fdsailor.blog-city.com — December 2005

Classes and life

Today started off with a bang - I gave two training classes (2 hours each, on two different topics) to 22 people from Harris' Melbourne, Florida division that came to Rochester to learn about developing software for one of our radio products. I feel for these people - they are going through a true "crash course". Three weeks ago, they were given "pre-reading" for all the classes they were going to take, with the idea that they would study it for two weeks, 8 hours a day. They then come up to Rochester, and listen (for two weeks) to 7 hours per day of dense, compact training material. They are motivated to learn it, because they have real work to do with this stuff, and know they will have limited access to the instructors or other help (because we are quite busy at the moment).

If I had to go through this, I think I would be brain-dead by now! They only have two more days to go!

Either way, the training went just fine. And it was recorded for posterity sake (my voice and the presentation from the PC that is - no live video pictures). I actually enjoy this, because (unlike some other training I am asked to do sometimes) I really DO know what I am talking about, so don't have to live in fear of questions I have no clue about!

I then spent several hours recovering (ever tried speaking for 4 1/2 hours straight, with only a 10 minute break at the 2 hour point?). The rest of the day went uneventually.

Sometime soon I need to go to Florida and visit my Mom - against our advice (hear that, Mom?) she returned to Florida (where she spends the winters) 4 days after a category 3 Hurricane passed through the area and had flooded everywhere and generally caused a mess. She lost her carport and screened porch - but went anyways. Well, she is doing fine, but that doen't make life easy... So sometime I will have to go see her. Tough duty, as Florida is soo cold this time of year :-))

Published: Thursday, 1 December 2005

Christmas / New Year's update

Well, it obviously has been a while since I have written something - but now is as good a time as ever. Let's see - what has been going on?

Well, first of all, an update on Gwendolyn and her Anatomy class. Well, despite how it may have felt to her as she studied for her final three tests (in a one week period - including two back-to-back on the same day), she did great, and has, well (to avoid embarassing her publicly), we'll say a "very" solid A in the course. 'Nuff said. She certainly is glad to have that over with. Congratulations, Gwendolyn!

I took the Friday before Christmas off (two days after G's final), and until Christmas we did not do anything really serious - more vacationed, which seems fair enough. G did not even do any studying (she has two "self study" semester courses to finish by the end of January!). The week before we had obtained a tree, and we put lights on it, had a fire, and just sort of chilled. On Christmas eve we went to midnight mass at church, which I really enjoy because I get to sing many Christmas hymns-- and smell the wonderful incense, even if I AM allergic to it.

We slept in a bit on Christmas day, having gotten to bed at 1:30 am that morning. The snow on the ground had been melting, but by Christmas morning it was still white - so we did have a white Christmas after all. We called, were called, or IM chatted with quite a few people, wishing Merry Chrismas. We prepared a full Christmas dinner, complete with a roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, aspargus, green beans and a wonderful dessert tart G had bought at Wegmans the day before.

It was really a wonderful, and very quiet night - something that could be enjoyed after several days of relaxation. The fire crackled away, time stood still, and life was for a while uncomplicated and simply good.

The next day started the week - which for me was a "vacation week", and for G was really more school work. It is incredible how hard she works, and how dedicated she is. Her focus is incredible and has to be seen to be believed. At times, however, I feel sorry for her - it seems that "learning the material well" is the only option. She will be the most educated Nurse Practitioner around, no doubt.

As for myself, while she is doing all of this hard work, I am doing a combination of things on my to-do lists, some work related stuff (but enjoyable from my standpoint - no specific task work, but rather new tool evaluation - learning, lots of learning), some hobbys, some reading, exercise and eating. Not as many things actually get done as I would like, but in the end, I am on vacation, so that is fine.

For the last several days, I have been encouraging G to pick something FUN she would like to do to prevent study burn-out. This took quite a bit of thought on her part, but in the end she suggested we visit the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester. We tend to go there every several years, and it is a very pleasent pasttime. Admission was free for us, because my employer gives them money.

It was wonderful. Relaxed art viewing and visiting-- some remembered, some not. Now and then you would turn a corner and see some special, familiar piece of art. When this happens, you really feel at home there, like visiting an old friend. There are several pieces that I could look at for quite some time, as well as several other pieces that are wonderful, yet haunting.

We followed this with dessert (cake), and then grocery shopping at Wegmans. Dinner was salmon, eaten while watching "Brideshead revisited" - a DVD G is working through. Gwendolyn joined "Blockbuster online" a month ago - this gives here essentially unlimited DVDs (3 out at a time) - you send one back in the mail, and two days later the next on her online "queue" comes. As Masha demonstrated while she was here, with this arrangement you can watch over 30 DVDs or more a month for your $15, if you are really obsessive. Gwendolyn uses it a bit differently - many of hers are television series that take several sittings to get though, so she is seeing perhaps 3 per week. Still, not bad for $1.25 per rental with no due date. I can't remember the past films, but our current batch consists of:

• Sisterhood of the traveling pants


• Brideshead revisited, disk 1 (PBS)


• Allie McBeale, disk 1

So that at least brings things up to date! More as it happens, or so we can wish...

Published: Friday, 30 December 2005

fdsailor.blog-city.com — November 2005

11 pm - a couple of things...

First, I'm all excited - the boats ship from Vanguard (Rhode Island) this Friday, and get delivered on Saturday. And it will be warm (18 to 19 degrees). I won't get to sail my boat, however, because it will be in a (huge) cardboard box, from which it will probably not emerge until spring. Still though, exciting.

This morning I woke up to sunshine and brilliant yellow leaves. It seems that everything has changed in the last two days, and now the world is this wonderful yellow with a hint of orange in it - sort of school bus colored, I guess (but a bad analogy). Either way, wonderful.

Last night when running around the block, I saw a really big meteor - it moved quickly, and had real SIZE - and sort of exploded in the end. I don't see these very often, but what is really strange is that the one other time I saw one, it was almost at exactly the same place! This is just outstanding coincidence, nothing else (and no, they were not fireworks...). I waited for a minute to see if there was any sonic boom, but none to be heard, so a very high meteor.

Halloween was uneventful (I had band, and G entertained 4 trick or treaters). Wegman's seems to be skipping Thanksgiving, and is going directly to Christmas. I AM NOT KIDDING! Example - Chocolate bells and candy canes! No turkeys! What is this world coming to?

Published: Thursday, 3 November 2005

10:55 pm - WARM day!

Today was a good day - not only was it FRIDAY, but also amazingly warm - it got up to 19 degrees and was just wonderful! And better yet, tomorrow is going to be warm as well - probably 18 degrees. The lake is too cold to swim in, but you never know, sailing is not out of the question.

I just got back from running the trolley trail. It was really interesting - the trail itself essentially is a railway bed the is built across a swamp. When I started my run, it was quite cold (maybe 8 degrees), which was a surprise to me, given it was 15 at my house. But then you start running and now and then a gust of wind hits, and that, suddenly is very warm. So successive waves of warm / cold / warm / cold - a very interesting experience. And all of this under a starlit night, with Mars at its brightest - just last week it was the closest if will be to earth for quite a few years to come. It doesn't look like a point of light - there is actually a tiny disk there. Very cool.

Tomorrow the boats arrive - 11 Vanguard 15s, each with a hand dolly, all arriving in one big truck. Hope I get to see it.

And oh yeah - I get a long overdue haircut - so I can turn back into a member of the human race again.

Published: Saturday, 5 November 2005

10:30 pm - Visited the boats + general Saturday

Woke up this morning to a 9 am phone call saying that the boats had arrived in Canandaigua. Well, it is not my job to actually DO anything with them (that is the boat dealer's problem), but G and I did go down to visit them! You can visit yoj for some more pictures and a bit of a story, but sufficie it to say they are really pretty and now I can't wait until next spring when we can sail ours! Gwendolyn is psyched too - unlike the FD, this is a boat she can take anyone out in, without worrying about if they can right it if they flip. Sweet little boat!

Other than that, we mostly hung out. G studies Nutrition and of course, her Anatomy course. It never ends. We also took ourselves and Anya for a walk on the trolly trail.

Published: Saturday, 5 November 2005

7:20 pm - Leaf day

Today was once again a warm day, although sometimes really cloudy, and sometimes a bit sunny. The wind was blowing very, very hard, and all of those wonderful yellow leaves I wrote about only several days ago are now on the ground. It has been a late, golden fall.

I remember back in my days when I was doing theatrical stage crew work a very standard sequence - after one scene, a front curtain or scrim would fall, and while a short scene was going on "out front", there was an almost panicked, whirlwind of activity sweeping off the scenery from the last scene, while the elements of a completely new scene were whisked into place. Then the curtain goes up, and Voila! -- a completely different scene. I think this is how today felt for the world - yesterday most of the leaves were still on the trees and it was fall. Today, everything was changing, a very warm wind, leaves dropped, then an approaching storm and rain, then tomorrow we will wake up to a cooler world that looks more like the winter to come. The winds of change, indeed. Literally.

It was warm and I was doing outdoor activities, like washing windows, emptying the garden hoses so they don't freeze in winter, and finally taking "pass 1" of leaf raking. I know I didn't have time to do the whole yard - I was looking at the weather radar, and there was a clear line of storms coming my way. So I worked for the two hours I had, and did about 1/3 of the lawn before the heavens opened and let loose with rain. It actually was rather pleasant work, it was 20 degrees out, and I actually got to wear shorts!

Tomorrow, Act 4, "Late Fall" will dawn.

Published: Sunday, 6 November 2005

10:14 pm - How to buy and use your own domain for email

We interrupt this blog for a public service announcement. Sometimes I write some blog entries as a public service on topics that may be of use for our friends and others who find this blog as part of broad searches. This is one of those entries.

Many people we know use the email accounts provided by their internet service providers - for example, thedoes@rochester.rr.com . They use this for years, everyone gets to know and use the address. This ties the person to a particular ISP, resulting in one of several problems:

• the ISP could go belly-up
• you could move to a different area
• The ISP could change its domain name
• the ISP could raise its rates (in fact, this happens automatically with Roadrunner, for example, after the trial period is over) or not give enough storage space.

What is needed is a universal, guaranteed address that you could use for the rest of your life and have "move with you". The simplest way that many do is the get an ISP independent email address that is unlikely to change - either the person's college address, or a web mail service such as yahoo, gmail, hotmail and just use it. These all can work to some extent (even be a sufficiently good solution for many), but in other cases may not be versatile enough, or you may get tired of seeing ads, spam, etc.

A better, more robust method is to obtain (buy) a domain of your own, and then find a provider to host that domain and provide email service. You can then use the email service directly (including POP3, for example), or simply forward it to your ISP-specific email provider - both work.

OK, first, what is a domain? Simply put, a domain is the part of a web address that goes before the .com (or .us, .org, etc). Most, if not all domains that are not already "claimed" are available to be adopted. Once done, for all practical purposes, it is yours as long as you keep it registered. To do this, you register the domain with some entity - this costs a bit, e.g. $5.99 per year. Note that you are not tied to the firm you buy it from - if you ever want to change, the domain is yours, and you can transfer it to someone else. For example, I register my domain with www.1and1.com , because their prices are good. Well, if in the future someone else is cheaper, I can transfer my domain to that other firm. Note this does not change the domain itself - just the company supplying the services.

Once you have your domain, you can then use it for a number of purposes. Many people use their domains to host web pages - but I won't go there right now. You can also simply host a email account using your domain. From this, you create one or more "sub accounts", which are parts you add before your domain name. For example, if your domain was sailingisfun.com, you could create accounts personal@sailingisfun.com and public@sailingisfun.com . More about management and sensible choices in a bit.

There are lots of places that can register domains, host web sites, and host email accounts, and the fees are really low. The firm I am working with (and I am happy with) is www.1and1.com. This provides domain registration for $5.99 per year, and email hosting (up to 5 accounts, 1 GB per account) for $0.99 per month - so a total of $18 a year for quite a bit of control over email, spam, etc, as well as freedom to change ISPs whenever I want without anyone else even knowing I did it!

Here is an example using this firm (which I can recommend, by the way). Lets say you are currently using (tied to) luddite@rochester.rr.com , and want to become ISP independent. Here is what you can do if you want email only:

• Go to www.1and1.com - select their "Instant email" option (currently $0.99 per month).
• The first thing they will ask is to create a new domain (if you are reading this, you probably don't have one already). Here is where you get creative, and think of one. Unfortunately, many "good" ones are taken by people who are "squatting" on your domain and want to you bribe them to give it up. But you can probably think of something that describes you. For example "capsizingisfun.com" is available. Note that you can pick .com, .us, .name, etc. - most people in the US naturally think .com, but others work exactly the same way. The web site is a bit confusing - make sure you only buy the domains you want - they each cost money!
• Continue through the pages until you have both instant mail and your domain(s), and your domain(s) is tied to your mail account - this is pretty straightforward.
• Eventually you get a password mailed to you. You sign into the "manage your email" - and you now can create your email accounts. You probably have 5 accounts and some number of "email forwards" - these are separate concepts:
• And email account is your actual postbox - if you don't pull the mail out, the mail will accumulate and accumulate until you use up the 1 GB limit for that box. These are things that you either sign into (if you are doing webmail), or attach Outlook,etc. to using POP3. Mailboxes (email accounts) also have options for virus checking (do it!) and spam filtering (perhaps do it). For example, I could create an account george@capsizingisfun.com , which would be george's personal email account. Becky could create a second email account becky@capsizingisfun.com .
• Forwards are different - they simply redirect mail coming at your domain to another place - which can be one of your email addresses as part of your domain, or a separate email address entirely. For example, let's say that becky, being wise, does not want to provide her email to every web site on the web - suddenly everyone will be emailing spam to becky. Instead, she creates a web@capsizingisfun.com, and has this forward to becky@capsizingisfun.com - this way, in the future she can always delete that address and lose the spam, without affecting her personal friends.
• Typically you then connect Outlook via POP3 to your newly created email account and test it. Note that programs like Outlook can typically monitor multiple accounts - in our example here. a single Outlook account could monitor the (legacy) luddite@rochester.rr.com, george@capsizingisfun.com, and becky@capsizingisfun.com .
• Tell all of your friends your new email accounts, and there you are - receiving email without using your ISPs services.

At some future time, I will describe my thoughts on account management, for what its worth!

Published: Wednesday, 9 November 2005

7:44 pm - Suggested use of email mailboxes and forwarding addresses

This is a continuation of yesterdays "get your own domain" notes - today I will talk about what to do with all of those web addresses once you get them.

As mentioned before, you have email accounts (I think of these as mailboxes) and forwarding addresses. Mailboxes actually store stuff, and can be associated with virus scanners and spam filters. Forwarding addresses do just that - they present one address to the world, and when people send to it, it forwards it to another. The important thing is the the original email address is still accessible by Outlook, so you can sort on it.

My philosophy is to make it as simple as you can, while still getting what you want. What do we want? Well, in my case, the following comes to mind:

• To be able to hide our last name for many of the email addresses we give out, while still having one address that is "personal" to give to your friends and other trusted sources.
• To be able to filter for spam aggressively for many of the addresses, but to no lose critical emails from those you trust.
• To be able to perform some basic automatic sorting in Outlook
• To be able to change "public" email addresses when necessary without messing anything else up

With this in mind, we proceeded as follows (I will change the names and domains to protect the innocent:

• Set the mailbox 1: thejones@capsizingisfun.com - this will be the primary mailbox for trusted sources - this will have little or no spam filtering active. This mailbox POP3s to Outlook
• Setup mailbox 2: anon@capsizingisfun.com - this is used for generic, anonymous use - it has solid spam filtering enabled. This mailbox POP3s to Outlook
• Setup forward address: bills@capsizingisfun.com - have this forward to thejones@capsizingisfun.com - you don't want your bills to be spam filtered away.
• Setup forward address: web@capsizingisfun.com - have this forward to anon@capsizingisfun.com - this address will be used to submit to generic web sites with a high potential for spam - in this way, you can change this email address without affecting your bills, etc.
• Setup forward address: mailorder@capsizingisfun.com - same as web, but for frequent mail order places that are a bit less likely to spam, and you still want to keep in touch with.

Either way, you get the idea.

Published: Wednesday, 9 November 2005

8:50 AM - FIRST SNOW

This morning, just a bit before 8 I was sitting at my computer, and white started falling from the sky! SNOW! Actually, this was snow that needs some more practice before it can really graduate from snow school - fluffy it was not. Rather it is these little round white balls, as much hail as anything else - we call it corn snow. None has stuck to the ground (yet), but that will change, if not today, soon!

Now is a good time for me to wish that it does NOT stick, because we still have acres of leaves left to rake! And wet leaves are NOT happy leaves!

Published: Thursday, 10 November 2005

10:57 PM - Yard work weekend

Good news / bad news. The good news that that for both days this weekend the weather was absolutely splendid - highs 17 on Saturday and 19 on Sunday. And no rain in sight. The bad news is that as a result, I couldn't blame the weather for keeping me from doing yard work.

As a result, chainsaw man made another appearance - I chopped down several small trees that had died and several honeysuckle bushes that had been dead for a while, but I never got around to doing anything about. These bushes didn't look that big sitting there in the ground - sort of round bushes perhaps 3 meters tall. But boy - once you cut them and they spread out over the ground, each (and there were three) seem about the size of 3 Christmas trees. And they are a tangled mess - you can't stack them, you can't do anything with this - I can see why in the country some people just set their brush on fire and it magically disappears. Here is suburbia, we need to chop them into small bits, stack them up, and hire a "chipper" to chop them up.

I also cut down several small locust trees. Gee - talk about trees designed to resist cutting and disposal. Let's tally up their merits (NOT) from a yard work standpoint - well, first the wood is DAMN hard - it dulls chainsaw blades. Then when you cut it down, it is gnarled mess - no straight branches here! No, every twig goes every which way, so that it does not stack. And finally, there are the spikes! Did I mention the spikes? The branches are covered with occasional 3 cm straight spikes, that easily puncture gloves and skin. I am full of holes - let's hope there are no exotic poisons on them, or I am surely doomed for a slow, painful death!

And I raked, and raked some more - but that is boring to write about.

Afterwards, I rewarded myself with Abbot's ice cream (chocolate almond kiddy on a waffle cone), and went for a walk on the Crescent trail with Anya. I love walking with the leaves going "crunch, crunch crunch" underfoot.

Tomorrow I leave for Anaheim, California to present a paper at the Software-defined Radio Forum technical conference. Highs will be 29 to 30, so everyone should be jealous! :-)

Published: Monday, 14 November 2005

11:15 pm - I can't believe it...

OK, I don't understand it a bit, but several days before Halloween Wegmans (and many others) started putting up the Christmas decorations - chocolate foil covered Bells and marshmallow Santas in the bulk section, cards, etc. I know they can't wait until Thanksgiving, but you would think they could at least wait until Halloween is over! I can get used to it - I can handle that.

But what I could not believe was the Santa Claus came to Eastview mall today. Yup, you got it, the jolly fat man in the red suit! I doubt he came in a sleigh, since it was 19 degrees and sunny outside. Ho Ho Ho???!!!? Give me a break! Perhaps we need to rotate the characters to mark their appearances - we can eat roasted Santa for Thanksgiving, the Christmas Bunny can come hopping along, and the Easter witch can leave, well, perhaps toads for Easter!

Published: Monday, 14 November 2005

California - SDRF conference

Life is busy. The the last three days I have been in Anaheim, California. I am attending a conference on Software Defined Radios, where I will present a paper in a few minutes. I arrived Monday afternoon, and since then it seems that I have been doing something continuously (mostly eating), and this is the first chance I have at writing in a blog.

The conference itself is pretty reasonable - the papers are fine, although the presentations are starting to drive me nute - they all start with too much introductory material (which is known to most, usually VERY well), and they never get into the interesting part of their papers. Either that or the papers are thinly veiled advertising, which gets tiring.

When not attending papers, I need to network and talk to vendors - this is not my strong point, and it takes a lot of energy. I am so tired at the end of the days, so I usually take a nap.

I did find a running trail that goes alongside a "river" until it hits the ocean. The river is only a trickle at this time of year, however, although it clearly at times is quite large - huge embankments. So when it rains, it must RAIN. The path itself, which I have only run at night (full moon, though) is boardered by a long strip of a golf course - it seems that on both sides of the river is a long, thin (40 meters wide at points) golf course, winding along the river. So strange, yet at the same time makes sense. Just like everything else in the country of California (I understand this it IS a US territory, however ;-).

The hotel I am staying in is very cool. Check it out! http://orangecounty.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

Published: Wednesday, 16 November 2005

A day in California - not everything according to plan...

Day 3 – Wednesday. I wake up early, not having let my body clock get too used to Pacific time – I have compromised half way – go to bed and wake up 1 ½ hours early by local time, and 1 ½ hours late by east coast standards. After doing some email, I work on API comments to the government (don’t ask) for a bit, then go to the speaker’s breakfast (today is the lucky day when I give my paper). That goes uneventfully – the session chair was changed at the last minute and we all have to get him our bios so he can introduce us.

The paper went just fine, which I didn’t really deserve since I had not dry run it earlier. It was planned for 30 minutes, and took 30 minutes – 2 minutes per slide, about average for me (my slides mostly have pictures to explain). Well, not perfectly – my laser pointer batteries died, but someone took pity on me and I borrowed one. The only shame is that the paper was placed in the wrong section, sort of, and as a result, much of the audience had neither a clue nor interest in my topic – but several people made a special trip and changed sections. It did make it a bit easier for me in the questions period, I guess.

Then more food (this particular conference has great food, which can be a problem!), and more API work. This I did from my hotel room, which is better than it sounds. Good light, a full wall window, and good scenery. Add some tunes from my MP3 player, and I can be happy for some time. Focused, because I actually like the work I am doing.

For dinner it was technically appetizers, but these were very tasty, and easily made a dinner. The general theme was oriental, and most items came in a bed of really long, really crispy noodles. They looked like slightly kinky pickup sticks. They were probably there mostly for show, but they were really tasty. Sort of hard to eat.

I had a plan for the evening – lets see how it worked out…

Part one of the plan was to watch the Disneyland fireworks. These happen most nights, just 2 miles north of the hotel. So first, I got online, went to the Disney site, and looked up when they were. 7:45 pm. Fine. Next, I pulled up the map of the area, and tried to figure out a good place to drive that we quite close. OK, found a place, makes sense. Next is to drive there.

So I drive a bit, and locate the neighborhood nearby, and park. Well, there must be other bright people in this world with the same idea from time to time, as the street signs clearly stating that parking is for residents only, and all violators will be towed. Tough – tow me, just try! 7:42 – just in time. 7:45 – not yet. 7:55 - ??? well, maybe they changed it to 8… 8:05 passes – no fireworks, and I don’t have a clue. I leave. I have not idea to this day what the problem was, but that night there were no fireworks.

The next and final thing for my day is an evening walk. Well, OK, I lied. It must be a small Dairy Queen ice cream cone instead. Then a walk. My destination for the evening is “Mile square park” which is indeed, one mile square (as well as one square mile…). Guess what – inside is a golf course – there seem to be lots of these in California! Everywhere I look.

It is 8:45 pm – I want to be leaving my 10. Well, with a one square mile park, I can’t walk more than 4 miles, right? That should get me back around 10. In fact, I will only walk around the perimeter of the golf course – that will be shorter. I park my car in the golf course lot (the park lots were locked).

The moon (one day past full) is in the eastern sky – my compass. Night sounds. The place seems to be pretty safe (yes, I did ask before going there). I settle into my walk – keep the golf course fence to my right, start walking and I cannot go wrong.

Gee, golf courses are big!!!

Then there is the small matter of the software diamonds in the park. These (there were 6, I think) had their own maze of fences, completel with dead ends. I finally get sick of backtracking and in one spot address the “I need to get there” problem by climbing.

Finally, I get back to the park entry road, and start walking to the parking lot. I see a guy fiddling with a chain, and then getting into his truck.

… . . ? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Yup, you guessed it, the gate is locked. And he locked it! I start running, putting myself between his truck and the exit. Start waving my hands. He answers – in Spanish. I explain my plight – in English. He manages to get out the “he doesn’t have the key”. Strange, because he locked the gate, or so I thought. I pause, look dejected, and started walking away. The starts to drive, and then stops again. I walk over to him. He points at a gap of trees and points.

This must be what Ford Mustang convertibles (that is a whole other story) must be for – all terrain vehicles. I can tell you with confidence that they can be persuaded to go over 6 inch curbs, and are quite maneuverable around small trees!

The rest is predictable and boring. Drive, then sleep.

Published: Friday, 18 November 2005

A very nice day...

They say one of the wonderful things about a find red wine is not simply its taste, but rather a mixture of a variety of factors – color, “nose”, the color and the texture. And of course taste – nothing simple, but rather a mix of tastes, each evocative of different things and different times.

By this standard, my “half-day off” has been a fine wine indeed. The evening is settling in as I sit on the back deck of a French restaurant in Laguna Beach (California). I am hungry and nibbling on some fresh French bread as I wait for my bouillabaisse to arrive. Crisp crust, but soft inside. Not far away is a sand beach – the beginning of the Pacific Ocean. The sun set some half hour ago, and the moon has risen in the east. I hear the surf and can see the forming lines of surf form in the moonlight. The ocean surface, indeed the entire world, is deep blue, with just a hint of the sunset past – once orange, but now more a deep lavender looking across the sea.

That is one part of the world – that is out there, over there, the ethereal world. One flavor. Nearby is the here and now – candles on the tables, the early diners arriving, and the music – someone singing in French, from a speaker beyond view. It is a very interesting juxtaposition – Paris meets the ocean. Cobblestones and gulls. The taste of good food with the smell of ocean in the air.

A very fine wine indeed.

Published: Friday, 18 November 2005

And now, a rare entry from my sister

My sister Kathy, as it happens, actually is genetically related to me, and writes better blog entries - she just doesn't write a blog. Until she changes that, from time to time I post her stories. As background, she teaches veterinary surgery to impressionable young vet students. She is a very good teacher - we just hope her students don't turn out as strange as she does. Anyways, here goes - enjoy!

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I just had to tell you this story. Neighbor up the road (George) invited me to join him at team penning practice Saturday night. Team penning involves a herd of young steers with numbers on. Three people on horseback ride down to where the mob is and strain out the three steers bearing a given number, then send them down to the other end of the arena and herd them into a pen. You have a minute and a half to do this; a competitive time is under 30 seconds. No problem, I reckoned--as a vet I've spent far too much time (on foot) chasing cattlebeasts into pens when the farmers have failed to trap them for me ahead of time. Well. The first problem was that I own only a dressage (fancy English--well, actually German in my case) saddle, made for doing horse ballet or escorting the Queen. No horn, looks pretty darn prissy up against the standard-issue Western saddles at this event. Second thing was that (having had three friends have brain surgery after horse accidents) I wear a helmet, not a cowboy hat. So I stood out a bit, especially considering that the horse I had to ride was Coco, a huge fat palomino of George's. Coco is a horse of exceptional imagination but very little courage (he's the one who has been dumping me by tapdancing).

So Coco and I got into the arena with the other two horses...and then Coco caught sight of the steers. Oh my God. They might have been smaller than Coco individually, but there were a lot of them, and clearly all of their fangs were dripping horse blood already. Coco panicked and his transmission broke; thereafter he was stuck in reverse. So while the other two horsemen went up to round up the steers, Coco and I did several circuits of the periphery of the arena, backwards. Needless to say we didn't make the allotted time. Unfortunately, as the next group was getting ready, Coco and I were now supposed to stand guard up by the steers, to keep them bunched together until the chosen number was called. This did not go well, since I couldn't get Coco to move forward toward the steers at all.

We were in six go-rounds, with Coco making only tiny incremental strides towards coming to terms with large animals of another species. I stayed on top but provided endless amusement to everyone watching. We were in the final heat of the evening. As we set the first foot in the arena, Coco went into his backing up routine again. I decided, screw it--if he wanted to back up, then he was damn well going to back up a lot. By this point we had no dignity to lose. So when the flag went up, I sent Coco to the other end of the arena, full speed in reverse. He happened to just blindly and randomly back up beside three steers, who just by accident happened to be of the desired number. The steers were so astonished at having a horse ram into them full speed astern that they high-tailed it, on their own, to the other end of the arena and dashed into the pen for safety's sake. 28 seconds. We got the low time of the night and won the $200 jackpot!

Published: Friday, 18 November 2005

Published: Friday, 18 November 2005

Championship volleyball in Rochester

It all started on the plane when I was returning from California - the couple sitting next to me was having some debate and asked me if I was from Rochester. Well, that conversation was pretty amusing, but I am going to skip that for now. What I did learn is that the top four NCAA college volleyball teams were going to be in Rochester the next day (Saturday) as part of a tour prior to holding the semifinals and finals. Of course, I went.

There are some detailed photos on the photo site http://yoj.smugmug.com/gallery/789503 but first, a general impression. As expected, these guys are good - really good. Over 80% of the serves were good, most being jump serves, and almost every play involved a hard hit - "free balls" were at most one out of 10 times. If anyone has every played competitive volleyball, you know how good this is.The players really did seem to be able to jump 60 cm - check out the pictures.

Several years ago I had gone to a exposition match played by the US Olympic volleyball team. The volleyball was incredible, but quite hard to analyze. In this match, the good thing is that I could understand most of what was going on - I could keep track of the setter, see his signals, and could often guess what was going to happen. As people who know me could guess, I broke the game apart into pieces, and watched several points with a specific question in mind, like "can I keep track of the setter", "can I read the setter's signals" "who is calling the plays", "are they actually executing the plays they called" "how do they set up a triple block" - stuff like that. Is anyone surprised?

One amazing thing (and I am NOT making this up) - one player (he played the whole match) for Rutgers - the front left power hitter - had a CAST on his left arm. It may have been a splint, but, for example, no fingers showed, and it want to just below the elbow. But it didn't seem to bother him, as he hit with his right hand. I never watched him to see if he ever passed or bumped. But boy could he hit!

Finally, for those still reading on, here are some technical observations from watching several hours of this:

• All teams played a 5-1 offense. When the 5-1 setter was in the front, sets were from front right - just like the book says.
• Rally scoring, games to 30.
• For those who haven't been keeping close track of the recent rules changes - you can now serve anywhere in the back row, net serves are in play, and there is a "libero" - this is a pure defensive player (back row only) that has special privileges in exchange for never leaving the back court.
• In several plays I was amazed on HOW true the "setter has second hit" is true. In one play the guy literally dove into a back bump set as two players watched him do it nearby (instead of playing the ball). Why? Because they were preparing to hit the set "promised" to appear. And appear it always did - and it was almost always hit. I never heard a setter call help once, although in extreme cases others DID play the ball.
• Jump sets were routine, some floaters, nothing else. All serves were "normal", not roundhouse.
• An amazing, and very effective play was for the front-right 5-1 setter to back set to the back row right hitter.
• Most center hits were "twos", not "ones"
• Most sets were overhand jump sets (can you tell I am a setter at heart?).
• There is no way I could keep track of where the libero was - rotating in, out, you name it.

Published: Monday, 21 November 2005

Gwendolyn was accepted! Yaaaaayyyyyy!

Congratulations, Gwendolyn, on being accepted into the University of Rochester Nursing Program!

Way to go!

Published: Tuesday, 22 November 2005

Snow, finally....

Yesterday morning, we woke up to about 3 cm of snow on the ground. And unlike several weeks back, which was just barely recognizable as snow, this was normal stuff - fluffy. The roads were even a bit frozen, just to warn us to drive carefully. A bit more got added this morning. So unofficial winter is here.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving - we are staying home for a change.

Published: Wednesday, 23 November 2005

Thanksgiving!

OK, certainly not a standard American thanksgiving. I slept in a bit, we both did some house organizing, Gwendolyn did a lot of house organizing - "fall cleaning"?

Instead of having a traditional turkey dinner (a bit anti-climactic given there are just two of us, although Anya volunteered to "eat for four", in a strange play on words, we ate at an Indian restaurant. After all, Thanksgiving is about Indians and Pilgrims, yes? OK, so we got the type of Indian a bit off -- when Columbus did his thing, he was looking for a route to India, yes (or did I get my stories mixed up -- can't remember). Either way, that is what we did, and it was tasty.

Then we watched the Harry Potter The Prisoner of Azkaban - very strange. It has been a long time since I read the book, but it seemed much different. Unlike the first several movies, I liked the book more on this one.

Published: Friday, 25 November 2005

Puzzle Quilt

OK, Gwendolyn should write this entry, but I expect she will edit it if I get things wrong. She is working on a puzzle quilt, and this is how it works. First, you take a pattern - imagine something that makes a small square (maybe 30 cm square) with 9 internal "panels" inside - each with some interesting shape.. Number each panel 1 through 9, and cut the pieces apart. So now you have effective a 9 piece puzzle that can be assembled into a 30 cm square.

(Note to quilters: now you have to add the 1/4" seam allowance to each "panel" and make templates that include the seam allowance.)

Now take nine different squares of cloth, each 30 (plus a bit) cm square. Stack them exactly on top of each other. Then lay down your puzzle template pieces (assembled so they form the square), and (using a rotary cutting wheel) cut out each shape, through the nine layers of cloth. You now have nine different pieces of cloth for each shape - 81 pieces total.

Here is the tricky part. For panel 1, you leave them stacked exactly as they are. For panel 2, you move the top cloth from piece #1 to the bottom - giving a rotated pile. For panel 3 you move the top 2 cloths of piece #3 to the bottom. You continue this series until finally, for piece nine, you move the top 8 cloths to the bottom, leaving the original bottom piece on top.

Now set all of the stacks down, take the top layer, assemble and sew into a 30 x 30 cm square. Then take the second layer and sew into a second square, etc. - you end up with 9 squares, each with a different color in a different position.

In G's case she actually wanted 12 squares, so she then made 3 more squares picking the color orders in random.

Now, you just sew the larger squares together into some pattern that pleases you - and you have your quilt!

Published: Friday, 25 November 2005

Back to being warm outside

Today the world is confused again, but in a good way. It is currently 16 degrees C outside. The snow is gone, and I took a short walk during lunch with no jacket. Somehow this seems strange, because the trees and the rest of the world look like they are dug in for winter - a black and white world, save the grass.

This too will pass.

Published: Monday, 28 November 2005

Crazy

Absolutely crazy. Almost midnight, almost December and it is 19 degrees out!

Published: Tuesday, 29 November 2005

fdsailor.blog-city.com — October 2005

11:27 - soo far behind

Oh dear, I have gotten so far behind on my blogging. I am not even going to try to catch up - at least I got some pictures published on yoj.smugmug.

My obsession (and it has been intense) for the last week has been trying to accomplish the impossible - and I do mean impossible, as the last three attempts have failed. I am trying to form a new sailboat fleet at Canandaigua Yacht Club. Why is this hard? Well, the trick is one forms a fleet to race. To race you need, say 6 boats of the same kind. Boats cost money to buy - in this case from $2000 to $5000 each. A limited number of people (myself included, although I am not sure where I will get the money from) ARE willing to spend the money, provided that at least 5 others are willing to also - THAT is the problem. Getting interest is pretty easy - but finding out who is actually able and willing to shell out money is another. So it is a very binary outcome - either you have - boats or you have at least 6.

Starting in the fall, when it is quite cold already is not the best time to start this effort, but here I am. The good news is that you can get some great deals on boats this time of year... Well, I prepared a persuasive letter, I got all of my materials collected, and I made a web site. If you want to look at it, it is http://home.rochester.rr.com/giraffe - I am sort of proud of it. And, so far, so good.

More later, hopefully.

Published: Friday, 14 October 2005

11:08 pm - running again

I don't usually complain about the weather that much, but this last week has been really depressing. Yes, we got some wonderful weather before, but last week was around 10 degrees, and always cloudy. No sun whatsoever - none! Oh, and did I forget to say - it was raining most days... Well, this didn't help me get much exercise. And volleyball on Thursday night was really stupid, because (it is a long story), we only had one court, and so three people were rotated out on each side at any given time. And everyone was pissed about it, so everyone played lousy.

So since I didn't get much exercise (and ate quite a bit at the party Friday), I promised myself I would go running today. Well, today, although it was very windy and cool, was very nice - the sun finally came out, and there were many large clouds in the sky (but not Russia sized - never seen such big clouds as the Novgorod region can get in the summer!). We went to the dog park to walk, and visited the lake shore. Wonderful time.

And finally, at 10 pm, I went out and ran around the block (about 5 km).

Tomorrow I get to show the boats - so everyone keep fingers crossed, as I will finally find out more on how interested people actually are. This could go either way.

Now, what else does one do at 11:15 - Wegmans!!!

Published: Saturday, 15 October 2005

9:24 pm - a weekend closes

This weekend has been rainy, so it is hard to get excited about much. The trees are starting to turn color, however, and at times the sun will peak out and remind one what beauty can be found in pockets here and there - nature is not put off by rain, it takes a long view of things.

So, let's see what has been happening lately. In no particular order:

This Sunday afternoon we were feeling a bit "house bound", so went on a mini-adventure. It didn't really matter where, as long as it was a change of scene. The most important came first - getting pumpkins...

You can't have Halloween without pumpkins, and small things make us happy. We then wandered through a garden store, several office supply stores (we really like office supply stores, it seems!) and Pier 1, where we love to look at all of the things there and smell the incense and candles, while at the same time knowing we don't have to buy anything.

Later on we went to a small party at one of our neighbors, then went to the yacht club to eat dinner. G has not been feeling that well in the last week or so, so this was her first real "meal" in a bit - it seemed to work.

On Saturday I played a concert as part of my Wind Symphony at U/R - it went just fine. Well, for me it went just fine. It was "parents weekend", and this makes parking on campus nearly impossible. G had dropped me off (since I was late to "call", and then went looking for a place to park. Well, she did not succeed, and instead spent the time in Starbucks studying. Bummer!

My other significant accomplishment for the last two weeks is starting a Vanguard 15 Sailboat fleet at Canandaigua Yacht club. It is hard to start fleets, but I succeeded in convincing 7 other people (in addition to ourselves) to buy Vanguard 15s for next year. It will be fun, and should be a great little boat to have around. Here is a picture of the boat:

Pretty cool, eh? Well, the boat we (and 7 others) will buy will actually look almost exactly like this boat, although the top deck will be light grey instead of white. I know, we have too many boats already, but this will fit in nicely - much easier to sail and rig than an FD (which I will still keep and sail at regattas), and very fast to go down and get in the water - actually faster than a laser. No trapeze, though - you have to hike!

Published: Sunday, 23 October 2005

11:35 pm - Oboe!

OK, this may seem uneventful to most, but for me it has been over a year in coming. To make a long story short, for over a year I have not played my oboe. My life has just been too full, and something had to go. So oboe it was. However, since I am still on the steep part of the learning curve with this instrument (in about another 20 years I may have it mastered :-) it is important for me to keep after it.

Of course, it can't be THAT easy. You could just start playing for 45 minutes a day - if you want a cracked (wooden) oboe. No, it takes weeks for moisture from your breath to evenly work its way through the instrument's wood so it doesn't get too stressed. So for the first week 15 minutes playing time per day, then 20 minutes for the next week, 30 the week after that. But that is OK for two reasons - first, I sortta have to remember how to make my reeds play, and remember which of the 15 reeds I have work. And that takes time. Second of all, my lips probably can't take much more than 30 minutes of playing a day for a while.

Well, let's hope it sticks! If it does, it will be good news. I figured it would be a good obsession to replace my Vanguard 15 fleet obsession, which has taken much time for the last 2 weeks.

Published: Sunday, 23 October 2005

9:10 AM - Party and Vanguard 15s!

Last night we had the first fleet meeting of Vanguard 15 Fleet #75 - well OK, we didn't actually transact any business, we just had a party. But 7 people physically ordered boats, with 2 more "high probables" - so statistically, I would say our fleet has 8.4 members ;-)

A representative from Vanguard (coming from Rhode Island, on his way to Ohio) joined us, and told us anything we wanted to know about the boat. Food from tortilla chips, veggie dishes, etc to sushi, those funny little micro-quiches, cookies and dessert gave us a head start on the holiday "stuff" season.

We are now listed on the Vanguard 15 web site www.v15.org under the "fleets" listing.

Very cool!

Published: Wednesday, 26 October 2005

9:30 AM - Volleyball plus Home life getting back to normal

Last night the pickup volleyball was actually quite good. It started off being really good - somewhere between a recreational and power league, which is really good for a Perinton pick-up situation. The play decayed a bit over the evening, as some less talented players arrived and all joined the same team. We tried exchanging one of our good players for one of their bad, etc, but it didn't help. Then we did something I haven't seen since high school. Two team captains (both 190 cm women!) "self selected", and they took turns selecting teammates. I felt sorry the the last two people to be picked (in high school that was usually me), but it was interesting being in the "middle" of the selection for a change. This did indeed balance play out, and things went pretty well from that point onwards.

Life back home is getting back to normal, at least for me. The fleet building stuff is winding down, I am starting to play oboe again, etc. Now I have to get back to exercise again.

Published: Friday, 28 October 2005

3 pm - Beautiful, sunny day

As I sit here, the sun is playing on the leaves of the trees outdoors, and it is really very pretty. The trees are about half changed now - as much yellow as green, with some reds beginning to show. Simply put, a wonderful day.

Tomorrow is going to be reasonably warm (18 degrees) and sunny, so we may go for one last sail down the lake, as we often do at this time of year. But swimming is over I think (unless we use our wetsuits).

Beginning to make some other transitions into fall - putting the furniture on the back deck under a tarp and into its storage position, etc. We cleaned the house, and it is beginning to look like a house again.

Last night, it was quite cold, but I really wanted to go running - once again, it has been raining here much of the week, and I have either been too busy or have not had the chance. Hmmm - so what to wear - 10 pm at night, temperature 4 degrees C, clear sky... Well, I decided to wear my light weight tights and a long sleeve coolmax shirt. Anya joined me.

I started my run - normal pace, dog running alongside, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, but pretty much being a "pacer poodle - she runs at about 8:45 per mile.... Gee, it is DARN cold out here - hope I warm up. At the one mile point, it is, well, still DARN cold! This isn't supposed to happen! OK, my legs are fine, but my arms? FREEZING! Only one thing to do - run faster. So I start running at a 7:30 - 8 minute / mile pace. Still cold, but at least I am too tired to notice. And the dog? Well, she still paces at 8:45, and falls behind, then runs to catch up, falls behind, runs, etc.

For future reference, Chuck - when this cold with no sun, wear something warmer on top.

Published: Saturday, 29 October 2005

11:44 pm - SAILING!

Today was a happy day. I got an extra hour of sleep this morning (standard time began). Still woke up in time to do some around the house stuff. Then we packed our gear and went down to the lake. The FD was sitting on the beach (it gets displaced from the blacktop each fall because all of the other keel boats are hoisted with a crane and placed in cradles), almost ready to go. We put on dry suits, and went for a sail down the lake.

It was really wonderful weather for this - medium west breeze, sun, wispy clouds, and trees changing colors. Really wonderful.

Then we took down the boat for the season and drove it to Joe's barn, where it spends winter vacation.

Another good thing - the V15 fleet order is complete, with 9 boats being ordered. Very cool. Now I can stop working this for the summer.

Nite nite.

Published: Monday, 31 October 2005

fdsailor.blog-city.com — August 2005

10:03 PM - Fridays off are wonderful things

Yep, been doing this for a month now, and let there be no doubt - this "work 4 days for 10 hours then get a 3 day weekend" works our quite well. True, the work days seem really long (especially the mornings, which seem to go on forever), but it seems that I get quite a lot done as well. And in the past, when we had half days on Friday is seems nothing got done at all, so I think the company does just fine. And here I sit, Friday night, and it absolutely feels like a Saturday night.

Just got back from another run (yup, you guessed it, a "run 8 km then get Abbot's" run). It has been so hot, it only seems possible to run about once a week. But today is was much cooler, only about 26. Yesterday it got up to 36 degrees - amazingly warm! Gwendolyn was going to sail with Lori in a Lightning sailboat (a "fun race"), but wasn't feeling quite up to it. Well, since it was predicted to be windy (and west wind at that, on Irondequoit bay) I didn't encourage her, but instead took her place. Well, it worked out for both of us. The wind was very puffy, gusty, with the peak gusts rather evil and over 20 mph. We didn't fly 'chute (no one did), but we did a pretty good job of calling the shifts (and not capsizing) - easily finishing first in both races. The lightning is a very different boat from an FD - more solid, quite stable, less nervous. Of course, the sail that makes the boat is the spinnaker, and we didn't fly that. It was fun.

Lot of things going on. Trying to organize the house and get it clean by August 15ths (an arbitrary goal). In a couple of weeks I have a conference to attend in San Diego, CA. And the weekend before that, I am considering either going solo camping at Low's lake (it has been a while since we have been there, and for various reasons I don't think G and I will make it together this year) or climbing a mountain in the high peaks area. But then again, I could always do that later... Hmmm.

Last weekend we sailed a regatta at Monomonac Lake, in New Hampshire. Light air, 3 way tie for first place! After tiebreaker rules we finished second. Can't complain!

Published: Friday, 5 August 2005

8:52 am: Weekend report

Well, a sortta normal weekend, certainly a productive one. Friday was clean house day - Gwendolyn make lots of progress getting rid of stuff in the basement that has been there for 6 or more years, and I cleaned out 3 laundry baskets of bills, paper, and other things that had somehow gotten thrown into baskets instead of put away properly. I also worked on some boat projects (the tiller project in particular, in case anyone is keeping track).

We ate dinners at "Simply Crepes", a very tasty restaurant in Pittsford Schoen place, then we went down to the club to camp, etc. After having a few drinks with friends (there was a regatta going on, but not with the boat that I am sailing), we crashed for the night.

Sunday the weather was wonderful, just no wind. So we hung out (literally in hammocks!) and read. In the late afternoon the wind came up, and we sailed two Lasers in the evening - great medium, steady north wind. Put away the boats "by headlamp".

We also did some planning for the next several weeks. Probably going to the Adirondacks this upcoming weekend (trying to climb another mountain), then take a week off, then go to NJ to visit G's Mom, then return to the Adirondacks to go to Low's lake (canoe camping). Busy, but good.

Published: Monday, 8 August 2005

9:25 pm (Pacific time) - San Diego (again)

OK, so I'm back in San Diego, attending an OMG SWRADIO conference. Not presenting this time, just listening to others. All told should be a mellow week in a nice location, although being home is still preferred. (G will enjoy the "alone" time, I expect).

I am staying in a hotel room that is really, really nice. So nice I feel a bit guilty that the company is being charged almost $200 a night for the privilege, which is quite a waste, actually. But this is where the conference is located, so that's the way it works. I am on the 17th floor, and have a wonderful view over the San Diego bay, where there are many moored boats pointing into the wind. And along the bay there is also an old square rigger ship - it makes for a very pretty picture.

I stay here until Friday, and return in the evening.

This last weekend G and I went to the Adirondacks for 3 days. We tool along two RIT grad students (Yana and Olga), whom we met ice skating some time ago. A good time was had by all. Yana, Olga and myself climbed Algonquin mountain, and this time it was not in the clouds. We also hung around Lake Placid, drove up Whiteface mountain, swam in the river, took some pictures of waterfalls, climbed a smaller (but still 325 meter) mountain in the rain, and hung out with several of Gwendolyn's friends. For a photo accounting, see http://yoj.smugmug.com/gallery/734545.

Published: Wednesday, 17 August 2005

9:11 PM (PST) - Full day almost done

Well, it has been a full day. My body woke up at 4 am today, saying that it had already slept in for 30 minutes longer than normal. I convinced it that it was OK, and slept until 5. I then slowly started doing things.

The official work of the day was of course to be at the conference. But the morning talk was something that I am at least as qualified to present as the presenter, so I stayed in my room and started working on an estimate I needed to do for a proposal. But I had many distractions.

I feel soooo rich! At one point today I was IMing with Natasha, Olga and Gwendolyn at the same time, and later had a long chat with Masha. Thanks, you guys! (or gals, I guess). You don't know how wonderful it is to keep in touch with you all! Better than all the money in the world!

After the afternoon papers, we had a reception - quite boring, but had the waiters that had all of the tasty treats on silver platters that they carry around, and an open bar. I limited myself to one glass of wine so I wouldn't say anything stupid or do anything I would regret.

After the wine wore off I went running along the harbourfront. Lots of people, easy to keep running since there is so much to see. And the smell of salt water. Ran 8 km, then walked for a bit.

They are in the middle of a festival of tall ships - very cool. Here is a link to a few of them - http://www.sdmaritime.com/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=9

There is also an aircraft carrier complete with F-15 planes (!!)and a (pretty modern) Soviet submarine! Not your average running place indeed!

Published: Thursday, 18 August 2005

12:30 PM – A break from work

This afternoon, I played “hooky” and skipped the afternoon paper presentations, with a plan to go out (somewhere) and play. After lunch I returned to my room and contemplated what to do. Certainly I could buy a ticket and visit the nautical museum, climb on aircraft carriers and crawl inside of submarines. That sounds like fun.

Hmm… Look out the window. Nice day, puffy white clouds, sailboats on the bay. Hmm. The clouds mean that a seabreeze has developed – probably does that each day, now that I think about it. Hmmm.

I get an idea. I check out the idea in the telephone book, and verify my plan. Yes, I think it will work. Just need directions – there have them now. Get in the car, drive a ways. Get lost, then find myself again.

And here I am – renting a sailboat and now sailing in the harbor! I am not looking at boats, I AM one of the boats. Heck – they didn’t even ask if I could sail (luckily I can – quite well, actually). Now this is what it is all about!

3:00 pm – Glimpses of heaven

OK, it is not a perfect heaven. A perfect heaven would have me in a Laser (with good rigging) – instead I am in a Holder 14 with a tiller but no tiller extension. So far from perfect in the details, but for me, today, it will do just fine! I am not complaining. I sail to the far end of Mission bay, check out some small coves, and finally return.

On my way back, I notice what seems to be a rental Laser. I chase the guy down (tough to do since Lasers are faster than Holder 14s!). I ask where he got it, and he indicated the place. Hmm. Maybe heaven could be better – worth the try…

I return the boat – finally getting much better at tacking two sails by myself. Do a competent docking, and the boy (well, young, at least, looks like a 16 year old surfer dude) takes the boat from me, and hands the life jackets to the next waiting sailors.

Well, perhaps not sailors! It is a boyfriend / girlfriend sort – they seem to speak French, and very little English. But it is clear that they are asking “how do you work these things, and how do you steer”?

------- yikes! ------

Well, the dock boy was not deterred. He put them both in, and explained (and I am not kidding here – I stayed to watch!) that the mainsail is like the gas pedal, the daggerboard is there because it is heavy and hence keeps the boat upright, and the tiller is like the steering wheel – you wiggle it back and forth to steer (here he demonstrates, skulling it back and forth..). When asked what the jib was for, he replied “oh, that is just another sail”. The couple nodded enthusiastically and smiled.

O boy! – this is going to be fun – I am not sure I can stand watching!

Well, the boat is more or less on the windward dock (where he had told me to land it – he had probably never seen someone actually back a boat into a dock, which is what I did, per instruction). He leads them up a side dock, gives them a push, and off our new sailors go.

OK, what is the first thing you do? Hmm… Oh yeah – the gas pedal! Well, in goes the sail. Girlfriend follows, pulls in the jib. The somewhat surprised boat starts to drift sideways and shake a bit..

Steering! Gads – the steering wheel! Now how did that work? Oh yeah – you move it side to side, just like the man showed me!. Yes, control! No, maybe not. Hmmm….BANG. Yup, you guessed it, the boat accelerated (refer to “gas pedal”) towards the dock in, found the dock, and tried its best to keep going, per instruction (refer to “steering wheel”). Downwind. DAMN – take the foot off the gas!! Sails out! The boat likes that – good downwind trim! The boat starts to capsize over the dock. Thank goodness for that daggerboard, which must be doing its job and keeping the boat from doing that!

I don’t know how this story ends – I left! The girlfriend didn’t seem that impressed! This was the most amusement I have had since the guy at Low’s lake fell out of his (singlehanded) fishing boat with his trolling motor still running. The boat kept circling, circling, circling…..

I went to the laser rental place. Well, good new and bad news. Yes, they had Lasers, yes, they could rent them. But I needed to be a member / alumni or friend of the University of San Diego. How much that that cost? $45 per year to be a friend. Who says money can’t buy friendship. Doable, but not for today.

The Mission Bay Yacht club looked fantastic. Probably over 100 optimists, a fleet of Vanguard 15s, 20 or so 420s, And Solings, lots of other boats. Now if I could just deal with the fact that the average home price in San Diego just passed over $500K!

After sailing, since it was only 4:30, I decided to drive up to Torry Pines State Park. From past experience I know this is about a 15 minute drive up the coast. So I get on interstate 5 and head north. 4 lanes, traffic moving at 110 km / hr. Then…. a wall of cars. I come to a virtual stop. Well, this too will pass.

Or so I thought. It didn’t pass. The miles crept by slower than I could jog. I finally found my exit, glad to be free of this…. Well, you guessed it, dream on. The road there was backed up. And my “escape route”, through which I could abort and head home, was now backed up and standing still, since everyone else had that idea too. So I sat. And sat. My 15 minute drive turned into what in the end was a 2 hour drive. I am told this an uncommon but major accident had blocked 5, and everyone had clogged all side streets trying to avoid it.

But it didn’t matter now – there was still 1 ½ hours left before sunset, and I had the ocean, the beach, and the overlooking bluffs.

I started on the bluffs. Wonderful, wonderful place to walk. Trails, rocks, many scruffy looking bushes, cactuses, birds. Climb to the cliff, and overlook the ocean from 100 meters up. Ohh, I want to go down there. Find a trail – it is closed and deemed “dangerous”. Well, damn the rules, I will judge my own danger – I want to touch the ocean.

I climb down, down towards the sea. No problems. Near the bottom there is another sign. Oh yes, I see, this section is a bit washed out – but far from dangerous. The signs are there to protect them, not me. Well, I follow the path down – going nicely now, nothing dangerous. I can now see the surf. I follow the trail – I am walking on a ledge about 6 foot about the beach. I could get down, but it is unclear if I could get back up. So I follow the trail, but to no avail. I cannot get to the beach, and the sun is sinking lower on the horizon. I head back.

So the plan must change. I work my back up to the car. No hurry – I am not here to hurry. No running today. I climb, the sun sinks. I reach my car and drive down to the beach.

As I arrive, the sun is large and orange, and appears to hang motionless in the air above the horizon. Time seems to stand still with this glowing orb that seems to be not moving. I long to touch the ocean, only feet away, but I wait.

Slowly, the sun sinks in the sky, reaches out, reaches down, but still does not touch the ocean. Finally, sun, sky and ocean touch.

Simultaneously, I reach down and touch the Pacific ocean. Day is done, gone the sun.

IMPRESSIONS

The parasailors

While hiking on top of the bluffs, I see a number of forms shimmering in the distance. Not moving, really, but not stationary either. Paragliders, riding the sea air as it lifts over the bluffs, hovering. From a distance, they remind me of milkweek flyers being carried on the wind…

The towee

A desert path, an arms reach from the sea. A living contradiction. As I walk along, a small dark bird flits about.the bush tops, watching me, as if to say “it is odd finding you here – what do you seek, here in my land?”

The moon

I watch the sun set, I touch the sea. And I pause for a while, waiting for the deep blue of the ocean to spread over the sky and envelop the world. Now the day is done, and I leave in my car. After departing, I see the full moon rising over the mountains. During the full moon, the sun and the moon split the world exactly in two.

The surf

It is hard to describe, but anyone who has been to an ocean comes to learn and understand the language of the surf. Always changing, yet always the same – once experienced, it feeling goes deep in the soul. It is hard to forget watching the surf on a moonlit night, with the long breakers with their foam crests. No waves to be seen, but undulating white snakes appearing out of nowhere, growing in length, then collapsing on the shore with a muffled boom as the next line forms, repeating the process. Remember this, remember it all of your life, so you can draw on it during times of need.

Published: Friday, 19 August 2005

11:23 - New Jersey, again

Well, this is a New Jersey weekend. To celebrate G's birthday we arrived here yesterday around noon to visit G's Mom, Tim, Aunt Margeret and ???. The plan today is to swim in the ocean - it is a wonderful day for it, and I am looking forward to it. It is interesting however, because for some reason I have started to think it is fall, but the calandar (and the weather) says that it is still before labor day. Put another way, the oceanfront is still in "high season", which will mean lots of people. So I will prepare myself for traffic jams down the coast - nothing to be done about it...

Last night we at at a Vietnamese restaurant - it was very tasty.

I just put the beginnings of a birthday cake in the oven for G (2 layers white). Now add some lemon filling between the layers and some boiled icing on to and we have a cake.

Anya is playing mind games with the cats, and the cats are playing mind games with the dog. One cat I call the "Phantom of the Kitchen" - he sits behind the scenes with only his face occasionally showing and rattles pans around so we know he is there. He is probably wondering if Anya tastes like chicken....

Published: Saturday, 27 August 2005

10:31 am - Random music shuffle

Here is an very interesting experience. Now I have all my music in MP3, I can do something pretty interesting. Of course I have music from many different genres - popular, classical, environmental, musicals, bird songs, thunderstorms, etc. With the classical, a symphony of course consists of several individual tracks.

So you take your MP3 player, select "shuffle all tracks" (not just within an album), and press play. Very amusing. Here is a typical sequence:

Beethoven Symphony #5, third movement

Lullaby from Peru

Rachmaninoff Symphony 2, fourth movement

Palm Warbler - song

Enya - (something - they all sound sort of the same)

Fiddler on the roof - "Matchmaker"

Some solo piano piece, probably by Chopin

I do strange things to keep myself amused!

Published: Monday, 29 August 2005

9 pm: The invasion of the night-blooming cereus!

Here - put this plant by your bedside table. Ignore that it looks a bit scraggly - heck, the thing may be dead! And certainly nothing will happen when you go to bed...

Last night we went to a "Night-blooming Cereus" party. This is not the type of party you plan in advance! Instead, you find out about it at most several hours in advance. We heard about ours at 8:27 pm - at that time the flowers were just starting to open...

OK, after those introductions, here is the story. The Night-blooming Cereus is one is the less attractive plants in existance for 364.5 days of the year - they more resemble pumpkin vines with no pumpkins. The do eventually however, start to grow some flower buds:

Exhibit A: it all starts here:

Yup, that's the bud, and you don't even get THAT most of the year. This one is one day away from "hatching". Then, one night (and you can't tell which that will really be until the actual night), it opens and produces the most amazing bloom imaginable. The blooms go from closed to fully open in less than two hours. At full opening, they are about the size of a CD-sized water-lilly flower, with longer spikes. They stay that way until first light in the morning, and then they are done! Following are some pictures from our friends plant:

The center of the flower is amazing. If you want more pictures and detail, go to the photo sharing site (link in the left gutter) and look in the Fairport / Summer 2005 folder. From there, you can change to "large" or "original" photo size and zoom way in (and download pictures). Enjoy!

Published: Tuesday, 30 August 2005

fdsailor.blog-city.com — June 2005

12:00 pm - Noon escape

Time for a true break from work. The car is hot in the sun - windows open, feel the wind in my face.

Stoplights and traffic yield to a calmer flow, then turn off the main road towards the park. Divided boulevard, overhanging trees, residential lawns. Lawns being watered, women walking their dogs along the sidewalk.

Parallel park near the park entrance - the first thing you notice are the birds singing in the trees. Walk a ways up the dusty path into the woods, climbing over roots, much like stairs.

The forest wraps around you, and the city disappears. A place of magic within the city. Many old, old trees, with their high canopies. Canopies that hold secret lives of their own unknown to me.

The sun is bright, but it is overhead, and I am inside. Only occasional shafts of light reach the ground, but look up, anywhere and there are leaves with bright, sunlit edges. No songs of suburban robins here - in the woods the wooden notes of the wood thrush rule.

I pass the water towers, as expected. Lying in the middle of the woods they seem unexpected guests that were finally accepted into the woods and now seem inseparable. Two towers, with graffiti and art across the circumference. It seems very gentle graffiti - perhaps it is impossibly to truly be angry in this setting. I look for some of my favorites, and find them.

Up a short hill, then into a sunny mowed field, with individual trees offering shelter from the sun. This is where people come to nap, lunch, talk and more. For me, it will be to rest. I lie on my back under a tree, looking up. The tree is large, with many thick branches. It looks over me while I rest for a bit.

It is finally time to leave, and to return. I start heading back, taking a different path - I have no encircled the grove. Then everything in reverse - a gentle return to the real world.

Published: Friday, 3 June 2005

7 pm - Corporate Challange 2005

Corporate Challenge, take two. Last year this was my first race (I blame two women from work who talked me into it last May), and this year it is the exact same course. So what a chance for science - comparisons! Metrics! If you can't measure it, you can't improve it (remember that one?).

OK, here is the general setting - course at RIT, running around the campus "loop" road - quite flat. 10,000 runners, give or take. Temperature - now that's a bit of a problem, at least for me. I have lead a rather guarded existence in the previous three whole races I have run - they have all be in 70 degree or less temperatures. Today it is about 78, and feels like more on the blacktop that has been baking in the sun all day long. Oh yeah - and it is reasonably humid.

Hydrate, wait in line for the port-a-pot. Double tie shoes. Jog a bit. Stretch. Line up - this time I have learned my lesson and line at about 1 minute / mile faster pace point then I expect to run - and still find myself behind slower runners. But this time only 20 seconds to the start line, not 45 like last year.

We listen to the standard announcements and speeches while all the runners do there individual "nervous runner things" - stretching, jogging in place, listening to tunes, fiddling with their gadgets, looking at their watches. Some official greets us with a nice, cheery "And can you imaging have better weather for this event? " - this was particularly amusing, and everyone glanced at each other to say - "Oh yes, I can imagine having MUCH better weather for this event" - like 15 degrees cooler - even raining!

"Runners ready.... horn" - once again I momentarily see bobbling heads ahead, and finally get to move - slowly at first. Then the maze - where to go, everyone passing, trying to find a line. I headed to the right of the road - once the side gates disappeared, passing was the norm.

I planned to run this race by the heart rate numbers - start off at a 7 minute pace until my heart rate reached 168, then slow a bit and hold a rate of 172. As the miles go by, this eventually increases to 178 around the last 1 mile or so, which I hold. In the last half mile, allow maybe 180 or so.

Well, stubborn Chuck stuck to this plan. My legs were willing, but I didn't have full understanding of what my brain was thinking about it. During the last 1.5 miles, it was simple - I had already convinced myself that this would be the last race I would run. I was not having fun, was not sure if I was going to finish, and rather unsure why I was bothering to keep pace. But that is what I had trained for - complete, don't give up. Otherwise I would quit every time.

Well, I did not quit. I let some people by, and passed a few more - although people do not count in this race - they don't even record your finish. Only the clock matters, and (unless you are good), no one even cares about that except yourself. To make a long story short, I finished in 25:56 - almost four minutes faster than I ran it the previous year. My pace was 7:18 a mile (if I give myself the 20 seconds to start), or 7:23 if I count from the gun. This exceeded by goal of a 7:30 pace. I placed 8th (I think) in my company's 130 runners - better than I had any right to.

That is the good news. I scored less highly on the "know thyself" scale. After the finish, I was clearly a bit disoriented - walking somewhat drunkenly, and light in the head. After about a minute I sat down and attracted the attention of some people at the finish line that were placed there to pour cold water - I rated two glasses and some watching glanced for a few minutes. Then I trundled back to my company's race tent. I still was not making complete sense and it took me probably 10 minutes before I was back to just feeling a bit sick (which is pretty standard).

Clearly my plan didn't take into account running in the heat. I expected the heat would naturally increase my heart rate and so I would naturally just pace a bit slower. Well, lesson learned - it doesn't work exactly that way. I have some thoughts on how it should work, but I will save that boring stuff for a later entry.

And no, one should take anything thought during an actual race with a grain of salt. I expect I will run more races, and hope I will be a bit wiser with each one.

Published: Sunday, 5 June 2005

4:30 pm – San Diego, try 1

OK, well I am supposed to be in the air as I write, but it doesn’t look like its going to happen today. The idea was to go on a

OK, well I am supposed to be in the air as I write, but it doesn’t look like its going to happen today. The idea was to go on a “short, quick” trip to San Diego to support a 2 hour sales meeting from a technical advisor standpoint. How long does it take to do this? Well, the meeting is in the morning, so you have to fly the previous day. We were to leave at 2:40 pm, which would get us into San Diego at 8:30 pm Pacific time (11:30 pm Eastern time). Then sleep, meet from 8 to 10 am, and then fly back on a noon flight that gets you back to Rochester by 11 pm. So add it up any way you want, it takes two working days (and two of my nights) for this 2 hours. Oh well, guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks – it certainly isn’t to suggest cheaper alternatives like a combination telecon and Webex session!

But surprise, there have been a line of thunderstorms attacking the east coast today, so it has become clear that no one is going anywhere today – this airport wait (some of it we spent in the plane on the tarmac, and we finally returned) was just an exercise. The plan is to leave instead tomorrow (Tuesday) and meeting on Wednesday morning.

Groan…

Published: Tuesday, 7 June 2005

9 pm PST – in San Diego

Well, today things went more or less as planned. The departure from Rochester was uneventful and

Well, today things went more or less as planned. The departure from Rochester was uneventful and on schedule. The departure from Chicago was less perfect – we waited for two last minute connecting passengers and their bags (no problem, only 30 minutes) but unfortunately this got us “out of line” and we got sent to the end after 19 other jets – finally departed about 1.5 hours behind schedule. Luckily I had not connections, and we just arrived into San Diego a bit late.

My three other co-travelers went out for Mexican and extroversion – I opted to walk on the beach instead. So off the La Jolla beach I went.

I arrived just after sunset. By now many of the people had left, leaving mostly the surfers and occasional beach walkers. The sound of the surf was wonderful, and the wind, while cool was appreciated. This is the San Diego worth visiting.

Probably 20 surfers out, and the sun has set – as it happens, they will remain for another half hour – unwilling to come back in – playing is just too fun. Near the end it feels like they are saying on the low waves not by sight, but rather by feel and perhaps the sense of smell.

I see a couple on the beach doing something involving sticking around 50 bamboo sticks in the sand and stringing them with kelp that has washed up on the beach. I have no idea what it is about, but they seem to be having fun.

The beach here at La Jolla is very cool, very California – it has high bluffs that steeply slope down to the sea – not quite cliffs, but too steep to climb. This usually leaves perhaps 100 feet of beach, but in some areas the beach is very narrow, and you have to ensure you don’t get isolated in a section if the tide is “coming in”. Beware, long walk takers like me. But I am wise to the trick and won’t get caught tonight, which is a short walk anyways.

Some scattered groups sit on the beach, but most people have gone home. The waves run in long, parallel lines – the sand is scattered with washed up patches of kelp, not looking unlike boiled cabbage leaves, but sort of a blue-green in color. And the color fades with the daylight.

Now, time to return to civilization, a hotel room, and sleep. Early to bed, early to rise.

Published: Wednesday, 8 June 2005

2:49 pm – In the air, from San Diego

The meeting this morning went OK, but it still seemed like it could have been done by telephone with no loss. I think the sales g

The meeting this morning went OK, but it still seemed like it could have been done by telephone with no loss. I think the sales group has an overblown feeling of the potential sales prospects on this one. So now I am on the return leg. Hopefully our late departing flight (the plane arrived late into the gate) will not cause me to miss my connection in Washington.

Published: Thursday, 9 June 2005

10:06 pm – Dulles Airport, Washington

Well, I’m still here! The board says my flight is delayed until 10:15, but so far I see no plane. I am getting quite tired of

Well, I’m still here! The board says my flight is delayed until 10:15, but so far I see no plane. I am getting quite tired of this!

Published: Thursday, 9 June 2005

12:30 am – Finally Fairport

Home. Doma.

Home. Doma.

Published: Thursday, 9 June 2005

10:30 PM - Running on the trolly trail

It has been really hot today (33 degrees), so I waited until the day cooled off, then went for a standard run on the trolly trail. This in recent past has been done with Masha, but she seems to be missing, and life goes on, so there I was.As a quic

It has been really hot today (33 degrees), so I waited until the day cooled off, then went for a standard run on the trolly trail. This in recent past has been done with Masha, but she seems to be missing, and life goes on, so there I was.

As a quick reminder, in this part of the world, it is dark at 10:30 pm. The lightning bugs were at their peak, and looked like glittering lights scintillating in mid-air. So I run off into the darkness, seemingly into a field of stars. I am motivated to keep running - the alternative is being eaten by many mosquitoes. At one point I scared up several deer, or should I say they scared me! They seems close in the bushes, and gave a yell, which I answered with a "shooo!" yell of my own.

Through this all, the sky was very interesting - clear enough you could see stars, but at the same time, there often were faint flashes of light that covered the sky in sheets. Lighting from some far off thunderstorm, I guess.

Published: Tuesday, 28 June 2005

11:40 pm - Catching up on things.

The last two weeks have seemed like a blur - they really, really have. Not only have they gone too fast, but they were very busy. Now Masha is back home in her own personal blur, and we all individually will start to find the structure of our new

The last two weeks have seemed like a blur - they really, really have. Not only have they gone too fast, but they were very busy. Now Masha is back home in her own personal blur, and we all individually will start to find the structure of our new, everyday lives.

So bear with me - I am slowly working at getting pictures posted, and other things. Actually there is quite a bit of activity in yoj.smugmug.com - Olga's wedding, Masha's graduation and party and some new pictures from us. Check it out, even though it is under construction, still.

Also got a dehumidifier for the basement. Really exciting! (yawn...). And I had a friend over to calibrate our monitors - so hopefully soon what I see truly will be what I get (when I have a photograph printed). Exciting for me, boring to everyone else.

Now time for bed - in the summer I work four days a week from 7 until 5:30, so really need to get to bed by 12!

Published: Tuesday, 28 June 2005

9:30 pm - A new fitness program???

They say the key to a good exercise program is having motivation. Now when they said that, I figure that they mean being motivated by being more fit, losing weight, impressing your mate -- whatever! Well, I have a new twist on this, and having ju

They say the key to a good exercise program is having motivation. Now when they said that, I figure that they mean being motivated by being more fit, losing weight, impressing your mate -- whatever! Well, I have a new twist on this, and having just tried it, can tell you that it works very well. It is called..... THE ICE CREAM RUN! Now THERE'S motivation!

It works like this. You park your car across the canal from Abbots Ice Cream in Bushnell's Basin. You run to Pittsford and back (8 km), then you drive across the canal and get your kiddie chocolate almond in a waffle cone. YUMMM! Maybe we could call it the "gain weight and cardiovascular fitness at the same time program". Maybe I should write Runner's Magazine so they can suggest this program to others! :-)

Two other things - when leaving the parking lot where I was running from, there was a small recreation field (small soccer field). In the middle was a badminton net and .... two baby fawns, maybe 60 cm tall, playing together. Where is Mom? I looked a bit, and finally found her about 50 meters away at the side of the field. She was watching me like a hawk, but apparently saw no cause for alarm.

On the way home I stopped (on a whim) for cherries at Martins. As it happens they had a big sale on cherries - normally 3.99 a pound, but on sale for $1.29 a pound (2.80 / kg), which is way below what is costs them, at least this time of year! And sure enough, there were about 8 people, snatching up cherries. I bought several pounds, which only cost me $2.50. Yummm.

Published: Wednesday, 29 June 2005