Computer? What computer?

It's a really good thing that I left my computer in my car last night (after my off-site meeting) as opposed to bringing it into the house...

I walked into my office this morning and saw an empty desktop. No computer. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that I had taken it with me yesterday and that (luckily) it was still sitting in my car. That problem was easily solved - but if I had moved it from the car into my house last night, well, I have a feeling that I would have needed to turn around to make a reverse-commute this morning just to retrieve my work environment.

I suppose it was just dumb luck that my computer was waiting for me in the car, wasn't it?

Late, late, late!

Do you remember the white rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (or was he in Through the Looking Glass)? I felt a bit like the white rabbit this afternoon.

"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date."

I had a (work) meeting scheduled for 5 o'clock in Acton. I left just after 4 PM to drive the 17 miles to the meeting location, and chose to take route 2A. That's the most direct route, but as it turns out I should have taken route 3 to 495. The 17 miles via 2A usually takes just under a half of an hour, so I should have had plenty of time to be there early (and arriving early for meetings is a normal habit of mine).

Big, big oops! Just after I entered Acton, the road was closed. Closed, as in there was a fire truck parked diagonally across the road, a tow truck on the shoulder, and police directing all traffic to turn right. I turned, following a long line of tail lights, hoping that some stranger would lead me back to route 2A. I drove for what seemed like forever, along very dark 2-lane roads lined with trees. Typical of Massachusetts roads, there were no signs anywhere.

Luckily, the colleague I was joining for the meeting called. When we first started chatting I had no idea where I was, but then the dark narrow road that my car was rolling down joined with route 225. At that point someone (in the room with my colleague) knew where I was and was able to provide directions. A 30-minute drive had turned into 75 minutes, but I finally arrived.

Did I ever tell you how much I hate the unsigned roads of northeastern Massachusetts?

Around the world

...by mule!

I was perusing the Boston Globe this morning when
Around the world in 20 years or more leapt off of the page, an article demanding to be read. I'm sure you know my habit of using my bicycle as transportation. Because of that I readily accept that people travel across the United States - or around the world - by bicycle. I know that people hike the country from edge to edge, or around the perimeter. Usually both the bikers and the hikers are carrying limited amounts of gear.

Based on that, this morning's article really shouldn't have surprised me - but it did. The story was about a couple from Arkansas who are walking around the world with a wagon (containing their worldly goods, I suppose) pulled by a mule. Poor mule, the wagon apparently weighs 2000 pounds. And of course I'm wondering what in the world they have in that wagon. Their house?

According to the article, they are traveling 8 to 10 miles a day. They started in 2001 from Arkansas and have just arrived in the Boston area. It's really too bad that they don't seem to be keeping an online journal; I'd love to hear their thoughts and experiences. What an adventure!

Sky paintings

Someone painted the sky this morning.

Low gray clouds formed a ridge between the ground and blue skies above, with sunshine gleaming along the edge of the clouds. Clumps and wisps of clean white clouds hovered in front of the gray. And above the dark gray ridge was a skyscape of bright blue feathered with more wisps of white. Beautiful...

Publish and be damned

Sometimes I dream of publishing a book. Yes, a real book, not a virtual one...

I enjoy writing, sharing my wanderings (or should I call it wanderlust?) using both words and pictures, sharing thoughts, random and organized. For now, I am using the web as my publication tool, with my bicycling journals, photo galleries, and blogs, using my denisegoldberg.com site to link all of the pieces together. But even with the reach of the Internet, I still dream of publishing on (real) paper.

I just started reading "Moods of Future Joys" by Alistair Humphreys, a cyclist who spent four years riding his bicycle around the world. I don't know why, but as I opened the book the name of the publisher leaped off of the page at me: Publish and be damned. Just below the publisher's name was their web address. for the past four years. And guess what - they are an independent publisher that publishes books for a fee. I think the more classic method of publishing would be to search for a publisher and convince them that my writing (when I actually do put something together!) is worth publishing. This comes at the publication game from another angle - pay a fee to publish a book, which is then set up for print-on-demand with listings in online bookstores. I would set the price of the book, and get a paid a small amount for each book sold. Hmmm. That's something to think about.

Oh, you're right, I do need to write the book first. And remember, publish and be damned. Someday.

A study in opposites

Yesterday was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm with bright blue decorating the sky. Today was a very different story, dawning gray and damp, continuing with an absolute downpour. The sun spent the entire day hiding behind very dark gray clouds.

My bike insisted on riding yesterday, a very good decision on her part.

(Oops! You're absolutely right, you've caught one of my little idiosyncracies. Yes, my bikes talk to me. And yes, they do help me decide which set of wheels should roll down the road...)

I started out without a destination in mind, riding a series of loops within loops. It was cool when I headed out, temperatures in the upper 50s warmed into the low 60s by the time I returned home. My attire was almost right; I couldn't have left home with fewer layers, but my windbreaker ended the ride tied around my waist. That worked. It was a beautiful day for a ride, dry pavement, bright sunshine, comfortable temperatures. Occasional trees dressed in bright yellow leaves popped out of the bare branches of the majority of the trees. Yellow leaves shine against a clear blue sky; beautiful.

Today I woke up to find wet ground, gray skies, the air filled with mist. I expected a rainy day, so the cool misty morning should really be viewed as a gift. I chose to walk and not ride today; the wet roads would have made for a very messy ride and an after-ride bike cleaning session. Walking, legs clad in warm tights, upper body topped with a hat and a serious rain jacket... Either my timing was perfect or the weather wizard held off the heavy rain because I was dressed for it. My entire walk was accompanied by heavy mistl Just a short 15 minutes after I returned home the sky opened up and heavy rain started pelting against the ground. Lucky!

It was a good day for relaxing, reading, making a big pot of soup... Yes, I would have preferred a dry day for riding. But I really can't complain about our quiet wet day when I look at the rain that has been flooding the northwest over the last week. Hearing that Mt. Rainier National Park had 18 inches of rain withing 36 hours just blew my mind. 18 inches of snow in that amount of time is a lot; 18 inches of rain is such a large amount of water that it is beyond my imagination.

Opposites... riding in sunlight, walking in gray gloom, relaxing inside while the rain splashed down.

Macro experiments

The macro lens for my camera has been calling out to me, telling me I need to experiment. I brought the camera and lens to work with me last Friday so I could capture some seeds escaping from their seed pods. They were moving in the wind, so getting them in focus was a bit hit or miss. I managed to capture a few good photos though.

Today's experiment was fun, but a little less successful from a focus standpoint. My target this afternoon was some very small fungus growing on a downed tree trunk. Not only was the fungus rippled and in multiple levels, it was also curved around the trunk. An interesting experiment... I have pictures that are a mixture of focus and fuzz.

I'm trying not to be too hard on myself; after all the macro lens is a relatively new toy. I think my playing today has shown me that while it's relatively easy to get the picture I want when my eye is on something like a single blossom, it is harder when I'm trying to capture an image of something that is really small.

My goal for the winter is to do a fair amount of playing with this lens. I am so happy to be experimenting with a digital camera where I can see the results the same day that I take the pictures as opposed to the "old days" of using film.

Experimenting can be fun...

The macro lens is unforgiving at a very close range. This fungus is actually very tiny, and my camera was very, very close to it. I find it interesting that the pieces of the picture that are in focus are the very edges of fungus on the right side of the picture.

A different result, but still interesting (to me, at least). I think it's a little more obvious in this case that the "in focus" pieces of this shot appear to be the surfaces of the fungus that are the same distance away from my lens.

Flowers are a little easier...

... and although I prefer the previous flower, I think the focus on this one is a little better.

Do cars stop...

...when they see you?

Feet attired in running shoes, I headed out for my early evening fast walk. I was wearing my usual after-dark lights, 2 bright blinking red lights facing back, and 3 bright blinking blue lights facing forward. As I came close to two police cars, occupants standing outside of the vehicles, I heard the question "do cars stop for you?". I stopped to chat, and to confirm that my lights do in fact make me very visible.

Walking again, a woman in a stopped car called out to ask for directions. I solved her puzzle for her, and she headed out after commenting on my bright lights.

I guess they really do work, lighting me up as I walk when the sun is missing from the sky.

Two days demand play

What a wonderful problem to have...

I found out this week that I have two vacation days that I need to use before the end of the year. I usually manage to take enough days off during the year between planned vacations (away) and days off here and there. I try to leave myself a couple of days just in case I feel a last minute need for an escape. Somehow this year I managed to come close to the end of the year with my just-in-case days still intact.

Let's see, what should I do? A long weekend someplace? Or two last minute "I need a day off" days? Yes, I need to figure this out soon, but for now, I think I'll dream...

Umbrella etiquette

It was a gray day, constant rain interspersed with short periods of simple dampness. I headed out of the office during one of the non-rainy intervals, intent on completing a quick errand. As I walked away from the building, I saw a woman on the sidewalk walking under a very large (and curved) black umbrella. She would have made a good photograph with only the lower two thirds of her body visible under the umbrella.

She took up the entire width of the sidewalk and had the umbrella tipped over her face so that she could not see anything in front of her. While I'm sure she could see the ground at her feet, nothing else could have been visible. I quickly jumped from the sidewalk into the road, avoiding an inevitable crash.

I'm still amazed when I see people who act like they must be alone in the universe. What do you suppose she was thinking?