Yesterday at lunch, part of a tooth chipped off. It wasn't painful, and I didn't even notice until my tongue felt something weird along the side of a molar. Or more accurately, felt something missing... as in the back corner of a tooth. I remember a dentist once telling me that I would probably have to have a crown eventually, since that one tooth had 2 or 3 fillings in it, making the tooth weak. Well, that day came to pass!
Since it didn't hurt and I could eat and chew normally, I briefly entertained the idea of not doing anything about it. But I knew the now-exposed side of the filling would eventually cause problems, so I made an appointment ASAP. Which turned out to be this morning.
My dentist took a quick look and said "yes, you need a crown. Ceramic or gold?" Apparently the gold/metal choice is better since it will be far less likely to crack, while the ceramic one is mostly for aesthetic reasons (e.g. a visible tooth needs a crown). I opted for the gold crown since my molar really isn't that visible.
Now I have a temporary crown, and have to go back in two weeks to get fitted for the permanent crown.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Bike Class
My bike club decided, at the last club meeting, that it would be good for the club to send interested people to take the "safety class" offered by the League of American Bicyclists, just for general knowledge. Any safety tips would be valuable, especially for ride leaders, or people that help marshall other rides, etc.
So I signed up. The first part of the class was OK, mostly topics like general bike safety, and entirely lecture based. Due to a schedule conflict, I wound up taking the second part today, and it was much more fun.
Today's the class started out with lecture and slides, but the topics were more interesting, since they were directly about road position: where to position a lone cyclist or group of cyclists, in various traffic situations. The general idea is to think of ourselves as a slow moving vehicle - we obey all traffic signs, take the rightmost lane that serves our destination, etc. The slides covered more complicated scenarios that before, such as handling a fork in the lane.
But what made today's class most fun was practicing maneuvers in the parking lot: quick turning, emergency stopping, swerving to miss small objects, etc. After that we went on a ~15 mile loop to practice everything. We even had a quiz over the material.
I passed both the quiz and the bike portion, so I'll get my certificate along with the others in the club... whenever that is.
So I signed up. The first part of the class was OK, mostly topics like general bike safety, and entirely lecture based. Due to a schedule conflict, I wound up taking the second part today, and it was much more fun.
Today's the class started out with lecture and slides, but the topics were more interesting, since they were directly about road position: where to position a lone cyclist or group of cyclists, in various traffic situations. The general idea is to think of ourselves as a slow moving vehicle - we obey all traffic signs, take the rightmost lane that serves our destination, etc. The slides covered more complicated scenarios that before, such as handling a fork in the lane.
But what made today's class most fun was practicing maneuvers in the parking lot: quick turning, emergency stopping, swerving to miss small objects, etc. After that we went on a ~15 mile loop to practice everything. We even had a quiz over the material.
I passed both the quiz and the bike portion, so I'll get my certificate along with the others in the club... whenever that is.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Yoga
I've complained to running friends that I am fairly inflexible: I can't touch my toes, or do many of those fancy stretches. My friends Mai and Charles suggested I go with them to yoga, so I agreed to check it out. There are classes offered at our Y, but they like to go to a local studio, Guruv Yoga. The class they like to attend is "Happy Hour Yoga", offered Fridays at 5:30 pm, because of the wine and occasional appetizers afterwards!
So I went, and it was tough. The class is a basic Vinyasa Flow yoga, and I do what I can until I feel resistance. However, due to my overall muscle tightness, I feel resistance pretty early in most of the positions. For some, I need the help of a foam yoga block. Overall I enjoyed it, and am determined to keep attending. We plan to take advantage of our Y memberships and attend a Tuesday morning class as well, after running. Mai and Charles and pretty good, but they've been doing it for years. I know I need to do it more than once a week if I actually want to improve.
Anyway, after we had our little glass of wine, we went next door to Delano's for dinner. We like the menu, even if it is small - right now it is salads, flatbread pizza, and sandwiches. But they are expanding the restaurant and also expanding the menu, so soon we'll have more food to choose from! It is a great way to wind down a Friday evening.
So I went, and it was tough. The class is a basic Vinyasa Flow yoga, and I do what I can until I feel resistance. However, due to my overall muscle tightness, I feel resistance pretty early in most of the positions. For some, I need the help of a foam yoga block. Overall I enjoyed it, and am determined to keep attending. We plan to take advantage of our Y memberships and attend a Tuesday morning class as well, after running. Mai and Charles and pretty good, but they've been doing it for years. I know I need to do it more than once a week if I actually want to improve.
Anyway, after we had our little glass of wine, we went next door to Delano's for dinner. We like the menu, even if it is small - right now it is salads, flatbread pizza, and sandwiches. But they are expanding the restaurant and also expanding the menu, so soon we'll have more food to choose from! It is a great way to wind down a Friday evening.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Manatee Encounter
My friend Mai's birthday is approaching, so she wanted to do something the weekend before it. It is good timing since she is a teacher and school starts on Monday (faculty is back, but the kids don't show up for another week). She arranged a group outing to take the Manatee Encounter tour from A Day Away Kayak Tours. We had a fair sized group: Mai and Charles, Travis and Diana, myself and Johanna and few others Mai invited as well.
At the start of the tour.
We didn't have to look far for manatees! On the way out we paddled into a boat launch area, known as a gathering spot for the manatees. Within minutes, two very friendly manatees began to swim around us, checking out the group.
Very curious and friendly manatee.
The manatees surfaced very close - I could feel them exhale. They would flip over and swim under the boat, and circled us until we left. They would bump the kayaks and turn us in slow circles. The guide said it was OK to gently pet them, so when one was close enough, I stuck out my hand to feel it swimming by.
After we left the boat launch manatees, we entered a sheltered shore area. I saw a small jellyfish swimming by, so I lifted it up on my paddle. It is a little hard to see, but in the middle of the paddle is a lump - that's the jellyfish, a little one.
The tour also included a stop in shallow water where we dug for clams, and looked at NASA 12 miles to the south. The tour company also offers a few other trips that sound interesting, such as the nighttime bioluminescence tour. They also have a shuttle launch trip, which I think would be much better than being closer in viewing, on the NASA grounds. If the launch is postponed, at least you had the kayaking part to enjoy!
At the start of the tour.
We didn't have to look far for manatees! On the way out we paddled into a boat launch area, known as a gathering spot for the manatees. Within minutes, two very friendly manatees began to swim around us, checking out the group.
Very curious and friendly manatee.
The manatees surfaced very close - I could feel them exhale. They would flip over and swim under the boat, and circled us until we left. They would bump the kayaks and turn us in slow circles. The guide said it was OK to gently pet them, so when one was close enough, I stuck out my hand to feel it swimming by.
After we left the boat launch manatees, we entered a sheltered shore area. I saw a small jellyfish swimming by, so I lifted it up on my paddle. It is a little hard to see, but in the middle of the paddle is a lump - that's the jellyfish, a little one.
The tour also included a stop in shallow water where we dug for clams, and looked at NASA 12 miles to the south. The tour company also offers a few other trips that sound interesting, such as the nighttime bioluminescence tour. They also have a shuttle launch trip, which I think would be much better than being closer in viewing, on the NASA grounds. If the launch is postponed, at least you had the kayaking part to enjoy!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Dark Knight
My friend and coworker Stephanie is a huge Batman fan, and her birthday was Friday, so I got her tickets to the IMAX showing of The Dark Knight. After getting back from the morning Clermont run, I hurried up to meet her and Jason at the lone IMAX theater in the area, near the Universal Theme parks on International Drive.
It was worth it... the movie was great and looked fantastic in IMAX. Part of the IMAX experience is a really booming sound system, which paid off during various scenes. Heath Ledger's Joker was a great character, a criminally insane sadist, and not a goofball as had been depicted in previous movies.
It was worth it... the movie was great and looked fantastic in IMAX. Part of the IMAX experience is a really booming sound system, which paid off during various scenes. Heath Ledger's Joker was a great character, a criminally insane sadist, and not a goofball as had been depicted in previous movies.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Central Florida Tri
I signed up for this event, along with several members of the YMCA tri club. Even though this year will be run-heavy for me, I still want to do a few tris!
The swim was in Lake Claire on the UCF campus, and this caused a registration foul-up before the event. Apparently, UCF wanted all athletes to sign a waiver before letting us swim in the lake, in addition to the usual packet pickup and general chaos surrounding a local event where half the people register DOR. I signed up online, and expected to show my USAT registration and sign some usual waiver before going off to setup my transition zone. However, due to this extra UCF waiver, and the problems with distributing it and getting that signed and checked, the line backed up pretty far. It may sound trivial, but an extra 15 seconds per participant meant the extra delay across ~300 people was about an hour. And that's about how late the tri started.
My prediction: if this event is held at UCF next year, the waiver will be gone: absorbed into the other waiver we sign, handled via a checkbox for those that pre-register, or hugely better organized, because it was truly cumbersome to deal with.
I also registered by Champion Chip number, but was handed a race-day chip as well. Since I didn't know which one would be used for the actual timing, I wore both. :)
Anyway, the race started and went well. The swim was mismeasured, but you expect that in a sprint, especially at a new venue. During the bike, I took a turn a bit to fast and skidded just a second into a manhole cover. I kept control but something fell and hit the ground. I checked my bike bag, pump, reflectors, computer, rear derailleur, but couldn't find anything that dropped. After another mile or two I looked at my watch... and found out what dropped. My watch! Not the strap, but the electonics actually separated from the wrist strap. So I sadly marked the passing of my faithful Garmin 305.
It was a good race for me. In my new division, M40-44 (USAT rules round up your age), I finished 14/27. I was 103/267 overall and 74th among men. Swim was slow, at 156/267 (overall), bike was a bit faster at 101/267, and run was even better at 68/267.
Afterwards, I went to a local diner with a group from the Y, and we enjoyed breakfast while analyzing various aspects of the race. :)
The swim was in Lake Claire on the UCF campus, and this caused a registration foul-up before the event. Apparently, UCF wanted all athletes to sign a waiver before letting us swim in the lake, in addition to the usual packet pickup and general chaos surrounding a local event where half the people register DOR. I signed up online, and expected to show my USAT registration and sign some usual waiver before going off to setup my transition zone. However, due to this extra UCF waiver, and the problems with distributing it and getting that signed and checked, the line backed up pretty far. It may sound trivial, but an extra 15 seconds per participant meant the extra delay across ~300 people was about an hour. And that's about how late the tri started.
My prediction: if this event is held at UCF next year, the waiver will be gone: absorbed into the other waiver we sign, handled via a checkbox for those that pre-register, or hugely better organized, because it was truly cumbersome to deal with.
I also registered by Champion Chip number, but was handed a race-day chip as well. Since I didn't know which one would be used for the actual timing, I wore both. :)
Anyway, the race started and went well. The swim was mismeasured, but you expect that in a sprint, especially at a new venue. During the bike, I took a turn a bit to fast and skidded just a second into a manhole cover. I kept control but something fell and hit the ground. I checked my bike bag, pump, reflectors, computer, rear derailleur, but couldn't find anything that dropped. After another mile or two I looked at my watch... and found out what dropped. My watch! Not the strap, but the electonics actually separated from the wrist strap. So I sadly marked the passing of my faithful Garmin 305.
It was a good race for me. In my new division, M40-44 (USAT rules round up your age), I finished 14/27. I was 103/267 overall and 74th among men. Swim was slow, at 156/267 (overall), bike was a bit faster at 101/267, and run was even better at 68/267.
Afterwards, I went to a local diner with a group from the Y, and we enjoyed breakfast while analyzing various aspects of the race. :)
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Bowling League
Some friends from work talked me into joining their team in a bowling league. This was a ton of fun in Seattle, so I did it. But this league is far more serious.
The first clue was the discussion of handicaps - it seems the other three on my team average 180 or higher. But they swore this was fine, I would get a handicap and apparently the "weaker" bowlers on a team (like myself) in a handicap league make all the difference. The reasoning behind this is somebody who already bowls 180 or 200 or 220 probably isn't going to improve that much; meanwhile somebody who bowls in the low 100's may, over the course of the league, improve their average 20 points or so - and this improvement, added to their handicap, boosts the team score a much larger proportion.
The second clue this league took itself far more seriously was the league meeting before we started the season - run via parlimentary procedure, with motions and seconds to elect officers (!!) and accept the league rules. The whole time I sat there in disbelief - it seemed far too overblown and I could scarcely believe this was happening for a bowling league. Officer positions were the standard President, Vice President, and some combination of Secretary and Treasurer run in conjunction with an employee of the lanes. There was brief mention of electing a Sergeant-at-Arms, charged with the duty of breaking up fist-fights (I am totally serious here), but we passed on that.
So with all these (in my mind, ridiculous) formalities out of the way, we started bowling. And here was my third clue the league was so serious - everybody else brought all their own gear. Rolling luggages with space for shoes, a bunch of towels, assorted stickers, and two balls each. That's right, two balls: one for the first roll, and a so-called "spare" ball for the second roll, and a few rubber doughnuts so people could keep their spare balls under the rack. After all, there isn't enough room for eight people with two balls each to keep them all on the rack. So why two balls, what is the difference between a "first roll" ball and the "spare" ball? Funny I should ask...
It turns out bowling balls have a solid metal rod embedded in them, that runs from the core to the surface. Balls are marked with a small spot as to where this rod is, by a colored dot or small target etched on the ball. House balls are usually drilled so the rod is between the finger holes - thus a ball bowled straight will tend to roll straight. But all the serious bowlers don't release like that, they give it spin and release at an angle. Thus, their balls are drilled so the finger holes are away from the rod, and being off-center from the roll, the ball will tend to hook. This in turn is why they have two bowling balls - one is drilled in this fashion, used for the first roll in a frame, and the other one is drilled "straighter" (closer to center) so it tends to roll straighter, and is used for picking up spares.
It was surreal listening to my teammates and our opponents talk about lane oil, watching them unpack little sticky thumb grippers to place into the thumb hole, polishing excess oil off their bowling balls in between frames, using small metal brushes on their bowling shoes to improve the "slide"... My mind was reeling from all this, as I used rented shoes and a house ball and did nothing.
I wound up bowling a 397 for three games (individual games are so passé, as serious bowlers apparently keep score of a three game series), while two teammates bowled a 540 and 541 and our fourth bowled a 695. Unbelievable! I'm not even sure how games are scored, for competitive purposes - it isn't merely total score of all players, there is something to do with pincount as well, where pincount is number of pins knocked down, and thus differs from score since pincount doesn't get a bonus from spares or strikes. My three teammates entered a "strike pot" for $1 - the pot pays out to all winners if (and only if) somebody bowls a strike in three randomly chosen frames per game. I cannot produce a strike on demand so I opted to skip it, although for $1 I'll probably enter next week for the heck of it. The pot accumulates throughout the season, but is capped at $1500. Now that would be pretty sweet, to hit the correct nine strikes one day and collect $1500. For me, hitting three strikes per game for three games would be great in and of itself. :)
It was fun, and I look forward to observing this bowling subculture that I did not know existed. The league runs to August so I will have plenty of chances to check it out.
The first clue was the discussion of handicaps - it seems the other three on my team average 180 or higher. But they swore this was fine, I would get a handicap and apparently the "weaker" bowlers on a team (like myself) in a handicap league make all the difference. The reasoning behind this is somebody who already bowls 180 or 200 or 220 probably isn't going to improve that much; meanwhile somebody who bowls in the low 100's may, over the course of the league, improve their average 20 points or so - and this improvement, added to their handicap, boosts the team score a much larger proportion.
The second clue this league took itself far more seriously was the league meeting before we started the season - run via parlimentary procedure, with motions and seconds to elect officers (!!) and accept the league rules. The whole time I sat there in disbelief - it seemed far too overblown and I could scarcely believe this was happening for a bowling league. Officer positions were the standard President, Vice President, and some combination of Secretary and Treasurer run in conjunction with an employee of the lanes. There was brief mention of electing a Sergeant-at-Arms, charged with the duty of breaking up fist-fights (I am totally serious here), but we passed on that.
So with all these (in my mind, ridiculous) formalities out of the way, we started bowling. And here was my third clue the league was so serious - everybody else brought all their own gear. Rolling luggages with space for shoes, a bunch of towels, assorted stickers, and two balls each. That's right, two balls: one for the first roll, and a so-called "spare" ball for the second roll, and a few rubber doughnuts so people could keep their spare balls under the rack. After all, there isn't enough room for eight people with two balls each to keep them all on the rack. So why two balls, what is the difference between a "first roll" ball and the "spare" ball? Funny I should ask...
It turns out bowling balls have a solid metal rod embedded in them, that runs from the core to the surface. Balls are marked with a small spot as to where this rod is, by a colored dot or small target etched on the ball. House balls are usually drilled so the rod is between the finger holes - thus a ball bowled straight will tend to roll straight. But all the serious bowlers don't release like that, they give it spin and release at an angle. Thus, their balls are drilled so the finger holes are away from the rod, and being off-center from the roll, the ball will tend to hook. This in turn is why they have two bowling balls - one is drilled in this fashion, used for the first roll in a frame, and the other one is drilled "straighter" (closer to center) so it tends to roll straighter, and is used for picking up spares.
It was surreal listening to my teammates and our opponents talk about lane oil, watching them unpack little sticky thumb grippers to place into the thumb hole, polishing excess oil off their bowling balls in between frames, using small metal brushes on their bowling shoes to improve the "slide"... My mind was reeling from all this, as I used rented shoes and a house ball and did nothing.
I wound up bowling a 397 for three games (individual games are so passé, as serious bowlers apparently keep score of a three game series), while two teammates bowled a 540 and 541 and our fourth bowled a 695. Unbelievable! I'm not even sure how games are scored, for competitive purposes - it isn't merely total score of all players, there is something to do with pincount as well, where pincount is number of pins knocked down, and thus differs from score since pincount doesn't get a bonus from spares or strikes. My three teammates entered a "strike pot" for $1 - the pot pays out to all winners if (and only if) somebody bowls a strike in three randomly chosen frames per game. I cannot produce a strike on demand so I opted to skip it, although for $1 I'll probably enter next week for the heck of it. The pot accumulates throughout the season, but is capped at $1500. Now that would be pretty sweet, to hit the correct nine strikes one day and collect $1500. For me, hitting three strikes per game for three games would be great in and of itself. :)
It was fun, and I look forward to observing this bowling subculture that I did not know existed. The league runs to August so I will have plenty of chances to check it out.
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