Saturday, January 03, 2004
Oh Yeah!
I've been tuned out to sports lately, partly because all my favorite teams (e.g. New York Mets, UNC Tar Heels) have been on losing streaks. But tonight, I felt the thrill of victory once again, as the Carolina Panthers stomped the Dallas Cowboys 29-10 to advance to the next round of the NFL playoffs. They played flawlessly, no turnovers — or even penalties! I can't recall ever seeing better play calling. Next week, we'll play the St. Louis Rams in St. Louis. Now if only that winning spirit can make its way from Charlotte to Chapel Hill....
Music In My Head
- Steely Dan — "Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More"
- Robert Hazard — "Escalator of Life"
- Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen, Jr. — "Theme from Mission: Impossible"
- Dick Dale — "Misirlou"
- Bing Crosby — "Mele Kalikimaka"
By the way, a merry 10th day of Christmas to all of you!
Posted by Me at 23:57 link
Friday, January 02, 2004
2004: So Far, So Good
Still not much going on. That'll change Tuesday, when I start my last semester at Mitchell. I'm currently signed up for six classes, but I'm going to drop at least one of them, probably two.
When I met with my advisor in November to register for this semester, we realized I'd made a mistake: seems the requirements for my major (Computer Programming) changed the semester after I started. The old rules still apply to me, but I'd been choosing my classes based on the new requirements, so it turned out I'd taken a couple of classes I don't really need — and more important, I hadn't taken a couple of classes I do need.
My advisor is sharp; as soon as she realized the situation, she had me apply to substitute two of the classes I've already taken for the two remaining required courses. Also, she signed me up for both of the required classes. If the dean approves either or both of the substitutions, I'll drop them both; if not, I'll drop one or both of the "fun" classes I'm signed up for. I hope the substitutions are both approved; I'd much rather learn Java and Spanish than Business and Micro Economics (ugh). I'll probably keep Spanish regardless, and I'll still learn a little Java in my Object Oriented Programming class (my sixth class is Database Concepts, a.k.a. All About Microsoft Access). With a little luck, the dean has made his decisions and I'll be able to sort things out Monday.
Today was mellow. I helped a woman with her computer problem (transferring financial records from Word to Excel), I watched Mission Impossible (3/4 of it, anyway; I paused it to write this), I worked out (if you really want to know more, it's documented in my fitness file), I rode my bike to the mall and got the battery holder for my cold weather headlamp project, then I came home and put the thing together.
I also ordered 3 6v standard bulbs online (after checking first locally), but afterwards I realized that I could use the 4 AA holder (6v) as a 3 AA holder (4.5v) simply by "jumping" the contacts in one of the battery slots. I verified this by jumping the contacts with a wire (don't worry! I used insulated "safety" alligator clips) and now I'm seeing how long the light will burn on 3 AA batteries. Petzl's official figure is 9.5 hours for alkaline batteries; I expect around 30 hours from nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeables. It seems less bright so far than with 4 AA batteries, but that setup lasted just under an hour before the bulb burned out (too much voltage). Using the 3 AAs, I can keep using the slightly cheaper (and much easier to find) 4.5v bulbs. It doesn't matter much: the 4.5v bulb I burned out had lasted over 7 years before I fried it! Petzl makes good stuff.
I'm sure you're all fascinated, just riveted to your chairs in anticipation of the next thrilling installment of The Amazing Adventures of Electronics Geek! Sorry! I know this blog has become boring as hell! That's temporary, I promise. I'll get back to Railing Against Injustices, to Going Places and Doing Cool Stuff before long. For now I'm pleasantly bored, just chillin', chillin', chillin'.
Want to do Something Good Now? Well, okay then! To send an email to the US EPA regarding mountaintop removal coal mining, click here:
http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/index.asp?item=2851&step=2
The deadline for this action is Monday, January 6, so get clicking!
Posted by Me at 23:44 link
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Nothing Changes On New Year's Day
Not much changed around here, anyway
Another day spent in decadent idleness. Mom and I ate a late lunch and watched the Rose Bowl together. I repaired a number of annoying minor mechanical, electrical and plumbing problems at her house.
I tinkered a bit more over here, converting my Petzl Zoom headlamp to run on 4 AA batteries. For you electronics geeks out there (wazzup!), this means I have to switch bulbs, either to the 6 volt standard Petzl bulb (made for the Zoom Zora headlamp, but fits the regular Zoom), or else to the brighter 6 volt halogen bulb — which I don't want to do (because using a halogen bulb would cut battery life 80%!). As my fellow electronics geeks know, running 6 volts through a 4.5 volt bulb (such as the one that came standard with my Zoom) will kill the bulb in a hurry (one hour in my test!).
Why go to all this trouble? Just for the fun of it, really. I got a new headlamp for Christmas, the amazing, much lighter Princeton Tec Matrix II. Right after Christmas, I needed a durable, waterproof battery case for my new bike taillight — so I used the one from my Zoom headlamp. Then I realized I could (fairly) easily convert the Zoom to function like Petzl's legendary Arctic Zoom headlamp, simply by rewiring it with longer wires and improvising an insulated pouch (which was easy). Then I decided to convert it to run on AA batteries, instead of the standard, heavy, expensive, hard-to-find 4.5 volt square batteries.
All I need to finish the project is the 6v bulb (two actually; it's always a good idea to have a spare), and a 4-AA battery holder from Radio Shack. When I'm finished I'll have the ultimate winter mountaineering light, without having to shell out any more money. I figure it'll run about 30 hours on 4 AA Nickel Hydride rechargeable batteries, maybe longer. With the batteries inside my coat, it'll be even lighter on my head than my new Princeton Tec wonder, and I won't have to worry about cold weather reducing battery life.
Then all I'll need will be some cold weather so I can try the thing out. No cold weather here! Even on top of Mt. Mitchell, our highest mountain, today's high was over 40° F, with the low tonight not likely to drop even as low as 20° F. Here it was over 60° F! The forecast calls for more of the same. I shouldn't complain about it. No one else is complaining!
I started my fitness file. You'll find a link to it on the sidebar, right above the archives. It's pretty basic right now, with just one entry (from yesterday). I'll add some links to fitness resources and every time I exercise I'll record it in the file.
Yes, I will get a life soon! School starts in five days. In the meanwhile, I'm going to continue to goof off creatively — and to tell you about it, even if you don't really want to know. So there.
Posted by Me at 22:59 link
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Adiós, MMIII
May history treat you kindly.
A number of wonderful things happened this year. For instance, my friends Ian and Tessa got married in the most amazing wedding I have ever seen, probably the most amazing wedding anyone has ever seen. And, uh... uh... uh... c'mon — somebody help me out here! Did anything else wonderful happen in 2003?
Some fairly cool stuff happened in my personal life. I did a 100-mile ride on my mountain bike. I started this blog (actually, here's the first entry). I re-established contact with two terrific uncles of mine. I spent as much time as I could spend with my Best Friend, and a fair amount of time with many of my friends. I rolled around on the floor with my dogs a whole bunch. I made "A"s in all my classes (10 of them). I started learning to speak Spanish.
I found ways to survive after my employer went out of business. I helped people with their computers; I sold stuff on eBay (though not quite as much as I bought). I learned the value and the power of declaring my principles and values publicly. I came to understand those principles and values more clearly, and as a result, I gained a deep spiritual peace from the knowledge that I'm a good person with a lot to offer the world. I realized fully for the first time that I deserve to be happy.
I learned that the "secret" keys to happiness aren't secret at all; like so many things in life, they're basically a collection of habits. I worked towards those habits and realized a deep sense of happiness and the potential for even greater happiness.
Despite all this, 2003 was for me the crappiest year since 1998! That was so mainly because of all the evil crap in the world (e.g. the Iraq war and ongoing aftermath), and also because of some situations in my personal life that are completely beyond my control. I gained a bunch of weight, too, which was certainly within my control.
So, for 2004, I resolve to live according to my principles and values, to love and give as much as possible, to accept the things I can't change, to change the things I can, and, like Samuel L. Jackson, I resolve to continue to kick ass!
Happy New Year, everybody! Say a fond (or not) farewell to 2003. All's well that ends.
Posted by Me at 21:34 link
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Down Time
For me, 2003 is winding down lazily. I'm enjoying a childlike lack of responsibilities. School starts one week from today; I'm neither dreading it nor particularly looking forward to it. After this semester, I'll finally have a college degree, albeit a humble Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Computer Programming. Then the job market. Before much more time passes, I want to finish my Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Psychology (for fifteen years, I've been two classes short).
But for the last few days, and the next few days, it's video games (especially Galaga, Donkey Kong and today, Star Castles), movies (film du jour was Raiders of the Lost Ark), tinkering (tried—and failed—to repair a broken zipper on the motorcycle tank bag I'm trying to convert to bicycle use), and exercise (today I biked to the Y, lifted, walked/ran/rowed for 45 minutes, then biked home). That's about it!
Tomorrow, if they're dry enough, I'll get the last of autumn's leaves off the roof, out of the gutters and raked down to the street. For the fifth day in a row, I'll invite my mom to come to the YMCA with me. Maybe I'll finally take a few pictures of local Christmas lights, before they're all gone.
I would backpack high into the mountains for New Year's (which was my tradition while I had no significant other to spend it with), but without snow (too warm!), I just can't get excited enough to actually do it. I'll probably go to Mom's. She'll fall asleep. I'll be kind of bored. It'll seem strange, with my Friend somewhere on a river in the backwoods of Chile.
Well, one thing I've learned: life is strange, unless it's boring. Sometimes, it's both.
Posted by Me at 22:00 link
Monday, December 29, 2003
Kudos To Canon
About a month ago, I told you I'd had problems with my Canon PowerShot A70 digital camera, and that I was sending it in to Canon for service (it's still under warranty). I'm happy to report that I got it back from them less than two weeks after I sent it in, and that it's working great again (you might have inferred that from the pictures I posted the previous two days). The repair sheet says they replaced the "optical unit," whatever that is. I wonder if my promise to describe my customer service experience in full here on the blog helped at all? At any rate, my experience was excellent. The service rep. was friendly on the phone, and gave me very clear instructions; customer service did just what he said they'd do, in the time frame he gave. Now let's just hope the camera stays fixed!
In other local news, I just got back from Wal-Mart, the only store in town with Carolina Tar Heel basketball shorts at a good price. I realized recently that I was pretty much the only guy at the gym still working out in running shorts! So, basketball "shorts" (they reach my knees) it is. I don't care about fashion, but I don't enjoy standing out from the crowd that much, either.
Although it's hard not to stand out when you bicycle to Wal-Mart! I've proven I can do it! It appears the key is to go late on a weeknight. I was pleasantly surprised: no hassles at all. Traffic was no problem, I found a good place to lock the bike, and the stuff I bought fit nicely into the panniers. One hill is a bit challenging coming home; but it's not that bad, and besides, it only lasts a few minutes. It took 30 minutes to make the 6.5 mile round trip — about 10 minutes longer than it usually takes by car. Forgive me if I sound impressed with myself!
Speaking of impressive, my Friend is whitewater rafting in Chile right now! Well, maybe not at this moment, but you know. Think happy thoughts for her.
Posted by Me at 23:24 link
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Walking the Walk
Maybe that should be 'riding the ride.' I just got back from the grocery store. I brought back 25 lbs worth of groceries — on the bike. Actually, it was easy! Panniers rule! Now to make it a habit....
My bike, showing all the stuff that wasn't there six months ago
Earlier, I pedalled over to the Y for an hour of exercise. My run/walk ratio is leaning more towards run now, although to keep my heart rate under 145, I still have to walk more than run. That's O.K., I can feel myself getting stronger all the time. I've lost some weight, and gained some fitness.
I've decided to create a fitness file, with a link to it on this page. As mentioned before, I'm a compulsive record-keeper, and putting my workout record where anyone can read it should help me to create stronger habits. I may include something about my weight, but since I'm vain enough not to admit the full extent of my fatness, I'll probably call my starting weight 0 lbs, or maybe 55 lbs — since that's how much I want to lose.
(If you're at all good at arithmetic, you can figure out my weight, given the following information: my lean weight (if I had absolutely no fat) is 168 lbs (yes, I actually am big-boned, in addition to being fat); my goal is to have 15% body fat. Any comment listing my current weight will be deleted. Swiftly.)
In my fitness file, each time I work out, I'll record how long I exercised, how hard I went (average heart rate) and how many calories I burned. My goals are to lift weights once a week, and to do 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise five times a week. I'll probably start the file around New Year's Day.
Do any of you still observe the twelve days of Christmas? My family may be one of the last American families to do this. O.K., when I say "my family," I mean my mom and me.
For us, it works like this: on Christmas Day, we exchange fairly substantial presents; on each of the next twelve days we give each other little presents. For example, today (the fourth day of Christmas) Mom gave me a little bag of Hanukkah chocolate coins — yes, I know Hanukkah ended two nights ago; and no, we're not Jewish! I don't know why my parents have always given me Hanukkah Gelt — but obviously, I'm not complaining! Anyway, the small gifts continue (with maybe a substantial gift "hidden" amongst them) until Epiphany, (aka Twelfth Night), which always falls on January 6th. That night again, we exchange a substantial gift. I have no clue what I'm going to get her. It's like Christmas all over again!
Posted by Me at 22:22 link
