Well, Dana's sickness from a couple weeks ago finally had a chance to catch up to me this weekend, but thankfully not until after we got home from the ride (which was awesome - I maintained my 17.1 mph average the second day as well). So, 180 miles this weekend. It was a great time. And once I have a few spare minutes I'll take down the donation link (again, thanks to all who donated!).
Next (organized) ride is in two weeks: 90 miles from Houston to Shiner, TX. That one will be a blast! :)
I'll try to give a more complete accounting of events when it's not 7am and I'm not sick. And at least I was able to fight it off before (and during!) the ride, thank goodness.
In the meantime, look to Pablo, Jed and JK for some good recent posts. And Karen should have her 24 update at some point today...
Thanks, Anonymous. And, Update.
4/21/2006 08:39:00 AM
Ok, a couple things.
1) Thanks to "Anonymous" for the generous donation. Much appreciated! 2) Of course, thanks for all the non-anonymous donations as well. Just as appreciated! 3) WARNING (Hutch, this means you!): if you don't update your blog AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, you will be pulled from the blogroll. This warning is hidden in the middle of this post because if you're not even READING the blog, you don't deserve a position of honor. 4) Welcome to Bill. Please note his hilarious post on the incompatibilities of grilled cheese and foot-liquid. 5) Scott has a new personal blog, but I'm going to wait and make sure he updates before re-admitting him to the blogroll. He might just turn out to be like Dave, who posted for a week and then gave up. 6) If you really want to, you may call me a blogroll Nazi. 7) I'm sure I had other things to say, but I've totally forgotten them. 8) It's never too late to donate to support me in the MS150. Donations are accepted through the end of May. 9) Welcome back, Pablo.
Well, it's that time of year again. The time of year for summer, the Fourth of July, my one-year anniversary, and, yes, time to start getting ready for our move.
And once again, we're moving at what I'm told is not just the busiest season or even busiest month of the year, no; we're moving on the busiest week of the year. Lucky us.
On the bright side of things, we went through most of the crap of finding a mover last year (you may remember, we ended up moving ourselves). The benefit is, we've been through most of the prep that a move like this involves already. The drawback is, we don't actually have the moving experience to set us more at ease.
But being aware of the dirty, nasty scams that irreputable companies pull, I know to look for big carriers, to check them out (records of complaints, etc), and to ask the right questions. Mostly, thanks to this site.
They really scared the crap out of me last year, and so I decided to jump on it. I was really moved to action today when I realized that I really only have three or four free weekends in Houston before we move, so I got on the horn and called five different moving companies.
I won't bore you with the details, but we have three appointments next week and I'm waiting on a couple calls still. I'll probably update if anything really funny (or scary) happens or if I start to freak out like I did last time, but Dana and I are... let's say less than enthusiastic about the prospect of moving ourselves this time around, so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we get this done with enough advance notice so that hopefully we can get our crap to Steamboat before the 4th of July holiday (but after we move out here). We'll be threading the needle, I think, but hopefully able to make something work.
Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to throw down cash for the MS Society. The money is put to very good use.
You know who you are! Thanks!
I'll try to do some moblogging from the road (rest stops only. Safety counts!) so you can all keep track of me while I'm on the ride this weekend. I've spent some time recently getting my GPS ride logs on to Google Maps. There's a very, very large file from my 65-mile training ride that displays on my page here, (may take a while to load with or without a fast connection) but it's still very much a work in progress (there is so much data that Firefox chokes on it and for now I can only confirm that it's working in IE). But hopefully after this weekend I'll be able to get the route from this ride up there for you to take a gander at.
Probably not work-appropriate because of some profanity at the beginning, but worth a watch. If I had categories, I'd file this under music video, political, mash-up.
Thanks to JK for pointing this out. That'll be $20, Gongola!
The Cincinnati Reds put Griffey on the 15-day disabled list Monday night following a 9-1 victory over Florida, giving him time to rest an inflamed tendon behind his right knee. Before the game, Griffey said he didn't expect to go on the DL.
Yeah, I know - I rarely use profanity in my post titles, but really. HOLY SHIT, IT'S HOT. D and I were outside yesterday from about 4:30-5:30 to pick up my packet for the MS150 at Memorial Park (free beer and sandwiches! Um, awesome!), and on our way there (and back) we were faced with crazy traffic due to lights out at intersections (just at rush hour in Houston. Bunch of geniuses, I tell you!).
But today, I discover this and this, hence my post title. Today we're expected to be one degree away from record heat.
Personally, I think that Houston is protesting our leaving. Let it. We are SO out of here. In Steamboat today, it's going to get all the way up to 40! Now I'd prefer something in the middle, but hey, it's still spring. In fact, this would be record heat for Steamboat in the height of summer! Craziness.
Tuesday donation wrap-up (so far)..
4/18/2006 07:07:00 AM
Thanks, Duggan, for helping me reaching my goal! Where's your donation page? (I'll be riding this weekend with Matt Duggan, who is the primary reason I was able to join a team for the ride). I'll pull Duggan when he bonks as a way of thanks.
Also, thanks to JK for her donation. JK gets one week of smartass-free comments on her blog (starting now). Hopefully my thanking her publicly doesn't make her husband mad. And he qualifies for no such deal.
As of now, I just decided I'm no longer going to thank people publicly for donating. Well, I'll thank you, but I'll let you remain anonymous. It's nobody's business whether or not you donated. And it seems like a way to call out people who we all know visit the blog but don't donate (or blog, for that matter).
SO, I will still THANK you, but I won't thank you using your name. Hopefully I haven't put anyone off by doing so to this point.
Everyone: the tax deductability of your gift is not affected by my favors done in return (embarassing pictures, embarassing stories, etc). So don't hold back!
I didn't want to just post about donations today (though I've been sitting on another one since about 8am, waiting for the end of the day to post it). So you get this picture of a robot, titled "I think it's watching us". From explodingdog.com, where I find all these entertaining (and very similar in style) works.
But mentioning both these things I didn't want to do in my blog in a blog post kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Aah, well. What can one do?
Maybe I'm just jonesing for political satire since The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were on vacation last week. I appreciate that they do hard work, but seriously, it's like they take a week off every month. We should all be so lucky.
And actually, in finding those links for you, I discovered that tonight's Daily Show is a rerun (and a lame one at that - with whacko Sharon Stone as the guest). Double sigh. They better have some pretty good stuff for us next week. PRETTY GOOD, I TELL YOU!
Thanks, Keri, for your help! I'll take a really embarassing picture of myself during the ride (maybe in the team jersey they made us buy, which is absolutely the ugliest cycling jersey you've ever seen) and let you post it on your blog for your generosity.
Well, I found out today that I am officially registered for the MS150 ride next weekend, so it's probably about time I start my fundraising efforts, eh?
The MS150 is a charity bike ride from Houston to Austin that takes place over the weekend of April 22nd and 23rd, that raises funds to help people living with MS. Multiple sclerosis (MS) usually strikes adults in the prime of life – between the ages of 20 and 50. It is a chronic disease of the central nervous system affecting the brain and spinal cord.
Each week, the symptoms of MS are diagnosed in 200 Americans. A new case is identified every hour. Approximately 400,000 Americans are living with multiple sclerosis. Counting family members and caregivers, MS affects more than 2 million Americans. The National MS Society estimates that multiple sclerosis affects approximately 3 million people worldwide.
If you are able, please consider helping in my fight to raise awareness of this disease and funds for the fight against it. Contributions can be made at this secure webpage.
Death and birth. I have removed Scott's blog (my own brother!) from the blogroll as he hasn't updated since January. He's a busy boy and has no more time for anyone else, apparently (I kid!).
BUT, we get a worthy (and green!) replacement with the long-awaited addition of Keri's blog, which I believe she was waiting for others to discover via Dave's rantings. Note, as my newest addition, Keri gets exclamation marks and Dave's is removed. This will be standard practice from now on.
And if Hutch ever updates, I might give him and exclamation mark as well!
"In their disappointing series sweep of the rival Cardinals last weekend, the Cubs did all the little things right, winning ballgames with a combination of solid pitching, good defense, and timely hitting—fundamentals that Baker says his team will eventually ignore as the season goes on."
I immediately set up a couple calendars to play with - if you go to google calendar and search for Mark's Cycling Calendar you can probably find my openly shared one (or just add this iCal feed as an "other calendar" in your own calendar list), where I intend to log rides that I've been taking (and details related to those rides). As if you care. But it's just an example of what you can do with the calendars. The process to search for and add other calendars could be simplified, though (come on, Google - one click should do it). As it is you have to click the plus icon next to "Other Calendars", select the "Public Calendar Address" tab, then input the location of the iCal file. Alternatively, you can be "invited" to add a friend's calendar to your own, which is pretty seamless.
I also set one up that you're not allowed to see yet so that people can check when it might be a good time to come to Steamboat and visit. Basically, it'll be a shared calendar that you can use to see if we're going to be available any given weekend - so you don't have to actually CALL and TALK TO US before starting to plan a trip (God forbid. Though you should call us before making any solid plans - I just envision the calendar as a good way for people to see when we're available and they are also available - basically, it's a convenience made easily possible by this app).
Anyway, I was pretty bummed to find out that Google can't natively import calendars from the Palm calendar software - or conversely, that Palm doesn't export in any format that Google can import... But being clever like I am, I decided to hunt around for a solution.
While it's possible to buy software that plugs in to the Palm Desktop software and allows you to export your calendar in a compatible format, I figured out that Yahoo Calendar can import the Palm's .dba file format. Interestingly enough, Google provides directions for getting calendar information from Yahoo (ah, competition), and knowing this I imported my Palm calendar to Yahoo, exported from Yahoo to CSV, and imported to Google. Voila. My entire calendar is now in google calendars. (now just for my two work calendars, and synching those separate Notes calendars - and the one on my BlackBerry - with all the others).
I (obviously) would have preferred a direct import, and (Google, are you listening?) would have REALLY preferred a way to import different appointment types from the Palm Calendar (Business, Personal, etc) as different calendars. But perhaps I can export from the palm software based on appointment type, and then do this crazy procedure a couple of times for each type of appointment, importing into different Google Calendars each time.
That is, until Yahoo figures out what's going on and hoses the whole thing. But until then (if you're in the unlikely situation as I, where Palm Desktop maintains your main calendar), export, import, export and import away!
Lots and lots... but not yet.
4/13/2006 07:50:00 AM
Lots and lots since my last post (I know, a cameraphone pic with no text is hardly an updated).
Readers Digest version: Friday night: I've already forgotten. Sick Dana, so we probably did nothing at home. Saturday: 40-mile ride around Houston. Note to self, avoid Northeast Houston. Sunday: skipped our scheduled ride (tired, sick, etc). Lunch as usual. Dana bought shoes, I got socks. Fas arrives (late). Cubs win. Monday: Fas and I go watch Astros beat Nationals in extra innings. Boo. Mex-Mex for dinner. Tuesday: Fas and I decide to put our ride off until Wednesday. Dana gives a presentation (not to us). Cubs game at BW3. Cubs lose embarassingly (Arroyo is good, Reds fans, he's really good). Dinner at BBQ place. I start my new band (Megasuxx). Wednesday: 40-miler in Chappell Hill, lunch at my and D's regular Sunday joint. More Megasuxx shredding, at the request of my groupies. More BBQ for dinner. Thursday (today): Sadly, back to work.
Holy crap, I just invented the BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH EVAR. And I will share it here with you.
Yesterday after the Cubs dominated the stupid Cards (the new bleachers look great, guys), I whipped up some homemade pesto so I could make Dana her favorite food ever, my pesto chicken salad (SO GOOD!). And like last time I made it, there was a ton of pesto left over.
So this morning I decided to experiment. Popped an egg on the skillet (egg fry rings came in handy for this - thanks, wedding shower gift giver that I'm too lazy to look up right now), and one of our whole-grain english muffins in the toaster.
When the muffin came out, one side got some light cream cheese (what DOESN'T cream cheese taste good on?), pesto on the other, and plopped the egg in the middle. DELISH! Seriously, it was AWESOME.
I wanted to find a good picture of you to announce your blog to the world (the world that bothers reading this blog, anyway), but couldn't decide which one to link to. They're just all so good.
My awesome cycling tan. Surprisingly, the only part that's burnt is a 1/2" stripe between the white skin and where I was already tan, though you probably can't tell from this picture...
I've prepped for the season by hanging our flag to show our Cubbie delusion pride and bit the bullet and paid the $15 for the streaming gameday audio at mlb.com - it'll be nice and easy to listen while working, and it should keep me from getting tempted to order the DirecTV season ticket (which is not cheap). TiVo is still programmed to record anything Cubs-related, and we're all set to beat the Reds in today's opener.
And some schmuck is throwing out the first pitch. Ah, well. What can you do?
Hopefully this year we'll have more occasion to hang the "W" flag this year.
UPDATE: I just made my annual $20 bet with Chris Gongola that Griffey will go on the DL before the All-Star break. The first year I made the bet, Griff had already been on and then off the DL before I made the bet. And I still won. Two years ago, Griffey did me a big favor - he went on the DL the DAY BEFORE the break, but last year I think I lost the bet. I'm feeling confident this year, though. Some time in there, after the break we made it a double-or-nothing bet, and we evened out. As you can see, I'm confused about who has won and who hasn't in the past. But if Griffey gets injured, doesn't EVERYBODY win? :)
Camp for All Hilltop Bike Ride
4/03/2006 08:53:00 AM
Friday night, I left town to stay overnight at Camp For All, a non-profit with which the fraternity has an ongoing relationship, for their annual fundraising ride.
I went with Matt Duggan, a Pi Kapp who graduated a couple years after I should have and before I actually did, and Greg Grilliot (who I have decided to call "Papa Greg" from now on). Matt is an architect in Houston and Greg is just outside San Antonio working for Motorola - Matt and I met Greg at the ride and stayed up later than everyone else catching up and figuring out what's going on with our mutual friends from Miami.
It was a snore-fest in the cabin where we stayed, and the guy who got up at 5:30 to shower was a real pisser (we slept there so we wouldn't HAVE to wake up early), but overall the cabins were a lot nicer than the cabins at any camp I ever attended, and the facilities as a whole were really impressive as well.
The ride began at 8am Saturday, and we got to the line just in time for the start (not that we were in a particular hurry). The weather had called for sunny heat (up to the mid-80s), but the ride started mercifully overcast and unmercifully windy. Unfortunately, the wind stuck around but the clouds did not - it made for a lovely (if windy) ride, but the sun got the better of me and It now looks like I'm wearing bright red sleeves - the cycling tan progresses full-force (and I think I will put up little argument when asked if I want to apply sunscreen for future rides).
I posted the pictures that were taken on the ride, but be warned that I had a double stand in for any pictures of me, and that double has gained some weight and is really a sight to see in spandex. There are two videos in there, but since browsers don't play nice with videos from my camera by default, I'm uploading them to Google Video and will link to them when they're available.
The ride was a great time, and I had been convinced the day before that I really need to get on the MS150, a two-day ride from Houston-Austin a couple weeks from now. Registration is closed, but I'm working my limited contacts to weasel my way in. If for some reason that falls through, well... I still plan on riding the Shiner BASH about a month from now.
Well, Dana's sickness from a couple weeks ago finally had a chance to catch up to me this weekend, but thankfully not until after we got home from the ride (which was awesome - I maintained my 17.1 mph average the second day as well). So, 180 miles this weekend. It was a great time. And once I have a few spare minutes I'll take down the donation link (again, thanks to all who donated!).
Ok, a couple things. 
Well, it's that time of year again. The time of year for summer, the Fourth of July, my one-year anniversary, and, yes, time to start getting ready for our move.
Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to throw down cash for the MS Society. The money is put to very good use. 
Thanks to 
Yeah, I know - I rarely use profanity in my post titles, but really. HOLY SHIT, IT'S HOT. D and I were outside yesterday from about 4:30-5:30 to pick up my packet for the 
Thanks, 
Well, I found out today that I am officially registered for the 
Death and birth. I have removed Scott's blog (my own brother!) from the blogroll as he hasn't updated since January. He's a busy boy and has no more time for anyone else, apparently (I kid!).
God bless the Onion.
Since I wasn't really plugged in for most of the week, it took me a while to find out about the new 
Lots and lots since my last post (I know, a cameraphone pic with no text is hardly an updated).
Holy crap, I just invented the BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH EVAR. And I will share it here with you.
Let's all give a warm comment welcome to 
The ride began at 8am Saturday, and we got to the line just in time for the start (not that we were in a particular hurry). The weather had called for sunny heat (up to the mid-80s), but the ride started mercifully overcast and unmercifully windy. Unfortunately, the wind stuck around but the clouds did not - it made for a lovely (if windy) ride, but the sun got the better of me and It now looks like I'm wearing bright red sleeves - the cycling tan progresses full-force (and I think I will put up little argument when asked if I want to apply sunscreen for future rides).
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