I just registered for this winter's Hustle Up the Hancock race. The race is 94 flights (1632 stairs) up the Hancock building in Chicago. The race is a fundraiser for the Respiratory Health Association in Chicago. I already usually take the stairs instead of the elevator and I commute by bike so I think my base is okay, but climbing specific training starts next week. I expect to do a lot…
Although I never swam competitively, I have swum for pleasure and exercise my entire life. However, now that I moved two blocks from a pool, I just never seem to go anymore. My number one excuse is that I like how my hair is at exactly that day. A lame excuse, but completely in line with my priorities in life. So, I will set a day and time where I at…
First definition in Merriam Webster's: "a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake."Makes me stop and wonder what all the self-proclaimed geeks I know are actually doing in their free time...
Mean Girls was on TV tonight. I haven't seen it for a few months, which is probably the longest I've gone without seeing it since it was released. Mean Girls is so ridiculous in its caricatures of female subculture, but at the same time, it's the most relate-able movie I have ever seen. It is hysterical, nuanced, and brilliantly written. I've probably seen it a few hundred times and it is still enjoyable today. The…
The ginger discussion on Glee got me doing some more research into a festival I read about this past September in Breda in the Netherlands, Roodharigen. Maybe I'll check it out next year. Two of my favorite things: red heads, and bikes. Any other red heads interested?
This week's episode of Glee was a little slow, but I appreciate the little redhead supremacy rant. While I think that the words said are true, the tone seemed a bit mocking (as fit in the scene). It is true that the red head gene (MC1R) will be dormant soon and completely out of the gene pool a few generations later, based on current population models. However, life is different for…
Is it legal to serve beer for profit from a bicycle? If so, I may have found a new job :-)Keg Bike
On my vacation this past summer, I was hiking in the Cinque Terre with a Belgian retiree who asked me where were some interesting spots to visit if he were to go to the US. I initially rattled off the major eastern cities like New York and Washington, but beyond that I had no idea. I started thinking about why I seemed to vacation in Europe more often than the US.…
As the weather has been changing and my respiratory system not keepingup, I've been taking the metro more frequently. One aspect of publictransit that I miss when biking is the social atmosphere. Unless I amriding my bike with someone, it is just me, alone on my bike.However, even when travelling alone on metro, there are always otherpeople around. Even if you aren't feeling particularly outgoing thatday, metro conversation eavesdropping is a…
I have always loved the water and the feeling of freedom that comeswith being able to float around, twisting around any which way withoutgravity reminding you that you aren't designed to keep your hips overyour shoulders. A goal that I have for the next year is to learn toSCUBA dive. This would allow me to explore new areas and increasedfreedom in the water. I have never done any freediving, so I…