25 December 2008

Between this photo & the last I've regrown and shaven off my goatee.
Why? I served Christmas Eve Mass with my little brother and took it off for Christmas Day.

Sleep.

So I think I've found a New Year's Resolution:
Get more sleeps, which means getting to bed earlier, I think.

Also the photo's been postponed. Why?
Between Saturday Ultimate & the family Christmas party I forgot.
I'm thinking of moving it to Christmas Day, or just doing it in the next couple days. Time will tell what I decide.

On the Junkmail Front:
I'm at 113MB of 7276MB.
gmail's capacity is ever growing, but not so fast that I think it'll be a big problem.

Junkmail Experiment II

It's been a couple of weeks now and getting proxy.junkmail@gmail.com going has been a slow start. It's taken a bit of time and effort to get me signed up on a good number of mailing lists and e-newsletters that is makes a significant impact on my inbox, but now I'm finally at the point where I get 2-3 MB of junkmail a day.

Not that that'll cut it, but I think the snowball's starting to get rolling a bit.

Current I've got 23MB used which is officially still 0%, but about One-Third% by my calculations.

20 November 2008

This is entry number two.
Obviously I've lost the mohawk and goatee.
For the better, no?

Junkmail Experiment

At 3:34 PST toady proxy.junkmail@gmail.com went live.

I want to see if and how long it will take to fill up the 7261 MB in a standard gmail.com account.

You can help in this endevour but forwarding me any chainletters you may be recieveing.
Also, if you're asked for any marketing e-mails and don't want to share yours, feel free to use this one.

20 October 2008

So I thought of a new project, something I've seen elsewhere and found very intriguing.

On the 20th of each month I intend to take a picture of myself and post it here. In doing so I'll be able to see the changes in my appearance that would otherwise be unnoticed and unrecorded.

Why the 20th? It's my birthdate, which makes these intervals nice and regular.

Where the Birds Always Sing

I rode my bike to work today.

It was actually a lot easier than I anticipated, and quicker. The route I went by took me through the local regional park, a lot nicer than the roads I usually have to take in my truck. The hardest part was going up a hill, that with regularity and a bit more conditioning I'm sure will become easier.

The best part was it only took about half an hour, which is only about twice the time it takes to drive and park.

Movin' On

I went for my first substantial bike ride since moving home today.
It was good, though I can tell that I've lost some of my stamina over this hiatus.

This area is much more hilly so I'll probably end up stronger if I can keep riding regularly.

Hopefully I can convince myself to ride to work on Tuesday.

Don't Speak

So I haven't been able to talk much today.
And I have a very good reason as to why.

This weekend, Orange County's very own band of Ultimate enthusiasts, the OC Disorder, made its way up to Oxnard for the 2008 UPA Mixed Sectionals Tournament for Southern California.


One can find the official results here, though numbers don't tell the whole story.

We traveled up Friday evening, packing some sixteen or so of us into a one bedroom apartment in Camarillo.

Saturday morning saw a hearty breakfast of griddlecakes, turkey bacon, orange juice, and potassium-rich bananas before caravaning to the tournament where the rest of the team assembled.

Our first day of tournament play was quite eye opening for the young team, and while the scores of the day may not reflect it, the OC Disorder's defensive play made sure that nearly every point was hard fought for the opposition. Unfortunately, the team was unable to find offensive consistency, whether due to inexperience and/or nerves, and left the day without a victory. Also lost was one of the team's six ladies to an ankle sprain.

Fortunately, the life of a discer is not all about Ultimate and we were able to relax over pizzas and some quantity beer.

Sunday had us donning our Sabbath Whites, returning to the field of play in various states of sobriety, and also minus our Coach/Guru, who had prior commitments, leaving us to see how we might fare with only what we had already learned. The day's first game was a hard fought contest with CSULB's What the Funk? that saw the OC Disorder rally at game point from 14-8 before finally be bested by the score of 15-13.

With growing offensive confidence the OC Disorder was able to best the scrappy Ghetto - Hot of USC by a score of 15-9. Unfortunately the victory came at a price, when Her Highness, team captain and one of the four remaining healthy & available OC Disorder ladies also fell victim to an ankle sprain.

With no remaining alternates, the final game, for sixth place and a rematch against Blowhard!, would require that the three remaining ladies play the entire game or else play a man down. Both teams were wearing but the half saw the OC Disorder up 8-2 and provided a much needed rest for the teams. The game's second half saw the OC Disorder come together around the relentless Ladies and finish the game with a tight, aggressive defense and quick transitions to finish the game 15-4 and with an overall record of 2-4.

Crosstown Traffic

I saw something pretty amusing today.
I was driving down one of the main parkways on town on the way to my Guita's house when I saw a gentleman wearing full cycling attire (spandex bike shorts & shirt, bike gloves, helmet, & glasses) riding down the sidewalk to my right. While one might look at him in his fine attire & nice road bike and assume that he was an experienced bicyclist, I was not fooled for three reasons:

-he was riding on the sidewalk like an 8 year old child who can't cross the street without his/her mother present, obviously not aware that he and his vehicle belong on the road and in the bike lanes .

-he was riding against the flow of traffic like a pedestrian might, oblivious to the fact that he, on his quick moving velo, had increased closing speed and reduced reaction time to the oncoming traffic when compared to a slow moving pedestrian.

And (this is what I got the biggest kick out of)
-his bike was equipped with some intense looking rear view mirrors!
I imagine those did a great job of helping him spot fast approaching pedestrians looking to pass him!

Night Bird Flying

I rode my bike in traffic at night for the first time last night. I've had my bike light and reflectors all set for a while now, I just never had anyplace very far to go at night. Or maybe I just never felt comfortable enough, who knows.

I rode to a party over in Anaheim that took me down a number of main roads, where I wasn't sure entirely what to expect. All my previous nigh biking had been done on separated bike paths or through residential areas, avoiding major arteries and traffic.

About halfway to my destination I started thinking about how little of a deal riding at night actually was and how courteous all the motorists were being. Of course that's the moment when some ass in an Escalade honks at me from behind before speeding away.

Fortunately, that was the only real incident of indecency that I encountered and all in all it was a pleasant experience. I even beat out a big rig at one point!