So in my efforts to finally find the end of the internets, I've stumbled across many a cycling website. One that caught my eye is that of Fatty, www.fatcyclist.com. Being a man of size myself I was naturally attracted to the title and they guy is a fine satirist. His big push is now to organize others to fight cancer by supporting the Lance Armstrong foundation. I don't have a particularly special place in my heart for Lance (although that's changing a bit) but cancer, you can't quite argue against fighting cancer. So I noticed he offered others a chance to do a century and donate to the Lance Armstrong foundation and you wouldn't have to leave home to do it, I jumped. Well, not literally, I think I was sitting down at the time and if I had, I'm sure I would have injured my knees on the desk. Discretion is the better part of valor and all that. A year ago he rode 100 miles on rollers to raise money. This year he posits a 100 Miles of Nowhere for everybody everywhere. You sign up and donate, then you ride your century on a trainer, rollers, or as small a course as you can find. There's even a bunch of guys who are going to do it on May 30th up at the velodrome in Frisco, TX. So I decided to do it as well, but since I live on a cul-de-sac, I decided that I'm going to do it right at home. Yup, 100 miles on a cul-de-sac. I also wanted to show it off with my handy-dandy GPS ride tracker on my phone, BimActive. I tried about 20 laps the other day and all I got was zero miles. Yup, all that spinning around and around just looked like random GPS noise. So then I tried adding the cul-de-sac circle and the rest of the street. Per my son's odometer, that equates to .09 miles per lap. I think I need to do over 1000 laps to get this done. We'll see if I can keep it going that long. Part of it is to raise money to fight cancer (an old school buddy just started his 1st round of chemo this month, my wife has one aunt who's a survivor and another was diagnosed in March), part of it is just to do something crazy. I always seem to be looking for a windmill to tilt at. This Saturday, May 23rd. From whenever I get up to whenever I finish. The girls are having a bake sale. They've already made flyers.
Oh, did I mention that I'm going to do it twice?
See that link above where there's another group of guys doing the same thing at the velodrome, the bicycle track? They are doing it May 30th. I know a couple of them and it just looks like fun. I'm not track certified though (maybe I can work on that) so I'll have to pull out my trainer on the infield and do my miles there. Who knows? Maybe my girls can bake some more cookies.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Ninja news from all over
OK, I had a couple of imitation ninja stories over the past year, but nothing seemed to show up for weeks on end at news.google.com. I had given up hope that I could regularly record the exploits of the near ninjas among us. True ninjas, of course, we would never know about. Or if we did, we'd be dead before we could blog about it. Enough of such happy thoughts, on to the news!
In Massachusetts, a man wearing a ski mask and carrying a sword in a scabbard tried to hold up a dry cleaners. In a classic Not-Really-A-Ninja move, he first went to a nearby convenience store with said ski mask on and said sword in scabbard in plain view. Presumably he was trying to carb up for his later efforts in the dry cleaners. Maybe picking up some beef jerky, some Cheetos and a Red Bull. You know, ninja food. Well, the clerk in the store decides to call the cops, when Mr. Not-Really-A-Ninja asks, in an obvious homage to Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, if the clerk is talking about him as he hurriedly takes off the ski mask. When the clerk tells him, "Uhmm, yeah," he takes off. Later attempt at holding up the dry cleaners fails, as the person there claims "I can't open the money drawer." This guy is so Not-Really-A-Ninja, I have to wonder if his sword is sharp. Also, the total ignorance tactic seems to work for dry cleaner clerks when faced with inept ninja-tude. Just remember to take a note of that, dry cleaner clerks everywhere.
In Nearly-Ninja News, a man under arrest for posing as a ninja during an armed robbery last August got into more trouble this week. The news of note is that, after being caught, still waiting for a trial, he was being moved from one cell to another for a disciplinary infraction when he resisted. Jailer grabs the suspect's arm and executes a take-down. But apparently there was some Ninja-dom in this suspect, as the deputy ended up going knee-first into the concrete floor, causing him "extreme pain." Of course, the news is that said deputy has filed a criminal complaint. "Interference with official acts causing injury." At least it wasn't the suspect suing the deputy.
Expect more Ninja News as it breaks.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Review of Action Wipes
Gotta story for you folks.
They are finally building a gym here at my office. Hooray! We've got more than 500 employees officed here and it was part of the original building plan, so it makes sense to have it. Unfortunately, it won't be here until October, and as they are going to have to do some renovation work, the only office shower will be closed soon. Then new facility will have three or four showers in the Men's Locker Room, which will be great. I think we'll be able to get some folks to do some lunch rides. But how am I to be able to ride my bike to work and not be stinky all day? With no shower? Of course, lots of folks do this. One option I had seen was Action Wipes. They're supposed to be like baby wipes but for adults. I'd also heard of them through their Twitter campaign during the Tour of California. Really genius if you ask me. So I figure these might work. I look them up, decide to try them, place an order, and right before I do, I realize that hey, there might be an online coupon code out there, let's Google it to see. I did that and came across Ultra Rob's site. He had a coupon code from that week and was having a contest to give away a free set of wipes! So I used the code and entered the contest. I didn't win, not surprising, but I did get surprised by what happened next.
When you order something online, you usually expect some email traffic from it. So Paypal will send you an email if you used that. Then you would expect an email confirming the order, and perhaps an additional one confirming that your stuff has shipped. That's what I get from Amazon and eBay, from small and large online bike retailers, from everybody. Well, there was more from Action Wipes.
I got all those emails when I ordered my stuff on Thursday and then I got another the following Tuesday. It was the owner of the company (Action Wipes is still pretty small) apologizing for not emailing me sooner, and telling me that she had sent the stuff priority mail and that I should expect it that day. Nice, very nice touch. Then I get home and open the package and in it are my order, and an extra, small pack of wipes (what was being given away in the contest), and a short hand-written note. I have to say, those are not what you expect. Those are things that say above and beyond. From that point onward, I wanted these to work out for me. So the whole un-biased reviewer thing goes out the window at this point, but that's part of the review. I'm biased and it's all their fault!! That's not something that Action Wipes should be upset about, obviously. It's one thing to drool over a piece of beautiful bike equipment, ridiculously light, impossibly stiff, made from unobtainium and priced to show it. When you dump out eight grand for a set of wheels you set yourself up to love them (note: when you have six kids, eight grand only equals three hunnerd dollars, but it feels the same). You have to like that stuff. But wipes? Who gets all geeked up about wipes? Me. I do, and only because they went so far to make sure that I had an individualized, personal experience. The shower at my office is still operational but I brought Action Wipes today because I wanted to try them out. I wanted them to work really well. I wanted to show them off and say "check these out, even more, listen to how much they made me feel like a real human being."
So, review time. I used them today and I don't stink. I don't feel slimy. It was only after about nine miles, at about 60 degrees, with a tail wind, and I didn't average 20 (although the guy in the truck behind me was pretty impressed at my 35 mph on a short downhill). But they worked fine. Well, I only used one, they're pretty big, almost like a thin sponge. And they point out that they are washable and reusable, which I'll try to verify. I don't know how they will work after riding a century, but I didn't buy them for that. I don't know how they will work after an 80 degree ride (we'll get 80 degree mornings off and on from June to September) or after a 30 degree ride. But I like them. I encourage you to give them some money and see if they work for you. Or maybe just give them a chance to impress you before you use them.
They are finally building a gym here at my office. Hooray! We've got more than 500 employees officed here and it was part of the original building plan, so it makes sense to have it. Unfortunately, it won't be here until October, and as they are going to have to do some renovation work, the only office shower will be closed soon. Then new facility will have three or four showers in the Men's Locker Room, which will be great. I think we'll be able to get some folks to do some lunch rides. But how am I to be able to ride my bike to work and not be stinky all day? With no shower? Of course, lots of folks do this. One option I had seen was Action Wipes. They're supposed to be like baby wipes but for adults. I'd also heard of them through their Twitter campaign during the Tour of California. Really genius if you ask me. So I figure these might work. I look them up, decide to try them, place an order, and right before I do, I realize that hey, there might be an online coupon code out there, let's Google it to see. I did that and came across Ultra Rob's site. He had a coupon code from that week and was having a contest to give away a free set of wipes! So I used the code and entered the contest. I didn't win, not surprising, but I did get surprised by what happened next.
When you order something online, you usually expect some email traffic from it. So Paypal will send you an email if you used that. Then you would expect an email confirming the order, and perhaps an additional one confirming that your stuff has shipped. That's what I get from Amazon and eBay, from small and large online bike retailers, from everybody. Well, there was more from Action Wipes.
I got all those emails when I ordered my stuff on Thursday and then I got another the following Tuesday. It was the owner of the company (Action Wipes is still pretty small) apologizing for not emailing me sooner, and telling me that she had sent the stuff priority mail and that I should expect it that day. Nice, very nice touch. Then I get home and open the package and in it are my order, and an extra, small pack of wipes (what was being given away in the contest), and a short hand-written note. I have to say, those are not what you expect. Those are things that say above and beyond. From that point onward, I wanted these to work out for me. So the whole un-biased reviewer thing goes out the window at this point, but that's part of the review. I'm biased and it's all their fault!! That's not something that Action Wipes should be upset about, obviously. It's one thing to drool over a piece of beautiful bike equipment, ridiculously light, impossibly stiff, made from unobtainium and priced to show it. When you dump out eight grand for a set of wheels you set yourself up to love them (note: when you have six kids, eight grand only equals three hunnerd dollars, but it feels the same). You have to like that stuff. But wipes? Who gets all geeked up about wipes? Me. I do, and only because they went so far to make sure that I had an individualized, personal experience. The shower at my office is still operational but I brought Action Wipes today because I wanted to try them out. I wanted them to work really well. I wanted to show them off and say "check these out, even more, listen to how much they made me feel like a real human being."
So, review time. I used them today and I don't stink. I don't feel slimy. It was only after about nine miles, at about 60 degrees, with a tail wind, and I didn't average 20 (although the guy in the truck behind me was pretty impressed at my 35 mph on a short downhill). But they worked fine. Well, I only used one, they're pretty big, almost like a thin sponge. And they point out that they are washable and reusable, which I'll try to verify. I don't know how they will work after riding a century, but I didn't buy them for that. I don't know how they will work after an 80 degree ride (we'll get 80 degree mornings off and on from June to September) or after a 30 degree ride. But I like them. I encourage you to give them some money and see if they work for you. Or maybe just give them a chance to impress you before you use them.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Bike Commuter Tax "Benefit"
OK, so as part of last year's "stimulus" package, something called the "Commuter Tax Benefit" was extended from mass transit commuters to Bicycle Commuters. By the way, the writer of this blog commutes on bicycle to work quite often. It's only for $20 a month, which doesn't pay for a ton, but hey, that means I never have to worry about having the dough for some spare tubes, eh? Maybe I can throw it all at a nice set of lights or a helmet or some shoes. Yup, it's looking better and better. But it's up to the company to offer it, it's not something I can set up for myself. Dang it! I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't have been for those meddling kids, and their dog too! But I digress.
Then I noticed a glitch in our local HR's web site where for one afternoon, there was a banner headline about a "Commuter Savings Account." Of course it was gone the next day, and the link never went to anything. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by a buddy of mine who's a journalist for the Dallas Morning News. He was researching it and he knew that I rode a bike. So I really looked hard into it. Here's what I found out so far.
OK, the "Commuter Tax Benefit" has actually been around for a while. The original law was drafted to give tax incentives to big companies to offer fringe benefits to employees tax-free. Note that the companies still had to fund the bene's, but now they could fund them tax-free on their part. So it would encourage (theoretically) the employers to offer more bene's in lieu of or in addition to salary. There are several sections of it including moving expenses, retirement planning services, and a fringe bene for folks who's home valuation is adversely affected by a military base closure. The transportation section is focused on parking and mass transit costs and is just now being opened up to bike commuters. Please note that no employer is obligated to offer any of these cash benefits. In 1998, the law was amended to allow employers to offer these benefits in a different manner. Instead of funding a cash benefit, it allowed employees to set aside money from their own paychecks as pre-tax dollars, then draw upon those accounts to pay for these qualified costs. If you are an employer, which would you choose, to offer free money to your employees? Or to offer your employees the chance to bank away their own money tax-free? Hmmm... Not a hard choice. Fund the management of the plan instead of funding the plan itself. So instead of bicycle commuters looking for a cash benefit, now the best they can expect in some circumstances is a tax-free reimbursement. If their employers offer it. And so far, mine doesn't. Actually, I didn't expect it. We've got thousands of locations, some with hundreds of employees and some with only a dozen or less. It sound like a nightmare to manage that plan. And the taxes that I pay on $240 are next to nothing. OK, with six kids and 14 dependents on my W4, it is nothing. It would have been nice to have as a bike-stuff-in-a-pinch security blanket, but I don't see anything suggesting that it's going to happen soon, or at all.
So I'll just have to ride my bike in order to ride my bike, like I always have.
Then I noticed a glitch in our local HR's web site where for one afternoon, there was a banner headline about a "Commuter Savings Account." Of course it was gone the next day, and the link never went to anything. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by a buddy of mine who's a journalist for the Dallas Morning News. He was researching it and he knew that I rode a bike. So I really looked hard into it. Here's what I found out so far.
OK, the "Commuter Tax Benefit" has actually been around for a while. The original law was drafted to give tax incentives to big companies to offer fringe benefits to employees tax-free. Note that the companies still had to fund the bene's, but now they could fund them tax-free on their part. So it would encourage (theoretically) the employers to offer more bene's in lieu of or in addition to salary. There are several sections of it including moving expenses, retirement planning services, and a fringe bene for folks who's home valuation is adversely affected by a military base closure. The transportation section is focused on parking and mass transit costs and is just now being opened up to bike commuters. Please note that no employer is obligated to offer any of these cash benefits. In 1998, the law was amended to allow employers to offer these benefits in a different manner. Instead of funding a cash benefit, it allowed employees to set aside money from their own paychecks as pre-tax dollars, then draw upon those accounts to pay for these qualified costs. If you are an employer, which would you choose, to offer free money to your employees? Or to offer your employees the chance to bank away their own money tax-free? Hmmm... Not a hard choice. Fund the management of the plan instead of funding the plan itself. So instead of bicycle commuters looking for a cash benefit, now the best they can expect in some circumstances is a tax-free reimbursement. If their employers offer it. And so far, mine doesn't. Actually, I didn't expect it. We've got thousands of locations, some with hundreds of employees and some with only a dozen or less. It sound like a nightmare to manage that plan. And the taxes that I pay on $240 are next to nothing. OK, with six kids and 14 dependents on my W4, it is nothing. It would have been nice to have as a bike-stuff-in-a-pinch security blanket, but I don't see anything suggesting that it's going to happen soon, or at all.
So I'll just have to ride my bike in order to ride my bike, like I always have.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Joseph is now back in public school
For the last year and a half, my wife has been homeschooling our kids. We started a couple of summers ago because we were in the process of selling our house and thought that homeschool would give us some continuity if we moved mid-semester. Well, for our oldest, it really hasn't panned out like we'd like it to. He's a year ahead in math or so, but he really hasn't been motivated in his other subjects. Our 9 year-old also has been feeling the lack of a social net that public school can provide. So, for now, the 14 year-old boy and the 9 year-old girl are in public schools, while the 11 year-old girl and the 7 year-old boy are still doing homeschool. Probably just until the next academic year. We have a high opinion of our school district and we aren't really afraid that we won't be passing along our own faith and values. So we're OK with it. Plus it will mean that Kim gets more time with the babies.
Well, for my oldest, it's a new universe in many ways. He's in 8th grade and knows several kids there from elementary school. He's in Athletics, which is a stretch for his 5'7", 115 lb self. Actual conversation I overheard yesterday between him and the 11 year-old girl.
Boy: Today we did the bench!
Girl: What's that?
Boy: Well, you lay down on it, and there's a bar, and you hold it in your hands and slowly let it down to your chest and then push it back up.
Girl: what's it for?
Boy: Well, you use it to build muscles. It weighs 45 pounds, and you can put weight on it if you want.
I just about fell over at that last comment, like the weights on the end of the bar are just optional.
Well, for my oldest, it's a new universe in many ways. He's in 8th grade and knows several kids there from elementary school. He's in Athletics, which is a stretch for his 5'7", 115 lb self. Actual conversation I overheard yesterday between him and the 11 year-old girl.
Boy: Today we did the bench!
Girl: What's that?
Boy: Well, you lay down on it, and there's a bar, and you hold it in your hands and slowly let it down to your chest and then push it back up.
Girl:
Boy: Well, you use it to build muscles. It weighs 45 pounds, and you can put weight on it if you want.
I just about fell over at that last comment, like the weights on the end of the bar are just optional.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Another poor excuse for a Ninja
Just when you thought there were enough Southerners who thought that they we just a few dojo lessons from being a true Ninja, another one crops up. This one in Florida. Of course, he was shown to be a Ninja wanna-be, he has twice tried to steal an ATM but failed. A Ninja would not have failed. Well, that and a Ninja wouldn't have been caught on camera, or had a beer belly.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Definitely not a Ninja...
Some folks think that they have super powers, some think that they are Ninjas at heart, and some are probably just desperate. So yesterday some dude apparently has some combination of the above three and goes into a chicken restaurant with a white rag over his face (classic Ninja) and a tree branch (not classic Ninja) and tries to hold it up. Yes, he threatened an employee with a tree branch "in what police called 'strike position'." Employee however, pulls out a broom, and Ninja-dom ensues, downtown FW style. The story in the paper quotes the police spokesman as saying "the two engaged in a battle of wooden swordsmanship." Employee hits dude with a chair (who knew that Ninjas were vulnerable to WWF moves?) and dude flees. They found him hiding in a dumpster. Methinks the employee is the true Ninja. Judge for yourself in the details at Star-Telegram.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Nite Hawk Lights, out of business? Yup
I'm sometimes concerned about stuff I buy for cheap, especially on the internets. You never know if the folks you buy it from are reputable or not. I felt pretty confident about my purchase of a Nite Hawk bike headlight last year though from my LBS (local bike shop.) It was on a huge discount (about what it would be on line) and I could see why. It was the last one, in fact, there were only two lights from that maker left in the shop. So I guessed the shop had decided to stop carrying the brand. Then I noticed that the light's battery had 0103 stamped on the side, which I took to mean the date it was churned out at the factory. That's OK, it's old, but it still worked fine. It's not as bright as I'd like, and it doesn't have a helmet mount though. So I thought I would place a call to the manufacturer and see if I could buy a brighter light (or just a brighter bulb) and a helmet mount. In their FAQ, they listed a 1-888 number. Today I finally found a spare minute and called them, but the other side of the line didn't pick up saying "Nite Hawk Lighting, how may I help you?" Instead I just got "Hello," with a slight Canadian accent. Hmmmm.... Well, maybe there's a newer number elsewhere. Let's check out their Contact Us page, hmmm... No number there. (Do you see where this is going?) They show pdf's for all their manuals, so let's check there. Hmmm... It's a number that gives me "the number you have dialed is no longer in service." I checked multiple pdf's, figuring that they might have changed their number, but nope, they show the same number. I also went to the wayback machine to check the Contact Us page and I can see a number there, but it's the same one that I've called before. There is an email. I tried that and we'll see if it bounces or if it dies or if someone emails back. I guess buyer beware. There are still online places selling lights from these guys.
Update: Either there have been recent developments or my email started something at the ISP level. The webpage now simply states that the company is out of business. I did some more digging and found that they are part of a parent company in Canada that produces batteries, Infinity Trading Company. When I called a phone number listed for the General Manager, the other side responded "GS Infinity." I asked if they were still associated with Nite Hawk lights or if I had a wrong number, to which he stated "Wrong number." I looked up GS Infinity and they seem to be a company in the same town in Canada making (surprise) rechargeable batteries. It sounds like they started up the bike light/ headlamp business to move batteries but it didn't provide as much as they wanted so they shut it down. I can't say when that happened but probably earlier this year. All of the links to the site have gone down so I replaced them with ones from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. And yes, I guess I do have too much time on my hands.
Update: Either there have been recent developments or my email started something at the ISP level. The webpage now simply states that the company is out of business. I did some more digging and found that they are part of a parent company in Canada that produces batteries, Infinity Trading Company. When I called a phone number listed for the General Manager, the other side responded "GS Infinity." I asked if they were still associated with Nite Hawk lights or if I had a wrong number, to which he stated "Wrong number." I looked up GS Infinity and they seem to be a company in the same town in Canada making (surprise) rechargeable batteries. It sounds like they started up the bike light/ headlamp business to move batteries but it didn't provide as much as they wanted so they shut it down. I can't say when that happened but probably earlier this year. All of the links to the site have gone down so I replaced them with ones from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. And yes, I guess I do have too much time on my hands.
Update #2: There are still a few businesses out there still selling Nite Hawk lights. The only one I would really trust would be www.batteryspace.com, and that's not from personal experience but just from noticing that they are selling them with a batterspace battery and charger. They should be able to warranty that.
What brings folks to the blog
So what brings folks to this blog? There are a precious few things attractive about it. The most compelling blog entry seems to be this one where I rant about my dealings with Leader Bikes. If you Google it, it comes up third on the list, right behind the Leader Bike Store. Recently, another blog entry had generated some hits from Google searches. It's also third on the page under "We have been blessed." That's something unexpected, and something I'm quite thankful for. It's almost as much as an achievement as when I was listed in the top ten for "Lame blogs." Apparently the internets have gotten lamer, because the quality of this blog obviously hasn't improved.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Gaudete!
As you may or may not know, I'm waaay Catholic (six kids, who woulda thunk it?). In the spirit of the season, I greet you with Gaudete! Rejoice! Yesterday is commonly referred to as Gaudete Sunday, coming from the Introit for this day which begins "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say 'Rejoice!'" Typically, this day is also marked on the Advent Wreath with a pink or rose candle. Each Sunday, a new candle is lit. The first two and last are purple, but the one for the third Sunday, for Gaudete Sunday, is pink or rose. Of course, you don't have to use purple and pink colored candles. All four of the candles in the Pope's Advent Wreath are red!
Links to:
Gaudete Sunday Wikipedia entry
Gaudete Sunday Catholic Encyclopedia entry
The Papal Advent Wreath at Catholic News Service
Music to Traditional Christmas Carol Gaudete (I can't get that melody out of my head)
Links to:
Gaudete Sunday Wikipedia entry
Gaudete Sunday Catholic Encyclopedia entry
The Papal Advent Wreath at Catholic News Service
Music to Traditional Christmas Carol Gaudete (I can't get that melody out of my head)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
We have been blessed with true genius in our family
Isabel, our three year-old, has been quite the artist as of late. She's still has some lessons to learn, like not to use glue to put her artwork on the refrigerator, but she's making great strides. An example:
(cue violins)
(cue violins)In this one, self described as "It's a hedgehog sitting in the sun." One can feel the oppressive heat that the sun is pouring down upon the hapless hedgehog, who seems nonplussed, indeed, quite amused at the entire ordeal. Or perhaps this is more of an observation of the Winter sun, vainly attempting to regain his prior Summer glory, impotent to the gentle insectivore. I look forward to further insight from this gentle and curious soul. Perhaps an exploration of a second colored crayon?
Sister Wendy
Monday, November 17, 2008
Boldness wins
This might not make sense, as some of the folks here know that I'm a really faithful Catholic (we do have six kids), but half of them aren't baptized. It's not that I haven't wanted them baptized as infants. I do. It's just complicated. I know, lame excuse. I'll get to it in a later post. Suffice to say, Jacob is seven and not baptized, and he wants to be baptized. He wants it in the worst way. Since he's past the magic number seven (the age of reason), he's not going to just be baptized, but he's going to be accepted into the Church in a full way. They call it the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA, also at Wikipedia). Of course, he's not an adult, so instead of calling it the Rite of Christian Initiation for Children, they call it the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults for Children. There are some things that the Church created beautiful names for (like theotokos) and then there are things like this.
Anyway, a couple of months ago we officially signed up in this parish and signed up for Religious Ed, including RCIA(C) for Jacob. He's the youngest one in the program I think. We went to an intro meeting, then completely forgot about the second. The third one we were late for, they had that one in the church and it was locked when we got there. So we missed out on everything. I had a schedule and noticed that they were having a Rite of Acceptance. It's the public introduction of the folks in RCIA to the parish, sort of a big deal. I knew it was on the calendar, I had wanted to call the church to say "Hey, we're still in this, don't forget us," but I let work get in the way. We showed up to Mass a minute late and the folks in the program were already lined up out the door. The program director walked right by me and didn't even recognize us. It was happening without us. It was just passing us by like we weren't part of the parade. I felt crushed. I didn't want Jacob to wait another year for this. I wanted it to be their fault (Why didn't they call this week? Why doesn't someone wave us over right now?). I felt intentionally left out (maybe they just didn't want to deal with us, we had missed 2/3rd of the meetings). I just wanted to slink away and be mad at what was going on, to be a righteous victim. I was already embarrassed that I hadn't had Jacob baptized yet. I'm a real Catholic, not just a "devout" Catholic, I don't want to be seen as someone on the outside. Like an adolescent, I was more concerned about appearances that I was about the task that needed to be done. I just stood there and stewed.
Kim had parked the van and had come in as the priest was handing around a microphone to all the folks, letting them be introduced. She noticed that the Bride's room was open and a table was set up therein. Ducking inside, she walked out with a name tag for Jacob. I felt mad. I kind of wanted to ruin their world by walking down there with my son, introducing him, and then showing them that I knew as much about that stinkin' rite as they did. I'd seen it a dozen times, I think I'd even done it as a sponsor a time or two. I told Joseph to "pin up" his brother, then I walked down there with my boy.
My heart was beating like I was racing Lance Armstrong. I smiled (probably smugly) at the coordinator as she (without much of a beat) smiled in return. I told her that we were ready and she told me to remind the priest that Jacob was a Catechumen (unbaptized), we were out of order. I spoke and told the parish that Jacob was our 4th of 6 kids, our second son, our record breaker, no one had had a second boy in a hundred years. The congregation laughed in approval. Jacob beamed. The rite went off without a hitch. You can read the general version here. There's a series of blessings read by the priest where the sponsor or parent then signs a cross over the catechumen's head, followed by their ears, eyes, lips, heart, shoulders, hands, and feet. After the first few, Jacob kept reaching out to embrace me. I had to tell him it wasn't over yet. Finally they released us to sit down. Jacob wrapped me up as much as a seven year old can, and we walked back to the rest of the family. They had a formal sending off halfway through the service as they went off for a class. I walked him over to make sure he was set up. I caught enough to see the light turn on in his eyes. Our kids are good classroom kids. They enjoy speaking up and sharing, and they aren't afraid to know the answer.
Teacher: Does anyone here know what Advent is?
Other kid: Even I don't know what that is.
Teacher: You set out a wreath, and you have candles...
(Teacher's daughter starts drawing an advent wreath on the chalkboard)
Jacob: Oh, so that's what it is. I know the song you're supposed to sing. O Come O Come Emmanuel...
Teacher: Do you know how many candles?
Jacob: Four.
Teacher's daughter: And the colors?
Jacob: Three purple and one pink!!! (almost shouting by now)
Afterwards, they had a small reception (cake, punch, mixed nuts), and the kids of course flocked to where free cake was. One of the leaders for the adult program is a friend of mine (his wife still works at St. John's) and told me "You guys did great. When I saw you come down late, I was startled, but I thought, if anyone can wing it, it's Bull."
I didn't want to attract attention. I didn't want to be bold. I wanted to be a victim, a whining baby upset that the world doesn't revolve around him. Instead I needed to step forward for my son's sake. It's a legitimate question as to "Why is there such a rigamarole just to get a kid baptized? Can't they just do it?" I guess my only answer is that this is a big deal. A really big deal. This is grace stuff, God stuff. You don't just jump into that with a "Yeah, that sounds fun" level of initiative. You have to want it. You have to be ready to be bold for it.
Saturday - great day for the eldest boy
Yesterday was a great day for the older boy. We had the Last Race, a crit that was almost a road race but was sort of a crit. OK, see, a road race is out on the road. You might go from point A to point B, or you might ride a circuit one or several times, but usually it's at least ten miles. Maybe seven, but that's pushing it. On the other side you have a crit race, where you have a short circuit, from one kilometer to maybe mile and change. This course, out near Decatur, was two and a half miles. We ran it as a crit, but we had a follow vehicle like a road race. On top of it being the coldest day since last winter, there was a north wind of about thirty miles per hour. It added up to feeling AMAZINGLY cold. On the observation tower, I had to lean into the wind to keep myself from being blown over. Joseph raced with the adults for one race and with the juniors for another. He got 20th out of 23 finishers in the adult race and 6th out of 11 in the junior one. Not bad at all. Since I was officiating, we had to be there early. It's about an hour's drive, we had to be there an hour early, and the first race was at 7, so I was dragging the kids up at 4 am. Did I mention that Emily decided that she wanted to come? She ended up sitting in the snack bar the whole time while we were freezing out on the track. Afterwards, we're a few miles down the road when I get a call, Joseph left something. So back we go. Then we went into town and ate lunch. After leaving there, Joseph can't find his sunglasses, so we go back to the restaurant. It turns out they were in the van the whole time. The races ended at 12:15 and we didn't get home until three. Then we ran over to Irving to check out the last leftovers from another bike team. They were selling off some of their used equipment. Joseph picked up a nice saddle for $30 (used, but new it's $150 - $200) and I got a really nice helmet for $30 (not used, still in the box, and worth $150 new). As we were leaving, Joseph leans back in his seat with his eyes half-closed in the lazy afternoon sun and mentions, "this is probably the best day ever." Nice. Glad I could help offer that to you. I encouraged him to find out what would be the best day ever for each of his siblings and try to help those days happen.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Got some new lights
I got a new set of lights this week. It's funded by good old VZdubya. They had given me a nice award for my volunteering to help with Hurricane Ike, redeemable as cash or as gift cards. So gave myself a $30 budget at Amazon and I wanted a new set of lights. $30 doesn't go too far, I wasn't expecting to get a new Minewt or anything. I just wanted either a decent headlight (I was hoping someone was moving something nice cheap) or a really nice taillight, or a half-decent safety headlight and a taillight. I almost got another Planet Bike Super Flash, but I thought I might be able to get something close to it and a decent safety headlight. I looked at a bunch of the combo packs. Most of the headlights are not really high-power, but they wouldn't hurt along with my existing headlights. I wanted something that would blink, or maybe something that would attach to my helmet.
Well, in the end, I fell for this set. The MSRP lists for $54 but Amazon had it for less than $40. Yeah, MSRP was probably too steep, but the taillight looked OK and the headlight was potentially a nice light. It's hard to tell what 180 lux is but it seems to be what their other lights do on a low setting. Again, comparing lights is hard to do from manufacturer, expecially without picures. I saw another manufacturer with a significantly stronger light bragging about 14 lux. There weren't any reviews of this item anywhere, but I decided to try it anyway. Incidently, you can find some rather unbiased reviews of lights here and here. Of course, neither really reviews the Vetta. So, how did it do?
1st, I was only really looking forward to the headlight, figuring that taillights are pretty much all the same, unless you get a Dinotte. But the taillight was nicer than I expected. This thing is pretty sizeable, taller than my Super Flash. It's set up to attach to my seat post like most others. That's another thing I like about my Super Flash. You can attach it to your seat stay or clip it on a saddle bag or a messenger bag. The Vetta taillight looks like it will be OK. It's not as bright as the Super Flash, but it has a steady beam, a blinking one, and a running one, where the three LED's blink sequentially. That's the one I think I'll use the most, I think it will catch someone's eye a bit more with the movement.
2nd, the headlight isn't set up like a headlight. It's a triangular flashlight with a handlebar base. You can pull it off and use it like a flashlight. There are others like this out there, but I didn't expect it out of this one.
3rd, when I first turned it on, I was a bit disappointed at how bright it wasn't. It's a one-watt bulb, so it's right on the border of being something that will let you ride fast with it down a busy street. It's not going to throw out light farther than what I already have. But then I noticed that it is noticeably brighter than some other safety headlights I've seen and used. It looks to be on par with the Niterider Ultrafazer Max or the Cateye EL 530. So for the cash, it's not bad at all. It's NOT a $450 HID or even a $50 LED. I would not recommend this as a first light, or an only light for someone commuting. If you are riding only suburban streets or slowly on a paved trail in a park though, it might do the trick.
4th, it doesn't come with a helmet mount. Bummer. It kind of looked like a helmet mount in the pictures on Amazon. No such luck. Another $14 and I can order one from Vetta but I may get a helmet mount for one of my other lights.
5th, it only has one setting, on. No low, no flash. Another bummer. I would have liked to have something that flashes to go along with my Minewt.
The Eddy's site is a bit misleading. Check out how bright the MiNewt looks there, and then check out how dim it looks on the trail at the second review site. I think I may just have to save my pennies for something spectacularly priced if I ever get into riding trails at night. All in all, I was a bit more impressed than I expected, but I was also holding out hope that it would be special. It is what it is.
Well, in the end, I fell for this set. The MSRP lists for $54 but Amazon had it for less than $40. Yeah, MSRP was probably too steep, but the taillight looked OK and the headlight was potentially a nice light. It's hard to tell what 180 lux is but it seems to be what their other lights do on a low setting. Again, comparing lights is hard to do from manufacturer, expecially without picures. I saw another manufacturer with a significantly stronger light bragging about 14 lux. There weren't any reviews of this item anywhere, but I decided to try it anyway. Incidently, you can find some rather unbiased reviews of lights here and here. Of course, neither really reviews the Vetta. So, how did it do?
1st, I was only really looking forward to the headlight, figuring that taillights are pretty much all the same, unless you get a Dinotte. But the taillight was nicer than I expected. This thing is pretty sizeable, taller than my Super Flash. It's set up to attach to my seat post like most others. That's another thing I like about my Super Flash. You can attach it to your seat stay or clip it on a saddle bag or a messenger bag. The Vetta taillight looks like it will be OK. It's not as bright as the Super Flash, but it has a steady beam, a blinking one, and a running one, where the three LED's blink sequentially. That's the one I think I'll use the most, I think it will catch someone's eye a bit more with the movement.
2nd, the headlight isn't set up like a headlight. It's a triangular flashlight with a handlebar base. You can pull it off and use it like a flashlight. There are others like this out there, but I didn't expect it out of this one.
3rd, when I first turned it on, I was a bit disappointed at how bright it wasn't. It's a one-watt bulb, so it's right on the border of being something that will let you ride fast with it down a busy street. It's not going to throw out light farther than what I already have. But then I noticed that it is noticeably brighter than some other safety headlights I've seen and used. It looks to be on par with the Niterider Ultrafazer Max or the Cateye EL 530. So for the cash, it's not bad at all. It's NOT a $450 HID or even a $50 LED. I would not recommend this as a first light, or an only light for someone commuting. If you are riding only suburban streets or slowly on a paved trail in a park though, it might do the trick.
4th, it doesn't come with a helmet mount. Bummer. It kind of looked like a helmet mount in the pictures on Amazon. No such luck. Another $14 and I can order one from Vetta but I may get a helmet mount for one of my other lights.
5th, it only has one setting, on. No low, no flash. Another bummer. I would have liked to have something that flashes to go along with my Minewt.
The Eddy's site is a bit misleading. Check out how bright the MiNewt looks there, and then check out how dim it looks on the trail at the second review site. I think I may just have to save my pennies for something spectacularly priced if I ever get into riding trails at night. All in all, I was a bit more impressed than I expected, but I was also holding out hope that it would be special. It is what it is.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Voting
Looks like Obama is going to win this one. Yuck. Not that I liked McCain any, but at least he wasn't intrinsically evil in a truly monstrous way. We need to pray hard and talk to our legislators about FOCA now.
And it's still Tuesday afternoon, but Ken Brimer will probably win as well. He's a local TX State Senator who opposed a 3-foot while passing a cyclist rule a couple of years ago. Actually, he's opposed it each time it comes up. Last year he proposed an amendment (that passed) that would have emasculated the bill, then he voted against it. Not on my Christmas Card list, and I can't vote against him as I'm in a different State Senate district.
NOTE: Ken Brimer lost. He was the only incumbent State Senator that lost his seat in TX. I'm kind of glad in that there's a higher chance that three-foot passing law will be passed. I don't wish him ill necessarily. Although Wendy Davis did make him out to be a scum bag with her negative ads. And his TV image of "I'm a really nice, confidant Texan" didn't jive with his continued attempts to have her thrown out for legal technicalities. Feh. I hope he has a long and happy retirement from public service. And never comes near me on my bike. I don't trust him.
And it's still Tuesday afternoon, but Ken Brimer will probably win as well. He's a local TX State Senator who opposed a 3-foot while passing a cyclist rule a couple of years ago. Actually, he's opposed it each time it comes up. Last year he proposed an amendment (that passed) that would have emasculated the bill, then he voted against it. Not on my Christmas Card list, and I can't vote against him as I'm in a different State Senate district.
NOTE: Ken Brimer lost. He was the only incumbent State Senator that lost his seat in TX. I'm kind of glad in that there's a higher chance that three-foot passing law will be passed. I don't wish him ill necessarily. Although Wendy Davis did make him out to be a scum bag with her negative ads. And his TV image of "I'm a really nice, confidant Texan" didn't jive with his continued attempts to have her thrown out for legal technicalities. Feh. I hope he has a long and happy retirement from public service. And never comes near me on my bike. I don't trust him.
Friday, October 31, 2008
And God is Soooo Good...
Not that I deserve any bonuses from Him, but I am thankful for a doting Father. This last week, I sat down and looked at finances and just hung my head. We moved into a bigger house last year and doubled the size of our living space, as well as doubling our mortgage payment. That wouldn't have been so hard but we also tripled the size of our electricity bill. Over the Summer that really hurt. Just about all of today's paycheck is spoken for with those two bills. Of course, we still need to eat, and there is a Holiday coming up that involves gift-giving. I was quite bummed about the prospect of what we would be able to offer the kids. Not that we're poor, I'm still paying bills, I'm just stretched out. There are lots of folks out there who would be quite envious of where we are today. If we had a little more room we'd just spend it on frivolous things like getting the car fixed, right?
But there just wasn't a lot of cash there until the next paycheck. And then Kim went shopping the other day (the cupboard was bare) and wrote a check that was for more than what I have left after mortgage and electricity. Then I bummed on her for it. I didn't raise my voice, I don't need to do that to crush her sometimes. And I just told her quietly that we didn't have that much money for groceries this month. Sux, eh? I guess I can pay a part of the electric bill now and a part later, but then that leaves less for later in the month. And then I started feeling bummed about Christmas. Our cards are maxed out and I'm not expecting much to show up between now and then.
Then God does his miracle thing...
So one of my credit cards decides that they haven't extended me enough credit and they raise my limit. Not that I asked or anything. It's not much, but it's a little bit for Christmas. (Don't tell Kim, I want it to be a surprise).
And then my boss puts in for me to get an award for going to Houston to help with Hurricane Ike recovery. Again, not a ton, but it's something out of nothing. I can take it as cash or gift cards. I'm going to go over it with Kim tonight.
I remember telling Him that I just don't have enough to do this on my own, but that I'll do the best with what He gives me. I don't deserve this but I'll take it. That's what the unworthy do with grace.
EDIT: Notes to mention, the week before, I was fretting about the bare refrigerator and I happened to the fridge in the garage to have a frosty, carbonated adult beverage. I peeked in the freezer to find a bunch of food that I forgot we had there. Garlic toast, cheese toast, fried fish filets, chicken tenders, frozen dinners. Exactly what we needed...
Last night (11/03), we went to our monthly bike club team meeting and, as they do each month, they have door prizes. Joseph had fallen last month and had cracked his helmet. Guess who's ticket they call when there's still a nice, new helmet on the prize list? Yup, Joseph.
Oh, and my folks sent us $200 out of the blue, "to help with school supplies."
But there just wasn't a lot of cash there until the next paycheck. And then Kim went shopping the other day (the cupboard was bare) and wrote a check that was for more than what I have left after mortgage and electricity. Then I bummed on her for it. I didn't raise my voice, I don't need to do that to crush her sometimes. And I just told her quietly that we didn't have that much money for groceries this month. Sux, eh? I guess I can pay a part of the electric bill now and a part later, but then that leaves less for later in the month. And then I started feeling bummed about Christmas. Our cards are maxed out and I'm not expecting much to show up between now and then.
Then God does his miracle thing...
So one of my credit cards decides that they haven't extended me enough credit and they raise my limit. Not that I asked or anything. It's not much, but it's a little bit for Christmas. (Don't tell Kim, I want it to be a surprise).
And then my boss puts in for me to get an award for going to Houston to help with Hurricane Ike recovery. Again, not a ton, but it's something out of nothing. I can take it as cash or gift cards. I'm going to go over it with Kim tonight.
I remember telling Him that I just don't have enough to do this on my own, but that I'll do the best with what He gives me. I don't deserve this but I'll take it. That's what the unworthy do with grace.
EDIT: Notes to mention, the week before, I was fretting about the bare refrigerator and I happened to the fridge in the garage to have a frosty, carbonated adult beverage. I peeked in the freezer to find a bunch of food that I forgot we had there. Garlic toast, cheese toast, fried fish filets, chicken tenders, frozen dinners. Exactly what we needed...
Last night (11/03), we went to our monthly bike club team meeting and, as they do each month, they have door prizes. Joseph had fallen last month and had cracked his helmet. Guess who's ticket they call when there's still a nice, new helmet on the prize list? Yup, Joseph.
Oh, and my folks sent us $200 out of the blue, "to help with school supplies."
229
I haven't weighed that since 1995. I expect to be on the light side after a long ride, but not that light the next morning. Today I rolled out of bed at 6:13 AM (can't wait for the end of Daylight Savings this weekend) and got on the scale and saw 229. Nice. I'm working for 225 by Christmas. If I could ride more I'd get there sooner, but I think I can only get away with one long ride a week. The night ride is pretty pedestrian (so I can keep up the whole time) so I think I'll stick with that one for a while as well as riding to and from work.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Comedy of Errors
The other night I came home to some sick kids. Three of them were down with a stomach virus. Mom was in high demand and short supply. So she's up and down the stairs doctoring one kid, cleaning up another. I'm in charge of dinner and we don't seem to have anything to eat. Kim had already defrosted some chicken breast so that's what was to be cooked. We didn't have much pasta, our normal default dinner, but we did have one can of red sauce. I started looking up a recipe from the sauce maker and then I went over to the stove top. Our stove has a microwave built into the vent hood. Being as tall as I am, it kind of blocks my view. Since I wanted to cut up something, I wanted to be sure that the burner wasn't on, or still hot. Most of the kitchen space was cluttered up because of all the rush that three sick kids brings on so I had to use the stovetop. Normally I check out the little light that says if it's hot, but I couldn't see it because I was too close and the microwave was in my way. I'm just too tall. So what did I do? I felt the stovetop with my fingers. The burners are under glass so you can't tell how hot they are. I burned my three middle fingers on my left hand, burned them enough to blister them. I'm surprised I still have fingerprints. My oldest was trying to be a minimalist about helping for dinner as he had a really good book to read. So in between cooking something new from a recipe at the last minute, helping out with three very ill kids, barking at my oldest to get off the couch again, and directing the older two girls to set the table, I tried to soak my fingers in ice water and then slathered them with burn cream. We eventually did eat (those of us with stout enough stomachs) and it was pretty good. I did have to ask for help cutting my meat though.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Joseph falls down
Not too bad. He was going to practice, about 4 or 5 miles from the house, on a Sunday afternoon. He says he was just looking down at his speedometer and his hand slipped off the bars and he went tumbling (note to self, adjust Joseph's bars). Fortunately he wasn't near any traffic, he was on a trail. A paved bike trail. Some road rash, a cracked helmet, and lots of stickers that necessitated some benadryl. I was also named "Not-Dad of the Year," because I was waiting for him at practice and left my phone in the car while talking to folks. Then I never called until after the POLICEMAN gave Joseph a ride home. Nope, I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but some folks do refer to me as a "tool" often.
He's much better now, and the only damage to his bike is a scuffed up pedal. I'll get him back on the bike next week. And this time I'll be riding with him.
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