Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunset
Lots of things here don't feel much like Minnesota but I did notice today at least one similarity. The sun sets here too.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Very, very nice
There was morning fog but it quickly burned off. Even the light breeze of yesterday had vanished with the fog.
Walking broke out and with no mall immediately available we went to the park and walked along the water.
Eventually the sun got high enough in the sky that a tiny bit of a hint of Florida started to seep into the day but only a tiny bit, not enough to move the day meter any further down than near perfection.
Walking broke out and with no mall immediately available we went to the park and walked along the water.
Eventually the sun got high enough in the sky that a tiny bit of a hint of Florida started to seep into the day but only a tiny bit, not enough to move the day meter any further down than near perfection.
Friday, January 28, 2011
I know what average means.
Sunny, breezy, nearly 70. That's a below average temperature for here for today.
There was nothing below average about the day, however. It was gorgeous.
There was nothing below average about the day, however. It was gorgeous.Wednesday, January 26, 2011
No goggles necessary
A light weight long sleeved t-shirt was appreciated but there was no need for goggles.
My favorite moment may have been the fellow practicing his tuba on the screen porch as we walked by.
My favorite moment may have been the fellow practicing his tuba on the screen porch as we walked by.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Gear update
Today is the coldest day of this year. Depending upon source of the report the temperature high is either going to just reach or just fall short of zero. One source I have seen is reporting +1F, I have seen another reporting -1F (either about -18C). In fact, it may be the coldest day of the past several years.
I delayed my start until about 1:30pm to allow the maximum time for the day to lift itself out of the deep freeze and then set out on my one hour walk. Yes, I spent an hour outdoors today.
I could tell that it was cold. In fact, my thighs even felt a bit cold as I started out. But those large muscles get themselves warmed up from the work they are doing and then they are fine. Today I spent not a single moment calculating percentages in my head instead constantly reminding myself to check in with my various body parts to make sure that all parts were still checking in. Wiggling your toes while you are moving does NOT contribute to an efficient stride but it is a good way to verify that you can still feel them, and still move them.
There will be no photo today. With temperatures that dangerous the only way I was going to bare any skin to the elements was if I had to take off my mittens to re-tie a shoe (I took special care with that detail before starting out and they stayed tied). I had no intention of exposing skin just to operate small electronics.
It was so cold that not only did I not see any other walkers, there was a distinct shortage of even automobile traffic as most people did not even want to face the prospect of sitting in the frigid front seat waiting for the car heater to kick in.
I could tell that it was cold but there is no bad weather, there is only inadequate gear. For this climate and for today's conditions, my gear is adequate.
I delayed my start until about 1:30pm to allow the maximum time for the day to lift itself out of the deep freeze and then set out on my one hour walk. Yes, I spent an hour outdoors today.
I could tell that it was cold. In fact, my thighs even felt a bit cold as I started out. But those large muscles get themselves warmed up from the work they are doing and then they are fine. Today I spent not a single moment calculating percentages in my head instead constantly reminding myself to check in with my various body parts to make sure that all parts were still checking in. Wiggling your toes while you are moving does NOT contribute to an efficient stride but it is a good way to verify that you can still feel them, and still move them.
There will be no photo today. With temperatures that dangerous the only way I was going to bare any skin to the elements was if I had to take off my mittens to re-tie a shoe (I took special care with that detail before starting out and they stayed tied). I had no intention of exposing skin just to operate small electronics.
It was so cold that not only did I not see any other walkers, there was a distinct shortage of even automobile traffic as most people did not even want to face the prospect of sitting in the frigid front seat waiting for the car heater to kick in.
I could tell that it was cold but there is no bad weather, there is only inadequate gear. For this climate and for today's conditions, my gear is adequate.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
lazerquest makes media splash
Noted local bicycle commuter, former fellow worker bee and occasional Gzmoohoo.blogspot.com commenter lazerquest has today made a splash in the local media with comments on winter bicycling. In a typically understated approach LQ has not deigned to assume the lead role in the article (not appearing in the accompanying photos) while providing most of the meat of the article with multiple quotations (that means two) about riding when most people don't. Kudos to lazerquest for providing high quality grist for the media mill.
I suspect that most of LQ's acquaintances all already aware of this media appearance. I note that lazerquest has never revealed any personal details about himself while commenting here (a prudent approach while surfing the inter-tubes), therefore I am not going to provide any either. But for those who cannot find the article on their own, I am willing to say that it is one of the local outlets (think the one with Sid) or if you like, leave a comment and I will try to provide you with a link to the article in a non-public manner. I think I have the e-mails of most of my frequent readers, if you suspect that I do not, provide what you consider to be a safe e-mail address in the comment and some arrangements will be made.
Today marked another installment in this winter's longish running serial, "There is no bad weather, there is only inadequate gear". It was 6F when I headed out for my one hour walk (that's about -15C for any Euros or Canadians who might tune in). The wind chill is reported as -13F. I went anyway. The reasons are two fold. One I have been at this for a couple of months now and the refinement of gear continues. The second is that with the refinement of gear I fear not wind chill.
Windchill as we know is the effect on bare skin of the combination of the ambient temperature and the cooling effect of wind. The local bicycle/snowboarding shop has had an end of season (already?) sale on snowboarding gear and I got an excellent price on these goggles.
With those things on I head out for a walk with exactly ZERO square centimeters of exposed skin. It is a bit strange to be able to feel the force of the wind blowing against me but to have that wind have absolutely NO EFFECT on my comfort. Dressed in my down coat, fur lined leather mittens, wool cap, wool socks, expedition weight base layer, a face cover and those goggles I am toasty, yes indeed, toasty warm.
Winter, where is thy sting?
Well, if you have a flat roofed building with a leak in the roof drain you may be feeling a bit of a sting.
I moderated some comments today and discovered that I have been castigated for my recent paucity of posts. Well!!
OK, then, actually I must admit that the criticism is fair.
My very first post of last calendar year concerned the Warroad High School girls' hockey team. Here is a former member of that team (although certainly not last year's team), a former Gopher and a member of the 2010 United States Olympic Women's Hockey team (and one of our personal favorites) making a bit of a media splash of her own.
Kudos to Gigi, I think she has a future in that business. On a side note, I only very recently discovered that the product receiving the GigiEndorsement is manufactured right here in my home town.
Perhaps more to come on a slightly more frequent basis.
I suspect that most of LQ's acquaintances all already aware of this media appearance. I note that lazerquest has never revealed any personal details about himself while commenting here (a prudent approach while surfing the inter-tubes), therefore I am not going to provide any either. But for those who cannot find the article on their own, I am willing to say that it is one of the local outlets (think the one with Sid) or if you like, leave a comment and I will try to provide you with a link to the article in a non-public manner. I think I have the e-mails of most of my frequent readers, if you suspect that I do not, provide what you consider to be a safe e-mail address in the comment and some arrangements will be made.
Today marked another installment in this winter's longish running serial, "There is no bad weather, there is only inadequate gear". It was 6F when I headed out for my one hour walk (that's about -15C for any Euros or Canadians who might tune in). The wind chill is reported as -13F. I went anyway. The reasons are two fold. One I have been at this for a couple of months now and the refinement of gear continues. The second is that with the refinement of gear I fear not wind chill.
Windchill as we know is the effect on bare skin of the combination of the ambient temperature and the cooling effect of wind. The local bicycle/snowboarding shop has had an end of season (already?) sale on snowboarding gear and I got an excellent price on these goggles.
With those things on I head out for a walk with exactly ZERO square centimeters of exposed skin. It is a bit strange to be able to feel the force of the wind blowing against me but to have that wind have absolutely NO EFFECT on my comfort. Dressed in my down coat, fur lined leather mittens, wool cap, wool socks, expedition weight base layer, a face cover and those goggles I am toasty, yes indeed, toasty warm.Winter, where is thy sting?
Well, if you have a flat roofed building with a leak in the roof drain you may be feeling a bit of a sting.
I moderated some comments today and discovered that I have been castigated for my recent paucity of posts. Well!!OK, then, actually I must admit that the criticism is fair.
My very first post of last calendar year concerned the Warroad High School girls' hockey team. Here is a former member of that team (although certainly not last year's team), a former Gopher and a member of the 2010 United States Olympic Women's Hockey team (and one of our personal favorites) making a bit of a media splash of her own.
Kudos to Gigi, I think she has a future in that business. On a side note, I only very recently discovered that the product receiving the GigiEndorsement is manufactured right here in my home town.
Perhaps more to come on a slightly more frequent basis.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Decimal system is digital, fractions are analog
One of the things I love best about bicycling is that I have all of that time to myself, time to think about this and that, time to think about pretty much nothing at all if that is what I prefer.
The mindset is gradually transferring over to my winter time exercise option. I walk three miles just about every day, just about always outside. It was cold yesterday, today was cloudy, both days were good.
So today I was walking along thinking about nothing in particular and fell to calculating the percentage of the walk that I had finished as I passed the end of each block. Not surprisingly, at least not to me, I discovered that probably like most people of my vintage I calculate better in fractions than I do when I do long division in my head for the decimal system. Each block is 1/24 of the total distance and piling up the pieces of pie proved to be easier than tracking the decimal point when doing straight percentages. Each block is 4 and 1/6 percent of the total distance. See how easy that is? On the other hand spend a little time dividing 17 by 24 in your head and see if it comes as easily. It doesn't for me. Now try 19.
I think the reason for this is that I am old school. The modern trendy kids all had calculators and never learned fractions as well as I did. My conclusion is that the decimal system is digital, fractions are analog.
That's my theory, I made it up myself, and I am sticking to it.
Another thing I really love about bicycling is the gear. I am starting to acquire winter walking gear. Here is a look at the basics.
Cell phone, of course.
Those sunglasses are Specialized bicycling glasses but convert best of all the sunglasses I own to winter time use because of the good coverage (important against the wind) and the fact that the lenses adjust to the light. I know there is a name for that but I have had superior vision for most of my life and I am just a little bit short on eyeglass nomenclature. These particular sunglasses have that attribute which means that I can still wear them even on overcast, grey days, the lenses lighten up to allow in more light.
The other deal there is my very first walking specific piece of gear, an Xmas gift from Wireless. It is a pedometer. What gear loving exercise walker would be without a pedometer?
As you can see, I finished just a slight measurement error over three miles by 2pm today.
The mindset is gradually transferring over to my winter time exercise option. I walk three miles just about every day, just about always outside. It was cold yesterday, today was cloudy, both days were good.
So today I was walking along thinking about nothing in particular and fell to calculating the percentage of the walk that I had finished as I passed the end of each block. Not surprisingly, at least not to me, I discovered that probably like most people of my vintage I calculate better in fractions than I do when I do long division in my head for the decimal system. Each block is 1/24 of the total distance and piling up the pieces of pie proved to be easier than tracking the decimal point when doing straight percentages. Each block is 4 and 1/6 percent of the total distance. See how easy that is? On the other hand spend a little time dividing 17 by 24 in your head and see if it comes as easily. It doesn't for me. Now try 19.
I think the reason for this is that I am old school. The modern trendy kids all had calculators and never learned fractions as well as I did. My conclusion is that the decimal system is digital, fractions are analog.
That's my theory, I made it up myself, and I am sticking to it.
Another thing I really love about bicycling is the gear. I am starting to acquire winter walking gear. Here is a look at the basics.
Cell phone, of course.
Those sunglasses are Specialized bicycling glasses but convert best of all the sunglasses I own to winter time use because of the good coverage (important against the wind) and the fact that the lenses adjust to the light. I know there is a name for that but I have had superior vision for most of my life and I am just a little bit short on eyeglass nomenclature. These particular sunglasses have that attribute which means that I can still wear them even on overcast, grey days, the lenses lighten up to allow in more light.
The other deal there is my very first walking specific piece of gear, an Xmas gift from Wireless. It is a pedometer. What gear loving exercise walker would be without a pedometer?As you can see, I finished just a slight measurement error over three miles by 2pm today.
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