hojo1690

Give yourself a biscuit

2009-11-20T04:31:32Z

So, I often advise my aerobics participants to silence the negative self-talk in their heads and replace it with positive self-talk. I've read more than a few sports psychology books, and they all preach using positive visualization. I shout examples to my class like "I love to sweat!", "It feels so good!" and "I'm proud my arms are shaking, because it means I'll be stronger next week." Some participants smile, but many roll their eyes.

That last one, about being proud, is something I've been working on with my classes lately. As a culture, we've been taught not to toot our own horns. We're dismissive of our own accomplishments, and even deny them if someone offers us praise - "Oh, it was nothing," "No big deal."

Well, guess what?!? Sometimes it IS a big deal! When an Ivy League student, with a bajillion hours of homework every week, papers, labs, and buckets of stress makes time to come to an exercise class and take care of her body, it IS a big deal. It's an intelligent decision worthy of praise. I tell my participants to take a moment, and be proud that they came and worked out hard. Some smile at me. Others look at me like I'm nuts.

I was really proud of my class tonight. They worked their asses off. I tried a different approach. "When our dog is good, don't we give him a biscuit? Are we so much better at training our pets than at training ourselves? You kicked butt tonight! Give yourself a mental biscuit!"

I think a bunch of them finally got it. I saw smiles... and a few nodding their heads. Suddenly, they didn't look so tired, and they were standing taller. They finally took a moment, and were proud of themselves.

Jeez! It's like pulling freakin' teeth!

I'll have my biscuit now, too. ;-)

Good golly, I kinda fell off the planet here

2009-11-18T04:31:23Z

Let's see...

Shedzilla is nearly done. I'm just nesting and putting the last few things away that are still scattered in the lawn. I've actually prioritized getting my scooter back on the road, and now doing some repairs on the snowblower. It's only about 4 years old, but rusting horribly. I started grinding off rust on Monday and will be repainting it before the snow flies.

Speaking of the scooter. Back in August, it was having problems running above 1/2 throttle. I spent a few hours on it, and punted in favor of working on the shed. Well, fast forward to November. I finally got time to look at it. I started it up, and it was running perfectly. What the hell?!? My best guess is that some foam scraps from under the seat fell into the gas tank when I filled it one day, and were blocking the fuel line. Over the 3 months, perhaps they dissolved? Dunno. I'm just thrilled it's back on the road. I'll be doing a major strip and repaint on it over the winter, now that the shed is ready for the project!

Aerobics has been fun at Cornell. I'm getting good numbers on my Tuesday/Thursday kickbox class. My Sunday Step class is also doing well. My Saturday kickbox is poorly attended. I just think it's a bad hour of the day for the age group that attends. I'm discussing changing formats with the aerobics boss there.

Otherwise, I've been reading a lot and obsessing about Dancing With The Stars. Jules and I are thrilled that Donny and Kelly both made the finals.

Oh, and Harold has been the huggiest kitty EVER! He's taken to sitting in my lap all evening long, and then sleeping on my pillow at night. He's curled up in my armpit as I type.

Breaking the log jam

2009-10-13T21:21:09Z

... with a brief post. I'm anxious for the weather to switch to something that induces neither headaches nor arthritis flareups. Does that exist in the Northeast?

Shedzilla is commencing. The exterior is done. As of last night, about 1/2 the insulation is done on the inside. I also installed a large shelf over the weekend, which greatly relieved the clutter on the floor (since I have to keep things inside, out of the weather, as I'm completing the interior work).

I'm anxious to get the shed in some kind of state that I don't feel guilty about taking a break to get my scooter back on the road. I have all the parts, and theoretically, I should be able to get it up and running. I just need a few hours of reasonable weather to putter with it.

Enough for today. I'm just tryin' to get back in the swing of blogging.

LTNB

2009-09-23T12:11:48Z

Long Time, No Blog!

I seem to be Tweeting and Facebooking more than blogging these days.

Brief updates:

Dancing With The Stars as started. I seem to be obsessed with it, even more than usual. I've been following the celebrities and dancers on twitter. So far, Kelly Osbourn was the big shock. She was amazingly good, and apparently started a month ago from NOTHING.

Shedzilla the second. This year's shed project was to pour a concrete foundation for the "puppy shed", expand it, and turn it into my "scooter shed". It's now twice the size of the original dog shed, and on concrete. I'm putting the ceder siding on it. That's nearly done. It'll need some trim at the top edges near the roof, then painting on the outside. Inside, I need to complete the electrical work, which is half done, and put up some insulation. I hope to insulate it enough that I can bear to work in it over the winter, if I run a space heater. It's coming along, though consuming a LOT more time than I hoped.

Speaking of scooters, my scooter has been off the road for a month or so. I'm still awaiting one part from Scooterworks. I finally had to email a grumpy-gram outlining the incompetence of their shop manager, and escalate through their sales people. The shop manager claims (finally) to have shipped my part. It probably got handed off to UPS on Monday. I'm hoping I'll get some time this weekend to work on the scooter, and try to get it back on the road. I'm really bummed I couldn't ride it during the gorgeous weather we had for the last month.

Aerobics is really fun this semester. I'm teaching a kickboxing class at Cornell which is well attended. The energy is VERY different than down at Island Health. My class at Island has been very small - with 3-5 people, lately. The last two weeks it's been all seniors taking it. lol. It's quite interesting to be teaching kickboxing to 3 seniors on Saturday, then to 24 undergrads on Tuesday. Still, both are fun in their own way.

Well, enough for now. I'm late for work.

A brunette Luna Lovegood attends Step Class

2009-08-31T15:02:32Z

A brunette Luna Lovegood attended my Step class. I mean seriously. Imagine Luna Lovegood with brown hair, and fire-engine red lipstick. She walked into my class about 5 minutes before we began. I saw her standing, looking confused, and not setting up a step bench, so I went back and introduced myself. She said "Oh, I've been to your class before." I said "Oh, OK, sorry, I didn't remember you. Have fun!" and left it at that. Still, she stood around without getting a bench out, as I began class.

Sure enough, we got started and suddenly she looked SHOCKED that we were using the step benches. Imagine! She ran back and got one, and hastily set up. Ohhhh keee dohhhh keee. Ok, let's chalk that one up to insufficient caffeine, I guess.

Now, if that's not odd enough, you need to picture this woman for a moment. She came into class wearing fire-engine red lipstick, and some other makeup I would imagine, though I'm no expert. She was wearing sensible footwear and workout pants, but she was wearing a rather flimsy black tank top with something about "Dancing" on it. She was wearing no bra, and probably scored a C or above in the bosoms department. Now, I'm generally not one to complain about women going braless, but this didn't seem to be particularly sensible exercise attire for a class in which she was going to be jumping up and down on a step bench for an hour. lol

As it turns out, her "Dancing" shirt was somewhat misleading, too. She had no sense of rhythm that I could ascertain. She was lost and off the beat for the majority of the class. Still, she got plenty of exercise, bouncing up and down on the step. lol. She looked suitably winded, pink and sweaty by the end.

Now, I don't know if her appearance was her own particular sense of style, or whether she was dressed that way because she was cruising for a date. It seems an odd choice for a class in which the only male EVER to attend is me, and I'm generally relating some story or other about "my wife and I" every time I teach. If she was there to pick up another woman, that didn't seem to be working for her either. She got no end of dirty looks from most of the other women in the room. lol.

Ahh well. Teaching aerobics is rarely boring!

Observations from the freshman onslaught

2009-08-22T04:03:28Z

1) Students now find it easier to configure Wi-Fi than to plug a wire into their computer. They don't want no stinkin' wires. The minority who discovered that their dorm didn't have Wi-Fi, but only wired networks looked really bummed.

2) Some students were entirely uninterested in the fact that TV in their room would cost a lot. They watch everything on the internet anyway. Who needs a TV?

3) Other students looked like their liver had been removed at the thought of no TV in their room. They signed up for service, and to hell with the price!

4) One young lady looked GRAVELY concerned about our 15 GB/month network cap, beyond which she would incur additional charges. She's an online gamer. I think her Mom wished it was a .0000000000015 GB/month cap. They cracked me up.

5) We've outsourced our email to Google. I didn't field a SINGLE question about email. EVERYONE knows how to do THAT. Duh!

6) Some students looked 12, and some looked 14. None looked 18 to me.

7) One freshman mentioned she was living in Balch hall, and didn't know what the rooms were like. She looked a little freaked when I described them, saying I dated a girl who lived there. I had to quickly amend and say that it was 22 years ago, things may have changed!

8) Plugging a USB cable into their computer and printer is too much bother. Students will jump through a lot of hoops to use wireless printers.

9) The proudest parents I saw were the ones who were also Cornell alums. They were practically floating, and they were definitely glowing.

10) A coworker I've known for 20+ years walked by looking shell shocked. She said "WOW! It's all so different from THIS side of the table!" Her daughter was getting registered at Cornell today.

11) Registration and enrollment is MUCH less stressful nowadays. It's 1/2 done before they even get to campus. People were smiling, and looked relaxed. The days of standing in line with 1000 of your closest friends are over.

I remember my Freshman move-in. It was very similar to Cornell's when I first got here 23 years ago. Long lines. Exhausted, overheated, hungry, cranky people. Frazzled staff. Confusion and frustration abounded. Now, the students get their electronic ID, register for classes and even do Add/Drop before they even get to campus. Thanks to computers, move-in day is ENORMOUSLY less stressful for parents and students alike. I took some pride my profession over that.

12) On the way back to my office, I saw another man "float" by. He had a big goofy grin, and pointed to Phillips Hall as he passed me. "I took such and such a class in there with professor so and so!", he said without preamble. I responded "And now your Son or Daughter will?" He looked at me with the about the biggest smile I've ever seen and said "My daughter!" I've never heard two words uttered with such profound pride before. He zoomed by, running to his car to pick up his family. I walked to my office with my own smile.

Sometimes it's really nice to reconnect with the reasons I have a job. Several thousand of them came back to campus today. Welcome back!

Now, please consider LOOKING UP before you walk in front of my car tomorrow morning, and tell your parents that Green Street is One Way - THE OTHER WAY! lol

Recent observations

2009-08-14T11:56:35Z

Creepy: I was driving to work behind an SUV. At each stoplight, the guy took a pair of binoculars from the seat beside him to gawk at the women on the sidewalk.

Ego: A guy was jogging up a steep hill, obviously at his limit. I literally caught the moment when he looked about to stop. But then, as he looked up, he saw two young women walking down the sidewalk toward him. He gutted it out, and jogged past them. 20 feet past them, he looked over his shoulder to see if they were watching, then slowed to a walk, gasping for air with hands on hips.

Supportive: Two days later.. same hill... a woman jogging up, two guys walking down. She ran out of steam, and broke into a walk 20 feet in FRONT of the hot guys. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders at them as she walked by. They shouted encouragement, all smiling.

Lessons: A mama-deer and two fawns had just crossed cliff street, and were working their way around a hedge into someone's front yard. Mama and one fawn were in the yard. The other was still on the sidewalk, gawking at oncoming traffic. Mama made some (stern) vocalization at baby, just as I drove past. Baby's eyes grew wide, and she bolted to Mama.

I enjoy people (and critter) watching.

Update while zipping

2009-08-11T19:25:57Z

OK. a long-running zip process I'm testing is churning away. I can write a quick update.

Jules was off for a few days for a Mark Twain conference in Elmira. I did the Bach'in thing with Harold at home. He was rather frustrated that Mama-kitty was not home. I awoke one night to find him spooning my head. Another day, he kept going into the bedroom and HOWLING for Mom to come cuddle with him. He really missed his PCP (Primary Cuddling Provider). Apparently I'm a poor substitute in the summer months. I think he likes me better in the winter - I'm warmer! lol.

I, of course, fussed and fiddled with the scooter a bit over the weekend. I replaced some electronics last week, which haven't helped increase the top end speed. Over the weekend, I practiced taking off the flywheel and had a look at the Stator - just to see if I saw anything obvious. I didn't. It looked great. Still, I have a replacement on order.

I just taught my last Monday Spinning class, for a while. I'll be doing Tues/Thur Kickboxing, Sat Kickboxing, Sunday Step very soon. I'm glad to be done with Spinning on Mondays, for the simple reason that three teaching days in a row are rough on my legs. Neither the joints nor the muscles recover as quickly as they used to. Meanwhile, my new Step & Sculpt class on Sundays is going very well. The running, and the few classes I've taught have my legs beaten back into shape already. I didn't have difficulty teaching it on Sunday, and wasn't totally wiped out afterward this time! lol.

I've been playing a bit more WoW lately. I've got Pennywhistle, my Warrior, geared up for Heroic dungeons and have done several in the last week. My friends Eze and Fireballs have been playing more, and an old friend Bravsirrobin has come back from a 7 month hiatus. We were the original founders of our guild, so it was nice to have all of us back together again. It's been enjoyable and relaxing to just get together and grind through some dungeons with them.

Well, that's it for now.

Random updates

2009-08-07T04:22:50Z

Our digital camera died, so Jules asked me to pick up a new one and meet her half way (She's in Elmira) to pick it up. It was a great opportunity to take a lovely 60 mile moonlight ride. It was gorgeous, but my hands got pretty cold by the end. I don't have my heavy winter gloves in the scooter at the moment. Brrrrr! I tried to take a picture of the moon, but the iPhone didn't do it justice. I guess I should have ripped open the box, and used the new camera! lol.

Harold has been befuddled by Jules' absence. He comes out for his snacks, looks around, and lingers for a bit, rubbing against me and asking for head-rubs. I guess he's a little insecure. I've been lavishing him with some extra attention to make up for the absence of his PCP (Primary Cuddling Provider).

I had a good run at the gym tonight. I haven't jogged regularly in years. I'm trying to work my way up to 5 miles non-stop, at 10-minute miles. I have tons of heart and lungs.. my legs just poop out. I've been doing 40 minutes on the treadmill for the last few sessions. Tonight I walked/ran: 2, 11, 2, 10, 3, 10, 2. I covered 3.71 miles in 40 minutes. Getting closer. Once I can jog 40 minutes non-stop, I'll up it to 50.

The jogging will be helpful for the fall. I'm changing my aerobics schedule. I'll be doing Kickbox on Tuesday/Thursday nights at Noyes, and on Saturday AM at Island. I'll also be doing Step & Sculpt at Island on Sunday. So, no spinning next semester. It'll be nice to whack my legs back into shape.

As I ride to work, I've catching up on some Fresh Air podcasts. I found an interview with Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno particularly moving. She's a poet and teacher. Her daughter was murdered six years ago. As a way to work through her own feelings, she wrote a series of poems published in a book "Slamming Open The Door". Terry Gross interviewed her, and Kathleen read some of the poems. It was one of the most powerful and heartbreaking interviews I've ever heard. I nearly had to pull over to wipe tears from my eyes. The poems were as beautiful as they were gut-wrenching. I'm going to get the book. It's certainly a departure from my usual Stephen King and Dean Koontz fair.

Jules got me a piece of Pecan Pie at a reception she was at. She gave it to me when I handed off the camera. Oh my freakin' gawwd, was it good! I guess it's a good thing >I< wasn't at that reception. I would have eaten myself sick!

Listening to "Ti-pi, Ti-pi, Tin".

Walk it off

2009-07-24T03:56:45Z

So, I went to the gym again tonight. The elliptical has been going well, so this time I hopped on the treadmill. The first few times are always brutal. Though I can maintain a high heart rate, and generate a lot off effort on a spinning bike, the first few times on the treadmill are always demoralizing. Some different muscles are used when jogging, and true to form, I ran out of legs well before I ran out of lungs tonight. I had planned to log 50 minutes on the treadmill. I got to the gym rather late, so I decided to do 40. It's just as well. After 25 minutes, my legs were like lead. I gutted it out to 30 minutes of (mostly) jogging, but then had to walk for the last 10. My quads were on fire as I stepped off the treadmill. Walking down the steps to the locker room was excruciating. I massaged my quads in the locker room, again in the shower, and twice tonight to work out the lactic acid. It helped a lot. It's amazing how much that hurt! lol

My joints don't hurt too much. It's mostly the quads. That's good. The muscles will come along after a few more days of getting used to jogging. The joints will only get worse, not better, so I'm glad they aren't an issue at the moment.

On the plus side, I was gratified by my pace. I've been doing a lot of hip flexor exercises in the last year, to help lift my knees and lengthen my stride. It really worked. I was running 10 minute miles pretty comfortably, until my quads gave out. That's pretty brisk for me, just getting started! I'm often running 11:30 miles after a layoff like this. I'm pleased. I've never been a fast jogger. In my prime, I only ran 8:30 miles. If I can maintain 10:00 miles 20 years later, I'll take it!

My goal is to get to 5 miles on the treadmill, before I try doing a "Fun Run" at Treman park. I should be able to accomplish that in the next few weeks, if my joints don't kick up a fuss. So far, so good!

What a pain!

2009-07-23T04:02:57Z

So, yesterday my arthritis hurt all over. My hands, back, knees, ankles, all throbbed. I took my homeopathic meds, celebrex, ibuprofen. Nothing was helping. Later in the afternoon, I was also starting to feel wanky, as my blood sugar wasn't right, and I had a headache. By late afternoon, I had a throbbing headache, gave up, and went home a little early. By evening, my headache had developed into migraine symptoms. Well, at least it took my mind off my throbbing joints! lol. I think, in retrospect, I was fighting some kind of bug for the day.

I got some good sleep last night, and felt a lot better today. I even went to the gym after work, and logged 30 "moderate" minutes on the Elliptical. My Wednesday kickbox class is canceled for July. We just didn't have enough people coming to make it worth having. There's a really fun Zumba class before mine, which is sucking up all the people who do the group fitness classes. That's cool! I'd go, myself, if it wasn't so early in the day.

I want to start banging my legs into better shape. I'll be teaching kickboxing on Saturdays, and Step & Sculpt on Sundays at Island. That's a lot of high impact, two days in a row. My teaching schedule for Fall is still undetermined at Cornell, but one possibility is two days of kickboxing there. I'd actually love that, as I tend to get in better shape teaching 4 times / week... but the first few weeks are BRUTAL! That would also mean 4 classes per week, all on my feet - no cycling. I need to develop my legs for more "stand up", high impact exercise.

So, I'm sneaking into the gym to log some time on the elliptical machines. I'll switch to the treadmill soon. I haven't jogged in a year. It's pretty tough on my arthritic ankles and knees, but the treadmill is kinder than the road! I ultimately want to do my "Fun Run" at Treman State Park, but I'll need to get to the point of running 5 miles at a time before I do that. I'm going to make a concerted effort to get back into running shape in time to try a fun run at the end of the summer. We'll see!

Uncle Arthur

2009-07-21T15:23:33Z

Argh! Uncle Arthur (Itis) is killing me today! My hands, back, knees and ankles are all throbbing like a toothache. I've taken one (or three) of every kind of pill I've got. No relief.

Moan moan, grump grump, whine whine.

Freakin' damp weather!

Back from Bluesfest

2009-07-21T03:14:37Z

We're back!

Jules came out to Ottawa on Sunday to get me. She had run back to Ithaca for the Grassroots Festival. I was over at our friend's house. Chito and Sharon were kind enough to put me up since Thursday, thus saving some money on the hotel room.

Jules and I shot into town to see one last show last night, and then went back to Chito & Sharon's. They were already in bed by the time we got there. lol.

We got up this morning, and got on the road around noon. We stopped at another friend's farm on the way out of town. Robert and Petra are a nice couple that run a farm out there. They gave Jules some wool, but hadn't sheered their alpaca this year. They will give her his fleece next year when they have him sheered again.

After a brief visit with Petra (Robert was at work), we headed back to the States. Customs was a breeze. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner, and grabbed some groceries at Tops, before heading home. We spent the evening unpacking, and catching up a few chores.

We're very seriously considering going on the BluesCruise in January 2011. Chito and Sharon, as well as a few of their friends from Ottawa plan to go. It should be a blast, if we can get on! It sells out very quickly, so we're going to have to keep on top of it, as the time approaches.

Two more days of Bluesfest

2009-07-14T14:01:20Z

So, we got up on Sunday barely in time to get some food from the breakfast buffet before they closed at 10:00. After vegging in the room for the morning, playing computer games, we decided to take the 1:00 Ottawa Bus tour. Steve, the driver we know from the Bluesfest shuttle, arrived on the bus at the appointed time. He came out and gave us both free passes. lol. That saved us $30! The tour was on a double-decker bus. All the tourists went upstairs with the tour guide. Jules and I elected to stay downstairs with Steve. We shot the bull with him, as he drove around. We could hear the tour guide over the intercom anyway.

It was a pleasant 1 3/4 hour tour, on a sunny (but somewhat chrisp) afternoon. We thanked Steve when we got back. He refused a tip. He's so nice! We'll have to buy him a beer if we see him at the fest!

We fixed some dinner in the room, and headed to the fest. We camped out on the Subway (formerly River) Stage, and listened to a few acts. It was raining on and off, and pretty cold. Hubert Sumlin came on again. We heard him on Saturday, and he sucked. They introduce him as "The Legend". He's a 78 year old guitar player, who played with Muddy Waters, back in the day. Well, I decided we'd give him a second chance. He was horrible on the first song, but then warmed up. I hate to be critical of ANY 78 year old doing ANYTHING, but there does come a time when it's time to leave things to the younger folks. I enjoyed his singing, but his guitar work was about 1/10 the skill of his "backup" guy. His band was actually marvelous. I really enjoyed it when he sat down, and let them do a few songs!

As 9:00 approached, we were chilled to the bone. We went into the War Museum to warm up. A few minutes later, we got a txt from our friends Chito and Sharon that they were in their "usual place" out in the main venue. We went out to find them. Jules was still frozen, and decided to head back to the room. I really wanted to stay and hear Joe Cocker. I'm glad I did. He put on a great show.

On Monday AM, Jules decided she wanted to run back to Ithaca. There was a Trumansburg Fair meeting she wanted to attend. She also figured she'd grab some warmer clothes while there! lol. She took off for the day. I hung out with Harold in the hotel room. The music for Monday night was pretty lame. They only had one stage playing, with 3 bands. I previewed them on my computer, and didn't like any of them. I decided to skip the fest and stay in for the night. I hung out with Harold and watched bad Sci Fi on the "Space" channel. I also dusted off my Druid in WoW and got her ready to play.

Jules is due back this afternoon (Tuesday). There's a bizarre lineup at the fest tonight. There's a "Brittish Invasion" lineup on the Subway stage, with the Yardbirds and the Zombies. Jules will want to see Xavier Rudd. Ice Cube will also be playing. lol

Catchin' up

2009-07-12T04:26:38Z

Let's see.... I had planned to stay home from work on Wednesday to help pack for Bluesfest, but Jules issued orders to go to work, so I wouldn't be underfoot while SHE packed! lol. It was no problem, really. It generally takes me about 5 minutes to pack for anything from 1 to 15 nights. lol. It actually took me upwards of 15 this time. I took my travel case of toiletries, and refilled all the stuff in it!

Though Bluesfest started on Wednesday night (and I would have loved to see Jeff Beck), we opted to stay in Ithaca since we also had Hanger Theater tickets. "November" started on Wednesday, and will close before we get home. We decided to go to Ottawa a day later so we could catch the play. I'm really glad we did. It was hysterical. It was definitely the funniest play I've seen in several years.

We drove up to Ottawa on Thursday morning. We were gunning to depart before noon, and were actually "wheels to road" by 11:10. Miracles do happen! Harold traveled SO well this time. He didn't get car sick at all (though we were well prepared for it). He mostly slept in his cage the whole way. He did fuss for a few minutes near the border. Jules opened his cage, and he strolled from the back seat to her lap. He sat for about 10 minutes, then walked back and lay in his cage again. lol

We got to the hotel, and I set up his litter box first thing, since he hadn't gone in 5+ hours. I took him out of the cage and set him in the box. He didn't even get out. He just used it immediately. He then strolled around the room for a moment, looked at us right in the eye, and licked his lips (the Kitty "feed me" gesture), and proceeded to walk to the exact corner where we had put his food bowls last year and wait for us. lol. He had something to eat, and hopped right up on the couch in his usual spot there. He settled in INSTANTLY. It was like he remembered everything.

We were delighed he settled so quickly. We unpacked the car, but really didn't settle into the room too much. We went out and got a shuttle bus schedule, caught some dinner, and then the bus to the festival. We watched "Sista Monica", who was playing the main stage as we arrived. She was belting out some great soulful blues. We watched her for a little over an hour, bought one of her CDs and Jules got it signed (and a picture and hug). We walked around the venue to see if anything was different - not much.

We opted to head back to the hotel early, since we were tired from our trip, and still had to unpack. We found Harold quite comfortable. He unpacked, and went to bed. Harold cuddled up in bed with Jules, just fine.

Friday, we went grocery shopping, and ran some errands. Jules had a postal money order she wanted to return, and we actually set up a small checking account at a Canadian bank. Jules attends textile conferences a few times per year up here, and they like to be paid in Canadian funds. One of them doesn't accept paypal or credit cards, so it's a royal pain. We hope this will be a little easier.

We met our friends Chito & Sharon at the fest on Friday night, and enjoyed a few opening acts before Jackson Brown to finish the night. Jackson Brown sounded awesome.

Saturday, it rained a lot in the afternoon, so we just hung in the hotel room and played computer games. We were slugs, and didn't even manage to get to the gym. lol. We got to the venue around 6:00, and caught some great acts - Doyle Bramhall (blues), Hubert Sumlin (Blues), Jesse Cook (Cuban/Rhumba), Brian Setzer Orchestra - Pronounced "Stray Cats" (Rockabilly).

We've run into most of our shuttle bus driver buddies already. We met a new guy "Bruce" on Thursday. We chatted with him, telling us we knew a number of drivers. Well, on the run home, he said "Oh, I was talking to Robert. He said to give him a call. He saved you some wool." lol. We went to see Robert and Petra last year at their farm, since they have Alpacas. We're hoping that Robert saved her some alpaca (and not sheeps wool!). Today, Ron was driving. We recognized him, though he didn't really recognize us. Still, he was quite chatty. After the fest tonight, we got on the bus, and Bruce was driving again. Ron was dressed in his "civvys", and had caught the end of the fest. As we stood there, "Steve", another of the drivers we know, walked up and said "Hey!" He asked if we brought a pet this year (he couldn't remember if we had a dog or cat), but he definitely remembered us. He offered to take us on his tour bus tomorrow for a free tour, if we have time. lol.

I guess we're becoming celebrities with the Grayline bus drivers in this town. heh

Rough day of scooting

2009-07-02T03:36:59Z

So, last night on the way home, my scooter started sputtering, letting me know that it was running out of gas (this vintage scooter has no gas gauge). I reached down, and threw the lever over to reserve, and popped the clutch, and it started back up on the roll. I had just started up the hill out of town, toward home. I did a little mental math, and said "Well, I've got 1/2 gallon in the reserve. At 40+ MPG, that's at LEAST 20 miles. I can get home, and ride back down to the gas station in the morning in about 12 miles. I'll just fill it in the morning." I turns out that was a mistake.

I was riding in this morning, and about 2 miles from home, the reserve ran dry. I think what happened is that I had significantly LESS than 1/2 gallon in the tank when I had to switch to reserve, because I was going uphill.

So, no shit, there I was, 2 miles from home. 3 miles from Pete's Grocery (and gas station). I decided to push it. I had to push it about a mile to get to the hospital. After that, it's all downhill. I was able to coast down the hill to the gas station. That wouldn't have been so bad, except I was in my full riding armor. I pulled off my helmet, backpack, and jacket and draped them here and there on the scooter while I pushed. I was still in the armored pants and boots, though. It was probably a little over 70 and muggy as hell. As a consequence, by the time I got to the gas station, I was completely drenched in sweat.

To make matters worse, I had left home 20 minutes EARLY, so that I wouldn't be late to my 9:00 meeting. Well, it was 8:58 when I hit the gas station. I called my boss and let her know I'd be late. SIgh.

So, I got to the office around 9:22, and peeled off my soggy riding clothes. Fortunately, I had stashed a change of pants and shirt in my office when I started scooter commuting, in case I ever got caught in a downpour on the way to work. I made use of the fresh clothes at the office.

So, at the end of the day, it was time to ride down to the gym to teach kickboxing. I rode over to the King of Burgers for a quick cheeseburger, then hopped on the scooter to ride downtown to the gym. I had no sooner got on the bike at Burger King, when it started to rain. WIthin minutes, it was torrential downpour. I putted along in traffic, with people rubbernecking at me, as the couldn't believe anyone was out on a scooter in that monsoon! I didn't have much of a choice, I had to get to the gym for my class! lol.

I got to the gym, and left a dripping trail all the way to the locker room. My gear kept my shirt and pants dry, fortunately. The sleeves of the jacket, and gloves got the worst soaking. I hung them up, donned my workout clothes, and went up to teach kickboxing.

No one showed up.

Sigh. Well, I hopped on the elliptical, put on a rowdy playlist, and ground out 30 minutes, before showering and heading home. The rain had stopped by the time I left the gym. I opened the velcro on my jacket sleeves a little, and let the 55 MPH wind blow up my arms as I rode home, to try and dry off my jacket. It's hanging in the bathtub now, along with my riding pants and gloves.

All in all, it was a pretty crappy day of scooter commuting. lol

Busy week

2009-06-26T03:48:16Z

Well, get got our iPhones on Monday night. I've spent a good amount of time configuring mine with email, social networking, etc. I already can't imagine life without it. It's an amazing piece of technology!

Tuesday night, after work, Jules and I went up to T-burg so she could practice in the scooter in preparation for her Motorcycle class, which started Wednesday night. After we got home, I spent the evening trying to get some things finalized for an early installation on Wednesday, and ran into an unexpected roadblock. Something I swore I tested wasn't working. I had to cancel my Wednesday AM maintenance (which I decided about midnight Wednesday AM! lol).

Jules had her MSF class on Wednesday night, so I was at loose ends. After aerobics, I came home and put the performance exhaust on my scooter. It took a few hours, since it involved a number of steps I had never done before. It was a good exercise for two reasons. First, I learned how to removed the rear wheel. Second, while I had the wheel off, I spotted an oil leak. I'll have to track down which seal is leaking and deal with it. It's not a critical problem, but it's a good one to be aware of.

After putting the exhaust, and a new carburetor jet on the scooter, I gave it a test drive. It's still not running with the performance I expect, so I'll try changing the carburetor jet with another one of a different size. I got two of them, because the jetting varies based on altitude, and the air flow through your exhaust. There's not a set formula - it's more trial and error. I'm guessing the first one I tried is more on the "error" side of things! lol

Jules was up and at 'em early this morning for her class. I had to run a change of clothes out to her later in the morning, because it was so darn hot out there! She felt pretty good about her first day. She'll do the test tomorrow, to see if she gets her license. We're keeping our fingers crossed, but if it doesn't go well, the class has certainly been worthwhile for her to take anyway.

I worked late tonight prepping for my second attempt at the installation I called off Wednesday. I'll be up at 5:00am to do that tomorrow. I guess it's time for bed!

iHave iPhone

2009-06-23T19:19:07Z

Jules and I ran up to Syracuse last night to get ourselves some iPhones. I've been putting it off because AT&T doesn't have great signal in our house, and my cell is our primary home number. Well, after looking around for 6 months, wanting to do something to upgrade, I finally drank the coolaid and decided to switch to iPhones. There are numerous technological ways to work through the problems if the cell signal at home is weak, but as it happens, I think it'll be sufficient. I was able to place calls and get text messages in the house last night. We had about 1.5 - 2 bars of signal. Perhaps these new phones have better antennas than the one I tested a year ago.

So far, the phone seems really cool. I figured out how to migrate my Palm Desktop contacts into it late last night. I'm going to sync my contacts with the corporate calendar, once they get my account set up. I've been poking around at other applications today, while taking breaks from prepping for an install in the morning.

Tonight, it's pork chops on the grill, and taking Jules out for more scooter practice. She starts her Motorcycle Safety Foundation class tomorrow night. With luck, by the end of the week, she'll have passed her motorcycle endorsement road test! :-)

Motorin'

2009-06-22T03:25:00Z

The weekend in review..

Friday night, we saw Hangover. It was hysterical!

I taught aerobics on Saturday, then came home and did weekend chores, since it was raining too much to do much of anything else. Some stuff came in for me from Scooterworks, so we picked that up. I spent part of Saturday afternoon trying to install the luggage rack from hell. I spent a few hours Saturday, and a few more on Sunday before I finally got it mounted. I had to modify the rack, and my scooter to get it on there, but it's mounted!

We started out Father's day by going to the Ramada for Brunch. Afterward, we came back home and I finished the aforementioned luggage rack. After that was mounted, and I put on my cargo box from the old scooter, Jules and I went out to the parking lot at the T-bug high school, and she practiced doing some turns and swerves. She did really really well. In between some rounds of practice, we ran over to Ron Don's for some dinner.

After dinner, I put a new carburetor in the scooter. The old one was below the factory specs, and limiting the power of the engine. It's funny that replacing the carburetor was WAY easier than mounting the stupid luggage rack! lol.

We finished out the evening watching True Blood on HBO. It's even better this season than last!

A weekend

2009-06-15T13:11:44Z

We've back from Kingston. Jules went up for the Ontario Handspinners Seminar. I went as trailing spouse. They put us up in the residence halls. I did fine, with Internet there. I spent most of Saturday playing WoW and being a total slug. Sunday morning, I played a bit more WoW, and went and sat by the river and drew for a while.

We got home last night around 7:00pm. I had time to fix my scooter's front brake (UPS delivered while I was gone). We had Harold with a friend up the road. We brought him home. He really wanted to be outside, so we took him out for a few walks around the yard. Being right on the state route, we can't let him loose unattended. Fortunately, he's slow enough we can let him out without a leash, if we just walk with him. He took some epically long walks (for him!) yesterday. It was just as well. I had him outside, while Jules reassembled the bedroom, so that "Harold's Bed" would be ready for him. lol. He must have missed us though. He (uncharacteristally) spent the entire evening on the couch with us, while we watched the season premier of True Blood. OMFG! It's off to a great start already!

Rods & Mockers

2009-06-09T04:09:41Z

Herein' lies a very long account of our local scooter rally. Lots of pictures, so I'm hiding it behind a cut.

So, Ithaca hosted the Rods & Mockers scooter and moped rally this past weekend. It was held out on Anthony's property at Ithaca Scooter and Cycle. Jules and I went over on Friday afternoon to help with setup and hang out. There wasn't a terrible lot to do, and a lot of people willing to help, but we got a few things done to help set up. After a time, a group of people wanted to go down to Felicia's Atomic Lounge for some evening "Meet and Greet". Jules planned to hang out at Ithaca Scooter for a few more minutes, then head home. I decided to ride down with the group going at around 7:00ish. Well, no sooner had we left and started riding down, when my clutch cable broke. I gimped the bike back to Anthony's shop, and his girlfriend Jade called him up, and he directed her to a spare clutch cable. Another local guy (Jeremy) helped me out, as I replaced the cable.

(photo by Jade Zee)

It went pretty well, and in under an hour, I was back on the road to Felicia's. I hung out with folks until about 10:00ish, and called it a night.

Saturday, Jules and I got up and headed out for breakfast at Short Stop Deli around 9:00. She went directly to the scooter rally to help with registration. I went to the gym and taught my Kickbox class. Afterward, I hopped on my scooter, and followed the morning ride route in reverse, hoping to meet the folks out on the morning ride. I backtracked to Route 327, near Treman State Park, and rode up the twists and turns of the road. It was beautiful. I no sooner got to the top, when Anthony whizzed by me going the other way, followed by a pack of scooters. I turned 'round, and joined the rally ride back into town. The ride back down 327 was even more beautiful than the one up. :-)

We parked illegally behind the old postoffice, and a bunch of us dined at the Mahogany Grill on the commons.

(photo by Peter Ling)

Att 1:30 we took an afternoon ride around town, and stopped at Ithaca Falls.

(photo by Jade Zee)

We rode on to Stewart Park, and met up with the Moped gang. At that point, there were about 45 scooters and mopeds. We rode back downtown, and tried to park (briefly) in front of Mahogany Grill for a photo-op. They were the generous sponsor of all the beer for the rally, and they wanted a picture of us in front of their restaurant. Unfortunately, the local constabulary was somewhat peevish about us blocking one lane of North Aurora, so we were shoo'd away. We rode on back to the shop for the evening.

At 6:00, a fine barbecue was put on by a caterer who works at the Haunt. After dinner, there were some contests. We had an obstacle course, a slow race (the last one over the finish, without putting a foot down wins), and a "family ride" (most people piled on a scooter). The family ride was a tie, with two groups fitting 7 people on a scooter! lol.

The bonfire started not long after, and a young SKA band came down from Syracuse to play at 9:00pm, and started setting up. An amusing thing happened at that point. A rather "stoner" looking moped guy approached me, and said "Umm.. I don't know how to ask this, but you look like someone who might be able to help me." I was standing there in my tie-dyed t-shirt, and red dew-rag. He said "Do you have a pipe? I've got this kick-ass hash, but nothing to smoke it with!" I laughed. This is the second time in a year some young stoner has come up to me asking me to set them up. lol. Regrettably, I had to inform him that I couldn't help. I suggested he talk to the guys in the band. Surely one of those fine punk rockers could help him out! He was very polite, and thanked me, and shambled over to talk to the band. I couldn't help but overhear as I walked by... one of the band members was saying "Sorry man, we don't do that stuff." I was flabbergasted! Kids today!

The band was a bunch of young kids from Syracuse. I had never heard Ska music before. It was more or less a cross between punk and swing dance music. They had borrowed one of their Mom's mini-vans to bring their equipment down. Anthony had rented a PA for them to jack into. They had a guitar, drums, bass, a few trombones, sax, and perhaps a few other instruments. As it happens, they were pretty good. The moped guys (a much younger demographic) really had a good time listening and dancing to the music. Us scooter folks (read middle-aged curmudgeons) hung out around the camp fire, but enjoyed watching the moped gang dancing, and eventually zipping around on their mopeds as the band played.

As the sun set, the bonfire was raging beautifully.

(photo by Lisa Baez Panzeri)

Jules and I hung out, had a few beers and enjoyed the ambiance.

(photo by Jon Ko)

On Sunday, we went and helped clean up Anthony's yard, then went to see "Land of the Lost" (it sucked). lol. We did our weekend chores around the house, and had Mexican at Garcia's.

More maintenance

2009-06-03T03:01:21Z

I woke up in a fog today, and never got my groove going all day. As it happens, I couldn't get my scooter going either. I think I flooded it. After working up a sweat on the kickstarter for 10 minutes, and even swapping spark plugs, I punted and took the SUV to work this morning.

Of course, after work, it started on the second kick. I'm finding that vintage scooters have "personality". I'm not sure I like that! lol.

This evening, I removed a few decorative bolts and pieces from the leg shield that had rust around them, and sanded it down. I put on a layer of primer, just to protect the metal for now. I'll look to see if I can find some touch-up paint that matches the scooter at some point in the next few weeks. In any event, I'd rather see primer spots than rust spots!

I ran by Ithaca Scooter and scored a bulb for my neutral light. I found a way to shim up the dysfunctional socket for the bulb, so I was able to re-use it. I took apart the headset once again, and installed the bulb. All the lighting is now working on the scooter! :-)

Totally inappropriate

2009-06-01T14:32:38Z

But I can't stop laughing.....

I warned you!

Sorry.

Busy Day

2009-06-01T01:20:49Z

We dined Chez Friendly's for breakfast, while reviewing our CPR/AED skill cards. We headed home and did some chores. We wolfed some sammiches, and did our CPR/AED challenges at 2:30. We both got 100% on the written, and succeeded on the challenges. Woo hoo!

We picked up my scooter from the shop on the way home, and did some yard work. We had some holes at the foundations again, where critters were getting under the house. We filled them with gravel and cement. Afterward, we went down and dined Chez Glenwood Pines.

I had a few minor projects to do with my scooter. I installed some proper washers on the oil plugs, and took it for a 25 mile ride. The scooter is slipping a bit in 3rd gear (toward 4th). Anthony thinks the cables need adjustment. I found a good position to leave the shifter in, so the slipping doesn't happen.

On the way home, I noticed the blinkers weren't working. I got it home, and found an inline fuse had blown. I didn't have a proper fuse, but managed to cob an automotive fuse in to get me by for a few days. I'll look up the manuals, and see what amperage fuse is supposed to be in there, and pick one up.

Oh, here's a few pictures from the Ithaca Festival parade.

Motorized Mayhem

2009-05-31T12:48:48Z

So, since we now own two "elderly" scooters, I've been trying to learn more about maintaining them myself. My scooter is still in the shop getting the fuel petcock replaced, so I've been working on Jules'. Last week, it failed inspection due to weak lighting. I ordered some new (hopefully brighter bulbs) for it. In the mean time, as I was looking over the headlamp, I realized it had a socket for a second bulb which was unused, and not getting power. This led to a 4 hour "experience" after I removed the wrong screw from the handlebar switch, and 6 wires and 6 little copper bits went "sproing!" and had to be reassembled. When it was all said and done, the switch was working better than ever, so it's all good. I had fun with it.

Yesterday, I changed the gear oil in her scooter, and lubricated the throttle and brake cables. They seem to be moving better now. Once the bulbs come in next week, hopefully I can finally get her bike to pass inspection.

Having felt some success, I felt it necessary to experience some failure. I took a look at our riding mower. It has a hydrostatic transmission, and the Reverse on it is not working so well. The manuals for the thing say absolutely nothing about maintaining the transmission, though I discovered that there is a fluid reservoir labeled "Trans Fluid" conveniently hidden beneath the battery box. It's definitely low on fluid, but I haven't the first clue what to put in it. I called Agway (theoretically an authorized Murray repair shop). The guy who picked up the phone didn't know, and said to call Monday. I tried to call Murray's help line. It was busy all afternoon long. Google shows me nothing about it either, nor does Murray's web site. *groan* I'll keep searching. It's probably just some kind of hydraulic fluid. Maybe even car transmission fluid.