June 2006 Archives

That was "two" when I started writing this entry.

1. It took me a while to realize that the reason that my messenger bag wouldn't stay put on my back anymore is that my back is a lot more rounded than it used to be. I need to tighten the anchoring strap again, but even when it was loose before, it never really did this.

2. The 36" pants now fit very well, and I've been forced to buy some jeans and shorts to match. I bought them as cheaply as possible, since I don't plan on being this size very long ("past performance is no guarantee of future results." Thanks to GALT, those words will be imprinted on my brain until I die), and after an abortive attempt to find some at Ross, I ended up getting some "Levi Strauss" (I'm pretty sure that's their bargin (lower quality) "brand") at...Penny's? I think so. The interesting thing is that I got a pair of both "Regular" and "Relaxed" fit (which seemed a bit snug, but I figured they'd fit longer.)

   Now that they've been washed & worn a bit, the "Regular" cut fit me much better. I can't remember when I could last fit into the "Regular" cut Levi's. They look pretty good!

3. Chiara found a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it. Measurements taken almost exactly a year ago. My neck, chest, bicep, waist, hips, thigh & ankle. Apparently it's somewhat standard to add up the differences and use that as some kind of metric. News to me. Anyway, I've lost 21.5" all told. That makes it sound impressive.

   Also, I gave a bunch of dress shirts to Goodwill a while back because I realized I'd been buying the wrong size for a long while now (Since just after high school. Dumbass. Non-clothes obsessed nerd. Same thing.) They'd fit me again.

Speaking of clothes and measurements, can someone explain to me why I'm fitting 36" waist clothes, when neither my hips nor my waist measure anywhere near that? The smaller of those two measurments is still about 6" more. It makes me paranoid that there's a global conspiracy to deflate sizes to make everyone feel ok about being part of a morbidly obese society.

My ride to the train station was HOT today. Plus, I'd left myself little alternative than to sprint the whole way. Into a nasty headwind. Again. I am very fortunate that the trains have air-conditioning.

Friday took its sweet-assed time getting here. Next week looks to be more of a bitch than this week, one thing in particular that I'll probably kvetch about later.

But as the miles unfold between myself and Sunnyvale, my stress level unwinds. I'll be home soon. I get to see my sweetie (haven't really been awake at the same time for the last 48hrs) We have a full weekend ahead of us, but it's all things we've been anticipating for a while.

It's good that I have this time to unwind.

Cantilever brakes are still the bane of my %$#!&ing (bike maintenance) existence. Only an engineer could have thought that a single nut to adjust 4 degrees of freedom simultaneously was a good thing. I marvel at the simplicity, but it means that the slightest adjustment becomes "time to start over." I'm also out of practice, though regular practice never really helped all that much.

I hope they're toed properly, because I'm not taking it for a test ride tonight. I don't think I could take starting over again.

EDIT: (7:30am) Test ride complete. They appear to be toed & adjusted correctly. I'm not THAT far out of practice.

Last chance!

If any of you were thinking about riding with us over the Golden Gate Bridge tomorrow and hadn't spoken up yet, please get ahold of me. You're more than welcome to come, but arrangements are being made.

Currently I'm meeting folks at 17th & Valencia at about 9:20 and making our way up to Golden Gate Park. The current plan is to try the Marin Headlands ride. Stork says it's gorgeous, and I've never actually done it. I'm still more than happy to go with folks to Sausalito, though.

[I've been meaning to post this for weeks now]

sf0.org has to be one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a very long time. It's a game, of sorts, or is it? It's played it on the web, but (nearly) all of the tasks are things in the real world. It's a "new interface" to San Francisco, one with more affordances and fewer hinderances "like fear, lethargy, and the police."

It's three parts game, one part scavenger hunt (but read the sign in the first picture), two parts performance art, one part (a)political action, and a healthy dash of subversive protest. Roll that into a tight paper, light it, and you get an explosive firecracker (why, what type of paper were you rolling in?) of pure genius!

The genius is twofold: first, all but the absolute lowest lowest level tasks require you to explore your environment. More than that, they require looking at it in ways you wouldn't normally. Second, most of the tasks require more than one active participant.

The tasks also start relatively simple (upload a photo of yourself your character, find your celebrity dopplegänger) but they slowly get harder, and in many cases weirder, more elaborate and more subversive. An early task sets this tone: you're supposed to keep track of any money you spend while playing the game. You lose 1 point for every dollar you spend.

Still unsure about joining? Take a look at this flyer for the, erm, party they're throwing. Try to tell me it doesn't sound intriguing. What's that? Yeah, I thought so.

EDIT: Hey, Chicagoans! I forgot to mention this earlier, but the founders of this game started in Chicago, but it never took off. That being said, there's a large contingent of players in Chicago (and Minneapolis for some reason). Many of the tasks are not specific to SF, or can be generalized. You should try it, too!

I'm putting together an all-abilities, all-ages, slow as molasses, stop & smell the roses bicycle ride over the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday 6/10.

I keep putting this announcement off, and if I do that much longer, I'll be riding alone, since nobody will have been alerted. I first mentioned this in a LiveJournal comment buried in a thread several levels deep. The electronic equivalent of the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard."

When:

Saturday, June 10th (next Saturday, not tomorrow). My plan is to start at my house at 9am. If I'm riding alone, I can probably be at the bridge in 30 minutes, but connecting with people will modify that, and the schedule for this ride is necessarily a bit flexible. I'm open to other ideas (see below)

Who:

Anyone who has a bike, can manage to stay (mostly) upright on it, and wants to ride across the Golden Gate (C'mon! It's fun! You should do it at least once!)

What:

Riding a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, you might want to consult your doctor about ADHD, and/or cut down on the fine herb clouding your short-term memory.

Where:

At a minimum, the Bridge, but see below