Yay, a landmark - crossed the 80% mark!!
Yoiks, debated about driving today as I had that workshop on how to use SmartBoards. [Had I known how little that would have been worth it, I wouldn't have gone; but good to see fellow piper Kathleen there]
Anyways, it was semi-raining in the morning and I dreaded going - but I went. Gotta keep up the ratio. And it wasn't bad at all. Not that cold, most of the rain was finished, so just some puddles to clear.
But, by the time I went to the workshop it was just GREAT. Nice biking weather. Just took it nice and leisurely and still got there with plenty of time to spare.
When I got out, however, that's a whole other ball game. VERY strong SW wind. Which sucks when essentially I have to go SOUTH, then WEST. It was unbelievably strong. You know all that rain we had this morning? Couldn't tell because the wind kept sweeping all the dirt and stuff into my eyes and mouth. I had to keep it in very low gear to be able to make any headway.
Luckily it was only roughly half the distance to home, but it took me almost 2x as long. I have never been that sweaty.
Weird part was that while biking I saw a firetruck. Didn't think much of it. Driving home with Dean later and it looked like the fire was at the Lakehead Board... then when we got to the house we saw a water bomber fly over head - and it was pretty low. So we went a bit beyond our house to see what we could see... 4 blocks up and we couldn't see nearly anything for the smoke.
Turns out that a chip pile at Bowater had caught flame. Crazy.
Well, all in all - an interesting day. Missed getting wet in the morning - pretty productive during the day - nice bike to a workshop - didn't have to work at a workshop (nor learn really) - sweaty hard bike ride - crazy smoke - and to top it all off Dean is getting some stomach bug and threw up all over me. [still can't get the smell out of my nostrils]
this is my life
pretty awesome!
[oh and sitting here just watching my youtube page waiting to see if the unlisted videos I posted for the competition get another view (meaning somebody's watched it to adjudicate)].
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Been quiet - 26/33
Been unusually quiet a new late. I'll chalk it up to my cold.
See Dean started to show signs of a cold, and of course when he leaves town is when I get it.
It has been exceptionally cold the past few mornings. That couldn't have helped.
So I called in sick to work yesterday, felt bad about it as it feels like I call in a lot; then I remembered that I haven't called in once since the start of my new job. And that's been over 4 months now.
Not too bad.
So I'm at 26/33 so far. Still should go and figure out if I've lost any weight.
Also playing a lot more as I'm readying for this competition recording. Did 30 recordings of the hornpipe jig already.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
24/31
Forgot to recap last week's tally.
So for this chilly, chilly morning I'll post. As of the 13th it was 19/25, then last week I was able to bike 4 days so that puts it at 23/30. Add in today and that's where we get the title for today's post.
77%
Gotta get a little better, but I know that at least one day this week I'm going to have to drive (meet with host for after biz), and more than likely more than half of next week (2 graduations and a smartboard training session). So, there goes maintaining the right ratio.
So for this chilly, chilly morning I'll post. As of the 13th it was 19/25, then last week I was able to bike 4 days so that puts it at 23/30. Add in today and that's where we get the title for today's post.
77%
Gotta get a little better, but I know that at least one day this week I'm going to have to drive (meet with host for after biz), and more than likely more than half of next week (2 graduations and a smartboard training session). So, there goes maintaining the right ratio.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Giving my new/old pipes some attention
Just got them back the other day. Love 'em. Thanks Ringo.
www.thebagpipeplace.com
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxmCv1ZFDxU]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWa0gV3arU0]
www.thebagpipeplace.com
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxmCv1ZFDxU]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWa0gV3arU0]
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bike fixin' - 19/25
One of the neat features I had liked about my Aztek when I bought it was the air compressor built into the back of the hatch area. Kinda cool. Especially handy as I have been able to use it often to fix flats; like that time coming home from the states and inflating just outside the line up for the border.
Well it's never worked 100%, at least as far as I can tell. Always seemed weak, the light flashed a lot, and only would run for a minute or so. But nobody could really say why.
Anyways, my bike was getting pretty low pressure, so I thought I'd go get some air for them, and where the car comes in is that apparently there's no place that offers free air outside gas stations. 50¢... you gotta be kidding me. Like when I'm biking I have spare change on me! So I went home to use the car.
So I uncap the valve stem and plunk the stupid hose on (it's a really weird one that lets out a lot of air as you put it on) and immediately it starts to measure it at 20psi and dropping (because of the hose), so I turn on the air. Nothing comes out. I spend a good amount of time trying to figure it out to no avail. Meanwhile my tire is now at 10psi (it should be 40-65 it says).
I figure I can just go and run to the WalMart after band and pick up a bike pump (thought I had one too, but can't find it). Lo' and behold, what used to be a 24hr store is now closed at 11. Grrgh...
So there I was at 730 trying to figure out where to go (someone had tipped me off to a gas station that has free air pumps) and do so in a time that can get me to work. Then the lazy side kicked in - instead of biking out of my way - today I'll pay the 50¢, and then pick up a bike pump later and find a new 12V air compressor for the truck (I definitely see value in having one in the vehicle).
Just made for a sucky morning. Plus it was a lot colder than usual... and a pretty good strength sapping wind.
Oh, for those of you playing the tracking game at home, I'm officially at 19 days out of 25.
True enough I did bike EVERY day this week, but I'm docking myself a day as I biked TO work on Wednesday, but Mandy picked me up, then dropped me off Thursday morning, then I biked FROM work. So I'm counting each of those days as a half day.
Still haven't gotten around to weighing myself... would be nice to know what I started at (I have a rough idea) and watch that progress. But at this point, don't really care. As long as I start feeling better (soon right? I mean I'm still aching after biking) and I feel better about myself a number is meaningless right?
Oh, and gas is now up to 1.439/L... I'll put up with some leg cramps to save that wallet-ache.
Well it's never worked 100%, at least as far as I can tell. Always seemed weak, the light flashed a lot, and only would run for a minute or so. But nobody could really say why.
Anyways, my bike was getting pretty low pressure, so I thought I'd go get some air for them, and where the car comes in is that apparently there's no place that offers free air outside gas stations. 50¢... you gotta be kidding me. Like when I'm biking I have spare change on me! So I went home to use the car.
So I uncap the valve stem and plunk the stupid hose on (it's a really weird one that lets out a lot of air as you put it on) and immediately it starts to measure it at 20psi and dropping (because of the hose), so I turn on the air. Nothing comes out. I spend a good amount of time trying to figure it out to no avail. Meanwhile my tire is now at 10psi (it should be 40-65 it says).
I figure I can just go and run to the WalMart after band and pick up a bike pump (thought I had one too, but can't find it). Lo' and behold, what used to be a 24hr store is now closed at 11. Grrgh...
So there I was at 730 trying to figure out where to go (someone had tipped me off to a gas station that has free air pumps) and do so in a time that can get me to work. Then the lazy side kicked in - instead of biking out of my way - today I'll pay the 50¢, and then pick up a bike pump later and find a new 12V air compressor for the truck (I definitely see value in having one in the vehicle).
Just made for a sucky morning. Plus it was a lot colder than usual... and a pretty good strength sapping wind.
Oh, for those of you playing the tracking game at home, I'm officially at 19 days out of 25.
True enough I did bike EVERY day this week, but I'm docking myself a day as I biked TO work on Wednesday, but Mandy picked me up, then dropped me off Thursday morning, then I biked FROM work. So I'm counting each of those days as a half day.
Still haven't gotten around to weighing myself... would be nice to know what I started at (I have a rough idea) and watch that progress. But at this point, don't really care. As long as I start feeling better (soon right? I mean I'm still aching after biking) and I feel better about myself a number is meaningless right?
Oh, and gas is now up to 1.439/L... I'll put up with some leg cramps to save that wallet-ache.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sorry Evernote
Sorry Evernote, but I've tried and tried to see how I can best use your services.You even had an app for my phone with a nifty widget.
But still, I couldn't quite figure it out. You had desktop apps, bookmarklets, chrome extension, and even windows gadgets. Everything I like about an aggregator app, you were everywhere. However, still couldn't quite figure it out.
What really drilled the nail in your coffin was that now Google Docs has an official Android app now. (if you want you can read my review here)
I guess because I'm so enmeshed with Google, it was hard utilizing a similar service outside.
People say you're good, so maybe I should keep at it with you - but just not feeling it. If it helps, I don't quite get OneNote either.
People... should I give Evernote another shot? Someone properly explain it to me with their best practices... googling hasn't turned up much more than the typical and I think the same results can be achieved with another service I currently use for everything.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Perfect week - 5/5; 15/20
Well, not perfect like "absolute everything that could have gone well for me, went well", but more like a "hey that was a perfect 300 game". Hmm... even that seems too over the top.
Okay, it was a good week. Perfect in the sense that I biked EVERY day this week.
It was a little tiring - evident by my oversleeping today, but I did it. And I'll continue to keep at this. I haven't put gas in the car at all this week, and we'll see how long that lasts. As Mandy said, the bike will pay for itself in the long run. At $1.399 / L, it shouldn't take too long. It's over $65 to fill my tank these days.
So, 5 out of 5 for this week, and that makes it 15 out of 20 since I started. I don't see anything that prevents me next week, weather permitting.
The weather almost stopped me the other day (my weather app showed snow!), but I persevered. I got a little wet on the way home tho'. Which reminds me I should go find some chain grease. Today was wet this morning, but not raining, just puddles from the night's rain.
It's funny how the 'little' things get me through the bike. (I'm sounding like it's some ordeal... there's my sis-in-law training for a 20km race and I'm complaining about a 15min bike ride). Like finally mapping it on google maps, so I know each of the length, and what's essential for me is where the 'midpoint' of it is. For some reason knowing that really makes it easier. "Almost half way there", "now halfway through the last half", etc... those little markers makes it easy for me to mark the passage. Like when I drive long distance, all I do to pass the time is to try to 'measure'.
Another thing I found very handy is varying the route (essentially it's 2 straight stretches, with one little L extra in it), but I will 'staircase' a little now and again; what I was looking for were houses that happened to have flags on the property. Funny, not many people have flags anymore. By the tracks there are 2 wind-socks, and they're handy, but they're pretty spaced out. Knowing the wind direction is quite handy - at least it makes me feel better if I'm really huffing away and then I see the flag point right in my direction I'll know why. Unbelievable how a little wind really impacts me on a bike. Guess I gotta lose a few more pounds so my 'surface area' is decreased.
Okay, it was a good week. Perfect in the sense that I biked EVERY day this week.
It was a little tiring - evident by my oversleeping today, but I did it. And I'll continue to keep at this. I haven't put gas in the car at all this week, and we'll see how long that lasts. As Mandy said, the bike will pay for itself in the long run. At $1.399 / L, it shouldn't take too long. It's over $65 to fill my tank these days.
So, 5 out of 5 for this week, and that makes it 15 out of 20 since I started. I don't see anything that prevents me next week, weather permitting.
The weather almost stopped me the other day (my weather app showed snow!), but I persevered. I got a little wet on the way home tho'. Which reminds me I should go find some chain grease. Today was wet this morning, but not raining, just puddles from the night's rain.
It's funny how the 'little' things get me through the bike. (I'm sounding like it's some ordeal... there's my sis-in-law training for a 20km race and I'm complaining about a 15min bike ride). Like finally mapping it on google maps, so I know each of the length, and what's essential for me is where the 'midpoint' of it is. For some reason knowing that really makes it easier. "Almost half way there", "now halfway through the last half", etc... those little markers makes it easy for me to mark the passage. Like when I drive long distance, all I do to pass the time is to try to 'measure'.
Another thing I found very handy is varying the route (essentially it's 2 straight stretches, with one little L extra in it), but I will 'staircase' a little now and again; what I was looking for were houses that happened to have flags on the property. Funny, not many people have flags anymore. By the tracks there are 2 wind-socks, and they're handy, but they're pretty spaced out. Knowing the wind direction is quite handy - at least it makes me feel better if I'm really huffing away and then I see the flag point right in my direction I'll know why. Unbelievable how a little wind really impacts me on a bike. Guess I gotta lose a few more pounds so my 'surface area' is decreased.
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