One week!
The appliances have been installed as of Wednesday night -- one week from the day of their appearance on our garage-step. The dishwasher was harder than the range, but then plumbing always involves a bit of voodoo and we had trouble finding fresh chicken blood. Regardless, all is well -- the dishes are clean, and the wok burner is hot.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
New Arrivals
Today, the new appliances we'd ordered arrived in our garage. Now, normal people would have had them installed, but we're not normal, so we paid to have them delivered, but my husband wants to install them. So, now what do we have sitting in the garage?
We have a new dishwasher. But instead of a regular dishwasher, we got dish drawers. This is basically two separate one-rack dishwashers sitting on top of one another. When your whole household is only two people, half a dishwasher is generally sufficient.
We also have a new stove. This is one of those fancy ones with a wok burner. Based on my family's history of living in Asia, I love to cook various Asian foods, and regular ranges just don't get hot enough for good stir-fry. Instead, with the current stove, I tend to end up with boiled food rather than stir-fried food. Most unsatisfying. But this should fix this. For my husband, the Baker, it also has a convection oven. I have never used one, and can't really envision what will be better about it, but my husband assures me the cookies will be cooked more evenly and the bread will rise better. I figure if I can have my fancy burner, he can have his fancy oven.
With the new stove, we had to get a new vent hood (the old one hadn't worked in years). It's pretty strong, and is likely to pull my hair off as I cook.
Anyone wanna make any bets on how long it will take to get these installed? One week? Two months? Longer?
We have a new dishwasher. But instead of a regular dishwasher, we got dish drawers. This is basically two separate one-rack dishwashers sitting on top of one another. When your whole household is only two people, half a dishwasher is generally sufficient.
We also have a new stove. This is one of those fancy ones with a wok burner. Based on my family's history of living in Asia, I love to cook various Asian foods, and regular ranges just don't get hot enough for good stir-fry. Instead, with the current stove, I tend to end up with boiled food rather than stir-fried food. Most unsatisfying. But this should fix this. For my husband, the Baker, it also has a convection oven. I have never used one, and can't really envision what will be better about it, but my husband assures me the cookies will be cooked more evenly and the bread will rise better. I figure if I can have my fancy burner, he can have his fancy oven.
With the new stove, we had to get a new vent hood (the old one hadn't worked in years). It's pretty strong, and is likely to pull my hair off as I cook.
Anyone wanna make any bets on how long it will take to get these installed? One week? Two months? Longer?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Kitchen Improvements
The long-awaited kitchen remodel is finally ready to almost be underway (did I hedge enough there?). We tend to plan things like this a bit much, so it takes a lot longer than it does for normal people to get going on a remodel effort. Of course, normal people hire someone to do it for them. Or at least to supplement the work that they want to do themselves with work done by professionals. But no, not us.
See, my husband is pretty competent with mechanical things. He basically has a PhD in them, and his dad did woodworking as his career for most of his life. So, he's more than competent -- he's quite good, and this makes the work done by most professionals seem shoddy to him. True, he's only doing something once, and has a lot of motivation to do it the right way, but he's also not getting paid by the number of jobs he completes. It all comes back to that old adage -- you can pick two of the three: quality, speed, cheap. Since most people are concerned with "cheap", either quality or speed have to be compromised. And most contractors need the speed for their businesses to succeed. Now, I'm not saying that contractors do a poor job, just that my husband is such a perfectionist that he notices every little gap or nick or thing that just wasn't done the way he would have done them.
As an example, a couple of months ago we had French doors put in to replace the ailing back sliding glass door that had been there forever. We looked at lots of doors, and settled on an unfinished wooden set. We really wanted them to open outward into the back yard, which required fancy security hinges which were backordered and delayed multiple times, but finally arrived, and were installed as agreed. However, one side of the door hole wasn't completely plumb, so they lined everything up, and put the jamb over it. This completely hid the fact that there was a gap, but he wanted it to be shimmed, and he complained about it for weeks, even deciding to boycott the establishment where we got the doors. I've never worried the door wasn't solid, but I do think my husband wants to be sure it's hard for someone to bulldoze our house one day.
As a result, it's actually easier to let him do these things himself. It just means things take forever. So, when he decided he wants to build his own kitchen cabinets, I expressed the concern that we would be without a functional kitchen for a year or more. He agreed that was a valid concern. However, for his mental health, and for preservation of my ears from having to listen to the complaints about someone else's work, I have resigned myself to a long remodel effort. At the end, though, it should be seriously nice.
At this point, we have floor plans, and lots of drawings of various stages of cabinet design. We have new appliances ordered, and they are arriving this week. That will really force us to start making some serious progress.
Pictures may follow, if can remember to pull out the camera for various parts of the process.
This weekend, we went out and ordered a new dishwasher
See, my husband is pretty competent with mechanical things. He basically has a PhD in them, and his dad did woodworking as his career for most of his life. So, he's more than competent -- he's quite good, and this makes the work done by most professionals seem shoddy to him. True, he's only doing something once, and has a lot of motivation to do it the right way, but he's also not getting paid by the number of jobs he completes. It all comes back to that old adage -- you can pick two of the three: quality, speed, cheap. Since most people are concerned with "cheap", either quality or speed have to be compromised. And most contractors need the speed for their businesses to succeed. Now, I'm not saying that contractors do a poor job, just that my husband is such a perfectionist that he notices every little gap or nick or thing that just wasn't done the way he would have done them.
As an example, a couple of months ago we had French doors put in to replace the ailing back sliding glass door that had been there forever. We looked at lots of doors, and settled on an unfinished wooden set. We really wanted them to open outward into the back yard, which required fancy security hinges which were backordered and delayed multiple times, but finally arrived, and were installed as agreed. However, one side of the door hole wasn't completely plumb, so they lined everything up, and put the jamb over it. This completely hid the fact that there was a gap, but he wanted it to be shimmed, and he complained about it for weeks, even deciding to boycott the establishment where we got the doors. I've never worried the door wasn't solid, but I do think my husband wants to be sure it's hard for someone to bulldoze our house one day.
As a result, it's actually easier to let him do these things himself. It just means things take forever. So, when he decided he wants to build his own kitchen cabinets, I expressed the concern that we would be without a functional kitchen for a year or more. He agreed that was a valid concern. However, for his mental health, and for preservation of my ears from having to listen to the complaints about someone else's work, I have resigned myself to a long remodel effort. At the end, though, it should be seriously nice.
At this point, we have floor plans, and lots of drawings of various stages of cabinet design. We have new appliances ordered, and they are arriving this week. That will really force us to start making some serious progress.
Pictures may follow, if can remember to pull out the camera for various parts of the process.
This weekend, we went out and ordered a new dishwasher
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Loss of Detail Orientation
I was recently noticing that in the last few weeks I've had a lot of typos. First I had to correct them all (sort of a new 1984 policing group -- The Ministry of Blog Accuracy -- it feels very Orwellian to be changing history. Bwa Ha Ha!). Then I had to figure out why. I'm doing it at work, too, having to proofread all my emails because I don't get them typed up right to start with. All of this obviously makes one less productive in a given day. And I'm all about productivity, no, ruthless efficiency.
So why this decrease in the quality of my typing? Well, I don't know. But I guess it means I've been distracted and trying to do too much at once. Multi-tasking is great, but not if it means you don't get anything finished right. Accuracy is more important than speed, so today I will try to slow down and get back on the right track.
So why this decrease in the quality of my typing? Well, I don't know. But I guess it means I've been distracted and trying to do too much at once. Multi-tasking is great, but not if it means you don't get anything finished right. Accuracy is more important than speed, so today I will try to slow down and get back on the right track.
Monday, June 12, 2006
A Resolution Bites the Dust
Yesterday was the Danskin triathlon. My mom made her goal, shaving 10 minutes off her swim, and making it up three hills on the bike ride. My little sister improved her time by 30 minutes, and isn't quite as vehement about how she won't be doing the race next year. My other sister finished her first, and finished faster than mom, so she was happy.
I'm the only one that didn't make my goal. Now it's true I was expecting a pretty big improvement over my personal best, but it just comes down to the fact that I didn't train enough. For some people that would be a depressing realization, "I didn't make my goal, I must suck, and I should give up now." However, I'm a stubborn little freak, and this result just makes me want to fight harder, and work more, and make it a better result next time. And I will. 'Cause that's what I do.
I'm the only one that didn't make my goal. Now it's true I was expecting a pretty big improvement over my personal best, but it just comes down to the fact that I didn't train enough. For some people that would be a depressing realization, "I didn't make my goal, I must suck, and I should give up now." However, I'm a stubborn little freak, and this result just makes me want to fight harder, and work more, and make it a better result next time. And I will. 'Cause that's what I do.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Full, Loud House
Today, my family converges on my house in preparation for Danskin Triathlon weekend. As a family with a high female makeup, a women-only triathlon is just the thing for us. Here are the players:
My Mom: She's the root of the stubbornness that us kids exhibit. She finished the race last year out of sheer determination to do so. She laughs loud.
My Sister: A's the "crazy" sister. She's in the Navy, working on a degree in nuclear engineering which will allow her to be an officer. We should all be worried. She talks loud.
My Little Sister: C's the one that still lives at home. She'll be a junior in high school next year, and she keeps the rest of us young. Or makes us feel old and loud.
Me: I'm not quiet either.
So, when the four of us are together (and we try to limit the frequency of this occurrence), we are a generally loud group. My husband is considering getting a hotel room for the weekend.
My Mom: She's the root of the stubbornness that us kids exhibit. She finished the race last year out of sheer determination to do so. She laughs loud.
My Sister: A's the "crazy" sister. She's in the Navy, working on a degree in nuclear engineering which will allow her to be an officer. We should all be worried. She talks loud.
My Little Sister: C's the one that still lives at home. She'll be a junior in high school next year, and she keeps the rest of us young. Or makes us feel old and loud.
Me: I'm not quiet either.
So, when the four of us are together (and we try to limit the frequency of this occurrence), we are a generally loud group. My husband is considering getting a hotel room for the weekend.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
We Made It!
Today is our eighth anniversary. Yes, it's 06/06/06, so at least it's not our sixth anniversary. Anyway, we made it. The seventh year was tough with some stressful stuff going on. But we've come a long way since where we were a year ago. And it feels good to know we've continued to stick by each other through everything so far. It seems like a positive slope that we're on now. Congratulations to us. :)
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Really Menial Jobs
One of my favorite mental pasttimes is to think about ways to automate certain repetitive tasks, I suppose that's why I'm in the industry I'm in, doing the job I'm doing -- automating the transfer of data all over the place. Not the most exciting stuff to write about, exciting to do, but not really good material, so to speak. So, I think about other, more mechanical, automations.
It all started with my favorite Mister Rogers Neighborhood episode as a child. It was the one where he showed us how they make crayons. I was completely enthralled with the way the wax is poured into a mold and then a machine wraps the paper around them and puts them in a box. It was impressive to me that this process could be done completely without human intervention. I also assumed there was a time when this wasn't such an automated process, and people had to do things like stick crayons in a box for a living.
My grandpa worked on the factory line at Ford all his life. After a while, it became clear that he needed to learn automation skills, or he would be phased out. So, he become a robotics tech and learned everything he needed to fix the machines that built the cars, rather than building the cars themselves. So, I come by my interest naturally.
There are a lot of things I buy that I can see how it would have been produced through an automated process of some kind. There is one I was thinking of this morning that I couldn't come up with anything for, however, so I was hoping you could help me. As a kid, I loved the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and I had most of them. I can see how the little plastic dolls could be made automatically, and how their little clothes could, in many cases be made without human intervention. But how do you get their little clothes on the little dolls? Same goes for Barbies or any other dolls. I hate to think there are people (or even worse, children) whose job it is to put clothes on dolls all day long.
It all started with my favorite Mister Rogers Neighborhood episode as a child. It was the one where he showed us how they make crayons. I was completely enthralled with the way the wax is poured into a mold and then a machine wraps the paper around them and puts them in a box. It was impressive to me that this process could be done completely without human intervention. I also assumed there was a time when this wasn't such an automated process, and people had to do things like stick crayons in a box for a living.
My grandpa worked on the factory line at Ford all his life. After a while, it became clear that he needed to learn automation skills, or he would be phased out. So, he become a robotics tech and learned everything he needed to fix the machines that built the cars, rather than building the cars themselves. So, I come by my interest naturally.
There are a lot of things I buy that I can see how it would have been produced through an automated process of some kind. There is one I was thinking of this morning that I couldn't come up with anything for, however, so I was hoping you could help me. As a kid, I loved the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and I had most of them. I can see how the little plastic dolls could be made automatically, and how their little clothes could, in many cases be made without human intervention. But how do you get their little clothes on the little dolls? Same goes for Barbies or any other dolls. I hate to think there are people (or even worse, children) whose job it is to put clothes on dolls all day long.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Officially Into Summer
Memorial Day weekend has always been my official switchover weekend into summertime. Now, technically, it doesn't really matter, since I will still go to work everyday and I don't have children to remind me how wonderful it is to be out of school. However, there are a couple of things that really make summer nice around here, so it's nice to have started summer now.
We love to go to the lake on the weekends in the summer. We get out there early, have a nice swim around, maybe stay long enough to eat lunch and head out before the crowds get too busy. My husband may take these things to an extreme, but I agree that too many people at the lake makes for not as nice a time. Regardless, it's nice to be in the water and out in the sun.
Summer also means we do a lot more projects around the house, spend a lot more money on things we've been meaning to get/do, and have a generally higher amount of activity going on.
This Memorial Day, we celebrated with the Capital of Texas Triathlon. This was the first time I've done this race, and it is now my favorite event. Looking at the route map with the multiple loops of the course, it looked to be boring. But, Austin being the city that it is, tons of people came out to cheer us all on, and that made it more fun than any race I've done before. It helps that I beat my time on my last Olympic-distance race by more than 30 minutes, but that's not the whole story. It was just fun, and I worked hard, and I felt good afterward. And that, my friends, is the point of doing a race where you know there's no chance you'll win.
We love to go to the lake on the weekends in the summer. We get out there early, have a nice swim around, maybe stay long enough to eat lunch and head out before the crowds get too busy. My husband may take these things to an extreme, but I agree that too many people at the lake makes for not as nice a time. Regardless, it's nice to be in the water and out in the sun.
Summer also means we do a lot more projects around the house, spend a lot more money on things we've been meaning to get/do, and have a generally higher amount of activity going on.
This Memorial Day, we celebrated with the Capital of Texas Triathlon. This was the first time I've done this race, and it is now my favorite event. Looking at the route map with the multiple loops of the course, it looked to be boring. But, Austin being the city that it is, tons of people came out to cheer us all on, and that made it more fun than any race I've done before. It helps that I beat my time on my last Olympic-distance race by more than 30 minutes, but that's not the whole story. It was just fun, and I worked hard, and I felt good afterward. And that, my friends, is the point of doing a race where you know there's no chance you'll win.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Something Light and Fun
I've been trying to think of something light and fun to write about all day. However, everytime I turn around, someone wants to remind me that my uncle-in-law died last week. He fainted and fell down a flight of stairs and was in a coma for a week and then he died. It's been tough for the family since it was a sudden accident sort of thing, rather than a long illness.
So, I'm going to tell you about Finale, a company that makes music composing software. Actually, I'm not going to tell you about the company, but about how wonderful the software is, and how much I enjoy using it.
I don't know how much most of you have the need to arrange a piece of music for a 4-piece band and vocals, but I have to just about every week. I'm not a very good arranger, but most of my work involves taking existing music and putting it in a key/range that is workable for most mortals. On a 4-minute piece of music, this can easily be a full-day's work, but this software allows me to get in done in less than two hours. And it's only that long because I'm an annoying perfectionist, and I want every slur demarked properly, and I have to check the guitar chords really changed properly. Once I've got everything set, I tell it to play, and I get the chance to make sure everything goes together. Tweak a chord, add an accidental, and try it again. It's the perfect tool for the person that has as much uncertainty about their musical abilities as I do.
The really great part is that afterwards I have both PDFs and MIDIs that I can send to the group and tell them to know the music before they come to practice. Anyone wanna take bets on whether any of them will actually open the files before Thursday night?
So, I'm going to tell you about Finale, a company that makes music composing software. Actually, I'm not going to tell you about the company, but about how wonderful the software is, and how much I enjoy using it.
I don't know how much most of you have the need to arrange a piece of music for a 4-piece band and vocals, but I have to just about every week. I'm not a very good arranger, but most of my work involves taking existing music and putting it in a key/range that is workable for most mortals. On a 4-minute piece of music, this can easily be a full-day's work, but this software allows me to get in done in less than two hours. And it's only that long because I'm an annoying perfectionist, and I want every slur demarked properly, and I have to check the guitar chords really changed properly. Once I've got everything set, I tell it to play, and I get the chance to make sure everything goes together. Tweak a chord, add an accidental, and try it again. It's the perfect tool for the person that has as much uncertainty about their musical abilities as I do.
The really great part is that afterwards I have both PDFs and MIDIs that I can send to the group and tell them to know the music before they come to practice. Anyone wanna take bets on whether any of them will actually open the files before Thursday night?
Sunday, May 21, 2006
The Killer Revealed
Shiner is a documented attacker of cats. Last night he had his first kill.
I let him out in the back yard, and he made a beeline for the fence. He returned with something fluffy in his mouth, and I got him to drop it. But it didn't get up and run away like the last time. My heart sank...which neighbor do I have to go tell that my dog ate their cat?
I got Shiner back in the house and away from his prize. It was late, so I got out the flashlight and went to check it out. It wasn't a cat -- it looked more like an enormous rat with huge teeth. That's right, Shiner killed himself a possum. Now, some people think possums may actually be smart, but I mostly think they are what they look like -- enormous rats. So, once I saw I wasn't going to have to apologize that some other cat wandered into our yard like an idiot, I was very pleased with Shiner. He got treats and loving, but he didn't get to eat his possum. They have random icky diseases that I'd rather not have to take Shiner to the vet for.
Oh won't the sanitation engineers have fun with my trash this week!
I let him out in the back yard, and he made a beeline for the fence. He returned with something fluffy in his mouth, and I got him to drop it. But it didn't get up and run away like the last time. My heart sank...which neighbor do I have to go tell that my dog ate their cat?
I got Shiner back in the house and away from his prize. It was late, so I got out the flashlight and went to check it out. It wasn't a cat -- it looked more like an enormous rat with huge teeth. That's right, Shiner killed himself a possum. Now, some people think possums may actually be smart, but I mostly think they are what they look like -- enormous rats. So, once I saw I wasn't going to have to apologize that some other cat wandered into our yard like an idiot, I was very pleased with Shiner. He got treats and loving, but he didn't get to eat his possum. They have random icky diseases that I'd rather not have to take Shiner to the vet for.
Oh won't the sanitation engineers have fun with my trash this week!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I Had a Dream
Last week, I had a dream. A dream that unsettled me significantly.
My sister beat me in the Danskin.
Granted, this was the sister in the Navy, and not the sister that still lives at home. So, as part of the Navy she does PT several times a week. But this is her first triathlon, and I as the "seasoned" triathlete (I've done 5....hardly seasoned) should be able to finish before her. She has good endurance, but she's not all that fast.
So, I've kicked my training into high gear. Saturday I rode in the Armadillo Hill Country classic. I could say I rode the 105-mile course, but that would be a big lie. I did do the 28-mile course, and I was happy with how good I felt at the end of it. Memorial Day I'll be doing the Capital of Texas Triathlon (which is twice as long as the Danskin), and that will be a good measure of where I'm at two weeks before the actual event. I plan to finish that event in less than 4 hours. That would be a significant improvement over the last Olympic distance triathlon I did.
I've only ever done two lengths of these races -- Sprint and Olympic. There are also Ironmans and Half-Ironmans, but I'm not that crazy (yet). Sprint distance is broken down as an 800 meter swim, a 20K bike, and a 5K run. The Olympic distance is twice that. The one Olympic distance triathlon I did was several years ago now. It was in March in a nice deep (read, cold) lake. I was advised that I didn't need a wetsuit, but the water on race day was 62 degrees (70 degree water is the rule cutoff for not being allowed to wear a wetsuit). And if you're me, 62 degree water is cold. For those of you familiar with Barton Springs here in Austin, that holds steady at 68 degrees. Anyway, the swim was really tough, and took me nearly an hour because I couldn't get warmed up. As a result of spending almost twice as long on the swim, I had no energy for the rest of the race. I finished second-to-last at an abysmal 4:45. But I did finish. There were lots of DNFs in that race. People who got 50 meters into the swim and quit. I didn't do it pretty, but there it is.
I don't expect the water temperature to be a problem in this year's race. So, I hope I can make back a lot of the time I lost in the last one. And minimize the effect of that one longer race on my psyche.
My sister beat me in the Danskin.
Granted, this was the sister in the Navy, and not the sister that still lives at home. So, as part of the Navy she does PT several times a week. But this is her first triathlon, and I as the "seasoned" triathlete (I've done 5....hardly seasoned) should be able to finish before her. She has good endurance, but she's not all that fast.
So, I've kicked my training into high gear. Saturday I rode in the Armadillo Hill Country classic. I could say I rode the 105-mile course, but that would be a big lie. I did do the 28-mile course, and I was happy with how good I felt at the end of it. Memorial Day I'll be doing the Capital of Texas Triathlon (which is twice as long as the Danskin), and that will be a good measure of where I'm at two weeks before the actual event. I plan to finish that event in less than 4 hours. That would be a significant improvement over the last Olympic distance triathlon I did.
I've only ever done two lengths of these races -- Sprint and Olympic. There are also Ironmans and Half-Ironmans, but I'm not that crazy (yet). Sprint distance is broken down as an 800 meter swim, a 20K bike, and a 5K run. The Olympic distance is twice that. The one Olympic distance triathlon I did was several years ago now. It was in March in a nice deep (read, cold) lake. I was advised that I didn't need a wetsuit, but the water on race day was 62 degrees (70 degree water is the rule cutoff for not being allowed to wear a wetsuit). And if you're me, 62 degree water is cold. For those of you familiar with Barton Springs here in Austin, that holds steady at 68 degrees. Anyway, the swim was really tough, and took me nearly an hour because I couldn't get warmed up. As a result of spending almost twice as long on the swim, I had no energy for the rest of the race. I finished second-to-last at an abysmal 4:45. But I did finish. There were lots of DNFs in that race. People who got 50 meters into the swim and quit. I didn't do it pretty, but there it is.
I don't expect the water temperature to be a problem in this year's race. So, I hope I can make back a lot of the time I lost in the last one. And minimize the effect of that one longer race on my psyche.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Another Wedding
It must be wedding season. And based on the number of comments I eke out of my readers with my wedding posts (so far, 0 for 2), I can see that you like these things about as much as unsliced bread, so I'll keep this one short.
We went to yet another wedding this past weekend, and I'm glad this one is over. It was probably the most cliche wedding I've ever been to. Everything was ultra-traditional, which can be nice, but this was just cutesy and obnoxious. The DJ was probably better suited for a junior high dance than a wedding reception. The swan theme was excessive (married by a pond with swans in it, swans on the program, swan candles floating in the centerpieces, swan topper on the cake, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera). And it was a dry wedding to boot. No alcohol to try and make it more... anything.
Overall, it just made me appreciate it when people make their weddings a little bit different. That adds to the interesting-ness of life. It's the reason I live, people! Not to go to boring weddings you can buy as a kit from Target.
We went to yet another wedding this past weekend, and I'm glad this one is over. It was probably the most cliche wedding I've ever been to. Everything was ultra-traditional, which can be nice, but this was just cutesy and obnoxious. The DJ was probably better suited for a junior high dance than a wedding reception. The swan theme was excessive (married by a pond with swans in it, swans on the program, swan candles floating in the centerpieces, swan topper on the cake, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera). And it was a dry wedding to boot. No alcohol to try and make it more... anything.
Overall, it just made me appreciate it when people make their weddings a little bit different. That adds to the interesting-ness of life. It's the reason I live, people! Not to go to boring weddings you can buy as a kit from Target.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
I Don't Get Mad Often...
But when I do, you better get out of my way.
I nearly spit nails over this stunt David Blaine pulled this evening. I decreed I would not watch it, but since my resolve to not watch TV has been lacking and with the can't-avoid-watching-a-train-wreck phenomenon, I found myself flipping to it periodically. In case you didn't see anything about this special, it was about this magician-turned-side-show-freak who decided to hold his breath for nine minutes on live television. Why did this make me so mad? I'll tell you.
Nine minutes is hard. That's fine, but then if you know that the time would be a new world record, you'd know that. Then why hang out in a tank of water for a week and have yourself chained to the bottom of that tank so that your stunt includes not only the holding of your breath for longer than anyone else has in a record attempt, but also after subjecting your body to unknown stressors for water living for that long and picking of handcuff locks to boot? What is he really trying to prove? That he's still a magician/escape artist, and not just doing some stunt that someone else could try, too? I don't get it.
Then, if you lose consciousness holding your breath on your couch for 5 minutes, what makes you think you can do nearly twice that long in water? I hope that was early in his training, because that's a lot of time to increase. They had video of him laying on a couch and the people watching him told him he'd reached the 5-minute point, and a few seconds later he sputtered a breath, and asked how long he went. He never heard them announce 5 minutes. Hint, hint: that means there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain, dude. If there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain at 5 minutes, even with training it's going to be tough to make it 4 more minutes. I know there is a mammalian dive reflex that lowers your heartrate and allows you to use less oxygen if your face is in the water, but not four minutes worth.
And lastly, they threw out the Audrey card. Any of you who follow freediving or have had a subscription to Sports Illustrated in the last five years have most likely heard about Audrey. She was an unfortunate diver whose equipment malfunctioned (we'll give the benefit of the doubt for this particular entry) at the bottom of a world-record-attempting dive. As a result, she was under water almost 10 minutes (not the 8:30 the show cited), and was unable to be revived. While virtually everything that can go wrong did, her dive is not an indicator of how dangerous a 9-minute breathhold is. In fact, the only way a breathhold dive is dangerous is if you're dumb enough to do it alone. Otherwise, your buddy should always be able to pull you out and spontaneous breathing will commence. In a depth dive, the oxygen in your lungs is significantly compressed under the pressure of the depth, so it doesn't become as available to your core and brain as a surface dive allows. Comparing a dive to 170 meters (nearly 560 feet, or 46 stories) to a dive where you're hanging out in a tank with your forehead sticking out of the water is worse than apples to oranges. And in excessively poor taste, since her attempt didn't just fail, she died.
The only good thing that came out of this is that David Blaine failed. He had to be rescued from his tank at just over seven minutes. He's not in the record books for this stunt.
I nearly spit nails over this stunt David Blaine pulled this evening. I decreed I would not watch it, but since my resolve to not watch TV has been lacking and with the can't-avoid-watching-a-train-wreck phenomenon, I found myself flipping to it periodically. In case you didn't see anything about this special, it was about this magician-turned-side-show-freak who decided to hold his breath for nine minutes on live television. Why did this make me so mad? I'll tell you.
Nine minutes is hard. That's fine, but then if you know that the time would be a new world record, you'd know that. Then why hang out in a tank of water for a week and have yourself chained to the bottom of that tank so that your stunt includes not only the holding of your breath for longer than anyone else has in a record attempt, but also after subjecting your body to unknown stressors for water living for that long and picking of handcuff locks to boot? What is he really trying to prove? That he's still a magician/escape artist, and not just doing some stunt that someone else could try, too? I don't get it.
Then, if you lose consciousness holding your breath on your couch for 5 minutes, what makes you think you can do nearly twice that long in water? I hope that was early in his training, because that's a lot of time to increase. They had video of him laying on a couch and the people watching him told him he'd reached the 5-minute point, and a few seconds later he sputtered a breath, and asked how long he went. He never heard them announce 5 minutes. Hint, hint: that means there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain, dude. If there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain at 5 minutes, even with training it's going to be tough to make it 4 more minutes. I know there is a mammalian dive reflex that lowers your heartrate and allows you to use less oxygen if your face is in the water, but not four minutes worth.
And lastly, they threw out the Audrey card. Any of you who follow freediving or have had a subscription to Sports Illustrated in the last five years have most likely heard about Audrey. She was an unfortunate diver whose equipment malfunctioned (we'll give the benefit of the doubt for this particular entry) at the bottom of a world-record-attempting dive. As a result, she was under water almost 10 minutes (not the 8:30 the show cited), and was unable to be revived. While virtually everything that can go wrong did, her dive is not an indicator of how dangerous a 9-minute breathhold is. In fact, the only way a breathhold dive is dangerous is if you're dumb enough to do it alone. Otherwise, your buddy should always be able to pull you out and spontaneous breathing will commence. In a depth dive, the oxygen in your lungs is significantly compressed under the pressure of the depth, so it doesn't become as available to your core and brain as a surface dive allows. Comparing a dive to 170 meters (nearly 560 feet, or 46 stories) to a dive where you're hanging out in a tank with your forehead sticking out of the water is worse than apples to oranges. And in excessively poor taste, since her attempt didn't just fail, she died.
The only good thing that came out of this is that David Blaine failed. He had to be rescued from his tank at just over seven minutes. He's not in the record books for this stunt.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Resolution Update
There's something about posting one's New Year's resolutions that makes them harder to imagine away. Here's a look back at an update of how I'm doing on those so far this year.
1. I have slacked pretty bad on the no TV decision. I really was more productive when I wasn't watching TV, so there is definitely some value in renewing that effort.
2. I've lost 8 pounds of the 10 I planned on. I have been doing really well with eating out less and eating better. I've also stuck to my limit of two cokes in a week, and that's probably been most of my success. I don't like the taste of diet sodas, so I drink the full sugar versions, and that's a lot of empty calories. Last week I also cut most dairy out of my diet, and I felt a lot better as a result.
3. My Danskin training really kicks in now that we're less than two months before the race. I still think I can finish that race in less than an hour and a half. And I've completed the necessary first step in meeting that goal -- I registered for the race.
4. The training for number 3 is my kickoff for the training for next year's marathon. I still have some time on that one, but the running will be measured in miles instead of minutes in a short period of time.
Just thought I'd keep you all posted on my progress.
1. I have slacked pretty bad on the no TV decision. I really was more productive when I wasn't watching TV, so there is definitely some value in renewing that effort.
2. I've lost 8 pounds of the 10 I planned on. I have been doing really well with eating out less and eating better. I've also stuck to my limit of two cokes in a week, and that's probably been most of my success. I don't like the taste of diet sodas, so I drink the full sugar versions, and that's a lot of empty calories. Last week I also cut most dairy out of my diet, and I felt a lot better as a result.
3. My Danskin training really kicks in now that we're less than two months before the race. I still think I can finish that race in less than an hour and a half. And I've completed the necessary first step in meeting that goal -- I registered for the race.
4. The training for number 3 is my kickoff for the training for next year's marathon. I still have some time on that one, but the running will be measured in miles instead of minutes in a short period of time.
Just thought I'd keep you all posted on my progress.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ah, Bonaire
I started to respond to James' comment about where Bonaire is, and realized my answer was getting too long. It's hard to talk about a place that beautiful without getting a little wordy. So, I decided to make a whole post instead.
Bonaire is the little, middle island of the "ABC Islands" in the Caribbean: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Just north of Venezuela, its reefs are a national park where commercial fishing is illegal. It's also a Dutch colony, so the food blend is very unique and tasty. You know, things like poffertjes with fried plaintains.
We went for a week with another couple from Austin. The tiny airport handles two flights a day -- one from Puerto Rico and one from Amsterdam. There were no jetways, and two airport employees -- for baggage handling, ticketing, security, escort to and from the plane, etc. And that makes sense, since it's a small island. You can drive the complete coast in about 45 minutes.
And the diving. Breathtaking. Wow.
We dove 3 dives a day for a week, and I didn't get enough. The water is so clear and a perfect temperature for easy diving accessible from the shore. The coral was full of life -- parrotfish, tons of other brightly colored fish, various sea snakes, sharks, groupers, barracudas, crustaceans of unknown name, and these little animals attached to the coral that were light feathery things that would retreat inside themselves when they felt water rushing past them (never did figure out what those were called).
Besides diving tourists (which is a big industry there), Bonaire is a large producer of salt, and the salt fields are surprisingly interesting to look at. The sea water is introduced into pens that look a lot like rice paddies, and the water is evaporated and moved to shallower pens until the salt can be scooped up with shovels and machinery and cleaned and packaged. I was surprised by how red the water gets as it gets denser (but I suppose that's why the Red Sea is red).
And there you have it. Bonaire in a nutshell.
Bonaire is the little, middle island of the "ABC Islands" in the Caribbean: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Just north of Venezuela, its reefs are a national park where commercial fishing is illegal. It's also a Dutch colony, so the food blend is very unique and tasty. You know, things like poffertjes with fried plaintains.
We went for a week with another couple from Austin. The tiny airport handles two flights a day -- one from Puerto Rico and one from Amsterdam. There were no jetways, and two airport employees -- for baggage handling, ticketing, security, escort to and from the plane, etc. And that makes sense, since it's a small island. You can drive the complete coast in about 45 minutes.
And the diving. Breathtaking. Wow.
We dove 3 dives a day for a week, and I didn't get enough. The water is so clear and a perfect temperature for easy diving accessible from the shore. The coral was full of life -- parrotfish, tons of other brightly colored fish, various sea snakes, sharks, groupers, barracudas, crustaceans of unknown name, and these little animals attached to the coral that were light feathery things that would retreat inside themselves when they felt water rushing past them (never did figure out what those were called).
Besides diving tourists (which is a big industry there), Bonaire is a large producer of salt, and the salt fields are surprisingly interesting to look at. The sea water is introduced into pens that look a lot like rice paddies, and the water is evaporated and moved to shallower pens until the salt can be scooped up with shovels and machinery and cleaned and packaged. I was surprised by how red the water gets as it gets denser (but I suppose that's why the Red Sea is red).
And there you have it. Bonaire in a nutshell.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Presenting the New Site
After tinkering with the look of this blog for quite some time, I decided to just replace the whole durn thing. So here you go -- a new look to start into a new month. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to comment. I may or may not get around to incorporating your comments into the look in the next year or so. How's that for commitment?
Saturday, April 29, 2006
True Love
Today, two of my very best friends got married to each other. It is so exciting to see people that you love very much tie the knot, knowing they are perfect for each other and ready to begin their life together. Her family is all from Nuevo Laredo (just across the border from Laredo, Texas), so that was the location for the festivities. The Mexican Catholic wedding doesn't really have bridesmaids and groomsmen, but there are three sponsor couples for different parts of the mass. The groom's best friend and his wife were the padrinos, or godparents, of the rings, the bride's sister and her boyfriend were the padrinos of the lasso, a giant rosary that fits over both the bride and groom while the prayers are read, and my husband and I were the padrinos of the arras, or gold coins.
The tradition of the thirteen gold coins is one that is really interesting, and one that I wish was more prevalent in the general American wedding population. The priest blesses the coins and hands them to the groom. The groom then tells the bride that these coins represent his intent to provide everything he can for their family, and drops them into her waiting, cupped hands. She then thanks him for his plan and promises to make their earnings stretch to meet their needs and appreciate what he does for them. While this particular couple is more likely to have her work and him stay home with the future children, the sentiment that is shared between them during this piece really drives home that "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer," part of the vows.
Anyway, this responsibility in the ceremony is the closest thing to being named the matron of honor in a US wedding. So, it was my job to help get the bride ready in the morning and over to the church for the noon start.
I started out in fine fashion by waking up when I was supposed to meet the bride to go get our makeup done. Conveniently, she is always running late, so I was downstairs by 9am, and she hadn't left her parents house at that point. We got makeup and hair finished up and were back at the hotel to get into the dress and over to the church. We had made up any lost time, so we weren't rushing to be on time. However, we did have to have her all dressed up before going over to the church (unlike any other wedding I've been at where the bride dresses at the church). Then I was going to drive her over in the groom's car, which I've never driven before. This is where things got interesting.
Now, I have no problem driving a manual transmission. I've had extensive experience with four of them in my life: my dad's Ford Escort, my first car, a Nissan Sentra, my husband's 1978 Chevy pickup truck (a three-on-the-tree), and his Mini Cooper. It's a wide range of styles, and I wasn't too worried about it. However, I didn't want the bride to have to traipse through the garage parking lot in her dress, so I told her I'd bring the car around and pick her up. I got in the car, a VW Jetta, and started it up. And then, couldn't get it into reverse. Now, I have since learned that the Jetta requires you to push down on the shifter in order to access the reverse gear, but I didn't know that, nor did it occur to me to try. So, try as I might, I couldn't get it into gear. Not wanting to stress out the bride or call someone for help, I found my own solution when I realized it was a small car, and couldn't be that heavy. The spot next to me was empty, so I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left, dropped the shifter into neutral, and got out and pushed it out of the spot. In my dress...and heels...by myself. I did look around to make sure there were no witnesses. Whew. Once it was pushed out, I got in and drove the bride to the church without incident.
The ceremony was beautiful, even if I understood very little of what was going on since the whole thing was in Spanish. The groom did a great job of managing all his spoken parts in a language he doesn't speak, and the bride didn't cry enough to mess up her makeup. The reception included great company and wonderful food. What more could a couple want? I was just happy to have been a part of it.
The tradition of the thirteen gold coins is one that is really interesting, and one that I wish was more prevalent in the general American wedding population. The priest blesses the coins and hands them to the groom. The groom then tells the bride that these coins represent his intent to provide everything he can for their family, and drops them into her waiting, cupped hands. She then thanks him for his plan and promises to make their earnings stretch to meet their needs and appreciate what he does for them. While this particular couple is more likely to have her work and him stay home with the future children, the sentiment that is shared between them during this piece really drives home that "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer," part of the vows.
Anyway, this responsibility in the ceremony is the closest thing to being named the matron of honor in a US wedding. So, it was my job to help get the bride ready in the morning and over to the church for the noon start.
I started out in fine fashion by waking up when I was supposed to meet the bride to go get our makeup done. Conveniently, she is always running late, so I was downstairs by 9am, and she hadn't left her parents house at that point. We got makeup and hair finished up and were back at the hotel to get into the dress and over to the church. We had made up any lost time, so we weren't rushing to be on time. However, we did have to have her all dressed up before going over to the church (unlike any other wedding I've been at where the bride dresses at the church). Then I was going to drive her over in the groom's car, which I've never driven before. This is where things got interesting.
Now, I have no problem driving a manual transmission. I've had extensive experience with four of them in my life: my dad's Ford Escort, my first car, a Nissan Sentra, my husband's 1978 Chevy pickup truck (a three-on-the-tree), and his Mini Cooper. It's a wide range of styles, and I wasn't too worried about it. However, I didn't want the bride to have to traipse through the garage parking lot in her dress, so I told her I'd bring the car around and pick her up. I got in the car, a VW Jetta, and started it up. And then, couldn't get it into reverse. Now, I have since learned that the Jetta requires you to push down on the shifter in order to access the reverse gear, but I didn't know that, nor did it occur to me to try. So, try as I might, I couldn't get it into gear. Not wanting to stress out the bride or call someone for help, I found my own solution when I realized it was a small car, and couldn't be that heavy. The spot next to me was empty, so I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left, dropped the shifter into neutral, and got out and pushed it out of the spot. In my dress...and heels...by myself. I did look around to make sure there were no witnesses. Whew. Once it was pushed out, I got in and drove the bride to the church without incident.
The ceremony was beautiful, even if I understood very little of what was going on since the whole thing was in Spanish. The groom did a great job of managing all his spoken parts in a language he doesn't speak, and the bride didn't cry enough to mess up her makeup. The reception included great company and wonderful food. What more could a couple want? I was just happy to have been a part of it.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Coming Out of Hiding
My husband and I have gone to Mexico for a friend's wedding. I very seldom make him go to anything, but this was one of those things that I told him wasn't optional -- he was coming to this wedding. He is a bit of a hermit (or homebody if you feel that is a nicer term), and really doesn't like to go out much. I, on the otherhand, start to feel stir-crazy if I'm home too many nights in a week. For the first couple of years we were married, I tried to go out only when he wanted to. And then I started to resent him with all the invitations we turned down (and subsequently stopped receiving). So, somewhere along the line I realized it was okay for me to go out without him when an invitation came up for something that interested me. I didn't really realize how often I did this until we arrived in Mexico.
The bride-to-be's sister met my husband and I in the hotel lobby with a gaggle of other folks. Later, the bride relayed her comment to me: "How serious is Heather with that guy?" Nearly eight years of marriage later, I guess we're pretty serious.
Most other couples are referred to by both their names -- The Guy and The Girl (order generally depending on which of them you knew first, or better). When people talk about inviting us to things, they say "Heather, you wanna come? Oh, and if your husband wants to come too, that's fine." He's the afterthought. I don't want him to be the afterthought, but I don't want to wait and only leave the house the 2 times a year he feels like it, either.
The bride-to-be's sister met my husband and I in the hotel lobby with a gaggle of other folks. Later, the bride relayed her comment to me: "How serious is Heather with that guy?" Nearly eight years of marriage later, I guess we're pretty serious.
Most other couples are referred to by both their names -- The Guy and The Girl (order generally depending on which of them you knew first, or better). When people talk about inviting us to things, they say "Heather, you wanna come? Oh, and if your husband wants to come too, that's fine." He's the afterthought. I don't want him to be the afterthought, but I don't want to wait and only leave the house the 2 times a year he feels like it, either.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Nervousness
I have never been a shy person. I have always been able to strike up a conversation with anyone, and have never avoided a chance at a leadership role. I'm also not afraid to look like an idiot, and most people I know have a story about something stupid I've done or said.
However, I freeze up quite regularly when I sing solo in my church. Now, I've been directing the praise team at the church for the last year, and I was part of the band for about two years before that. I sing with the group and play keyboard when I'm needed to fill in. I was a bit nervous the first couple of times I sang or played with the group, but then I got past it, and I really enjoy it. But, I can't seem to get past the nervousness when I'm singing by myself. This morning, I started the song incorrectly twice before I was able to hear my starting notes. And you can always tell how badly you've done by the number of people that come up to you after the service to tell you how good the music was in the service. I did pretty badly. Once I got going, it was fine, but the beginning was rough.
It doesn't seem to matter how much I practice. Freezing up seldom seems to have anything to do with my preparedness level. Part of me feels I just need to do more solos to get passed my nervousness. And another part of me thinks I shouldn't subject people to my mess-ups anymore.
However, I freeze up quite regularly when I sing solo in my church. Now, I've been directing the praise team at the church for the last year, and I was part of the band for about two years before that. I sing with the group and play keyboard when I'm needed to fill in. I was a bit nervous the first couple of times I sang or played with the group, but then I got past it, and I really enjoy it. But, I can't seem to get past the nervousness when I'm singing by myself. This morning, I started the song incorrectly twice before I was able to hear my starting notes. And you can always tell how badly you've done by the number of people that come up to you after the service to tell you how good the music was in the service. I did pretty badly. Once I got going, it was fine, but the beginning was rough.
It doesn't seem to matter how much I practice. Freezing up seldom seems to have anything to do with my preparedness level. Part of me feels I just need to do more solos to get passed my nervousness. And another part of me thinks I shouldn't subject people to my mess-ups anymore.
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