Not Really That Popular

So, I've been encouraged to switch over from Outlook to gmail at work. Part of the problem is that all of the e-mail that I've received in the last year is considered unopened now. I've been trying to clear it out for a little over a week and here is where I'm at this morning.

On the bright side, there are some messages that I had deleted, which I shouldn't have, that are back in my Inbox.

Drove again today. I'm trying to remember if I have a wetsuit around someplace. My IM icon at work has been switched to Annie Lennox with the witty tag message of "Here comes the rain again." I'd switch it to BJ Thomas but I'm afraid it would be lost on most of my colleagues.

Family Night

I drove yesterday because CAT and I needed to head out early in order to get out to Camp Naish for Family Night. It had been a pretty nice week; hot and humid, but that's what you expect at camp. Yesterday the rain came back; but you have to expect that at camp too...



Curtis was a bit home-sick when we got there and, truth be told, I was a little camp-sick. I'm really missing not being there this summer -- but it IS a good oportunity for Curtis to be on his own. He is a trooper and had no issues with slogging around in the rain as long as that wasn't going to keep them from doing their late-night swim.

More rain today but I've got the Trek in the van in the hopes that the rain will end this afternoon and the kids will need the van for something, come get it and let me ride home. If not, tomorrow is another day and is supposed to be beautiful. With the trip to Dallas last week, I'm not going to hit my target miles for June anyway.

Wha' huh???

Temperature at departure = 73° F (23° C)

I was listening to the News/Talk station this morning as I was driving JLT to his summer school class and heard an actuality from a guy with the Missouri Department of Transportation discussing some changes to enforcement of lane change violations. He made a comment that I had to scratch my head over:

“Courtesy is the lubricant for traffic congestion.”

At first I thought he meant in an attempt to lower the chance for road rage they are encouraging people to NOT be courteous? Huh? I guess he is trying to convey the oposite. Anyway, I don't want to have to concentrate on stuff like that before I've had coffee. Perhaps if they'd given the story more than the 30 seconds the devoted to it versus the 4 minutes of coverage regarding a certain non-event that is the top headline of the day - I would have understood. Oh well.

I'm Back

Temperature at departure = 74° F (23° C)

Sorry about the lack of posts last week. My daughter is back from Europe. I'm back from Dallas. My youngest son is off to Scout Camp and I'm jealous - I'm on call this week and couldn't go this year. I believe there were only 4 bona fide emergencies while I was gone -- so, typical week away.

It was nice to get back on the bike again today. Almost hit a bunny this morning who was on the path here when it should have been on the game trail to the left. Perhaps the city could put up a multi-species sign of some sort that would direct wildlife to the left and cyclists and pedestrians to the right...

Band Trip Brief

Temperature at departure = 72° F (22° C)
Days until school starts = 63

My daughter has left Paris and should now be in Bietigheim-Bissingen. I've been popping in to check a webcam of the Marktplatz occaisionally and it looks like it is raining there at the moment. They should have a beautiful weekend though.


I got a text message from her last night and she sounds a little home-sick. We're missing her too, but what a wonderful opportunity for her and the other students.

Media Rant

Temperature at departure = 72° F (22° C)
Days until school starts = 63

I've spent my entire adult life working in the media in one form or another and have considered myself a justified critic of the industry. In the last couple of weeks I've seen the local media here do an excellent job covering a story that hit very close to home. They kept the relevant relevant -- great job. Now, the news cycle has shifted gears and we're back to the type of "news" that I abhor.

Samuel Morse changed everything about the way our nation and our world communicated by creating the first information network able to move data faster than the 35 MPH that trains, the era's current delivery system, could travel. At that time, Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden:

"We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.... We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad flapping American ear will be that Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough."

Well, now we have the internet and satellite delivered news to let us know that our own princes is suffering and we're back to the media making the relevant irrelevant and vice versa. So it goes.

/rant

If this makes any sense at all, you may enjoy Amusing Ourselves to Death - Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman. Written in 1984, it seems even more pertinent today and makes great pool-side reading.

Should a detour need a detour?

Temperature at departure = 73° F (23° C)
Days until school starts = 64 {with appologies to TOB}

The gang working on the 435 and Antioch project made it a little difficult riding on the bike/hike path detour this morning. They could have at least tried to warn us that this was coming up:



I actually entered from the far end and although I saw the two workers, I didn't see the hoses until it was too late to turn back.

This made it rather difficult as well:



Oh well, still a beautiful ride in, albeit a humid one.

Magic Scale

Temperature at departure = 70° F (21° C)
Days until school starts = 65

Scale, scale, on the tile
Who's the sveltest man on file?

For the longest time I noticed a discrepancy between my weight as calculated by the scale in our bathroom compared to the scale at the gym or doctor's office. Let's just say I always preferred the results at home.

Sunday we were packing my daughter's luggage for her trip to Europe with the school band and needed to make sure her bag hadn't gone over 50 pounds. We brought down the scale and weighed the bag by itself and it came in around 45 pounds. My wife suggested I stand on the scale and weigh myself with and without the bag to see if it came out any different. It did.

I weighed in at a miraculous 185 pounds. I then picked up the bag and it had somehow shed 40 pounds as the dial read 190. Cool, sounded like she'll have plenty of room for presents for her father on the trip back. Now, next time I go to the doctor's office I need to tell them their scale is off ~10 - 15 pounds...

Thanks Anyway

Temperature at departure = 66° F (19° C)
Days until school starts = 72

I didn't put on any sunscreen last night; I didn't go out after dark and there was no rain last night...

It is no wonder more people ride their bikes for transportation in Amsterdam than they do here. In U.S. dollars, they're paying $6.48 per gallon. Yikes!

Who Am I To Question The Weather Channel?

I don't understand it -- but, okay, I'll make sure I wear sunblock during the thunderstorms overnight the next two nights.

Another bobcat

Temperature at departure = 65° F (18° C)
Days until school starts = 73

What a beautiful morning. Windy, but sunny and mild temps. I saw my second bobcat today. Took the extra loop on the way in to work and came around a corner in the woods and there it was, standing in the middle of the path. Compared to the one Peter and I saw a few weeks back, this one was quite a bit larger.


For my own benefit, I've created another Google map to note my Bobcat sightings. A quick screen shot is shown above, but the actual map can be viewed HERE in the event you are very bored.

WOF WOF

We went to Worlds Of Fun with my sister-in-law and two nephews from Wyoming yesterday. A good time was had by all. While there, I noticed some Emo kids walking through the park; it made me wonder -- why would Emo kids want to go to a place called Worlds Of FUN?

"Nice going Janet"

Temperature at departure = 64° F (18° C)
Days until school starts = 77

Wednesday night, just as I was shutting down the laptop in preparations to head home, another thunderstorm rolled in. I wimped out and called Peter to come get me and left my bike in the office along with my helmet and gloves. Yesterday was yet another stormy day so I drove the van so I could haul the bike back home. Today is nice and sunny. Sure, everything is still soaked; there are tons of rain laden branches hanging down over the streets and bike path, lots of mud and puddles and humidity -- but still a nice day to ride. I got the bike out and realized that I'd left my helmet and gloves in the office. I rode anyway and felt weird to be without that piece of Styrofoam wrapped around my noggin.


When I got to the part of the path that loops into the woods around Founder's Park (seen above), I ran into more of the slick mud that nearly did me in back in March. I slowed down a bit and as I came back out into the clear where a sidewalk from the park's parking lot joins the path I was met by three people out for a morning stroll. One of the two ladies present said, loudly, "You should be wearing a helmet."

I was feeling 'ornery.

I stopped and said I agreed, shared the information I just shared with you - including the story from March and noticed that they were more than ready to move on. I continued to ramble a bit and finally bid them a good day. As I rode off I heard the other lady in the group say "Nice going Janet." I just smiled.

Now, that I think of it, I've been rambling on here a bit. Some of you must be saying to your computer "Nice going RSS..."

Depends On Your Viewpoint

The kids: Hooray! Today is the last day of school!

Me: 78 days until school starts.

Zip On!

Temperature at departure = 69° F (21° C)

We had a wonderful day in Wichita yesterday with CAT's two sisters and their families. I enjoyed the chance to sit with my two brothers-in-law and just talk; it has been a long time since we've had the chance. Randy did a great job grillin' [including some antelope that one of my nephews bagged in Wyoming]. I was very happy that the kids hardly spent any time indoors playing video games. The cousins rarely get together like this and they spent the day riding bikes, catching toads, playing ball and just playing outdoors. In fact, Randy's buddy Kenny owns Mosey's, an outdoor challenge center in north Wichita, and invited us all out to take a crack at the climbing walls and zip lines. I'm sure the kids are going to remember this for a long time. If you are in or around the Wichita area - this is a great place to take a group (kids or adults) to do a cool, adventurous outdoor activity.




There is a new feature on the bike path that I'll be seeing every day.


This fountain is in honor of County Commissioner Ed Eilert, former mayor of Overland Park and the 2005 Johnson Countian of the Year. As the summer progresses I'll probably ride closer and closer to the fountain...

Serendipity?

Temperature at departure = 60° F (16° C)

I used to travel quite a bit for work. That stopped just over a year ago and left me with a bunch of points sitting around in various awards programs for air travel, hotels and rental car companies. The big problem is I always went with the lowest reasonable price so never had enough points in any one program to do me much good. So, that time of year has come again - time to redeem some of my points on magazine subscriptions or loose them forever.

Last time I had done this I ended up with most of the magazines I had requested, but two that somehow got mixed up: ESPN and Fast Company. The ESPN typically got handed off to one of my boys, one of their friends or -ahem- the trash can. Fast Company, on the other hand, turned out to be a GREAT read and I looked forward to it each month. I missed it when the subscription expired last time and was going to renew it on my own. Now, I've checked it off on the card I sent in the end of last month and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. Then again, who knows if I'll get it.

The first magazine showed up this week. I had checked off Wired because I have actually gone and BOUGHT copies of it before. Did I get Wired? No - I opened the mailbox and was greeted with a slick and shinny copy of Water Ski!



Now, don't get me wrong, the two times I've gone water skiing in my life, I've loved it [thank you Randy] but the last time was ~15 years ago and I don't really need a magazine about this sport right now. I wonder what other surprises I have in store.

Senator T; Governor T

Temperature at departure = 68° F (20° C)

"Someday - and that day may never come - I'll call upon you to do a service for me..."

I saw the guy again this morning on my ride in; he must be home from college for the summer. I just smiled and waved.

It happened around a year ago, a graduation party is my guess. I walked out my door one morning and there at the end of my driveway was a mess of beer cans and bottles. Some of the bottles were still in a black garbage bag along with a few other items, including ... a student planner from the high school my kids go to.

I cleaned up the mess putting everything in the garbage bag that had been provided and took the planner into the house. I grabbed one of the kids' student directories and looked up the guy's address -- right down the street, about four blocks from our house.

With the garbage bag in the back of my car, I drove up to the boy's house where he and his mother were out in the front yard doing some yard work. I pulled up, got out of the car and called the boy's name and told him I'd found something of his. He walked around to my side of the car where I opened the door, opened up the bag with all the beer cans and bottles, pulled out his planner and handed it to him. The look he gave me was worth more than words can express. His mother had walked up to the other side of the car and asked him what it was; he said something lame about how his friends had taken his planner and thrown it out the window. I just closed the door, smiled and drove off with the garbage bag still in my car leaving them behind to whatever conversation may have followed.

Every now and then, like this morning, I'll see him. He has that look; he knows that I know where he lives...


...and he knows, deep down, that someday...

Tactics

Temperature at departure = 52° F (11° C)

From: Commander, 4th Division, Light Infantry
To: Troops, the Marauding Mammals
Sent: Friday 18th May 2007, 08:43
Subject: Tactics

First, I would like to commend the troops of the fighting forth for their efforts. In fact, I observed three of you this morning as you executed daring feints against the enemy in rapid succession. Your bravery has been duly noted.

In light of the exceptional attempts against the enemy this morning, it pains me to say that our current tactics have been unsuccessful. The enemy continues to make daily sorties onto our path in both morning and afternoon. This must stop. Several of you may be asked to go on missions of a more dangerous nature in the near future; just remember I am proud to have served with you.

A. Squirrel, "Ol' Stumpy Tail"

Ad astra per sciurus

Good Morning Mr. Murphy

Temperature at departure = 55° F (13° C)

What a beautiful morning. Sunny skies, no gusty winds and the temperature was cool but not cold. I had ridden 4.8 miles (7.7 k) and had seen no one on the trail. NO ONE; not one cyclist and, even odder, no pedestrians. I was reflecting on how strange that was when I noticed ahead that a young mother with a toddler on a bike with training wheels and a puppy on a leash had stopped to talk to another young mother headed the other way with a baby in a stroller and approaching them from behind was an elderly couple we all met up at the same point at the exact same moment. We had a brief chuckle, said good morning and the elderly couple and I moved on. After that the flood gates were opened for pedestrians as I met ~5 others before making it to the office.

Bike To Work Weak

Temperature at departure = 53° F (12° C)

I normally see at least two or three other bikes on the way to work. It is Bike To Work Week and so far, on day 3, I've seen a grand total of 1 other cyclist. Maybe it is a reverse psychology thing; perhaps we should have called it Drive To Work Week. Weird.

There have been more pedestrians on the path this week. Every single one of them was polite and very pleasant as we greeted each other with a "Good morning." Even the dogs were well behaved this morning.