Chariots o' fire

Every now and then I get a pleasant surprise.

Last night, the enjoyable shock was an unexpectedly fast performance in a running time trial. This represents further evidence that joining the Revolution Running club was a good decision.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am obligated to share that my 15-minute time trial was not "fast" in any objective, dictionary-based interpretation of the word. But in the relative sense of "Terry is usually as slow as molasses on Pluto at Christmas," the term applies. I exceeded my optimistic goal distance by a couple hundred meters.

I went a little over 3000 meters in 15 minutes. That's around a 7:45 per mile pace -- when I was hoping to hold around 8:00. I am very happy with that result!

For those readers who are not runners, a little perspective is probably in order. World-class runners run at a pace that's around 3 minutes faster than that per mile...for an entire marathon. And I, myself, held pretty close to that 7:45 pace for a full marathon once upon a time.

But that was many moons ago. Many moons. In recent years, getting close to an 8:00 mile was a major triumph, so logging a faster time this early in the summer season is indeed a cause for celebration.

Let's examine the elements involved. First, it was a time trial, involving a coach with a watch and a whistle. That in itself is motivational. Then there were competitors. These competitors are my friends, and knowing that they were running hard, too, provided additional inspiration. The clouds rolled in, so the temperature was nice. And there were coaches on the track shouting reminders about form, breathing, and turnover rate that help me retain focus under high effort. There is no way I could've gone that fast without those contributing factors.

Yes, I know that most of my readers are much faster than me, and are probably yawning and thinking "I could run that fast wearing ski boots and carrying a walrus." I cheerfully acknowledge that fact. But one of the things I love about athletics in general is that we each have our own summits to strive toward. And we support each other in those quests, and can celebrate every PR that any of us achieves.

Of course, the bad news is that we'll probably do a similar time trial at the end of the summer to see if we've improved. That means that I'll have to work even harder to squeeze more speed out of these geriatric legs. I shall thank you in advance for your support in this endeavor.

In the meantime, I have a question for you to ponder: Do you ever confuse two actors who resemble each other?



This example is just a teaser. These guys don't really look that much alike. But when I first saw "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" as a kid, I did think that Captain Nemo was Ben Cartwright. But he was actually played by Herbert Lom, who is most famous as being the crazed Chief Inspector Dreyfuss who is driven insane by Clouseau.

But I have a few others I'll be posting next week that I have confused on more than one occasion. I'll include yours if you have any good suggestions. (Note: Chris Pine and William Shatner don't qualify. Sorry. But Buddy Ebsen vs. Boxcar Willie? Well, maybe.)

As for the title of this post, did you know that the original "Chariots of Fire" quote came from the Bible (2nd Kings, 2:11). It's not about fast runners, or Ben Hur, or anything that's really a good reference for athletic triumph. It's actually some sort of nonsense about celestial smiting, salting the earth, and casting out -- but you'll have to ask someone else if you want a more spiritual take on the passage. The bottom line is that British Olympians and flaming horsecarts really don't have anything to do with each other. But a catchy theme song can create linguistic links that endure...so I am allowed to associate a wing-headed DC Comics character with a burning buggy and nobody blinks twice. What a country!

Extra credit: How do you connect Commander Adama and this guy?



That's all for now. Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!

Chillin'

Sometimes, it's good to just relax. Maybe have a cold beverage with some good friends, talk about galactic politics and whatnot...you know, just immerse yourself in the act of unwinding.

Oh yeah, that would be nice. But it seems like such opportunities are rather rare these days. My calendar has very little white space. I'm having a lot of fun with all this activity, training, and social hobnobbery...but I sometimes wish there were a few more hours in each week.

One of my ongoing projects involves scanning old family photos for eventual incorporation into a historical video documentary about my immediate relatives -- especially my dad. He'll be 97 years old in November, and I think he'd enjoy seeing a compilation that captures some of the moments from his life. He won't remember very much of it, I'm afraid...heck, I'm running across photos of people who were once bosom chums, but whose names now escape me. I couldn't expect a guy with that much more mileage on his brainpan to recognize and identify his own aunts and uncles, much less his cats, cows, and chickens.

Oddly, I'm finding that I remember the names of girls I had crushes on (but never spoke to) more strongly than guys who were in my Boy Scout patrol for multiple years. Swimming teammates remain in my memory much more vividly than school friends -- and 1960s TV actors are easier to recall than aerospace coworkers. These facts probably say something about me that would cause Dr. Freud to take copious notes...but I'm perfectly OK with it all.

But it is good to have graphical documentation of one's life. And it's good to get it digitized and backed up. But the process of scanning, cropping, naming, and filing is a time-consuming one. I could easily fill every free hour throughout the summer, and possibly beyond.

So here's my question for today: How long has it been since YOU uttered the phrase "Gee, I wish I had something to do this weekend!"

For me, the last time was way back when I owned one of these:



I refer to those days (my mid-20s) as my "badass motorcycle-ridin' hippie-stompin' days," even though I probably wouldn't have lived up to your expectation of a hardcore biker. Sure, I did ride everywhere...but I always wore a helmet, obeyed all traffic regulations, and used a muffler that made the bike purr quietly.

Well, OK, I almost always followed traffic regulations. The sunglasses I wore sometimes made it hard to read the posted speed limit signs. But the worst thing I ever did to any hippies was to mutter "get a job!" under my breath as I rode past them. (Heck, I still do that.)

My point is that there was a time in my life where I'd sit at work on Friday and wonder "What am I going to do to keep from being bored this weekend?" Nowadays, the questions is "How am I possibly going to get everything done before Monday?"

Sigh. Oh well, I am quite certain that I prefer having a full and busy life to one with gaps and holes that I'd struggle to fill. Time flies by in fast motion when every single moment is booked up, but there is never an instant when I wish I was someone else.

The upcoming few days feature two social outings with relatives (one of whom I haven't seen for more than 40 years), a running time trial, a triathlon, a swim lesson, unavoidable automobile maintenance, and a breakfast meeting with delicious scrambled eggs and hash browns. Oh yeah...and all the office work, laundry, and dishwashing that comes along with not being able to afford a personal staff.

If by some chance, I do find myself relaxing and vegging out, I will let you know. In the meantime, I hope your tasks keep you occupied with engaging and fulfilling activities. Fabersham, everyone, and have a great day!

3rd Rock

Yesterday's puzzle featured the names of the first few planets in our solar system. I couldn't think of anyone named after Uranus, though, so I had to quit after about 8 AU from the sun.

Still, it's fun to think about how stuff that's so incredibly far away influences us. No, I'm not talking about astrology, but about how we are driven to explore, learn, and strive to understand our universe.

It makes me happy to know that there's an American-built machine that's been flying for 9 years just to briefly analyze an object that nobody even knew existed 100 years ago. I hope they find Gorns or Hortas or something looking up from Pluto's surface and smiling for the cameras. (Well, OK, those guys aren't particularly known for smiling, but you know what I mean.)



Panel 1 is Mike Mercury, the driver that Jason Statham's "Transporter" character was modeled from. He was the star of the "Supercar" series, and an all-around good guy (for a puppet). Panel 2 is Venus Williams, who, as far as I know, is no relation to the guy who played Lando Calrisian, but gains space cred by being an out-of-this-world athlete.

Panel 3 is Eartha Kitt, who is responsible for the sexiest Christmas song of all time. She may be known to younger readers as Madam Zeroni in the film "Holes." Panel 4 is actor Kenneth Mars, shown here as the local gendarme in "Young Frankenstein." He was also in "What's Up Doc," "The Producers", "Butch Cassidy," the TV series "He and She", and even "Deep Space Nine." Funny guy.

The last panel features the Jupiter II, the (extremely) mobile home of the Space Family Robinson. Perhaps one day they'll do a reboot movie where the robot will warn Will Robinson about the danger of a mutated New Horizons craft zipping through their local quadrant (a la "Veeger.") [Personal opinion: If a rogue spacecraft ever needs a good candidate to sterilize!, I would heartily recommend Dr. Smith.]

Not to change the subject or anything, but I wanted to congratulate the amazing Reynold Kalstrom on his recent age-group victory in the Boise 70.3 race. This qualifies him for the World Championships later this summer. (I guess that means I need to start designing some tougher swim workouts to get him ready for that.)

In the meantime, you can expect some historical reminiscences (if that is a word) over the coming weeks. I have undertaken a massive photo-archival process that involves scanning all my photo albums from the pre-digital age. My most recent batch included pictures from Boy Scout campouts, and you may find some of them interesting. There were also photos from the KU Relays marathons I did back in the Nixon era...but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to share those with you. We'll see.

In any case, I am sure I'll run across some archival stuff you may find interesting, so please continue to visit. And have a great day!

What Pants Need a Kuiper Belt?

Once when I worked at Martin Marietta, I decided to count how many acronyms I knew. I started making a list, but quit after about 300. It was getting ridiculous.

I've probably forgotten most of them by now, but don't worry -- I am continually acquiring new ones. My latest is "TNO" -- "Trans-Neptunian Object." When I heard the term, I figured it was probably synonymous with "KBO" -- "Kuiper Belt Object". But no, KBOs are merely a small subset of TNOs. There's a whole lot of crud floating around out there.

[Side note: I thought about using a picture of Mickey Mouse's dog, or perhaps the most famous student of Socrates...but figured that the big guy pictured above would still make you think of our former 9th planet. Plus, the implication of impending fisticuffery accurately reflects the flavor of the public debate over the topic. I'm not sure it's a spinach-worthy dispute, but some folks seems to get pretty passionate about it.]

Actually, I thought New Horizons PI Alan Stern probably has the correct answer. Basically, he said if it's spherical and orbits the sun, it's a planet. Under that definition, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of planets in our solar system -- so the debate about whether there's 8 or 9 is anachronistic. The real question is how many of the zillion TNO planets should we force schoolkids to memorize?



Pluto, for sure. And Eris, too, I would think.

Until last week's lecture, I didn't know that they had found 5 moons around Pluto (and wouldn't be surprised to find more), nor that the moon Charon was pronounced "Sharon" instead of "Chaw-ron." There will certainly be other new facts to learn once the data from New Horizons is analyzed.

The bad news is that New Horizons is moving at about 1000 miles per second, so it's entire fly-by of Pluto will last mere hours. Then it's off into deeper space. If they grab good data and the spacecraft remains fully functional, they hope to receive additional funding to fly to another KBO that's only a few years beyond Pluto.

The good news is that they have an excellent instrument suite, and have planned maneuvers to capture as much science as possible in the short time they whiz by Pluto. They're going to take pictures and chemical readings from all the moons, too...so we could learn a whole bunch of new stuff that could help the scientists understand how the solar system was formed and whether there can be life on an icy planet. I am really excited to see what we learn.

We're less than a month away from closest approach. You can follow the New Horizons mission updates at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html. And for fun, you can also visit http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/plutotime/ to learn when the light in your neighborhood is equal to the light you'd experience if you were standing on Pluto. For Denver on the day I wrote this, it would be after sunset, at 8:35pm. You'd probably need a flashlight if you wanted to have a good tourist experience out there.

Anyway, mark your calendar for July 14th, when New Horizons officially reaches Pluto. This is a major science event, and it deserves our attention. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a short science quiz in the panel below (click to embiggen). Enjoy it, and have a great day!

At Long Last, An Ascent

Whenever I hear use the word "ascent", I think of Zorro. (I know that's not how he pronounces it, but it still evokes the image. Go ahead, click the link. I'll wait.)

Ah yes. The parameters finally came together to permit me to climb Highgrade Road this weekend. It had been frustrating--with Mother Nature's psychopathic behavior, various scheduling conflicts, and my own rampant slothfulness, the irregularities of life had prevented me from doing any kind of mountain training yet this year. But on Saturday, I finally got my tail onto the saddle and my feet in the pedal clips. I know it's too late to train adequately for the Triple Bypass, but at least I'll have one climb under my belt before the event.

I'm pleased to report that I made it, and they had cookies at the schoolhouse. Yea! At one point I was emphatically passed by a guy on a mountain bike, but otherwise, I have to say that I enjoyed the ride.



The rest of the weekend was good, too. As previously mentioned, I attended the Pluto-palooza event on Wednesday, and then got up Thursday morning to swim a hard 3K loop around Boulder Reservoir. We all got out of the water just a few minutes before they closed the lake due to high bacteria levels. I'm pleased to say that I didn't swallow any of the water, and made it through the weekend with no more than my normal flatulence.

Sunday's exercise included a bike ride out at Chatfield...which was made interesting by the fact that parts of the road were completely submerged. I was able to drive through the standing water by the official swim beach, but the road was closed down by gravel pond. We rode our bikes past the barricades and saw that the Kingfisher parking lot was under about 3 feet of water. It was obvious that my volunteer gravel-pond monitor gig on Monday was not going to happen, because the water levels would ensure that COMSA activities would continue to be canceled for at least several days.

But with the road closed, there was a nice little stretch for bike riding without having to worry about automobile traffic. We took advantage of that, and just rode back and forth between the barricades and the flood. It was fun!

After that, it was off to swim practice, where the sadistic coach made everyone do a stack of 400s to start the workout. I started out slowly, but recovered to an almost-acceptable pace by the end of the set.

While I was slogging through a truly average swim practice performance, my friend and Triple Bypass team captain (Kim Clemens) was winning multiple gold medals at the Colorado Senior Games. He smoked his competition with a couple of PRs -- and then got on his bike and rode Highgrade and several other mountain roads for a total that was more than twice as much as I rode. I just hope he doesn't get too bored waiting for me after he finishes the Triple while I'm still cruising through Georgetown or whatever. He's my ride home.

Oh well, at least I got to attend the Foothills Masters swim team party and gorge myself on Leif's melt-in-your-mouth BBQ. (I also partook of more than my share of the scrumdiddlyumptous desserts, but I'm not disclosing any caloric details, thank you.) As all of our swim team parties are, the entire event was delightful and entertaining. We are blessed to have a team full of smart, funny, and just-plain-nice people who continuously support and encourage each other. I love it!

As for the Pluto lecture follow-up discussion, I'm going to save that for later. But yes, it was Bruce Lee who got all philosophical about pointing fingers and heavenly glory. The other folks on my list are also great philosophers. Oh sure, they're all known for survival skills and for their prowess in keeping evil at bay, but if you listen to what they have to say about life, you'll find uncounted pearls of logic and wisdom.

With that thought, I shall sign off for today. Thanks for dropping by, and have a great day!

Science Rules!

If I were casting a movie about Abe Lincoln heroically thwarting an alien invasion, I would select Bill Nye for the part. I don't know if he would actually BE a good President -- since I suspect he'd be reluctant to nuke Iran due to nuclear winter considerations -- but he certainly has the right looks for the part. And he certainly has superhero street cred. All he needs is the stovepipe hat.

Anyway, please bear with me today, as I fear the focus may wander about a bit. For example, the photo above reminds me of one of my favorite philosophical movies lines. Can you tell me who said "It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory!"

A. Spock
B. Ted "Theodore" Logan
C. Bruce Lee
D. Ted "Motor City Madman" Nugent
E. Bruce Campbell

The answer is here. Ahh, I do so admire good screenwriting.

Anyway, today's thoughts are the result of my attendance at "Pluto-palooza," a lecture about the discoveries of the New Horizons mission. (I was still at Lockheed Martin when it launched, so I feel I have at least a minor connection to the mission. Besides, I've been a fan of planetary science since I first made a not-to-scale model of the solar system out of Styrofoam balls and wire coat hangers. I remember having great difficulty in spray-painting the planets---though I suppose that learning about wind influence on aerosol distribution patterns and the indelibility of enamel pigments on blue jeans provided a science lesson that went above and beyond getting the planets in the right orbital order.

(A few years later, those psychedelic paint-patterned pants would've been right in style. Thanks a lot for your bad timing, stupid hippies.)

The point is that there are fewer famous scientists than there are Osmond brothers. This makes me sad. But it also makes me think back and wonder: What is it that puts a scientist into the public consciousness?

Quick, stop reading this and pull out a pen and paper. Make a list of all the famous scientists you can think of off the top of your head. Think back to when you were a kid, when you were in college, and even when you were touring the country on your motorcycle. What scientists have embedded themselves in your cerebral archives?

All done? Good. Welcome back. How does your list compare to mine?

The first few names I remember learning about were probably the same as yours. Einstein, Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, DaVinci, and Curie.

(Extra credit: How many names can you recall where "Madame" is an automatic attachment? In addition to Curie, all I can think of are Butterfly (and I'm talking Mary T. Meagher, not some opera dingus) and Tussaud. There's kung fu actor Jean Claude Madame, of course, but I don't think he counts.)

(More extra credit: Can you identify the Star Trek Connection involved in Samantha's encounter with Leonardo pictured above?)

In high school, I learned about Ptolemy, Copernicus, Franklin, and all the guys with units of measure named after them (Volta, Ampere, Watt, Angstrom, Kilometer, etc.) In college, I heard about Leibnitz, Gauss, Bohr, Oppenheimer, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Daystrom, and Zephram Cochrane. Although Edison and Tesla were obvious proponents of scientific method, I think they fall more into "engineer" and "inventor" categories, which is also where I'd throw Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and their ilk.

But the guys who have made headlines during my lifetime are the ones with large TV audiences. During the "Right Stuff" era, we heard a lot about Werner von Braun. After that, it was Carl Sagan, who begat Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Sheldon Cooper. And of course, Stephen Hawking.

I know that Sagan, Nye, and Tyson are all fully qualified as science guys...but I have no idea if they have contributed to any particular discoveries about the nature of things. Hawking certainly has, with his theories about black holes and time perception and all the stuff that made Frankenfurter's voyage possible. But let's face it, I doubt he'd be nearly as well known if he wasn't all gumbyfied in his robot-voice wheelchair incarnation of the Borg. His disability has given him an identity that he probably wouldn't have achieved if he still walked around looking like Eddie Deezen.

Recently, we've all been exposed to the name "Higgs," as in "boson" (no, not "Higgy Baby", the dude from Magnum, PI.) But I can't tell you the name of anyone on the team that actually found the elusive particle. And I know that Les Paul invented most of the stuff that's the basis of modern music recording, but I have no idea who came up with the theory that magnets connected to vibrating strings could translate guitar music into electrical impulses. But without that particular genius, I would have never have experienced the heavenly glory brought to my ears by Buck Dharma.

All I'm saying is that science is cool, and I am lucky to work with scientists at my current job. But I'm also fascinated by the way our memories parse popular culture, school-based book learnin', and news coverage of grand discoveries about the Universe.

I'll share a few tidbits from Pluto-palooza in upcoming posts. I'll also share a progress report on my meager and inadequate preparation for the rapidly-approaching Triple Bypass bike ride.

In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Sammy Achterberg on winning the National Championship in Modern Pentathlon last weekend. Let's all support her in her run for the Olympics!

Thanks, and have a great day!