Ice Opera

Fungi on the Moss Farm

2009-09-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

It's been so wet this summer that we have a bumper crop of moss. Even the fungi is growing faster than every. These came up over night, after about 24 hours of rain.
Some close-ups below:

A Word About Wordle.Net

2009-09-10T06:08:00.001-07:00

This is a sample output of WORDLE.NET, using the text in this blog. Basically, you can submit free-form text or a URL, etc. to the http://www.wordle.net site and get a graphic that you can modify or tweak. This sample is untweaked.

While riding today, I saw...

2009-09-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

A man riding a horse on the West River Drive talking on the phone.
A skater on the East River Drive talking on the phone.
Drivers talking on the phone.
Bikers on the phone.

My favorite: while riding in the bike lane on Chestnut Street, an old man wanted to DRIVE in the bike lane, and HONKED at me !.

Old Bikes

2009-08-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

I love old bikes - from the early days of biking up to today. I even appreciate 'retro' stuff - as sold by Rivendell. I recently gave away my last 2 Sturmey-Archer 3-speed bikes to good homes (they'll be used for commuting to and from the train station).
Thanks to my sister, I have a photo of me on my first "two-wheeler" - riding in the living room on Christmas morning.... with training wheels. Total determination on the bike, even then !

More trenches... why the back yard floods

2009-08-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

More rain on Wednesday night, so the trenches got deeper. And they multiplied. More rain today (Thursday), and the whole yard was just a series of waterfalls. So, I traced them up the hill, and took a video. The best part is where the water goes over the sandbags.

Another Sunday... Another Trench...

2009-08-09T11:34:00.001-07:00

Another rainstorm.... another broken limb on the black cherry tree.

Another trench: this time around the new garage. Spent all day yesterday cleaning up the mud and mold, etc. from last Sunday's rain. This morning, the garage leaked again, so now it has a trench all around it. This should divert water away from the garage until a permanent solution is found.

THe black cherry tree lost some more limbs. Learned this because neighbors called the police (why ?) after the limbs hit the electric line and knocked out their power. Had to explain that the tree company is trying to work with the power company so that they can take the tree down. Wonder where this will lead ?

So, no biking today, and waiting to see if the do-it-yourself trenches can keep the garage dry !

Mountain Bike... Converted

2009-08-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

This bike started out as a Schwinn Essence.... sometime in the mid- to late-1980's, Schwinn made the "Essence" as a women-specific mountain bike. It was never very comfortable, and I never did any serious mountain-biking - just off-road and trails. So, I converted it sometime around 2003-2004. I didn't ride it much, but after the bike room was flooded slightly last weekend, and I had to clean off a lot of stuff, I decided to clean it up and ride it around to the store, post office, etc. I might use it for commuting, but I'm not sure about the wear-and-tear on my laptop

I can't find any pictures of the original bike, but here are the changes:

1. replaced the 2 1/2" knobby tires with skinny slick tires.

2. replaced the straight mountain handlebars with the "albatross" model from Rivendell Bike Works. Added cork hand grips - no more gloves !

3. replaced the seat with a leather Brooks saddle.

So, now it has mountain bike gearing, but the ride is as close to an old 3-speed as I could get it....

Another retro feature: it still has the "BIOPACE" chainring - this was a slightly oval (rather than round) chain ring that was the height of bike technology in the 80's.

Original pink paint, with some updates.

What Makes a Good Rider ?

2009-08-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about this as I ride the bike path, and watch other riders, runners, skaters, dog walkers, etc. on the path at night and on the weekends. I've come to the conclusion that SPEED, while highly desireable, is not the same as GOOD.

My Personal GOOD BIKER MANIFESTO:

1. Have agility on the bike. They can use their weight to make small moves, can ride in a very straight line, etc. When small children ride, their bike follows their eyes as they look around. By the time you have your first "real" bike, you should be past this stage.

2. Have awareness. They know where other riders are, they are looking at the road ahead to identify obstacles before they have to SLAM on their brakes, they anticipate the actions of others on the road/ bike path.

3. Good riders can FIX their own bikes. That means that they have a patch kit, spare tubes, etc. IF people can fix their own bike, they're more likely to pay attention to it, check it out before and after a ride, etc. And, since this might be time-consuming, they have a LIGHT in case it gets dark while they're fixing two flats in 1 ride.

4. It would be nice if everyone "out there" had basic manners and courtesy. It's not always easy. There's a lot of hostility on the path and it's hard not to let it escalate.

I was riding behind a runner on Saturday. He was running in the MIDDLE of the path - not anywhere near the right SIDE. So, since I was riding in a straight line, i started to overtake him on the right. Just as I did, he starts to veer on to the right. So, who's at fault ? Yes, he was right that I should have "Passed on the left". But what about the rule that "slow traffic on the right" ? Should I have had to move fro the far right into the left lane just to pass him, because he's in the middle ?

It's not easy out there, even if you start out with the best intentions.

The Trench ... or... How I Spend Sundays

2009-07-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the trench that I'm slowly digging in an effort to rid the back yard of excess rainwater. A rain garden is in the works, but it won't be enough. The trench is running down the middle of a berm, which we had to put in as part of the garage effort. It has never worked, so I'm going to level out the berm, put the trench in and channel the water out to the street. Like all of our neighbors.
If I keep going at this rate, I MIGHT have it done by August.

We have clay soil, so rainwater doesn't sink into the soil.... it just runs off. So, during the summer we have flash floods..... I took this picture last week during a storm that lasted about 1/2 hour.

Ride Your Bike to Work - Blame ZIPCAR

2009-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Entered the ZIPCAR Low Car Diet competition. Get away from your car - bikes, transit passes, etc.

Geek Award of the Day

2009-07-08T06:27:00.001-07:00

An email with this headline floated across my in-box today.
SIM President says Worst of Recession Over

Imagine my disappointment when I read the text and learned that this is NOT a new release/ community of THE SIMS - The SIMS as Economists, but is, instead, just the President of the Society for Information Management (SIM).

I had visions of creating little economists with graphs and statistics.

Once an Economics major, always an Economics major !

Sunscreen...... A Whiter Shade of Pale

2009-07-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

Best = Bull Frog SPF 36 SPRAY. Dries ammost instantly and doesn't seem to rub off. Drawbacks: you can TASTE it as it soaks into your skin, and you really can't spray it, because you'll end up breathing it.
Worst = Bull Frog SPF 50 lotion. Unless you're at a Halloween party as Bela Lugosi, skip this. It goes on white, doesn't soak in, rubs off, and just sits on your skin like some white grease. Might as well use zinc oxide, which at least comes in colors.
OK = Neutragena Sport Face SPF 70+. Not sure if an SPD 70+ is even possible, but at least it doesn't melt into your eyes or rub off.

Le Grand Bleu

2009-06-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Le Grand Bleu was in New York today. 371' long (plus or minus a foot). Launched in 2000; owned by Roman Abramovich. Depending on the reference, it's somewhere around the 17th largest yacht in the world. According to yacht blogs it's been in New York since Tuesday (2 days ago). Quite impressive - check out the tiny boats in the 2nd picture.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

2009-06-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Took the day off and went to New Jersey/ New York to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Both are impressive in so many ways. High points: old photos at Ellis Island, especially the ones taken in the 1980's before any restoration work was done.

Wish we could walk around the whole island(s), even if we can't go inside the buildings.

An excellent trip back in time: hard to walk outside into the sunlight and 2009.

Rain ! Hail ! No riding !

2009-06-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

Still not riding - it has rained every day, usually right after work, for the last two weeks. Yesterday we had hail for about 20 minutes - at 5:45pm, which is exactly when I would have been on the bike trail.

On the positive side, it appears that the police have some sort of patrols (motorcycle) in Norristown, which is good. I'm just trying to find a way to keep riding and be able to deal with the security situation, without having to always ride with someone else.

Getting Coordinated !

2009-06-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

IceOpera is now my username on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/iceopera.)
Working on moving my personal web site over to http://home.earthlink.net/~iceopera.
Then, I just have to move Flickr, and I'll be completely coordinated !

Backyard Audit - Audobon Society

2009-06-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Had a backyard audit by volunteers from the Audobon Society. Despite the weeds and the soil that doesn't drain, the back yard is not in bad shape. Only two invasive weed-type things that I need to pull up (and they're very small), and lots of options for shade-loving plants that can soak up the water. The toads made their appearance, and we can build them little toad houses to encourage them.
Lots of birds, as we knew, including owls and woodpeckers, and song birds. Many options for native plants that don't require lots of care, some ground cover options, etc. Plus, lots of places around here that specialize in truly native (i.e., local to this area) plants. So, lots of garden work, but we're going to start slowly, and examine the options.
I found two pictures of the yard: one is the day we had the house inspection in 2005 and the other is from last fall - with one of the water pools.

Tour de Brooklyn

2009-06-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

A fun 20-mile (approxinately) tour of Brooklyn. Totally fun and scenic tour ! I've always wanted to ride through Brooklyn, so this was great. I picked up a biking in NY map from Transportation Alternatives (sponsor of the ride), so I can have a personal, leisurely tour on my own in the near future. Took the new VADO digital video...... here's a shot of the riders (pre-ride) from the KeySpan stadium - on Coney Island.

Another Day... Another Conference

2009-06-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Actually, another YEAR, another conference. Just finished the annual pilgrimage to the IBM/ Rational Software Developer's Conference in Orlando. Very good conference - some new products to look at, especially stuff moving over from Telelogic to IBM/ Rational. The IBM team is great, and the conference is well organized, well planned, and the facilities are great.
Some stuff on my wish list: black diamond sessions, especially for tools that have been around for a while; move the conference from Epcot. Maybe Las Vegas ? or Taos ? or Portalnd, OR ? Or Portland, ME ?

Dinner at Margaret Kuo's - Wayne PA

2009-05-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why this restaurant keeps winning awards. The food was OK, but the service is awful. Arrived on time, with reservations. Seated. Then, two people asked if we had reservations. Then, three waiters separately asked if we were ready to order. When we finished the main course, the check arrived. No offers of coffee, tea, or desert. Just the check put on the table- not even a "thank you".

So, this is 1/3 of that dinner party that will not be going back, and would not recommend it under any circumstances.

Brooklyn Tour

2009-05-03T17:56:00.001-07:00

Quick tour of Brooklyn on Saturday, May 2. Covered Williamsburg, Prospect Park, DUMBO, etc. Missed Greenwood Park and some other places that I'll have to hit on the next trip (June).

Pictures:

One Way to Love Lane

Tug Boat in the East River

Long-Distance View of Ellis Island

Missing the Netherlands

2009-04-12T16:27:00.001-07:00

I miss the Netherlands. The whole country, including Amsterdam. It's just so sane. I don't care about the taxes; life is just such a livable scale there.
Yeah, it's not perfect - but what is ?
What I like: riding bikes, honesty, public transportation, two kinds of licorice (sweet and salty); food - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, brown boats, bike paths through farms, bikes.

Spring 2009 Cancelled

2009-03-02T05:37:00.001-08:00

It appears that spring has been cancelled for 2009. Here's the view this morning - 6 inches of snow. It was 61 degrees (F) on Friday.

Justifying a New Bike

2009-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

How to Justify Buying a New Bike -
Use the "cost per mile" method: cost/distance. Get a new one when the cost is below your target level.

If your bike costs $2,000, and you ride it 2,000miles the cost per mile is $1.00. Once you ride it for 4,000 miles, the cost is now $0.50 per mile. At 8,000 miles, the cost is $0.25. At 10,000 miles the cost is $0.02 per mile. At 20,000 miles, the cost is $0.01.

If you average 1,500 miles per year, that's 13 years, which is long enough for a bike, if you don't have any accidents. The difference in bike technology over 13 years is enormous.

Hanging on Until Spring

2009-01-29T06:21:00.001-08:00

Things are slow in the blogshpere. Not cold enough consistently for ice-skating. Too much frozen rain for in-line skating. I went skating last Sunday (1/25) and found black ice on the bike path.

This is the view today from my home office. ---->

On the positive side, I did find EXACTLY what i've been looking for since 1993 to prevent blisters under my ankle bones - reusable round gel pads called "Clear Clouds"..... I got them from a web site called "Skating Safe" (located in Florida). Excellent response times from this company.
http://www.skatingsafe.com/

I think I'll be skating more this spring than riding my bike... makes a nice change. My goal for 2009 is to learn to do cross-overs. Tried to learn it once, but it didn't take. I'd also like to learn how to handle hazards - sticks, etc. in my path.

Holidays to get us through the winter and spring:January - Lunar New Year
February - Valentine's Day; plus, the daylight lasts longer.
March - 21st - Vernal Equinox (SUMMER STARTS HERE !)
April - Tax Day, start of good water conditions for Kayaking.
May - Every day is a good day !!!