A bit sore and tired due to last night’s leg of the 2014 Tour De Rook. So, now I’m slowly working up the gumption to hop into the shower. Just not moving all that fast. Meanwhile the cats are all whiny and demanding. I guess they want food. It’s always something with them; food, water, attention. So damn demanding!
Month: May 2014
2014 Tour De Rook – Leg #3
To the stats!
- Temperature: 79°F
- Wind: calm
- Humidity: 37%
- Miles: 10.42
- Time: 00:42:59
- Max Speed: 18.2 mph
- Average Speed: 14.2 mph
- iPhone: Beethoven’s Symphonies; the rest of #6 in F, OP 68 “Pastoral” – 2. Andante Molto Mosso to the first half of #7 in A, Op. 92 – 5. Allegro Con Brio.
- Temperature: 79°F
- Wind: calm
- Humidity: 32%
Took it easy – no pushing myself. Nothing much really to say beyond that.
Repairs & Reconfigurations To The Castle
So, I’ve installed two window air conditioning units; an 8000 BTU in the kitchen/living room and a 5000 BTU in my bedroom. I actually bought the larger unit yesterday evening after I realized it was close to 95 degrees in the apartment. After getting the thing installed into the window, I tried to use a fan to blow the cold air from the kitchen into my bedroom. Unfortunately, that entitled the cats to come sleep with me.
Cinnamon I don’t mind – she just wants to be petted for a bit, then lays down next to me and sleeps. However, Kang wants to snuggle up close, kneed whatever limb (or face!) is closest, likes to climb up on top of me, then starts demanding I play with him. He kept me up all damn night. So, today I went and got the smaller one.
Anyway, those were the reconfigurations. The repair was my sink drain. The collar/drain that screws onto the through pipe cracked off. So I had to get a new one. I just finished installing that only minutes ago. It’s nice to have an operational sink in the bathroom again.
Next, I’m cutting up the cardboard from the air conditioning packaging to wedge into – and block the light from – the rest of the window in the bedroom.
2014 Tour De Rook – Leg #2
To the stats!
- Temperature: 73°F
- Wind: calm
- Humidity: 74%
- Miles: 14.92
- Time: 01:03:28
- Max Speed: 26.9 mph
- Average Speed: 14.1 mph
- iPhone: Beethoven’s Symphonies; from #3 3. Scherzo, through #4 and #5, and into #6 – halfway through 2. Andante Molto Mosso.
- Temperature: 79°F
- Wind: calm
- Humidity: 61%
So, yes, I’m insane. Another leg right after the first one. And I can definitely feel the burn in my thighs. But I needed the exercise and I want to build up my stamina. Like yesterday, I hit the 45 minute mark and lost all my energy. Actually, I worked a little harder today than yesterday because I headed south today instead of north. That meant the hills between Rutledge and Finlayson. As I’ve said before, they’re not the bluffs in Hastings along the Mississippi River, but they do still have moments of steep inclines. In fact, considering I hit the hills, I’m lucky I only lost 1 mph off my average speed.
Tour De Rook 2014 – Leg #1
To the stats!
- Temperature: 64°F
- Wind: S 3 mph
- Humidity: 64%
- Miles: 16.51
- Time: 01:05:41
- Max Speed: 20.1 mph
- Average Speed: 15.0 mph
- iPhone: Beethoven’s Symphonies #1, #2, and into #3 – through 2. Marci Fenebre.
- Temperature: 70°F
- Wind: S 7 mph
- Humidity: 60%
It would seem I left off right where I started with my average speed still at 15 mph! Not bad for the first leg of the 2014 Tour De Rook! Oh, and you’ll notice it now says iPhone, not iPod. It sure was nice to be listening to music and know that if a call came through I could answer it without missing a beat. No calls came in, but still.
Seriously Looking Forward To This Movie
So, More About The Bad Day
Yesterday was just not a good day. First, I discovered that someone had managed to get my debit card numbers and purchased a few things. I can consider myself lucky, they only managed one purchase that got through. Their attempt at a hotel room somewhere in Kentucky was too over the top and caused my card to get shut down. And the one that managed to get through is actually still on hold at my credit union, which I plan on calling first thing Monday morning.
Then, after returning from Duluth, I decided, it being such a wonderful day (weather wise) that it was time to start the 2014 Tour De Rook. Well, my previous post described that debacle. At least I had a pleasant walk back to my apartment.
However, all things considered, I did have quite a few positive and surprising experiences. My old Nokia (their first attempt at a smart phone), which never really worked all that well, showed signs of dying. As it was 3 years old, I decided to purchase an iPhone a few days ago. An iPhone 5s with 16 GB of memory. I loaded it with music and popped in the ear buds (which are better than I expected). The ear buds have a volume control and play/pause button that if you hold it down when the music is paused brings up Siri. Instead of having to fumble with the touch screen and keypad, I simply spoke “Call Tina, Mobile” and next thing you know, I’m talking to Tina Rife, my girlfriend.
Actually, I was looking at buying some Blue Tooth ear buds and an arm strap for holding the iPhone when I discovered the stolen debit card numbers. However, I listened to them and decided the sound was awful. Apple actually did a good job on the ear buds! The old ones that came with the iPods I bought in the past sucked. Glad to see they finally improved the quality. The only problem with the buds supplied with the iPhone is the cord is too short. It could use at least another 6 or 8 inches.
Anyway, despite some set backs, i.e., my debit card being cancelled and the flat tire, I did have some good things happen. To be honest, the 2.5 mile walk back was really enjoyable. So to was learning more about the capabilities of the iPhone, which I am seriously glad I bought.
Aborted 2014 Tour De Rook
So, it’s beautiful outside I tell myself. In fact, it’s a perfect day to hit the bike trail. What the hell, huh? So, I get my shorts on and tie my hair back with four binders. I pump up the tires, fill the water bottle, and head north on the trail. I’m listening to Beethoven’s 1st Symphony when I suddenly hear a hiss and feel the rear tire start to ride rough. Yup, flat. And I am 2.5 miles or more down the road.
Bright Blue Skies!
Going out on the road to Duluth. I heard about some out of the way coffee shop from a coworker and I want to see if I can find it!
Update: Well crap! I found the coffee shop, but it’s closed up! Bummer.
What Numerian Said
Some days I am reminded of the magnitude of writing I have yet to achieve.
(The Agonist) Almost always I get lost in the process. There are too many hyperlinks to draw you away, and after moving two or three degrees away from what I was reading, I forget where I had started from altogether. There’s so much news and analysis to absorb, that I rarely remember to bookmark the interesting ones. I should have bookmarked one I came across yesterday; it chronicles climate change activity around the world, with some great maps from NOAA and data from various climate centers at major universities. I do remember it was linked here on The Agonist by raja, and it’s a blog by the anonymous robertscribbler. Did you know Queensland, Australia is now entirely in a state of extreme drought? A high pressure dome has formed over Oklahoma that promises to worsen the 10-year old drought over the Southwest US. Temperatures exceeding 100 degrees F. were experienced this week in Nebraska and Kansas, the earliest such high temperatures have been recorded ever in those states. How are farmers responding to these conditions? They’re continuing to irrigate by drawing water from stressed-out underground aquifers. The winter wheat crop is many parts of the US is nearly 95% destroyed, but so is the wheat crop in Ukraine, which has its own geopolitical stresses to add to its problems. A very serious global shortage of wheat is looming. Siberia is once again battling forest fires, and all of southeast Alaska has been put on alert for forest fires. The monsoons that normally arrive in Singapore and Indonesia are over a month late, and what is normally considered jungle terrain is so parched that it can no longer be called a rainforest.
I am in awe. And frightened at the collective denial of the majority of the United States population.