Not-So-Long Distance... Sigh.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
TURTLE IS TOAST
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Earlier this week I somehow ended up reading the Times Union blog of Chuck Miller - don't recall how I got there, but he does some cool stuff with film (yes you read that right) photography. He also mentions a twitter hashtag, #chuckishappy, which in the end I think is kind of neat - there's plenty of folks out there spewing negativity, nice to see someone contributing to the positive (even if it is on Twitter, one of the signs of our ever-growing narcisistic outlook and a harbinger of the eventual Apocalypse, right up there with Twilight and Justin Beiber.)
(Crud, now I'm contributing the to negativity. Blame it on a nutrient-deprived brain or just plain old irony.)
Anyway, as I was finishing my 2nd run of the day (read - hobbling to my car) I decided that #turtleistoast would be an appropriate hashtag for how I ended the day. All I can say is running 18.5 miles today (my longest so far this year!) was probably not the brightest thing I've done lately.
Turtle is toast.
JMH
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Earlier this week I somehow ended up reading the Times Union blog of Chuck Miller - don't recall how I got there, but he does some cool stuff with film (yes you read that right) photography. He also mentions a twitter hashtag, #chuckishappy, which in the end I think is kind of neat - there's plenty of folks out there spewing negativity, nice to see someone contributing to the positive (even if it is on Twitter, one of the signs of our ever-growing narcisistic outlook and a harbinger of the eventual Apocalypse, right up there with Twilight and Justin Beiber.)
(Crud, now I'm contributing the to negativity. Blame it on a nutrient-deprived brain or just plain old irony.)
Anyway, as I was finishing my 2nd run of the day (read - hobbling to my car) I decided that #turtleistoast would be an appropriate hashtag for how I ended the day. All I can say is running 18.5 miles today (my longest so far this year!) was probably not the brightest thing I've done lately.
Turtle is toast.
JMH
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
SO LONG WINTER...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Sure, I know it was "officially" spring a week ago, but today I packed my snowshoes and skis into the closet until next winter...
I must admit I have mixed feelings about this... I'm certainly looking forward to warmer weather and everything turning green again, but sometimes it seems like winter flies by way too quickly...
JMH
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Sure, I know it was "officially" spring a week ago, but today I packed my snowshoes and skis into the closet until next winter...
I must admit I have mixed feelings about this... I'm certainly looking forward to warmer weather and everything turning green again, but sometimes it seems like winter flies by way too quickly...
JMH
What Should Be Easy...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
... is never easy.
Take my trip to Midas yesterday, for example. I needed to have my snow tires swapped for my all-seasons and a wheel noise diagnosed/repaired. Three hours later all the work was done, except for a wheel alignment... which took another three hours and included replacing a tie rod.
Or take loading photos into a blog post... with all the advances Blogger has made, that should be cake... except many of those advances are designed to automate layouts as much as possible, and with my somewhat antiquated template many of those end up looking lousy. I know, I could move to a newer template - but I have yet to find one I like as much as the original! So loading photos involves more steps than it might otherwise - and sometimes repeated attempts to get the automated stuff to do what I want it to, or something close. I think I edited my post about our flight to Hilo twenty or thirty times... before I finally gave up, deleted the photos, and reloaded them from scratch using the HTML view, then cut and paste the HTML codes to put them where I wanted them.
Then again, if these are the worst problems I have, I should probably be thankful instead of griping...
JMH
Thursday, March 28, 2013
... is never easy.
Take my trip to Midas yesterday, for example. I needed to have my snow tires swapped for my all-seasons and a wheel noise diagnosed/repaired. Three hours later all the work was done, except for a wheel alignment... which took another three hours and included replacing a tie rod.
Or take loading photos into a blog post... with all the advances Blogger has made, that should be cake... except many of those advances are designed to automate layouts as much as possible, and with my somewhat antiquated template many of those end up looking lousy. I know, I could move to a newer template - but I have yet to find one I like as much as the original! So loading photos involves more steps than it might otherwise - and sometimes repeated attempts to get the automated stuff to do what I want it to, or something close. I think I edited my post about our flight to Hilo twenty or thirty times... before I finally gave up, deleted the photos, and reloaded them from scratch using the HTML view, then cut and paste the HTML codes to put them where I wanted them.
Then again, if these are the worst problems I have, I should probably be thankful instead of griping...
JMH
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
A FOX IN THE DARK...
0.8 Mile Walk on the Erie Canalway Trail (Greece)
Friday, March 22, 2013
After sitting in airports and on planes for the past 16 1/2 hours I really wanted to get outside for a bit, even if it was in the dark, so Ann and I headed to Henpeck Park in Greece to go for a walk along the Erie Canal. We walked over to the Greece Canal Park landing and then headed back, because the wind was a bit vicious. Along the way we heard quite a few geese (and could just barely make them out down on the far side of the canal, which is drained for the winter) and more exciting, spotted a fox which came out of the bushes along the path, made its way down to the water, and ultimately swam the canal and disappeared up the other side. A pretty cool "welcome back"...
JMH
0.8 Mile Walk on the Erie Canalway Trail (Greece)
Friday, March 22, 2013
After sitting in airports and on planes for the past 16 1/2 hours I really wanted to get outside for a bit, even if it was in the dark, so Ann and I headed to Henpeck Park in Greece to go for a walk along the Erie Canal. We walked over to the Greece Canal Park landing and then headed back, because the wind was a bit vicious. Along the way we heard quite a few geese (and could just barely make them out down on the far side of the canal, which is drained for the winter) and more exciting, spotted a fox which came out of the bushes along the path, made its way down to the water, and ultimately swam the canal and disappeared up the other side. A pretty cool "welcome back"...
JMH
FINALLY! Home Again!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Other than a short delay in Cleveland, things went smoothly... but flying all night (and essentially all day, thanks to the six hour time difference) really sucks. I broke down and paid $8 for movies and TV on the flight between Hilo and LA... I ended up watching episodes of Big Bang Theory and a strange sitcom I hadn't heard of from cable, then "Cloud Atlas" (which might have made more sense if I hadn't missed the 1st 20 minutes and had been more awake... or maybe not.) The best choice I made was "Argo", which was surprisingly good for a movie starring Affleck (perhaps he's a better director than actor...)
We left temperatures in the 70's and returned to temperatures in the 30's with snow on the ground... but it's good to be home!
JMH
Friday, March 22, 2013
Other than a short delay in Cleveland, things went smoothly... but flying all night (and essentially all day, thanks to the six hour time difference) really sucks. I broke down and paid $8 for movies and TV on the flight between Hilo and LA... I ended up watching episodes of Big Bang Theory and a strange sitcom I hadn't heard of from cable, then "Cloud Atlas" (which might have made more sense if I hadn't missed the 1st 20 minutes and had been more awake... or maybe not.) The best choice I made was "Argo", which was surprisingly good for a movie starring Affleck (perhaps he's a better director than actor...)
We left temperatures in the 70's and returned to temperatures in the 30's with snow on the ground... but it's good to be home!
JMH
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Leaving "Paradise"
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Back in the Hilo airport again... seems like we've spent far too much time over the last week sitting at airports waiting for flights (actually, about 8 hours, not counting layovers between connections.) Of course, once the plane finally takes off... we're in for about 11 1/2 hours in the air, plus layovers. Gah...
Hawaii has been interesting, in some ways not at all what I expected and in others exactly what I'd anticipated. Ann wouldn't mind staying longer but I'm ready to get back to the northeast. It's been nice visiting here... but I don't think I'd want to live here all the time. I'v got too much of the Northeast in my blood...
JMH
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Back in the Hilo airport again... seems like we've spent far too much time over the last week sitting at airports waiting for flights (actually, about 8 hours, not counting layovers between connections.) Of course, once the plane finally takes off... we're in for about 11 1/2 hours in the air, plus layovers. Gah...
Hawaii has been interesting, in some ways not at all what I expected and in others exactly what I'd anticipated. Ann wouldn't mind staying longer but I'm ready to get back to the northeast. It's been nice visiting here... but I don't think I'd want to live here all the time. I'v got too much of the Northeast in my blood...
JMH
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
A VISIT TO "PARADISE", DAY 2
Long Distance 2013 - Race #1
Big Island International Half Marathon
(+ 3 Miles of Walking To and From the Race)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
2013 Event Totals
Run 29.1 mi, 7 hr 41 min
Bike 0 mi, 0 min
Snowshoe 49.9 mi, 15 hr 15 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 min
states visited: HI, MA, NH, NY, VT
Long Distance 2013 - Race #1
Big Island International Half Marathon
(+ 3 Miles of Walking To and From the Race)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
2013 Event Totals
Run 29.1 mi, 7 hr 41 min
Bike 0 mi, 0 min
Snowshoe 49.9 mi, 15 hr 15 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 min
states visited: HI, MA, NH, NY, VT
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Off to "Paradise"
Friday, March 15, 2013
This morning we took off from Rochester for the long, long flight to Hilo, HI. Our initial flight was delayed slightly due to the late arrival of our plane, and we flew out in the middle of snow flurries. Fortunately we were still able to make all of our connections without a hitch.
The flight from Newark to LA was particularly enjoyable, if lengthy - the plane had a sizeable selection of movies and television to watch for free, and I took the opportunity to finally watch "The Amazing Spiderman" (not bad, but Peter Parker was played as something of an obnoxious punk, and I'd have preferred the Lizard to look more like his comic book counterpart) and "Wreck It Ralph", a very clever cartoon with all sorts of nods to classic video games.
Sadly, the flight from LA to Hilo only had pay-per-view, and it seemed like we'd never be done flying... but after about 13 1/2 hours in the air (and two hours changing gates on the ground) we arrived in Hawaii to humid temperatures in the 60's and the loud chirping of coqui frogs.
JMH
Friday, March 15, 2013
This morning we took off from Rochester for the long, long flight to Hilo, HI. Our initial flight was delayed slightly due to the late arrival of our plane, and we flew out in the middle of snow flurries. Fortunately we were still able to make all of our connections without a hitch.
The flight from Newark to LA was particularly enjoyable, if lengthy - the plane had a sizeable selection of movies and television to watch for free, and I took the opportunity to finally watch "The Amazing Spiderman" (not bad, but Peter Parker was played as something of an obnoxious punk, and I'd have preferred the Lizard to look more like his comic book counterpart) and "Wreck It Ralph", a very clever cartoon with all sorts of nods to classic video games.
Sadly, the flight from LA to Hilo only had pay-per-view, and it seemed like we'd never be done flying... but after about 13 1/2 hours in the air (and two hours changing gates on the ground) we arrived in Hawaii to humid temperatures in the 60's and the loud chirping of coqui frogs.
JMH
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
5.2 Mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I know I should have been getting ready to head west tomorrow after work (and then really west Friday morning) but after being sick for the last few days I needed to get outdoors even more... so I headed over to Six Mile Waterworks Park (ie. Rensselaer Lake) to do a bit of easy running. I haven't been there in a long time - since well before they installed all the traffic circles and re-routed the entrance to the park - so I had no idea what condition the trails would be in.
The trails through the park have been somewhat neglected, not that surprising given all the work that's been done in the last year or so, making access difficult. The biggest surprise was that the trailer where the city used to rent boats in the summer is gone - guess it wasn't a money maker.
The trails over to and through the Pine Bush Rapp Barrens are exactly as I remembered them, and best of all - the bridge over to the peninsula has its decking again, allowing access to the unofficial trails over there. I would have liked to do another mile or two but decided to err on the part of caution... besides, I still had plenty to do between errands and work at home.
I doubt the Six Mile Waterworks/Rapp Barrens trails will ever become a regular fixture in my runs - they're just too short, and I'm not a fan of looping the same trails over and over - but I have some fun memories of them (I started my current stretch of regularly running races there back in 2005, with the 3rd annual Dodge the Deer 5k trail race) and it's definitely a fun place for a short easy run.
JMH
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I know I should have been getting ready to head west tomorrow after work (and then really west Friday morning) but after being sick for the last few days I needed to get outdoors even more... so I headed over to Six Mile Waterworks Park (ie. Rensselaer Lake) to do a bit of easy running. I haven't been there in a long time - since well before they installed all the traffic circles and re-routed the entrance to the park - so I had no idea what condition the trails would be in.
The trails through the park have been somewhat neglected, not that surprising given all the work that's been done in the last year or so, making access difficult. The biggest surprise was that the trailer where the city used to rent boats in the summer is gone - guess it wasn't a money maker.
The trails over to and through the Pine Bush Rapp Barrens are exactly as I remembered them, and best of all - the bridge over to the peninsula has its decking again, allowing access to the unofficial trails over there. I would have liked to do another mile or two but decided to err on the part of caution... besides, I still had plenty to do between errands and work at home.
I doubt the Six Mile Waterworks/Rapp Barrens trails will ever become a regular fixture in my runs - they're just too short, and I'm not a fan of looping the same trails over and over - but I have some fun memories of them (I started my current stretch of regularly running races there back in 2005, with the 3rd annual Dodge the Deer 5k trail race) and it's definitely a fun place for a short easy run.
JMH
Monday, March 11, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Thursday, March 07, 2013
More Abuse To My Honda Civic
Thursday, March 7, 2013
When I stepped outside to go to work this morning I found the back window of my Civic completely spiderwebbed... still intact, but that ended the moment I opened a door and sections started falling into the back of the car. Unfortunately I was running behind schedule so there was no time to do anything about it... I drove to work, tossed a towel over the outside to protect the interior a bit, and headed in to my classes.
Fortunately our fantastic facilities manager rustled up some plastic and duct tape for me, so at lunch time I was able to seal it up - just in time too, because in the afternoon we started to get some very wet snow flurries. I also submitted a claim online and scheduled an appointment for Saturday to have it replaced. Fortunately I have full glass coverage as part of my insurance, so it's not going to cost me anything other than time and the hassle of getting it fixed (and minimal driving in the meantime... rear windows aren't meant to be covered in plastic sheeting.)
As to what happened... while the suspicious side of me wonders if a pattern is emerging (I had a side mirror smashed late last fall) the fact that none of the glass had been knocked into the car leads me to think it was random stupidity. There were two rocks near the curb where I was parked that weren't there when I parked the car (I remember noticing that the street sweeper had been through) so I would guess either some moron was throwing rocks and accidentally hit my window... or some moron was throwing rocks and deliberately hit my window. Regardless, it's another thing to deal with during an already aggravating week... Saturday morning I'll need to clean out the back of the car (including cleaning up the shop vac I used to pump sewage out of my basement a while back so I can vacuum up as much of the broken glass as I can) before I take it to Safelite to get the window replaced at lunch time. Fortunately there should still be time to get in a run Saturday afternoon... after a week which has been an almost complete washout in the outdoors department.
JMH
Thursday, March 7, 2013
When I stepped outside to go to work this morning I found the back window of my Civic completely spiderwebbed... still intact, but that ended the moment I opened a door and sections started falling into the back of the car. Unfortunately I was running behind schedule so there was no time to do anything about it... I drove to work, tossed a towel over the outside to protect the interior a bit, and headed in to my classes.
Fortunately our fantastic facilities manager rustled up some plastic and duct tape for me, so at lunch time I was able to seal it up - just in time too, because in the afternoon we started to get some very wet snow flurries. I also submitted a claim online and scheduled an appointment for Saturday to have it replaced. Fortunately I have full glass coverage as part of my insurance, so it's not going to cost me anything other than time and the hassle of getting it fixed (and minimal driving in the meantime... rear windows aren't meant to be covered in plastic sheeting.)
As to what happened... while the suspicious side of me wonders if a pattern is emerging (I had a side mirror smashed late last fall) the fact that none of the glass had been knocked into the car leads me to think it was random stupidity. There were two rocks near the curb where I was parked that weren't there when I parked the car (I remember noticing that the street sweeper had been through) so I would guess either some moron was throwing rocks and accidentally hit my window... or some moron was throwing rocks and deliberately hit my window. Regardless, it's another thing to deal with during an already aggravating week... Saturday morning I'll need to clean out the back of the car (including cleaning up the shop vac I used to pump sewage out of my basement a while back so I can vacuum up as much of the broken glass as I can) before I take it to Safelite to get the window replaced at lunch time. Fortunately there should still be time to get in a run Saturday afternoon... after a week which has been an almost complete washout in the outdoors department.
JMH
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Saturday, March 02, 2013
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