Chilli Success

I completed my first triathlon today.  I did it with style.  I did it with panache.  I definitely did it the hard way.  You'd think that most people would try a sprint triathlon the first time.  I'm not talking about those professionals who run, say 10k and think, "Gee, a marathon might be fun," and go out and win some big marathon in their first attempt.  No, I'm talking about your regular person, above average in athletic terms, but an average person.  No, I chose a triathlon that included kayaking in place of the swimming.  I've never been in a kayak other than a debacle with a sea kayak in Belize.  Most of my small watercraft experiences end with my being responsible for it's tipping over or falling sideways over a waterfall, things like that.

Suffice to say, when my wife informed that she wouldn't think any less of me if I withdrew before I left the house, you might understand where she was coming from. 

I got to the event, got my kayak, paddle, and life jacket and took it over to the boat area.  After a 20 minute wait in line for the port-a-potties, the race got started.  I decided to let people get ahead of me so I didn't have to deal with the jostling to get to my bike.  Having gone on 3 (now 4) bike rides in the past two weeks and past 6 years, I didn't figure on needing to be out front so I could be in the lead.  Luckily, one person was still behind me because as I started to peddle, my new-fangled bottle cage slid down the frame and got in the way of pedals, the chainring, most anything that helped the bike move forward.  I got off and was about to attempt to rip it off when the last person offered help and actually had a set of allen keys.  Five minutes later, we were back in the race.  I hadn't even made it out of the parking lot before that first malfunction. Things were going well, I was making really good time, and then I hit the hill that is said to separate the men from the boys.  I guess I'm a toddler.  I didn't even make it to the steep part before I got off and walked.  Most people couldn't make it up, so I wasn't alone, but I was thirsty, not having any water because I left the bottle and cage in the grass by the starting area.  At the top of the hill, they had a drink station, and then there was a huge, long downhill as a reward for making it that hill.  Soon after that, it felt like I was coasting slower, pedaling was harder and I looked down to see my front tire was about half way flat.  I had five miles left and hope nothing would happen, but it definitely slowed me down.

Then I got in the kayak.  As a volunteer pushed me in, he asked if I was ready.  "Ready as I'll ever be,"  I replied and I tried my hand at kayaking for the first time.  It was really windy and at points there were whitecaps on the lake.  When the wind came from any directions except in front, it kept turning my boat and I had a really hard time moving forward rather than sideways.  Eventually I sort of got the hang of it and during the lulls in the gales, I got a pretty good rhythm going.  I can see why people like kayaking.  Working my way around the lake (about 2.2 miles) I thought we had a straight shot to the finish when I came around a bend and had about 15 more minutes of paddling with a really vicious wind.  But, I made it, didn't tip it, and stayed relatively dry.

Starting the run was an exercise in reversing rigor mortis.  My shuffle would have done a zombie proud, but I slowly loosened up so I was able to actually lift my feet of the ground.  I didn't go any faster, but I managed to avoid all of the tree roots and stay upright.  A few old men passed me, but I did manage to pass one person in the last mile.

Overall, it was a lot of fun.  I'm planning on doing it again.  I'd like to actually be in shape the next time and not lose 10 minutes to bike problems.  Accounting for the 10 minutes, I finished in about 2 hours 58 minutes.  I think I could take a half hour off of that time.  So there's my goal for next year:  2.5hours or less.

I need a nap.
Or a massage.
Probably won't get either.

Scratching That Itch (see previous post title)

I went for my first ride the other day and realized how long it's been since I last rode.   I hope the course is not as hilly as the roads near me.  20 miles may be longer than I remember, and my butt is not in cycling shape (and I'm not talking about fitness).  It felt good to be on a bike again, though.  There were little things that came back to me.  There's a particular sound to the gears when the rear derailleur is off the gear just a bit and it lets you know if you need to move it up or down a tiny bit.  I couldn't describe it to you, but without thinking about it, I knew how to adjust it.  Even though it's been over six years since my last ride, I kept reaching for the downtube shifters that were on my old bike.  These are mounted on the stem and I think I miss having them down there.  I got into the big gear today and the feeling of moving the big crankwheel just felt like power that I've missed.

However, there were a lot of things my body didn't remember.  The most significant was how to be comfortable on the seat.  Until I stopped 6 years ago, I had been on a bike so regularly, that I couldn't remember ever feeling uncomfortable in the saddle.  That changed the other day.  Even with bike shorts, I'm definitely out of practice, but it's still worth it.  Being out on a back road, rolling along, it all came back why I love to ride.  There will not be another seven year itch because I will never again go that long without riding.

As for the triathlon, I'm not sure what's going to happen.  It's 20 miles and I've got two weeks to get my butt into riding shape.  Hopefully I won't be wet from the kayak portion before, and hopefully I'll be able to run the 4.5 miles after.

Seven Year Itch

It was over six years ago that I last went for an actual bike ride.  An ensuing move to a gated community in the middle of the Appalachians in a geographical location called Deep Gap started the decline.  The only flat surface around there were the decks that surrounded each house and most of the roads in the area weren't paved - not the most conducive to a road bike.  Following that was the first move with a child which led to the realization that the truck was filled and there was no room to insert a bike without unpacking and repacking many items.  I donated that bike to a deserving student that both I and my wife had as a student at the university and was helping us load the truck.  Four years passed, another child joined the household, and still I didn't have a bike.

In my infinite wisdom, I figured that I could get a bike and be ready for a triathlon in one short month.  It's not a regular swim, bike, run triathlon.  No, that would be too easy.  I chose a paddle, bike, run triathlon.  Did I mention that the last time I was on a kayak (and the only time) I managed to tip it end over end?  I didn't just turn it over, but actually tipped it backwards so that the front end went up and over and dumped me off backwards.  In my defense, my wife and I were given no instruction other than to go ahead and take out a kayak that was sitting on the beach.  As we walked the kayak back to shore we found out that the kayaks were supposed to be drained before going out.  Ours wasn't.  That explained why the moment one of us leaned, the kayak would tip.  All of the water in the kayak would rush in that direction.  There was a lot of water and we provided a good half hour of entertainment for the spectators on the beach.  At least we were in Belize.

I finally got a bike last weekend.  After searching for used bikes in the area, I had some luck.  I was getting very discouraged.  Moving from Madison, WI, I though finding a used bike would be easy.  They have entire showroom floors filled with used bikes at a couple of locations there.  Not quite so easy here.  I found a wonderful little shop in Bloomsburg, Paul's Bicycle Shop.  Getting to the shop was the hard part.  I had to bring the 5-year-old with me who had been a good sport going to a community yardsale in the morning, but I wasn't sure if she had two trips in her for the day.  As we got to Bloomsburg, I realized with a growing sense of dread that it was the beginning of the Bloomsburg Fair.  Following the GPS directions, we were taken to a street about a block from the fair and everywhere you looked, there were signs in yards selling parking.  15 minutes later, I found a spot on the street about four blocks away, surrounded by $2 parking (it was about $5 right by the fairgrounds).  As we walked up the alleys towards the shop, all we could see were all of the rides.  Being 5-years-old, she was convinced we were going to the rides.  By the time we were at the shop, we were half a block from the rides.  Somehow, I got her to understand that we weren't going on the rides and she didn't throw a fit.

The moment I saw the shop, I figured I had picked the right place.  It was tiny.  It was crowded with bikes and supplies and barely had room for people.  It was a shop run by somebody who just likes bikes.  He had about 20 used bikes, three of which were road bikes.  There was an old Peugeot, a Fuji, and some yellow beast for which I didn't catch the brand.  The Peugeot and the Fuji were about my size.  I took the Fuji.  It is an old Fuji Supreme that I'm guessing comes from the early 80's.  It's just the kind of bike I was looking for and with, if I remember correctly from my few days as a bike mechanic, a 10mm wrench, I can fix most anything that I need.

The junk run

For about the 50th time in the past couple of years, I started running again after a not insignificant layoff (sorry, George Orwell, but I just didn't feel like saying insignificant).  It seems like the 2nd run after a too long break feels like I'm emptying my body of junk.  The first run feels fine.  I've got so much stored-up fuel that there's no problem, but that second one hurts.  Given a three mile run, the first mile just feels stiff.  The second is where the pain lives.  Every single extra slice of pizza and every bit of junk that I put in my body since I stopped running a few months ago feels the need to express its disappointment in my decision to resume running.  Maybe it's my body exacting a petty revenge for its mistreatment.  I don't know.  What I do know is that if I give in during the junk run and stop before the sludge works its way out through my pores, it's a much longer road back to fitness.  However, if I push through that second mile and keep going, I start feeling lighter.  I stop shuffling along and actually stride a bit.  I'm definitely tired, but there is a change.

I had that junk run today.  It was made worse by the various thoughts running through my head.  Most of them were focused on my possibly rash decision to enter the Chilli Challenge Adventure Triathlon.  I meant to do a triathlon earlier this summer, but my clear lack of running as well as my obvious lack of bike and abject failure in getting a bike, I didn't.  Now, I'm semi-committed to doing this triathlon that not only includes biking and running, but also KAYAKING!  My last (and possibly only) experience with a kayak was during my honeymoon in Belize.  There were some sea kayaks on the beach for us to use, so we thought it would be fun.  Nobody bothered to tell us and we had no idea that we needed to drain the kayak before heading out.  Full of water, the kayak gained a lot of momentum rotating around its various axes and we were in the water more often that in the kayak.  The entire experience was topped off by my actually tipping the kayak over not sideways, but end over end.  So I've got that going for me, which isn't so nice.  I haven't been on a bike for about 6 years and haven't owned one the past 4 after running out of room on the moving truck and donating it to a student that helped us load the truck.  As I struggled to finish my measly 3 miles today, I realized that the run is almost 5 miles after a 2.2 mile paddle and 20 mile bike ride.  This ought to be interesting.

The good outweighed the bad, but the bad is soooo annoying

Day one is over and done with.  I think it was a pretty successful day, especially considering we didn't even have doors on the building last week.  Most of the ceilings had ceiling panels, I didn't see any exposed wires, and I had a functioning door.  Perhaps the best part is that it was 90 degrees out today and the AC in my room was functioning and comfortable, even with a southern exposure window.  The walls reach the ceiling and I am not at the top of a stairwell anymore.  All of that stuff is good.

However, there is no power to the outlets in the front of the room, so I can't really run my computer.  Granted, it's not going to be that useful until they put the data drops in so we have internet access and my Eno board and projector are installed.  The exposed concrete floor is a lovely shade of grey (I like spelling that color with an 'e' rather than an 'a').  I also like the fine, powdery dust that coats everything, regardless of how often you wipe surfaces off.

Honestly, though, as annoying as all of those little things are, it was a good start to what I hope will be a great year.  Now I just need to figure out what I'm actually teaching tomorrow.  Can't play name games and logic puzzles for the next 179 days.

My daughter has successfully completed three days at kindergarten.  Day one there was no fear getting on the bus.  She has a favorite person to sit with on the bus.  I hope for his sake he enjoys the company, because subtlety does not work on her and it's close to an hour long bus ride in the morning.

Can't open the school cause it's got no doors

After a long summer of watching weekly photo updates of the renovations taking place in my school, I was informed that our rooms would be open for us starting today.  This is the actual quote from the email, "On Friday, August 20^th you can get into your classrooms to begin preparing for the 2010 – 2011 school year."  If you read that, you might think, as I did, that everything was ready to go.  I can work on setting up the room.  I can get stuff up on the walls.  I can organize my desk and storage areas.  In other words, I headed to school ready to get some work done considering that classes start in about a week - August 30.  As I enter the middle school's temporary office location in the high school, the assistant principal looks at me and says with a slight chuckle, "You might be able to do some work in your room, I think you have floors."  Long story short, my room is basically finished.  It's painted, the flooring is down, and storage is in place.  It's just missing minor things like my Eno board (IWB), whiteboard, or even the chalkboard I tried to save from being tossed out.  Some lights were on, but there are no light switches.  I have a lot of desks and such in my room, but I noticed that they were all labeled from other teachers' classrooms.  Suffice to say, I didn't get any work done.


But my classroom is in better shape than other parts.  I have flooring, other rooms just have concrete.  I have a door, the school has large pieces of wood in the entry way.  The doors are supposed to come on Friday, and they are supposed to open to students the following Monday.  I can't believe how many changes have happened to the structure of the school, and I'm excited to have walls that reach the ceiling, a door, and windows, but I can't say that I'm all that confident that the school will actually be able to open in time.  Once it's ready to go, I think that these changes are going to have far reaching benefits to the school, both academic and in the general atmosphere.  My main concern for now, however, is how I'm going to teach without any writing surfaces on my walls.  Should be interesting.

I thought butchers ground meat

Tomorrow is my daughter's 5th birthday, next week she starts kindergarten, and I asked her what she wanted to eat for her birthday.  She chose tortellini, which involves making the pasta fresh and hand folding each tortellino (4 semesters of Italian taught me that tortellini is the plural and saying tortellinis is wrong).  I use the same recipe my grandma used and passed along through my mom and probably originated at least with my great grandma from Bologna and it's always been my favorite food.  I've made it three times now.  The first time turned out decently, but I couldn't get ground veal at the grocery store, so I used their meatball mix which included beef, pork, and veal.  It wasn't quite tender enough.  Last time I bought a piece of veal and ground it up myself in the food processor.  This worked well, except the gristle didn't grind well and left chunks that I incompletely picked out of the mixture as I was folding.  (There was also the side issue of drying them in the oven so the cats wouldn't eat them and forgetting they were there when I heated up the oven for something else.  Baked pasta that has not been boiled yet is disgusting and no amount of sauce or cheese can save it.)  On Monday I went to get ingredients and they had ground veal, but not pork.  I asked the butcher if they had ground pork and she responded that they were out but a truck was coming in on Tuesday.  At this point, many responses flew through my head, all with the common idea that "you are a butcher," "you cut meat for a living," and "don't you have some sort of meat grinder back there?"  Then my thoughts turned to why they had to wait for a truck to bring in ground pork.  With all of that big equipment back there, you have to do more than use the big heated plastic wrap dispenser.  I eventually asked if they could grind some and was met with the reply of, "I guess, but you'll have to wait for it.  How much do you need."  The words themselves weren't so bad, but the total lack of initiative or desire for customer service was.  I asked for my half pound and saw that it was only $1.50/pound.  I don't think they gave me the best quality ground pork; we'll see.  Since I moved here, I've tried avoiding this grocery store because there always seems to be a general atmosphere of inconvenience exuding from the employees whenever they are asked for something.  I refuse to use the deli because they are outright hostile and nobody wants hostility mixed in with their cold cuts.  But this latest episode just confirms my idea that there is something wrong with that store.  Even though it was recently renovated, the only real improvement was the addition of buying beer in six-packs (this state has the weirdest liquor laws).  I'm sticking with Giant.

VH1's Top 100 One Hit Wonders From the 80's

I have to take issue with the final five.

5. Tainted Love
4. 867-5309/Jenny
3. Take On Me
2. I Ran
1. Come On Eileen

I am ok with four of those songs being in the top five, but to say that Come On Eileen is the best one hit wonder from the 80's is going to far. I personally feel that it is overrated and shouldn't be in the top 10. I'll give it top 20, but no better. There I said it. I am not a fan of Come On Eileen. As for the rest, I agree with their presence in the top 5, but the order is wrong. Here is how I would order them.

4. 867-5309/Jenny
3. I Ran
2. Take On Me
1. Tainted Love

Tell me what you think. I agree with this top 5 more than I usually do with the VH1 countdowns (I can't stop watching them, especially when they deal with the 80's). Which song would you put in the #5 slot?

As for the rest of the list, Midnight Oil was not a 1 hit wonder and doesn't belong. There are a few notable songs that were ranked way too low such as: Boom Boom Boom Let's Go Back To My Room - #89, Major Tom - #68, You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - #19. Those three are all easily top 20 and You Spin Me Round should be at least top 10 if not in that #5 spot.

Those are the ones that stick out the most. Of course I'd put Relax, Whip It, Safety Dance, and a few others higher, but they are close enough. Check out the list, what glaring errors do you see?

Dell Rant

For the first 3 weeks of June, I was without my own computer. I had been using my school laptop, but they needed it for summer maintenance and I couldn't go back to my Windows '98 machine. A quick daily check on my wife's computer was the extent of my usage. For the past week, I have been spoiling myself with my new computer. The problem is, I have been completely unproductive because I have not had any Office applications to use. As I went to use Office 2010 for the first time, I was asked for my product key. After much searching, the key I entered would not work. Upon closer examination, and a bit of humiliation, I realized I was entering the Windows 7 product key.

I sent Dell an email explaining that I did not receive the product key with the computer. The auto-response email stated that they would get back to me within 6 hours. The next day I decided to call Dell. After explaining my situation, I was told that I needed to get the card with the product key on it and enter that. I repeated that I received no such item with my shipments. Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to technology and its documentation, I don't throw anything away. Finally, the person I was speaking with said that they would send out a copy of Office with a new product key and it should arrive by Tuesday (the day was Monday).

Tuesday came by - nothing. Wednesday came and I got a response to my email saying that I did not need a product key to use the Starter Edition. Thursday came with nothing in the mail, so I responded to the email stating that I purchased, was billed for, and paid for the Home and Student edition and that I was getting a bit cranky. Later that day, I got a response stating that I need to go into the shipping boxes and retrieve the product key. Needless to say (though I'll say it anyway), I was getting a wee might irritated. I checked every box and piece of paper again and then responded that, as I said in the telephone conversation, I never received that card. At that point, I asked that I either get a product key by the end of the week or have my money refunded. I got a response this morning (Friday) saying that they don't send out physical copies, but that a new product key would arrive in 1-3 days.

Arg. At least I have a pretty monitor.

Her first roller coaster

Took the kids and grandparents to Knoebel's yesterday. It was the best day I have ever been there. The forecast called for tortuous heat and humidity, but it turned out to be decent with a good breeze. Being a Wednesday there were virtually no lines for the rides. The girl was very excited because she finally got on the Ferris Wheel. I took the boy on the spiral slide, but I think they remodeled it. It was always a tight fit, but I think they made it a little bit narrower. I'm not sure what that design decision was supposed to do, but what it actually did was create some great, squeaking sounds as we went down and gave me a nice, bright red splotch on my thigh. Had it been on my fingers, I think the fingerprints would have melted.

I think the highlight of the day was the girl's first real roller coaster ride. She passed the 42 inch mark and I got her all hyped up about going on the Phoenix. Before we got going, I put my arm around her. It was a good thing I did. I forgot how much you rise out of the seat and it felt like I was holding her in the car at times. About half way through, she was quietly sobbing, but pulled it together by the time the cars came to a stop. As we were walking away, I asked her how she liked it. This is basically what she said:

"I started to cry a little bit because it was so bumpy and if you weren't holding on to me I would have gone up into the air. I liked it and want to go on it again...someday."

That was possibly one of the most complete answers I will get from her about anything ever. She did, however, tell me that night that it was her favorite ride of the year.

Disconnected to reality

Tomorrow starts the last week of school. Our school has started major renovations (I'll be surprised if they are finished come the beginning of the next year) before the year even ended. Tomorrow is supposed to be field day. The weather forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain. If it rains, I don't know what we will do for the day. They surprised me on Friday while I was at a workshop. I returned to my room to find everything gone, including the bag I brought with me in the morning. I had to climb over stacks of desks and cabinets to retrieve my personal belongings and papers that I would need for the next week. Anyone know an anti-rain dance?

The end of the school year also calls for a return my school laptop for summer maintenance. I don't have my own computer, unless I want to go back to my windows 98 machine that I thought I'd retired this past summer. My only connection to the outside world (ignoring actual, physical interaction of course) will be taken away from me for at least 3 weeks. I got the go ahead from my wife to buy a new computer, but as much as I like that idea, the actual process terrifies me. I want to keep the cost down, but I get so bogged down with the details about which processor to choose and how much RAM I should get that I find it almost impossible to choose. I've gone through most of the plausible permutations the Dell website and my paralysis by analysis is making me consider going to a store like Best Buy and picking one that they have already built. This would be so much easier if I were rich. Donations anyone?

Disappointment and Dragons (not connected)

I finally made it to the new bike shop in town. I swung by on Friday, but they were closed. I walked in today, but it seemed a little dark. I went back to the open door and looked to make sure it said "Open." It did. I figured they were trying to save on energy. I went in and was pointedly ignored until I asked a question. I asked if they sold used bikes. They guy simply said, "No," and that was it. Having worked in a bike shop and knowing other people who have and run bikes shops, I know that the key to a successful shop is service and community. I continued walking around the store to see what they had and never once did the guy try to engage me in any way. Now this is a new branch of a local shop that opened up in anticipation of a rail-to-trail opening within a half block. There is already one shop in town and it's not a large town, so you would think that this shop would be doing everything it could to get customers. As I finished my circuit of the store, the guy was at the formerly open doors and was closing them and turning the open sign around. No longer hidden was the sign showing the hours. I said, "Oh, you guys aren't open yet?" and he barely acknowledged my comment and utterly failed to win me over as a customer...ever. That made me very sad.

Our downtown area puzzles me. There is a good variety of shops, but at very few of them do I actually feel welcome when I walk inside. I don't know how some of them maintain business. As I was walking from the mechanic to the bike shop, I was struck by how pedestrian (and bike) unfriendly our community is. There is now safe/comfortable path to take along the major route through town (separate from the downtown stretch). Sidewalks are in bad disrepair and the pedestrian crossing system is so car-centric that it takes a very long time to get a cross signal and they are some of the shortest signals I've seen. Our community is currently deciding the fate of the high school. Our population is growing and our current schools are going to run out of room. We have the pleasure of a school right in the middle of the community and as I walked past it today I actually realized the benefit of having a school in the heart, rather than on outskirts, of the community. We need to focus on lessening the sprawl and making the community more of a cohesive integrated one. I'm not sure how that will happen, though.

It's been a great spring break so far and we had great weather for a little birthday party on Saturday. Yesterday I took my daughter to see How To Train Your Dragon in 3D. She was almost too small for the glasses. I kept pushing them up her face periodically throughout the movie. It was really good. I mean, given dragons and vikings, it's easy to do well, but this was a very entertaining movie. I have only one minor complaint. Why do the vikings have vaguely Scottish accents? Is it that difficult to do a Scandinavian accent? Vikings get so little screen time as it is that they deserve a more accurate portrayal while they are fighting dragons.

Fast run and test prep

Went for my first run after the Humdinger last week (felt like I needed some time for the bleeding to stop). Knowing there were no killer hills made me feel lighter on my feet than I've velt in a long time. I ran the fastest 5k since I started running again last year. It's anywhere near as fast as I used to run, but it was a step in the right direction (a bunch of them really and they basically led me in a giant circle...) and I didn't feel terrible afterwards. I just signed up to do a 10k trail run on the oldest rail-trail conversion in the country. This is a distance I've never run before. After my fast 5k I sort of wish I were doing that distance instead, but I'm interested to see what I can do with a longer distance without any rock climbing and foot-skiing along the way.

The Humdinger was unbelievable this year. Somehow, they managed to fit more uphills into the course. There was a lot of snow of varying conditions all along the trails, and there were some downhills that were so snowy and steep, that we were actually sliding the whole way down. Gravity still works and was doing its best to take me down. It nearly succeeded once, but I tucked and rolled and came back up in stride. That felt good, considering it was about 5 miles into the race. My brother surprised me with a visit and ran it with me. He was nice enough to stay with me when he probably could have finished 10 minutes faster without much effort. The end of the race was a blast too. They covered a short, steep hill with plastic and snow and turned it into a giant slip-n-slide to the finish. That with beer and chili post-race was a great way to end it. I'm definitely going back next year.

Were' approaching that time of the year again - state testing. This year, in their infinite wisdom, the state has decided that 8th graders don't need to learn during April. Instead, we are having 3 tests in math, 3 tests in reading (concurrent with math), 4 tests in writing and 2 tests in science. That pretty much takes up the entire last 3 weeks of April, with the first week being our very abbreviated spring break. At the end of this week, we have about 2 class weeks left before the math tests start, so we'll be ramping up the test prep. Good times.

2 book reviews and one of the best commercials ever

I finally finished reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell today. That was a long read that had about 800 pages leading up to a great 100 page conclusion. I'm not saying that any of the first 100 pages was bad, boring, or even bland, but it never seemed to go anywhere. The plot moved along so slowly, that it often seemed like you were reading some things for no reason and the multi-page footnotes were in there to break up the monotony of the narrative. That being said, I'll repeat that it was not boring at any point. There are basically three separate stories contained in this behemoth, but I'm not sure than any one of them alone would be worth reading. It may be the case that the author actually needed that many pages to tell the story. I'm actually a bit confused by my experience with this book because although I kept wanting it to get over, once it was, I wanted more of what was written towards the end. The treatment of magic, while a fantastical entity in its own right in the book, is so mundane, that it doesn't feel like you are transported into a different world. I guess I'd say that it's a good book, but probably not one that I'll read again.

On the other hand, after I finished that first book, I got to read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Even with a couple of kids running around, I flew through that book. It was really good. I really like nNorse mythology and Gaiman told a Norse myth. It read and and the feel of the various sagas and compilations I've read. He really captured the feel of the world and rhythm of the myths. I think I'm going to try to start reading it chapter by chapter to my daughter at night.

Finally, I just caught this post of Facebook today and it has to be one of the best commercials ever. All I can say is, "I'm on a horse."

Cell phone in classroom convert

For the past 3.5 years I've been on the front line waging war against students with cell phones in my classroom. From the accidental ring to the kid playing during testing, I've come to know the cell phone slouch very well. Much like the war against drugs, I'm starting to feel that it's a losing proposition. Rather than spending all of that time and effort enforcing rather unenforcible rules, I think we need to focus on education and productive uses of cell phones.

I spent the day at a CSIU workshop on technology in the classroom. The first couple of presentations were ok, but nothing exciting. The first wasn't even on technology, but reading. The second focused on using spreadsheets and web apps, again, nothing too exciting. After lunch, however, I met the man who changed my mind on allowing cell phones in the classroom. He made some excellent points about cell phone use and I'm not saying that I want kids texting and talking during class, but as proliferous and ubiquitous as they are, I might as well harness their potential. We saw some great polling sites (Wiffiti and Poll Everywhere) that can be used in the place of expensive classroom response systems that are free and use texting as their means of response. We saw other applications that turn the phone into a mobile podcast recorder (Yodio) that can be used to record presentations or other such things. Our school currently has a policy that cell phones are not allowed out of the lockers. I'm sure that parent pressure is going to end up changing that policy as well. Education is about attracting student interest and keeping them engaged. Anything that I can do to keep them actively engaged with the material is most likely a good thing. If that means relying on cell phones, I'm all for it.

On another note, I had a great run today. Healing from my nasty cut has not been fun. I now have a very thick scab on my left shin and just wearing pants and having them rub along it creates a very unpleasant burning pain anywhere the scab is touched. On Monday, I decided to see how running felt. Being too cold for shorts, I had to wear the running pants and I figured their mesh interior would really be painful. More than that, though, I was worried that the pounding would produce unbearable pain. I was very surprised that neither happened. I went for a brief run and went on to worry that I missed my training window for the Humdinger on March 6. I went for a 5.6 miler Tuesday and it felt a little rough. I went for a 7.2 miler today and it felt great. I did the return trip about 3 minutes faster than the out and I finished with an overall good pace and feeling strong. My goal is under 71 minutes and beating my former student again.

I finally saw Avatar last weekend. It was the most expensive movie I ever saw. Not only were tickets an extra $3 for the fashion glasses, but we also had the $30 for the babysitter. I liked it. I'm not sure it was worth $50, but I liked it and 3D has really come a long way since the last movie I saw. I'm not sure if every movie needs to be 3D, but it did make things a bit more immersive. The best part may have been the Clash of the Titans preview.

Rough week, no action

To celebrate my birthday, raise some money for a good cause, and reinforce my image, I participated in the Lewisburg Polar Plunge last Saturday. It was great! We had a big snow the night before, temperatures were below freezing, and all was set. We got there a little late - children are very good at causing that, so instead of being part of the mass plunge, I was part of the slow post mass plunge trickle. It was so slow in fact that I was the only one entering when I went in. I rushed in the mighty Susquehanna and reaffirmed the force of gravity as I plunged in up to my neck. It felt good though. I got up and then felt a bit silly as I was the only one in the water surrounded by people in wet suits with the shore packed with all of the voyeurs. Being the only one in the water, and feeling said silliness, I walked out. As I walked out I look down at my leg and noticed a long scrape, apparently from a helpful river rock that decided to stop me from falling all the way to the bottom of the river when I first went in. It didn't seem bad and I figured I'd have quite a bruise. As the circulation in my legs restarted, more and more blood started finding it's way out of my body through what was clearly not a scrape, but rather a nice gash. By the time I got back to the car (running behind the stroller as my son let everyone know how displeased he was with being strapped in), I had a nice blood trail on my leg.

It's still a very ugly, red, painful blemish on my shin and I haven't run for a week. I could handle a week off if the Humdinger weren't in 3 weeks now and I was just hitting my stride increasing my mileage to be ready for the 7 mile trail run. I have to start running this week, regardless of how much it hurts. It really only hurts when something bumps it, which my daughter kindly pointed out to this evening with a well-placed, albeit accidental, kick; it still throbs. But because it doesn't hurt from the stresses of moving, I think it will be ok.

We finally had some decent winter weather this week as well. Not only did we get a good snowfall last Saturday, we had another Tuesday night and an actually justified snow day on Wednesday. I got my son on his first sled ride that ended with a good face full of snow.

Tears a'plenty

I was bombarded with three separate cases of tears today. On the best of days, I usually don't deal well with tears in my classroom and, compassionately, ask if the person would like to go out in the hall (or stay in the hall) for a bit until he/she feels ready to return to the room. It's not that tears actually bother me, rather they don't bother me to the point that I don't want to seem callous and just push on through them without acknowledging them - which is what I'd rather do. This seems a better alternative.

Case 1: We have a group of Marines come in and give demonstrations with gear and MRE's (it ties in with endothermic and exothermic reactions being covered in science). One student came in and was overwhelmed by emotions seeing the soldiers there. We'll call this student Chris (identity and gender anonymous). I took Chris out in the hall, but Chris was able to return and enjoy the presentation. I was not the source of the tears.

Case 2: I kept a student at the beginning of lunch. We'll call this student Pat. Pat has not been the best of students and has been doing very poorly from apparent lack of effort. I guess I stuck in the conversation long enough, trying to get a response that had a semblance of authenticity, when, much to my dismay, the crying began. Pat is not the student that I would suspect of turning on fake tears to get out of a tough discussion. If that was the case, Pat really sold it with actual tears and bloodshot eyes. I guess I was a bit of the cause this time.

Case 3: Report cards came out last week and it would be an understatement to say that grades were less than stellar. This year and marking period in particular seem to come as a surprise to 8th graders who have never had to put in any time outside of class before and it takes many the rest of the year to adjust. At least they do before hitting high school. This student, we'll call Sam (short for Samson or Samantha?) did very well the first marking period, but went quite a bit down the second. Sam came asking what Sam could do (Sam did not actually refer to Sam's self in the third person. Sam is not obnoxious) to bring up Sam's grade. I may have exaggerated a bit because there may not have been actual tears, but Sam was on the verge. I hope Sam does better this marking period.

Three cases of tears in one day. I'm not sure if this compares to my friend in grad school that made a parent cry (you know who you are and we'll see if you read this post), but it was quite a day.

The Humdinger is approaching and I'm thinking of shooting for 63 minutes. That would be about 9-minute miles. Last year I did 11-minute miles and that was tough. I think I'll be in better shape and better prepared for the tough course this year.

Owner of a broken heart

Well, the Vikings did it to me again. They did it to themselves too. The fact that they had 5 turnovers and still got the game to overtime says how much better they were playing, aside from the turnovers that is. I am not happy about the outcome of this game and I am not looking forward to the ribbing I'll get from my students tomorrow. It's not looking like I'm going to get much solace from the Red Wings this season either. There were at least two plays that ended in turnovers that would have given the Vikes the lead heading into the end of the game. I wonder who our QB will be next season.

My daughter's first video game

Well, we got a Wii. I was resistant and apparently could have had one much sooner, but my wife thought I didn't want one. My biggest concern has been that I wouldn't get a PS3. But after a New Year's Eve of Guitar Hero II, my wife actually suggested the Wii. Considering she was actually interested in playing, I said OK to the Wii and away we went. Today a Diego game we ordered for my daughter came and she was into it. It's a little more sophisticated than the Atari 2600 I started out with (Kangaroo was the first game), but she's having fun. It even has an option for someone else to have a helping controller. I still want a PS3 but, this is a step in the right direction and it's fun too.

I've been running better since school started and have upped my basic runs from 3 to 4 miles. Classes started up at the university again today and my running routes are no longer quite so solitary. The Humdinger is about 1.5 months away and I want to finish closer to 60 minutes. The overall goal, though, is to beat my former student again. She wasn't that far behind me last year and has a full season of actual cross country training under her now, so it might be more of a challenge. No walks this year!

Started up volleyball for another session last night and it felt good. I couldn't bump to save my life, but everything else felt really good. I didn't even feel any soreness until about half an hour ago. The core is a wee might weak.

Can't stop without mentioning the Vikings. Sunday's game against Dallas was awesome. They dominated the Cowboys. It was fun to watch. I doubt this game against the Saints will be as lopsided, but if they get enough pressure on Brees, it could be a lot of fun.