calamari dreamin'

6:59pm: ....comes in threes....
Managed to get three bike rides in this holiday weekend....and had three equipment failures.

1 - Thursday evening while I was opening the back of my car to load my bike back in, it fell over and broke the handlebar end mirror. Tried to ride without one, but I keep looking where the mirror should be.
2 - Friday I was in Anacostia on Good Hope Road and looked down to find I had a flat front tire. Had a spare tube, but no air pump. Walked about a mile to Capitol Hill Bikes and had them fix it.
3 - Sunday I was in Clarendon riding back to where I was parked on Rosslyn when my seat clamp bolt sheared. Last time it happened was about 3 years ago, so I was about due. Rode two miles with no seat, luckily it was mostly downhill.

5:17pm: Well, Dang!
Forgot to mention yesterday....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!!!

11:14am: Kids these days.....
Must be a generational thing.
I was telling a 20-something about my idea about birthdays. Instead of big celebrations at 20, 30, 40, 50, etc., do the big parties for 33 1/3, 45 and 78.

He just looked at me blankly. Didn't get it at all, not even after I explained it.




Hate having to explain a joke.

9:00am: Week and Weekend
Quiet at work last week. Too quiet. MR on vacation. MO out. SK in off and on. Wrapped up a couple of projects, a few ongoing items, but not much new lined up. Maybe it's a holiday lull.
Actually got in two mid-week bike rides. Reports are already on cc_rider

Weekend was busy. BBQ's both days, and I was cooking a lot for one of them. Knew I wouldn't have much ride time, so at 7:30 am Saturday I was rushing around getting ready to go on a 3 hour + ride when I stubbed a toe on a metal box. Not broken but cut and bruised badly. Couldn't put on shoes for 3 hours. By the time I could have ridden it was time to do grocery shopping and get ready for BBQ 1.

Drive down to Mount Vernon area. Had a nice time (thank you for having us, CB). Home around 7 to start cooking. Sunday's party was at J&B's, for R's first birthday party. Small, mostly family. I made a cold soba salad, pickled vegetables, and seikihan - red bean rice served at celebrations in Japan. I even made gomashio to go with it. I use soba noodles a lot, but first time making the red bean rice. Worked out pretty well, although using a 3 to 1 rice to bean instead of 6 to 1 made it redder than it should have been.
http://www.justhungry.com/2006/03/japanese_basics.html
I still need a bit of practice at making sticky rice. First attempt on Tuesday was too sticky. The seikihan came out much better, but still not quite right for sushi.

If weather and work cooperate, will try to get another mid-week ride in. June mileage is low, so another 25 miles would help. And maybe a nice, long ride this weekend.

1:56pm: Hotaru
Last Sunday night. First
firefly sighting of the
year. Summer has come.

3:03pm: Rain, rain....
Another wet day in a wet season.

The grass is growing ..... fast.

Hoping for a dry tomorrow.

* * * *

Speaking of tomorrow, the Wilson Bridge bike path opens at 1 pm. I'm thinking about doing the revised version of the "Greater Washington Bicycle Loop" using the Wilson instead of the 14th St bridge. The projected route is about 45 miles, starting in Rosslyn and heading clockwise to Bethesda, then Silver Spring, Mt Rainier, NE DC, Capitol Hill, SE DC, and Alexandria. Half trail and half road. Might even visit a couple of boundary stones.

* * * *

Garden seems to enjoy the weather. The sugar snaps are growing like mile-a-minute vines (which we have in the back yard), tomatoes are growing up nicely, lots of carrots are up. Unfortunately, no sign of the datil pepper plants. The seeds seem to be duds. I might have to buy a plant and settle for something milder, like habanero or scotch bonnet chili.

*sigh*

2:59pm: Manhattanhenge
I grew up around NYC hearing about this, but I didn't know it had a name (didn't then but does now).

http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/resources/starstruck/manhattanhenge/
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/resources/starstruck/manhattanhenge/

Would be fun to see sometime.

11:24am: Signs of Summer
....but not yet.....

Late Spring.
Pools opened.
Calls from recent college graduates looking for jobs.
Roses in bloom. Flowers on the berry bushes. Even some day lilies.
Pop-up thunderstorms. High humidity.
Mosquitoes.

* * * *

Catching up with some more ride posts for cc_rider
Will try to post a few more over the next few days.

10:48am: EU Embassy Tour
Catching up with post of an older weekend

* * * *

On Saturday May 9 I went to the European Union embassy open house event. Biked the route and the bike report is on cc_rider

Visited or rode by Sweden, Spain, European Union, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Denmark, Italy, United Kingdom, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Czech, Hungary, France, Germany. They had a"passport" that you could get stamped at each stop, but I didn't want to deal with that.

Set foot in 14 countries in 6 hours. Not bad for a days work.

And now the results of the 2009 EU Embassy Tour!

( Long and verbose. You've been warned! )

The winners:

Best: Hungary Runner up: Austria

Worst: Italy Runner up: Sweden

12:47pm: The weekend that was....
Friday - Quiet day at work. Everyone but me was out of town, although MO stopped in for a few minutes. Got a bit done. Went out for lunch, picking up the fried chicken special from Safeway. got into a rush on one project (drawings for a Saturday meeting) and A came by later. Nice day, but never did get to ride.

Saturday - Ride day (will post report later). Stopped at the Falls Church farmers' market for strawberries, put them in a cooler and did a boundary stone tour. West stone to the south stone. That evening we went to see the Star Trek Movie at Ballston. Stop at Micheal's to pick up some art supplies (40% off coupons). Came home for a late dinner and to watch some anime.

Sunday - Yard work early, cutting down the stray Red Cedar in the front. Then to Woodlands for the Indian AYCE buffet. Did some grocery shopping at Patel's Market, H Mart and Safeway. Cat food on sale at K Mart. After we got home I was too full to ride, so I puttered around the house and stopped at the office to check email.

Monday - Trip to Shopper;s Food, H Mart and the post office. Started cooking a vat of spicy bean soup. Then another ride. Repeat of the stones ride, but with alternate routes. Stopped at the Falls Church Memorial day Parade on the way back. Highlights were:
- Northern Virginia Regimental Fife and Drum. Only had 3 fifes and 3 drums, but they were impressively loud. Colonial irregular uniform jackets, but modern pants and shoes.
- Eight clowns and a Smart car.
- Candidates. Both Moran and McCauliffe were there. Moran came over to shake my hand and talk about his support of inter-modal transportation systems. McCauliffe just waved. Deeds and McDonnel were not present, but had staffers out. Jim Scott was looking much older than the last time I remember seeing him (might have to start thinking about who might be a good replacement).
Showered and swung by the office to return a few calls and check emails. Then home for soup.

11:06am: Name that phrase....
Listening to Diane Rehm show on NPR, they were discussing the American car industry and the new fuel standards, and one of the guest said the reason the car companies were part of the process instead of blocking it (as they had done in years past) was that

"if you are not a the table you are on the menu!"

I had never heard that phrase before. I really like it.
Searching it on Google I see it used all over the place, in many different context.
I would like to try to find the origin of it, maybe find out who coined the phrase. May try a more extensive search when I have the time.

9:36am: Peas and Carrots
Couple of weekends ago I put in our first vegetable garden in several years. Raised bed in the front yard, about 4 ft by 4 ft. Planted two rows of carrots, one row of sugar snaps and two daytl pepper plants (some of you may remember my "special" peppers.
The peas started coming up on Sunday. Today one row of carrots was popping out. No sign of the peppers yet. In a week I'll put up a trellis for the peas.

Also put in two tomato plants in large containers. Set them at the edge of the driveway in the sunniest part of the yard. Maybe this time the squirrels will leave them alone.

2:46pm: There and back again....
Went to New Jersey for a long weekend with the parents.

Friday - Left a bit late (had to stop at the office to run payroll, then shop and gas-up). Arrived at Mitsuwa in Edgewater a little after 3:00. Had a hot udon lunch, did some shopping, got a taiyaki for dessert, then on to M&D's house. Original plan was to leave Mitsuwa for Fort Lee, park and ride my bike to MOMA (Friday's 4 to 8 are free) but the rain kaboshed that plan. Had a nice home warmed dinner with M&D.

Saturday - Did repairs around the house. Installed the air conditioners, swept the roofs, cleaned the gutters, and cut lots of tree limbs. The early rains ended, so I did a bike ride through Waldwick and Ramsey, into NY to Airmont and Tallman, and back through Saddle River and Hohokus. Will post a ride report on cc_rider. Dinner at M&D's favorite Chinese buffet in Ramsey. Then got my stuff ready for Sunday.

Sunday - Bike New York, the main event. Weather was against me. Started as a cold drizzle and got worse through the day. Did the ride anyway, but had to curtail my after-ride site seeing and lunch at Otofuku (and I had been looking forward to that lunch for 7 months). Had a consolation lunch of soba and a cremeyaki at Mitsuwa. Will post ride report on cc_rider. Later that evening M&D ordered pizza.

Monday - Some more work around the house. Pack and go. Drive back was slow and rainy. Would like to have stopped a long the way, in Baltimore or maybe Brookside Gardens, but the weather and the approaching rush-hour made me hurry home.

12:20pm: * * * Inflation Alert * * *
Maybe I wasn't paying attention last week, but I hadn't heard this in the news.

Postage rates are going up again.
Went to the post office today. Asked to see the first class stamps, and I noticed that one of the stamps they showed me was 0.44. So I asked about it. Monday the new rates are in effect.
Will probably go back tomorrow and invest in forever stamps.


* * * *

Before I left last week, gas was 2.03. The same station was 2.14 today.
What happened? Did a super tanker get hijacked? A new war in the middle east?
Maybe an oil executive need a new boat.

8:16am: End of Onsen
The hot April with 90 degree weather ended....about 20 minutes ago.
Rain started and the temperature is dropping.
Looks like the jet stream is settling over the mid Atlantic for a week of messy weather.
Now to spring.

2:53pm: Maryland Day
Maryland Day

On Saturday April 25, University of Maryland had a big open house in College Park. For students, prospective students, alumni, families and anyone who just wanted to show up. Covered most of the campus and all departments. Tents, exhibits, demonstrations, performances, workshops, food.
tylluan_wen and I had been looking forward to this event. S is an alumni and I just wanted the free ice cream. :-D

( The Main Event )

Long, fun day.
The fire tornado was the best, but the free ice cream was a close second.

11:56am: Power Tools
Must be a guy thing, but chainsaws are fun.

Had some small trees around the yard to take down. Looked at renting a chainsaw, but at Home Despot they want $55 for a 4 hour rental for one of the big gas models (bigger than I could lift easily.) Went over the the chainsaw department for a price check and found a small electric model (14" blade) for $49, plus $5 for a bottle of chain oil
The three hollies that were leaching on the oak came down last Sunday and a stack of logs sits by the curb waiting for pickup.
In a couple of weeks the wayward red cedar and the multi-maple in back will get the chop. With that, and maybe a couple of the small junk trees along the side, I'll have no need of a chainsaw for another 10 years. Then I will probably sell it as slightly used.

1:55pm: Design
Sunday I biked down to the Mall for the Earth Day festivities, then went to the Smithsonian Castle to see the final entries in the competition for the design of the African American Museum on the Mall. The winner was announced last week.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=1911

My two favorites were these two teams:
Devrouax + Purnell / Pei Cobb Freed & Partner - Interesting curved glass form inside a carved- out box. Nice play of inside/outside spaces and exciting exhibit areas. Reminds me of Pei's other work, the East Wing o the National Gallery, and might make a nice bookend to that side of the Mall.

Moshe Safdie and Associates - A box, but with a nice twist. A undulating central "avenue", skylit, with structure like the ribs of a ship. The avenue is aligned with the Washington Monument, but the sculptural entrance points instead to the Lincoln Memorial.

Foster + Partners / URS Group was a close third. The oval plan is simple but the helical form creates a dynamic series of spaces and what could be a very nice museum experience.

The two big losers:
Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Kling Stubbins - Looks like a melting ice cube. Might have made a nice piece of modern sculpture in the 1960's, but not now and not as a building. The interior spaces are a confused jumble.

Moody Nolan / Antoine Predock Architect PC - Tries to blend in with the landscape, but not the landscape of the Mall. Might have worked in Rock Creek, and would probably be great at the National Zoo (I picture mountain goats on the sloped roof). Does have in interesting outdoor room but that's about it.

The winning entry by "Freelon Adjaye Bond / SmithGroup" was not the worst, but not the best by a long shot. To me it seemed the "safe" choice. It is a very conventional and buildable box decorated with a shiny skin and a boring interior. Very Monumental Modernist. The way it addressed the museum experience, the succession of spaces, is the worst of all the entries. It is a mediocre building that will be very polite to its neighbors and, unfortunately, will probably actually get built.

Disappointed that none of the designs seem to suggest much that is African or African-American.

The site of the new museum is the block between Constitution and Madison just west of the American History Museum. This is where we held the "Tourney of the White Tower" many years ago. With this new building, the last spot on the Mall proper will be filled.

I did get into a nice extended discussion with another architect. We talked about the entries (he liked the winning entry) then talked about DC architecture in general. Turns out we know a lot of people in common, and our careers seemed to have paralleled each other. Had to break off to start my bike ride home before the rains came.

Haven't had a conversation like that in a long time. A fun day.

2:36pm: Dangerous Driver Alert
Forgot to post the alert yesterday.

Very aggressive and dangerous driver middle aged male in a Black Dodge Magnum plate VA *SL2020 (plate partially obscured for privacy)
Driving on eastbound on I-66 between Beltway and Lee Highway, just after noon on April 19
Speeding, tailgating, quick lane changes with no signal, cutting off other cars, failure to stay in own lane.
When he was tailgating me in the fast lane, I slowed down to a little less than the speed of the next lane. When he changed lanes, I sped up. He eventually passed in the next lane over.
Last I saw of him he was headed up the exit ramp to Lee Highway, less than 2 feet off the rear of the car ahead of him.

10:13am: Anime Saturday - April 18
From the April 18 showing:

Usual turnout in spite of the great weather. In honor of spring we had picked up Sakura Mochi for desert (red bean mochi wrapped with a cherry leaf.)

Didn't show any of the new season first episodes. Vote was to continue some of the ongoing ones from the 2008 season.

Digista Petit Theater - A wonderful little short that we had been saving for a couple of months. Blend of Japanese and European with a late Meiji / early Taisho look, maybe 1920's. Very catchy tune. This one made it into the competition, but didn't win it's round. Too bad cause it is a great short.

Ryoko's Casebook (episodes 5 & 6) - The murder machine. Tokyo underground. Ryoko's "maids" are introduced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakushiji_Ry%C5%8Dko_no_Kaiki_Jikenbo

Sigofumi (episodes 9 & 10) - Letters from the dead. Chiaki's story. A man with nothing left to live for. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigofumi

Kuroshitsuji (episodes 4, 5) - Ciel and Sebastian hunt Jack the Ripper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuroshitsuji

( In other anime..... )

Next Anime Saturday is May 21.

9:41am: HEY YOU!
Yes, you in the silver car.
It's raining hard, it gray and dark.
TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON.

Otherwise you are invisible.

9:08pm: More spring anime

Some more new animes came out after my earlier review.

Good
Guin Saga - Surviving twins, prince and princess, are rescued by a man with a leopard head. Very nice animation, interesting story. Based on a very popular series of novels in Japan. This one looks worth following.
Shangri-la - Future world where carbon credits are the main currency between nations, and the government tries to keep a tight rein on the lower classes. Well done. Good animation, interesting story, good characters. Could be a good one if it doesn't get too preachy.

Maybe
Eden of the East - Girl visiting Washington, DC is "rescued" by a naked boy with a cell phone and a gun. Actually better than is sounds. The DC background scenes were spot on, probably from photographs. Animation has a Honey-and-Clover look. Production I.G. studio. I'll give it a couple more chances.
07-Ghost - Sci-fi, supernatural action adventure. Military academy student becomes a fugitive when he seeks revenge for his fathers deaths. Ok animation. Ok story. We'll see which way the story goes and then decide if it is worth watching.
Hanaseikeru Seishounen - Heiress to a financial empire returns to high school in Japan and is challenged by her father to a "marriage game". Good animation and characters, but with the basic premise I might drop it anyway.
Tayurama - Young demon exorcist in contemporary Japan accidently releases a god. Ecchi and potentially silly. I'll watch one more but I expect that it'll be dropped quickly.
Marie + Gali - Spoiled rich girl travels to Italy(?) and meets "Galileo". Absurdist story and cartoonish animation, but it is clever.

Bad
K-ON - Four high school girls form a rock band. *Yawn*

10:36am: New bike ride report on cc_rider

Cherry Blossom Ride last Sunday.
Photos on Flicker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iggentleman/sets/72157616567132870/

Another ride this Sunday, but I know not where.

9:46am: And today's lucky number is.....
121212

The number of miles that rolled over on my odometer.
After having the timing belt replaced, the engine work, new tires, etc, I plan to keep the Subaruba around until at least 200,000 miles

* * *

Finally....
The last of the Nihongo Quick Lessons is on tape. NHK repeated the series from the beginning and I was able to tape the ones we missed. Nice 30 lesson series of useful Japanese phrases, in a social context, along with verbs, counters and onomatopoeiacs. Also explains how and when to use different politeness levels.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/nihongo/index.html

10:13am: The new spring collection....
New Spring 09 Animes

I've looked at some of the new season's anime, on line from Nipon, and here are my initial assessments of them.

Good
Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom - Wow! Excellent animation. Well written. Intriguing characters and story. Boy wakes up with no memory of who he is and is immediately put into a life and death situation. Turns out it is part of his "training" to become part of an assassination team called Phantom. Another great work from the Beetrain Studio with music by KOKIA and ALI Project. This is a must see.

Asura Cryin' - Was almost ready to drop this one after seeing the opening credits, but it turned out better then expected. Boy gets a strange package from his brother and a lot of people seem to be after it. Interesting story and good animation.

Valkyria Chronicles - War comes to a land similar to Holland at the outbreak of WWII. Good animation, very good story, excellent main characters. This will be on my to-watch list


Maybe
Tears of Tiara - Supernatural fantasy with a medieval-ish Celtic-ish setting. Good clean animation. Story interesting enough to see the next one.
Sengoko Basara - Historical-ish, samurai marital arts, set in the Sengoku (warring states period.) Multi-sided battles and political intrigue. Bold animation style. Lots of action. Violence without showing much blood. Writing is pretty good and I can see some interesting political ju-ju shaping up. They do throw in a lot of modern touches, but it comes off as funny instead of ridiculous.
Examurai Sengoku - Marital arts adventure, set in the Edo period. A strange swordsman is shipwrecked, washes up in the harbor of a large city and tangles with the local yakuza. A bit grim, but a good animation style and interesting main character.
Full Metal Alchemist 2 - I'm confused. I was looking forward to a continuation of the story where the movie left off. Instead, this is a filler that takes place early in the main story, while Ed is still working for the military and Hughes is still alive. We'll see if it adds anything to the story.
Saki - A high school mahjong club recruits a girl who is a Mahjong genius but hates the game.. A little ecchi but not bad.
Ristorante Paridiso - A very quirky and very popular restaurant in Rome. Good animation Story off to a good start, but after seeing the preview of the second episode I'm starting to have my doubts. May not have time for this one.
Pandora Hearts - Supernatural story of a boy (who happens to be the next duke) coming of age.
DaCapo If - Continuation of a popular slice of life series. I'm not really into this franchise, but I looked at one episode and it was pretty good. May not continue due to time.
Basquash - A sci-fi sports anime, basketball in mechanized suits in a distopic world. Anime style free flowing and a bit rough, but it fits the funny and very clever story. I'll try another episode and decide.
Higepiyo - Very crude animation style and quite an amusing story about the pet from hell (a bio- engineered duck). Very short episodes (5 minutes) makes this easy to swallow.

Bad:
Cross Game - Sports anime (baseball). Bored in 3 minutes.
Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z-hen - Giant robot, mecha, demons, martial arts. Has an older look to it. Very fast paced and quick changing story. I suspect that it is intended as a parody of the genres.
Queen's Blade - AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. Bad hentai vehicle. Lousy story and writing. Cheap animation. I was too disgusted to watch more than a few minutes.