Veggie Education

For nearly a year now, I've been trying to consume less meat and more leafy green stuff.

Oh, don't worry -- I'm nowhere near becoming a vegetarian. In fact, I feel rather guilty that I'm not doing enough to keep beef ranchers and chicken farmers in business. And let's face it...cows and chickens were put on this earth for the sole purpose of being eaten. They're ugly, stupid, and delicious; so it's pretty obvious what their fate should be. And if they happen to arrive on the plate next to some tasty potatoes, so much the better.

But there is also a lot of evidence suggesting nutritional benefits from eating green stuff. Eschewing meat in favor of veggies is supposed to boost energy, clean out your pipes, and help you stay lean and alert. My original plan was to swap one traditional meal a day for a green smoothie, and then sit back to watch the pounds come off. I expected to get slim, fast, and smart within a few weeks.

It hasn't quite worked out that way.

The good news is that I am consuming a boatload more veggies than I used to. My cholesterol has come down, my eyes are healthy, and my skin seems to be more resilient and glowing. Most clinical measures would indicate that my nutritional program is a success.

But the bad news is that I'm still fat, slow, and socially inept. Sigh.

It's not difficult to determine the reason. I eat too much dessert. As healthy as they might be, salads and smoothies do not satisfy my cravings. When you finish eating a delicious, meat-smothered pizza, you lie back on the couch and say "Ahhh." When you finish a humongous bowl of greens, carrots, and cabbage, you stand up, pull open the fridge, and say "What else is there?"

Anyway, my intention wasn't to discuss my disciplinary failings and resultant dietary excesses. In fact, I still believe that I'm on the right track, and am gradually moving toward a healthy fitness lifestyle. The secret is to find ways to make consumption of greenery more palatable and satisfying. I think I've found a few things that help:

• Buy bagged salads.
  
  Yeah, I know that it's a LOT more expensive than buying raw greens and chopping them up yourself. But my experience has shown that when the required culinary effort is greater than scissoring open a plastic bag, the raw veggies I bought are likely to wither and wrinkle in the back of the fridge. I'll pay a couple of bucks for the convenience of being able to eat without messing up utensils and risking knife wounds.
  
  (By the way, I do realize that the common iceberg lettuce salads are on the weak end of the nutrition spectrum. It's harder to find pre-bagged salads with kale, spinach, and other robust veggies, but the extra effort and expense are worth it.)
• Don't overload the blender when making smoothies.
  
  My original thought was that filling the blender to the top was more efficient. I could make more smoothie meals in one operation, and would minimize cleanup duties. But there were two problems with that idea: One was that the ingredients simply didn't mix as thoroughly, and the other was that I usually didn't get to the last jar before it had begun to spoil.
  
  (By the way, the key to a palatable green smoothie is bananas. I'm not that big a fan of bananas as a stand-alone snack...but they sure make the green stuff taste better.)
• Get creative with salad dressings.
  
  We finally get to the real value in today's post; what to put on a salad. I've tried your low-calorie store-bought dressings, and some of them are OK. But generally, they're too heavy, and they get boring after a while. I also enjoy salsa as a dressing, but again, it's not something I necessarily want every day. So what's the answer? Surprisingly, it's neither a dressing nor a condiment: The secret is Mountain Dew.
  
  Well, OK, I'm not wealthy enough to afford real Mountain Dew; I buy "Big K Diet Citrus Drop"...but it tastes pretty much the same. I don't drink a lot of it because my Lipitor prescription warns that grapefruit can cause an undesirable drug interaction...though I'm not actually sure that Big K contains any real fruit ingredients at all. But the point is that a sprinkling of a carbonated fruit drink provides just the right amount of flavor and moisture to make a dull salad entirely edible.
  
  Take that, Paul Newman.

Of course, I will still indulge in the occasional pizza, hamburger, or KFC bucket. But the salad and/or smoothie thing will continue to be a core part of my triathlon nutrition program as I train for 2014 Nationals. And if I discover any more tricks for successfully suppressing my inner carnivore, I'll let you know. Have a great day!

String Theory

OK, yeah...I'll admit that the last puzzle was far too easy. Sorry about that. I know you guys prefer a bit more of an interesting challenge.

So which tennis player is this?

We'll talk about hamstrings, guitar strings, and shoestrings in a moment. But first, the answers (for those who don't follow tennis.)





The first tennis player is Arthur Ashe. Next is Bjorn Borg, followed by Jimmy Connors and Boris Becker.

On the second row, we have Locutus of Borg (aka Jean Luc Picard, possessed by the hive mind), followed by Boris Badenov, the fiendish nogoodnik. Next to him are a couple of Connors (Sarah and John), who are our only hope against the robot hordes unleashed by Cyberdyne Systems. And finally, we have Ashley "Ash" Williams, another great hero, played by the world's greatest actor, Bruce Campbell.

And of course, the two fellows at the top of the post represent Venus Williams, who (as far as I know) is no relation to Ashley.

Anyway, the good news is that my hamstring seems to be fine. After its suspicious behavior during the tennis match, I have been able to hike, run, and swim with no hints of hammie distress.

But here's a question for you: How often do you change your guitar strings?

I know that I don't do it often enough. I don't care about the degradation in sound quality that comes from old strings -- I have no audience, and the reverberation in my music studio sounds pretty good (probably due to the tile on the walls of the shower). No, my problem is that after a couple of years, the metal in the strings starts to shed slivers. And it really hurts to get a tiny piece of steel embedded in your index finger.

The weird thing is that the day before my E-string betrayed me, I had accidentally cut my other index finger while slicing vegetables. So here I am with two tender trigger fingers. Not really a problem -- it's just weird.

Anyway, the good news is that I really like my new hiking boots (waterproof, extremely comfortable, durable and easy-to-lace shoestrings: $30 at Big 5.) With the wonderful fall weather, I really wanted to do some hiking this weekend.

The first one was a short hike with my pal Chris after work on Thursday evening. We went to South Valley Park, and climbed up the Lyons Back trail to the top of the hogback. There was a little smog in the sky, but otherwise, you couldn't ask for better conditions.



There was a dude with a fan-chute craft circling around the park. I bet he had a great view.

I know I say this often, but it really is wonderful to live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and to have such a huge selection of gorgeous trails so conveniently close to home.

On Saturday, I went up to Mt. Falcon Park. My plan was to hike at least 5 miles, take a few photos, and give the new boots a legitimate test -- including a little bit of jogging.

I was surprised to see wildlife before I even arrived at the park. Perhaps the grass is tastier down in the neighborhood below the park. I'm not sure, but the deer seemed happy enough.

I don't have much to say about the hike, except that it was beautiful, and that I was able to run a significant part of it without any complaints from my feet, hamstrings, or anything else. Here are a few of the cool things I saw:















I'm not sure how many more days of this kind of hiking weather we'll have on the weekends, but if you have any suggestions for trails I should hike or run, please let me know. Thanks, and have a great day!

...or Not

It's kinda fun to play tennis on Ken Caryl's "Center Court". Makes me feel like my game has reached the big-time. Dazzling lights, spectator seating, and an immaculate surface -- they all drive the imagination to dream of acing serves against Lendl or Nadal (or one of them other tennis-playing commie jerks) at Wimbledon. It's a nice venue.



Unfortunately, my skill doesn't quite measure up to center court expectations. And if you want to get technical, the so-called "Center Court" at the KC Ranch House is actually at the far end of the complex...nowhere near the middle...so it probably doesn't deserve the name, anyhow. And the only reason that our informal league gets to play there is that, well...it's wintertime, and all the sane people have taken the sport indoors until next May.

Nonetheless, I played three sets last night. Because I was feeling peppy after my string of successful running workouts, I was looking forward to testing my quickness and agility on the court. Unfortunately, I didn't win the match.

Victory is always the goal, of course, but getting to a tie-breaker with someone a couple of decades younger isn't such a horrendous result that I'll spend the rest of the week whining about it. What I might whine about, though, is the fact that my hamstring did NOT appreciate one of my lunging returns. It was barking at me throughout the last 6 games.

It's not an "injury" -- merely an irritation. But having it happen the day after I had proudly bragged about my fitness and vigor seems suspiciously like some sort of Karmic backlash. And then when I was as agile as a bag of rocks at swim practice this morning, it made me wonder how I'm going to fit enough "recovery" time into my training plan. I need to work out more to achieve my fitness goals...but I need to rest more after hard workouts. The math is not working out in my favor. But there is a solution: Lotto tickets!

If I had enough money, I could work out all I wanted, and then spend the rest of the time either relaxing in a hot tub or getting a massage. Or napping. Without having to work for a living, I could find the perfect balance between exercise and recovery.

Of course, I'm also open to solutions outside of state-sponsored gambling (which I've heard referred to as "a tax on people who are bad at math.) Wealthy benefactors, corporate sponsors, and a joint checking account with Mila Jovovich would also be considered.

Let me know if you can provide any of those. In the meantime, here's a tennis-related puzzle for you. Find the connections between these two panels:





That's all for now. Have a great day!

Breakthrough?

There is a great disturbance in the Force: I've had four good runs in a row.

By "good runs", of course, I don't mean that anyone would mistake me for Paavo Nurmi, or even Cleavon Little. But nobody has offered to call the paramedics, get me a wheelchair, or refer me to Dr. Kevorkian. This is a dramatic improvement over what had been the norm. I'm not quite a real runner yet, but I'm beginning to believe that I'm no longer Walter Brennan.

Several things have made these recent runs interesting. The most notable was the presence of signs in Waterton Canyon on Saturday announcing the proximity of bears. As is my preference, I started my run fairly early; well ahead of the arrival of the high-school kids, mountain bikers, and families out for a stroll. I might have been the very first person to head up into the canyon.

I was carrying a tube of pepper spray -- but the label only claims that it's effective on Chihuahuas, petite housewives, and certain species of nonmigratory waterfowl...there's no mention of the ability to stop a grizzly attack. Regardless, I ventured forth, figuring that a) my obvious macho manliness and confident running stride would encourage the wildlife to remain in the bushes until I had safely passed, and b) since there are no berries on the road itself, the bears were far more likely to be somewhere else. The sighting that sparked the posting of the warning placard was probably just a case of the bear crossing the road to get to the other side. It's not like they habitually lurk behind a rock, just waiting for an unsuspecting jogger to eat. Is it?

In any case, I decided to take my chances and proceeded up the road. I paid much more attention to the periphery than I normally do, but saw no signs of large predators of any kind. I turned around at the 4.5-mile outhouse and ended up negative splitting the run by a significant margin. It felt really good going downhill with the wind at my back.

Other people were now making their way up the canyon, and a couple of Water Department vehicles went by...so at that point I figured that any bears in the area would be reluctant to appear. And so it was.

After the run, I rode my mountain bike back up to the top of the canyon, once again looking for wayward bruins. By then, the bighorn sheep were out on the road (doing the usual sheep stuff), but I ignored them. It was a decent ride, even though my legs were tired.

The other running workouts in this streak are not particularly noteworthy. They just went better than I would've expected. I was surprised by the speed I had at Tuesday night's track practice, and remain delightfully optimistic about having some good training runs this weekend, as well. I'm hoping to sneak in some saddle time, too. Things are going well.

In future posts, I'll share my thoughts about whether an improvement in training run smoothness has any noticeable impact on my tennis game, swimming performance, or mental sharpness. Until then, enjoy this wonderful weather, and have a great day!

Relativity

The interesting thing about the 10 Commandments movie is that all the major co-stars seem so appropriate for the Halloween season. Each of the folks I used for the puzzle are known to be fairly scary.

Vincent Price is, after all, the Master of the Macabre. Who else would be creepy enough to provide the voiceover for "Thriller"?

Yeah, I know he never played anyone as creepy as Michael Jackson was in real life, but still...you gotta love his voice. And with the exception of Yvonne DeCarlo, the other folks in the puzzle all have very distinctive voices, as well.




Yul Brenner's rogue cowboy robot was one of the scariest things I'd seen on the screen at the time Westworld came out. It's still one of my favorite horror movies, and its tagline is a classic: "Westworld--Where nothing can go worng!"

One bit of Westworld trivia: James Brolin (the first guy Yul plugs in the movie) is also in "Capricorn One" with O.J. Simpson...who also turned out to be an unstoppable machine who went haywire. Hmm.

Eddie G usually played scary guys throughout a career founded on gangster roles. Another instantly recognizable voice, he became the inspiration for Chief Wiggum on the Simpsons. (Hmm. Two Simpson references in two paragraphs -- you see how this stuff all fits together?) Anyway, more about Mr. Robinson in a moment.

As for the Munsters, well, I have to admit that they still strike terror into my fragile heart, much like Gilligan does. If someone turns the channel to a Munsters episode, I run screaming from the house.

I love John Carradine, though. He's always entertaining, and he parlayed his odd combination of aristocratic and lugubrious character traits into a long and successful career. Though he often played ghoulish roles, his largest contribution to horror was unleashing the dual evils of David and Keith Carradine upon an unsuspecting and innocent world. (I have no problem with his other son Robert -- he was in "Revenge of the Nerds," and I have a deep fondness for nerds, for obvious reasons.)

Anyway, what does any of this have to do with dump trucks?

The answer is that Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson were pals in the movie "Soylent Green," which (in an eerie foreshadowing of Obamacare) discusses what happens when government takes over the health and wellness industries. The other strange coincidence is that Heston's nemesis is played by Chuck Connors, who also had a role in "Support Your Local Gunfighter" as a relentless bald killer who was stalking a pair of genial fellows who were just having a good time. Copying Yul Brenner? I dunno -- that's a tough call. Yul was bald long before Soylent Green came out, but Westworld was released two years after that. I don't know what to think; perhaps they were both just imitating Otis Sistrunk.

Oh well. When I started writing this blurb, I was planning to talk about my Saturday run (with its lack of bear encounters), the stroke clinic we did on Sunday, and the fact that I seem to be needing more sleep these days. But those topics will have to wait. For now, I have to get ready for track practice. I need to make it a good one -- You never know how long it'll be until we have nice weather like this again.

Have a great day!

Mathias

I suppose that being turned into a light-fearing mutant with a focus on destroying all remnants of technology isn't all that much different from being turned into a zombie by a plague started when Stephen King's DNA polluted the water supply. Or turning green and self-inflating due to an overdose of gamma rays. Or being bit by a vampire...or finding your formerly-dead self suddenly reanimated by a mad scientist.

Any route to becoming non-human is probably not on the list of things you were hoping to do.

The question then becomes whether there's a cure or not. Fortunately, in my case (pictured above), Halloween passed, and I was able to shed the costume and makeup. You can't really tell from the photo, but a LOT of green makeup went down the bathtub drain that night. (FYI, this photo was probably taken at a Boeing Halloween party during the Ferrigno/Bixby TV years.)

I doubt there are many more Halloween costumes in my future. I'm kinda over it. But I'll never say never.

In any case, the albino mutant featured in yesterday's post is the character known as "Mathias" from the movie "The Omega Man." The skinny old guy in chains (about to be stoned to death for blasphemy) shares the name; he is "Matthias, son of Deuteronomy of Gath" in the Movie "Life of Brian."

"The Omega Man" was based on the story "I am Legend", which Will Smith also made into a movie a few years ago. But for my generation, the original Omega Man is the definitive version. Anthony Zerbe played top-dog mutant Mathias, and Charlton Heston portrayed the fellow whose day job was to try to find him and fill him full of lead.

Zerbe was one of those actors in the 70s who showed up in a bazillion movies and TV shows, and was always a jerk. There were a few other guys like that, notably Bradford Dillman and Bert Convy...but I was ambivalent toward them. They seemed harmless enough. But the one that always made me change channels was Stuart Margolin. He was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

On the other hand, Andy Robinson always seemed to play bad guys, too -- but I liked him. In fact, I thought he was a darned good actor, and still don't know why he didn't win an Oscar for "Dirty Harry." Oh well. When "Back to the Future" doesn't even get a nomination, you know the system is broken.

Anyway, Chuck Heston was the key connector for the extra credit puzzle. All of these folks were co-stars with Moses.



I mean that literally; each of these stars was featured along with Heston in "The 10 Commandments." Vincent Price, Yul Brenner, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne DeCarlo, and John Carradine were all involved in the story of Moses and his odd assortment of plagues.

And there you have today's discussion tied up in a neat little bow -- we start with plagues and end with plagues. (You can't say I don't know how to roll with the spirit of Halloween, can you?)

One more question, though, and then a bonus video. Can you tell me how two of the "10 Commandments" costars relate to this picture?



Anyway, this has nothing to do with any of that -- but when I think of costumes, the king's appearance in the clip below always comes to mind. Enjoy it, and have a great day!

Adjustments

I was all set to write my annual "Winter's here and my bones is achin' from the rheumatiz" post, but then Global Warming reasserted itself and threw out a nice day today.

I'm so confused...

But despite Nature's cruel refusal to cooperate with my preconceived notions of meteorological probabilities, I've had a pretty good week so far. My running tights still fit, and judging from the pain in my ankle, I have to believe that my physical therapy is making progress.

(Well, either that or I really do have weather-activated rheumatism. It has been a bit chilly during my last couple of runs.

In any case, I'm enjoying Autumn so far. The last few days have been a blur -- I've had deadlines to meet for two proposals, several presentations, and a couple of tradeshow posters. The workdays have sizzled, which tends to leave me depleted and slothful in the evenings. But that's OK; I'm expecting the upcoming few days to be relaxed by comparison. I've got a bike ride planned for Saturday morning, and am teaching a stroke clinic on Sunday. In between those events, I hope to spend some time enjoying the last of the fall colors before the real brutality of winter sets in.

The other good news is that my friends are showing great support for my plan to become tri-ready by next summer. I have easy access to all sorts of running and cycling advice, a selection of positive training buddies, and a never-ending fountain of encouragement. Of course, I have a bunch of weight to lose, years of bad running form to overcome, and a history of laziness that will remain a challenge until I develop a set of new habits and attitudes. Hmm.

I guess I'll need to start picking some races to run. I think I would enjoy one of the upcoming zombie runs...except for the fact that they all start after my bedtime. I have several friends running the Denver marathon this weekend, but I can't attend that one because of the stroke clinic. But I'll find something. Let me know if you have any recommendations.

In the meantime, here's a trivia question: What does the pasty-faced fellow above have in common with the chained-up dude in this picture?



And for extra credit, how does the albino above get connected to all the folks in the panel below? (Click to embiggen.)



That's all for today. I find myself hoping that tomorrow will be a nice day as well. Maybe I'll even go for a longer run. We'll see. But no matter what Nature decides to do, I hope you'll have a great day!

Running Etiquette

A runner shouldn't really have to worry about automobile traffic at 5 am.

But my last two pre-dawn runs involved 4 separate right-of-way negotiations. Hey, I realize that it's hockey season now, so I guess I should expect a significant increase in pre-dawn traffic, but I'd prefer not to have to have strain my brain so much before I've had my morning coffee.

OK, I don't drink coffee...but you know what I mean.

When I arrive at an intersection the same time as a vehicle, my preference has always been for the car to go first. From a very young age, I have realized that a guy on foot cannot possibly benefit from any sort of physical confrontation with a mobile block of metal, so I prefer to exercise caution...even if I do have the right of way. In other words, even if it's legally my turn, I am reluctant to walk (or run) in front of a moving car.

But most drivers are equally cautious and (in my experience) are usually pretty polite when it comes to joggers with reflective vests. So, what happens is that I stop, they stop, and we each wave to indicate that the other should go first.

Maybe if I was a faster runner, I'd feel differently...but once I've slowed down in anticipation of the vehicle making the turn in front of me, it's not like I'm going to rocket across just because I've received the wave. The car could complete their turn in 2 seconds, meaning that I probably wouldn't have to even alter my pace. But if I go, then there's a 10 second disruption in the flow for each of us.

Of course, there's no mental telepathy going on, so I guess that's just the way it's going to be. I appreciate the driver's position, and I would probably behave the same way if I were behind the wheel. But for those of you who are likely to cross my path before swim practice in the morning, if I wave you to go, please do.

Thanks. (Of course, if I am totally wrong on the etiquette here, please let me know. I'm pretty confident about my knowledge of the rules of lap lane behavior in a swimming pool, but will happily defer to my runner friends in matters like this.)

Anyway, the point is that the vehicle in the picture above is the Hoyt Clagwell tractor belonging to Mr. Oliver Wendell Douglas. The brand name is actually fictional (as was Mr. Douglas...though I'm pretty sure that Hootersville is a real place.) The real tractor was built by the Fordson company, a spinoff of the Ford Motor Company in the years after the Model T.

Unfortunately, they don't build them anymore. And as far as I know, they no longer make flux capacitors, either.



I'm sure everyone remembers that Doc Brown came up with the idea for time travel when he slipped in the bathroom. So, the answer to question number 1 is "C".

Sorry, but I have no idea what powers Tron's motorcycle, or why a computer construct is riding a motorcycle in the first place. Or why Tron sucked so incredibly thoroughly.

But I do know that the actor who played Jaws was Richard Kiel, and that Moe Szyslak serves Duff beer. And if you clicked on the link about holographic messages, you undoubtedly recognized that the clip was from "Buckaroo Banzai." If you have not seen that movie, you should watch it. It is unquestionably the best movie ever made about invading Lectroids from Planet 10 in the 8th Dimension. Unquestionably.

Philo Farnsworth gets credit for inventing the television, which originally used a device called a cathode ray tube to display the picture. When I wrote that question, I realized that kids born today may never ever see a cathode ray tube, just as they'll never see a dial telephone. Why, back in my day...

Um, wait, I'm off topic. A Jeffries tube is one of these things:



Walter Matthew (Matt) Jeffries was the set designer for Star Trek TOS, so the tube was named after him. The answer to question 3 is "D".

The answer to question 4 is also "D". Mel Blanc provided the voice for Twikki, the grotesque robot (aka "ambuquad") that was the compelling reason NOT to watch the "Buck Rogers" TV show. Fortunately, Erin Gray (pictured here) was appealing enough to counteract Twikki's powers of repulsion. I hardly ever missed an episode. It was fun to see how many discarded "Battlestar Gallactica" props they would use each week.

"Buck" was not good science fiction, nor a particularly good television program...but it was amusing. And I thought Ms. Gray was every bit as attractive as the Bionic Woman. Ah, those were the days, weren't they?

But I digress. The answer to question 5 is "C". So which Bond is your favorite?



The answer to question 6 is "B." In the movie "This Island Earth," the planet Metaluna sends a bunch of guys with extra-large foreheads to recruit Earth's greatest scientists to help them do some kinda sciency stuff. I forget exactly what. But they used triangular TVs to communicate, and called them "Interocitors."



The badges Picard wears are called "Communication badges", Ekosian Nazi interrogators are called "Ekosian Nazis", and the Y-shaped time-travel thingy might actually be called a "flux compressor." If you look closely at the Back to the Future picture above, you'll see that the label doesn't contain anything about capacitors. But you can't really be sure, what with all those deviating chalkboard timelines and whatnot.

Anyway, Kwai Chang Caine was a Shaolin monk. Darth and Luke were infested with Midichlorians, and Chris Jackson changed his name to Mock-mood Abdool Raw-oof, or something like that. Therefore, the Mondoshawans must be these guys:



They're the good aliens from the movie "The Fifth Element," which is also a classic. The Mondoshawans aren't onscreen much during the film, which is fine, since they seem to be made of the same basic materials as Twikki. They are a bit larger and obviously more intelligent -- and apparently aren't robots. But it doesn't really matter, since the movie is actually centered around the love story between the cab driver and the reconstituted kung fu goddess.

Anyway, there are two movie recommendations for you; "Buckaroo" and "Fifth". I also watched another film I'd recommend over the weekend; "Not Another Not Another Movie." It made me laugh out loud a few times, and that's enough to get it a recommendation. I hope to see "Ender's Game" and maybe even "Gravity" in the next week or two. Perhaps I'll have some cinematic experience opinions to share at that point. In the meantime, please enjoy the remaining autumn colors, and have a great day!

Hoyt Clagwell

On Saturday, I hiked part of a trail I hadn't been on before.

It was a nice hike, and I actually ended up running a pretty good chunk of it. I was hoping to see some gorgeous fall colors, but Centennial Cone Park isn't exactly chock-a-block with Aspens.

But there was a little color, and some nice vistas. The weather was dandy, the trail mostly dry, and the pumas and sasquatches who might have been watching me were kind enough to let me pass unimpeded.

This trail is an "alternate use" trail; which means that no bikes are allowed on odd-numbered weekend days -- but you must be on wheels on the even days. I may have to take my mountain bike out there one of these days. Most of the trail was wide and not that steep.



One more photo, and then we'll move on to the educational parts. But first, my polarized sunglasses revealed some interesting patterns in the trail ice. (Yes, I did hold my shades over the camera lens...I didn't expect it to work this well. Groovy little rainbows.)



I may not be one who knows how to "wake up and smell the coffee", but I'm pretty good when it comes to noticing weird stuff I might want to avoid stepping in.

Anyway, the Miracle of America Museum made me think about interesting devices with names that may not be universally recognized. So I thought I'd ask you guys if you can identify the definitions of a few of these terms. Answers will be posted in a future blog. Question 1 is a gimme:

1. What is a flux capacitor?
A. Tim Allen's favorite power tool
B. The energy source for Tron's motorcycle
C. An idea related to slippery toilets
D. A Dr. Seuss musical instrument

2. What is Hoyt Clagwell?
A. An alias for a Fordson farm implement
B. A lesser-known droid that carries holographic messages
C. The actor who played "Jaws" in the James Bond movies
D. The beer on tap at Moe's Tavern

3. What is a Jeffries tube?
A. Philo T. Farnsworth's most famous invention
B. A vacuum pipe that banks use for drive-through deposits
C. A musical instrument for the Blue Man Group
D. A place where crawling Scotsmen say "I canna dew it!"

4. What is Twikki?
A. Mel Blanc's worst career decision
B. A really horrifying robot from outer space
C. Ambuquad 22-23-T
D. All of the above

5. What is a Walther PPK?
A. The disease that forces Dr. House to use a cane
B. The guitar that Ted Nugent plays
C. James Bond's gun
D. The model number for Maxwell Smart's shoe phone

6. What is an interocitor?
A. The badge on Picard's shirt that lets him talk to the Enterprise
B. A communication device from the planet Metaluna
C. An Ekosian Nazi who harshly questions Zeon prisoners
D. The Y-shaped light bulb thingy that makes time travel possible

7. What is a Mondoshawan?
A. Good-hearted space monster that foils Gary Oldman
B. An Asian priest, like Kwai Chang Caine
C. Microbes that give the Skywalker family an unfair advantage
D. The Muslim name for basketball player Chris Jackson

OK, that's it for today. The weather is supposed to change, so perhaps my next post will feature pictures of rain and/or snow (with or without polarized sunglasses filters.) I'm looking forward to it; hope you are, too. Have a great day!

Bellingham

After all the excitement of the trip, it was kinda nice to settle in and relax a bit in Bellingham. The kids are renting a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood, with plenty of nearby amenities.

I parked myself on their comfy fold-out sofa, and slept well -- except for a short interruption when 3rd roommate Austin returned with the other former bandmate, Phil, around midnight.

As you might expect, I woke up 4 or 5 hours earlier than the kids did, so I checked my email, read the latest online news about the Colorado floods, and then went for a walk. After exploring the neighborhood and fortifying myself with an Egg McMuffin, I came back to the house and finished unloading Tanner's stuff out of my car.

When Tanner and Caitlyn finally emerged from hibernation, they agreed to give me a brief tour of the area. Caitlyn was on crutches with an injured leg, but didn't let that stop her from leading the afternoon's activities.

OK, I guess she did get a little bit of help...



We had brunch at the Horseshoe Café, which boasts of being the oldest continually operating café west of the Mississippi, open 24 hours a day. The French toast was pretty good.

After that, we went to Larabee State Park. (No, it was not named after the character on Get Smart, but you only missed it by that much.) Cute place, with lush, abundant greenery hiding a short path that takes you right down to the water.











It wasn't exactly cold...but it wasn't warm enough to convince us to remain at the water's edge for all that long. We then drove by the campus where Tanner will be working (and probably going to school), and then went for some ice cream.

I really enjoyed hanging out with the kids. They are a cute couple, always entertaining; and they didn't seem to be too awfully mortified to be seen in public with an old guy who was not only clueless about the local ultra-liberal hippie attitudes, but also had trouble figuring out his newfangled cell phone. I was thankful for that.

Our last stop of the day was to visit Whatcom Falls Park, which is about a mile from their house. Unfortunately, Caitlyn had some stuff she had to do, so we dropped her off at home, so it was up to just myself and Tanner to explore the woods.

Dusk was rolling in, but there was still plenty of light to see on the streets and in the parking lot. But the wooded canopy of the park was so thick that we were nearly blind wandering down the path, trying to find the falls themselves.

This is the best picture I could get in the forest darkness.



It was kinda creepy, standing on the edge of a 20 foot cliff (maybe higher) in the dark, listening to the waters crashing below. I don't know if Tanner will someday want to plunge off the cliff, but I'm pretty sure I won't. What do YOU think?



That was pretty much it for my adventure in Washington. I did get the boy to pose with me for one family photo before I left:



I decided to make my solo journey home a quick and direct one. It involved napping at rest areas, eating at gas stations, and seeing sunsets, sunrises, fog, rain, and more beautiful mountain scenery.







I got home about 5:30 in the morning on a Monday. I could've gone to swim practice, I suppose, but chose instead to go home and sleep soundly in my own bed. Frankly, I was happy to have an uneventful return trip. My one big accomplishment on that part of my vacation was that I picked up an adapter at a truck stop and figured out how to play music from my cell phone through my car speakers. Was I rocking out as I crossed the empty spaces of Wyoming? Why yes, yes I was.

Anyway, I do appreciate you taking the time to browse through my reports. My weekend activities since returning have included a long-course swim meet, a long hike in the mountains, and all sorts of laundry and housecleaning chores. But I doubt I'll bore you with any of that. Upcoming posts will most likely contain some nerd trivia challenges...if I can stop myself from ranting about the pinheads in Washington. For now, though, I shall once again thank you for your patronage, and wish you a fabulous day!