The S word

 

We’ve had 2 snowfalls already this month and it’s raining today with a chance of snow. Temps have been holding 20 degrees below normal all week. Voice is still iffy. Haven’t been on a bike in a week. Sigh. I can ride in the cold, but with my system still recovering and the rain, I’m not hitting the trails today. That’s a real shame as I took today and tomorrow off since Kate is out of school. I’m listening to the Mono Beatles collection and catching up on my short story reading. Vista spent all morning updating itself. Maybe it will work as advertised finally. Don’t bet on it.

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  and I are going to see Kim Harrison tonight. We were disappointed when she didn’t make it here this Spring, so it’s nice to have a chance to see her again. I should be able to manage a conversation with my crackly voice tonight.

FallCon 09

Buck and I went to FallCon yesterday at the State Fairgrounds. Brrr! It was cold walking from the lot to the Con. It’s the first con we’ve been to, so it was also a chance to plan for next year. I knew a couple people that were there and one of Buck’s co-workers at Target had a booth there. Unfortunately I have some virus that gave me a very sore throat on Saturday and since I was Lead worker at the ‘berry that day I was talking quite a bit. The result is I have no voice. I feel like our old cat, Sara, who would meow but nothing came out. I would have liked to have had more discussions with the attendees, but it was pretty hard to get any volume. I did point out that superheroines would have a particulary tough time of it in Minnesota. Those revealing costumes loose something when the heroine has a parka on to keep warm. Mr. Incedible always seemed to be eating. I got some Green Lantern titles from a fellow from Iowa, and a few JLA titles from the Half Price Books booth. Good deals, but I went a touch over budget. I did have a nice time chatting with artist, Mark Sparacio. I picked up some of his work. Sadly, he was out of the Vampirella print. Oh well, there’s always next year. Here’s his site. marksparacio.com It was a fun afternoon and this fanboy had a great time.

Today I still have no voice, it is snowing out and I need to clean the basement.

  

I Feel Fine

 
I have found you can’t have to many Beatles albums. Eight copies of Rubber Soul and counting.

09.09.09

Well it should have been a fab day, but it quickly went in the crapper. I got the bike back earlier than I thought. I took it for a spin this morning and it seemed pretty nice, although the slip mentioned I should get the rear hub overhauled. It would have been nice if they had told me that when they called and I could have done that right away. I went for a ride to the Uncles but only made it as far as Uptown. Another flat. I should have checked the tire pressure, because I thought the tires felt over inflated when I got the bike back. The path was clear of debris. So back to get another tube and the joy of messing with that. Most of the stores I went in today had The Beatles playing. I saw one boxed stereo set, but that was it. Glad I pre-ordered. Mine are coming from Indiana, so I hope to have them Friday. I bought the double-sided White Album puzzle today. In spite of what the copy on the box says, the reverse side shows the 2 albums, A and B sides of each and not the 4 albums.

At least I wasn’t out on the trails with a flat when the rain came through. The instruments for Beatles Rock Band are gear. I also saw that the book I was going to the Uncles to buy did come in. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

Your Amazon Order Has Shipped.

Where am I?

The wind picked up today and I broke a spoke, but I still got in a thirty-mile ride. Lots of folks on the trail as expected. It was very crowded at some intersections. Almost got run over by a truck at Dean Parkway and Lake. A line of peds and bikers were crossing with the light, when a pickup decided he was just going to turn right through us. A little closer than I like to being roadkill. It’s always fun when kids (and adults) ride towards you in your lane and you can see they have no intention of stopping. I’m always curious how they expect to get through me. They just keep peddling full speed towards you. So you stop and wait for them to hit you. It doesn’t occur to them to 1: Brake, 2: Stop peddling, 3: Get over to their lane.

I rode the Greenway to the Mississippi and turned right today. Even though West River Parkway trail is closed for reconstruction, that doesn’t stop anyone from running or biking on it. I’m just amazed as I watch from the roadway and see people cutting through all the construction signs. I went to Ford Parkway and crossed into St. Paul. I took East River Parkway past Hidden Falls to the overlook by 5 to take in the view of the river gorge and Fort Snelling. I then headed back to Minnehaha Falls and the crowds there. I took Minnehaha Trail back to Harriet and Calhoun. Somewhere along the Creek I broke a spoke, so I cut the trip short and headed for home. Bike’s in the shop for spoke repair and a tune up. I’ll be on the mountain bike for a couple days.

 

3,000

The miles keep adding up on the bike. It was a splendid day for a ride again. I went around Lake Calhoun and Harriet. From there I went east on the Greenway past Vera’s Garden and the Uncles past Midtown and down to the Mississippi. I turned left today and went downtown. I went past Mill City Ruins and crossed the wonderful Stone Arch Bridge and headed for Boom Island. I came back across the river on Plymouth Avenue and headed for Lyndale. That lead me to the Walker. I went around the Sculpture Garden and headed back downtown to see if there was any sign of work on the trail from the new Twins stadium to the river. I saw some stakes, but nothing else. I turned west and rode out to Hopkins and then made my way back east and home. Other than the bee getting stuck in the vents of my helmet and giving me a sting, it was a lovely 36-mile ride. I’d have done more, but I slept in today and lost time.

 

Foggy mornings

The morning rides to work have been cool, crisp and foggy this week.

 

  

 

 

Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky

I got to the ‘berry early yesterday as usual hoping to get in some FB time. No power. We later found out that a transformer for our building was trashed around 4:00 AM. We worked with backup lighting until 1:30 in the afternoon. Nothing but shelving, since we couldn’t do anything else. Oh, my tired eyeballs. We were in the process of getting computer networks ready and everything else necessary to reopen the place when we were told to take shelter due to a Tornado Warning. Our IT department called us with the heads up. Glad we had power back before this next crisis. We hadn’t opened yet, so the public in the rotunda went into the public storm area, while most of the staff was in the back in the designated areas. We finally opened around 3:00. Fun day.

The tornado in S. Minneapolis damaged 40 homes, the convention center, a church, several businesses including The Electric Fetus, but not

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  . Some of the damage was just a couple blocks from a friend from college. No injuries, but lots of rain.

I had today off and got to watch more pouring rains and howling winds. Sigh. I did see that Freewheel Bikes is having a sale starting tomorrow on snow tires for the mountain bike. I’m getting some more gear to wear in colder weather tomorrow. Gotta love sales. The weekend sounds nice for riding, but I’m selling books both days.

I’m halfway through Cape Storm by Rachel Caine. Good story so far. Perfect reading for a rainy day.

Five Oh

I put 50 miles on the bike today. I rode out to Carver County this afternoon. Itwas a real nice day for biking. The ride this evening to

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  was fine on the way there, but very breezy heading home. I’ve now been out to Stubb’s Bay on the north side of Lake Minnetonka and Shorewood on the south end. Once I have a day off with good conditions I have a route picked out so I can ride around the mess of bays that make up Lake Minnetonka and back again. I picked up a new biking shirt today and tried it out tonight. I’ll see how I like it and then perhaps stock up. It should make a good underlayer for winter biking, which will be here soon enough. I have to get some snow tires for the mountain bike yet too. I see how I can get to the MN Landscape Arboretum from where I was today as well. I’m also planning a ride to Como Park in St. Paul in the near future.

I’m starting the new Rachel Caine book, Cape Storm, tonight and I finished watching part 1 of Hogfather.