I visited central Florida this weekend, to attend the wedding of my two friends Paul and Alison. I used to work with Paul, and we also were on a bowling team together (good thing it was a handicap league because I was by far the worst person on the team!), gamed together (computer and board games), and kept up meeting for lunch over the months after I was gone. Alison likes board games too, and would join us for Power Grid, Puerto Rico, or others.
The happy bride and groom!
The ceremony started in the evening at the Lake Mary Events Center, right on Crystal Lake, visible in the picture. It was getting dark so my pics didn't come out that great. I'm sure they'll post some after returning from their honeymoon in Hawaii!
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Grapevine 8K
I signed up for the "Run Through the Grapevine 8K", held at a local winery, after seeing several people in the tri club mention it. It was a bit of a drive, through some pretty rolling hills and windy country roads.
The event itself was tough. Really tough. I thought it would be a trial run, as opposed to a road (or other paved surface run), but it was even tougher than that. Most of the course didn't really have a defined trail - it was just over grassy rolling hills. And between grapevine rows, hence the name I suppose! There was a small stream to jump, a muddy steep trail section more suitable to hiking in drier times, and lots of undulating grassy hills with very uneven footing.
But, it was also a ton of fun. I ran carefully in order to avoid twisting an ankle (there were some tricky sections: curve/turn left while running down a steep part) and finished up in 50:02.
Afterwards, most of us gathered at a club member's house for some hot soup and munchies.
The event itself was tough. Really tough. I thought it would be a trial run, as opposed to a road (or other paved surface run), but it was even tougher than that. Most of the course didn't really have a defined trail - it was just over grassy rolling hills. And between grapevine rows, hence the name I suppose! There was a small stream to jump, a muddy steep trail section more suitable to hiking in drier times, and lots of undulating grassy hills with very uneven footing.
But, it was also a ton of fun. I ran carefully in order to avoid twisting an ankle (there were some tricky sections: curve/turn left while running down a steep part) and finished up in 50:02.
Afterwards, most of us gathered at a club member's house for some hot soup and munchies.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Dawg Dash
This year's Dawg Dash went better than expected - I finished in 51:44 despite not running all that much since moving to the DC area. Unfortunately I couldn't map since my Garmin was dead but the course was the same as last year's.
Francesca's post-race waffle fest was a hit, drawing more people than last year even though a few (Krisanne, Eric) have moved away from Seattle! Joe was in town, and it is always interesting to catch up with him.
In the evening I had dinner with Kandi and family. Their kids are growing huge amounts now that I only see them once a year. Sam is a junior, Jacob is in 6th grade and basically fluent in Spanish (he's in the immersion program), Ellie is in school now... wow!
Francesca's post-race waffle fest was a hit, drawing more people than last year even though a few (Krisanne, Eric) have moved away from Seattle! Joe was in town, and it is always interesting to catch up with him.
In the evening I had dinner with Kandi and family. Their kids are growing huge amounts now that I only see them once a year. Sam is a junior, Jacob is in 6th grade and basically fluent in Spanish (he's in the immersion program), Ellie is in school now... wow!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Four Club Ride
I finally made it out on my bike for the first time in this area - a 28 mile multi-club ride. This was a ride put on by four local bikes clubs: APL Cycling Club, Batimore Bicycling Club, Howard County Cycling Club, and the Mid Maryland Tri Club. (Of these various groups, I am a new member of the Mid Maryland Tri Club).
The routes all started and stopped from the Applied Physics Lab, which is near Columbia, MD. There was a metric century route, a 45 mile route, and two shorter rides of 28 and 22 miles. Since I hadn't been riding much, I opted for the modest 28 miler. I'm glad I did, because the route was very hilly compared to what I am used to coming from Florida! On the other hand, the weather was fantastic - high 60's and low 70's, low humidity, sunny and clear.
Afterwards I stayed around talking to the handful of riders who also went on the shorter routes, about 15 of us total. The extra benefits of going short included first crack at the picnic food, beer, and dessert!
The routes all started and stopped from the Applied Physics Lab, which is near Columbia, MD. There was a metric century route, a 45 mile route, and two shorter rides of 28 and 22 miles. Since I hadn't been riding much, I opted for the modest 28 miler. I'm glad I did, because the route was very hilly compared to what I am used to coming from Florida! On the other hand, the weather was fantastic - high 60's and low 70's, low humidity, sunny and clear.
Afterwards I stayed around talking to the handful of riders who also went on the shorter routes, about 15 of us total. The extra benefits of going short included first crack at the picnic food, beer, and dessert!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
New Car - Prius
I got a "new" car... a 2008 Prius. I've been thinking about getting a hybrid for years, and decided now was a good time, since I either had to register my Camry in Maryland, or get a new car. Since my Camry was getting up there (160K miles, 13 years old), and the Maryland vehicle inspection policy tries to both recover money for the state (sales-tax-free state Delaware is next door!) and weed out unsound cars, I opted for replacement - I'm sure I would have had to sink more money into the Camry.
I'm not complaining - my Camry was excellent over the years! But co-workers told me Maryland is super picky on vehicle inspections, because it is only done once for the life of the car. One coworker thinks this actually leads to more clunkers on the road, since once a car passes, it never has to get inspected again, and thus people tend to drive cars into the ground. Cars gets dinged for nicks in the windshield, rust, etc. and getting that fixed for a car I'd plan to replace next year anyway...
I'm not complaining - my Camry was excellent over the years! But co-workers told me Maryland is super picky on vehicle inspections, because it is only done once for the life of the car. One coworker thinks this actually leads to more clunkers on the road, since once a car passes, it never has to get inspected again, and thus people tend to drive cars into the ground. Cars gets dinged for nicks in the windshield, rust, etc. and getting that fixed for a car I'd plan to replace next year anyway...
Friday, September 25, 2009
Football Fever
One thing I've noticed about this region of the country is how huge NFL football is. In Florida, college football rules. Alumni groups for Florida State, Florida, and Miami were all over the place, and the games are a large part of the state's consciousness.
Here, pro ball dominates. On Fridays, it is common to see a few coworkers wearing team jerseys. Badge lanyards proclaiming various allegiances are popular as well, as are various methods of decorating your cubicle.
The popular teams are the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, and then everyone else including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. I tend to adopt the local team after a while, so I'll pay attention to the Ravens and Redskins.
Here, pro ball dominates. On Fridays, it is common to see a few coworkers wearing team jerseys. Badge lanyards proclaiming various allegiances are popular as well, as are various methods of decorating your cubicle.
The popular teams are the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, and then everyone else including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. I tend to adopt the local team after a while, so I'll pay attention to the Ravens and Redskins.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
(No) Cable TV
I decided to save a little money and not get cable TV. I like some of those extra channels, especially National Geographic, Syfy, and a handful of others. But, it isn't worth $80 more a month for that (I have cable internet for an already high ~$60 a month).
Yes, 80 dollars! That doesn't include any premium channels, that is just "normal" cable and HD. I could probably live without HD, but my TV is capable and the extra charge for HD was $15 or less. So while I like some of the cable channels, the price in this area is higher than I'm willing to pay for it.
Instead, I decided to try good old "over the air" TV reception. For that, I'd need a tuner/decoder, so I bought an HD Tivo which also includes the HD tuner/decoder I would need to get anyway. Besides, after watching TV via DVR's for so long, I had to have that also - too bad my current Series 2 TiVo can't pull in HD. I had to buy an antenna as well, but those are inexpensive.
Once I connected all this stuff up, I searched for channels to see what I could receive. The good news is I get several channels, over the air, for free! NBC, Fox, PBS, CW, and some miscellaneous channels. I don't get ABC or CBS... perhaps my antenna isn't strong enough to pull in those signals.
That's OK, because I supplement what I do receive through Netflix, which is indispensable especially considering how many TV shows are released on DVD eventually. And I'll try buying one show from the iTunes store: Burn Notice. That is one of my favorite shows, and it plays on USA, which I no longer get. And I can't wait until season 3 comes out on DVD in order to see the other half of the season!
Anyway, one month into not having cable TV and I don't miss it that much. Certainly not enough to spend $80/month for it.
Yes, 80 dollars! That doesn't include any premium channels, that is just "normal" cable and HD. I could probably live without HD, but my TV is capable and the extra charge for HD was $15 or less. So while I like some of the cable channels, the price in this area is higher than I'm willing to pay for it.
Instead, I decided to try good old "over the air" TV reception. For that, I'd need a tuner/decoder, so I bought an HD Tivo which also includes the HD tuner/decoder I would need to get anyway. Besides, after watching TV via DVR's for so long, I had to have that also - too bad my current Series 2 TiVo can't pull in HD. I had to buy an antenna as well, but those are inexpensive.
Once I connected all this stuff up, I searched for channels to see what I could receive. The good news is I get several channels, over the air, for free! NBC, Fox, PBS, CW, and some miscellaneous channels. I don't get ABC or CBS... perhaps my antenna isn't strong enough to pull in those signals.
That's OK, because I supplement what I do receive through Netflix, which is indispensable especially considering how many TV shows are released on DVD eventually. And I'll try buying one show from the iTunes store: Burn Notice. That is one of my favorite shows, and it plays on USA, which I no longer get. And I can't wait until season 3 comes out on DVD in order to see the other half of the season!
Anyway, one month into not having cable TV and I don't miss it that much. Certainly not enough to spend $80/month for it.
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