Chasing the sun

Why is it that it always seems as though that giant orb in the sky is throwing brilliant colors across the clouds while I am driving my car as opposed to being in a safe place to stop and start snapping pictures?

I've been sorely tempted to pull over to the side of the road to absorb the beauty of both sunrise and sunset, but I've managed to control that urge. Stopping on an interstate highway when traffic is moving at a fast clip is not only a bad idea from a safety standpoint, it's also illegal. (And illegal enough to pay from both a ticket and an auto insurance standpoint if I attracted attention from the folks who patrol the roads...)

One place that seems like it would be an excellent vantage point is a high-flung entrance ramp to I-93. You're right though, I'm not going to stop there.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to predict the days that will have a memorable sunset? My camera and I would love that!

What were they thinking?

My work day ended, and I headed to the gym for an indoor workout before heading home. Stepping, feet moving on an elliptical trainer, focused on the news coming from the on-machine little television screen as a distraction...

It's not my habit to write about news events, but it's hard not to express shock at the guerrilla marketing tactics that caused quite a stir in Boston today. I suppose that Turner Broadcasting really got what the attention that they wanted - but not in a good way. I remember another marketing tactic a year or two ago where a company was painting their logo on sidewalks. They were stopped fairly quickly. While that (previous) painting activity was pollution of a sort, it wasn't something that caused the problems that were seen in Boston today. Let's see, an device that lights up to show a cartoon character but that just looks like a dark shape in the daylight, taped to bridge supports and buildings. Not smart. And honestly, I hope that Turner Broadcasting has to pay dearly for this stunt.

I supose you could say that I am overreacting (or that I am showing my age?), but I'm far from alone in my reaction. Here's an interesting Boston Globe editorial from the day after the event: paralyzed by a gimmick.

What were they thinking? Was there any serious thought to the possible consequences? Somehow I really doubt that a lot of thought went into this...

Weather wizard wonders

What a difference a day makes! Today was a wonderful gift from the weather wizard, made even more so by the contrast to yesterday's cold.

I woke to an early morning chill, and the view of a light blanket of white. The temperature was on an upward swing, and by noon it was above freezing. What a difference - from 18 degrees when I started my ride yesterday to 35 degrees today. I was wearing much less clothing, and there wasn't any question about whether I'd be warm enough. In fact, I probably could have removed one more layer.

Relative warmth, two wheels rolling, seeking dry pavement. Rolling, enjoying the feeling, dreaming...

Wow, what a day!

Two wheels rolling

...on a cold winter's day

The thermometer seemed to be stuck in the teens. I pushed my desire to ride to the back of my mind, and I headed out on two feet, walking. It was a cold, gray day, but the pavement was dry, and although the wind was blowing, it didn't seem too strong. Walking, walking... I was just 10 minutes away from home when I realized that in spite of the temperature I was "toasty" warm. I could hear my bikes calling, insisting that a ride was in order. I listened, feet still moving, quickly turning towards home.

I switched some layers, adding bike shorts and knee warmers under my fuzzy warm tights, grabbing a heavier vest instead of the light one I was wearing as an extra insulating layer, and sticking toe warmers to the bottom of my socks. Tires pumped to an appropriate pressure, Gatorade on board, and it was time to roll.

It was a good ride... no, actually it was a great ride! 18 miles in 18 degrees, it was a new record for me in terms of low temperatures and riding. I'm very comfortable riding with temperatures in the 30s, and I've ventured out in the high 20s before, but the teens? No way! I'm so glad I won that argument with myself today though. Dressed in layers and layers and layers, and with ice forming in my Gatorade during my ride, I had a very enjoyable and pretty much comfortable wander on my bike. (Well, comfortable except for my fingers... I wore a pair of mittens that are multi-layer and pretty warm, but I think I needed another layer. Actually, maybe I needed hand warmers. Next time...)

It's funny, not one but two people told me I was crazy to ride in today's temperatures. But think about it - people ski in these temperatures. What's different about biking other than the fact that most people think of it as a warm weather sport?

Layers and layers and more layers... A happy cyclist, and still mostly warm after my 18 degrees 18 miles ride.

A morning gift

A glimpse through the window at precisely the right moment gave me a view of clouds painted pink as the day transitioned from dark to light.

Flickers of light, magic

It was a cold evening, but not as cold as the cold predicted for tomorrow, temperature edging down with just a little bit of wind to add some additional chill. Exercise selection for tonight wavered between the warm gym and walking in the relative cold of a clear winter's night. My choice - of course - was walking outside.

Flickers ahead... I was walking down a road highlighted with round pools of light cast by the occasional tall streetlight. Small plants, groundcover, hovered at the edges of the light. Light wind blowing...

My eyes were drawn to the (almost) darkness on the ground. I saw a sparkle, a flicker of light. What is that? It almost looks as if someone left a strand of tiny flashing lights along the edges of the darkness. No, that light is nature-made with the assistance of the creeping circle of streetlamp light.

Ice-covered leaves covered in ice moved in the wind, catching the light, flickering, flashing sparkles of yellow-orange, jumping out to catch my eye...

Goose-prints in the snow

Visions from a mid-day walk...

Canada Geese walking, exploring, eating grass from a winter-cold but (almost) snow-free field...

If we call the image created by our feet "footprints", should the image of the webbed foot of a Canada Goose in the snow be called a goose-print?

...goose-prints in the snow

Who's looking?

...and does it really matter?

Well, it probably doesn't matter, but it satisfies my curiosity. I can see raw hit numbers on my crazyguyonabike journals, and on my smugmug galleries, but I've always wondered about the activity levels of my blog.

I recently heard about Google Analytics and decided it was worth a try. It's interesting to see how people are finding my sites (through a link or direct, and if from a link, which site?). And even more, where in the world were the connections made?

Curiosity somewhat satisfied, for now!


Where is it that you and your computer live?

Image courtesy of Google Analytics, showing access to my smugmug galleries.

Hey! What just grabbed me?

Temperatures rose into the low 30's today. With the forecast for extreme cold later in the week, it cried out to be a walking day (or should I say a walking evening?).

Home, dressed in layers, I headed out. Walking on a crisp evening, traversing mainly dry pavement with some traces of ice and remnants of last night's teasing bit of snow. The roads were quiet, dark with scattered muted pools of lighter surface, decorated by the reflection from the occasional street light.

Walking, quiet, fast walking...

Hey! What was that? All of a sudden, something grabbed my leg! My first thought was that it was an animal, but I didn't hear anything. Something grabbed my leg. And then it let me go.

At first I kept walking, but after a very short period of time, I knew that I had to stop and go back. I needed to know what it was. The answer? A jagged branch, with a Y-shaped notch in it. Not heavy. I must have stepped on it in a way that made it come to life. It flipped up behind me and wrapped itself around my leg. Then as I continued walking, it fell to the ground once more, ready to startle the next unsuspecting walker.

Listen...

Ah, the end of the workday, time to listen to NPR's "All Things Considered" as my car rolled between work and home. Today was a SoundClips day, absolutely wonderful...

Today's short treat was titled "Dropping Things in a Well to Hear Them". The creators of the piece recorded the sounds made as they dropped rocks and sticks (and other things too) down a long-abandoned well in the woods. What a fabulous collection of sounds.

Curious? You can hear it too, listen!

If you've never heard SoundClips before, click here for a list of SoundClips: Audio Experiences.