Soul Stiss

Happy winter solstice everyone. The days just get longer from here.

Firefly

(I bet you thought this post would be about Joss Whedon's series of the same name. Wrong, sucka!)

Tonight, I saw my first firefly of the season. Neat.

Hot and Cold

Me: "God, it's hot." Alison: "I'm cold."

This could be a deal-breaker.

Finally

Today, after 4 significant Friday/Saturday snowfalls, I finally received a snow day. Woo hoo, as they say.

Zelda is Ready for Her Close-Up

A few folks have asked for photos of the new car, so here you go:

This shot was taken during the "light" snow we had last week. If I'd tried to take a picture of the car after Saturdays near-blizzard, you would only have seen a white bump.

Today's WOD

Today's WOD:

For time, move 20 cubic meters of snow.

My time? About 2 hours.

Snowvertible

The answer to my recently asked meteorological question was, apparently, "No." However, by the time I went into work, the ambient temperature was up to around 40 degrees F, and the it felt warmer in the sun. So, I put Zelda's top down for my commute through the snow. It was a strange, dichotomous experience.

Snow? Please?

So far this winter, we've gotten three significant snows. All of them have come on Friday night or Saturday, allowing plenty of time for the roads to be cleared before the next workday. Can we please just have a snow day, already?

Happy Solstice!

Happy winter solstice, everyone. The days start getting longer today.

Newton's Day vs. Michael's Day

Newton's Day

Today was the BEST day ever! I thought it was going to be just another everybody-leaves-day 'cause my girl-hooman woke up when the beeping happened and didn't stay in bed to cuddle AT ALL. That means it's a everybody-leaves-day. She put on her leaving fur and then drove off in her sick-box. Then my guy-hooman did the same thing...except he didn't drive off! He came back inside and changed into his staying at home fur and then he took me outside! I got to hang out in the front yard all day. I got to lay in the sunny grass and pee on the tree and some neighbors came over to play with me! Then my girl-hooman came home earlier than usual. It was the best day ever! I'm so tired now that I need a nap.

Michael's Day

I thought today was going to be just another workday, but boy was I wrong! I got dressed and went out to drive to work, but I couldn't shift gears. My clutch wasn't working. I went back inside and did a little research on the internet and realized that I had one of the necessary parts to fix the problem. Unfortunately, I didn't have the other part I needed, so Alison offered to go pick it up at lunchtime and work from home for the afternoon. So, I set to work in the driveway and took Newton out with me since he enjoys being outside. At least the weather was decent. I was hoping I could get the job done in time to go to work for a few hours, but I finished up at 5pm...it took me all day! I think I fixed the problem, but it still doesn't seem quite right so I might have to do some more adjusting. *sigh* What a crappy day. I'm so tired now that I need a nap.

Sn*w D*g

More photos of Newton.  I took these shots when we went out for a walk after the last big snowfall.

TCOB

I had a busy and productive day today, running some errands and taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

• Got a damaged wheel from my fixie repaired.  By the way, I've recently been running 48/16 gearing.  I think it's just a bit to high, and I may go back to 48/17.
• Shopped for Alison's Valentine's Day present.  After 6.5 years of being together, I'm all out of original ideas.  So, Alison, lower your expectations.
• Test-drove a 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 (black) and a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (white).  The RX-8 is torqueless but fairly powerful.* It feels quite agile and is a very rewarding drive.  I also really like the 4-door-coupe layout with the "freestyle" suicide doors.  The STI is much more powerful and far more torquey.  It also offers AWD and computer-controlled everything.  Still, it feels overly large** and far less nimble to me, and it just isn't as engaging to drive.  The RX-8, despite its supercar fuel efficiency, is at the top of my list for when I need a "family" car.  If it, or the next generation of it, is still being made by then.
• Got in some good top-down time in the Miata.  How could I not when the weather was so nice?
• Rode about 24 miles on my Seven. See previous weather-related rhetorical question.
• Test-rode a Trek Madone 5.2 Pro (52-cm size).  The bike is very stiff in the bottom-bracket and head-tube areas, but still offers a reasonably compliant ride.  It's very light with weight-saving design innovations*** in the head tube/steerer tube/ headset, bottom bracket, and seat mast that also reduce part count.  If I were in the market for a new geared road bike, it would be at the top of my list, though I'd have to look more closely at the geometry of the 50-cm size.
• Took Newton for a long walk.

By contrast, Alison had much more...consistent day:

• Listened to people talk about prostate cancer for 8 hours.****

* Only 159 lb-ft but 232 BHP, thankss to a 9000=RPM redline.  Note that my little turbo'ed Miata has more torque than that.

** The 4 cars I have owned average out to 2382  lbs, so I may have a skewed perspective.

*** These innovations are not, however, unique to Trek.

**** Alison also went on the dog walk, but it's more amusing to present our days this way.

100,000 Years

If you thought climate change was something we could reverse in a few years---or a few decades---you were mistaken.  Sorely.

He Thinks He's a Husky

Readers in the area---and those watching pre-inauguration coverage---are aware that it snowed 2.5 or 5 cm today.  Since Newton loves the snow, I was sure to take him for a long walk in it.  Here are a pair of photos documenting our outing.  Nothing makes a "white" dog look dirtier than fresh snow.

Aww.

Awwwww.

31 Days in Office

Given the weather expected in the District tomorrow, let's hope Barack Obama doesn't follow in William Henry Harrison's footsteps.

Seasonally Disaffective Attention Deficit Disorder: SDADD

Over the last few days, I've been feeling the urge to start bikeling again.  Clearly, my particular incarnation of Attention Deficit Disorder, the one that drives me to switch hobbies or sports every 6 to 12 months, is not seasonally affective.  I mean, the high was like 25 degrees today, and that's Fahrenheit. 

Happy Solstice

Happy summer solstice, everyone!

It's Spring!

It is spring at our house. We celebrated by cleaning up our balcony last weekend and getting it puppy-proofed. Because, of course, our puppy who is very hesitant to jump off the couch has no qualms at all about sticking his entire head and shoulders through the bars of our 2nd floor balcony. Super. So, we put up some chicken wire along the inside of our railings.


Haha! Stick your head out NOW, puppy! He really loves it out there. He just sits there and watches the world go by. In this picture he's standing up, but usually he's lying down out there. I haven't been able to get a shot of that yet, though, because every time he hears me click on the camera, he runs inside to check it out. *sigh*

He's not wrong...it's very nice out there. Check out the view and a close-up of that gorgeous pink-flowered tree. So pretty!

I didn't know that tree would be so pretty in the spring. We moved in in July, so this is a nice surprise.

Anyway, happy spring everyone!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

It's going to be a balmy-for-January 52 degrees F in DC today. In Texas, however, it's a whole different story; a storm is blasting most of the state with unusually harsh winter weather. The high temperatures in Dallas and Houston will be 33 and 35, which isn't all that bad, but both cities are also being whacked with sleet and freezing rain, which is. More than 160 flights have been canceled at DFW, which makes me glad Shuaib left for Malaysia yesterday.

This kind of weather is quite unusual for the region. During my 4 years at Rice, I saw snow precisely once, and it was some pretty paltry precipitation.

39 Miles and 101 Degrees of Frazzing

Yesterday, despite the shockingly hot weather, I rode from our new place to the lab (about 8.5 miles), rode from the lab to my bike shop (about 4.5 miles), and then did my weekly group ride (about 26 miles). Alison did the 18-mile version of the group ride, but, fortunately for me, she drove to the start, which meant she could drive me home. By the time we got to the apartment, I was feeling like a wind-up toy that had woouuund doooowwwwn. After swallowing nearly every calorie in the kitchen I felt a little peppier, but only for half an hour or so. By 10:00, Alison and I were lying on the papasan and the couch, being absolutely still and struggling to pay attention to Dirty Jobs.

Here's a Frazz comic Alison found that illustrates our situation both well and humorously.