Over the course of the morning I encountered two news stories that at first might not have an obvious connection.
Just after waking up, I heard a story on NPR about the changing face of poverty in Des Moines, Iowa. Apparently the latest U.S. Census data demonstrates that poverty is moving to the suburbs, and that there are now more people living in poverty in suburban areas nationwide than in urban areas. A second area of change: significant increases in the number of homeless working families. You can hear the story at:
Rethinking Social Services in the Des Moines Suburbs
Later this morning I was browsing through academic websites when I came across a story about Linda J. Bilmes, a Harvard lecturer whose credibility is being attacked by the Pentagon. She presented research estimating future costs for treating injured soldiers who serve in Iraq, first at an academic conference, then in an op-ed in the LA Times. Her contention was that current projections of the medical expenses incurred in treating injured troops far underestimate the actual cost burden of providing adequate medical care over the course of their recoveries. The Pentagon challenged her sources, and when she justified them by documenting the specific public-access government websites where she got her information, the info was altered or removed from public access. This story is at:
Shooting the Messenger
I could blog extensively about the sociopolitical issues generated by either of these stories, but here's what struck me: How much are our opinions shaped by the data we have access to? How much does control over that data shape our personal priorities? How much do our perceptions of data shape our belief systems?
I run faster when I wear a stopwatch. Because I have a constant stream of data regarding my pace, I can adjust real-time to the goals I believe I can reach, based on the times I've already achieved. Yet I don't truly know how fast I can go.
I'm more likely to give money to a charitable organization if I believe (based on past data) that it has a history of providing lasting help to people. I am less likely to give money to individual homeless people I see on the street because I have no data on what they'll do with it. I can't accurately track the results of my charitable choices, but I hold onto the belief that they do more good than other choices I might make.
I am unlikely to be convinced that the Iraq War should be prolonged with a troop surge no matter what data the current administration puts forth, because I no longer trust their data. I believe they alter their definitions of terms to suit the reality they wish to present, and manipulate the information available to the public to justify their choices. The lack of an accurate Iraqi body count is just one example. The story above is a second, if it proves true. I could find more support for this belief of mine regarding the current administration, but I already believe it. This belief will predispose me to choose data that support my belief while dismissing data that do not support it.
If the ground is constantly shifting, if data is only as good as its collections and its definitions of terms, it seems there must continue to be a gap between perception and belief. There will be no end to research, to contention, to discussion, no final answers on cost or pace or charity until after the decisions have passed into history. So how best do we evaluate our choices as we make them, if any perception is skewed?
Maybe I just read too much.
1.26.2007
The plague, part II.
So after a sleepless, cough-filled night, the bug and I set out to the doctor's yesterday with my kind and slightly less ill husband as our sole reliable driver.
Turns out we both have sinus infections with complications. Her complication involves double ear infections. Mine involves my lymph system--as I learned to my surprise yesterday, sinus infections can make one's blood pressure drop significantly.
So there are many drugs now coursing through our veins, and many bacteria are hopefully dying cruel and vicious deaths even as I write.
I'm perversely glad that I wasn't just being whiny about having a cold. And also that I will presumably have more interesting subjects to write about by next week when we're all recovered.
Turns out we both have sinus infections with complications. Her complication involves double ear infections. Mine involves my lymph system--as I learned to my surprise yesterday, sinus infections can make one's blood pressure drop significantly.
So there are many drugs now coursing through our veins, and many bacteria are hopefully dying cruel and vicious deaths even as I write.
I'm perversely glad that I wasn't just being whiny about having a cold. And also that I will presumably have more interesting subjects to write about by next week when we're all recovered.
1.23.2007
The plague.
Just when I thought it might be over...I still have it.
The bug has it, complete with multicolored constant mucus.
My husband has it, in the "now with visceral hacking effects!" special edition.
My friends all seem to have it, to be getting over it, or just starting to get it.
It's a nasty, coldlike, sink-into-your-sinuses, eye-gunky dry-coughing middle-of-the-night-waking craptacularity.
Seriously, I haven't felt truly physically healthy in a month. Neither has anyone else I know, although we've had our share of occasional good days.
Now, I'm not saying the terrorists have won. I'm just thinking...a truly thorough coldlike disease that never goes away is really, really demoralizing. Bad for workouts and for blog posting alike.
The bug has it, complete with multicolored constant mucus.
My husband has it, in the "now with visceral hacking effects!" special edition.
My friends all seem to have it, to be getting over it, or just starting to get it.
It's a nasty, coldlike, sink-into-your-sinuses, eye-gunky dry-coughing middle-of-the-night-waking craptacularity.
Seriously, I haven't felt truly physically healthy in a month. Neither has anyone else I know, although we've had our share of occasional good days.
Now, I'm not saying the terrorists have won. I'm just thinking...a truly thorough coldlike disease that never goes away is really, really demoralizing. Bad for workouts and for blog posting alike.
1.18.2007
From couch to uncomfortable chair...
Update from the last post:
Serious decisions have been made.
I'm going with option D, with a little bit of B thrown in. Sheerly due to trips and conference schedules this summer, it would be impossible to do all but one of the races I participated in last year. We're looking at fun times ahead in Hawaii and New Orleans, and feeling quite lucky that our work takes us to such outstanding places. So, new adventures must be had regardless of personal preference. And I am up for it.
After much reflection, I've decided to do short local running races (5K and 10K) through June in combination with speedwork to decrease my finishing times. My cross-training April through June must incorporate some swimming lessons, so I can improve some skills.
Then I'll pick up the pace in July and August with one sprint tri per month. I'm still looking for a good July race somewhere in Colorado, but I bet I'll have no trouble finding one. I don't want to do the Danskin again for a number of reasons (time, location, etc) so will find a fresh opportunity eventually.
One of my friends had a blast last year doing the Fat Tire Tri up near Fort Collins, so that is quite likely to become my great August race. Plus, it incorporates trail-running and mountain-biking, so that will mean picking up some new basic skills over the summer (particularly with the mountain biking but I'm excited about that).
Finally, I'm going to keep the best and last of last year's races on my personal schedule for sure, and do the Boulder Backroads half-marathon again. Last year I finished about 2:06, so this year's goal will be to break 2:00.
Why the uncomfortable chair, you ask? As of yesterday, I will be spending most of my evenings in March and the first half of April stage-managing a show for the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. They perform in the Dairy Center in Boulder, a place not necessarily famed for its cushy technical accoutrements, so I'm expecting to spend multiple hours working theatre tech on some bare-essentials-type furniture. But I am seriously jazzed about the opportunity.
I miss the bug a lot when I do a show, which means I only commit to a large-scale project once a year or so. When it happens, though, it's so exciting to be backstage, working with people who are really good at what they do. BETC is a young theatre company in its second season, and it's a professional company that salaries its workers (!!!), so I am really, really excited by the possibilities that lie ahead. More details as they emerge about the theatrical experience ahead.
Serious decisions have been made.
I'm going with option D, with a little bit of B thrown in. Sheerly due to trips and conference schedules this summer, it would be impossible to do all but one of the races I participated in last year. We're looking at fun times ahead in Hawaii and New Orleans, and feeling quite lucky that our work takes us to such outstanding places. So, new adventures must be had regardless of personal preference. And I am up for it.
After much reflection, I've decided to do short local running races (5K and 10K) through June in combination with speedwork to decrease my finishing times. My cross-training April through June must incorporate some swimming lessons, so I can improve some skills.
Then I'll pick up the pace in July and August with one sprint tri per month. I'm still looking for a good July race somewhere in Colorado, but I bet I'll have no trouble finding one. I don't want to do the Danskin again for a number of reasons (time, location, etc) so will find a fresh opportunity eventually.
One of my friends had a blast last year doing the Fat Tire Tri up near Fort Collins, so that is quite likely to become my great August race. Plus, it incorporates trail-running and mountain-biking, so that will mean picking up some new basic skills over the summer (particularly with the mountain biking but I'm excited about that).
Finally, I'm going to keep the best and last of last year's races on my personal schedule for sure, and do the Boulder Backroads half-marathon again. Last year I finished about 2:06, so this year's goal will be to break 2:00.
Why the uncomfortable chair, you ask? As of yesterday, I will be spending most of my evenings in March and the first half of April stage-managing a show for the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. They perform in the Dairy Center in Boulder, a place not necessarily famed for its cushy technical accoutrements, so I'm expecting to spend multiple hours working theatre tech on some bare-essentials-type furniture. But I am seriously jazzed about the opportunity.
I miss the bug a lot when I do a show, which means I only commit to a large-scale project once a year or so. When it happens, though, it's so exciting to be backstage, working with people who are really good at what they do. BETC is a young theatre company in its second season, and it's a professional company that salaries its workers (!!!), so I am really, really excited by the possibilities that lie ahead. More details as they emerge about the theatrical experience ahead.
1.11.2007
My last excuse for getting off the couch is now gone.
I haven't posted regarding personal training or triathlon or indeed any sports except for sprint-distance bug-chasing for some time. I'm not injured; the holidays just made me lazy. This New York Times article, though, is completely worth sharing even with my non-athletic readers. It makes the research-supported suggestion that keeping moving (rather than complete rest) actually heals some injuries faster:
When It's O.K. to Run Hurt
Now that I've thrown away the leftover holiday goodies...
I'm still thinking through my fitness goals for the season ahead. So far, I'm back to running three times a week, and my running goal for the year is to be able to finish a 5K in under 25:00 by late summer. (So, circa an 8:00 mile pace.) I'm already taking baby steps toward that goal and working toward a nine-minute pace by February, an 8:30 pace by April, and so forth. My fastest 5K last year was 25:17, so I think the sub-25-minute goal is attainable if I focus on taking a gradual route to it.
I was running regular 9:15 miles for much longer distances by the time I did the half-marathon, so we'll see if I've set my goal too low or too high as the season progresses. I doubt I will ever see a winner's podium given my average speed, but perhaps if I persist in running into my 60's and 70's that might change. :)
I plan to add yoga into my workout schedule and I'd like to take formal classes at least once a week, but I haven't started that yet between weather, my husband's travel, and my own travel plans. I'm going to try out a heated yoga place near our house, and see if I like it or not, in the next few weeks.
As for triathlon season goals, I don't know what I want. I see four options ahead:
A. Aim long, and try to complete an Olympic-distance tri by the end of summer. (Big obstacle: limited training time. I have 45 minutes maximum on weekdays under optimum conditions, and only have time for one long run on weekends. And that's just running, let alone time on the bike or in the pool. Big payoff: something I have not done yet, so cool in goal-setting terms.)
B. Aim fast, and stick to sprint tri's but try to improve significantly on last year's finishing times. (Better possibility, since I've already got the basic gear and basic plans to speed up in at least one sport in place. Big obstacle here: I need swim lessons, and time is a limiting factor. I can't take a master's class at my rec center this spring because none of them work with my work schedule. I can fit in a weekend-only master's class by summertime, though.)
C. Perhaps I should go back to single-sport and focus on running for a season, with some cross-training in the pool and weight room. (Tempting as the easiest approach with no perceived obstacles, but I really liked the tri's I did last year and it's such a cool community of people...)
D. I could do some different sprint tri's than I did last year, with nontraditional structure, like the ones with some mountain-biking and trail-running thrown in. (A second appealing approach--my husband's been trying to get me to mountain-bike for awhile now and I'd prefer it to road biking, I think, given my intense hatred of four-wheeled morons.)
I'm trying both to set some relatively intense goals, and to be realistic about the time commitment I can make and still stay balanced as a mom, wife, worker, etc. Really, I've got about six hours a week max for training/stretching/exercise, mostly in half-hour chunks, and that's unlikely to change this season. Thoughts, anyone? Which option would you choose, given my constraints?
When It's O.K. to Run Hurt
Now that I've thrown away the leftover holiday goodies...
I'm still thinking through my fitness goals for the season ahead. So far, I'm back to running three times a week, and my running goal for the year is to be able to finish a 5K in under 25:00 by late summer. (So, circa an 8:00 mile pace.) I'm already taking baby steps toward that goal and working toward a nine-minute pace by February, an 8:30 pace by April, and so forth. My fastest 5K last year was 25:17, so I think the sub-25-minute goal is attainable if I focus on taking a gradual route to it.
I was running regular 9:15 miles for much longer distances by the time I did the half-marathon, so we'll see if I've set my goal too low or too high as the season progresses. I doubt I will ever see a winner's podium given my average speed, but perhaps if I persist in running into my 60's and 70's that might change. :)
I plan to add yoga into my workout schedule and I'd like to take formal classes at least once a week, but I haven't started that yet between weather, my husband's travel, and my own travel plans. I'm going to try out a heated yoga place near our house, and see if I like it or not, in the next few weeks.
As for triathlon season goals, I don't know what I want. I see four options ahead:
A. Aim long, and try to complete an Olympic-distance tri by the end of summer. (Big obstacle: limited training time. I have 45 minutes maximum on weekdays under optimum conditions, and only have time for one long run on weekends. And that's just running, let alone time on the bike or in the pool. Big payoff: something I have not done yet, so cool in goal-setting terms.)
B. Aim fast, and stick to sprint tri's but try to improve significantly on last year's finishing times. (Better possibility, since I've already got the basic gear and basic plans to speed up in at least one sport in place. Big obstacle here: I need swim lessons, and time is a limiting factor. I can't take a master's class at my rec center this spring because none of them work with my work schedule. I can fit in a weekend-only master's class by summertime, though.)
C. Perhaps I should go back to single-sport and focus on running for a season, with some cross-training in the pool and weight room. (Tempting as the easiest approach with no perceived obstacles, but I really liked the tri's I did last year and it's such a cool community of people...)
D. I could do some different sprint tri's than I did last year, with nontraditional structure, like the ones with some mountain-biking and trail-running thrown in. (A second appealing approach--my husband's been trying to get me to mountain-bike for awhile now and I'd prefer it to road biking, I think, given my intense hatred of four-wheeled morons.)
I'm trying both to set some relatively intense goals, and to be realistic about the time commitment I can make and still stay balanced as a mom, wife, worker, etc. Really, I've got about six hours a week max for training/stretching/exercise, mostly in half-hour chunks, and that's unlikely to change this season. Thoughts, anyone? Which option would you choose, given my constraints?
1.10.2007
Alarming. Truly.
Monday, 5:45 p.m.:
Come home from work with the bug to discover our home security system is going off, beeping loudly and rapidly rather than making any type of siren noise. (We haven't used it since we bought the house in 2005 and thus I had no idea how to operate it, nor where to find an instruction manual or any such useful information.) After a long workday and later-than-usual commute due to poor weather, this is the penultimate straw. I close the door to the garage and stand outside with the bug. A few deep breaths later, I head back inside to try to figure it out. The bug is alarmed by the noise and confused by my actions, and requests "Animaniacs" over and over to calm our insecurities with the panacea of cartoons. I deny her in tones that are a bit too sharp, and her indignant tantrum adds to the cacophony.
5:51 p.m.:
I suddenly realize my advanced degrees have been rendered useless in the face of the relentless beeping and howling. This gives me new resolve. I can find a brand name. I can find a manual. I have skills. I will prevail against the machine and perhaps even the child. The panel is blinking "FC"--"fire company"? "flashing code"? "flailing child"? "Frustration complete"? I have no clue. All might apply.
5:57 p.m.:
Eventually manage to make the beeping stop by the method of forcefully pushing all the buttons on the keypad in combination with the "OFF" button on the control panel repeatedly until the beeping subsides. No idea if this is a lasting solution but it will do. My attention is quickly diverted to the usual after-work activities of housework, making dinner, moving laundry through its cycles, and bug bedtime.
7:36 p.m.:
The bug misses Daddy, who is on a conference trip. She wants him to tuck her in. I will not do. I cannot make him materialize. I am loudly reminded that I am an insufficient bedtime companion in no uncertain terms: "No Mommy tuck! No Mommy kisses! Want Daddy! Daaaaaaddddddyyyyyyy!"
8:21 p.m.
Bouts of sobbing eventually subside to sniffles and at last to sleepy steady breathing. Reticent bug finally bedded for the night, circa forty-five minutes after usual bedtime.
8:30 p.m.:
Alarm goes off, again. Loudly. Wakes the bug, who continues panicked moaning for an interminable length of time even after I pick her up and she attaches like a leech with her arms around my neck and legs around my hips. I once again pummel the control panel into submission. After a web search on the cryptic word "Ademco"--the only text on the control panel--I find an old users' forum that eventually yields pictures that look like my model, and a few instructions. This gives me hope. Thank you, God! Thank you, Google! I then begin to search the house for the "main beige metal box" containing the inner workings of the security system.
8:47 p.m. Find the central alarm box in the basement closet, tucked behind plumbing. The box is screwed shut. The still-clinging bug makes it difficult to locate and utilize a screwdriver but eventually we work as a team and get it open. (Yes, I bribed her with Chex Mix to get her to sit on the floor and eat while holding my leg instead. That is called "teamwork," for my childless readers.)
When opened, the box reveals many wires, and the system manual, huzzah! A quick flip-through yields the insight that the flashing code on the control panel means the backup battery was low. (Ironically, "FC" stands for "Failure to Communicate." Yup. Perhaps you can see why the code was less than an immediate revelation.) I am feeling triumphant re: discovery of box and manual, until the bug lets go of my leg and looks up at me and says, "Daddy fix it?" Thanks, kid. I know your mama appears to have relatively few useful skills in this type of situation. I needed your reminder at this particular moment.
Gave up on immediate alarm-system problem-solving and returned to bedding the bug. Achieved said bedding after much comforting circa 9:30 p.m.
10:30 p.m.: The manual also contains the reprogramming codes in case we ever do decide to activate the system. Still, several missing pages make it rather hard to draw useful conclusions. The hour of study (and eventual discovery of a complete manual, online, huzzah!) reveals there is no permanent "OFF" switch or reprogramming option because the alarm system is wired into the house electrical system. If I turn it off, I also turn off all our fire alarms (not good). We must have had a power outage during the day which caused it to go to "backup" mode and use up the backup battery. Which is also wired into the system, some sort of 12-volt rechargeable battery with multiple wires sticking out. Sigh. By the time I figure all this out, all retail stores have closed so I cannot simply purchase a replacement battery. At least I know how to make the beeping stop for some time period if it starts again.
4:30 a.m.: Beeping starts again. Strongly consider the scissors method of permanent disconnection, fire alarms be damned. Decide to avoid electrocution, since as a temporary single parent I had visions of the bug sitting by my dead body with a box of Teddy Grahams until my spouse's eventual return. But at least she wouldn't have to listen to the beeping.
Blearily realize the alarm will go off every eight hours until I get the battery replaced. Go downstairs, stab at the buttons, console miserably awake daughter, fall back asleep together circa 5 a.m. for the last hour before morning officially begins.
5:45 p.m., Tuesday: Return home refreshed (okay, that's a lie) and resolved. Unwire the 12-volt battery from the system. Call Home Depot and Lowe's to find I will have to special-order a replacement battery from a home-security company. Call a friend to review the wires I plan to disconnect to shut the system off since I can't buy a new backup battery. He comes over to validate my choices and reassure me that I won't screw up the house's wiring system and cause a fire that will then not be detected because I just disconnected the fire detectors. (Thank you, Niall.) Call my parents to reassure them that the bug and myself have not been kidnapped by terrorists who set off our alarm system but we did not heed the call...and that, as the bug says, "We're okay. We're all okay. No beeping. Mommy made it stop." I'm really unjustly proud of that last sentence, and I didn't even coach her.
Come home from work with the bug to discover our home security system is going off, beeping loudly and rapidly rather than making any type of siren noise. (We haven't used it since we bought the house in 2005 and thus I had no idea how to operate it, nor where to find an instruction manual or any such useful information.) After a long workday and later-than-usual commute due to poor weather, this is the penultimate straw. I close the door to the garage and stand outside with the bug. A few deep breaths later, I head back inside to try to figure it out. The bug is alarmed by the noise and confused by my actions, and requests "Animaniacs" over and over to calm our insecurities with the panacea of cartoons. I deny her in tones that are a bit too sharp, and her indignant tantrum adds to the cacophony.
5:51 p.m.:
I suddenly realize my advanced degrees have been rendered useless in the face of the relentless beeping and howling. This gives me new resolve. I can find a brand name. I can find a manual. I have skills. I will prevail against the machine and perhaps even the child. The panel is blinking "FC"--"fire company"? "flashing code"? "flailing child"? "Frustration complete"? I have no clue. All might apply.
5:57 p.m.:
Eventually manage to make the beeping stop by the method of forcefully pushing all the buttons on the keypad in combination with the "OFF" button on the control panel repeatedly until the beeping subsides. No idea if this is a lasting solution but it will do. My attention is quickly diverted to the usual after-work activities of housework, making dinner, moving laundry through its cycles, and bug bedtime.
7:36 p.m.:
The bug misses Daddy, who is on a conference trip. She wants him to tuck her in. I will not do. I cannot make him materialize. I am loudly reminded that I am an insufficient bedtime companion in no uncertain terms: "No Mommy tuck! No Mommy kisses! Want Daddy! Daaaaaaddddddyyyyyyy!"
8:21 p.m.
Bouts of sobbing eventually subside to sniffles and at last to sleepy steady breathing. Reticent bug finally bedded for the night, circa forty-five minutes after usual bedtime.
8:30 p.m.:
Alarm goes off, again. Loudly. Wakes the bug, who continues panicked moaning for an interminable length of time even after I pick her up and she attaches like a leech with her arms around my neck and legs around my hips. I once again pummel the control panel into submission. After a web search on the cryptic word "Ademco"--the only text on the control panel--I find an old users' forum that eventually yields pictures that look like my model, and a few instructions. This gives me hope. Thank you, God! Thank you, Google! I then begin to search the house for the "main beige metal box" containing the inner workings of the security system.
8:47 p.m. Find the central alarm box in the basement closet, tucked behind plumbing. The box is screwed shut. The still-clinging bug makes it difficult to locate and utilize a screwdriver but eventually we work as a team and get it open. (Yes, I bribed her with Chex Mix to get her to sit on the floor and eat while holding my leg instead. That is called "teamwork," for my childless readers.)
When opened, the box reveals many wires, and the system manual, huzzah! A quick flip-through yields the insight that the flashing code on the control panel means the backup battery was low. (Ironically, "FC" stands for "Failure to Communicate." Yup. Perhaps you can see why the code was less than an immediate revelation.) I am feeling triumphant re: discovery of box and manual, until the bug lets go of my leg and looks up at me and says, "Daddy fix it?" Thanks, kid. I know your mama appears to have relatively few useful skills in this type of situation. I needed your reminder at this particular moment.
Gave up on immediate alarm-system problem-solving and returned to bedding the bug. Achieved said bedding after much comforting circa 9:30 p.m.
10:30 p.m.: The manual also contains the reprogramming codes in case we ever do decide to activate the system. Still, several missing pages make it rather hard to draw useful conclusions. The hour of study (and eventual discovery of a complete manual, online, huzzah!) reveals there is no permanent "OFF" switch or reprogramming option because the alarm system is wired into the house electrical system. If I turn it off, I also turn off all our fire alarms (not good). We must have had a power outage during the day which caused it to go to "backup" mode and use up the backup battery. Which is also wired into the system, some sort of 12-volt rechargeable battery with multiple wires sticking out. Sigh. By the time I figure all this out, all retail stores have closed so I cannot simply purchase a replacement battery. At least I know how to make the beeping stop for some time period if it starts again.
4:30 a.m.: Beeping starts again. Strongly consider the scissors method of permanent disconnection, fire alarms be damned. Decide to avoid electrocution, since as a temporary single parent I had visions of the bug sitting by my dead body with a box of Teddy Grahams until my spouse's eventual return. But at least she wouldn't have to listen to the beeping.
Blearily realize the alarm will go off every eight hours until I get the battery replaced. Go downstairs, stab at the buttons, console miserably awake daughter, fall back asleep together circa 5 a.m. for the last hour before morning officially begins.
5:45 p.m., Tuesday: Return home refreshed (okay, that's a lie) and resolved. Unwire the 12-volt battery from the system. Call Home Depot and Lowe's to find I will have to special-order a replacement battery from a home-security company. Call a friend to review the wires I plan to disconnect to shut the system off since I can't buy a new backup battery. He comes over to validate my choices and reassure me that I won't screw up the house's wiring system and cause a fire that will then not be detected because I just disconnected the fire detectors. (Thank you, Niall.) Call my parents to reassure them that the bug and myself have not been kidnapped by terrorists who set off our alarm system but we did not heed the call...and that, as the bug says, "We're okay. We're all okay. No beeping. Mommy made it stop." I'm really unjustly proud of that last sentence, and I didn't even coach her.
1.09.2007
blown away
Yesterday there were gusts of wind in Boulder that clocked up to 115 mph. That's not a typo; we had hurricane-force winds throughout the Front Range for the better part of twelve hours. Due to our three recent snowstorms, this created some rather memorable driving conditions and led to several major highway closures. My twenty-minute commute into work took an hour and a half, but at least all the drivers around me were being sensible and cautious.
A question for parents, aunts, uncles, babysitters, caretakers, or other occasional hapless drivers of toddlers: Any suggestions for what to do to keep the small ones amused during an unexpectedly long drive? I'm good at planning activities for road trips--coloring books, picture books, music, and on really long trips a laptop for DVD-watching. But when the car is empty except for the emergency kit, and driving is taking a whole lot of attention...any ideas?
We ended up turning on the radio and listening to music while I asked her to pretend to play all kinds of instruments, by the way. But she still got her whine on for a significant stretch there, so I want to be prepped with some fresh ideas for the next time.
A question for parents, aunts, uncles, babysitters, caretakers, or other occasional hapless drivers of toddlers: Any suggestions for what to do to keep the small ones amused during an unexpectedly long drive? I'm good at planning activities for road trips--coloring books, picture books, music, and on really long trips a laptop for DVD-watching. But when the car is empty except for the emergency kit, and driving is taking a whole lot of attention...any ideas?
We ended up turning on the radio and listening to music while I asked her to pretend to play all kinds of instruments, by the way. But she still got her whine on for a significant stretch there, so I want to be prepped with some fresh ideas for the next time.
1.05.2007
Addendum
"Campus will close at 2 p.m. today."
Now I can pick up the bug early and go home to start shovelling. :)
Now I can pick up the bug early and go home to start shovelling. :)
The view from near my office...
(as of five minutes ago, from a nearby campus webcam)This is the third straight Thursday-into-Friday of significant snow accumulation here in the foothills. For the last two weeks, there have been a few days of administrative closures, and "non-essential" personnel have been sent home early on a few occasions. Now that it is after finals and graduation, there are no students and very few faculty here. Today, however, even though the snow and ice are arguably worse than last week, the campus is staying open.
I am not personally terribly concerned about this, as I have four-wheel drive and am a patient and experienced driver on snow. I would hint that, perhaps, it is days like this that give university staff the impression that they rank less highly in the general hierarchy than students and faculty. The local school districts are all closed, as are many local businesses and offices. Yet staff are expected to come to work and stay at work, in part I suspect because no angry parents, big donors, or tenured-status professors are calling to rant on behalf of our safety. Staff are also expected to take vacation time or leave without pay if they cannot get in to work today (this is true unless and until the campus actually closes).
The snow is expected to taper off by evening, with accumulations of around 12 inches in the local area. I am sure there are guidelines the Chancellor's Office uses to determine campus closure, and I am trying not to be cynical about the reasons why campus closed last week and remains open this week. If those guidelines were a bit more public, perhaps there would be less general bitterness over which days "count" enough to close campus.
1.04.2007
dipping one's toes in the blogsurf
I've been passing a few moments of spare time each day chasing links on several of my favorite blogs. You know, those links along the sidebar that tell us something about a blogger's tastes and preferences while revealing much about their own perceived literary subgenres.
Some of these distinctions are immediately obvious. For example, don't look to DailyKos for politically conservative bloggers; don't look to the National Review's Blog Row for liberal thinkers. The type of media being consumed often defines the content of the sidebars when it comes to politics. Liberals shill for other liberals while conservatives refer readers to other conservatives. "Know thine enemy" clearly isn't a blogger's commandment when it comes to cross-posting.
More interesting to me are the artistic, literary, sociological, and parenting bloggers. You can tell a whole lot about Terry Teachout without reading more than a post or two, just by looking at his blogroll. Terry led me to Critical Mass, who most interestingly includes a link to Instapundit, whose wife Dr. Helen is obsessed with the "war on boys" and other feminist conspiracies. I don't find many of her links too interesting, so I start over by chasing links from a different blog...
You get the picture. The triathlon blogging community is perhaps the most incestuous of the ones I read regularly, and some of them are regular (and positive!) commenters even though we've never met in person. For a gateway into their world, begin with RaceAthlete and go from there. It's a little crazy to me how easy bloggers have made it, by linking to just two or three other people with similar interests, to create a whole community surrounding a topic. (The massive numbers of crochet and knitting blogs out there, whoa...).
So, bloggers: what's your favorite blog that you DON'T link to on your own site?
Some of these distinctions are immediately obvious. For example, don't look to DailyKos for politically conservative bloggers; don't look to the National Review's Blog Row for liberal thinkers. The type of media being consumed often defines the content of the sidebars when it comes to politics. Liberals shill for other liberals while conservatives refer readers to other conservatives. "Know thine enemy" clearly isn't a blogger's commandment when it comes to cross-posting.
More interesting to me are the artistic, literary, sociological, and parenting bloggers. You can tell a whole lot about Terry Teachout without reading more than a post or two, just by looking at his blogroll. Terry led me to Critical Mass, who most interestingly includes a link to Instapundit, whose wife Dr. Helen is obsessed with the "war on boys" and other feminist conspiracies. I don't find many of her links too interesting, so I start over by chasing links from a different blog...
You get the picture. The triathlon blogging community is perhaps the most incestuous of the ones I read regularly, and some of them are regular (and positive!) commenters even though we've never met in person. For a gateway into their world, begin with RaceAthlete and go from there. It's a little crazy to me how easy bloggers have made it, by linking to just two or three other people with similar interests, to create a whole community surrounding a topic. (The massive numbers of crochet and knitting blogs out there, whoa...).
So, bloggers: what's your favorite blog that you DON'T link to on your own site?
1.03.2007
Paris II: The Houseboat
Thanks to my father-in-law, I can now provide a much cleaner, nicer close-up of the barge-type houseboat we spent a week on in Paris. While there were a few chairs on the top deck with a small patio table, we never sat outside since the weather was a bit damp and chilly. You can see the chair legs behind the little curtain-like things on the white part of the deck.After seeing the boat from the outside, and learning that the wooden part is where the door to the downstairs/inside is, it becomes obvious why the bug didn't need to wear water wings all week. (My side of the family expressed considerable concern about the possibility of the bug falling into the Seine, so I'm hoping this picture will clear that up.)
And now, for a picture of the inside main living area and a rough idea of the modern art collection:
This is also the rare picture taken that week that includes almost all Beasleys present (except Grandpa John). After cutting the outtakes from a week of picture-taking, I had exactly one picture including both Elizabeth and Omri. (Really, we did attend their wedding.) They spent a lot of time together, and in our presence, for which we're all very happy. I was just having too good a time to record it digitally.While the flights both ways made us all a little crazy, as decribed in my previous travel post, the rest of the trip was really fantastic. We will remember long walks, amazing food, cozy apartments, multiple new exciting cheeses, and fabulous wines for a very long time.
1.02.2007
Why today, um, yesterday, is apparently quite different than the day before.
I have always thought of New Year's as the biggest non-holiday of each year. Many many people seem to take it as a marker of a fresh start, a chance to make resolutions for personal improvement, and so forth. Much good may it do them, but I don't understand why someone would wait until January 1 to make changes if they were seriously in earnest about self-transformation. Any day of any year is good enough for that if you're committed. If you're not committed, you're going to join all those other people still paying for gym memberships they never use, no matter what day of the year you make yourself abstract promises on. End of soapbox. And a happy new year to you, too.
A solid two weeks of family sickness has clearly added to my general holiday cheer and also to the lack of blog entries. With the help of multiple snow days, long rest periods, and several over-the-counter remedies, we are now ready to emerge from the snow pack and return to our daily grind. As the bug said this morning when I woke her up at 7:15 a.m., "I don't want to see my friends. I want Mommy and Daddy stay home cuddle you." Yup, the two weeks of being a stay-at-home mom has had a few definite benefits.
In spite of various viral plagues upon our house and two "acts of God" involving several feet of accumulated precipitation, we really had a fun, relaxing Christmas. We had time to play in the snow, play "daddy/mommy come get you" in the house, and watch multiple hours of cartoons and Sesame Street while puttering about the house. New recipes were tried, including crab cakes, lemon blueberry tiramisu, turkey pot pie, and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. My Warcraft character also advanced several levels thanks to help from other snowed-in friends and active players, so that is allowing me to do some pretty cool in-game things which I am geekily happy about in a quiet sort of way.
My opening paragraph probably makes it clear why I don't make New Year's resolutions. I do plan to blog more often than the last month (not hard, four posts! I can beat four posts in a month!) and am making a few other plans after the long holiday based on some good discussions with my husband about what we want our lives to be like. If you're a New-Year's resolution maker, I wish you the best in keeping your promises to yourself and congratulate you on your optimism in taking on a new set of goals. Maybe I will figure out some new goals by Groundhog Day. :)
A solid two weeks of family sickness has clearly added to my general holiday cheer and also to the lack of blog entries. With the help of multiple snow days, long rest periods, and several over-the-counter remedies, we are now ready to emerge from the snow pack and return to our daily grind. As the bug said this morning when I woke her up at 7:15 a.m., "I don't want to see my friends. I want Mommy and Daddy stay home cuddle you." Yup, the two weeks of being a stay-at-home mom has had a few definite benefits.
In spite of various viral plagues upon our house and two "acts of God" involving several feet of accumulated precipitation, we really had a fun, relaxing Christmas. We had time to play in the snow, play "daddy/mommy come get you" in the house, and watch multiple hours of cartoons and Sesame Street while puttering about the house. New recipes were tried, including crab cakes, lemon blueberry tiramisu, turkey pot pie, and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. My Warcraft character also advanced several levels thanks to help from other snowed-in friends and active players, so that is allowing me to do some pretty cool in-game things which I am geekily happy about in a quiet sort of way.
My opening paragraph probably makes it clear why I don't make New Year's resolutions. I do plan to blog more often than the last month (not hard, four posts! I can beat four posts in a month!) and am making a few other plans after the long holiday based on some good discussions with my husband about what we want our lives to be like. If you're a New-Year's resolution maker, I wish you the best in keeping your promises to yourself and congratulate you on your optimism in taking on a new set of goals. Maybe I will figure out some new goals by Groundhog Day. :)
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