Blog Phenology

In spring the thought of hunkering down with my computer was nothing short of repulsive. I wanted to frolic outside and bask in warmth directly from the sun - not emanating from my laptop battery.

Over the summer, my pouting Powerbook collected dust and I'm sure it wept silently while I swam, canoed, biked, ran, and otherwise occupied myself with all sorts of other summery goodness.

But now I'm beginning to feel the tug of my favorite hibernation activity. My daytime thoughts are more frequently caching experiences as blog fodder and I'm becoming more desperate to find the battery charger for my pocket camera.

And if last winter is any indication, in the coming months I'll be blogging everyday, surreptitiously snapping pontifical photos, and snuggling-up in my hi-tech hibernaculum.

Richard Dawkins' Social Club

Here's my page

Milk Run 2007!

I ran my first race yesterday! The Minnesota State Fair Milk Run 5K

It was way fun, I finished in about 33 minutes, which I'm happy with - it was a very hilly course and I felt pretty good all the way through. I covered my friends faces so they don't get any badness from being posted on my Atheist blog.

Jesus images that make me laugh

Yay! Rapture time!

Come sit in my lap...
I found these somewhere, can't remember where... but they make me laugh

... Boy Are My Arms Tired!

Yesterday I paddled the Mississippi River Challenge sponsored by Friends of the Mississippi River. It was originally going to be a two-day 44-mile paddle through the entire Twin Cities but because of the bridge collapse, the first day (which included the stretch under 35W) was cancelled. However, 22-miles is still a significant distance to paddle in one weekend. Below is a map of the route (click for big).



This paddle continues my summer-o-paddling the Twin Cities Rivers.

I recently paddled a stretch from Bohemian Flats (just downstream of 35W) to Hidden Falls Park.

click for big

And I also jumped into the Minnesota River just downstream of Hwy 77, paddled to the Mississippi, and took out at Lilydale.

click for big

Anti-Climb Paint

I saw this sign in Scotland and thought it was a scare-sign but it's a real thing - who knew?

Daily Dose - Rainy Day Post

Today is a rainy dreary day so I've grabbed my laptop and ran out to my favorite coffee shop. Here are some Daily Dose photos I've been building up for a while:

Car decorations:




Every Wednesday afternoon there is an anti-war demonstration on the bridge near my house. A few weeks ago it was apparently sponsored by local churches.

35 dub

I-35W collapsed today into the Mississippi River. Crazy. Unbelievable.


Photo from the BBC website

Heres a link to some sobering photos from the Star Tribune: (you'll have to log in, but its worth it if you want to see)

I was on the light rail on the way to a Twins game when the crowd in the train started murmuring and staring out the window. I saw smoke but thought it was just a bad accident but then someone said the bridge had collapsed. I thought just a little hunk must have fell into the river; the bridge was under construction. But then I got several frantic calls from friends and family asking if I was OK, they heard the news, they'd been trying for hours to get a hold of me but the lines were down. Then I figured it out: the entire bridge fell into the Mississippi River. Wow.

I guess this changes my weekend plans. I was going to paddle under that bridge in a canoe as part of the Friends of the Mississippi River 22-mile Canoe Challenge.

I guess this changes my whole life actually. My work is dedicated to that section of the Mississippi River, I live just downstream of that stretch of the River, I center my recreational activities around canoeing, biking, running, and hiking along that stretch of the river. That's why I choose to live in the Minneapolis. hmmmm.

They've been saying it will takes years to rebuild, they have no idea why it collapsed (but that we shouldn't suspect terrorism), and that they expect to find lots of dead bodies tomorrow.

It is the top news story on the BBC: Seven Dead as US Bridge Collapses

A schematic from the Star Tribune

The whole Star Trib article