Well that is fine I need to be running anyway. What is also fine is that the solstice has just passed. More light, more sunshine pouring down on the earth to warm it back up. Though it is odd how sunlight and the seasons work. The hottest and coldest times always lag behind the simple number of daylight hours. I suppose my running is like that. For the past few years I have coasted on old fitness from 2006. but that is gone gone now. I really need to put a solid year of effort back into it to get myself where I want to be.
What I need to do is adopt a policy where I don't get to go paddling until I have run X amount that week or something like that. Maybe every 10 miles means I get to play on the water for a few hours or every 30 earns me a proper trip. this would work... you know if I stick to it... well time to go for another clunky calf deep crusty snow run.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Yet another reason why I am going to hell
If it exists, I am. Today's reason? While I was piddling around the house doing a little work this product concept pops into my head.
"Christ-ums"
with slogans like
"Christ-ums, savior flavored snacks!
Can't make it to mass? Or just hungry for a little taste of the lord?
Why open up a box of Christ-ums!"
and a few other ads popped into my head along those lines.
Well, I can't help it... this is funny to me.
My Good Friend Doro also suggested Jezits.
"Christ-ums"
with slogans like
"Christ-ums, savior flavored snacks!
Can't make it to mass? Or just hungry for a little taste of the lord?
Why open up a box of Christ-ums!"
and a few other ads popped into my head along those lines.
Well, I can't help it... this is funny to me.
My Good Friend Doro also suggested Jezits.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Consequence free learning.
I had a wonderful 5 and a half hour run down the lower green with my Jedi Master Doro. Nice easy consequence free class 1's and 2's with long washouts after them. He is teaching me that you can become a total bad ass on whitewater without ever touching a class 4 or 5 rapid. And in fact that you really aught to be one before before you hit the big stuff.
The basic concept is to do extremely difficult maneuvers better faster and quicker on small water. In fact that is how I managed to flip soul train for the first time. Of course, Justin won't teach me my roll until I am proficient at everything else so I had to eject and swim. For the last day in November honestly it was not that bad. I DID have a semi dry top on that Justin let me borrow and that really helped matters. He also says, if you ain't swimming, you ain't trying. And that is valid. In fact, Justin swam shortly after pretending to use his paddle as a bazooka on the one decent surf wave on the lower green. Earlier he could be seen using his paddle as a helicopter blade stand in on a smaller wave. The concept of course is to illustrate that he is using his weight and balance to keep the boat on the wave rather than his paddle. Other possibilities are of course paddle guitar, the Crucifixion, The machine gun, the samurai, etc. He was pushing me to find out what would happen if I stuck my bow into the top of the wave... I had already swam once that day and really didn't feel like initiating a bow stall in a boat not really made for it. Never mind that even if I was in a boat made for it I would still not know what to do about it.
I ain't trying to swim in January or February without some decent gear. That being said, x mas should bring me enough goodies to manage messing around on the French Broad soon enough.
Today it is cold and the water is high... so, no fun today.
The basic concept is to do extremely difficult maneuvers better faster and quicker on small water. In fact that is how I managed to flip soul train for the first time. Of course, Justin won't teach me my roll until I am proficient at everything else so I had to eject and swim. For the last day in November honestly it was not that bad. I DID have a semi dry top on that Justin let me borrow and that really helped matters. He also says, if you ain't swimming, you ain't trying. And that is valid. In fact, Justin swam shortly after pretending to use his paddle as a bazooka on the one decent surf wave on the lower green. Earlier he could be seen using his paddle as a helicopter blade stand in on a smaller wave. The concept of course is to illustrate that he is using his weight and balance to keep the boat on the wave rather than his paddle. Other possibilities are of course paddle guitar, the Crucifixion, The machine gun, the samurai, etc. He was pushing me to find out what would happen if I stuck my bow into the top of the wave... I had already swam once that day and really didn't feel like initiating a bow stall in a boat not really made for it. Never mind that even if I was in a boat made for it I would still not know what to do about it.
I ain't trying to swim in January or February without some decent gear. That being said, x mas should bring me enough goodies to manage messing around on the French Broad soon enough.
Today it is cold and the water is high... so, no fun today.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Turning into Don Cornelius
Friggen Awesome. I hope anyone who reads this also clicks on that to see the full glory that was the thing that always pissed us off as kids because it signaled the end of Saturday morning cartoons as it typically aired at 12 or so on Saturdays before college football came on.
Ah, but I digress (whats new?), back to Don. My Boat "The Soul Train" I first considered to be long and unwieldy. And, It's true to a minor extent. The Contour of the Animas's hull certainly does not contribute to it tracking straight, however, that curve will also make it easier for me to roll so.... what evs. A few weeks back Justin and I went out and got her in some class II borderline III water for the first time. More importantly he spent a lot of time working my total lack of technique. I have been back out alone 3 times since on relatively flat water to practice. But I really hadn't felt any huge break through until today when stuff finally started to click. The effective pulling force of my strokes has probably gone up %50 and the work load on my arms has been cut in half. I was twisting and dancing with the water. I had my shuffle in my head and I was making my own little music videos. Good paddling is smooth and looks effortless. JUST LIKE DON CORNELIOUS! Spooner likens it to calligraphy, it's a great analogy really. Now the ultimate thing would be if Don Cornelious was highly trained in Calligraphy...
Today The Bent Creek section of the French Broad was running about 2400 or so and the water is REALLY starting to clear up. You can see about three feet into it. Which is rare for a flow rate this high. There is a river wide ledge that is about a foot and a half tall. The geologic feature makes two small standing waves that are each about 20 feet wide and are separated by a 10 foot wide flume of fast smooth water that rolls but does not crest. As I spawned upstream I noticed that my improvement in technique was really shooting Soul Train up the river with not much effort at all. I then Eddied out below the aforementioned ledge and started poking the bow of the boat into the froth. The wave was kind and I slipped in to some tentative surfing. I probably spent 10 minutes just sliding about on both sides of this baby rapid and had surprisingly little trouble crossing the flume as it too was kind of surfable, or could at least be *treated* that way. The afternoon sun shone into the submerged rock ledge and you could see large particles of sand and tiny pebbles spinning wildly in the hydraulic of the rapid. I could see how the presence of my bow was altering the flow in these undercut regions by the dancing of the pebbles. I was rapidly getting comfortable with the surfing so It was ok to watch the sand dance and just feel the boat move and respond with a lean or a quick push or pull of the paddle to stay in the sweet spot. Then I moved into the flume and calmly attained the next calm water 50 yards upstream, a few weeks ago I probably could not have done this at all, and If I had it would have taken a lot of frantic thrashing arm draining strokes. A feeling of pleased surprise washed over me as a Micheal Franti Song came on the Shuffle.
A Little further upriver a larger set of riverwide rocks that are bigger and less uniform create a wider variety and size of surfable waves. I just whip over there and start sticking my nose into all of them moving at will from eddy to eddy including tiny ones that I would not have caught even a week ago. I spend a full 30 minutes playing around on these waves and then head back down stream as I need to get a little 30 minute jog in on the trails before dark. As I return to the easier ledge wave I giggle at how much easier it now is. I paddled straight into it and started surfing with much more understanding of what was going on and what to do. The same held for the other even smaller waves that put me on edge a week ago. Smooth, easy, stylish. That is How Don Does it. And the more I learn the more I know that it isn't Soul Train that is hard to handle. Rather, it was and is operator ignorance. But man does it feel good to keep learning the subtle little things that make the boat do what I want faster and more artfully.
Ah, but I digress (whats new?), back to Don. My Boat "The Soul Train" I first considered to be long and unwieldy. And, It's true to a minor extent. The Contour of the Animas's hull certainly does not contribute to it tracking straight, however, that curve will also make it easier for me to roll so.... what evs. A few weeks back Justin and I went out and got her in some class II borderline III water for the first time. More importantly he spent a lot of time working my total lack of technique. I have been back out alone 3 times since on relatively flat water to practice. But I really hadn't felt any huge break through until today when stuff finally started to click. The effective pulling force of my strokes has probably gone up %50 and the work load on my arms has been cut in half. I was twisting and dancing with the water. I had my shuffle in my head and I was making my own little music videos. Good paddling is smooth and looks effortless. JUST LIKE DON CORNELIOUS! Spooner likens it to calligraphy, it's a great analogy really. Now the ultimate thing would be if Don Cornelious was highly trained in Calligraphy...
Today The Bent Creek section of the French Broad was running about 2400 or so and the water is REALLY starting to clear up. You can see about three feet into it. Which is rare for a flow rate this high. There is a river wide ledge that is about a foot and a half tall. The geologic feature makes two small standing waves that are each about 20 feet wide and are separated by a 10 foot wide flume of fast smooth water that rolls but does not crest. As I spawned upstream I noticed that my improvement in technique was really shooting Soul Train up the river with not much effort at all. I then Eddied out below the aforementioned ledge and started poking the bow of the boat into the froth. The wave was kind and I slipped in to some tentative surfing. I probably spent 10 minutes just sliding about on both sides of this baby rapid and had surprisingly little trouble crossing the flume as it too was kind of surfable, or could at least be *treated* that way. The afternoon sun shone into the submerged rock ledge and you could see large particles of sand and tiny pebbles spinning wildly in the hydraulic of the rapid. I could see how the presence of my bow was altering the flow in these undercut regions by the dancing of the pebbles. I was rapidly getting comfortable with the surfing so It was ok to watch the sand dance and just feel the boat move and respond with a lean or a quick push or pull of the paddle to stay in the sweet spot. Then I moved into the flume and calmly attained the next calm water 50 yards upstream, a few weeks ago I probably could not have done this at all, and If I had it would have taken a lot of frantic thrashing arm draining strokes. A feeling of pleased surprise washed over me as a Micheal Franti Song came on the Shuffle.
A Little further upriver a larger set of riverwide rocks that are bigger and less uniform create a wider variety and size of surfable waves. I just whip over there and start sticking my nose into all of them moving at will from eddy to eddy including tiny ones that I would not have caught even a week ago. I spend a full 30 minutes playing around on these waves and then head back down stream as I need to get a little 30 minute jog in on the trails before dark. As I return to the easier ledge wave I giggle at how much easier it now is. I paddled straight into it and started surfing with much more understanding of what was going on and what to do. The same held for the other even smaller waves that put me on edge a week ago. Smooth, easy, stylish. That is How Don Does it. And the more I learn the more I know that it isn't Soul Train that is hard to handle. Rather, it was and is operator ignorance. But man does it feel good to keep learning the subtle little things that make the boat do what I want faster and more artfully.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I have nothing to say, and, I, am, saying it.
John Cage you strange strange man...
4:33 for your listening pleasure. What-tha-F$%#-ever. I personally would see fit to summon a thunderous fart 69 seconds into this "song".
Oh and look here, you can BUY the sheet music for this if you really want to play it.
Anyway, it's true. Life has rocked along at a steady clip with no real "news" to report. I am getting myself on the water a lot in my kayak that I have dubbed "Soul Train". My buddy Justin has been kind enough to take me under his wing to teach me what I will need to handle a kayak properly. Side note, many of the ladies have dubbed Justin and I a bromance.
1. They just hatin' cause they jealous.
2. yeah, it is. I do enjoy acting like a smart ass and punishing my liver with this cat. We pretty much grew up doing the same stuff. He is definitely "my people" Spooner called that one.
Just started running a bit as the fall soccer season grinds to a halt. Nothing on the lady front. Work is busy as ever. When I see folks I have not seen in months I really have almost nothing interesting (and factual) to tell them.
I have two and a half hours to kill before the soggy and cold regular season finale of Jack of the Wood FC... a rough season by any metric. And I can say with a high degree of confidence that our sister team, Green Man Untd. is going to hand us our asses in clean neat deli thin slices. But whatever, I like playing for Jack of the Wood. They are my peeps. I don't care to whore myself out to a winning team full of strangers. I played my uber successful futball from age 6 at glen arden elementary all the way to state finals my senior year in high school. Winning was expected. Here its a blessing. Just balancing karma I 'supose.
So what is this post REALLY about?
Quizzo team names.
first, I must say that we have pulled second place 2 weeks running now and that really helps make the drinking cost less. BUT for the last 3 months I have made a conscious commitment to come up with team names in efforts to win free pitchers of beer. It's been going well.
I am going to try and go back and think of some of these names.
reaching way back, there was "The University of Michigan Center of Excellence" when ASU upset Michigan in football.
Jane Carter has one of my all time favorites with "If Clinton didn't inhale then how did he come to Asheville High?"
And I think Spooner used something her ?brother? said which was, "It's all fun and games until someone soils the yoga mat."
some of my recent gems are.
Show me on the Doll where the stock market touched you.
Obama supports big girls, initiates the cash for chunkers program.
What we have here is a failure to Co-masturbate (you nazi)
In a perfect world she would have stuffed the tennis balls down kanye's throat.
NASA adopts hit it and quit it policy with the moon.
Summers Eve to Sponsor Next Moon mission
And I am starting a stock pile of non-secs (for when nothing fun happens in the news)
Quiz me in the morning and just walk away.
Pearls of wisdom strung smartly into a necklace for you muh lady.
Spooners "No means Yes, Yes means Harder"
Don't Post Porn Joy, Unless she says "It's OK"
and there are others... I think of them and then they float off into the ether, but no more because I will just update this post and drop them here.
Since the post, 5 additions.
"Every Kiss Begins with Kay, and some Kisses end in KY"
"Four Calling Girls, three french tarts, two skanky hos and Tiger is really sorry."
"The worst white thing to hit the eastern seaboard since the pilgrims"
"Toyota: Moving Forward, Whether you like it or not."- Spooner finished this team name after I popped the first part.
Spooner alone gave us.
"Obama White house New Yorker and the Economist Mag subscriptions, still trying to cancel Bush's highlites subscriptions."
"UNC Poised to win Gold in Mens Downhill in Mens Downhill Basketball."
Now team name winners, retired into the HOF.
"Smarty Pant Sweater" (Pronounced Smarty Pants Wetter)
4:33 for your listening pleasure. What-tha-F$%#-ever. I personally would see fit to summon a thunderous fart 69 seconds into this "song".
Oh and look here, you can BUY the sheet music for this if you really want to play it.
Anyway, it's true. Life has rocked along at a steady clip with no real "news" to report. I am getting myself on the water a lot in my kayak that I have dubbed "Soul Train". My buddy Justin has been kind enough to take me under his wing to teach me what I will need to handle a kayak properly. Side note, many of the ladies have dubbed Justin and I a bromance.
1. They just hatin' cause they jealous.
2. yeah, it is. I do enjoy acting like a smart ass and punishing my liver with this cat. We pretty much grew up doing the same stuff. He is definitely "my people" Spooner called that one.
Just started running a bit as the fall soccer season grinds to a halt. Nothing on the lady front. Work is busy as ever. When I see folks I have not seen in months I really have almost nothing interesting (and factual) to tell them.
I have two and a half hours to kill before the soggy and cold regular season finale of Jack of the Wood FC... a rough season by any metric. And I can say with a high degree of confidence that our sister team, Green Man Untd. is going to hand us our asses in clean neat deli thin slices. But whatever, I like playing for Jack of the Wood. They are my peeps. I don't care to whore myself out to a winning team full of strangers. I played my uber successful futball from age 6 at glen arden elementary all the way to state finals my senior year in high school. Winning was expected. Here its a blessing. Just balancing karma I 'supose.
So what is this post REALLY about?
Quizzo team names.
first, I must say that we have pulled second place 2 weeks running now and that really helps make the drinking cost less. BUT for the last 3 months I have made a conscious commitment to come up with team names in efforts to win free pitchers of beer. It's been going well.
I am going to try and go back and think of some of these names.
reaching way back, there was "The University of Michigan Center of Excellence" when ASU upset Michigan in football.
Jane Carter has one of my all time favorites with "If Clinton didn't inhale then how did he come to Asheville High?"
And I think Spooner used something her ?brother? said which was, "It's all fun and games until someone soils the yoga mat."
some of my recent gems are.
Show me on the Doll where the stock market touched you.
Obama supports big girls, initiates the cash for chunkers program.
What we have here is a failure to Co-masturbate (you nazi)
In a perfect world she would have stuffed the tennis balls down kanye's throat.
NASA adopts hit it and quit it policy with the moon.
Summers Eve to Sponsor Next Moon mission
And I am starting a stock pile of non-secs (for when nothing fun happens in the news)
Quiz me in the morning and just walk away.
Pearls of wisdom strung smartly into a necklace for you muh lady.
Spooners "No means Yes, Yes means Harder"
Don't Post Porn Joy, Unless she says "It's OK"
and there are others... I think of them and then they float off into the ether, but no more because I will just update this post and drop them here.
Since the post, 5 additions.
"Every Kiss Begins with Kay, and some Kisses end in KY"
"Four Calling Girls, three french tarts, two skanky hos and Tiger is really sorry."
"The worst white thing to hit the eastern seaboard since the pilgrims"
"Toyota: Moving Forward, Whether you like it or not."- Spooner finished this team name after I popped the first part.
Spooner alone gave us.
"Obama White house New Yorker and the Economist Mag subscriptions, still trying to cancel Bush's highlites subscriptions."
"UNC Poised to win Gold in Mens Downhill in Mens Downhill Basketball."
Now team name winners, retired into the HOF.
"Smarty Pant Sweater" (Pronounced Smarty Pants Wetter)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Gay guys have it made
Well, I mean there are down sides to it due to rednecks and other sorts of right wingers. But what I saw today was pretty funny. The boyleston highway bridge park has a boat launch and some picnic tables. It's rather unremarkable. My Dad and I usually put in there when we float trip in the mad river canoe and fish for small mouth bass down to glenn bridge road or bent creek if we want to a. catch more fish and b. drink more beer.
Anyway, There are always guys hanging out in their cars or trucks down there... My dad joked that it was guys hooking up. I was like "enh whatever". But today when I went there to take my kayak out for my first time I paddled up and down that section of the river and noticed ALL the dudes just hanging out in their cars. One would get out and walk into the woods, then another would go. Then they would come back out a few minutes apart, but it was always two guys. And there were more of them that started showing up just after 5. Big burly redneck dudes, old guys, younger guys. Some kind of sex collective, brilliant actually. I mean think about it, had a bad day at work? Just go get some. Straight people don't get to do that... or at least I don't know where to go for it... Well anyway. I am sure that might lead to some nasty diseases. Other than that it seems like a great thing. To bad I am just not into dudes.
Anyway, There are always guys hanging out in their cars or trucks down there... My dad joked that it was guys hooking up. I was like "enh whatever". But today when I went there to take my kayak out for my first time I paddled up and down that section of the river and noticed ALL the dudes just hanging out in their cars. One would get out and walk into the woods, then another would go. Then they would come back out a few minutes apart, but it was always two guys. And there were more of them that started showing up just after 5. Big burly redneck dudes, old guys, younger guys. Some kind of sex collective, brilliant actually. I mean think about it, had a bad day at work? Just go get some. Straight people don't get to do that... or at least I don't know where to go for it... Well anyway. I am sure that might lead to some nasty diseases. Other than that it seems like a great thing. To bad I am just not into dudes.
Monday, September 21, 2009
I love my friends
The reason I know they are my friends is that they all want the best for me. I am crazy, everyone knows this. I am also an athlete, a survivor, a quick study, a high school record holder as a swimmer. I am a kid who played in water, loved it, respected it, and watched it move for as long as I can remember. I take it all into account when I figure out what I want to do. And when you go to do something crazy, ALL the people who really love you come forward and either offer opinions or straight up tell you what to do. The same sort of thing happened when I launched my own business. It is going wonderfully, and I am so happy that I have found a way to make my parents happy. Honestly it means more to me than making a decent living and slowly earning "freedom". I was always the kid that they feared for, not because I simply had no mental artillery, but because sometimes, I just skipped out on target practice so to speak. :-) My parents, Mom especially, had to suffer the anguish of watching what she is convinced is a super smart kid not achieve some great purpose in life. That annoyed me from age 5 to age 21. Then, I had to admit that I felt me same for my own daughter who has limitless potential as far as I can tell. I want so badly for her to be happy. I don't care how she does it but I want it for her more than anything. I don't care what she does, I just want her to have good life according to her. I'd like to think that my mom has less stress now because she knows I am happy. I love my job, I love my life. The route by which I came to here is a rocky one, but I am here. And I will keep doing what I do here living the life that has worked for me so far.
I am a hippy, kinda, I am not really driven, but I can be inspired. I am the only person in my family that does not have a masters degree, and in no uncertain terms I can tell that I'd rather eat excrement and die before going back to "formal" school. School and I do not agree. As you all know, I do what I do. I have just always lived, because that is what I do. I love life, and sometimes doing seemingly crazy stuff is a way to celebrate that.
My daughter, my parents, my siblings, my friends, you all mean a lot to me, damn near everything in fact, and you always will. I'm going to have a pow wow tomorrow with some folks whose opinions and knowledge I have come to value. Then, we shall see. But I will make a decision based on the odds as I see them at that time. I think I have a pretty good handle on the consequences of falling out at the top of the series of rapids above big pillow, ledges or the top of frank bells. It is something I don't want to do, in fact, I don't want to fall out tomorrow at all if I go. There is no place at all minus maybe windy flats or the bottom of frank bells where a swim is no big deal... I have been told full well by folks that KNOW what they are talking about that a river in flood stage can mean death because of the way the water moves a layer or two down. Like a rip tide but with a chemical imbalance like Jack from the shining. I get it.
I love living, I plan of doing a lot more of it for years and years. But I am not going to refuse to live at any point in time if I think that something that is going on "insane" but probably something you could live through if you go. My dad talks about the Gauley as a "bucket list" item. My sister has already done it. Well, I want to see the french broad raging. If things look good when I wake (by this I mean a big group with lots of guides and people I trust in a large group...) well, maybe we put in.
Nov. 21st, 2009 update. Um, we did not. it was like 16000 cfs or something insane like that. A few days later we did rock it out at 6-7000 somewhere in there. That was way fun. I still want to see 10000 some day, but no more than that.
I am a hippy, kinda, I am not really driven, but I can be inspired. I am the only person in my family that does not have a masters degree, and in no uncertain terms I can tell that I'd rather eat excrement and die before going back to "formal" school. School and I do not agree. As you all know, I do what I do. I have just always lived, because that is what I do. I love life, and sometimes doing seemingly crazy stuff is a way to celebrate that.
My daughter, my parents, my siblings, my friends, you all mean a lot to me, damn near everything in fact, and you always will. I'm going to have a pow wow tomorrow with some folks whose opinions and knowledge I have come to value. Then, we shall see. But I will make a decision based on the odds as I see them at that time. I think I have a pretty good handle on the consequences of falling out at the top of the series of rapids above big pillow, ledges or the top of frank bells. It is something I don't want to do, in fact, I don't want to fall out tomorrow at all if I go. There is no place at all minus maybe windy flats or the bottom of frank bells where a swim is no big deal... I have been told full well by folks that KNOW what they are talking about that a river in flood stage can mean death because of the way the water moves a layer or two down. Like a rip tide but with a chemical imbalance like Jack from the shining. I get it.
I love living, I plan of doing a lot more of it for years and years. But I am not going to refuse to live at any point in time if I think that something that is going on "insane" but probably something you could live through if you go. My dad talks about the Gauley as a "bucket list" item. My sister has already done it. Well, I want to see the french broad raging. If things look good when I wake (by this I mean a big group with lots of guides and people I trust in a large group...) well, maybe we put in.
Nov. 21st, 2009 update. Um, we did not. it was like 16000 cfs or something insane like that. A few days later we did rock it out at 6-7000 somewhere in there. That was way fun. I still want to see 10000 some day, but no more than that.
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