I've Heard That Crow Is Tasty, Too

Yesterday we felt pretty good because we'd hit some sharp rocks and hard places without having any problems with our bikes. "Yay us," was kind of what we said, but in real life, I had a flat front tire, I just didn't know it at the time. To be honest, I didn't know that Murphy's Law even allowed for the possibility of flat front tires since rear tires are so much harder to change.
In any event, it's hard to believe that I have to struggle so hard with my weight, considering how much time I spend eating my words.

I Can't Remember, Am I Yin Or Yang?

I remember telling someone once that we could only visit them if I drove, because Karen's fear of heights kept her from driving up the steep hill to their house. On the other hand, she could do things that I couldn't and so, in our complementary way, we could do anything.
Today on a bike ride from Bird Creek to Girdwood, I had to stop on a steep hill, take off my sweater, splash some water on my face, and rest for a few minutes before finishing. Just like always. My iPhone kept recording however, and so we got a complete record of the first half of the ride. On the ride back, the phone inexplicably quit recording, but, I kept riding, and we all made it back safely.

From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Boston Public Radio station WBUR did a taste test today of local ice creams. The first was a tobacco flavored one, which somehow didn't seem right to me. I had to give up candy cigarettes when I was a kid, and they were really just mint sticks.
On the other hand, they also tasted a pancake flavored ice cream that sounds pretty much perfect. We'll be in Boston in a few months, and I know where I want to stop on the way in from the airport.

I sent in my payment to New England Bicycle Adventures today, so I guess I'm committed now to riding through the fall foliage. It's in the Adirondacks, so presumably there will be chairs.

Best Day Ever, It Was The Solstice, Apple Updated The iPhone, I Saw TWO Friends And A Movie

I was talking to the girl from across the street, who grew up and became a professor in Texas. She has one of those rare diseases that so many people have nowadays ("Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"). Because life-style changes have given her a lot of control over her health, she said, she was waiting to see how a trial of a new drug went, and then would probably still wait a little while to see if there were adverse effects before trying it. "Oh, I know, right? I won't even download software onto my computer until it's past version .0," I said.
This continued a tradition of making grandiose proclamations.  I downloaded Apple's IOS 4 software in the first hours it was available. So much for self-control.
A noted technology writer is saying that Apple's ecosystem is like a gated community a la The Hotel California, but wow, if you're going to be a prisoner of your own device, a good device would be an iPhone.

Today there was a bear on my route. I didn't see it, which was a disappointment and a huge relief.

So, A Zombie And A Vampire Have About A Billion Children. Maybe I'll Wait For The Movie

I've been reading a book, The Passage, about a kind of super vampire created by a virus. I think it's meant to be fiction.  Of course, talking about the number of pages in it is meaningless, since on my phone, it's over 2200, and on the computer it's "only" 750. But, in any event, it's not a short book, and lately I'm sort of slogging along, waiting for the author to bring it on home, and wrap up all these problems he's caused. Only, now, I read that this is only book one in a projected trilogy.

Fine, You Caught Me, I Used A Thesaurus

I hate Neal Conan. There, I said it. In the olden days, NPR had Bob Edwards who would ask short, insightful questions, and then step back from the microphone and let his guests give long insightful answers. Neal Conan, though, always has to show that he knows at least as much as the guest does, and way, way, more than the people that call into his Talk of the Nation. If he knows so much, why does he even bother having guests? Except maybe Bill Maher,  the apotheosis of smug condescenion.



Yesterday at the clinic, the doctor wanted to check my balance. I didn't do that well, but I think it might be because I've got so many years piled up so haphazardly under me.

Making It So

Karen's pain lately has been trending out of control, just as I've been experiencing repeated migraine auras (although not actual migraines because unlike Tylenol, Advil is not a just a placebo).   About  2 am, Karen was in a lot of pain, and I got up to help her, took one look at the TV in the dark room and was felled by a 16:9 aura. I immediately called in sick, and first thing this morning, I took Karen to the doctor. Then I went to a doctor,  who frankly didn't look all that good himself. At any rate, I didn't feel that bad by this afternoon, but I had called in sick, so I quickly ate a bunch of pizza, and man, that worked great, I feel awful.                                                                                

You Know What Might Help?

The government-mandated plans all came under attack at a congressional hearing Tuesday: Four talked about the need to protect walruses, which, as Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) dryly noted, "have not called the Gulf of Mexico home for 3 million years." The plans also mentioned protecting sea lions and seals, which aren't found in the gulf, either.

It's probably too late to save Louisiana's walruses (walri?) but you know what might help our walruses? Not using so much oil in the first place! 

Getting A Jump On The Season

It's still a week until the days start getting shorter, and there was already fresh snow on the mountains today.

Can't I Hate You Just A Little For Being Beautiful?

I'm not a racist; let's get that out of the way. For example, some of my best friends are Imaginary-Americans. But the reason I'm thinking about it right now, is because I'm wearing an orange t-shirt, and, looking at my arms, I realize how much better the orange would look against dark dark skin. When I told Leah that, she said that that's true for blue, and white, and even yellow, in fact black skin looks better than white against any color.

I Hope She's Gotten The Wrong Idea About Living Here

We just had a new carrier transfer up here from Outside to our station. Today while she was delivering a route across Northern Lights Blvd from  mine, she saw a bear.

This Story Ends Badly

I was speculating today that the video of the bilateral eye surgery Karen had, could have been an Al Qaeda training video as far as I knew, because no one I know has been able to watch more than the first few seconds.  But while I was eating dinner tonight, the Johnsons arrived. Corinne was interested in seeing it so I cued it up on my iPhone. Then right in the middle of the video, and my dinner, she turned the phone over to show me a particularly interesting part.
The other day I bought a FroggToggs raincoat at Costco because they claimed theirs were five times more breathable than the "leading brand" of breathable fabric. I don't know if that's true, but after my "dinner and a movie," I bet they're at least five times more breathable than drowning in your own vomit.

So You See, We Do What We Must

Despite not wanting to look into Karen's Coraline's-Other-Mother's eyes, I've been putting ointment in them every few hours. Because, even more, I don't want to look back and see a guy who wouldn't put ointment in his wife's eyes.
By the way, do you think this is funny; the fluid inside eyes is called humor.

Red White and Blue

Karen is home, and her eyes are red, but we're hoping that soon they'll clear up enough to see the blue stitches in the whites of her eyes. Hah, like we're ever even going to be able to look at her eyes again.

Youtube has posted a video of a bilateral lateral rectus recession, which is the surgery Karen had, but I can tell you right now, I'm not watching it. I don't know if that was clear. I'm not watching it now, but later, I'll be never watching it.

Cue The Shark Music

Karen's at Day Surgery right now, and her doctor is running late. So far, everything is fine, as it should be since they haven't even started,  but we've had some bad experiences in the past.

Seriously, Why Is Firefly Off The Air? It Had Quality Value And Convenience

I don't remember what I was looking online for the other day, which sort of makes Nicholas Carr's point. But even if Google is making us stupid, it does have it's compensations, since I found this quote quite by the serendipitous accident that Google constantly provides,

"[Simon and River whine about getting a dedicated "source box".]

Gabriel Tam: I will not have it in my house. But, since your mother's already ordered you one, I guess I should give up the fantasy that this is my house!"

Which sort of sums up a discussion Karen and I have been having about QVC. I've been claiming that they're parasites preying on the slack-jawed, the mouth-breathers, the ignorant and pathetic. She's been claiming that they're the incarnation of quality, value and convenience. According to an article I read, they're not parasites, exactly, but para-friends,(not unlike our dogs who are about to be surprised by a new toy that hurts their ears when they bark, courtesy of Karen's new "friends")  creating "bonds that tickle our subconscious in many of the ways that real friendships do. And as anyone who has ever been to a Pampered Chef home selling event can testify, when a friend is pushing the goods, it’s very hard not to buy something." 
Although, rereading that, it does sound sort of parasitic. According to the article, though, watching QVC is "...considerably safer than rock climbing."


From the Department of the Miracle of Birth:
I received this link in my e-mail yesterday from a friend of a friend's neighbor. The squeamish might want to skip to slide 11. The neighbor of the friend of the friend is an artist and photographer.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

But sometimes you get exactly what you want. If the so-called flotilla claiming to bring so-called humanitarian aid to Gaza had wanted to deliver aid, they would have gone to the designated port for that. They wanted a confrontation to embarrass the Israels and they got it. Now what?