A Few More

Way too much fun.

Sneakerhead

Well if I wasn't already into shoes before today I guess now I'm immersed.  Shoes and running technology has definitely been the theme of the day.  I started off the day with a walk in my running shoes to really feel out how they fit me.  Then I spent a while reading articles online about running stride, gait, and common gait problems.  Then I watched videos online of various running and walking gaits (plus 3d models and renderings - isn't the internet great?).

Then I had lunch.

Then I headed over to Portland Running Company, where shoe fitting expert Rich was very helpful in answering questions that my morning cram session had brought up.  I watched some in-person gait evaluation and shoe fittings.  I talked running with Rich whose fastest marathon time is 2:23, which is only 50 minutes more than my fastest HALF marathon time.  He was able to inform me about his particular reasons for recommending certain brands and shoes and clarified the very different purposes of shoe design and insole design.

Then I had lunch.  Wait...

Based on all this learning I determined that a while back on the tour the Mizuno rep that looked at about three strides I took before figuring out which shoes would be best for me actually knew a thing or two.  But wait, there's more.  After all this, I went back online and started doing some research and rote memorization on running shoe lines and their various features.

Ah, the life of a job hunter.

WARNING!

This is a public notice of removal from my "Some Favorite Blogs" list to the distinguished authors of "Crisscrossing the US" and "etc." as seen on the right column of the page.  While I hold your persons in highest esteem and regard, I must insist upon unlinking your blog (the most brutal and hurtful of blogging-related actions) unless new content appears therein thereby breathing new life into your wonderful yet stale creations.

"If I could leave you with one thought, remember, it wasn't me.  They are trying to make me an escape goat.  If I am fired, I swear to God that every little piece of copier paper in this town is going to have the F word on it.  The F word. You have one day.

...one day for what?

Thats... they always give an ultimatum."

Eagles, Running, Stupid Children, The Weather...

EAGLES

We saw them!

RUNNING

On average 5-6 days a week for the last month.  Usually 3-8 miles per run, with some intervals, slow endurance, and high pace involved.  This has been complemented by fairly vigorous (spell check wanted me to say viperous, which also sounds really cool) core and upper body workouts plus lots of stretching.  This will come in handy in the future for things such as being race-ready on a bike, running 10Ks and Half-Marathons, chasing down purse-snatchers and other miscreants, and even running from the occasional barracuda that has sprouted legs and decided to take up being a carnivorous land-dweller.

STUPID CHILDREN

It's not completely their fault.  I had the thought as of late (and have actually considered this dating back before the movie Idiocracy, in all its mediocrity, brought the subject to light) of what happens if our current child-bearing rates continue.  I can't speak for all countries, but in the US it seems that there is a ratio of IQ to children, with higher-IQ couples producing less offspring on average than their idiot counterparts.  This makes complete sense, with smart people rationalizing that less children means better upbringings and more financial security, while stupid people can't figure out how to not get pregnant every 9 months.  This, combined with the general class and income-gap associated with intelligence, means that if this trend continues there's the possibility that the percent of humans living below the poverty level will increase dramatically, as will the overall dumbness of everyone.

The question, then, is as a self-proclaimed smart person, am I obligated to find a smart girl and produce as many smart offspring as possible in my remaining decades of life?  Or should I go the standard route and have 1-2 children that I can support and hope they manage to take over the world?  Or do I abstain from little devils all together out of fear that the number of stupid people they'll have to deal with in their lifetimes will simply be unbearable?

THE WEATHER

Saint George, Utah has seen dramatically more snow and cold temperatures than usual this year.

Portland, Oregon recently turned into a wintery (tire chains not optional) wonderland, and I hear it's snowing again today.

The temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska was -52F this morning.  Glad I'm not there.

The midwest is a popsicle.

What is going on this winter?

AND THE ...

While in Portland Oregon, how should I prioritize the following? (Also known as: Who actually reads my blog in Oregon?)

A - See all the aunts and uncles in Portland

B - See all the aunts and uncles South of Portland North of Eugene

C - See all the friends and relatives in Eugene and figure out what to do with all my stuff stored there

D - See all the other relatives not covered by A, B, or C

E - Become a hermit and take up napping as my primary hobby

Sunset

What do you know?  The puzzle is actually finished!  After putting hundred of pieces in places where they didn't seem to fit but did anyway and driving ourselves crazy matching single pieces against the box picture and working our way through the leaves that made up a good chunk of the entire puzzle, it's complete.  

Now what?  Do we frame it?  Put it back in the box and donate it to some poor unsuspecting family that doesn't know what they're in for?  Burn it (as I suggested recently)?

Tonight as I was cooking dinner we finally got the sunset that I'd been hoping for in order to have a chance to pull out the camera and see what sort of colors I could pull out of the clouds.  I ran outside while dad tended the stove and snapped 20 quick shots.

And for some reason or another I was feeling like a project tonight so I decided to mess around with a picture of my brother.  After several different renderings, this is what I ended up with.  My brother is a big fan (obsessed?) of the Green lantern, so it fits.

The original:

I realized today that while I'm pleased that I've managed to continue blogging about pretty much nothing since wrapping up the tour, I'm not writing as much as I once was, and I kind of miss it.  While I'm a little more creative with a nice camera, I felt one of the strongest points early on was simply whatever I happened to be writing about and how I wrote it.  I'll have to get back to a bit more of that.

Portland and the unknown in T-minus 4 days.

Flagstaff-Phoenix-Vegas Road Trip

Who else is excited for The Office to start airing new episodes again in a month?

A semi-spontaneous road trip to Phoenix occurred New Years Eve Day.  Ian wanted to get to Phoenix and couldn't find a ride, so I gave him one and decided to see what sort of adventure came my way.

We took the route east around the Grand Canyon past Lees Ferry and the Vermillion Cliffs to Flagstaff.

Ian was excited to see the large piles of snow still present in Flagstaff, as this means he'll be able to go snowboarding every weekend now through the end of the season.

On the way to Phoenix, I spent a while messing around with the new telephoto camera lens taking pictures of license plates, road signs, and the sunset while my brother drove.

In Phoenix, I met up with Heidi (friend from the Crocs tour) who was working at the Tempe Block Party and managed to get me in free.  The Block party is listed as one of the top 10 New Years Eve parties in the country - stretching many blocks through downtown Tempe.

I spent some time playing video games...

Had my choice of some 30-40 different concerts...

Watched some heavily branded motocross freestyle jumping...

And of course, watched fireworks.

On New Years Day, I headed back home via Las Vegas.  On the way I stopped at the Hoover Dam.  The new bridge over the canyon is pretty impressive, and will ease traffic congestion considerably.  Coming from the East I had no wait, but traffic from the West was backed up nearly 10 miles all the way to Boulder City.

In Vegas I met up with Joey briefly and caught up for a few hours.

Then I headed back home and took the parents out for a brief stargazing trip, complete with a few shooting stars.