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How to Fail at Going for a Run

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:19:48 -0400

How to fail at going for a run (in my case while training for a 1/2 marathon)

Get up psyched to run
Plot out the perfect running course including a new fun route, new scenery and a new distance you can’t wait to achieve
Get your gear on and go!
Run at an easy pace to not tire yourself out on the new route and longer distance, no need to be too tired with a mile to go
Get to just past mile 2, the Mt. Auburn Cemetery, and realize the next 2 miles of your route, though the shade and hills of the cemetery roads, is not allowed. Curse to yourself but carry on because THIS is your route and the cemetery seems quiet.
Go a little bit further and start to question whether you are still on the right route. Also, walk. Not because you are tired (because that is ok), not because you are sore (because that is ok), not to catch your breath (also ok) but because there are too many people around for you to feel comfortable breaking clearly posted rules.
Go a bit further, realize you are totally on the wrong set of paths because the Mt. Auburn Cemetery is HUGE with more trails than you had on your original map and that there are too many people out for you to feel comfortable running.
Walk back to the entrance as directly as you can, muttering and cursing yourself under your breath for ruining your long training run because you only have a bout 5 weeks to work up to 13 miles.
Jog home the same way you came, continuing to mutter and curse.

On the plus side, I did still go for a jog and can do a longer run tomorrow. Also, it let me realize I didn’t have enough of a food and liquid base to really actually do a full long run.

So remember, No Jogging, No Picnicking, No Biking, No Rollerblading or any other thing that could be viewed as disrespectful in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Also, bring a map.

Fixing Pro

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:06:46 -0400

So it turns out I am becoming a bit of a pro at fixing mistakes in cables when I am knitting. Not the kind of pro that can actually figure out how to gran that dropped stitch and weave it back up through the complicated maneuvers, but the kind that can drop back a whole section just to grab that dropped stitch.

That’s right, I have to keep relearning my lesson about working on the afghan when at all tired. Everything seems to be cruising along fine when all of a sudden I get to a point and say, why am I 1 stitch short or why is there a stitch dangling there?

It’s a bit frustrating overall since I would rather be making continuous forward progress than this everything forward, drop the middle back, bring the middle back to where everything else is, go forward with everything a little bit more, drop back the middle… etc.

At least in this heat it gives me an excuse to go out to my favorite coffee shops to drink cold beverages and sit in the ac.

Busy Bee

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:08:01 -0400

So in addition to doing some running life has been pretty busy.

There was a post-apocalyptic party

And there were 2 different ultimate tournaments. The most recent was a 2-day that resulted in a total of 6 games and over 9 hours of frisbee.

Here’s some evidence from our first day of games. We were still pretty energetic then and there is evidence I actually learned to throw forehand decently.

Things have quieted down a bit. Soon I will give actual updates on running and knitting and such. For now I better get some more rest.

10 week count-down: 10

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:02:03 -0400

In 10 weeks I run the BAA 1/2 marathon. 13.1 miles.

I think I’m crazy, but at least I’m not the only one. I have 3 other people I know running it as well.

Today I officially started my training with almost a 4.7 mile run. Considerably shorter than 13.1, but it means I have to add less than 10 miles total to my distance in 10 weeks. That’s less than a mile a week. How hard could it be?!

Stay tuned over the next 10 weeks to find out. For now I better drink more water, take ibuprophen and go to bed. Wooooo!

Vacation Wrap-Up

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:20:12 -0400

So I have now been home from vacation for exactly 1 week. It sure doesn’t feel that long ago, and it feels like ages ago. It was a wonderful time.

We started out heading out to Northampton to pick up the last member of our ragtag crew. I had shotgun for that leg and had the Madelintosh sock yarn ready to go to start the Kai-Mei socks. (Which I did cast on in the car.)

While there we played a LOT of boardgames, swam. boated, kayaked, I found some fun things in the woods

we relaxed on the deck with a great view of the lake

people went tubing with various levels of success. Our buddy was very successful so the boat driver took evasive maneuvers to try to knock him off.

while when handsome and I went I screamed my head off while he laughed and waved. Contrary to my ascertations, we did not actually die.

We all cooked together and cleaned together and had a great time. We had amazing hosts and everyone did a combination of individual and group things. I got up early every morning to either drink tea and knit, drink coffee and knit/read, or to run and then want to die. (Vermont has these strange things called hills. Cambridge isn’t sure what they are but I think Somerville has heard of them.) This means that in addition to playing a lot of games, swimming, boating, and tubing I also got quite a bit of knitting done. From casting on in the car on Tuesday to leaving on Sunday I was almost done with the heel flap and about ready to turn the heel.

And now I am well on my way onto the foot and working the lace. I also am well on my way to wishing we had another vacation lined up. Maybe we’ll get to go the other place on Vermont, the one with no electricity! (Gas lights = knitting for me but no computers for the fella!)

Knitting Comic Strips

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:47:40 -0400

I stumbled across these through a friend.

This I really should have tried on vacation, except all out kayaks were single person ones.

And here is the end of the extreme knitting montage. I may need that on something. Wish I could get the 2 strips put together on something even.

Happy Friday

Vacation

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:11:52 -0400

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

I. 1. a. Freedom, release, or rest from some occupation, business, or activity. b. Without const. Freedom or respite from work, etc.; time of rest or leisure.

That’s the plan! The fella and I are going on vacation with about 8 of our friends. We’re headed to a house in VT where a friend is oh-so-graciously hosting us with a lake view and people will arrive over the course of the week.

My plan: drinking coffee on the deck, reading Winnie Ille Pu (Winnie the Pooh in latin), knitting (bringing 2 projects! The afghan and new socks!), hiking (I may have some field guides and a couple hand lenses), kayaking, swimming, and playing lots of games.

Things I will not be doing: Thinking about program documentation for the wiki at work, thinking about databasing, thinking about filing or loans, thinking about the backlog of work that just keeps growing, and worrying about how to actually get effective IPM monitoring going.

It’s a good time for vacation! I hope everyone else has a good one this summer too!

Fells Fungi Fun

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:52:02 -0400

Today the rain managed to hold off and allowed for a beautiful hike in the Middlesex Fells. (Check it out.) A friend and I went and started off near the Botume House and then just followed the fire roads and some of the trails so we ended up walking by Spot Pond and then over along another smaller pond. For that part we followed the blue Cross-Fells trail for a ways, which had some fun ups and downs.

In the smaller pond there were lots of lilly pads, many of which are in flower right now. Definitely worth checking out if you live nearby.

However, in addition to flowers we ran across many fungi! There were little orange jelly fungi, small orange cup fungi, little brown mushrooms coming out of logs. some pinky Russula looking things, and this little fella near a bridge we crossed.

It was hidden amongst some leafy liverworts and mosses there. However the most exciting find of the day just might be some excellent white slime mold plasmodia! Those myxomycetes were getting ready to finish turning into fruitbodies, but they still had some plasmodial trails. Very fun to see. If I had time to go back in a couple days, and if the weather stays rain free, they would be fun to collect and identify.

So nature and fungi are out and ready to be discovered. Throw on your hiking boots, grab your hand lens and go have some fun! I sure did!

Fast Friendships

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:48:49 -0400

So one of the deals working within academia is that people move around a lot. People in the field all know this and you make friends very quickly. Wonderful brilliant friends you feel like you have known your whole life. After almost no time you hang out a ton, laugh, cry, tell stories and secrets, and almost feel like a family. It’s like a friendship with the candle burning on both ends as bright as a star, and it feels awesome.

Then, perhaps the grant funding ends, a PhD is achieved, a Post-Doc completed, or a job with more permanence is found. It’s time to laugh and help pack and tell those last stories and maybe shed a few tears. You load a truck or a car or suitcases, and say your goodbyes and see you soons. Another person (or persons) whom you love in another part of the world.

Before you know it you have friends in all sorts of places. All around the United States for me, as well as places across the globe. You end up with a huge network of places to visit to see friends and travel with excitement. And with email and skype people really stay in touch better than I imagine they did before.

However, I kinda wish more people would stay put for a while. I haven’t gone anywhere… Then again, I probably feel this way because I have had another favorite family that I love head off into the wilds of the west. I know I’ll visit because I can’t bear not to, and there is the promise of seeing Mt. Rushmore, but right now that feels impossibly far away.

So, thanks for everything guys. You have been some of the most fun people to hang out with and I have learned from all of you. Each of you has really been great and I feel like my life is better and changed for knowing you. Safe trip!

Here’s a parting picture, which unfortunately is not of the whole family. I’ll remedy that next time I see them and make sure to get Dad in a shot too.

LOTR Knitting Adventure

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:58:50 -0400

So now that everything has reached its final destination I feel it is safe to write about my LOTR Ravelry swap. Oh boy have I been itching to!

So, for those of you unaware, I love the Lord of the Rings almost as much as I love the Hobbit. Therefore, when there way the option to participate in a swap with this theme I had to. My partner, however, put me to shame with her LOTR/Middle Earth love and lore so I had to really work to make something that would be just right.

I decided it was time to learn to sew!

Wait, sewing is not knitting… but all crafting is allowed and with my partner’s love of maps I figured a knitting needle case that looked like a parchment map of Middle Earth would be just right. This involved several stages:

Finding fabric that I thought would both look great and that my partner would like. (Thanks for helping Kristen!)
Making some sort of game plan with measurements for how the thing should go together.
Getting a good image of the Middle Earth map to flip and print on iron on transfer paper. I got it here… and it is awesome.
Figure out how to wind a friggin’ bobbin on my sewing machine. (Thanks Mom & Grandma for always keeping the book with the sewing machine!)
Putting the whole darn thing together.

Miraculously I managed to make a plan, cut out fabric, and even wind 2 bobbins thanks to the instruction book (last copyright: 1947) with the machine. (Favorite part from the book: Machine can be plugged into either an alternating current or direct current outlet.)

I had some trouble, but in the end was very pleased with my results.

Of course, it took me a while to get all this together… and to work up my courage to actually try this whole sewing thing. Like it took my 2.5 months total to get the whole swap ready to mail, and I bought the fabric before the end of the first month. Sewing (and courage) is HARD.

So in the mean time I decided that I needed to make a second item for my partner. I mean, she mentioned several times, in several places, that her favorite thing ever is Grond. How could I let her down! She is like my LOTR Australian Sister! (Note: I have a real sister who loves LOTR and is likely to want appropriate gifts after this.) So, I downloaded some cross stitch charting software and started to scheme. And how I schemed. I was disappointed that I was using the design concept from the movie for Grond, but since there is only some descriptions of this giant metal battering ram in the shape of a wolf and filled with fire I figured I would be forgiven. So I charted out a pattern, ordered some knitpicks pallette yarns, and waited.

Finally it was time!

It was the most colors I have knit with in an intarsia to date, and it was crazy and challenging and fun! I ended up having to cut off the edges of the pattern so with a reasonable gauge it would still fit around a mug as a mug cozy (since it was WAY too big for going around wrists). After a month of hard work I ended up with:

I did eventually get the whole thing mailed out, and I think my fella was really sad to see it all go. He often would remark on the coolness of Grond and how great the map looked on the fabric. We may end up with some LOTR crafting at home, but I was just so excited to send these things off to whom I designed them for.

Now I’m just waiting to see what my sister requests, since her birthday is in a whopping 10 days (and I see her in 13 when we have a family D&D adventure for her party)! Good thing I love knitting, my family and LOTR… in a particular order that is no one’s business but mine.

too hot to blog

Wed, 26 May 2010 20:31:34 -0400

I was going to give you some MoBot photos or even some photos to my little adventure to Harrisville NH (great yarn there!) however it is way to hot to use the computer. This is it folks. Gotta love New England May’s… totally unpredictable.

For example May 25, 2002 it was beautiful and warm but not too hot. A great day to see TMBG at the Hatch Shell… with a new fella and his friends. And May 25, 2003 way cold and gray and drizzly and there were even flurries… a great day to graduate from college. And yesterday was a day at the beach in the hot hot hot sun… the perfect way to spent my 8th year with that fella I mentioned before.

Next blog post will be full of good things instead of heatstroke brain, I promise.

Belated St. Louis 1

Thu, 06 May 2010 18:01:42 -0400

So some time ago now I went to St. Louis and then promised a recap of my trip. I failed to follow through. Forgive me.

So, the thing about this short 4 day trip to St. Louis (end of March/beginning of April) is that is was really quite full. I mean, some of you will probably think we didn’t do near enough, and if we had rented a car we might have done more, but it sure seems like we did a lot. So I am going to break things up a bit. Here I am going to show you some of the lovely adventures we had in St. Louis, mostly Downtown. Then, in the next post (hopefully within a couple days) I will show you our trip to the wonderful MoBot!

Our evening arrival, waiting for the rail to take us downtown from the airport

Rooster, where we had an awesome breakfast. (We visited their sister restaurant later)

Then handsome went to his conference and I wandered down to see the big metal thing…

And the Mississippi River!!! (which was a little high)

Then I walked past the first Catholic church in St. Louis and headed to the Old Courthouse where the Dread Scott case was held. I figured I would pop in but probably spent over an hour there. It was incredible! (I have so many photos it could be its own post, but I will refrain.)

From here I was able to continue walking through the new City Garden sculpture park

pass the library

and head to get some well deserved gelato and sit before meeting up with conference man. (Did I mention it was almost 90 out?)

Later in our trip we did go to Bailey’s Chocolate Bar (FANTASTIC!) where we also had fancy drinks in addition to

On the day we were leaving we got to see a some friends and go to the City Museum, which was awesome and crazy! I gave a teaser photo before, but I think this sums it up nicely.

And that was pretty much our trip. We also ate great Thai food, met some friendly people, drank coffee and tea, and I took the fella back over to the City Garden and such. Of course, we also spent almost a whole day at the Missouri Botanical Garden, but that’s for another post.

Strange Sorrow

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:29:54 -0400

I have another brief post I was working on, but it doesn’t feel right for now. Then again nothing feels right now. Now I have that strange post-wake feeling, the one where you’re tired, and happy to have seen family, and sad, and numb, and tired and sad. You’re trying not to really think about what is happening to the people in the middle of it all, let alone yourself. You remember old times, tell stories, make jokes, share.

Right now I am filled with all these things. I also keep thinking I wish I had knit my aunt something. I bet she would have really enjoyed having something hand knit. I should have made the time. Then I feel selfish for thinking it. Then I think it some more.

I think my brain is tired and trying to cope. I doubt tomorrow will be any better

PAX report

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:31:30 -0400

So, last month I went to PAX. I went with friends, with family, and with strangers. It was very different from my first time going to PAX in Seattle a few years ago. Then I really knew nothing of gaming culture and played pretty much only Dr. Mario on occasion. I used it as a great excuse to go on vacation in Seattle with friends (which worked out great as I had lots of time on my own to explore) and did spend some time at the convention having fun and being totally overwhelmed.

This time was different. This time I knew a lot more going in, and I had some plans. I wanted to do some console gaming (and I did! played a Wii for the first time), I wanted to learn how to play D&D (which I also did, rolling a d20 for the first time and now knowing what “roll for initiative” means) and I wanted to meet up with other knitters who were also PAX attendees.

The last of those is one of my favorites. Many of us worked through the PA forums and Ravelry to spread the word. The most difficult part was that the place we chose was very crowded so not everyone found us. However, we had a great time and I met some great knitters & crocheters (or hookers if you prefer). There is a great post by Rows Red over here with more pictures of PAX. Playing D&D and other games with friends, getting a Castle Crashers t-shirt, having Will Weaton walk by (and then later take a pic with my sister while I was learning to play D&D… the irony), going to panels, and hanging with my sister really made the whole weekend awesome.

So, here are some pictures, since detailing the convention isn’t going to be interesting for anyone. However this summer I am totally going to the classic arcade museum up in NH, so feel free to join me!

The Beginning! (Gateway to PAX)

KN1TT3RS!

Saturday Night Concert

My first D&D final dungeon!

Nerd Sisters!

And in a couple weekends the DM there is going to teach our parents to play!

That’s all for now. Next big summary: St. Louis!

More to Follow: In the past 10 days I have managed to go to both...

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:23:21 -0400

More to Follow: In the past 10 days I have managed to go to both PAX East 2010 and St. Louis. There is much I want to share from both of these events. However, it has been nuts. I will share more soon.

Here is a photo to wet your appetite for tales of adventure.

Teaching Science

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:21:13 -0400

There are issues all over the country when it comes to teaching modern scientific theory in science classrooms. Instead of it getting better it may actually be getting worse.

Check out this New York Times article. (Which I got pointed to by a friend through twitter)

I bet these were all the same type of people that railed against Galileo, Newton, and anyone else who has tried to advance science and been outcast from society (at best).

Amazingly, this kind of thing just makes me want to teach High School Biology and fight against the insanity.

Gaming meets Knitting

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:30:00 -0400

So, most of you now realize that I like to knit… a lot. Many of you may not realize I also like to play games. (Ok, and by many I mean any strangers that happen upon my blog since my friends and family all know I like to play games… often with them!) I like board games, card games, and even video games. (I am especially bad at video games… even worse when there are 2 analog sticks involved and I might get killed.)

Indulging my love of games is something I do less often than my handsome, XBox360 & PS3 owning fella. (He indulges his gaming, I indulge my knitting and we both sit on the sofa together.) However in 2 weekends it will be a 3 day extravaganza of gaming indulgence, and other game/comic/nerd type things. That is right my friends, the Penny Arcade Expo is coming and it will be in Boston! Yeah PAX East 2010! (I hope you already have you passes cause the 3 day ones are sold out!)

There will be panels, there will be concerts, there will be video, board, and role playing games (I’m gunna learn to play D&D and my sister will be competing for best DM in the Underdark D&D thingie) and there will be knitting!

That’s right. I said it. KNITTING!

So it turns out there are other people on Ravelry that are going to be attending PAX East. So after finding these people across several threads I have tried to organize us. I have also gone onto the PA forums and checked for interest there… and there is interest! Low and behold a PAX East/Ravelry unofficial meet-up is born!

So, if you love knitting, crochet, spinning, fiber arts, etc. (we have other crafter types coming as well, and hopefully the guy who knits with steel!) and you are going to the PAX East in 2 weekends then come on by! Right now the plan is to meet Saturday the 27th at 2.30p in the food court in the Prudential. I will make a sign, people can come and go as they please, and rumor has it that Paradise Bakery has excellent cookies. (Personally unverified cookie status.) See you there!

life gives you lemons

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:00:17 -0500

Well, actually life game me 1 lemon. A lemon from my fantastic organic dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree my sister gave me for my birthday last year. My first lemon is finally ripe and I am super excited to do something with it over the weekend! (No, not take it on a date, at least I don’t think so.)

Fanfare please! (do do do dooo)

As my sister said, now I can make the world’s smallest glass of lemonade. Any other suggestions out there for my first little lemon?

Time Addict

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:45:19 -0500

So I love wearing watches. I find them comfortable, convenient and aesthetically pleasing. The first watch I really remember wearing was a Swatch watch with a pink edge and an neat pattern in the face and on the original strap. (Holey crap I found it!) I wore it for many, many years. One of the times I needed to get a new strap I stored it somewhere in my room for safe keeping, and then by the time I got a new strap, it was lost like buried treasure. (I am pretty sure one day I or my parents will come across that watch.)

Then in high school, because I was on the track team, I got a simple black Timex watch with a multiple lap memory and split function. It was super easy to use, very reliable, and the buttons were easy to press but did not get pressed accidentally. That became my daily watch for about 8 years or so, of course with strap and battery changes over the years. (Older modal, similar to this, but older model was better!)

After college, in my first good job (the same one I am in now), I treated myself to a really nice watch. A Victorinox thin officer’s watch with brushed metal and a navy face (here-ish). I wanted something that would be very accurate, that would make me feel more grown up, and that I could wear to nice places (because generally a grimy, beat up, black timex watch is not considered appropriate with a nice dress).

Eventually my Timex kicked it at the beach. Too much salt water I guess. I had to replace it, because I still use a digital for timing runs and sports. (And the one I have now is not near as good and I will probably need to replace it after negligible use in 3 years. Also I do need lap capability after all.)

Here’s the thing, that’s probably an account of my watch wearing history over the past 19 years at least. So, slowly I have become extremely used to wearing a watch, and I feel incomplete when I don’t wear one. (Occasionally lazy weekend day exception.) I have also become very aware of time (some say obsessively) in my daily life. I use my watch to gauge my walking speed from place to place in case I am dawdling, or in case I have time to dawdle. I use it to check the date when I am signing paperwork at work. I use it to see if it is almost time for lunch, a meeting, to make coffee, etc at work because I am often away from my desk and I do not carry my phone with me at work. (No reception in most places anyways.)

So, when I forgot to wear my watch to work yesterday I seriously considered for a brief minute turning around and going home to get it! (I also tried to see if my sweet, darling, handsome and considerate fella had any errands that would bring him my way. Nope!) I complained over twitter a bit, but mostly jokingly. It was very disconcerting and uncomfortable to be without a watch. I really like being punctual, especially when cookies or people waiting are on the line. Maybe my friends are right, maybe I am too obsessed with time. Certainly I can cope and figure out timing when I don’t have a watch. However why take a chance when there are potentially cookies on the line?!

Oh well

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:56:20 -0500

My goal was to complete a pair of cabled mittens between February 12th and 28th. I figured with about a week for each one how could I go wrong.

Well, I went wrong. It turns out I just didn’t push all that hard and often opted for not knitting instead of tired knitting. (Which is more of a problem with a complicated pattern on little needles with little yarn. Tinking sucks. I avoided it.) I am only just now ready to put the thumb stitches of the first mitten on a holder!

So I’m a Knitting Olympic non-medalist. Next time. I did manage to watch a lot of olympics, finish my shawl, and just enjoy myself overall. I also managed to not need to tear out any part of my mittens. I made it there, I participated. Not everyone gets a medal.

To make up for it, here are a few pictures of my lovely shawl. It’s the Citron pattern from Knitty! (Which I am sure I have mentioned before.) Ta-da!