Summer Project

The last of my year end bonus was spent at the Seattle Bike Swap

All stripped down for cleaning, we'll see how it gets built back up. I'm thinking riser bar, single speed, with some black deep V wheels and a black Brooks saddle.

Parade of Species

Visiting Leah in Olympia
Old Skool Pizza and an Olympia



Got to meet Liam, he's a cutie.

Boston Marathon

For those that know her, Elsa Gomes will be running in the 114th Annual Boston Marathon on Monday as part of the Tufts University Advancement Team. Maybe shoot her an email with a bit of encouragement.

Baseball

Stadium Design 101: Lesson One- DO put the beer garden right down at field level. Good times can be had by all!
Stadium Design 101: Lesson Two- DO NOT put the sports channel announcers next to the beer garden.
Sports Announcing 101: Lesson One- When heckled by drunks in the beer garden, DO NOT respond! DO NOT make witty comments during breaks between filming! DO NOT smirk at same drunks! This will in no way deter the drunks. If they do stop heckling, it's only to catch their breath for your next on-air. Also it might help not to have such a dorky haircut and fake tan. Just a suggestion.

Nice Way to Spend a Wednesday

Dirt Road

Salt Lick

Mt Stuart

Chipmunk

Barbed Wire meets Tree

Mini Golf and Beer?

Yes Please!

TULIPS!!

Spring has sprung!

Of course I had been busy trying to study for tests, and was doing a pretty poor job of it, so I decided to relax a bit and enjoy the turning of the seasons. I rescheduled my third test so that I could spend some time out and about.

Hence, my second annual bike ride through the tulips. I went with a different group this year, and it was great to see some friends I don't see often, and make some new friends. Sadly the wacky weather has played havoc on this years crop, but we still had a nice time riding and picnicing. We also had a little history lesson on the Dutch in the the Pacific NW thanks to ride organizer Kat.

I've become a letter writer!

I know I'm getting older, it happens. All the same, it's a little scary when you find yourself thinking, "I don't like (whatever the issue is), I'm going to write them a letter!" I haven't reached the point where I write letters to the editor, since I still think that's about as useful as lecturing a brick wall, but I have started firing off letters to my congress-woman, the state Attorney General, etc. This morning I actually wrote an email to my investment company, Mennonite Mutual Aid, to lament the name change to the rather generic Everence.

(for those interested, MMA is no longer calling itself Mennonite because it scares people off and confuses them. story here)

Is it just me? (not counting Adam, who just can't resist jumping into the fray)
Am I becoming a crotchety old man in my 30's!



UPDATE:
I will say this for "Everence", they were kind enough to respond to my email. It wasn't a generic response either, it was clear that the woman who wrote the email was responding directly to me. I am impressed. It's encouraging.

Bike Films

Via Archop, I saw a couple videos on fresnobike.org the Fresno County Bike Coalition about biking in Seattle. My worlds are colliding!!! Even better than that, they not only feature the mayor (who I voted for and hope can do some big things) but also closely follow parts of the route I ride to and from work. When I ride. I am a fair weather biker, I admit. Maybe next year I will get some fenders and some gloves. Then again maybe not.

The mayor lives a bit north of me, so from the bridge on is similar to how I ride into downtown, except I then go a couple miles farther into West Seattle.



What a good major. He even stops at the stoplights. I wonder if he would get a ticket for running them? I got busted last summer, it's an expensive ticket.

The second video is along the waterfront, which I like to ride if I'm taking my time and don't need to get home in a hurry. The track crossing is between my neighborhood and Ballard. It is dangerous, and before all of the warning stuff went up I witnessed several crashes, including my room mate.



Both of the videos are from streetfilms.com

Blogging absence

Why have I not posted in ages?
Why am I spending a lovely Sunday afternoon reading the Architects Handbook of Professional Practice?
These tests are killing me, and I've only taken one so far. 4 weeks from now I will gave taken 3 (hopefully passed at least 2) and it will be time for a break.