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My new spring wardrobe: My winter wardrobe

Of course we received a temporary fix to our air conditioner problems as the temperatures dropped 20 degrees. But today’s overcast skies didn’t include any rain, so I was able to get in a little bike ride. I took a simple 15 mile spin around the neighborhood as I try to save my legs — the legs I haven’t built up whatsoever recently — for the weekend.

I had two disparate thoughts on the bike.

On the flat stuff, which was much of the route I chose: I’ll have a great race this weekend!

On the hills, which are somewhat unavoidable: I’ll have a lousy race this weekend …

And so it goes.

So we bundled up in sweatshirts for tonight’s baseball game. An outdoor event which took place in May in Alabama:

In the sixth inning I was chosen to take part in a promotion. And I won! They walk you down to the dugout and they present two Yeti coolers. You open one and there’s a gift inside. Then you play Let’s Make A Deal. Do I want what I found in the white cooler? Or should I try my luck with the blue cooler?

The white cooler held a broken fungo bat and a few baseballs they haven’t been able to give away all season. They’ve sweetened the offer with a t-shirt that features the new baseball coach. It is a line art likeness of his face, but the mustache is creepy. So I opened the other cooler and won a gift card to Kinnucans. That’s great timing, I need new outdoors shoes, so I’ll be there tomorrow.

Oh, and Auburn lost 10-0 to LSU. LSU, which is a very good team, has scored 37 runs in their last 15 innings of play. Auburn is still looking to find itself, and this loss all but sealed their fate of being shut out of the postseason. The dream isn’t over yet, but drubbings like that aren’t a good way to start the last series of the season.

Things to read … because reading is always a good start.

This is gobsmackingly foolish. Newspaper nabs website’s article, claims most of it is ‘public domain’ — The Georgia Press Association’s non-action is disappointing as well.

This isn’t the sign of a healthy democracy. Where are the candidates? No contests in 20 of 35 Alabama Senate districts on June 3:

All 35 seats in the Alabama Senate are up for grabs this election year.

But candidates are sparse.

There are no contested races in 20 of the 35 districts in the June 3 primary, now less than three weeks away.

In fact, 14 senators – eight Republicans and six Democrats – will coast to new four-year terms with no opposition in either party.

Job growth! 2013 New & Expanding Industries Report highlights solid year of economic development in Alabama:

Companies launching operations in Alabama or expanding existing facilities in the state announced nearly 17,000 new jobs and more than $4.4 billion in capital investment during 2013, according to a report released today by Governor Robert Bentley and the Alabama Department of Commerce.

There are plenty of details at the link.

Are you building for mobile? Quantcast: Social drives 34 percent of mobile Web traffic, 17 percent of desktop traffic

In Kansas, Professors Must Now Watch What They Tweet

One of these is a former student of mine. He’s a sharp young man. I knew him when: Three From Samford Earn Fulbright Grants

adventures / cycling / friends / iPhone / photo / weekend — Comments Off
3
May 14

It started with a banana

And now, scenes from a morning ride. These horses were unimpressed:

The Yankee is wearing purple for Elise, the beautiful, beautiful young daughter of a friend of hers who died early this year. There was a “virtual race” today, a fundraiser to help pay medical costs.

It was a nice ride. My legs felt good and the little hills we chose didn’t seem much of a challenge for a change. I spent most of the time thinking of the pictures and videos of that little girl’s face. When I found myself in a lull I remembered how much that 3-year-old loved to do burpees. That’ll make you laugh, a tow-headed baby doing toddler burpees with enthusiasm and giggles. You can cover a lot of ground quickly that way. Over the last few miles it all slowed down and I found myself thinking of her mother and father and the empty spot in their home.

So we rode 35 km in the midmorning sun and that was delightful. Guests came to visit and that was wonderful. We went to the wedding of one of The Yankee’s former students and that was lovely. Beautiful bride selfie:

It all made for a full and rich day of emotion. It started with a banana and ended with brunch finger foods and, ultimately, will conclude with my being too tired to eat a proper meal. But I spent the full day with my wonderful wife and we managed to cram a lot of a day into the waking hours. It was a good trade, even if the horses weren’t impressed.

adventures / cycling / I do not know what is happening. / running / swimming / weekend — Comments Off
27
Apr 14

West Point Lake Olympic triathlon

Today I swam 1,500 meters, rode 40 kilometers and ran 10K. This was my first Olympic distance triathlon. I finished it.

The Yankee gave an excellent list of post-race thoughts on her experience on Twitter …

Some race musings: wetsuits really DO give you and advantage, and are kind of awesome. #aquabike

— Lauren Smith (@LaurnSmith) April 27, 2014

So I thought I’d give it a try as well. Here they are for the site, with a bit more elaboration.

First of all, here’s the finish line. My beautiful wife took this picture just before I crossed it. You’ll notice the crowds have gone. You can imagine why.

In the lake thoughts: “Can’t breathe. Don’t drown. Why can’t I swim? Don’t drown.”

We rented wet suits. This race was still wetsuit legal because we have had exactly one week of spring and the water just hasn’t warmed up much yet. We’d intended to go to an open-water swim practice last week, but the morning that was held the weather was chilly to cold and getting in water didn’t seem all that appealing. Today, in her aquabike and my triathlon, we tried them out for the first time. She really liked hers. Mine, it turns out, tended to constrict my breathing. I’m not the best race swimmer in the world anyway and I’m almost always in a beautiful, clear-bottomed pool. Put that, brown lake water and a new breathing experience together … well, I wasn’t the last one out of the water. But it was close.

I had a nice chat with one of the lifeguards who was paddling along as I worked my way to the end of the swim, though.

Here’s the swim route. Nine buoys, 1,500 meters, a big loop:

On-the-bike thoughts: “I am the best bad rider out here!”

All the serious cyclists were far ahead. I swept up a lot of people who struggle in the cycling portion of the race. No one passed me, so I found myself making up some ground, in a virtual way. I always cheer on others I pass who are working hard. We all need it from time to time.

This route, which features about 1,000 feet of climbing, starts at the star at the bottom left of the map below, goes up and to the right near the airport and then sprints back down to the water. You come back up from that park and then turn right to head home. As I was heading toward that park The Yankee was coming to the turning point to head back to the start/finish. (She’s a much better race swimmer and had an early time trial start time.) We waved. I thought I might be able to catch her. Nope. She was moving.

Running thoughts: “I still have to run!? … Why did it take three miles for my calves to unclinch? … Those two ladies cheated!”

No one passed me except for the woman who admitted to taking a short cut and the other one who might have also shorted herself at the turnaround. She would have caught me anyway.

Look closely at the run route. We ran from Georgia into Alabama. And back:

Olympic tri finish line thoughts: “Go strong … Don’t look at the clock. Smile! Where is the water? Give me all of the water!”

Being happy at the finish is important. This was my first Olympic-distance triathlon and I’m not really in the shape I want to be in for them. My swim was bad, my bike was OK and my run left a good deal to be desired. The ride, which will always be my favorite part, was weird. I’d been telling myself for days that I wouldn’t save anything after the ride because the run was so flat. Who needs legs for that? And then my swim was so bad I spent the rest of the race wondering if I should conserve my legs for the run or just go. I never did resolve that issue, and I think it showed in both the bike and the run as far as energy levels and how my legs felt.

But! I was outside, doing something fun, enjoying a beautiful day and trying to be healthy. I don’t even feel miserable at the end. I feel surprisingly good, and that’s not just the endorphines talking.

I do not know what is happening.

We found a training routine last year that says on race day you get to bask in the achievement. We read “bask” to mean ice cream. And so it has been that we’ve probably had the worst food day of the year. But I found a website that told me how many calories I burned and, suddenly, that became the most official site on the Internet, because it says I burned a lot of calories.

Goals for the day: Don’t drown. Check. Don’t get swept up in the water (they have a time limit on the swim). Check. Don’t have any mechanical problems on the bike. Check. Finish. Check. Don’t be last. Check.

The Yankee, meanwhile, finished second in the women’s division of the aquabike – a swim/ride race of the same distances I did today. She finished third overall. Because she is awesome.

And now I’m an Olympic-distance triathlon survivor. Coming up next is a sprint triathlon, which is considerably shorter, but no less fun.

adventures / history / photo / weekend — Comments Off
12
Apr 14

Washington Artillery Park

This is a gun guarding over the Mississippi River, just off Jackson Square, standing in honor of the Washington Artillery, the 141st:

It is a still-active unit, which first drew colors in 1838 (though the unit has an unrecognized pre-history) in the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is the Louisiana Guard’s oldest unit, in fact. It is also the oldest artillery outfit in the nation outside the original 13 colonies. There’s something special about that gun, one of the unit’s original four-pounders.

The Washington Artillery received its regimental flag in 1846 after serving under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican–American War. Four companies of the regiment served in the Army of Northern Virginia and a fifth for the Army of Tennessee. Domestically they worked floods, yellow fever outbreaks and labor riots. World War I ended with the 141st still training in France, but their sons earned a Presidential Unit Citation for the Washington Artillery in World War II. In Europe they saw 463 days of combat and fired 150,871 rounds during 7,004 missions and occupied 108 positions. The modern guardsmen saw action in 2004 through 2005 and in 2010, in Baghdad.

Many of the members were still in Iraq when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. They rotated back and a detachment immediately went to work in rescue efforts here at home and ultimately worked with state and local police to combat looting and other crimes in the New Orleans area. They patrolled at home for an astounding three-and-a-half years. Many of their own homes and their barracks, were flooded in the storm.

Battles? You name it, they’ve been there. In the Civil War they were at both battles at Bull Run, Shiloh, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Appomattox and many more. In World War II they fought in Algeria, Tunisia, Anzio, Po Valley, Rome, Sicily, Normandy, the Ardennes and Germany. Sgt. Lee Godbolt, the last member of the unit to have died in the line of duty, was killed in Iraq in 2005.

Their coat of arms has both the growling tiger and a pelican tending the nest of chicks.

Their unit motto, perhaps the best ever: “Try us.”

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11
Apr 14

Wandering through Jackson Square, New Orleans

On our first day in New Orleans we walked up to Jackson Square. Here’s the statue honoring the general and president:

I posted a few more photos from the square last week. We’ll just assume you’ve heard of him. The sculpture, by Clark Mills was installed in 1856. Mills did a life-cast of Abraham Lincoln’s head. He is famous for several Jackson sculptures. He also cast the Statue of Freedom, which sits atop the U.S. Capitol.

Here are some things that Wikipedia tells you that the local signage doesn’t:

(It) was the prime site for the public execution of disobedient slaves during the 18th and early 19th centuries. After the 1811 German Coast Uprising, three slaves were hanged here. The heads from their dismembered bodies were put on the city’s gates.

In the Reconstruction era, the Place d’Armes served as an arsenal. During the insurrection following the disputed 1872 gubernatorial election, in March 1873, it was the site of the Battle of Jackson Square. A several-thousand man militia under John McEnery, the Democratic claimant to the office of the Governor, defeated the New Orleans militia, seizing control of the state’s buildings and armory for a few days. They retreated before the arrival of Federal forces, which re-established control temporarily in the state.

He lost to William Pitt Kellogg, a Republican from Vermont, a friend of Lincoln’s, who was viewed as one of the first carpetbaggers.

On the square are the Pontalba Buildings, which were built by Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba. This is a great story. I’m condensing from Wikipedia:

Micaela Almonester, a wealthy New Orleans-born aristocrat, was one of the most dynamic personalities of that city’s history.

Micaela was the only surviving child, and after her parents died she stood for a big inheritance. Her arranged marriage (though Micaela was in love with an impoverished man) moved her to France. Her father-in-law tried to steal away that large inheritance, shooting her four times, point-blank, with dueling pistols. She survived. He killed himself that same night. Eventually she was able to leave her husband. Ultimately she fled France as the revolution there got underway. She returned to New Orleans, saw the property had basically become a slum and she continued her father’s work there when the place was still known as the Place d’Armes.

When she had arrived back in the U.S. Jackson sent his own carriage, and Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, to pick her up. Maybe that’s why she helped finance the statue of Jackson, and helped rename the square after the New Orleans hero.

She turned the square into the modern gardens. While landscaping, she apparently threatened the mayor with a shotgun after he tried to prevent her from tearing down two rows of trees. She returned to France to be near her oldest son. When her estranged husband fell ill she took care of him until she died in 1874, at 78.

We ate in a restaurant inside one of her buildings. The back of the menu had a bit of her story. It was written in such a way that made you think there was more to it. Maybe that’s why there was a play, an opera and several novels written about her life.