calamari dreamin'

Oh, my aching suspension......

2010-01-04T21:10:14Z

It's pot hole season!
NOVA's roads are crumbling early this year.
Poor patching from last season, combined with early cold weather. Old patches have torn away and new holes have appeared. Snow plows from the pre-Christmas storm probably did a lot of damage.
Coming east from work on route 50 I have to take the right lane for about a mile, switch to the left before Barkley, then right again at the beltway construction, all to avoid a jarring hit.
Route 29 is little better, more holes, but they are not as deep.
There are several spots where I ride with wheels in the gutter to avoid riding across the center line.

I miss spring :-(

On the first day of New Year......

2010-01-03T22:23:30Z

2010 off to a chilly, windy start.

First day spent doing laundry, doing crosswords, eating a fritata, visiting friends in Haymarket, eating and playing board games until late evening.
Second day - Tysons Corner (me window shopping, S real shopping), eating kaiten sushi, working and a late movie (Fantastic Mr Fox)
Third day - morning chill out, workout at the gym, grocery shopping, repairs around the house, and then to work (now). Finished getting a new house laid out.

First time I've been to a kaiten / conveyor belt sushi place. Wasabi is located in one of the center courts of Tysons I mall. Sushi chefs in the middle, surrounded by a conveyor belt and seating on the outside. If you see something you like going by, pluck it from the belt and itadakimasu. Different colored plates indicate the prices. When you are done, they add up the plates. For mall food the quality and prices were ok. The eel and tsukemono were good, tuna sashimi good, salmon sashimi and sunomono ok, volcano roll interesting. No tamago, ika or tako on the menu, but the green tea mochi looked tempting for next time.

But in retrospect, if I get another coupon for Todai, that would be the better meal deal. All-you-can-eat for about the same price, similar quality and much bigger selection.

While in Tysons we stopped by Zen to see what was on sale. Various tea and saki sets, rice bowls, darumas and maneki-neko, yukatas, scarfs, and other things. Most interesting was a real mahjong table, complete with the dice popper, scorers, automatic shuffling, pop-up walls and little compartments for cigarettes. Only $2000 on sale. Don't know if it comes with the mahjong tiles, but at that price I'd hope it does.

Big winds and cold continued today. Friday afternoon might have been ok for a bike ride if I hadn't been off to a party, but no decent weather in the forseeable future. I need to sum up last year's riding and finish posting the ride reports.

Stuck in the middle.....

2009-12-29T18:42:58Z

Five holidays down, three to go.

Was hoping for a quiet week at work. Catching up time.
But the phone keeps ringing.....

Happy Festivus

2009-12-23T15:39:44Z

ya bums ;-D

Where have all the birdies gone?

2009-12-22T01:26:30Z

Our shoveling efforts on Saturday meant that on Sunday I only had an inch of snow to remove from the walks (not counting what the snow plow threw up.) However, I did leave the car un-touched until the storm was over. Lifted off 20ish inches with a shovel, brushed off the rest. Then I rolled the car forward so I could clean what I had knocked off. There was a light coat of blown-in snow below where the car had sat, and to my surprise, it was covered with little bird footprints. Lots of them. My guess is that several of them took shelter under the car during the storm. Once the snow had risen around the sides, I suspect it was pretty cozy in there.

Lie of the year

2009-12-21T15:14:25Z

One of the fact-check organizations has awarded the "Pants on Fire" Award for the biggest lie of the year to Sarah Palin for her "death panels".
Runners up were Glen Beck (saying that the Administration's top science advisor was proposing to control population with forced abortions and adding sterilization agents to drinking water) and Orly Taitz (claiming that Obama's birth certificate proved he was born in Kenya).

All very deserving of the honor.

Ow, ow, ow

2009-12-20T21:15:11Z

Snow at our house in Falls Church was around 20 inches.
We stayed in Saturday, going out only to shovel. Didn't expect anyone to show up for Anime Saturday, and no one did. The mail showed up on time, but no new Netflix disk. We ate manju, watched Aoi Bangaku and Nyan Koi. Four trips out to shovel, two each.

Sunday the sun was out. Shoveled again and cleaned off car. Walks were almost dry by the time I left. Into the office to get some work done.
But now my shoulder is aching, and my back is not much better. Heading home early to enjoy an icepack. Yesterday's shoveling didn't seem to bother me, but I over it did today.

Pretty out there, but I wish it had waited until next week.

Monkey style Kung-Fu

2009-12-20T19:30:41Z

With real monkeys.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6825449/Taekwondo-monkeys-attack-trainer.html

Out of the silent planet.

2009-12-20T19:29:26Z

Haven't felt like posting much since Bedlam passed away in late October.
And work had gotten busy, so I've had little time.

But I finding things I want to say, so I'm back.

Easy Listening

2009-10-22T13:32:33Z

Flaming Lips came out with a new album. Glad I listened to it before buying. The new one is more like their older style, before Soft Bulletin and very unlike Yoshimi and Mystics.
I like their "middle period" work better. Think I'll pass on this latest one.

* * * *

Still listening to a lot of Modest Mouse, Delgados, Midnight Oil, etc
Starting to listen to more Franz Ferdinand, and have even tried some older Kings of Leon.

But also trying out some new (to me) groups -
The Killers
Flobots
Gothic Archies
Superchunk
Lambchop

All have their good bits. (Gothic Archies are a lot of fun.)
Might pick up a few mp3's in the near future.

And still need to get the Indigo Girls latest.

added - dahhh! Forgot to mention Donna the Buffalo and Vampire Weekend.
How could I forget Vampire Weekend???

Anime Saturday - October 17

2009-10-20T14:29:12Z

From the October 17 showing
Book of Bantora - episode 1. The Armed Librarians attack a ship owned by a shady church in an attempt to free their "cargo"
Nyan Koi - episode 1. The curse begins. One good deed down, 99 to go.
Ryoko's Casebook - episodes 11, 12, 13 (end) Detective who gets the supernatural cases, and her much abused assistant. All the earlier stories tie together. Open enough for a sequel.
Mushi-shi - episodes 4 and 5. A sad story of a mushi that makes dreams come true. Story of the traveling swamp.

Served several of the usual snacks. We also prepared custard filled steamed buns, which turned out very good.

Big Bike Day

2009-10-20T14:24:27Z

Posted the ride report for my first century / 100 mile ride.
New York Century on September 13
http://cc-rider.livejournal.com/42678.html
and a few pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iggentleman/sets/72157622501397905/

Also posted other ride reports. Will try to eliminate the back log, so more reports to come.
http://cc-rider.livejournal.com/

New Anime Season - Fall 09

2009-10-19T18:47:19Z

New Anime Season - Fall 09
just my opinion

Very Good
Book of Bantorra - Armed Librarians protect the "books" which are fossilized human souls.
11 Eyes - High school students keep getting pulled into a frightening alternate world. Supernatural horror, a bit of fan service. Similar look to Higurashi.
Letter Bee - Postal carriers in a post-apocalyptic(?) world where giant insects prowl.

Good
Nyan-Koi - High school boy discovers he is "cursed" with the ability to understand cats.
To Aru Kagako no Railgun - Future in an academic city near Tokyo where espers train. Spin-off of To Aru Majutsu no Index which focuses on Mikoto Misaka (railgun).
Kobato - Magical girl with the ability to heal hearts. Set in contemporary Japan. Silly but cute. From the Clamp studio.

OK
Kampfer - High schoolers are selected to engage in a magic battle. Very ecchi. Main character is a boy who transforms into a girl for the battles, and much of the early episodes revolve around this.
The Sacred Balcksmith - Medievalish world of guardian knights. Very ecchi. Main group protecting the town is called the "knight guard" :-D.
Fairy Tale - In a medievalish world a young magician wants to join one of the magic guilds. Original manga was by the author of Rave Master (which I hated) and has some of the same look, but I might give it a chance.

Undecided
Kimi no Todoka - Popular boy in high school befriends the outcast girl. Supposed to be a good manga. Look reminds me of Paradise Kiss.
Yumeiro Patissiere - Klutzy middle schooler enrolls in a pastry school. May be too cute to stomach.
Sasameki Koto - Yuri story of high school girls. Similar to Aoi Hana, but not as interesting.

Bad
Sora no Otoshimono - Angledroid unit that falls from the sky and is found by a high school boy. Ecchi. Bit like a bad version of Oh My Goddess.

Not seen yet
Miracle Train
Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Also new seasons of ongoing series
Ashura Cryin' - good series. Looking forward to it.
Darker than Black - good first episode.
Natsu no Arashi - good series.
White Album - ok series which I got out of the habit of watching.
Shugo Chara - ok series. A guilty pleasure.
Nogikaza Haruka no Himitsu - ok series bout otakus.
Inuyasha - final season. Was a good to ok series, but I haven't followed it in years.
White Sonata - ??? I know nothing about this series.
Shin Koihime - why bother
Seitokai no Ihizon - bad
and (unfortunately) Queen's Blade - very, very bad

Solar Decathlon II

2009-10-19T17:38:34Z

Well....it rained this weekend. I never did get back to the event to see more of the entries.

Team Germany squeaked out a win with superior net metering.
Illinois - Urbana second.
Team California third.

Virgina Tech finished at 13th. Good scores for architecture, engineering and marketability. Not so good for energy efficiency.

http://www.solardecathlon.org/2009/final_results.cfm

Solar Decathlon

2009-10-15T14:18:09Z

It that time of year, again.

Solar Decathlon down on the Mall.
20 teams. Virginia Tech is competing, but not Maryland. Teams from all parts of the county, and from Canada, Spain and Germany.
Rode down there last weekend, but the lines were too long to get into many of the houses.
Got some outdoor shots, but nothing indoor. Visited the houses from Iowa, Kentucky and Ontario.
Team California currently in the lead, followed by Illinois, Ontario and Germany.
VaTech has dropped to 16th. Even though they scored high on architecture and market viability, they did poorly on the energy usage categories.
This weekend looks like a wash out, but it might shorten the lines.
Unfortunately the last day of the Decathlon is Sunday. Doesn't look like the weather will improve before then.
http://www.solardecathlon.org/

* * * *

Speaking of weather.....what's with this cold snap. It's 20 degrees below normal. Cold and wet forecast for the next four days.
I am supposed to be a ride marshal for Bike DC this Saturday. I'd hate to back out my commitment, but I'm not looking forward to riding in a 45 degree rain. With a lot of luck, the front will move through quicker and Saturday might not be too bad. Maybe.
If Sunday is a rideable day, the weekend just might be saved.

Anime Saturday

2009-10-15T12:39:52Z

Missed a couple of months of updates. Gomen

Previously we had finished Shigofumi,
started Guin Saga,
continued with Ryoko, Wagaya, Gunslinger Girl
showed some first episodes for Rideback, Saiunkoku 2, Tiara, etc

From the September 21 showing

Continuing with a couple of series.
Ryoko's Casebook - episodes 8, 9, 10 Detective who gets the supernatural cases. Story is starting to get into the main story theme.
Kuroshijutishi - episode 6
Guin Saga - episodes 7, 8, 9 Guin has united the Simi tribe to fight the invasion. He now must gain other allies from the other tribes of the wasteland.

Next showing is October 17. Probably more Ryoko and Guin, but might also show some first episodes for the new fall season.

I'll post my review of the new season soon.

Free Museums

2009-09-22T14:00:31Z

Many of the museums in DC are already free, but several big ones are not.
The Smithsonian is working with museums all over the country to hold a free museum day this Saturday, Sept 26.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-search/?state=District%2520of%2520Columbia

S and I are going to take advantage of this. We will be going to the Museum of Crime and Punishment, which is normally $20 admission. One of the new, supposedly very good museums, in DC. If anyone wants to join us, let us know. You'll need to print a free ticket, but just use the site above to get it. We'll probably try to get there near opening time, which is 10am, to avoid the expected crowds.
Museum site is http://www.crimemuseum.org/

* * * *

Also coming up is Taste of Bethesda, October 3. We plan to go there too, so let us know if you want to join us.
http://www.bethesda.org/specialevents/taste/taste.htm

The weekend that was....

2009-09-17T17:28:49Z

Thought I'd better post this before the weekend-that-is-to-come becomes the next weekend-that-was.

Long weekend visiting parents in NJ, and riding in The City. S opts to stay home in a Fox-free zone.

Thursday - worked until midnight to get ready to take a couple of days off.

Friday - Packed early. Short stop at Arlington County permit office turns into a long scramble over an expired permit. Finally get out at noon. Drove through the rain to NJ, straight to Edgewater for dinner at Mitsuwa. Kitsune soba and unadon with tamago and fruit (yum). Then some grocery shopping - Japanese vegetables, tofu pockets, ginger crackers, spices, onigiri, etc. Even found several varieties of sho chu. Finished with dorayaki for dessert and a stop at the bookstore to pick up the latest Hirigana Times. Then on to Ridgewood to see my parents.

Saturday - Too rainy for a shakedown ride. Too rainy to do work around the outside of the house. Gas up the car and do some shopping. Spent most of the day resting and talking to M&D. Pizza for dinner. I get my gear ready for the ride and turn in "early".

Sunday - Rain has stopped and good weather has arrived. Up by 3:30, out by 4:30, at the ride start by 5:30.
My fourth riding of the NY Century, and this time I RODE A CENTURY!!! Not the official century (didn't want to deal with the hills in the Bronx) but I rode the 75 mile route which was actually 86 miles. Back at finish in Central Park my bike computer reads 88 miles. My legs still felt good, so I did two loops of the park to round up the day to 101.7 miles. My first 100 miler, totally unplanned. Will post a ride report soon.
Home by 5:30 for a shower then dinner at China Grand Buffet, where I pigged on sushi. Slept well that night.

Monday - Still good weather. I spent the morning doing the work around the house - yard, roof, window ac's out, painting. Got on the road 10:30 and .... I headed to Mitsuwa (again) for lunch. Chicken soba bowl. Pick up a few more groceries that I had forgotten. Out again around noon and down the NJ turnpike. One stop at the last rest stop in NJ and another stop in MD (to eat the onigiri I picked up for lunch). Home around 4:30.

Short vacation, but I had nice time.
And accomplished one of my major cycling goals.

Weekend off

2009-08-30T20:47:36Z

Change of pace for me.

Took most of Friday off to take Bedlam to the veterinarian. Most of the problem seems to be the fleas that I think I brought in from a client's house. The over the counter products had not worked at all, and the fleas had bothered her enough to cause some behavior changes (including finding "alternate" litter boxes.) Spent the rest of the day cleaning and scrubbing and vacuming and running laundry, and later we gave Bedlam a bath (which she hated). She looked pretty ratty when wet, but she dried up pretty. Have 2+ weeks of pills to give her, when we start a long time prescription flea control system.

Saturday - S and I went to the College Park Airport for Airfair100, the 100th anniversary of the airport, which is also the oldest operating airport in the US. For the regular price of admission to the museum you got Airfair100, including the unveiling of the working replica of the 1909 Wright A Flier, planes and helicopters on display, helicopter aerobatics show (a Chinook in the right hands is pretty nimble), ultralight show, barnstorm show (stunt planes, skydivers, stunt helicopter, hang glider show, wing walkers, etc.), lots of displays and info booths, period re-enactors (circa 1909), music, food, and a nice little museum. After the barnstorming show they had airplane and helicopter rides at a good price ($15 for the planes, not sure about the helicopters). But by then we had been there several hours, the sun had come out, it was hot and humid, we were tired and hungry (for something other than fair-food) and the line for tickets had gotten long, so we skipped the chance for a ride over College Park. There had been a balloon inflated when we arrived, but they took it down early (probably because the weather was threatening.) If they had been offering balloon rides I might have waited in a long line for it.
The Airfair100 website is down already, but here's the museum link http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/home.htm
Lunner at Noodles & Co in College Park, then a visit to IKEA in Greenbelt. Home (with a stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee coolatas) then home to watch some anime (catching up on Basquash)

Sunday - More cleaning around the house, grocery shopping, some yardwork. Decided to take a weekend off from riding, even if it would relax me for the upcoming week. Headed in here to see what I missed on Friday, check mail and messages, and go on line for a while. Will probably do some cooking tonight but haven't decided what.
When I got here I discovered that the power at the office had gone out sometime this weekend, so it took me a while to get all of the computers up and running correctly. All seems to be ok now.

Who says there's no Free Lunch???

2009-08-21T18:52:41Z

Last month I looked up several deals on "Free On Your Birthday." Had to sign up with some, but this week the emails for coupons came in. After a mid-day meeting, I stopped in Vienna at Noodles & Co for my free lunch (picked the udon with chicken) then I went two doors down to Coldstone Creamery for a free dish of ice cream (chocolate with almonds.)

364 more days to go. ;-D

otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu

2009-08-13T14:44:57Z

Happy Birthday tylluan_wen

Astronomical

2009-07-28T12:40:52Z

Alignment day at Dark Star Park is August 1, and this year it falls on a weekend.
9:32 am if the sun is out, otherwise there is nothing special to see.

http://culturemob.com/blog/dark-star-park-day-2009-august-1st-arlington-rosslyn-dc-monuments-weird-places

If the clouds cooperate I may arrange a ride down there for the big event.

We will now return control of your television set.....

2009-07-28T00:12:26Z

Tour de France is over.

I will be resuming a more "normal" schedule.

Congratulations to Alberto Contrador (1st), Andy Schleck (2nd and white jersey). Lance Armstrong (3rd), Thor Hushovd (green jersey), Franco Pellizotti (polka-dot jersey), team Astana (time winner), everyone who won a stage race, everyone who finished the race, everyone who started, everyone who helped, everyone who watched, and anybody else out there.

And just end on a weird note, in honor of the winner, Alberto Contrador, they played the Danish national anthem instead of the Spanish anthem.

http://www.inquisitr.com/30674/contador-wins-tour-de-france-wrong-natl-hymn-is-played-dbp/

I wonder if Rasmusssen had a hand in that???

....comes in threes....

2009-07-05T23:13:18Z

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.

Well, Dang!

2009-07-02T21:19:46Z

Forgot to mention yesterday....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!!!