Mystery Leaf

This is the leaf I collected on my last run. Have not identified it yet, but it is a common tree along the American River.

UPDATE: It's Quercus wislizeni, the Interior Live Oak. :) Thanks to my friend Lanna for the identification.

Facts from Farmer Fred (above link):

• A native of the California Sierra Nevada foothills
• Evergreen tree, spreading dome shape.
• 75-80', more wide than tall.
• Medium rate of growth.
• Leaves remain for two years.
• 1 1/2" acorns
• Can tolerate clay and rocky soils
• Can take aridity, sun, wind, heat, dust.
• Half hardy to 15 degrees.
• Refrigerate acorns for 30-45 days, then plant in ground.
• Drought tolerant.
• Relatively free of pests and diseases.

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-30

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-30
Resting heart rate: 52 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Sunday
Date: 2006-04-30
Weather: Partly sunny, calm
Temp: 20.56 C (69 F)
Time: 13:30-14:45
Terrain: flat
Comments: Walked down by the pedestrian bridge with Lanna today. We headed west to the Sacramento Bar, and back across to the north side of the river, then we sat and skipped rocks on a beach to the west of that. The water is very cold, and flowing rapidly. Many people are out with their families, or sunning themselves, or exercising. The weather was quite warm, and it felt refreshing to walk in the shade. As I pulled out onto Bridge Street to leave, I noticed two men with a cube of beer each walking down the street, with a woman following.
Time: 75 minutes (1:15)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 3.38 km (2.10 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=155634
Total Distance For Year: 458.8 km (272.2 mi)
Weight (after run):
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: sore left ankle
Foods eaten today: bean burrito, vegetable lasagna, soy milk, pickle

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-29

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-29
Resting heart rate: 59 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-04-29
Weather: Sunny, 2 m/s wind
Temp: 26.67 C (80 F)
Time: 17:45-20:03
Terrain: flat
Comments: 10-mile run today. April in Sacramento -- this is the best time of year. Summer is beginning, I can feel the heat rising each day, and today I started late. I arrived at Bridge Street around 17:40, and vehicles lined the sides for two blocks. I imagine it will become more crowded as the summer advances, more reason to run earlier in the day. Many youths entertain themselves on the beach near the defunct boat landing on the south shore, and some were up on the bluffs yelling to their friends on the opposite side. I turned on my GPS unit, but the battery seems to have fully drained. It picked up a satellite signal only once, then failed completely. I have not jogged late in the day, returning at dusk yet, and I enjoyed it. On the way out the sweat glistened on my skin and ran down my arms. About an hour or two before the run I had had about two glasses of Anchor Steam beer and a number of slices of veggie pizza from Steve's Pizza on Howe Ave with friends, so I wondered how that would affect my performance. With this in mind, I started off really slow, enjoying the run as much as I could. I stopped and got a drink of water at the first wayside park, about 1/4 mile up the trail. Noticed that the fountain spigot still gets stuck in the "open" position, so I drank and ensured it was off. I really enjoyed running under the trees today after the 19-mile marker. The trees line the trail, arching and interlocking above, providing a natural canopy that shelters songbirds and vegetation below. As I ran I kept my head up and admired the sunlight shining through the canopy, illuminating the leaves, cooling me from the heat, dwarfing me with their height. It's my favorite spot on the trail. I continued to keep my head up and admire the scenery around me as I ran, and I found myself enjoying the run. The red-shifted rays of the setting sun cast everything in a warmer tone. As I ran, I saw a ground squirrel standing on it's hind-legs in the field on the other side of the chain-link fence, watching me as I passed. At the mile 16 marker, there are more tall, old trees. Most of them are oaks, although there is a lone pine tree that I enjoyed identifying. People were playing ball in the diamonds there. At mile 15, I turned around. I wish I knew more about identifying the plants that I pass, so I could write in more detail about the various things that I see. I snipped a leaf from one tree that looked interesting. If I have time I will identify it this evening. As I returned, the sun continued to set. Birds and animals were out in force, enjoying the cooling of the air and finding resting spots for the night, or feeding on the swarms of tiny insects that I ran through (ick). Someone had abandoned a plastic bag full of Nilla wafers and a plastic-wrapped sandwich on the side of the trail, so I picked it up and ran it to a trash barrel. Near the 17-mile marker, I identified a new large white bird on top of a tree. I had no idea what it was. As I continued back, the trail became more and more empty of people. Two teenage women passed me on bicycles, and when I caught up to them after I passed the 18-mile mark, they had dismounted and were holding hands and giggling at something after short intervals. No idea what they were doing. They seemed to be looking at something in their hands, perhaps some bug. As I approached the 19-mile mark, four male youths on BMX bikes passed me from behind, and one yelled to scare a passing biker about their age. They passed me without incident, but I felt nervous about being on the trail with them. In general I don't tend to fear people. At the mile 19 wayside park, I passed them again as they had stopped and dismounted to get a drink of water. The sun had set by the time I reached mile 20 again. Returning at dusk was electric. There were swarms and swarms of bugs along the beams of the pedestrian bridge. Youths were leaving the beach areas or talking with one another. The peace symbol was lit-up on the north bluff of the river. Temperature was cool and a bit humid, with the smell of vegetation. I felt tired but strong at the end, about where I wanted to be, so I consider this a positive run.
Time: 138 minutes (2:18), 13.8 minutes/mile
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 16.12 km (10 mi), http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=154178
Total Distance For Year: 455.4 km (270.1 mi)
Weight (after run): 78.6 kg (173.3 lbs), 18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Left foot, right-side felt sore. Knees felt a bit sore.
Foods eaten today: pizza, Anchor Steam beer, small banana-nut muffins, paradise-blend juice, banana, vegetable lasagna, Powerbar

Running journal, Friday, 2006-04-28

Running journal, Friday, 2006-04-28
Resting heart rate: 49 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Friday
Date: 2006-04-28
Weather: Sunny, 2 m/s wind
Temp: 26.67 C (80 F)
Time: 10:15-12:15
Terrain: flat
Comments: Sat in the same spot as Thursday. Brought my car blanket today and sat on that, which stopped the dirt from getting on my clothing and reading material. Weather a bit windier, but just as idyllic as Thursday. I saw a park ranger truck drive by with an industrial blower-trailer, which they must use to ensure the trails remain clean of debris. I noticed a girl sitting on the pedestrian bridge for an extended period of time so I whistled at her, but she was too far away. A fisherman arrived directly across the American River on a small beach, and cast his line an incredible distance, then sat and waited for a bite. Two park employees in a truck arrived behind me, which surprised me since I'm up on the bluff and there is no access road, just the backs of houses. They picked up the trash, then left. A deer made a racket as it tramped through the high grass behind me, and I turned around and said, "Hi buddy." It's ears pricked up, then it bounded away, in a hopping fashion. I saw a horse and it's owner trash some cans and bottles at the boat dock, then walk to the west on the horse trail. A woman showed up with her black labrador right before I left. She found a beach to the east of the fisherman, and began playing fetch with the black lab in the water. It seemed like a lot of fun. As more and more people arrive at the pedestrian bridge as spring recedes, I notice more and more fast food trash in the ditch, which I do not enjoy. Pick up after yourselves, park people.
Time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: negligible
Total Distance For Year: 439.3 km (260.1 mi)
Weight (after run):
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Knees feel a bit stiff
Foods eaten today: maple nut pecan cereal, soy milk, vegetable lasagna, fig newtons, grapefruit juice

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-27

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-27
Resting heart rate: 53 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Thursday
Date: 2006-04-27
Weather: Sunny, calm
Temp: 26.67 C (80 F)
Time: 10:15-11:45
Terrain: flat
Comments: Sat along the rim of the American River bluffs and read. It was perfect. Sunny sky, birds singing, minty-green river with sun glistening off the waves, a cozy spot to sit and relax, a mild breeze to keep things cool. The view is priceless, overlooking the river far below. Saw a man lay out a line of feed in a line for the ducks. The water is much lower, and the sand bar has reappeared farther upstream. At home today I had the pleasure of walking through (allergy-free) a cloud of floating fluff. I think perhaps the gardener stirred everything up before I left with their leaf blower. At the end of my reading, I heard a man begin yelling angry obscenities from somewhere to the west, on the opposite side of the river. This continued for a couple minutes, then stopped. A bit later, I saw a man in a yellow sweatshirt appear on the trail on the opposite side of the river and begin yelling obscenities at the home builders on the bluffs on my side of the river. Freak. Before I left, I watched several people in canoes pass below me, enjoying themselves. Next time I will pack my blanket to keep the red dirt off me. My Sacramento Steelheads air cushion felt nice for a pillow.
Time: 90 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: negligible
Total Distance For Year: 439.3 km (260.1 mi)
Weight (after run):
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: oatmeal with brown sugar, soy milk, and raisins, mint chocolate chip ice cream,

Just Learned Nora Denzel Resigned from HP in Dec 2005

As a former HP employee, I felt surprise when I noticed today that Nora Denzel left HP in Dec 2005, the same time I did.

Nora was one of the earliest management podcasters at HP, and one of the first management bloggers, a real trailblazer. I had a fun exchange in the comments of one of her podcasts with Nora's sister (I have forgotten the exact context), who discovered my post and Nora's blog by chance and upbraided Nora playfully for not telling her about her blog. Fun. :)

More: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1895274,00.asp

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-26

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-26
Resting heart rate: 66 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Wednesday
Date: 2006-04-26
Weather: Sunny, 1 m/s wind
Temp: 23.3 C (74 F)
Time: 11:18-12:13
Terrain: Mostly flat, some mild hills
Comments: Beautiful running day, not a cloud in the sky. Noticed a kayaker near the pedestrian bridge as I started out, and I thought, I would like to try that. :) It was hotter today, and I sweat a lot more than normal. Wore my sunglasses, and noticed that part of the trouble seems to be focusing using them. It's like wearing glasses again, and the new focal point is a bit disorienting at first. I ran all the way to the Nimbus Dam again today, stopping to drink water, then I turned back and ran up Gold Country Road to the entrance to Nimbus Road. I took the closed access road today for the first time, running along the rocky, largely overgrown dirt road back to the Nimbus Road a few hundred meters later. I enjoyed the scenery, but probably won't do it too frequently since I don't enjoy the large rocks. I don't even think twice about running on the exclusive private asphalt trail for Gold Country residential homes, I have never seen anyone using it. I had a scare as I approached the dead end of Upper Sunrise Drive from the east though. On my left, through my sunglasses, in the shadows, I noticed what I thought were the hind-quarters of a mountain lion sticking up from the grass, as if it were shaking, ready to pounce. The form had a large tail, and before I could conciously react, I felt the flush of adrenaline and other hormones flooding my system. I had taken a few additional steps by this time, and was able to reidentify the form as a female wild turkey. The tail was actually the neck, and the hind-quarters was actually the body. The adrenaline rush lasted for a few more minutes, then subsided, but it was a curious realization that my body, after running for 35 minutes, is able to shoot me full of a chemical that instantly made me feel flexible and full of energy, and instantaneously. Amazing. As I entered Upper Sunrise Dr., I noticed two jackrabbits sitting on the left shoulder. As I approached, they split up, one immediately running to the right into the woods, the other bounding down the asphalt for one hundred meters until it reached a trail, which it disappeared down. As I approached the mile 21 marker, several leisurely bikers passed me, and one mentioned, "There's a snake up ahead on the trail, a bad one." More danger, I thought, great. It was at this point that I passed two women, who both communicated hello, one by waving (wearing headphones) the other verbally with a big smile. :) I always enjoy the community. No snake presented itself, though, on the way back. I did get startled by a squirrel that darted across my path. At that point I think I was feeling a bit jumpy. I finished my run without incident. As I walked up the hill to the pedestrian bridge, I passed three young men who had sub-culture outfits, and one had a mohawk. Fun. I said hello, and they returned the greeting. As I felt very sweaty and hot by this time, I looked at the water as I crossed the bridge with envy. It's a minty green right now, and looks cool and inviting. I briefly considered the irrational possibility of jumping off the bridge, leaving my shoes on the deck. As I walked, I considered my shoes, and how Galloway states a pair of shoes might last 400 miles or so. This year sometime my shoes will get that much mileage, and I'll replace them. Oh, I had one other idea, something I did in 2000, but I haven't done since -- park my car down on Upper Sunrise Drive, and sit along the bank and read for about an hour in the morning. :) I loved doing this back in Eau Claire, around 09:00 in the morning, sunning myself.
Time: 55 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 7.58 km (4.7 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=147987
Total Distance For Year: 439.3 km (260.1 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.2 kg (170.22 lbs), 17% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Knees felt a bit stiff today when I started out.
Foods eaten today:

Joi Ito at 22nd Chaos Communication Congress (22C3)

Joi Ito (torrent, 485MB) at the 22nd Chaos Communication Congress (22C3).

Who is Joi Ito? From: http://technorati.com/about/management.html:

Vice President of International Business and Mobile Devices

Joichi Ito is in charge of international and mobility development for Technorati. He is founder and CEO of Neoteny, a venture capital firm which is the lead investor in Six Apart, and is on the board of Creative Commons. He has created numerous Internet companies including PSINet Japan, Digital Garage, and Infoseek Japan. In 1997, Time Magazine ranked him as a member of the CyberElite. In 2000 he was ranked among the “50 Stars of Asia” by Business Week and commended by the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications for supporting the advancement of IT. In 2001 the World Economic Forum chose him as one of the 100 “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” for 2002. He was appointed as a member of Howard Dean’s Net Advisory Net during the Dean campaign.

Joi’s blog is Joi Ito’s Web.

Slide overview:

1. Open network is open society: innovation and power at the edges
2. Democracy is broken
3. The competition of ideas
4. Monopolies thrive in free markets: Aggregation of power in an open market
5. Voice is more important than votes
6. Profiling is not about your pr0n habits
7. ID systems -- the better to spoof you with
8. Beware the boogymen
9. People who share are pirates: Hollywood and big software
10. Terrorist and child pro0agraphers use the internet: Law enforcement
11. The network must be intelligent: government censorship and network operators
12. What can we do?
13. Free content and free speech: Creative Commons, blogs, alternative media
14. Network open and whole: ICANN+, free speech
15. Support free and open source software and sharing
16. Amplify global voices
17. Do not overestimate conspiracies
18. Question authority and hack the system

Quotes:

1. (53:50-55:20) "I think many people have an overestimation of the power of these conspiracies. I've given talks at the Trilateral Commission, which is considered, supposed to be a really scary place. It's not. It's just a bunch of really powerful people who sit around and they talk like normal people and they make decisions like normal people. It's the same at Davos, it's the same in these big country beauracracies. It's actually more like the movie Brazil than it is like 1984.
   And the thing is there is a natural inertia for things to happen. Like I tried to stop the privacy, I tried to stop the national ID bill in Japan, and I got 80% of the public, all the media, more than half of the politicians to vote ok for my moratorium until the privacy bill was passed, and it went through anyway. And I tried to find who was the guy who pushed it through and everything and I finally talked to one of the politicians, who said, "Oh it just went through because it would have been too confusing and disruptive if we stopped it, even though we all agreed it was a bad idea."
   And this is what I mean by a broken democracy, and this is what I mean that there really isn't a conspiracy. There was no person, that was why it was difficult. There was no person who was out to do the national ID. It just became a 300-, 600-million dollar project that just started rolling along, and you couldn't stop it. It's like a tanker with the driver dead over the wheel.
   That's what we're fighting against. We're fighting against momentum, we're not fighting against really smart people with lots of information. And actually we're smarter than them, which is another thing that's important. We have less power but we're smarter and we can coordinate better. And I can say anything here because I doubt any of them will be watching this video."
   
   
2. (27:48-28:30) "And so I also think that the open internet is probably the center of democracy in the 21st century. Because I think that the revolutions that we used to have in the past were fought with pitchforks and guns, but today revolutions happen through information. We see this in terrorism, we see this in developing nations, and without open access and voices for information you can't cause change in the future. And the only way to allow a bottom-up and edge-driven process is to preserve an edge-driven network. I think open network is more important for democracy than the right to bear arms or the right to vote. That's my opinion."
   
   
3. (29:00) "Democracy is broken, but that doesn't mean there's something better. The thing is how can we change, how can we fix, and how can we deal with the problems."
   
   
4. (32:15-33:40) "The other important thing is very obvious, but something you have to talk about. And since we're talking about privacy, is that the correct balance is transparency of those who have authority and privacy of citizens. The problem is that the natural tendancy, the law of physics of power is, that people in power want secrecy and they would like their subjects to be transparent. And it always goes this way, there's no reason it shouldn't go this way, and if you were in power and you had all the special privilege, of course you would want your secrecy, right? And I think that one of the things you have to understand is that it's not that they're evil, it's not that they're some scheming consipracy, it's just rational. If I'm George Bush, and I want to push through a bunch of things, I'm going to try to do it as secretly as possible, and put in bills that are, it's just a normal thing. And so we have to think about how do you hack a system which natural tendency is towards more power aggregation and more secrecy and transparency for those who don't have power. One of my friends is a Chinese guy and his dad told me, "Money is lonely, it likes to go where other money is." And it's the same with power, it's just like a law of physics, it doesn't have ethics, it's just the way it is. And I think this is something you have to think about, because what the information age and the internet and all these other things is doing is increasing the ability and lowering the friction for power aggregation, it doesn't change the fundamental dynamics that have been around for a long time."

I enjoyed many of Joi Ito's insights during his keynote.

Quote of the day

"If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you'll most certainly be right."
-- as related by Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005 (text); http://youtube.com/watch?v=60cDHb-tvMA (video)

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-25

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-25
Resting heart rate: 59 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 2006-04-25
Weather: partly sunny, 10 km/h wind
Temp: 21.67 C (71 F)
Time: 13:30-14:45
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Walking day today. Visited the Charles C. Jensen Botanical Garden at 8520 Fair Oaks Blvd today. The park has a diversity of flowers, plants, and tall trees. It has trash strewn about. It was smaller than I expected, but it had a variety of terrain which I enjoyed. The parking lot for the botanical garden is adjacent to the park on the western side, a chain-link fence surrounding a patch of dirt. Traffic can be heard and seen from the park, so one never quite fully escapes into the peace and beauty of the lush vegetation. While I waited for my friend to arrive, I passed the time counting traffic. About 15-20 cars passed by me to the east every 60 seconds. Mentally I noticed I was about 75%, and I noticed I felt hungry and a bit thirsty by the end of the walk.
Time: 75 minutes (1:15)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 1.1 km (.68 mi), http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=146192
Total Distance For Year: 431.7 km (255.4 mi)
Weight (after run):
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: oatmeal with soy milk, brown sugar, and raisins, mac & cheese, ramen noodles, mixed vegetables, vegetable juice, vegetarian chili, pretzels, chip and mint ice cream,

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-24

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-24
Resting heart rate: 55 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Monday
Date: 2006-04-24
Weather: overcast, 10 km/h wind
Temp: 15 C (59 F)
Time: 14:57-15:47
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Pleasantly cool recovery running day. Noticed blue flowers with bell-like petals, and the orange poppies have changed to yellow as they mature. River is several feet lower than a week ago. I ran all the way to the water fountain at the Nimbus Dam today, got a drink, and then ran back on Nimbus Road. I noticed at the entrance to Nimbus Road a closed yellow gate. There must be a road there, which ends somewhere near the Nimbus Road parking lot. I'll check it out on a future run. No faint feelings today, which I appreciated. I ran a bit faster than normal, about a 5.0-5.5-mph pace for the first 15-20 minutes, then a 5.5-6.0-mph pace for the remainder of the run. I noticed for the first time today that I am beginning to really enjoy running on the trail instead of the pavement, even in the places where I was not so foot-sure earlier this year. I stay off the purely rocky portions of the shoulder, but the semi-rocky portions I don't mind anymore. I noticed that my left leg seems a bit less developed than my right leg, since it feels less flexible. Wore all red today again, on cold days it brightens things up and I feel a bit warmer. ;)
Time: 50 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 8.42 km (5.22 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=143890
Total Distance For Year: 430.6 km (254.7 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.4 kg (170.67 lbs), 18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: sore left foot sole, I think because of the plantar virus
Foods eaten today: cinnamon-raisin bagel, vegetable juice

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-23

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-23
Resting heart rate: n/a (forgot)
Day: Sunday
Date: 2006-04-23
Weather: sunny, 8 km/h wind
Temp: 12 C (53.6 F)
Time: 08:00-10:00
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Walked a short distance for Adopt-A-Highway today. It's Earth Day weekend. The grass was high, so walked along the highway until I reached an area another colleague had gone over. Then I waded through the grass to the ditch area, which was dry, and walked that area, finding lots of trash. Filled four large bags.
Time: 2 hours
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 2.33 km (1.44 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=142040
Total Distance For Year: 422.2 km (249.5 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a (forgot)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: toaster waffles and real maple syrup, ramen noodles, mixed vegetables, mushroom and swiss boca burger, french fries, Irish breakfast tea, cinnamon-raisin bagel, chip and mint ice cream, oatmeal-raisin cookies

Sammy Hagar -- I can't drive 55

Comfort songs from my childhood -- today I heard Sammy Hagar's, "I Can't Drive 55," from his 1990 album, "VOA," on the Geffen Records label. Brought back memories of passing time by watching MTV at my grandparents' home. I loved this music video, had no idea what the politics of the song were about. Learning Sammy Hagar is a politically-aware Republican surprised me, given his wildness. I'm guessing the fiscal or social conservative platform attracts him, not the religious conservative platform. The text I read at Wikipedia doesn't say.

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-22

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-22
Resting heart rate: n/a (forgot)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-04-22
Weather: sunny, 12 km/h wind
Temp: 11 C (51.8 F)
Time: 07:00-09:15
Terrain: Flat
Comments: 5-km race day, the UC-Davis Medical Center's 6th Annual Run Against Pain. I fell asleep around 12:00, but lay awake until about 01:00. Woke at 05:00, got up, ate a banana, drank water, shaved. Nicked myself this morning on my chin, and noticing the flow I wondered if it would be a problem later (it wasn't). With four hours sleep I felt groggy. Wore my red shorts and a red training trail shirt. I never thought red was my color but I like it. Over the top of this I wore my windbreaker pants and my blue superman tee-shirt. One function I enjoy using with my watch is the timer function. I timed my trip to the race start this morning, but I forget how long it took (groggy). I left around 06:45, and arrived around 07:10. I parked a moderate distance from the start, and walked in the cold, windy morning air to the tent where I picked up my pins, bib, chip, race packet, and tee-shirt. I enjoyed arriving early because I like the low-pressure of getting used to the area when it's still early. I went back to my car and looked through the packet, then read Galloway's Marathon book, browsing the back pages until around 30 minutes to the start. At that point, I walked for fifteen minutes. For the next ten minutes or so, I jogged in the parking lot, around the building, snagged two cups of water, a bit of a bagel, and people-watched. When the time came to line up, I was near the rear of the pack. The air had warmed a few degrees by 08:30, but it still helped to stay limber by bouncing in place. I noticed some of the techniques other, more muscular racers employed -- running with high knee bends, short sprints. I noticed the number of people waiting in line for the toilets, and decided to skip the cold, windy wait. When the air horn sounded, I monitored my GPS speed. Initially I figured I would run about a 5.0-mph pace, or about a 36-minute 5K. Then I noticed everyone else running faster, and I kept up. 5.5-mph, 6.0-mph. About a quarter-mile in, I noticed everyone leveling off at about 5.5-6.0-mph. Quite a few people passed me initially as I maintained my even pace. About 3/4 mile in, I saw a muscular guy pass me, and I was not enjoying running with people trapping me on three sides, so I decided to push myself a bit and see what I could do. I moved to the right side, dodged a pile of grass clippings, and began overtaking people. I enjoyed this, watching my pace increase to 6.0-mph, 6.5-mph, 7.0-mph, 7.5-mph. I leveled off around 7.0-7.5-mph. I overtook the people pushing baby strollers that had so effortlessly passed me early on. I passed the first water station, and noticed that the leaders had already doubled back on T Street, which I observed with respect for their pace. I continued overtaking people, noticing that people I passed had dropped off their pace a bit, breathing heavily. The GPS watch is so handy in these situations, because I can maintain my speed while minimizing the chance of running too hard. I stopped at the second water stop, and noticed they were handing out lemon-flavored Gatorade, which tasted good. By mile two, the 7.5-mph pace was beginning to wear me down a bit. I noticed a slender woman with a pig tail, shorter than me, and a sky blue outfit turning around about a block in front of me at 42nd Street. As I rounded the corner and began running up a small incline back to 48th Street, I caught up to her and passed her. Observing this surprised me, since I had made up so much time and distance. A photographer snapped a picture of me at the corner of T and 48th. As I made my way back toward the starting line/finish, I noticed I felt the beginning stages of exhaustion. My left-brain was kicking in, looking at things negatively, thinking about how nice it would be to stop and rest, how I couldn't imagine making it the whole distance to the finish. I continued to pass people, my pace dropping to about 7.0-mph at this point. I noticed one man pass me and as I watched his running form I thought to myself, "Wow, it's like I'm standing still and he's moving so effortlessly." And he was, he increased his lead by about a block before the finish line. Right before the finish, another photographer took my picture as I finished. I remembered to look into the camera this time. At the finish, I crossed the mats, and held up my sneaker for a woman to cut the nylon zip tie holding my racing chip to my shoe. As I lost my balance momentarily she smiled widely, and I appreciated her sense of fun. I forgot to look at the time until I left the chute, and when I did it was about 28- or 29-minutes. I think this might have been about one or two minutes after I finished, so I am thinking 28-minutes for the time. I grabbed a bottle of water, drank it down, then walked over and grabbed the two bottles of Naked juice. I didn't stick around for the raffle prizes, instead deciding to take my mentally tired self home. I felt tired but strong after the race, and have felt few if any problems this evening other than a sore left foot (perhaps because of the Plantar virus that has reappeared, grr). Treating that with duct tape, and have ordered sulfur soap. When I got home I was active for a while, then I took a 90 minute nap, which helped considerably. I considered running again to bring the total to 10 miles, but decided against it, given the stress from the morning run and my tired state. Overall, a positive first 5K run of the season. :) I do not understand why race organizers measure a 5K/10K race in one-mile increments. Perhaps the fewer markers translates into easier logistics. Also, I commented to myself twice how much I enjoy passing the Shriners Childrens' Hospital statue on their front lawn. The lawn is spacious, green, and well-maintained.
Time: ~28 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 5.0 km (3.1 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=139878
Total Distance For Year: 419.9 km (248.1 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a (forgot)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: sore on the bottom of my left foot
Foods eaten today: Powerbar, banana, bit of bread, Naked Green Machine, Naked Orange Juice, Jelly Belly jellybeans, Snickers Chewy Chocolate Peanut Marathon Energy Bar, Palmer Hollow Milk Chocolate Bunny, Stove Top San Francisco Sourdough stuffing, green beans, chip and mint ice cream

Computer Science Lecture Videos -- 22nd Chaos Communication Congress, Germany

I enjoyed watching the lecture on nanotechnology. There are over 100 videos here for download on an array of topics:

http://media.ccc.de/filez/congress/2005/lectures/video/mp4/torrents/

I use the Azureus bittorrent client. People taped these videos from the 22nd Chaos Communication Congress, Germany, in late 2005. Each video is approximately 425MB. You can download bits and pieces when on-line and resume the next time you log on.

Business Idea

Web site devoted to sharing best parking areas, free or otherwise.

Random Acting

On the way home this evening I saw a bumper sticker with the text "RandomActing.com." I thought it referred to a group promting random acts of kindness, which seemed to contrast with the woman playing loud rap music. When I looked it up this afternoon, it appears to be a group of improv musicians in downtown Sacramento.

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-20

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-20
Resting heart rate: 55 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Thursday
Date: 2006-04-20
Weather: sunny
Temp: n/a
Time: n/a
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Not feeling 100% today so decided to take a walking day off.
Time: n/a
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 6.29 km (3.9 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=131839
Total Distance For Year: 414.9 km (245.3 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?:
Foods eaten today: n/a

Quote of the Day

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?" - Rabbi Hillel

or, for my friend Dawn: "My face smells yummy." Inside joke. ;)

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-19

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-19
Resting heart rate: 57 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Wednesday
Date: 2006-04-19
Weather: sunny
Temp: 21 C (69.8 F), 12 km/h wind
Time: 14:38 - 15:35
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Recovery run today. Did not sleep well last night and felt exhausted as I drove to the American River Parkway. Relaxed as I went, and the five-minute warm-up walk I took helped me relax even more. I noticed cars parked on Bridge Street all the way up both sides, and some on the upper right side (facing south) did not park abreast of the ditch, so they effectively reduced the street to one-lane for about five or six car-lengths. Saw a young man toss some small bit of garbage into the ditch, and felt irritation, since the garbage can was right across the road. He was with two of his friends, and they looked muscular and bored. Noticed three teenagers sitting on the south bank of the river, and the boy with them threw a stone at the ducks, then one of the girls also threw a stone. Felt some anger seeing that, and later consoled myself with the thought of throwing a stone at them and seeing how they liked it. Mostly the thought just the sense of injuring another out of boredom or to impress a friend. Saw a new bird today, a small grey and blue bird. :) And I see wild turkeys everywhere, maybe five or six today. Passed a woman who I think might be that long distance runner I saw in the Nimbus Fish Hatchery parking lot a month or two ago. I ran about a 3.5-5.5mph pace, depending on uphill/downhill/mood, mostly slow though, since I wanted to take it easy. It felt hot this afternoon, and with about one mile to go I started feeling faint, with some mild vision impairment in my left eye. I ran for about another half-mile before decidng to stop. And I am glad I did, since my feeling of dizziness rapidly diminished as I cooled down. The feeling of mild exhaustion remained. I attribute it to eating food about 30 minutes before running and not hydrating myself properly before the run, and possibly due to some mild illness. It's not the first time I have made this mistake, and I will keep doing this until I get into the habit of proper hydration and eating. As my running becomes more routine, it becomes less of a priority in my daily schedule, and so I give it less thought on a daily basis, which leads to trouble on the trail. :P Diet is not one of my strong points right now.
Time: 57 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 6.29 km (3.9 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=131839
Total Distance For Year: 414.9 km (245.3 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.4 kg (170.7 lbs), 18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Felt faint with one mile to go. Stopped running with 0.5 mi to go.
Foods eaten today: raisin bran and soy milk, banana, banana, cinnamon-raisin bagel, glass of electrolyte and water

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-18

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-18
Resting heart rate: 54 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 2006-04-18
Weather: mostly sunny
Temp: 17 C (62.6 F), 1 km/h wind
Time: 12:08 - 12:53
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Cooler day than yesterday for my walk. It appears that the county plans to erect a pavilion to thank a wealthy donor at the north end of the pedestrian bridge. The river is still as high as it has ever been. Wore my sandals today, which does not work so well off the bike trail, since pebbles get between the sole and the sandal. As I came to the Upper Sunrise Road, I came across a male and a female turkey. The male had his plumage in full array behind him, though he missed a few feathers on his right side. As he slowly moved, keeping an eye on me, he intentionally dragged his wing feathers along the ground to make a scratching noise. As I walked off the access road onto a trail to their left, another female turkey saw me and slowly plodded down the trail. :) Seeing her amble like a human would down the trail and around the corner out of sight, I felt amused. The grass is growing quite high, obscuring the rocks in the clearing. The bike trail remains flooded. As I recrossed the bridge, two dads and their daughters were going on the bike trail. The dads were explaining how they enjoy going on the dirt trails, and then exclaimed from behind me, "look how fast the water is rushing." It was fun, but they seemed a bit over-patriarchal. I felt hungry during my walk today, since I did not eat much before going out, so I did not observe as intently as I might otherwise.
Time: 45 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 3.01 km (1.87 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=131839
Total Distance For Year: 408.6 km (241.4 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a (forgot)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: mac & cheese, raisin bran and soy milk, muffins and butter, pasta with garlic sauce, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, 2% milk, chocolate cake, ramen soup with mixed vegetables

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-17

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-17
Resting heart rate: 53 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Monday
Date: 2006-04-17
Weather: mostly sunny, mild wind
Temp: 20 C (68 F), 8 km/h wind
Time: 12:32 - 13:30
Terrain: Flat
Comments: The weather is heating up. Today is the first day I felt spring receding and the heat of summer rising. Weather-wise, it was a fantastic day for running. Saturated blue sky peppered with medium-sized white clouds, lush foliage, bright mid-day sunshine illuminating everything. While the American River looks lower than I remember, it has nearly completely flooded the bike trail in one location. Enjoyed wearing my sunglasses today. My new policy is, wear when needed, because I don't enjoy the reduced light on cloudy days. Brought my GPS unit with me, and ran a slow, comfortable pace of about 3.5-4.5mph for most of the run. It felt great. The river water has completely swallowed the sandbar where fishers might wade to in past months. At the mid-point, I run into the parking lot and took the fire access road back to the end of Upper Sunrise Drive. Running temporarily on the Gold Country private asphalt trail, I felt a bit irrationally nervous to see if anyone would challenge me. I passed no one. On the way back, I fell into a rhythm where I was able to clear my mind and only focus on the aural and visual environment around me. When I observed myself doing that, I felt happy, and also I realized how important both sensations are for creating realistic simulated environments, say for virtual reality. The sound of birds chirping, an insect whirring in the grass, a turkey gobble, wind roaring past the ears, construction workers hammering from across the river, an immense body of rushing water, squawking of birds excited by my passing presence, my shoes crunching on the soil or pounding the pavement, the inhalation and exhalation of my breath. Combine that with the visual stimuli of lush foliage, saturated blue sky, a lone hawk floating with wings extended high above, white clouds, other bikers, walkers, the immense body of river water, birds, flowers, and vehicles. Touch also comes into play in a minor way, with salty sweat beading and running from my forehead to my neck, the feel of saturated hair on my skin, my muscles moving in time with one another. Overall, a positive day.
Time: 58 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 5.48 km (3.4 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=128405
Total Distance For Year: 405.6 km (239.5 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.8, 17% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: mild stiffness in the knees at the start, but this went away after five minutes. Muscles still felt a bit stiff, but better.
Foods eaten today: Powerbar, banana, mac & cheese, chocolate, Honest Tea First Nation Peppermint tea, cinnamon and raisin bagel

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-16

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-16
Resting heart rate: 56 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Sunday
Date: 2006-04-16
Weather: partly sunny, windy
Temp: 15 C (59 F), 30 km/h wind
Time: 16:05 - 17:18
Terrain: Flat
Comments: Walked with Lanna at Carmichael Park this afternoon. The grass was moderately tall and concealed areas with pooled water. We slogged our way through to the perimeter of the park. This park has a mural called "The Great Wall of Carmichael," by local artist Hugh Gorman, which has a number of humorous bits on it. He allowed students from a nearby elementary school to paint fishes, octupi, and other fanciful creatures living in the American River. :) Cute. We walked past an area reserved for exercising pets. A woman who lives adjacent to Carmichael Park seems to have taken over the part of the park next to her garden and planted a wide variety of flowering plants that were in full bloom. As we passed the Raymond and Hazel Nay Memorial Picnic Shelter, we observed a family gathering dispersing to their vehicles, with one of the men hoisting a barbeque. The air was filled with smoke from the barbeque, and it reminded me of some comfort smells of roasting hot dogs from my childhood camping trips. As we walked back to our cars, we passed several children playing basketball, and another group of kids on the bleachers next to the tennis courts. I noticed one girl holding a small butterfly net in the strong wind and asked her if she had caught anything. "No," she replied, "Nothing but a dead bee," which she proceeded to show me. :) Fun. I didn't walk so much today, my muscles felt moderately sore from Saturday's run. Noticed this evening I was gorging myself on ice cream and mac & cheese.
Time: 73 minutes (1:13)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 1.82 km (1.13 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=126793
Total Distance For Year: 400.1 km (236.1 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a (forgot)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Stiff legs, toe on right foot has dime-sized blister, sore spot on left foot's sole
Foods eaten today: vegetable fried rice, soy milk, chocolate, mac & cheese, Ben & Jerry's Mint Cookie ice cream

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-15

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-15
Resting heart rate: 60 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-04-15
Weather: overcast, windy, misty rain
Temp: 17.78 C (64 F), 25 m/s wind
Time: 12:10 - 14:40
Terrain: mostly flat with ~17m elevation difference between start/end and mid-point.
Comments: 20 mile run today. 6.2 miles shy of a full marathon. Amazing. As I crossed the pedestrian bridge, a family was crossing north. One of their daughters laid down on the cement on the south side, and the family sang, "Stand up Sara, stand up." Sara rose in increments as they sang. It was cute. Wore my GPS unit today. Per Galloway's book, I started out the long run slow, at about 5.0mph. I figured this was slow since as I walked to the 20-mile marker, I was at a 4.0mph pace. As I approached mile three, I passed through a small stand of trees, and a co-ed pair of bikers passed me going the opposite way. As they did, the man must have spotted a wild turkey, and he made a gobble-gobble noise. In return, the wild turkey gobbled back. It was fun. At the two-mile point, I passed an older man I frequently see on Saturday, and he had a wide smile. The exchanges are getting warmer, and after I passed him I wished I would have greeted him with, "My name is Kevin." At about the spot as I heard the biker imitate a turkey, a very thin yet muscular jogger re-passed going the other way . He had not said anything when he passed me, but after I said "Hello again," he smiled widely and greeted me back. It's sort of weird when I greet people and they don't say anything back. I was on my way toward mile 18 when this happened, and I was so tired I let slip "Goodbye" after I had jogged a few meters past him to express my disappointment. I ran on the trail mostly today, instead of the asphalt, and it didn't bother me so much. Where I could, I ran away from edge of the trail and asphalt, where it is more flat. The bike trail's asphalt is slightly slanted to promote run-off. Running five mph for the first three miles felt great. When I took my walk breaks every four minutes, I immediately relaxed and felt all the tension drop away, and I enjoyed the warm headwinds and the sights around me. The headwinds today were pretty brutal, but they helped on the return. I noticed that they knocked me down by about 0.5mph when I was running into them. After mile three, again following Galloway's advice, I picked up the pace to 5.5mph. This was harder with the headwinds, and I was debating whether or not to run that pace. Galloway recommends picking up the pace again after eight miles to make up the 15-18 seconds lost during each walk break. Today I decided to pick up wrappers and such lying on the trail. Someone left an entire plastic comforter-bag full of garbage at the 15-mile marker bridge. :P I originally brought two Powerbars with me today, but found my shorts sagging, so I left one on the payment deposit box at the mile 19 wayside park, hoping it might be there when I returned (it wasn't). Between miles 8-12, misty rain fell. I really enjoyed mile nine, just before Watt Ave, because of the many tall shade trees the bike trail goes through. The rain made it hard to check my watch, and added to the weight of the clothing I carried, but otherwise it did not bother me so much. I ran miles three through eight at about a 5.5mph pace. After mile eight, I followed Galloway's advice and attempted to increase closer to a 6.0mph pace. This ended up being a bad idea. I noticed my ability to relax and drain away fatigue during my walk breaks diminishing rapidly. My pace during the walk breaks also dropped to very-slow, to the point of barely moving forward. The very slow one-minute walk break helped a lot with giving my muscles a chance to rest, much better than I have done with faster-paced walk breaks in the past. Every two miles starting at mile 10 I took one bite from my Powerbar. This was new since on past long runs I took one bite every mile. This continued until I discovered at mile 16 that I had accidentally put a bit of trash in the same pocket with the Powerbar. Eww. At mile 12 I re-passed someone I had greeted previously, and he exclaimed, "You're still going." To this I laughed and said, "How about you?" Fun. Saw lots of ground squirrels today, and saw one disappear down a hole. Saw the mystery bird again. Not sure what it is. Realized how snobby I am getting about who runs on the left side of the trail. ;) After mile 16 I really started feeling exhaustion. I found that straightening my back (running tall) helped me run a 5.5mph pace for two consecutive walk breaks, but after that I slowed down again to a 5.0mph pace. The price of running tall and fast was a sore butt and upper legs. At one point around mile 16, I checked my watch and my pace kept dropping, so I ran faster. At one point I felt like I was in a weird situation where I was running faster (or so I thought) but yet my pace was falling. It was weird. So, after I reached mile 17, I decided to run slower to rest my muscles. This dropped my pace to anywhere from 4.0mph-5.0mph. Walk breaks from miles 17-20 were almost non-moving. Around the mile 19 marker I realized that this was what Galloway meant when he talked about gut-check. I looked to my left as I ran through the mile 18 stretch of woods, and noticed a black-tailed doe watching me right on the edge of the path. As I passed it, it picked a leaf from a branch and chewed. Cute. I have never been so close. When I returned to mile 19 wayside park, I found my Powerbar gone. Bummer. It was around mile 19 that I was really getting negative thoughts that I couldn't handle. For example, "this sucks," "why am I doing this," "this is it, I give up, I am not going to do the marathon." I was really feeling exhausted. Finally, I reached mile 20. My four-minute runs at that point were getting me about 0.3 miles down the trail. Galloway says to walk one mile after a long run, but I decided I felt so exhausted that I wanted to just get home. As I recrossed the bridge like a zombie, I noticed a guy with a soft-shell guitar case and a peace symbol on the back toss his lighter on the bridge. He walked in front of me up the hill. I reached my car and passed him. On the way home, I started getting a tingling sensation in my ears, arms, head, and a sense of mild nausea. It was like my entire body was mildly cramping from the position I was sitting in. I pulled in at home, went inside, and pulled off my shoes. I sat there for a few seconds with all this muscle ache and tingling, feeling a bit nauseous, and decided to get some electrolytes into me. I pulled out an old can of powder and mixed two scoops into a glass and drank it down, then went upstairs and spread out on my bed and closed my eyes. The electrolytes hit my system like a miracle cure, and after about 20 minutes all the symptoms were gone. The rest on my bed left me feeling relatively normal again. I went downstairs, had another glass of electrolyte powder, took a shower, then relaxed by talking with a friend for an hour or so. Treated myself to some good Chinese for supper as a reward. Lessons learned: One: hydrate before the long run, hydrate during the long run, hydrate after the long run; I didn't hydrate adequately before hand. Two: 5.0mph is ok. Galloway's maxim, slower is better is true. Three: GPS is excellent for maintaining pace. I checked my watch a billion times today to ensure I was on the pace I wanted. Four: I enjoy chocolate-peanut butter better than plain peanut-butter. Five: Having electrolyte fluid with me on a run is essential. Six: I might have taken more walk breaks today, but elected to stick with one every four minutes. Mistake. I would have really benefited from walk breaks every three minutes. Seven: posture (running tall) matters with respect to efficiency and speed. Strong abs really matter in maintaining posture.
Time: 270 minutes (4:30)
Goal Time: 270 minutes (4:30)
Distance: 32.26 km (20 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=125024
Total Distance For Year: 398.3 km (235.0 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.6, 19% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Left knee and achilles felt a bit sore when starting out, by third mile no problem. Around mile 17 felt numbness in arms from holding them so tight. All muscles felt exhausted around mile 18, including abs which help keep me upright so I can run more efficiently. On way home, felt cramping and tingling in extremities, and mild nausea. Disappeared immediately after drinking electrolytes and lying down for ten minutes. After drinking another glass of electrolytes and a hot shower, I am up and awake and moving about with minor muscle aches.
Foods eaten today: bowl of raisin bran cereal with soy milk, two chocolate-peanut butter Powerbars, vegetable egg foo young, two glasses of water and electrolytes

Running journal, Friday, 2006-04-14

Running journal, Friday, 2006-04-14
Resting heart rate: 65 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Friday
Date: 2006-04-14
Weather: overcast
Temp: 21.11 C (70 F), 1 m/s wind
Time: n/a
Terrain: n/a
Comments: 20 miles tomorrow. Thinking about that, I feel intimidation. With my watch, I can get it done within four hours, I think, maintaining a 5-mph pace. Realized today I am out of Powerbars. Stick with peanut butter or try something new? I enjoyed running without my sunglasses on Wednesday I probably will not run with them tomorrow. I wonder if eating the remainder of a large hollow chocolate egg means anything regarding my performance. Tempting. :)
Time: n/a
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: n/a
Total Distance For Year: 366.0 km (215.0 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today:

Too small to have an impact?

Quote of the day:

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."
Bette Reese

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-13

Running journal, Thursday, 2006-04-13
Resting heart rate: 53 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Thursday
Date: 2006-04-13
Weather: sunny
Temp: 23.89 C (75 F), 1 m/s wind
Time: 16:44-19:00
Terrain: flat
Comments: Walked in Del Campo Park today with Lanna. Beautiful mid-70's weather. Took off my sandals and walked through the grass and mud. Felt great. Got a blanket and sat on the grass and talked, while a girl's soccer practice went on in the background. Met a few dogs: a corgi, a big brown dog named Cocoa, a shaggy black dog, and a cream dog with orange spots that came up to us as we sat and patiently let us pet it. We're sort of trying different places in the area. Not sure where we'll end up next. Not so many new places in the area. Lanna shared an insight she had that the earth's rotation affects the trees.
Time: 136 minutes (2:16)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 3.23 km (2.0 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=121178
Total Distance For Year: 366.0 km (215.0 mi)
Weight (after run):
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: Raisin bran cereal, soy milk, mint Hershey's Kisses, spanish rice and au gratin potatoes, mixed vegetables, green beans, tomato soup, Honest Tea First Nation Peppermint tea, a giant hollow chocolate egg

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-12

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-12
Resting heart rate: 58 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Wednesday
Date: 2006-04-12
Weather: overcast
Temp: 17 C (62.6 F), 1 m/s wind
Time: 14:18 - 15:19
Terrain: flat
Comments: Humid but comfortably cool weather today. Smell of humidity and plants makes for a lush landscape. Splashed around a few mud puddles on some of the trails. The water has receded from the bike trail areas. Someone had parked their Porsche down by the closed boat dock near the pedestrian bridge. I saw it later driving along the access road. I ran to the Nimbus Dam, got a drink, and decided to run back along the road that runs from Gold Country Blvd to the vehicle parking lot next to the bike trail. Then I cut through the woods to the end of Upper Sunrise Drive, and ran along that all the way back. I noticed that there is a trail from the end of Upper Sunrise Drive that runs through the woods to the parking lot road I just mentioned, so I will try that next time. There are two signs warning people not to tresspass on private community trails, but I think I'll explore them anyway. From the overhead maps they just seem to run between the bike trail and Gold Strike Road, and the bike trail and Gold Bar Drive. All the orange poppies are in full bloom along the side of the trail, along with smaller, more modest wildflowers. I saw a duck sitting on the edge of the riverbank on the way out, watching the river flow by. Cute. :)
Time: 61 minutes (1:01)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 8.65 km (5.38 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=117748
Total Distance For Year: 362.8 km (213.0 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.4 kg (170.67 lbs), 17% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Left Achilles heel felt sore today, I think from running on rocks in the trail, or perhaps from running too fast on Monday. Left knee felt a bit sore starting out but that went away after five minutes.
Foods eaten today: Apple-cinnamon Peace cereal, soy milk, Powerbar

Shaving

Purchased a shaving brush, waiting for a stand to dry it properly after each use.

Geo F Trumpers of London operates a shaving school for learning the art of shaving. They share a list of "Fundamental Principles of Wet Shaving" on their web site for those of us outside London.

The Trumpers' samples all smell fantastic.

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-11

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-11
Resting heart rate: 66 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 2006-04-11
Weather: overcast, rainy, windy
Temp: 16.11 C (61 F), 9 m/s wind
Time: 13:03 - 14:22
Terrain: flat
Comments: Lanna and I walked around Goethe Park this afternoon. We saw two deer stuck in an awkward patch between the access road and a chain link fence. They watched us carefully as we passed. We also saw a jackrabbit. We reached the American River, and noticed that the water had swallowed the handicap fishing dock. At one point it had completely covered the dock, and we could see the water line had receded about five feet in height. Various sticks and one massive log was floating inside the caged dock area. We honked and quacked appropriately at the geese and ducks feeding on the shore. As we headed back east, we noticed the Sacramento Metro Fire Department training along a patch of rapids. They wore wet suits, life vests, helmets, and other such gear for staying dry and warm. We approached them but were cut off by a small pond of rainwater. As we watched, they practiced throwing ropes into the water. After a bit, we saw another team of people practicing floating in the river water past us, then swimming toward shore when a watcher blew into their whistle. We left them and walked back west toward the access road, then back to our cars. I enjoy the sunny, balmy days better than the windy, rainy, slightly cold days. It was a bit difficult to hear with the sound of the wind in my ears.
Time: 79 minutes (1:19)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 4.0 km (2.48 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=115607
Total Distance For Year: 354.1 km (207.6 mi)
Weight (after run): 78.4 kg (172.87 lbs), 20% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None.
Foods eaten today: Apple-cinnamon Peace cereal, soy milk, spaghetti with spinach, bread, green olives, Honest Tea's First Nation Peppermint tea, waffles and maple syrup, black bean soup and bread

Kristi Stassinopoulou

Kristi's confident, glowing smile reflects the emotion of this Grecian import album. I have not yet had the opportunity to listen to the entire album, but I have listened to Aegean Rhapsodies and The Sound of One World, and I enjoyed both.

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-10

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-10
Resting heart rate: 56 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Monday
Date: 2006-04-10
Weather: overcast
Temp: 17.78 C (64 F)
Time: 43 minutes
Terrain: flat
Comments: Wore my GPS system for the first time today. I found myself looking at my watch continually to identify my speed. Ended up running faster than I might have otherwise, averaging around 5.5 mph, although I went as high as 8.3 mph at one point. 5.5 mph is a 4.76 hour marathon pace, but I doubt I can maintain that pace for that long. Someone has scrawled a '4' in front of the pavement 20 mile-marker, so it reads, "420." Wore my Superman colors again, saturated red and blue. Decided I would like to wear a Superman t-shirt during the first marathon. :) Someone broke a bottle on the pedestrian bridge and left the gloss there. How rude. I saw two park trucks on garbage detail. Ran past one family's big dog not on a leash; felt a bit nervous. The river water is still ridiculously high. Running faster felt good though. When I sprinted at the end, my left leg felt stiff, so I did not extend my stride too far. The clouds on the far eastern horizon were blackish-blue and downpouring. The man who parks his white car with the "Dog is my co-pilot" bumper sticker on Bridge Street was leaving when I arrived, but he had returned when I finished my run. Not sure why he spends so much time there, or whether he lives there in his car. Saw a Rancho Cordova Parking Enforcement car leaving the parking lot area. Passed one man sitting by himself on a picnic table at the mile-19 wayside park, and passed him again on the return. The water fountain drain at mile 18 is clogged, and the basin fills with water. The handle of the fountain at mile 19.5 sticks, so it continues to run sometimes after the person using it leaves. Saw some acorn woodpeckers swoop down to the dirt shoulder today around the mile 19 marker.
Time: 13:13 - 13:56
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 6.45 km (4.0 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=113253
Total Distance For Year: 354.1 km (207.6 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.4 kg (170.67 lbs),18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: left leg a bit stiff, a bit of an irritation on the top of my left foot.
Foods eaten today: Apple-cinnamon Peace cereal, soy milk

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-08

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-08
Resting heart rate: 60 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-04-08
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17.78 C (64 F)
Time: 10:55-13:05
Terrain: flat
Comments: Slow, relaxing run today. I felt comfortable at the finish, no exhaustion. Saw three deer feeding in a field just past mile 18. Saw two wild turkeys near mile 18.5. There seems to have been a Race to Stop Stroke today around mile 18. Not sure what that was all about, but they cheered and congratulated a few people as they finished. :) Saw two butterflies having butterfly-sex. Racey stuff when you're on a two-hour run. Saw a rider on horseback, a pale yellow horse. Looked like fun. Lots of people on the road. One girl smiled as she greeted me. :) The river remains very high today, perhaps higher than the last time I ran on Wednesday. All plant life is green and lush, the trees are full of songbirds.
Time: 130 minutes (2:10)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 16.13 km (10 mi)
Total Distance For Year: 347.6 km (203.6 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=109173
Weight (after run): 77.6 kg (171.1 lbs), 18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Knees felt sore, the top of my left foot felt sore between miles 5-8.
Foods eaten today: PowerBar,

The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter

In mid-January I had the opportunity to meet President Jimmy Carter at a Carter Center membership dinner in San Francisco. Thanks to my friend Don for the invite.

Watch Warning

So confusing:

WARNING: Consulting the speed + distance system while moving is unsafe and distracting and could result in accident or collision. Use the memory functions to later review your speed and distance data. See instruction booklet for details.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season Seven

Finished season seven. The series ending was moving. The open road before them, the rubble of Sunnydale behind them. All of them together, the first glimmer of hope that the future might have something for them after all. Good times.

The tray of cheese slices made a reappearance in the dream sequence of Andrew and Jonathan during "Storyteller." Season seven was the season where I finally got the whole UC-Sunnydale logo bit. It's a UC followed by a sun, then the letter 'D.' I was thinking, we already have a UCD (UC-Davis), that doesn't make any sense. Oh.

The series finale left a few things unresolved for me. One thing that never made sense to me was why a new slayer did not arise when Buffy died at the end of season five. Maybe a male slayer to be a love interest to Buffy, but nobody showed up. The apparition of Joyce to Buffy and Dawn early on seems to have been The First, though I don't remember it getting explicitly stated. Why didn't the Bringers bomb the Summers home like they did the Council? Not for lack of explosives. In the end The First turned out to be an omniscient apparition, a possessed preacher, and an army of ancient vampires and Bringers -- there was no physical battle between Buffy and The First.

Episodes I didn't like: "Him," the episode where Buffy seduces RJ.

Favorite season seven quotes: From "First Date," after Xander's romantic date turns out to be a demon intent on using his blood to open the seal, he renounces dating women, exclaiming, "Willow, gay me up;" Xander's confession to Dawn in "Potential":

"Seven years, Dawn. Working with the slayer. Seeing my friends get more and more powerful. A witch. A demon. Hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit, but come a full moon, he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with. Powerful. All of them. They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary;"

Spike's vulnerability to Buffy in "Touched":

"I've been alive longer than you and dead longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine. I've done things I preferred you didn't. I've never had a reputation for being a thinker. I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain… A hundred plus years and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of…you…I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clarity what you are. You're a hell of a women. You're the one, Buffy;"

"I get that." This is one quote I noticed the characters say frequently. Must be a favorite of the writers to express understanding.

I felt a lot of disappointment with Amanda dying in the final battle. I was really happy to see Olaf make a cameo in Anya's flashback. Andrew's daydream where he imagines himself, Jonathan, and Warren as gods was hilarious -- togas, harps, dancing, and singing effeminately in a brightly-lit field of flowers. Juliet Landau as Drusilla is amazing. "Grrrrruff" -- I love it.

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-05

Running journal, Wednesday, 2006-04-05
Resting heart rate: 65 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Wednesday
Date: 2006-04-05
Weather: overcast, some very light rain, 4 m/s wind
Temp: 14.44 C (58 F)
Time: 18:00 - 18:40
Terrain: flat
Comments: Ran to the west today, then back north across the western pedestrian bridge. The water was about a foot below the span of the bridge, and it had overflowed the path on the northern side. I ran along the rocky access rode to the north of the river, which stinks, because the rocks hurt the muscles and joints more than the flat asphalt or dirt trail. Saw a cat, and I thought it was a bobcat, which didn't seem to bother me much. The area to the north of the river is empty, save for one person taking pictures and another walking their dog. On the way out I passed a man playing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on his car stereo while he laced up his inline skates. On the way back across the bridge I heard a pair of people playing hand drums and harmonica on top of the bluffs. I was tempted to walk up there, but decided I'd rather get home and be warm. On the way up the southern embankment of the pedestrian bridge, I walked very close to a wild turkey for several meters. On the way back on the rocky trail I passed the cat again, and it watched me as I passed with a tense stare, ready to bolt.
Time: 40 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 6.29 km (3.9 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=104292
Total Distance For Year: 331.5 km (193.6 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.6 kg (171.1 lbs), 19% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: left foot the muscle on the top felt sore when I finished, probably from running on the stones.
Foods eaten today: cheese pizza, soy milk, banana

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season Six

Finished season six. Some bits of humor -- here in California we have "Long's Drugs" chain of drugstores. In Sunnydale, they have "Short's Drugs" with the same logo and everything.

To be honest, for some reason I heard from a friend that seasons six and seven left a bad taste in their mouth. To me, season six was just as powerful as the rest. Tara's death, Buffy's resurrection, her institutional hallucinations in "Normal Again," (the closing scene in that one made me wonder what was reality and what was fantasy) and the finale with Xander repeating "I love you" to Willow -- all powerfully moving. Tara's death and the shooting of Buffy, especially. Whedon has a gift for capturing the emotion and helplessness in moments of shock and sudden loss.

A few things might have not met expectations. Buffy's love interest shifting to Spike -- not getting it nor seeing it. Or perhaps the expectations of a sustaining tension with evil throughout the season (like Glory from season five) were not met. The Trio weren't very scary; lost, desperate, and petty, yes -- but not scary. Or perhaps they couldn't handle the increased imagery of the romance between Tara and Willow. I found it greatly refreshing. It's love between two people. The emotion is the same, regardless of gender.

Favorite season six quotes: "The hardest thing in the world is to live in it," and strangely enough, from the finale, the lyrics to the closing song, "to be loved is to love." Although Buffy beating the demon with a piece of copper pipe and screaming "full copper re-pipe" comes in a close third in "Flooded."

Buffy's job at Double-Meat Palace triggered some flashbacks to my high-school KFC job, especially the smell of grease. Even before I became a vegetarian, I stopped eating Crispy Chicken. And don't get me started with employees playing hacky-sack with the discarded wings. x_x

I enjoyed the musical "Once More With Feeling." Especially the evil character with the charisma. Weird, but in my opinion well-done weird, mostly. A few songs seemed to only serve as filler. Have to hand it to Whedon -- did not see that one coming. Whedon surprises, just like Hush (season four) and The Body (season five).

One thing I noticed this season which I haven't noticed before is the writers, the directors, and the producers of each show, as well as the guest stars in each. I am not sophisticated enough to tell the difference in the shows, yet. I guess one just records who one likes and who one doesn't so much and sees if the pattern is consistent from one writer's/producer's/director's show to the next.

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-04

Running journal, Tuesday, 2006-04-04
Resting heart rate: 62 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 2006-04-04
Weather: overcast, rainy
Temp: 15 C (59 F)
Time: 12:00 - 13:45
Terrain: flat
Comments: Walked at Goethe Park today with Lanna. The water is very high due to recent rains. Passed several geese and a pair of ducks (not a paradox) floating in large puddles. Noticed a large ornate oxidized-copper fence on the north side of the river. Walked a bit into the trail off of Goethe Park but turned back because I don't want to push myself too hard on my recovery days. Weather was relatively pleasant, although the wind became chilly at times. Noticed another non-operational water fountain along the trail on the return. This brings the count to four of non-operational fountains along the Goethe Park trail. :P Lanna identified several birds, including a phoebe. I thought we heard the bird I heard/saw last Saturday, but I never saw it.
Time: 65 minutes (1:05)
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 3.0 km (1.86 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=102623
Total Distance For Year: 325.2 km (189.7 mi)
Weight (after run): n/a (forgot)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: toaster waffles with real maple syrup, soy milk, asian noodles, cinnamon-raisin roll, kettle-brewed ice tea, potato-cheese burrito

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-03

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-03
Resting heart rate: 50 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Monday
Date: 2006-04-03
Weather: overcast, rainy
Temp: 16.11 C (61 F)
Time: 12:30 - 13:15
Terrain: flat
Comments: Lowest heart-rate ever. :) Wow. Not sure if it was waking up from a dream, getting ~9 hours sleep, or having fun conversations with friends last night. Most likely the 18-mile run on Saturday had something to do with it. Raining today. On the way back the water level from the river was overflowing the trail again like it did a few months ago. The river is very high. I thought I heard the alarm bell from the Nimbus Dam on the way back, which means they are opening/closing a gate. It might have been a medical or police vehicle though. The light rain made a pleasant pattering noise on the asphalt as I ran, dripping from tree branches overhanging the access road. Noticed a duck at one spot which often overflows with water as the river rises, as if it were waiting for the overflow to occur. :) Ducks seem to like that spot, I often see them there. Saw worms on the bike trail as I ran, escaping the water-logged soil. Only a few others on the trail this afternoon. I felt tired on the way back, so I took it slow, until I started thinking about things other than the scenery and running. Overall, a positive run.
Time: 44.5 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 6.10 km (3.79 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=99694
Total Distance For Year: 323.2 km (187.8 mi)
Weight (after run): 78.0 kg (171.96 lbs), 18% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: sole of left foot felt sore, but the pain faded after running for about 10 minutes. My muscles felt stiff at first, but loosened up after about 10 minutes.
Foods eaten today: Cinnamon frosted mini-wheats and soy milk, Papa John's pizza, cinnamon-raisin bagel, popcorn, organic vegetable pizza, kettle-brewed unsweetened ice tea, mixed fruit in syrup

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-02

Running journal, Sunday, 2006-04-02
Resting heart rate: 59 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Sunday
Date: 2006-04-02
Weather: overcast
Temp: 17.78 C (64 F)
Time: 13:20 - 14:10
Terrain: flat
Comments: Took Grrr out on a walk today. Instead of taking out everything from the hatchback area and letting him sit back there, I put down the passenger seat and put the blanket over it and the back seats. Rolled down the window enough so he could get some fresh air and he loved sticking his head out the window to watch as we drove to the pedestrian bridge. Went out for a walk and I immediately took him to the back field where I let him off his leash. And off he went. Picked up my first bit of dog waste today. :P Not pleasant. Had it in a plastic bag but am thinking a container would keep the smell down. Grrr loved the puddles from the recent rainfalls. He lies down in them. :) I tride to point out a wild turkey to him that was no more than 15 meters away, but he was not interested. My legs felt stiff today, so I was not in a mood for chasing him. On the return trip, we walked around a flooded area, and I picked up a discarded beer can. As I dumped out the water, Grrr looked at it and got excited. I realized he wanted to play fetch. :) So I found a stick and threw it into a huge puddle that was flooded from the river, maybe six meters across, 30-meters long, and one-half meter deep. After getting our fill of that, we walked back across the pedestrian bridge, where I again pointed out two black-tailed deer on the top of the bank looking at us. Grrr wasn't interested, rather he rolled over onto his back and waited for me to scratch his stomach. :)
Time: 50 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 3.77 km (2.34 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=98325
Total Distance For Year: 317.1 km (184.0 mi)
Weight (after run): 78.2 kg (172.4 lbs), 19% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: very stiff legs
Foods eaten today: cinnamon frosted mini-wheats and soy milk, cheese, orange juice, seltzer water, crackers, rice-krispie bar, chips and salsa, cheese pizza w/black olives from Papa Johns

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-01

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-04-01
Resting heart rate: 77 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-04-01
Weather: mostly sunny
Temp: 17.78 C (64 F)
Time: ? - 17:20
Terrain: mostly flat
Comments: 18 miles today. Got to the eight-mile marker and decided to go for it I was feeling so good. I was even forgetting walk breaks and running too long. Well, that was that. At mile 12, I started feeling tired. I had to stop running by mile 16.5, I had hit the wall. I walked back the last 1.5 miles. I made it though -- 18 miles. I am back on track to get my marathon training done by June 17. Saw a strange bird around mile eight. It was big, but not a turkey. Did you know that the CA International Llama Association has adopted a portion of the trail? :) Did you know that the CA International Llama Association exists? I did not, until today. Almost ran into some wild turkeys near the 0.5 mile mark. They are everywhere recently. The river was high. Everything looked so sunny and beautiful on the way out today. The wind was blowing what looked like dandelion seeds through the air. I decided not to bring my sunglasses today, because I enjoy running without them, as I seem to get more contact with people running by when they can see my eyes. Passed a man and his wife on the way back and he asked how I was doing, then asked "how many miles?" When I told him he exclaimed "wow, good luck." :) I stopped for water breaks as often as I could -- miles one, two, four, six, and eight have water fountains. I began eating my Powerbars (I brought two) at mile nine, and ate both by mile 15. By the time I reached mile 17, I was not in the mood for water, I felt exhausted. Other than the exhaustion though, it was a perfect day for running. ;) And in the long term, I'm happy to have made it, since I am now back on track.
Time: ?
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 29.03 km (18.0 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=98321
Total Distance For Year: 313.3 km (181.7 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.2 kg (170.2 lbs), 19% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: sore muscles
Foods eaten today:

Brownie Delivery Business Idea

My multi-billion dollar business idea. :)

With or without frosting, nuts, and chocolate chips. Warm brownies delivered to your door. Who can resist? :) Open late.