Archive for September, 2007

getting there, sans car and yarny thoughts

The theme isn’t quite where I want it to be (and for those of you reading this via Bloglines, Feedburner or Google Reader, you really should check it out), but it’s getting there.

I need the Flickr module to look a bit more formatted - CSS tweaking involved, shouldn’t be too difficult to finish. And I don’t like the caption spacing in the del.icio.us block - again, something CSS related.

But it’s a change, and I’m happy with the new look. Let me know what y’all think!

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In other news, Car Free Week continues without issues. The daily commute has been good, and Tuesday night’s PPTC ride went off without a hitch (and there’s a log entry forthcoming, but I’ve been too busy with other stuff to bother copying and pasting forging it from raw bits and bytes).

Granted, I did have to drive to a location out in Alexandria that’s not easily accessible via mass transit (ah, sprawl without adequate planning, how I love thee), which leads me to….

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Hat and HarlotLast night’s outing, where sprite and I went to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - better know as The Yarn Harlot - speak at the Borders Books at Bailey’s Crossroads. Stephanie is the superhero du jour of the knitting community, especially those who are part of the yarncraft blogosphere.

And she’s popular for good reason: she’s extremely funny. sprite was quite sure that I’d appreciate her humor (or “humour,” as she’s a Canuck), and she was right: the Yarn Harlot knows how to make the somewhat zen endeavor of knitting seem like the most interesting, funny, engrossing form of activity on the planet. If there were a World Knitting Association, I nominate her to be the spokesperson - she’s that good.

Granted, I didn’t stay for the whole event - I had to pick up some odds-and-ends for both the Pedal Force (a.k.a. “Das Rudi Projekt”) and the Jamis (a.k.a. “Son of Rudi Projekt”) across the street at Performance Bike - but the Q&A was still going strong when I returned after an hour’s absence. And the crowd hadn’t thinned in that time. In fact, I’m willing to wager that it grew, as curious patrons of the bookstore, who to that moment hadn’t a bit of interest in knitting, were sucked in by the celebrity and stage presence of a witty woman from Toronto.

Popularity: 21% [?]

testing in progress

New theme in the works for fall - beware falling pixels!

Popularity: 16% [?]

wednesday random ten

Since Sweetpea has posted a lot today, I’ll go with my random ten iPod/iTunes songs du jour:

  1. “One Slip” - Pink Floyd
  2. “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
  3. “Matchbox” - The Beatles
  4. “Highway To Hell” - Tiny Tim
  5. “Space Oddity” - The Langley Schools Music Project
  6. “Let It Be” - The Beatles
  7. “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” - The Rolling Stones
  8. “Again” - Lenny Kravitz
  9. “Garden Song” - John Denver
  10. “Gravity’s Rainbow (Van She Remix)” - Klaxons

Post your list of ten in the comments - arrrrrr!

Popularity: 24% [?]

more be of the pira-sea

My pirate name is Calico Tom Read

Often indecisive, you can’t even choose a favorite color. You’re apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You’ve got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

I tip me hat to Iron Mary Rackham fer this bit of fun.

Popularity: 16% [?]

walk the plank, all ye scallywags!

Welcome to Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Popularity: 16% [?]

workout log: 18 september 2007

Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle > Glen Echo, MD > Dupont Circle
Distance: 21.5 miles (rolling hills)
Duration: 1:19
Weather: sunny with rapidly-approaching dusk, 66-71 degrees
Avg HR: 142 (max 170)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Downtown Breakaway” ride, Mohican Hills route. This is the last time we could do this ride at the usual 6 pm start time, as even with perfect lighting conditions, we were riding more-or-less in the dark for the last mile or two. It was a good ride, though, and those who showed up were treated to a lot of good discussion and riding.

We’ll try to do it one more time this coming Tuesday, though we’ll likely start at 5:30. And the light has to be very good to pull off even that ride start time.

Popularity: 20% [?]