things.

Well...it's been FOREVER since I posted much of anything to my blog. Mostly, it's because I'm having too much fun reconnecting with people via Facebook. It's really sort of addicting in a fun way.

My sense is that I'll come back now and again to post things here on Opera...but the "daily" stuff will be in FB.

Acknowledging the futility of resistance,

C.

Okay, so now I'm finding that I'm spending a lot more time with Facebook than my Opera page. That' probably due, in large part, to both the Facebook application that resides on my Blackberry Curve and the fact that there have been so many reconnections to old friends there.

   

That being said, Facebook isn't really a blog, although it has many blog-like features. So…I'll definitely be keeping my opera site updated more – especially since I found the integrative feature of MS OneNote/Word for posting to this site. It rocks and makes it really easy to do!

   

Unfortunately, as you can see by me earlier postings, I've not figured out how to post pictures or attach tags (yet) to each post. But…it's still nice to be able to get the thoughts out there.

   

Onward!

   

C.

Okay, so here's a test post using MS OneNote. I'll include a picture just for kicks.

UPDATE: okay, so the picture upload doesn't work…but the blog posting does! How cool is that?!

Now, I'll just test some formatting stuff.

• Here's a list
• List entry 2
• List entry 3

Here's a numbered list:

1. One
2. Two
3. Three

Here's some text with a different colored background.

Here's some different colored text.

Classic strikethrough!

Okay, so I just joined Facebook so that I could look at a site for an old HYACK student that was getting married. I figured that I'd just join quickly, look at his site and then forget about it as it's one of a myriad of minimal registrations that I've done on other sites for various reasons.

And then...

...I received a bunch of friend requests from people I hadn't connected with in years. What a riot! So, I'm still thinking this will by my primary blogging-outlet, but Facebook is a nice add-on.

What a hoot!

C.

Okay, so I've been cycling a lot over the last year and a half. It's been really fun to learn how to cycle in a pack as well as improve in various skills (climbing, sprinting, spinning, etc.). I've also been commuting to work 2-4 times a week for bit over a month so far. As I've spent this time trying various pieces of equipment for both my road bike and my mountain/commuter bike here are the things that I've found most helpful:

• Halo sweat band: this is both simple and ingenious. It's a dryfit sweat band that has a simple rubber strip on the front half of it that forms a solid seal against your forehead. That routes all sweat along the strip to where it ends on the sides of your head thereby keeping it from dripping into your eyes. I've tested it in my commute and on group rides and...it works perfectly! Now I don't have sweat dripping down my cycling sunglasses skewing my view. Excellent!
  
• TransIt Epic Dx Paniers: These things are huge and seem to be very well made. Love the storage space as well as the thoughtful & expandable top pockets. They even include rear pockets for extra storage (I keep an emergency rain jacket in one with room to spare and a tire/tool kit in the other...with lots of room to spare in that one). They hang on to my Blackburn rack solidly and don't move at all. I've carried shoes, socks, pants, dress shirt, undershirt/underwear, belt in one side and a laptop, lunch, extra cycling jacket in the other side. Still have room to spare. I also like the fact that they come with rain covers that are florescent yellow. I use them all the time just for visibility's sake as well as for keeping them clean. There are only two things that I would point out as needing improvement: 1) taking them off the rack is a test in finger dexterity and strength. When those things are on there...they're really on there. 2) it'd be nice to have a top carrying handle or strap. Once they're off, they are awkward to carry. It looks like there are spots to clip a strap to the top...but they didn't come with any.
  
• CamelBak water bottles: Both Jodi and I really like these new water bottles. It's nice because to drink from them, you just squeeze them and they automatically open and shut...kind of like a kid's sippy cup...but much cooler. The plastic is supposed to not impart any taste to your water/drink. Whatever. I've never really noticed that sort of thing from our other water bottles anyway. I also like how you can lock the nozzles shut when transporting them. It's nice not having to do the old chin- or hip-slap to shut the nozzle like on our other bottles. It's the little things that make the difference.
  
• Forte Bar Ends: I put a set of these on my mountain-bike-turned-commuter and they really help eliminate any wrist discomfort for me. The allow me to put my hands in a position that is very similar to riding on the hoods of my road bike. The only bummer is that this puts my hands away from my brake levers...but they're still close enough.
  
• Campus pedals on my commuter: I like these because one side is a clip for my mountain bike shoes and the other side is flat so I can use regular shoes/sandals. Very convenient.
  
• T-Mobile Dash with Motorola S9 bluetooth A2DP headphones: I really like listening to mp3 books or music wirelessly. The only complaint that I have...and it's kind of a big one... is that after I sweat a bunch on the S9's, it knocks out some of the buttons until they dry out. Actually, my Play/Pause button stopped working altogether months ago after a particularly sweaty spin session. I think this could have been avoided if I had my new Halo sweatband from the beginning. The bummer thing is that the S9's are supposed to be for active lifestyles and sweat resistant. Too bad they're not sweatPROOF. I might just switch back to the stock wired mini-usb headphones that came with my smartphone.
  
• CatEye cycling computers: it's great to automatically capture speed, duration, top speed & distance as well as cadence (on my road bike). I use the wired versions rather than wireless because I've heard that the battery life is better.
  
• Timex Heart Rate Monitor strap & watch: it's just good to keep an eye on the ticker to see just how hard I am or am not working. It's also handy for managing my zone training.
  
• Helmet mounted Rear View mirror: it's nice to not be surprised by a passing car while commuting or a passing rider when in a pack. In fact, in today's pack ride...it helped me fend off an attacking rider because I could see him coming and speed up hold on for the "win". Admittedly, it's dorky looking...but it's functional!
  
• Performance Ultra Riding tights: the chamois is very comfortable and the 10 panel construction rocks. I don't know what the material is, but it's amazingly light, wicks moisture away instantly helping me keep dry, comfortable and cool.
  
• Pearl Izumi Vagabond cycling jacket: nice jacket overall with good pocket layout. The distinctor is that I can unzip the sleeves and use it as a cycling vest with a mesh back panel. Very functional, comfortable & stylish (if I do say so myself).
  
• MyCyclingLog.com: What a great site!
  

Well I could go on, but those are the things that jump to my mind at this moment.

Ride on!

C.

Wordle.net

Cool site that lets you create word clouds like this one (click it to see the original Java/clearer version):



This word cloud was created from the blog posts that covered my mom's passing away a couple of years ago.

C.

The story: back in 1987, some friends in the Marhofke neighborhood decided to put together a small movie. Here is the fruit of their labor. As unbelievable as it may be, this was an acting & filming first for all involved. :-)

Part 1...with Scott as a thug among friends.

Part 2...with Jodi as the secretary (follow the dialog closely)

With the weather turning a bit nicer (and worse...then nicer...then worse...then nicer...then...sense a pattern here in the midwest?), it's been a lot easier to cycle. I remember riding out in January in sub-freezing temps and gladly enjoy the current weather SO much more!

It's been nice as the last few weeks, I've been piling up more mileage than normal: a couple of 100 mile weeks then 120+ and I'm on track to maintain it more easily now that I've started to bike to work a couple/few times a week. It's about 14 miles each way to the office, so 28 bonus miles each day that I do it added to the two 30 mile pack rides and probably a ride of some sort on the weekend. Fun!

Here's what I learned in the two times that I biked to work:

• After piling up 80+ miles each in two separate 24-hour periods...a 14 mile commuting leg isn't a big deal. At. All.
  
• Riding my MB on the Prairie Path is a whole lot slower despite being shorter and having WAY less stops. I just can't come close to maintaining the speed on my MB that I can on my road bike.
  
• Cleaning up at work (a mini-sink shower and some fresh wipes) really isn't that bad. It's actually quite nice and I'm finding that I'm not sweating nearly as much as I thought I would.
  
• Carrying my stuff (clothes, etc.) in a Trunk Bag/Paniers on my rack is much better than carrying that stuff in a bag on my back. It's nice to end a ride without "Sweaty-Back-Syndrome".
  
• I forgot how nice the Prairie Path is...it's just so scenic and serene. Not having to stop every 5 minutes is pretty nice too. On my ride in this morning, I didn't have to bring my bike to a stop until after mile nine! My commute on the road last Friday, I found myself stopping constantly due to the road traffic lights & just traffic in general. Not to mention needing to stay on high-alert due to all of the car/truck traffic around me. On the Prairie Path, I just have to dodge joggers/walkers once in a while. Woot!
  
• My MB (Giant Rincon - an entry level chromoly bike from the mid-Nineties) is an absolute TANK compared to my aluminum/carbon road bike. A tank, I say!
  
• My MB seat is light-years more comfortable than my road bike racing seat. It's even labeled "Comfort" in big white letters on the back.
  
• I'm really looking forward to saving on gas money now that it's hitting so close to $4 a gallon. Ouch!
  
• I've had several conversations with other coworkers and there's about 3 or 4 that are going to do this regularly too. That's really cool!
  

So...commuting by bike to work: double thumbs up from me!

C.

I love stuff like this. It's like performance art!

C.