Monthly Archive for March, 2008

Blazers vs Clippers

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Wyatt
on March 22, 2008
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After dinner at The Farm, Philip and I went to a Blazers basketball game at the Rose Garden Arena. Philip got free tickets from somewhere, and I’m always down for a novel experience, which this definitely was for me. I’ve been to one other pro sporting event that I remember, a Red Sox baseball game in Boston back in the late 80s. I went to one Ducks basketball game while I was at the University of Oregon.

I’m no sports fan, but I love basketball as a game. It’s such a dance–part choreographed, part freestyle–conducted by intricate rules of timing, interaction, and boundaries.

Part of the fun was people watching. Watching them get excited when the Blazers scored or screwed up. Watching them ogle and take pictures of the cheerleaders. Watching them spend $6.50 on pints of Budweiser.

The arena takes great advantage of the large captive audience and advertises with all kinds of flashing lights, announcements, and giveaways of junk.

I took some pictures (of the game and crowd, not the cheerleaders) with my phone, but none of them are worth posting here.

The Farm

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Wyatt
on March 22, 2008
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Friday night started with dinner at The Farm with Philip. Michael B. stopped by also and had a couple beers with us. The Farm “support[s] local farmers by buying direct when ever possible.” They are located at SE 7th & Burnside.

I had a cup of split pea soup. Philip and I both had the “Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushrooms Marsala.” Holy shit! That is some good grub. Menu.

From the outside, the place looks like kind of dump, but inside it’s quite nice and homey–in fact, it’s in an old Victorian house.

Slightly spendy but definitely recommended.

Got Prescription Glasses and My Eyes are Correct

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Wyatt
on March 19, 2008
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OK, so I can’t go around quoting that[1] just yet, but I’ll be able to soon: I just got back from my first eye exam in 10? 12? more? years. My eyes are “very healthy.” That’s a relief. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of validation that my lifestyle, habits, and/or genes are generally healthy. After a minimum of ten years of having any kind of health, dental, or eye exams, it’s good to know, and quite interesting.

Anyway, back to the eye exam. My eyes are 20/30. I’m slightly nearsighted. The numbers on my prescription are -1.00/-0.75; “sph” cylinder. I have no idea what that means. I’m looking at some hip-but-not-overstated, black, rectangular-ish frames that work well with hats and bike helmets. Anti-reflective, polycarbonate lenses are recommended. That’s gonna run me about fo’ hunny[2]. Damn! Is that a reasonable price for glasses? I don’t have a clue.

In my last post about this, I thought glasses might help my eyestrain and headaches while sitting at the computer. The doctor mostly disagreed. She said the anti-reflective coating might help, but mainly I need to take more breaks and make sure my workstation ergonomics are all good. Tension in the back and neck can cause headaches and what feels like eyestrain. Who knew?

Here’s the general style I’m looking at:

Cruz I-20 Eyeglass Frames
Pinched from here.

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[1] Perfection by Run-D.M.C. from the album Raising Hell
[2] $400

First Ramble in Two Weeks

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Wyatt
on March 18, 2008
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In spite of pain from having my wisdom teeth removed and a secondary sinus infection, I decided to tough out a two hour, fast ramble this evening. I went to the oral surgeon for a checkup today and everything looked “pritty gud.” Sitting around the house was getting old, so I decided to go for it. I wasn’t sure I would make it, but since I’m such a badass*, you know I did. I pushed myself maybe just a tad harder than I “should” have, so I might be sitting out Thursday’s ramble (gotta “date” anyway, so… yeah, skippin’ it).

It was a stair ramble, my first. We climbed about two thousand stairs. We also climbed some pretty major hills. Blah blah blah. Here are some photos (as usual, taken with iPhone & edited with GIMP).

Stairs from bottomStairs from top

Downtown through foliage at top of stairsSome other stairs from bottom

Downtown with mountains in background

Moon

Moon and buildings downtown

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*Yeah, I’m such a badass. You love it.

Go Vegan

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Wyatt
on March 18, 2008
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Last Thursday, my second to last day at EDI, I walked home. Instead of walking on the sidewalk along the road the whole way–which is a busy, noisy state highway in an industrial area with a lot of big trucks–I walked* along the tracks behind some industrial buildings. I came across this graffiti:

Go Vegan Graffiti

It’s not super artistic or anything, but it was unexpected. There was some other, more “professional” graffiti along the way. Here’s the view after turning left and heading home again:

Graffiti Tracks

It’s interesting to consider that most of the people that drive by here every day will never know this exists. Maybe it’s not important to them. It is to me.

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*Tangent: I have a lot (most?) of my best ideas/thoughts/feelings when I’m walking or biking alone to/from work. Or when I’m walking alone in Forest Park. Or when I’m on a ramble with other people but am caught up in my own thoughts. Or, in other words, when I’m active and alone (or effectively alone).

Not Right Now

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Wyatt
on March 14, 2008
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Today is my last day working at EDI. I had a few personal items there, so I rented a Zipcar to get them home. While returning the car, right before pulling into the designated parking spot, I noticed a couple of well dressed women standing on the corner. I briefly wondered what they were doing (waiting for the bus?). They were standing in front of Planned Parenthood, but they didn’t seem to be protesting or anything.

As I got out of the car and walked toward them, one of them asked, in a friendly, nonjudgmental manner, “Do you have a friend in there?” I said, “Not right now.” Then I smirked a little bit. They asked if I wanted some info. I shook my head and kept walking.

I wasn’t trying to be an asshole, but that’s probably how it came across. They just caught me unawares, and I basically told them the truth. I realized my answer sounded a little funny, and I almost laughed. Holding that in caused the smirk.

Wisdom Teeth Extracted

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Wyatt
on March 12, 2008
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Yesterday morning, I had my wisdom teeth extracted. I think this is the most major medical treatment I’ve ever undergone, and my first surgery. I’ve had my share of stitches and broken bones, but I’ve never been anesthetized before. (Parents, please correct me if I’m wrong about this.)

I was a tiny bit nervous coming into it, especially about going under IV sedation, but the staff at Head & Neck Surgical Associates was great, very friendly and professional, answering my questions and chatting while I waited to go “under the knife.” I didn’t notice a thing while I was under, and had no adverse reaction to the sedative. I can highly recommend them, Dr. Bell in particular.

At home right after wisdom teeth extraction
At home right after the operation

Kitties chillin’ on bed with me after wisdom teeth removal
Kitties chillin’ with me in bed later in the afternoon

Mad props to Bonnie for taking time out of her day to bring me to the operation, wait while it was performed, and escort me home–especially on such short notice. She also had a good laugh about my post-operative condition, and I appreciate that too. ;)

Wisdom teeth extraction–the morning after
The morning after

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All photos taken with iPhone; scaled with GIMP

iPhone as Primary Internet Device

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Wyatt
on March 12, 2008
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So, “whiddiya do” when your home Internet access is cut off without warning*? Especially when you’ve just had your wisdom teeth extracted and don’t have much else to do (except lay in bed with the kitties and read Timeline by Michael Crichton)? Use yer iPhone, of course! So, how well does it work? Pretty well, all things considered–about what you’d expect from a tiny l’il computer talking to the Internet via an EDGE cellular network connection.

Checking and reading email is a breeze. Writing email is slow but not too bad, as long as the recipient understands that you’re being concise and not terse. Taking photos of the kitties and emailing them is always fun, especially when you’re on a call at the same time.

Browsing the Internet is decent too–sometimes fast, usually not too slow–especially sites like Gmail or Ta-da Lists that have mobile-specific versions of their sites. Note to self: create one of these for byCycle (right after we get some funding and finish up the other thousand items on the byCycle to-do list–any volunteers?).

Side note to Web developers: Flash-only sites with no alternatives suck. At the very least, throw up some text saying that Flash is required. I know this sounds soooo obvious, but even in 2008, it still happens. Another advantage of a text-based, flash-enhanced (or, better yet, DHTML/AJAX) site: it works on iPhone/Safari for free.

In some ways, iPhone is superior to a regular computer. I love the way scrolling and zooming work (fingertips on the screen). Apple’s latest laptop utilizes this technology in its trackpad. The 64GB solid state drive is pretty cool too. I’m more of a Linux fan, but I might consider one of these at some point–maybe in a year or two when the price on the solid state version drops a bit.

I wasn’t able to write this post at home on iPhone, but I should try that some time. Many mini-posts might be an interesting experiment–trying to condense a topic/thought/feeling into a few sentences, reducing it to it’s bare essence and not going off on a bunch of tangents.

I Need Glasses

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Wyatt
on March 8, 2008
in health and planet python
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I’m finally sure I need glasses. I’ve probably needed them for a while, but I definitely do now. I’ve been finding lately that when I work at the computer for any length of time, I start to get a low level headache, my eyes hurt, I have a hard time concentrating, my productivity drops, and I sometimes get irritable. Sometimes when I leave the computer, my vision is a bit blurry. In the morning, I can barely read the clock from about eight feet away.

This has been going on for a while now, but it hasn’t been so pronounced, and I hadn’t realized exactly what the problem was. Lately, things that were once clear aren’t so clear any more.

I guess one solution would be to stop staring at computer screens as much, but so much of my work (all really) requires me to. The realistic solution is a combination of getting glasses, taking more breaks, and maybe doing some eye exercises. Getting out into nature should help too, as there the eye isn’t focussed at a fixed distance for long periods of time.

Before it became so obvious that I need glasses,  I would sometimes wonder what my problem was. It’s interesting how low intensity health issues can have such an effect on our general feeling of wellbeing. That’s one reason it’s important to stay healthy. It’s also a reason to keep an eye on things and get things checked out early–before they turn into major issues.

The one thing that really worries me about all this is picking out the frames. That could take forever.

First Organic Athlete Bike Ride

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Wyatt
on March 8, 2008
in cycling
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I went on my first Organic Athlete (OA) group ride today with Mani, Annie, and Jon. They were all dressed up in swanky green and orange OA cycling outfits. I felt like a dork in my hodge podge of cycling gear. I aspire to one day be that cool (and to not be afraid to walk around in spandex).

Organic Athlete Running Outfits
Swiped from here. I couldn’t find a photo of the cycling clothes, but these outfits are similar.

I think we rode about twenty miles. We started at the Cellar Door Cafe at SE 20th and Harrison. They are an OA sponsor and have tasty, home made, vegan treats (thanks for the samples!). From the cafe we headed north on SE 12th; went up Williams/Vancouver to Schmeer; rode around Portland International Raceway, Heron Lakes Golf Course, and Multnomah County Fairgrounds; and came back south via MLK and Vancouver. I broke off at Broadway and went home.

Along the way, Annie got a flat (here). We stopped and they repaired that, but as Jon was finishing pumping up, the valve stem broke. Oh noes! They put in a new tube, and we got on our way again.

Coming south down MLK, I got a flat (approximately here). Double oh noes! Luckily, Jon had a spare tube for me, since I forgot mine at home. (I owe you one, bro.)

These group rides are going to be my gateway to bike fun this year. I plan to start racing at some point, though probably not too seriously–mainly just for fun, but I do have a competitive streak, so we’ll see.

One thing I definitely plan to do is get ready for this year’s cyclocross season. Last year, I was a spectator except for a beginner’s race in Eugene that I almost died* at due to A) not being in shape for a race, B) getting a horrible night’s sleep on a couch in a freezing cold house the night before, C) riding a 30 pound mountain bike, and D) pushing myself way too hard off the line.

Anyway, the ‘cross races are super fun, with tricky, often muddy courses and a festive atmosphere (FYI for those who haven’t been). I can’t wait. Well, that’s not exactly true, because there’s a lot of fun to be had between now and then, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.

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*Not literally, but it sure felt like it.