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Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27
Resting heart rate: 65 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI):
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 4 C
Time: 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Exercised at the gym this morning. Five minute warmup and cooldown. In between, a 45 minute workout on the arc trainer. Worked hard after warming up and did an interval workout. By the half-way point, I was slowing down on the hard parts and speeding up on the easy parts, which felt good. I tried to stay comfortable. During the second half I watched a program produced by LatinoAmerica.TV and felt a craving for green chile and cheese tamales. I burned about 875 calories today, then went home and ate about 900 calories of tamales (two). I guess that is 900 calories that will not add to my daily total.

Weight (after exercise): 81.8 kg (180.3 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Muscles behind my right knee felt sore a bit after workout.

Wishing Everyone A Patrick Swayze Christmas

For those celebrating today, Merry Christmas, courtesy of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

KYDS Radio Songs

Heard this evening around 5:15 p.m. on KYDS 91.5 Sacramento:

Nutbush, Tennessee native Tina Turner's "Whatever You Need" from her 1999 album "Twenty Four Seven", on the Parlephone Records and Virgin Records labels. Video.

San Diego-based Angels & Airwaves' "Lifeline" from their 2007 album "I-Empire" on the Geffen label. Video.

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25
Resting heart rate: 58 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI): 24.0 (upper normal weight)
Weather: mostly sunny, moderately windy, chilly
Temp: 11 C
Time: 4:00-4:45 p.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Decided to get some exercise as my Christmas present this year. Apparently, this represents the first time I have run since early November. I walked quickly for five minutes to warm up. The first 15 minutes went by slowly. I ran quickly to warm up against the brisk wind. At the half-way point, 22 minutes, I could not imagine running around the American River College track any longer. The ARC campus became the stage for the next 12 minutes, with two and one-half laps at the track to complete the run. The track has poor drainage. The north end's lane nine always seems to have a squishy section following rain, and the west side collects water in pools between the track and the bleachers. I cannot imagine that is good for the long-term health of the stadium track. A few people were out walking, some with dogs. One person practiced their tennis serve. A soccer player was practicing their foot skills on the fields to the east of the school. Someone had left on the scoreboard next to the college pool, so all the digits were lit up like a Christmas display. As I ran around the campus, I felt like I hit my stride around minutes 25-30. I was running strong and comfortably. It felt very wonderful. It felt even better to finish.

Goal Time: none
Distance (running): ???
Total Running Distance For Year: 64.79 km (32.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): 82.6 kg (182.1 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Sore calves near the end.

Winter Tires

Flat tire on the way home this evening, so investigating tires:

175/65R14 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 Blackwall

Only $550 shipped from TireRack.com (with black steel rims and wheel covers).

Purchasing just the four tires from a local Firestone costs $405 (with tax). x_x

Letters from Iwo Jima

60th Reunion of Japanese and American Iwo Jima Veterans in 2005 (Wikipedia)

Iwo Jima means "sulpher island" in Japanese. Over the course of nearly 40 days, the island became the stage for a pitched battle between 21,000+ Japanese and 100,000+ American soldiers. Only 216 Japanese soldiers surrendered. Close to 3,000 Japanese soldiers remained in hiding in the complex tunnel network of the island after the battle. The rest of the Japanese forces were killed in action or through suicide.

Notes and Thoughts

• General Kuribayashi, through attrition, hoped to deter American forces from invading Japan. I wonder, though, if the losses incurred at Iwo Jima played into the use of the hydrogen bomb at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
  
  
• The remains of 10,000 Japanese soldiers reported missing-in-action still exist on the island.
  
  
• The movie clearly conveys the Japanese soldiers' desire to protect their families from harm, which resonated with me.
  
  
• General Kuribayashi is the tragic hero of the film (along with tank commander Takiechi Nishi), sent to his death to delay American forces.
  
  
• Desparation, panic, fear, resignation, acceptance, anger, rage, cynicism, horror.
  
  
• Practically speaking, a civilian's best bet of visiting Iwo Jima is through military tourism.
  

Pictures of the island today: http://www.iwojima.com/today.htm

Brown Butter and Pasta Recipe (Old Spaghetti Factory)

Image credit: http://flickr.com/photos/kurtasbestos/2793267607/

Recipe Review

• Trés Bon. One of my favorites. This represents the second time we have made it.
  
  
• The smell of the caramelizing butter represents a heavenly experience.
  
  
• It tastes just as good or better than that served at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
  
  
• We added a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a tossed salad, two tapered candles, and streamed classical music via Shoutcast.com for ambiance.
  
  
• This open source recipe below comes from CD Kitchen: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/23/Spaghetti_with_Burnt_Butter38272.shtml. I did not write anything below unless otherwise noted.
  

Recipe Overview

There is a terrific dish served by The Old Spaghetti Factory chain, called Spaghetti with Browned Butter. It is served topped with shredded Mizithra cheese (a Greek hard cheese). If mizithra is not available (I am able to easily locate it St. Louis at cheese shops and some supermarkets), a blend of ricotta salata and romano is suggested.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup unsalted butter
2. 1 cup mizithra cheese (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizithra)
3. Pasta of choice (spaghetti works great)
   

Directions

1) Brown the butter

• Cut 2 sticks of butter into 8 pieces and place in a 2-quart sauce pan.
  
  
• Place the pan of butter on a burner on medium heat.
  
  
• Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes).
  
  
• Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise.
  
  
• Continue stirring, otherwise the butter foam could overflow (about 5 minutes) and catch fire.
  
  
• Once the butter stops foaming and rising, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma.
  
  
• Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes.
  
  
• Pour the brown butter through a strainer into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan. (Kevin: I used a paper towel over a measuring cup for this step.)
  
  
• The brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a microwave as needed.
  

2) Boil the Pasta

• Boil the pasta of choice until Al Dente (depends on pasta).
  
  
• Drain pasta and divide into four servings.

3) Combine and Eat

• Spread 1/4 cup of Mizithra over each pasta serving.
  
  
• Top with 1/4 cup of hot brown butter.

Serves/makes 4.

Level 60 (FreeRice.com)

Achieved playing normally (not setting the level). 41,860 grains of rice donated, which amounts to 2,093 turns. That is a lot.

I installed two FireFox extensions which aided in word comprehension and retention:

1. Wikipedia Lookup Extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/744
2. Dictionary extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7869
   

Link: http://FreeRice.com

In searching blog posts for others who have played, I came across a suggestion to play http://aidtochildren.com. After all the difficulty with freerice.com, I mastered this one in 20 minutes:

Koji Tamaki

Kouji Tamaki emotes every line.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdI0OTRYwIo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnmFFtDEc4

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Tamaki

Let the Right One In

Macabre, tender, violent. "Let the Right One In" shatters the myth of childhood innocence. At the same time, it shows the birth of an unlikely friendship between two desperately lonely 12-year-olds. Vulnerability, honesty, and acceptance prove the foundation for friendship, love, and hope for a world without despair.

If you liked the wintry examination of human frailties portrayed by Fargo, this may appeal to you. Often unconventional, dark, bleak, stark, and gory, I highly recommend it.

Link: http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

Rostropovich

Dawn calls me a Rostropovich fanboy. What can I say? I want to purchase the Bach Cello Suites but have no money. Therefore, blogging about it here so I remember later.

Running Journal, Sunday, 2008-11-02

Running Journal, Sunday, 2008-11-02
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 3:00--6:20 p.m.
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: I didn't think about it until we reached the Parkway, but in a strange coincidence I wore my 2006 NYC marathon finishers shirt on the weekend of the 2008 NYC marathon. Noticed a Fleet Feet marking at mile 18.25 indicating a 12-mile turnaround point. It rained here from Thursday evening to Saturday evening, leaving the Parkway in a semi-dried, post-storm state of disarray today. Reflections of the tall, grey and white clouds overhead appeared in large, stagnant puddles along the bike path. The wind created mini-ripples in the puddles that obscured the reflections but remained beautiful in their uniformity. At mile 16, a flock of eight south-ward tracking Canadian Geese flew right over us, the rin-rin-rin noise of their flapping wings and the occasional, punctuating honk the only noises that indicated their presence. Some things never change--at mile 14, the California International Llama Association continues their presence as volunteer stewards of Parkway miles 14--15. About this time I realized I made an error in judgment regarding daylight hours remaining. Today represents the beginning of daylight savings time, so I looked up the time of sunset online. Unfortunately (which I didn't discover until I got home) in my haste I mis-read the sunrise time (6:07 a.m.) for the sunset time (5:04 p.m.). At mile 14.5, a black-tailed deer with antlers bolted across the bike trail and trotted back towards the William B. Pond park. The California sun set impressively, highlighting from behind the profile of a tall cloud on the horizon in beautiful orange and pink hues. At mile 16.75, we passed flocks of chattering birds as they settled in for the night in the branches of a tree near the American River. The contrast of a waxing crescent moon and a bright star became more and more stark as the daylight waned. At mile 17.75, we heard the sound of baying dogs--either coyotes or ferile dogs. At first just one, and we remarked at how one or two dogs might find the moon appealing to howl (somewhat pitifully, to me). Then a group of them began this strange baying, and then the howls began growing louder and louder, as though coming near us rapidly. As we continued to run, the baying dogs became distant. It weirded Dawn out; I'll admit I felt a bit weirded out too by the type of howl. Growing up in the country-side, I know how extremely rare it is for coyotes to attack humans. Most likely, the group had found something to chase and hunt, or they picked a fight with another pack over territory. It was enough for Dawn to want to only run during the day from now on, and I don't blame her. Up until that point, however, the Parkway had become very still and peaceful. At mile 16.75, we passed a small rabbit eating peacefully alongside the trail; it didn't even seem to mind that we stopped and watched it for several moments. As the temperatures cooled, a light mist arose, making the moon and stars look hazy. As we ran past the reflecting puddle we had passed earlier near mile 18.25, this time I saw the moon and the star in the clear waters, bouncing in time with our gait. By the time we made it to the overhanging oak trees at mile 18.5, the darkness around us reduced visibility to a minimum. An occasional early-evening cyclist drove by, bike light strobing through the darkness. At mile 19, we decided to walk the last mile, which provided the double benefit of both alleviating Dawn's exhaustion and providing a cool-down. We held hands to warm Dawn's fingers, first one and then the other. Walking the last quarter mile past the bluffs near the Bridge Street pedestrian bridge, we noticed the large, illuminated peace symbol that shines nightly at a home on the top of the bluffs. Crossing the bridge, we walked under the lone sodium light on the north end of the bridge, got in our car, and drove up the hill. Our reward this week: Jamba Juice for a Pomegranate Paradise and two apple-cinnamon pretzels.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 19.3 km (12.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 64.79 km (32.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-25

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-25
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 12:13 PM--2:46 PM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Animals seen: Jackrabbit, black-tailed deer, Canadian geese. A bicyclist with a helmet-cam rode past us twice. "Bright Little Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle" represents the name of the protected beetle along the Parkway. Another bicyclist rode past us dinging his bell and tapping his bicycle frame to make a rhythm. We came up with the nonsensical term "first second half" and wondered if such things as couples-straight-jackets exist. This represented Dawn's longest run evar.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 16.1 km (10.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 45.49 km (26.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-18

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-18
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 12:00 PM--2:45 PM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Today we met a bicyclist by the name of Garland--gregarious to the point of obnoxiousness, he exclaimed "I'm 65 and I know everyone out here" and proceeded to tell us that only one person grew upset with him the entire time he's cycled on the Parkway--the person noticed him sitting on the bench at the mile 19 rest stop and called him "weird"--Garland related that while he'd been tempted to challenge the person in question to a 20-mile bike ride, he didn't and instead waved him off. After introducing ourselves, he waved and exclaimed, "out here, everyone is 'Hey you'". With that we parted ways amicably. A real character--shoulder length bright-white hair, dark complexion, extremely fit, and very, very extroverted. Dawn and I ran nine miles today--well, eight miles, and then walked the last one mile due to physical nausea. At the turn-around point (mile 15.5) we discovered the Soil Born Farms irrigation pump. They've installed a Flexcon Industries Global Water Solutions 119-gallon (450L) Challenger Outdoor storage tank (PC366FR), a cycle-stop valve, and a 25HP, 230V, 65A Baldor Reliance Industrial motor (model JMM2531T, $2,200) from Berkeley Pumps. It seemed idle at around six-PSI. The sign at the pump stated it helped water around 20 acres of crops at their American River farm. Leaving the irrigation pump, we noted our split time of 1:12 and headed back. After walking the last mile and cooling our legs in the water at the Bridge Street boat ramp, we listened as several fishermen shared fishing secrets. One of them had caught a few salmon, which as I thought later, might have represented an illegal act, given the low salmon runs this year. According to the Department of Fish and Game, it seems to be, but I'm not current on these matters. After running, we stopped by the Sunflower Nutburger Stand in Fair Oaks and gorged on great local food.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 14.5 km (9.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 29.39 km (16.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

GRE Test Prep, Practice Test Two

Second GRE practice test:

Quantitative: 650 (600, +8.3%, 61st percentile)
Verbal: 680 (620, +9.7%, 93rd percentile)
Total: 1,350 (1,220, +10.7%, )

That's a significant increase from mid-to-late July when I took my first practice test. Onward and upward. I'm significantly better on the Verbal--which according to ETS represents a harder test--getting an 800 (perfect score) on the Quantitative represents only the 94th percentile.

ETS also posts the average scores by degree program. CS applicants have a ways to go in their Verbal--300--390 represents the most populous range (24%), with the majority falling between 300--600 (75%). Only 3.2% (!) fall into the 700--790 range--not unexpected. In Quantitative, it's a different story--85% fall into the 600--800 range, with 700--790 representing the most populous range (46.1%).

I'm studying every day while on the light rail to and from work.

Notes:

• I'm not finishing all my quantitative questions. Both times finished only 27/30 questions, so I have some work ahead of me getting through the questions more efficiently. At the same time, I don't want to rush and get them wrong, so it represents an exercise in patience.
• Finishing with plenty of time to spare in the Verbal section.
  
• I scored a 32/38 both times on the Verbal sections, which suggests I'm plateauing there for the time being. I scored a perfect score on the 27 I did finish on the second Quantitative section.
• I felt really insecure about the second passage--and I ended up getting only one wrong.
  

Questions I got wrong and the reasons why:

• Verbal section one: 1) didn't understand the word "diffidence" (reserve, timidity, lack of confidence); 2) didn't understand the specific definition of "die" (tool used to form an object); 3) didn't understand definitions of "fawn" (court favor in a cringing or flattering manner) and "imperiousness" (arrogance, or a commanding presence); 4) guessed incorrectly at inference from the passage; 5) Applied definition of "tractability" to problems (e.g., math) rather than a quality of a person (easily changed or molded); 6) didn't understand definition of "noisome" (bad-smelling).
• Quantitative section one: 1) removed large integers and plugged in small ones--turns out this doesn't work for all integers; 2) in haste calculated 3*3*3 as 9 instead of 27. Doh; 3) isosceles triangle--I incorrectly assumed if x was across from a 45-degree angle, then the side across from a 90-degree angle would be 2x. Nope--it's a^2 + b^2 = c^2; 4) In haste, didn't consider the case where p = 1; 5) In haste, I forgot to update my scratch-paper notes to divide both sides by three, throwing off the result; 5) multiplied x by the inside of (x^2)^3 before expanding (x^2)^3, which resulted in (x^3)^3. Doh; 6) Ran out of time and guessed incorrectly.
• Verbal section two: 1) didn't understand the definition of "ardor"; 2) close--the second part of the answer disqualified it as the correct one--thoroughness would have prevented this mistake; 3) close--answer ended up too limited--thoroughness would have prevented this mistake; 4) close--answer ended up going too far--and duplicated a claim of another answer, which represented a warning sign; 5) didn't understand the definition of "hapless" (unlucky, unable to achieve success because of bad luck)--confused it with "helpless"; 6) didn't understand the definition of "sedulous" (applying oneself faithfully to a task)--guessed incorrectly.
• Quantitative section two: No wrong answers.
  

General problem areas:

• Lack of word familiarity--my biggest problem area with Verbal. This taps into my long-term knowledge of words, so not so easily corrected except through additional word-familiarity practice.
• Haste--especially in Quantitative where I'm running out of time.
  
• Lack of understanding relationships among analogy questions--reading the answers helps me understand the thinking of the people who create the questions.
• Failing to complete quantitative sections
• Quantitative deficiencies in some areas (exponentiation, calculation of triangle sides)
  

Dove Chocolate

Apparently the best chocolate per a tasting contest we listened to on PBS radio.

Zen of Car Maintenance

Car maintenance needed:

• Door Window Mouldings, part 20935
• Airflow through the instrument panel weak
  
• HD Radio

KVIE 87.7 Sacramento

Listening to 87.7 KVIE lately and finding the variety of shows interesting.

Last weekend, we listened to the PBS show "Road Trip With Huell Howser #135 - OAK GLEN" which talked about exotic, locally grown varieties of apples. Description:

It's apple season and Huell is off to Oak Glen, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, to take part in a popular fall tradition. www.oakglen.net

Los Rios Rancho 909-797-1005

Wood Acres 909-797-8500
Parrish Pioneer Ranch 909-797-1753
Law’s Cider Mill & Ranch 909-797-1459
Law’s Oak Glen Coffee Shop 909-797-1642
Snow-Line Orchard 909-797-3415
Apple Tree Gifts & Country Things 909-797-3130

Wood Acres in particular seemed interesting.

If that wasn't enough to make me hungry, one of Huell's other shows we heard this weekend dealt with drying persimmons:

California's Gold #10011 - PERSIMMONS

Huell spends the day in Granite Bay California at Otow Orchard to learn the ancient art of Hoshigaki, which is the drying of persimmons.The persimmons are dried each fall in a slow, patient, hands-on process that usually takes three to six weeks...per persimmon. Each persimmon is hand-peeled, strung onto a rack, and massaged every 3 to 5 days for several weeks. Weather conditions are watched carefully. The result is a transformation into a sugary delicacy that is tender and moist. www.otoworchard.com 916-791-1656

From their web site calendar, they offer hoshigaki persimmons from mid-to-late November through January.

Northern California Running Trails

Some locals offer their favorites:

• Eagle Point to D.L. Bliss State Park via the Rubicon Trail.
  
• Big Slide/West Ridge loop in Nisene Marks State Park, Aptos.
• UC Santa Cruz/Pogonip Preserve trails in Santa Cruz
• Truckee River Legacy Trail / Martis Valley / Dry Lake
• Purisima Creek Loop, located in the Purisima Creek Open Space Preserve, San Mateo County.
• Any section of the Diablo 50-Mile course, but one of our favorite sections is from Mitchell Canyon gate over Eagle Peak to the summit of Mt. Diablo.
• Any of the single-track trails around Auburn, but one of my favorite sections is from our home in downtown Auburn to the fire station in Cool on the Western States Trail.
• Ohlone Wilderness Trail, Alameda County. It starts from Mission Peak in Fremont and weaves for 28 miles through the Sunol Regional Wilderness to Del Valle Regional Park near Livermore. I run a solo 100-mile training run on it every May. I finish off my journey with an official race called the Ohlone 50k, from Mission Peak to Del Valle. In the Sierra, I love doing repeats up and down Half Dome starting from Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. Steep single-track granite trails with the most spectacular views.

http://www.adventuresportsjournal.com/html/Articles/36/36_trailRunning.htm