Common sense would dictate that after a week of being severely tired, I should take it easy this weekend, no? Common sense would not say, "The weather's great. You should go outside and play." That's the yin to common sense's yang; the Tom to its Jerry; the Bluto to its Popeye.
Of course, that is the one that I listened to. Honestly, I'd have to change the name of this here blog to "Sit Around and Be Lazy" or "Couches and TV Rule!" As I stated on Friday, I'll sleep when I'm dead.
Saturday found me strapped to the board. Again. She was impressed with this season's progress. The case used to be, she'd coach me on the easier runs for part of the day, and I'd send her off to run her crazy hard and steep trails. For the first time, we spent the entire day carving down the same runs together. Even in less than ideal conditions yesterday, I managed to stay upright for the majority. Oddly, the flat sections of the bookend runs were what gave me the most trouble. Gimme something steep! Am I turning into a real deal shredder? I think a trip out west is a definite possibility for next season. Fresh powder. Real mountains. No ice. [insert Homer Simpson drooling sound]
This morning found me slip sliding around Carderock looking for the boulders and the sends. We found both and a good time in a half day of climbing. I'm toting the computer to the Super Bowl festivities this evening to edit them with some offbeat soundtracks and throw them online for the world to see.
Go Steelers!
Showing posts with label ice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ice. Show all posts
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
slip and slide
all the local blogs are simultaneously freaking out about the weather and decrying the local news media for doing the same. it's pretty funny actually. myself, i said the hell with it and rolled with the punches. for those of you out-of-towners, it snowed here most of the day on tuesday. it was a teacher workday, no kids. the county sent me home at noon. for light, fluffy, pretty snow.
i was glad to go home early, since i was going to try to sneak out anyhow. i'd run out of things to do. grades were due that morning at 8:30, so i'd finished them the day before. i spent the day working on smartboard lessons with a teammate.
i ate my lunch when i got home and stomped off into the snow to snap some photos. this new camera is a lot of fun, but i probably ought to read the user's manual a few times to figure out all the bells and whistles. i found my way to lubber run park near my house. it's my go-to wilderness spot in my urban landscape. against norm, there were many kids roaming the park with their sleds and snowballs and classmates. i wanted to take some fun action shots of kids being kids since it seems so rare these days, but i thought better of it. it's sad that it takes the local anomaly of snowfall to get lazy adolescents and younger kids out of the house to play in public with their friends. x-box and playstation and wii have ruined this generation.
yesterday, more of the same with far more than snow on the ground. the treachery of ice prevented most districts in the area from having school. instead of heading to the slopes to ride, i took off to the city for some urban winter shots. i threw out about 95% of what i snapped. i'll try some of the in-camera editing features to make them black and white or color balance or filter to tweak them before i post some more.
as of this morning, ice had refrozen on many sidewalks and roads. some of my sidewalks were never cleared by our management company, and my neighbors are understandably upset. we got a two-hour delay out of it, turning our already short week for the kids to barely more than a day and a half. i sure hope tomorrow is a normal-length day. i'd much rather have them in a normal, structured day than one that i've had to modify in the wee hours of the morning before school starts.
next week, forecast is calling for another dose of the white stuff. i'll deal with it with a grin and a grimace. the grin for the beauty and florida boy in me that enjoys the novelty of the seasons. the grimace for all the morons on the road and locals (who are mostly transplants to begin with!) who bitch about it. it's january folks. shut your mouth or move to brownsville, texas.
i was glad to go home early, since i was going to try to sneak out anyhow. i'd run out of things to do. grades were due that morning at 8:30, so i'd finished them the day before. i spent the day working on smartboard lessons with a teammate.
i ate my lunch when i got home and stomped off into the snow to snap some photos. this new camera is a lot of fun, but i probably ought to read the user's manual a few times to figure out all the bells and whistles. i found my way to lubber run park near my house. it's my go-to wilderness spot in my urban landscape. against norm, there were many kids roaming the park with their sleds and snowballs and classmates. i wanted to take some fun action shots of kids being kids since it seems so rare these days, but i thought better of it. it's sad that it takes the local anomaly of snowfall to get lazy adolescents and younger kids out of the house to play in public with their friends. x-box and playstation and wii have ruined this generation.
yesterday, more of the same with far more than snow on the ground. the treachery of ice prevented most districts in the area from having school. instead of heading to the slopes to ride, i took off to the city for some urban winter shots. i threw out about 95% of what i snapped. i'll try some of the in-camera editing features to make them black and white or color balance or filter to tweak them before i post some more.
as of this morning, ice had refrozen on many sidewalks and roads. some of my sidewalks were never cleared by our management company, and my neighbors are understandably upset. we got a two-hour delay out of it, turning our already short week for the kids to barely more than a day and a half. i sure hope tomorrow is a normal-length day. i'd much rather have them in a normal, structured day than one that i've had to modify in the wee hours of the morning before school starts.
next week, forecast is calling for another dose of the white stuff. i'll deal with it with a grin and a grimace. the grin for the beauty and florida boy in me that enjoys the novelty of the seasons. the grimace for all the morons on the road and locals (who are mostly transplants to begin with!) who bitch about it. it's january folks. shut your mouth or move to brownsville, texas.
Friday, January 18, 2008
delayed, round two
without christmas shopping to do, i'm busy killing time until i have to leave for work. traffic news is a mess. overturned vehicles everywhere. accidents on my route to work. hopefully the black ice will melt by the time i have to leave.
(for my loyal florida readers, black ice is quite possibly the most treacherous road condition i have ever come across. yes, including s. fla. flooding. with flooding, you go slow, but you don't lose control. black ice occurs when the roads are wet and the temperature drops slowly to below freezing. the water on the roads and sidewalks freezes from the ground up, leaving a thin layer of water on top of already slick ice. think cooking oil on a tile floor wearing bowling shoes. marbles on a bowling lane wearing roller skates. as the boys down south say, slicker than snot on a doorknob. i was first humbled by black ice in indy super bowl sunday 7 years ago. pulled into a parking lot full of it, going five mph. back end of my truck started coming around...and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop the slide short of aiming for a bush.)
(for my loyal florida readers, black ice is quite possibly the most treacherous road condition i have ever come across. yes, including s. fla. flooding. with flooding, you go slow, but you don't lose control. black ice occurs when the roads are wet and the temperature drops slowly to below freezing. the water on the roads and sidewalks freezes from the ground up, leaving a thin layer of water on top of already slick ice. think cooking oil on a tile floor wearing bowling shoes. marbles on a bowling lane wearing roller skates. as the boys down south say, slicker than snot on a doorknob. i was first humbled by black ice in indy super bowl sunday 7 years ago. pulled into a parking lot full of it, going five mph. back end of my truck started coming around...and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop the slide short of aiming for a bush.)
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