Happy Gawddam New Year

Yes,  back again.

For now at least.  Those of you with ADD know EXACTLY what I mean by that.

2014 was a weird, difficult year in many ways.  I think really it's just that it had so many changes associated with it:

• New child
• New car
• No dog
• Financial issues
• Health issues
• Etc

Don't get me wrong: I actually have a pretty good life.  It will probably never evolve beyond 'pretty good', because I had a sense of lowered expectations drilled into me early on in my life.  No matter how good things are, they can be better.  

This is both a good thing, and a bad thing.

It's good, in that one always look to improve things around you.  And once improved, there is a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in having made something better.

It's bad, in that you are always scrutinizing your environment.  And once you start, it's hard to not become a little depressed by how imperfect everything is.

It's even harder when you are not in a position to afford the change needed to improve things.  Then, one starts to feel not only depressed, but a bit impotent in the face of the imperfections.

This can be multiplied by the perception that one is responsible not only for ones own environment, but for the environments of those near to you (family especially).  It's not a big leap to go from the impotence to a kind of anxiety, born of worrying that you are not doing all you can for the ones around you.

Worse still is knowing that it requires a certain degree of focus to afford change, and that ADD does all it can to rob that focus.  The worry evolves into a kind of despair when this happens, which is often.

No, I'm not suicidal.

Why not?  Many good reasons.   One large reason is that same sense of duty that got me here in the first place.  And a father that won't let me give up on that duty.

Yes, my father left this world almost 15 years ago (will be 15 years in June), but he's still alive in me.  As Vitruvius would say, "I know that sounds like a cat poster, but it's true."  Every time I get down on myself, feeling impotent, angst-ridden and despairing, I immediately hear him telling me to get up.

"Get up.  Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  And DO something.  Good or bad, make your choice and MOVE."  

Few things irritated my father like indecision.  He was a man of action, someone that did not let things go idle.

This year, my resolution is to reclaim the parts of my life that I have allowed the outside to control due to my indecision.  Stop allowing the world to make choices for me that I should be making.  That I can be making.  That I WILL make.

I will look hard at myself, and account for what I am now.  I will change that which should be changed, tend to what needs tending to and discard that which is unnecessary.

And I am not alone in this, as I have a great friend in Herself to help me, and 3 little faces to inspire me.

And my Dad is still here to guide me.  Yes, Dad, I heard you.  I'm getting back up.

Trivia Labs: "Dawn Breaks Over Marblehead"

So we've heard the expression "Dawn breaks over Marblehead", and it typically refers to the act of suddenly realising something that was either very obvious, or that everybody else knew already.

But where did this phrase come from? Does it have a deeper meaning?

Here's what our Reserachers in the Trivia Lab have uncovered so far:

- This is a phrase that originated in the NE United States, specifically around Boston, MA.
- Marblehead is an actual coastal town in MA
- Marblehead is considered to be the birthplace of the US Navy
- The town of Marblehead is built almost entirely upon bedrock. Photos of the town show lots of exposed rock, adding credence to this assertion. Perhaps this is where the town derives it's name?
- The coast of MA is one of the first to recieve morning light in the US, as it is on the Eastern Seaboard

Trivia Lab conclusion:

The phrase is used because of the double meaning derived from the name "Marblehead". The town is built on bedrock, known to be incredibly dense. The proposition that an idea "dawns" upon somebody is a long-held concept, the "light of reason" suddenly appearing. A person considered "dense" would be somebody who did not have ideas come easily to them. Therefore, "dawn broke over marblehead" would be the same as "the idea occurred to the dense-headed". There is very little deeper meaning than this.

On Empire

I am a reader of several online info sources, as I do not trust having a single media source. I think any thinking person does this in an effort to try and get at the roots of any issue. This is especially true of world events.

There is an interesting article at the Asia Times Online (AToL) today, concerning some of the legacies of the Bush administration. One concept in particular really stuck out to me, and that was this one: America is not building an empire.

This is interesting, because many of the Bush administration's critics here at home level the "empire building" accusation ad nauseum. But the commentator at AToL describes empire-building as a planned enterprise with a vision of how the world should be managed. Which it really seems the Bush administration is not doing, and the US suffers because of it.

We throw the idea of an empire around like it's a wholly bad thing. Does it have to be? Saying we will not become an empire sort of sound like a small business saying it will never become a corporation.

Are we not an empire now?

My Review of Zhumell Perigee 100 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

Originally submitted at Telescopes.com

Zhumell Perigee 100 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

Great telescope, bad instructions

By Jules C. from Richmond, VA on 10/30/2007

 

4out of 5

Pros: Comfortable Eyepiece, Accurate, Quality Lenses, Strong Construction

Cons: Poor documentation

Best Uses: Astronomy

Describe Yourself: Casual/Recreational

Purchased as a gift for wife, and she was not disappointed! Excellent beginner scope. Not a great "deep sky" scope, but certainly gives you incredible views of the moon! Compact size belies weight... heavier than one expects. Tripod, while sturdy, is designed in such a way that doesn't make it particularly compact for transport. Scope body and mount are very well constructed. Well made for this price range. Documentation is awful, so assembly relies upon your mechanical abilities more than the written instructions.

(legalese)

The times, they are a' changing

Since we last spoke... I have a kid.

Catriona is now 6.5 months old, and is quite something.

I could get all philosophical about it, but let's just say that I am slowly becoming one of "those Dads", with the pictures and the stories and all that.

You know. One of those Dads.

Fall has finally arrived in Richmond, and it's about goddamned time. Summer was unbearable, and seemed to last forever. Anybody who doesn't think that global warming isn't a reality is living a lie. The debate is no longer about how it happened or who or what caused it. It's here, now. We must no longer sit by and just let things continue in the manner they are going. We must change.

I owe it to my child (hopefully, children) to give them the best possible future, and that means a planet they can still live on without fear of catching an industrial disease when they take a walk down the street.

One of those Dads.

My generation will go down as the ones that fixed the massive issues our parents brought on us. Lifestyle diseases, horrifying suburban planning, runaway polluting... this is what my parents generation (yes, you Baby Boomers... you "Me" generation) has given to their grandchildren. My children.

I look outside of my house here in Barton Heights, and see the older houses that absentee landlords own and rent out on a monthly basis to people that seem to have an enormous amount of time on their hands. Where are they getting the rent money? Your guess is as good as mine. But the landlords don't care, as long as they are making money. Meanwhile, their properties continue to run down, as none of that cash goes towards upkeep.

Hope you choke on that cash.

And when those landlords finally get cancer, it'll be my taxes that will help pay for their final drug-induced (for comfort) days. And my taxes that will buy their condemned rental properties. And my taxes that will have to knock those houses down. And my taxes that will fence off their shit-infested pile of trash. And my taxes that will clean up their fucking mess.

Because if I don't, my children will have to. And that is just irresponsible.

Okay, I went off topic a little there. I'll try to reel it in now.

It was once remarked that my generation, Generation X, is known to be more conservative than the Baby Boomers.

I completely agree. But it's not the kind of conservative one expects. I honestly feel we are a socially liberal generation, but conservative of our traditions. Consider gay marriage: I strongly suspect that the average Gen Xer will say that they have no qualms with gay marriage, as it helps strengthen the social order through the building of family units. It's not a political issue, but an issue concerning social cohesion. This is a truly conservative view, preserving the underlying concept of what marriage is supposed to be about: family unit, which is the basis of all great societies.

We are conservative in that we are driven to preserve what we still have, before it is frittered away by our parents. Very soon will come the day of reckoning when Gen X stands up and takes this world away from the Boomers.

And fixes it.

Teach your children well, my fellows. They will be responsible for taking over what we rebuild, and if we do it right they will be able to go even farther than we have... since they don't have to take a backwards step and clean up our crap.

For the Love of Titanium and a Dog Fang

This coming weekend is the Shenandoah Mountain 100, and I am not ready.

Yes, I have biked over 100 miles/week for the past 3 months.

Yes, I am now at a level I have never thought possible.

Yes, I have modified my bike to get rid of the unnecessary things and make it more conducive to enduro racing.

But I am not ready.

Why?

Because it takes more than that, and I have found out recently that if I stay on the course I am on with biking, I will be ready NEXT year. Read on...

So at the beginning of this year, I thought that I would try for the SM 100. My goal was to finish the race, not necessarily place. So I have been riding 10+ miles every day, 20+ miles on the weekends, and have been able to get 100+ miles in every week for nearly 3 months.

What I didn't realise at first was that I really wasn't hitting any serious hills.

When I went to Sherando last month, it was my first indication that I was not training properly for this. My biking up to that point had very little hill climbing in it, as there are few opportunities for that sort of thing here in Richmond. I had been turning out 15-20 miles of singletrack riding in 2 hour stretches, until Sherando.

2 hours. 5 miles. Holy shit.

I thought that I just need to rachet things up. 15-20 a day, 30+ miles on the weekend. And I would be ready.

Then last weekend I went home to the Motherland, and biked Coopers Rock outside of Morgantown.

10 miles in 2 hours. Beat me senseless uphill and downhill. Goddammit.

It was all 5-10% grade comprised of fist-sized rocks in loose soil (due to lack of rain). So every downhil was a slippery rollercoaster and every uphill was a 3-steps-up-and-1-step-back bouncy ordeal. Too loose to be able to properly stand n' hammer without slipping and too bouncy to sit in the saddle and grind. Argh.

I console myself with some of the more positive things that have been happening with my riding. The first is that I got rid of my front shifters. I now only run my 34T midring with my 8-speed rear. Only issue now is that I bounce the chain off at a maddening rate, making me have to stop and put the chain back on the ring. I left my granny cog on for now as a "chain catcher" so I don't have to stop immediately when the chain falls off. I am going to try out a "dog fang" chain keeper to see if that will help. I am told that this along with an actual single-speed chainring can nearly eliminate the issue. I'll invest in the chainring when the current one finally wears out (not too long from now, I suspect).

The second is that my overall fitness level has improved, and my riding skills have also markedly improved as well. I am thinking about returning to Sherando this weekend and trying it again.

I invested in a set of Jones H-bars to see if they were more comfortable for the longer rides.

They are. Believe the hype.

Expensive as hell (they are titanium) but worth it. SO comfortable, and make such a difference in climbing! I really feel like I am standing in the pedals, crushing them into the ground during climbs. My uphill sprint is faster, and I can sustain it for longer periods now. This is a combination of my overall fitness going up and my body position due to the h-bar. Getting the shifter situated has become a bear, but I just invested in a set of Paul Thumbies and some used barcon shifters via eBay. I think that using the Thubies will help my shift issue by placing the shifter above the bar instead of below. Pete says this was what he ended up doing, and I can see the logic.

But these bars flat-out ROCK. Period.

Rained a lot last night, but you can hardly tell. it's been so dry, it probably just made the trails damp enough to be tacky but not slick. The best kind of trails.

Rock and Roll yer Eyeballs Out

Still biking regularly, which is great. I have been steadily increasing my distances and times, and am now biking roughly 6+ miles at a time, 5 days a week. 2 of the rides I try to make 10+ miles. My goal is a 30-miler by the first weekend in August.

I went this weekend to Sherando Park, near Lyndhurst, VA. I got two things to say about my 7 mile adventure:

1. Rocks are hard
2. Elevation changes with rocks are hard

Seriously, I thought I was climbing so long that I was suddenly going to burst into a clearing and be face-to-face with The Silver City. Instead, it was the Blue Ridge Parkway. Close enough, I suppose.

The best part about the climb was the payoff: downhill.

I screamed (literally, at times) down the other side of the mountain. I think I was actually in the air more than I was on the ground.

Hopping rock to rock, flying through the air, nailing the landings to simply launch again and again and again. Forward and down, like a cannonball.

I got rained on twice making the descent. Thunder, lightning, the whole show, and all I did was keep moving. Forward and down.

No beginner could take what I had done. Nearly 3 miles of climb up the rocks (with only 1 stop), then another mile of climb up the Parkway to the scenic overlook that was the trailhead for the ride down. I passed others on the way up, people on full-suspension bikes. Me on my hardtail Mountain Cycle, standing and pumping because going slow and grinding meant no momentum to get over the rocks. Never left my second ring in the front. I swore death before going to the granny.

And I made it down in one piece, and realised 2 things:

1. I have improved considerably as a rider

2. I need to bike even more