cove the day before took its toll. I did some yardwork, but mostly rested the whole live-long day. I did more of the same yesterday, but my calves are still sore this morning. And I discovered that I actively use those muscles when I’m biking. Now would be a good time to have a second car!
Bike odometer: 64 miles
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, Science Friday
Recent viewing: The Daily Show, PGA Championship, 30 Days, South Park, The Dead Zone
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Mowed, trimmed and edged the lawn, trimmed some hedges, instructed Thomas on lawn watering, setup my new Airport Express, grocery shopping
Imperative To Do: Install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs, pay bills, fix Newton server, buy pooper scooper, kill and pull weeds
Cool video: Monster dunk