Settling In
I'm just starting to settle in here, although I was comfortable I wasn't quite in the groove yet. My ass hadn't made any imprints on the couch yet, and I hadn't quite accepted my complete lack of responsibility. Now that I have, my laziness is in full swing; I save my energy for the golf course and mountain biking.
My bike was finally shipped to me, to which I owe my brother a great debt. At the very least, it was a harrowing experience. My bike is like my child, every minute that I don't know where it is, I'm on edge. And for me to accept the fact that it was going to be traveling 900 miles, all in UPS's hands, well that didn't calm me down at all. Even the guy who delivers to the house threw it on the ground while I glared at him secretly from the window. But upon inspection of the frame, handlebars and forks, it seemed to be right as rain and I threw it together. After a complete clean/lube/overhaul, I took it out and scared the hell out of myself on some dilapidated back-country roads. It handles great, this being my first real test of its off-road ability, I just wish my tires were designed for this style of terrain, not the wilderness style I'm used to.
Sorry, I know I just devoted a paragraph to my bike (I also uploaded a picture of it on my flickr account, click the link at top), but just think of me as the brutally annoying new parents that are so impressed with their new baby, you have no choice but to appease them and be impressed, too.
A couple mornings ago I had an interesting altercation with an unwanted house guest. I woke up, Jake had gone to work and left the door open for his dog, Max. Well in doing so, anyone and anything can get in, including birds. So I hear a flutter in the bathroom, and sure enough there's a bird in the house. I don't know what it is about something in close quarters that can fly, but I'll be honest and say that for a couple seconds I was truly freaked out. I've been around bears and almost trampled by Elk in Colorado, but for some reason this little bird that weighed no more then 10 oz's, set off butterflies in my stomach. It camped out on the rafters for awhile (flickr), then proceeded to head butt a few windows before I was able to shoo it out. I haven't had many other wildlife sightings, save a few 3-foot snakes and a moth half the size of a dollar bill. No cougars in the trees yet, although I'm still waiting in anticipation.
I did however just finish Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five." For those that don't know, you should. The book is a maverick, first-hand outlook on the Dresden fire bombings, which is said to have cost around 120,000 lives. The German city was completely non-military, at most producing medicines and food for soldiers, and for this reason was never a target by the American Air Force. Before its destruction it was considered one of the most beautiful cities on earth. Late in World War II however, with V1s and V2s aimed at London, and Germans fighting to the last man, we (I say we because I'm an American, as are probably most of those who read this, and am willing to take responsibility 60 years after the fact) decided to bomb it using incendiary bombs. The whole city burned to the ground, melting families taking cover in their inadequate bomb shelters. So much press was given to how deadly nuclear arms can be, killing 80,000 in Hiroshima in a single blow, but little is ever said about Dresden. In fact, most accounts of the war glanced over it, because it was not something to be running around happily bragging about. I'm not discounting the firepower of a nuclear bomb, I just think it goes back to the people kill people argument. A machine gun will kill a lot of people in a short time, but if there are enough pistols to go around, just as many people are going to fall.
Always nice to end on a happy note.
My bike was finally shipped to me, to which I owe my brother a great debt. At the very least, it was a harrowing experience. My bike is like my child, every minute that I don't know where it is, I'm on edge. And for me to accept the fact that it was going to be traveling 900 miles, all in UPS's hands, well that didn't calm me down at all. Even the guy who delivers to the house threw it on the ground while I glared at him secretly from the window. But upon inspection of the frame, handlebars and forks, it seemed to be right as rain and I threw it together. After a complete clean/lube/overhaul, I took it out and scared the hell out of myself on some dilapidated back-country roads. It handles great, this being my first real test of its off-road ability, I just wish my tires were designed for this style of terrain, not the wilderness style I'm used to.
Sorry, I know I just devoted a paragraph to my bike (I also uploaded a picture of it on my flickr account, click the link at top), but just think of me as the brutally annoying new parents that are so impressed with their new baby, you have no choice but to appease them and be impressed, too.
A couple mornings ago I had an interesting altercation with an unwanted house guest. I woke up, Jake had gone to work and left the door open for his dog, Max. Well in doing so, anyone and anything can get in, including birds. So I hear a flutter in the bathroom, and sure enough there's a bird in the house. I don't know what it is about something in close quarters that can fly, but I'll be honest and say that for a couple seconds I was truly freaked out. I've been around bears and almost trampled by Elk in Colorado, but for some reason this little bird that weighed no more then 10 oz's, set off butterflies in my stomach. It camped out on the rafters for awhile (flickr), then proceeded to head butt a few windows before I was able to shoo it out. I haven't had many other wildlife sightings, save a few 3-foot snakes and a moth half the size of a dollar bill. No cougars in the trees yet, although I'm still waiting in anticipation.
I did however just finish Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five." For those that don't know, you should. The book is a maverick, first-hand outlook on the Dresden fire bombings, which is said to have cost around 120,000 lives. The German city was completely non-military, at most producing medicines and food for soldiers, and for this reason was never a target by the American Air Force. Before its destruction it was considered one of the most beautiful cities on earth. Late in World War II however, with V1s and V2s aimed at London, and Germans fighting to the last man, we (I say we because I'm an American, as are probably most of those who read this, and am willing to take responsibility 60 years after the fact) decided to bomb it using incendiary bombs. The whole city burned to the ground, melting families taking cover in their inadequate bomb shelters. So much press was given to how deadly nuclear arms can be, killing 80,000 in Hiroshima in a single blow, but little is ever said about Dresden. In fact, most accounts of the war glanced over it, because it was not something to be running around happily bragging about. I'm not discounting the firepower of a nuclear bomb, I just think it goes back to the people kill people argument. A machine gun will kill a lot of people in a short time, but if there are enough pistols to go around, just as many people are going to fall.
Always nice to end on a happy note.
Nathan Lotz at 11:31 PM
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