A small view into a large life

57.7 miles

2008-08-05T23:35:58Z

5:00 am - wake up.
5:30 am - hit the road
7:15 am - arrive at work!

Proof (sorry for the dim light cell-phone photo).

4:00 pm - depart
5:45 pm - arrive at home.

The route (which says 2008-08-06 on it accidentally; the ride was on the 5th).

Mostly uneventful except for a harrowing experience by the Manchester airport where I found myself in the left lane of a four lane highway (two each way) and needing to get to the right shoulder quickly but there was lots of traffic and no place to stop. Ultimately, I found a no-man's-land between N and S lanes where I could pause until traffic permitted me to dash over to the correct lane. I certainly didn't want to end up on the interstate! Altogether a pleasant ride through the countryside with a few miles of considerably less pleasant city riding at each end.

Spirit Fire 2008

2008-08-03T23:07:47Z

It was good. Very different from last year. Which was also good - both the last year and the difference.

In no particular order...

Crow ~ Musician ~ Priest ~ Raven ~ Friend ~ Sculptor ~ Canvas (view 1, view 2) ~ Brother ~ Entrepreneur ~ Witch

--
Addendum 2008-08-04 @ 21:11

In this context, these words mean:

Crow (reference to Twilight) - a behind-the-scenes person who supports ritual activities; also guardian
Musician - makes audible melodies and rhythms
Priest* - helps people find their way to divinity; counselor; inspirational orator
Raven (also Twilight) - participates visibly in creating/holding ritual space; conduit for spiritual energy
Friend - bonded socially with some degree of commitment
Sculptor - forms materials into new shapes to express emotion, feeling, or meaning
Canvas - a surface/substrate for flat visual art; also more metaphorically: a place where external forces express art
Brother - bonded socially with a significant/deep degree of commitment
Entrepreneur - innovates in business - identifies markets and conceives of ways to meet them
Witch** - uses intentional gestures/acts to focus will and effect change.

In other contexts, these words have other meanings.

--
*In my own constellation of beliefs, any person can be a priest/ess -- for a moment, for a day, for a lifetime -- it does not have to be a full-time calling/occupation. There is no special qualification - it is a job description, not (necessarily) an identity. A person who does those things is called that when they do them. When I pick up a soldering torch, I'm a plumber. When I pick up a drum, I'm a percussionist. When I sit at my computer, I'm an engineer. I am none of these things all of the time, though I am all of these things some of the time.

**Again, a job description. Not meaning a practitioner of Wicca or any specific religion.

Micro movie reviews

2008-07-29T00:18:18Z

Movie #1 - "Mama Mia" - big fun! And I don't like musicals... but this one... this was just fun. Uplifting, charming, silly. A must-see. Big screen not required.

Movie #2 - "The Dark Knight" - I thought it was well done for what it was (a comic book movie); the Joker performance was downright creepy. It took me hours to clear my head after watching it. "Intense" would be my first adjective to describe it. It was about 45 minutes too long, though.

fnoxib @ 2008-07-25T22:26:00

2008-07-26T02:31:28Z

The Twilight list is up!

My choices today, in no particular order: spider, monkey, white hart, bison

The good news: none of them is likely to be as demanding as Raven, so I might expect to sleep some reasonable amount this year!

I do wonder why spider & white hart are application-requireds. They do not appear to be of the "prove you're ready for this" that some of the others (this year and past years) more obviously require. I wonder if my application for white hart from last year is still true...

No big ride today

2008-07-26T02:14:05Z

Forecast was for rain in the morning, so I did strenuous exercise in the evening and did not set an alarm to get up at o-dark-30 to ride in to work. As it turned out, it was a beautiful day after all, but I was unprepared for the ride by the time I woke. I did get in 39 miles or so tonight, but that's just the usual.

I'll be on the lookout for a good day to do the big run. It won't be next week, but maybe the week after...

60 miles?

2008-07-24T02:19:06Z

I think I'm going to try for a new record this Friday... just about 60 miles in one day. This won't be a single ride, but rather two 30-mile rides with a long period in between. I'm going to take advantage of the long daylight and take my bike to work! So, I'll go to bed early on thursday, get up about dawn on friday, head out for about two hours' ride to work, arrive around 7:30am - work a nearly full day (which is mostly sitting in a comfy chair, which will probably be a good thing) - then ride home around 3pm to avoid the bulk of the evening traffic. Yes, there's a shower at work ;)

I'll try to remember to drive the route thursday morning to see what it's like before committing to riding it. Unless there are LOTS of killer hills, I'm up for it. Report to follow on friday night, if it happens...

Dirt

2008-07-23T02:02:54Z

Update on the compost - I have two servings of compost now spread on depleted areas of the lawn... those areas are now showing enhanced grass growth to the tune of 2x - 4x height compared with neighboring terrain, bounded farily clearly by where I put the compost. The stuff from the tumbler totally works, even after only 2 weeks of processing prior to deployment.

fnoxib @ 2008-07-17T21:00:00

2008-07-18T01:06:21Z

Today - a new ride... 15 miles to Walden Pond... an hour in the water, lounging about with a friend, then 15 miles home again. It was a hard ride - or so it seemed - because of the heat and humidity and the fact that I had additional baggage of swim wear, a towel, a change of clothes for after (wouldn't want to put on the sweatty clothes I arrived in to START with), a beach bag, and the usual gear: tools, spare tubes, pump, locking and cable, first aid kit, water... so with all that baggage, it really felt like slow going.

But then I looked at my GPS which, among other things, tells me how fast I went. 17 mph! That's a new average speed record for me! I Generally make around 16.5. Okay, so it doesn't seem like all that much faster... but considering that I thought I was CRAWLING, it really says something.

What's it say? It says I'm getting stronger and fitter is what it says.

The hour long break between the two 15 mile sections and the fact that it's not quite as hilly as the Groton-Acton route surely helped, too.

Still, I am pleased.

Short & Long

2008-07-14T03:24:16Z

Short term - the Mystery Cat has a safe foster home where she will receive excellent care (thank you wren13) until and after the kittens are born.

Long term - homes have been found for a what seems like more kittens than she is likely to birth, so they will be taken care of when they are weaned. There's some interest in the mama cat, too, once the pregnancy is done. Also, things will be much calmer around the house with just the one kitty (belonging to the roommate), now that there's no in-house kitty conflict.

Good results all around. I am relieved that a high-karma solution has been found to this difficult situation: no strays, no crowded shelter, no murder. Roommate's cat will be at peace. Roommate will be at peace.

I suppose I should have known better than to take in a stray (having not been a pet-person historically) . . . but, well, one doesn't learn without experiences... and sometimes things (and people) change. As it turns out, though there has been a lot of change in my life in the last half year or so, becoming a cat-person was not among them.

I have done as good by this cat as I know how - I hope that is enough.

Cat 1, Daniel 0

2008-07-11T02:00:44Z

So after many weeks of having the Mystery Cat live with me, the novelty has worn off and the true nature of the situation has been revealed: I was not a pet-having person before she showed up and I am not a pet-having person now, despite her considerable cuteness, affection, and persistence.

Anybody looking for a furry companion? She's free to a good home. She is an indoor/outdoor kitty, fully clawed and quite capable of survival unattended in the outdoors.

She's up to date on her shots, has an RFID (aka "kitty lojack"), and is generally well-disposed. I just don't have the tolerance for a creature under foot nor one who needs my attention when I have other things I want to do... she is not unreasonable in her needs or behaviors... all very normal and ordinary things a felis domesticus should have and do and need... but they are not compatible with this particular human.

ARF!

2008-07-09T00:11:13Z

The dog days of summer send their regards.

AHO

2008-07-07T01:48:06Z

Had a lovely time at AHO -- big fun for all who were present, sorry you missed it, the rest of y'all.

I did a handful of intuitive* tarot readings while there... evidently, I was spot-on for the two whose readings talked about the present. The two which were about the future, well, we shall see what comes. In one case, that was a 7-years-from-now prediction -- better put that one in my PDA. The other was for this year - I'll probably remember. Actually, I think I'll start a journal of predictions. . . .I don't read often, but I do enjoy it. Maybe I should get myself my own deck o'cards.

And later that same night, I saw some bright green swaths of light when I closed my eyes. That's very different from what I normally see under those conditions. Normally, I get black and brown like TV "static". This was vivid color and it wasn't moving. It was dreamlike, though - the more I tried to look "at" it, the more difficult it was to see. I opened my eyes - just the ordinary dim white light from the moon - closed them again - bright green! Like thick spider webs. Fascinating. I wonder what it was I saw...

--
*No looking at "the book" or interpreting standard meanings for the particular cards. Instead, I just follow the images and see what pops out in any given spread. There's no fixed number of cards or fixed meaning for any particular position in the draw sequence - it just is what it just is.

Quick update

2008-07-02T03:07:47Z

Life - mine's great - that's why I've been too busy to write :)

Compost Photos

2008-06-25T01:10:44Z

For those of you who are following the compst story, here are some annotated photos of the latest batch, from day 0 through day 8. The batch isn't done yet, but it has transformed considerably. The next several days will be less interesting as "almost dirt' turns into "even more like dirt".

Dirt, round two

2008-06-19T01:59:56Z

So batch one of the compost is sitting out in the yard, theoretically nourishing the depleted soil beneath it. It's only been there a few days and I'm just letting nature take its course with respect to what happens next, so it may be a while before there's news. I'm hoping that the established grass on the perimeter of the newly nourished soil will go, "hey! Food!" and start to have grass-babies and fill it in.

Batch #2 of compost was started a couple of days ago. This time I left out the super-dry leftovers from last year. This batch is 95% grass and 5% kitchen scraps of various sorts. By day #2, the temperature was 160F inside! Steaming, even in 80 degree weather. Nice! Already it has reduced noticably in bulk and darkened in color. I had the forethought to take photos of the full bin and a new picture (more or less) every day so I can post a pictorial story when it's done.

New Music

2008-06-19T01:54:41Z

Listen to Gwyn's Theme, another in my "soundtrack" series. 4m20s, 5Mb.

This is is more than a sketch but less than "finished" -- each of the five parts is improvised but has been re-done a few times to get me as far as this. I do plan to refine the whole thing a bit more, but I think it stands pretty well, even as a "first draft". As always, please listen using good headphones or speakers -- your typical laptop speakers or $5 headphones just won't do the music justice.

Comments are welcome (as always when I post creative stuff - I wouldn't post them for you if I didn't want to hear from you about them)

DIRT

2008-06-13T10:44:34Z

So... the first batch of compost has been ready for a little while now, but just last night I had the opportunity to shovel it out and take a close look. Very nice! Black, moist, mostly unrecognizable biomass... much richer-looking than anything already on the ground around my house. I am quite pleased with the performance of the ComposTumbler. I've raked out the nice new black earth over a seriously depleted area of my yard. Now we get to see how well it actually helps things grow....

fnoxib @ 2008-06-03T11:12:00

2008-06-03T15:12:16Z

What kind of wild fool is intimidated by joy?

The Reveal

2008-06-02T02:27:55Z

If you want to know what my guise looked like from the outside, you can see this picture and the closeup. Thanks to Dave Anderson for taking the pics (which were in the dark and black-on-black, so my apologies for over-contrast-enhancing the images, but otherwise you'd see nothing at all).

Guise

2008-05-26T23:01:45Z

Anyone who was at the Guisers' Ball last Saturday... did you see me?

I personally thought I did an effective job of being not-me, but I am looking for some corroboration.

Productive, heavy, good

2008-05-18T23:23:54Z

Productive weekend - installed #2 window (again, 14 feet above the ground), figured out masque stuff (thanks for your help, faeribear )

Heavy weekend - some truths revealed, got adopted by Mystery Kitty.

Altogether a good weekend, though a full one.

Very full.

Now I need another one to process it all... but it's back to work for 2.5 days and then off to the woods.

Zoom.

kitty update

2008-05-18T23:11:04Z

So things got a little more complicated.

Mystery Kitty showed up with a flea collar a couple of days ago, suggesting she's been with a Human, but no tag. She continued to insist on coming inside... waiting at the door day and night. Roommate suggested that someone may well have collared her just cuz -- this struck me as very odd, but she seemed to think it was possible. Indeed, she said she'd actually considered doing it.

So, Human-having or no, Mystery continued to make herself at home outside my door. Days pass. Kitty stays. She very obviously wanted to come inside. So, finally, I let her in on Saturday night.

She marches right in, makes a bee-line for Roomate's at's food bowl, and chows down considerably. Evidently, Mystery Kitty was very hungry. She's been here all day Sunday, showing no signs of wanting to be anywhere else. I woke up this morning with kitty in my bed, in fact. I don't know what will become of her, but for now, anyway, she seems to have adopted me/us. So, given that basic truth, I bought her some of her own food and a litter box, so she could at least be comfortable while she stays.

I did make some signs which I plan to post up around the neighborhood that show the photos and say simply "if you know this cat, please call" with tear-away fringes with my phone number on them. I don't know if she's lost, per se, or maybe abandoned, or has simply chosen me/my home as hers (singly or shared), despite having other Human(s). I definitely want to know where that flea collar came from... though Mystery is living up to her name on that one.

So what's my plan? Well, I really didn't want to be a pet's Human, but this one has really grown on me... which is pretty amazing already. Part of me is a bit trepid to keep her, the other part of me already knows she's family. . . . so what to do? Well, I'll post the bills around the neighborhood to see if anyone's missing her. I'll bring her to a vet soon to get her scanned for an RFID tag and maybe a routine checkup to see if she's healthy, etc., or in need of any specific attention... and keep my own eyes out for "lost cat" signs posted by someone else.

And we'll see what happens.

Interesting day

2008-05-16T03:42:44Z

Early morning - get some real worky work done at home. Progress is good. Day spent at badly timed appointments won't be totally wasted.

Morning appointment - left for it early - made good time, figured I'd stop at a gas station to fill up the tank and get a drink. Serendipity. I am approached for help by a foreigner who is unfamiliar with pay-first self-service gas and who also needed some navigation assistance which I was able to provide. He thanked me profusely and called me "very gentleman" (that's "gentleman" as in "the distinguished gentleman from Kentucky").

Midday - lunch with a friend who suggests that the stray kitty may have come to my house to present itself as my familiar. MY FAMILIAR? I didn't want a pet. Or a familiar. I think... (see "Late Afternoon")

Afternoon - doctor's appointment - good news / bad news. I presented myself as lighter and fitter, but evidently my blood pressure is still quite high for someone my age. Doc still wants to put me on medication, even though I am making progress toward lowering the bp with my lifestyle adjustments. I left feeling quite dissatisfied with the whole thing -- specifically, that she dictated to me that I should be on meds and did not discuss with me WHY she thought this was necessary, nor what other lifestyle options there might be to reduce my risks, etc. She acknowledged my progress but basically said it wasn't enough and quite begrudgingly "gave me" another couple of months to show further improvement. Although she was not technically confrontational, I still felt that it was an adversarial relationship rather than partnership for my best interest. I am planning to write her a letter (probably not tonight - already late - though I'm up and thinking about it, so maybe...) telling her how I want my healthcare to be provided: namely, as a cooperative venture and expressly not as (her) dictatorship.

Late afternoon - spent some time with the mystery cat, who ultimately did warm up to me considerably. She gave me her belly for lovin's. She licked my hand. She very gently nibbled my fingertips. She snuggled patiently in my lap and purred (til distracted by a nearby bird). I kept asking mystery kitty what her name was, whether she was here specifically for me, did she have some other Humans or a home, etc. She did not give me any signs or answers I could recognize. I have to admit, Mystery (oh shit, did I just name the cat?) is growing on me. I really didn't think I wanted a pet. Heck, I forbade my roommate from adopting this cat. Now I'm starting to consider adopting it myself? WTF? It is not lost on me that adopting Mystery would be a good (and lengthy) lesson in being a bit less self-centered. I like to think of my self centricity as "free living", but, truth be told, there's plenty of simple self-centricity to it. And she is so cute and sweet and gentle...

Early evening - realizing I am pressed for time to make my evening engagement with the belly dance troupe I drum for, I head for the local sandwich shop in hopes of picking up something easy and nutritious to eat. I walk right up to the counter - no waiting - and not 60 seconds after I finish paying for the order, the line cook says "Order Up!" and mine's ready! Now, I did order something cold and easy (chicken caesar salad wrap), but damn, no waiting! Thanks, universe, for helping me get on my way without delay!

Titivate

2008-05-15T11:22:17Z

Here's a word after my own heart.

Commentary from Merriam Webster's Word of the Day:

"Titivate," "spruce," "smarten," and "spiff" all mean "to make a person or thing neater or more attractive." "Titivate" often refers to making small additions or alterations in attire ("titivate the costume with sequins and other accessories") and can also be used figuratively, as in our example sentence. "Spruce up" is sometimes used for cosmetic changes or renovations that give the appearance of newness ("spruce up the house with new shutters and fresh paint before trying to sell it"). "Smarten up" and "spiff up" both mean to improve in appearance often by making more neat or stylish ("the tailor smartened up the suit with minor alterations"; "he needed some time to spiff himself up for the party"). The origins of "titivate" are uncertain, but it may have been formed from the English words "tidy" and "renovate."

So I have to ask... does a plastic surgeon ofter to, well, um.... titivate his clients?

--
Go on, call me a pig if you must, but the humor of the situation got the best of my otherwise mostly functional sense of decorum.

Drop and gimme 20

2008-05-15T00:36:40Z

Twenty POUNDS that is. Lost since Feb 25 of this year. Yeah!

Next goal? Maybe another 10... the first 20 I could point to and say "hey, that's extra". I'm down two notches on my belt and hang over in front quite a bit less than I used to, though there's still some belly. I see my doctor tomorrow for a weight and blood pressure check-in. I expect she will be as pleased as I am.