He's not crazy, he's just pissed that there's still snow on the ground.
I'm gonna go batshit crazy if spring doesn't get here soon.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Happiness is...
a bead of sweat. The 40 -degree barrier has been shattered today. Maybe that groundhog isn't so damn crazy after all.
He's not crazy, he's just pissed that there's still snow on the ground.
I'm gonna go batshit crazy if spring doesn't get here soon.
He's not crazy, he's just pissed that there's still snow on the ground.
I'm gonna go batshit crazy if spring doesn't get here soon.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Several years ago...
I read one of the funniest books I had ever read in my life: Never Sniff a Gift Fish
by Partick F. McManus .
The book is collection of short stories recounting the goofy missteps that can foul up a relaxing day spent in the woods with a rod or a gun. McManus begins one of the stories with a line that made me laugh out loud. Only now, after two years of marriage, do I realize its profundity. It goes something like this: Hunting and fishing are expensive hobbies because they require furs, fancy jewelry and other high end equipment (liberal paraphrasing).
Now I know what he was talking about. Since last fall, I have been contemplating buying a new pair of jumpers, as my old ones are about 7 years old. Every time the conversation has come up, my remarks have been met with eye rolling and "suggestions" of postponement.
For the last several months, Libby has wanted to change the setting for her engagement diamond. She has talked about it for months, but never really seemed serious about it until about three weeks ago, when she closed the deal at a jewelry store in Des Moines. I think it will look something like this :
Maybe a different color, or size or something like that, I'm not all that sure.
You know what they say, one good turn deserves another. That ring is an unambiguous green light to buy a new pair of jumpers.
About a week ago, I spotted a deal on a lightly used pair of Goodman Llewellyn Pros, so I (alert the pun police) jumped at the chance.
and here they are, ready for a new home.
Has anyone seen the UPS man yet?
by Partick F. McManus .
The book is collection of short stories recounting the goofy missteps that can foul up a relaxing day spent in the woods with a rod or a gun. McManus begins one of the stories with a line that made me laugh out loud. Only now, after two years of marriage, do I realize its profundity. It goes something like this: Hunting and fishing are expensive hobbies because they require furs, fancy jewelry and other high end equipment (liberal paraphrasing).
Now I know what he was talking about. Since last fall, I have been contemplating buying a new pair of jumpers, as my old ones are about 7 years old. Every time the conversation has come up, my remarks have been met with eye rolling and "suggestions" of postponement.
For the last several months, Libby has wanted to change the setting for her engagement diamond. She has talked about it for months, but never really seemed serious about it until about three weeks ago, when she closed the deal at a jewelry store in Des Moines. I think it will look something like this :
Maybe a different color, or size or something like that, I'm not all that sure.
You know what they say, one good turn deserves another. That ring is an unambiguous green light to buy a new pair of jumpers.
About a week ago, I spotted a deal on a lightly used pair of Goodman Llewellyn Pros, so I (alert the pun police) jumped at the chance.
and here they are, ready for a new home.
Has anyone seen the UPS man yet?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Gratuitous...
trick skiing footage. This is Nicholas Leforestier's 12,400 pt world record.
M. Leforestier, vous etes le meilleur de figures. Pardonnez, mais il est trop difficile de mettre les accents avec cet ordinateur.
(a minor in French has to be good for something)
Now, if only the elusive Kreuger 243' vid could be unearthed. It must be on a hard drive somewhere. We have this thing called video jump, for Chirst's sake. I seriously doubt someone at the site of the record, saw the jump footage and thought "Ehhhh, I'll just erase this 243-foot jump from my hard drive to free up disk space for Boys' 1 slalom." Or, worse yet, the jump was immortalized on VHS, only to be overdubbed by a dumbass for a can't-miss American Idol retrospective.
M. Leforestier, vous etes le meilleur de figures. Pardonnez, mais il est trop difficile de mettre les accents avec cet ordinateur.
(a minor in French has to be good for something)
Now, if only the elusive Kreuger 243' vid could be unearthed. It must be on a hard drive somewhere. We have this thing called video jump, for Chirst's sake. I seriously doubt someone at the site of the record, saw the jump footage and thought "Ehhhh, I'll just erase this 243-foot jump from my hard drive to free up disk space for Boys' 1 slalom." Or, worse yet, the jump was immortalized on VHS, only to be overdubbed by a dumbass for a can't-miss American Idol retrospective.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
This just in...
YouTube has a waterfront lot on Lakerykert.
Right now, the rest of the world is welcoming me to 2003
Boats are for suckers
"Major equipment purchases and marital bliss"* has been postponed until next time.
*lower case except for the first word: That's APA format-- for all you eggheads out there. I guess the better part of a decade of college taught me,uh, something.
Right now, the rest of the world is welcoming me to 2003
Boats are for suckers
"Major equipment purchases and marital bliss"* has been postponed until next time.
*lower case except for the first word: That's APA format-- for all you eggheads out there. I guess the better part of a decade of college taught me,uh, something.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Screw winter, I'll do some tricking!!
The uber-angst of winter has brought forth a sliver of inspiration: Instead of longing for time on the water, I can practice tricks with out the normal hazards of floating ice and less-than-desirable core temperatures. I think I have put together a cheap, effective dryland tricks simulator.
Here are the pieces:
a rubber floormat, a standard trick handle, and a 16" wobble board . The wobble board works really well. Because it's unstable in every direction, I have to use perfect form to execute the simplest tricks. A rubber floormat allows the board to spin but keeps the board form being constantly pulled forward by the resistance tubing.
Speaking of tubing, the bungee cords were a failure. I found something better, SPRI resistance tubes . The different colors have different resistance. I use the hardest resistance(purple) for practicing basic surface turns, the next lowest (blue) for practicing the LB/LF sequence, and a low resistance (red) for practicing a RTB. My plan is to perfect my form with low resistance, and to move up to purple by the time I'm ready to trick for real.
This is my footing for practicing toe tricks and stepovers.
This is how I stand on the board for hand practice
The combination of the wobble board and the tubing gives a realistic simulation except for one problem: when slack rope is created while skiing, there is a hard jerk on the rope. This cannot happen with resistance tubing. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do. I don't have access to a rope and pulley that is set at a height similar to that of a pylon. The ideal hookup would be a cable crossover machine with height adjustment. My gym doesn't have one of those.
If anybody out there has their own dryland rig, I'd love to hear from you, to find out what works and what doesn't.
NEXT: major equipment purchases and marital bliss
Here are the pieces:
a rubber floormat, a standard trick handle, and a 16" wobble board . The wobble board works really well. Because it's unstable in every direction, I have to use perfect form to execute the simplest tricks. A rubber floormat allows the board to spin but keeps the board form being constantly pulled forward by the resistance tubing.
Speaking of tubing, the bungee cords were a failure. I found something better, SPRI resistance tubes . The different colors have different resistance. I use the hardest resistance(purple) for practicing basic surface turns, the next lowest (blue) for practicing the LB/LF sequence, and a low resistance (red) for practicing a RTB. My plan is to perfect my form with low resistance, and to move up to purple by the time I'm ready to trick for real.
This is my footing for practicing toe tricks and stepovers.
This is how I stand on the board for hand practice
The combination of the wobble board and the tubing gives a realistic simulation except for one problem: when slack rope is created while skiing, there is a hard jerk on the rope. This cannot happen with resistance tubing. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do. I don't have access to a rope and pulley that is set at a height similar to that of a pylon. The ideal hookup would be a cable crossover machine with height adjustment. My gym doesn't have one of those.
If anybody out there has their own dryland rig, I'd love to hear from you, to find out what works and what doesn't.
NEXT: major equipment purchases and marital bliss
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)