March 2010 Archives
March 11, 2010
two fine synchronicities
last night we watched the movie "harvey". for some reason, that put the name "heather havrilevsky" into my mind.
immediately after harvey, we watched an episode of farscape where one character refers to another as "harvey" in a direct reference to the movie we'd just watched.
today i read a blog post mentioning heather havrilevsky.
March 8, 2010
many goings on
today, a lot of things happened. here are the ones i recall, in the order in which i recall them happening:
entered the final week of the 2010 diet, round 1
i dumped a fairly large pile of stock
hops started her new job
i deadlifted 300 lbs
i enjoyed roast #100 on the gene caffe roaster
the apartment was certified to lack termite infestation
(mailed something at the post office)
my agents picked up 6 lbs of tasty dates
i purchased my first high-grade briar
wrote some pretty good code, with unit tests
(meerschaum arrived from turkey, held at post office)
i verified that the cesare barontini and dominican glory were both good ideas
i resumed, to some extent, blogging.
today saw a fairly conspicuous convergence of major one-time events.
entered the final week of the 2010 diet, round 1
i dumped a fairly large pile of stock
hops started her new job
i deadlifted 300 lbs
i enjoyed roast #100 on the gene caffe roaster
the apartment was certified to lack termite infestation
(mailed something at the post office)
my agents picked up 6 lbs of tasty dates
i purchased my first high-grade briar
wrote some pretty good code, with unit tests
(meerschaum arrived from turkey, held at post office)
i verified that the cesare barontini and dominican glory were both good ideas
i resumed, to some extent, blogging.
today saw a fairly conspicuous convergence of major one-time events.
March 4, 2010
inertia is fun
i fell on the bike today.
coming through a sharp curve on a debris-covered road, with my mind elsewhere, i suddenly found myself skidding at an untenable angle. a wood chip provided for horizontal motion of my rear wheel, i went into a frightening lurch, and time slowed down, as it tends to do when i fall, to ensure that i could most fully enjoy the helplessness and inevitability of meeting the ground.
except this time, i didn't meet the ground. my legs kept on doing what they were doing, even as they began to twist (instinctively, i hope) out of the pedals, and my body leaned out of the curve, which it was time for anyhow. in other words, i just kept on cornering, and before i knew it, all was right, including my bike and me.
i cycled on my way, nervously and cautiously at first, and then back to normal. i had plenty of time left on the ride to reflect on the lessons of my near-fall.
first, the lesson that applies fractally and hermetically: it ain't over 'till it's over. i was surely falling, but i was not committed to the fall, and i did not impact the ground even though for a short eternity i was certain that i would.
second, i realized i've fallen to the ground on my bike only 2 or 3 times, and in all cases where i actually hit pavement, i was not moving in any direction except that suggested by gravity. in other words, i was stopped. in other other words, a bike moving forward wants to keep moving forward, and without sufficiently forceful motivation toward other directions, will keep on moving forward. my bike, particularly, likes to go forward, quickly.
finally, i learned another aspect of the importance of a fast, easy cadence. i was spinning at no less than 90rpm, and it wasn't a hard push at that cadence. because of this, i had plenty of reserve power to keep the wheels spinning as i fell into my curve. if i'd been maxed out on power, i might not have had the reserves to keep the wheels spinning, and when the wheels aren't spinning, i'm guaranteed to have a bad time.
in short, as long as the wheels are spinning, biking is a fun time.
March 3, 2010
happy new year!
it's Frobuary 4, 0x58.
