Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Biggest Looser seventh weigh in - plus other stuff

Biggest Loser

Started riding the bike to work again; ate as much as I cared for but I lost weight.

Xena was attacked by a couple of big dogs while we were on our walk. Don't worry, I fought them off but I got a few scrapes and cuts to show for the fight. They actually looked like they felt sorry for what they had done. Dogs are kind of like kids, do things without thinking sometimes. Just glad they weren't truly vicious. Told my wife that she shouldn't walk Xena without me. There are about six big dogs in the neighborhood that don't like her. Plus one hawk. 

Damn the rain, the aches and  the pains, full speed ahead - biking is making me thiner. 

Weighed in at an even 216 this week. Down 1.2 lbs from last. I believe a 6.2 total weight loss so far. 


Another amazing video



Morning Sky


Sunday, January 24, 2010

40 minutes of climbing



I finally was able to get done with enough of my chores and out of the house long enough to ride for a few minutes. The days are short, so I headed straight to the closest trail. Feeling like I would explode if I didn't burn as much energy as possible I climbed west out of the dreamy draw. Some days, I would avoid this climb, but not today. Feeling the bike buck beneath me as I climbed up the pass is a sensation I experience far to infrequently recently. Not that I cleared everything, but I cleared enough to appease myself for the time being. My body is still telling me that it wants to go on a long ride.

While some dream of vacations on the beach or cruise liners. I would like nothing more than to take a long bike packing trip with my closest friends. Anyway, it's not going to happen for awhile with the baby coming. I hope I can teach her/him the joys of the outdoors.

News - interactive

Funny what happens when you can't get out. Your mind starts thinking of ideas. I thought of a way to make the content of this site more dynamic. Every time you come to this post, you will see something different. Like my last post with the weather forecast.  Just my Newz page from Fat tire. Click on any of the subject, to change the content.



cooool video










Friday, January 22, 2010

Biggest Looser sixth weigh in - plus other stuff

Biggest looser 6

Weighed in at 217.2. Another gain. Believe it or not it has been raining all week. Drove to work all week.

I have not had much time to play either. See the rides I have logged in fat-tire.net. I have not ridden in 12 days. Hardly got to ride at all in the months of January or December.


  Team: Goomba    Rider: frasiec    Date: 1/22/2010   
trail
date
CalsBurned
MyJournal
Make
Model
DESERT CLASSIC - South Mountain
Jan 10, 10
753
perfect temps and lite traffic due to the cards game. went a little further. no dabs.
Schwinn
Moab 3
McDowell mts Pemberton Trail
Jan 04, 10
1694.25
Perfect day. Don't need suspension on this one.Last 6.5 miles is all downhill. Probably the last time I can do this one in awhile. Had to take advantage. Only time it's better is just after a rain.
Motobecane
Outcast 29
Phoenix Mtns Secret Trails
Jan 01, 10
502
more exploring. New perspective with the 29er. Who knew I would enjoy single speed ridged mtb so much?
Motobecane
Outcast 29
Phoenix Mtns Secret Trails
Dec 31, 09
577.3
New years eve and a blue moon. Out searching for an easy west east passage from the dreamy draw. Think I found it but it got dark on me. New chain makes a difference on the way the bike shifts. New machine.
Schwinn
Moab 3
DESERT CLASSIC - South Mountain
Dec 30, 09
439.25
Rode the single speed ridged bike out here for the first time. Not bad. Thought I would miss my shocks more. Just got off the saddle. Missed my gears more than my shocks. Better workout, but I made better time. Go figure. A suspensioned, geared 29er
Motobecane
Outcast 29
DESERT CLASSIC - South Mountain
Dec 23, 09
502
Man I have a goofy voice. Just made a video of the ride today. Nice day for the classic.
Schwinn
Moab 3
Phoenix mtns trail 8
Dec 13, 09
753
Amit and I rode up over, the back on zipper. Not too much rain on us. Broke out the the rain jacket.
Schwinn
Moab 3
DESERT CLASSIC - South Mountain
Dec 08, 09
878.5
love this old Moab more and more. Feel a real connection to the thing. Better bike than the old Mesa it replaced. Looks like same frame, but it's better. Too bad Schwinn makes crap nowdays.
Schwinn
Moab 3
Papago Park
Dec 03, 09
502
Rode the Tempe Papagos. Looked over the ruins and such. Got a pretty good workout on the single speed ridged bike. The 29er is like a long pair of skis. More confident going down the steep stuff, but doesn't turn as quickly. I like it.
Motobecane
Outcast 29
Phoenix mtns trail 8
Dec 01, 09
1129.5
Nice ride an hour before sunset. Perfect temps.
Schwinn
Moab 3






1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
...


Baby shower party



Had a big baby shower this past weekend. Men were welcome along with the women.


real showers

Rain for another week? In Phoenix? This reminds me. I need to add the other weather web service to fat-tire.net as the two below are kind of slow. I'll keep this and let them popup in a separate frame.

Anyway, no time to ride. No time to code.

Place
PHOENIX
AZ
85016
Coordinates
Longitude: 112.0305
Latitude: 33.50212
Today's Forcast
High 57 fahranheit
14 Celcius
Low 40 f
4 c
Current conditions
Currently 46 fahranheit
P/CLEAR
82 % humidity
January 23, 2010 09:13
Wind SSW
at 6 MPH
Pressure 29.79
6 Day Forcast
Day
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010






Forcast High Fahrenheit
57
59
63
62
60
62
Forcast Low Fahrenheit
40
40
45
47
47
47
Forcast High Celcius
14
15
17
17
16
17
Forcast Low Celcius
4
4
7
8
8
8
Conditions
Showers
Thunder Storms
Partly Cloudy
Showers
Showers
N/A

live forecast

Just seeing what can be coded into a blog. the forecast for the last trail you visited on fat tire.net will display.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Biggest Looser fifth weigh in - plus other stuff



Biggest looser fifth weigh in

Weighed in at 216.4 once again. Hate to make excuses but there was the big banquet last night for the festival of kites.

Total weight loss still at 5.8 lbs.


All things Hawaiian



In honor of our Hawaiian friends, here is a post of Some old Hawaiian photos and our Hawaiian rides.
awaii
Trail
area
Puck
Description
Distance
TimeToRide
Effort
skill
PrimoTrail
FindRoute
Munro trail
Lanai
3
double track mountain roads
40
days
tough
intermediate

moderate
Secret Trails
Maui
8
isolated single track through various type forrest such a guava
3 to 100
1 to 5
moderate
Intermediate

moderate
Mt Haleakala
Maui - Kula Forrest preserve
5
All single track. Some fog. Redwood forrest Volcanic rock. A little of everything.
12
1 to 3
Tough
Expert

moderate
Kaaawa Valley
Oahu
1
Lush beauty. majestic Koolau Mountain cliffs and stunning ocean views are the backdrop for this epic mountain biking experience. scenic dirt roads; double track and single track. explore this sacred and historic Hawaiian valley.
6
2 to 3
Moderate
Beginner

Easy
Aiea Loop
Oahu
8
nice trail that provided some very different flora than I normally get to see.
5
1
Moderate
Intermediate

moderate








Been reading Mountain Bike Bills blog as he is currently in Hawaii. Also been reading the flat tire blog and he




resides in Hawaii as well. 
Nice redwood forest to hike and bike.



This was a nice feast.





You have to
love a place where fruit trees grow wild.




Just any excuse to post some old photos of my time there.

For such a small place, they have every ecosystem anyone would want. Desert, tropical jungle, pine forest all within a short distance of the other. Elevation and which side of the island is the key to what is going on ecosystem wise.











If there are any Hawaiian's out there that want me to include some of their favorite trails on Fat Tire please leave a comment.

The Limbaugh Monster and the Presidents Daughter

I am thinking about writing some of my own children's stories for the child my wife and I are having next month.

I remember stories of monsters and princesses when I was a child. Why not tell a true story instead? How Rush Limbaugh attacked Chelsie Clinton when she was a child on a daily basis comes to mind. Moral of the story is words alone can never hurt you.

Vikings and Saints

Both teams won by 31 points. Should be a good match.Too bad cardinals and cowboys. Retool and try harder next year.

New Header

I changed my header. I write computer code, which is probably why I have had a fondness for the photo. The term loop has a double meaning for me.

California woman drowns while snow skiing

This is another wtf news story. A california woman drowned in a creek while snow skiing in Colorado. Apparently it was a guided helicopter trip. Her helmet got caught in some stones in a creek and she drowned. WTF!!!??
Where was her guide! Why couldn't she just get out of her helmet!!?? Just doesn't sound right.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Biggest Looser fourth weigh in - plus other stuff


Cardinals vs. Packers VS riding desert Classic

rode the dc then saw the 4th quarter and o.t. . . .  Wow. Cards win 51 to 45. The roaster in the toaster!


Anyway, I don't regret riding. Even though it was one of the greatest playoff games ever. Feels like a luxury to ride a 27 speed bike after i've been riding the single speed so much. Miss my big 29 inch rims, but the smaller ones are good for tight spots. Everything is a tradeoff.


Biggest Looser fourth Weigh in

Missed a week due to the holidays. Apparently, I also missed the bike in to work as I gained 0.2 lbs. Current weight is 216.4 lbs. Total weight loss 5.8 lbs since the contest began. I am currently in third place.

Seti@home, folding@home, distributed computing and Gilbert police urge charges against ex-Higley IT director

Every time I've heard mention of the story of former Higley Unified IT director Bradley Niesluchowski,the media has portrayed the guy as a nut. They also mentioned that his installation of seti at home  is costing the school district millions of dollars to remove. Really??! Millions, really??!! I would like to see a break down of their budget. What does it cost them for normal maintenance, removal of viruses and spyware? No wonder they are over budget.

You get the feeling that The superintendent, Denise Birdwell may be hiding some other expenditures with this indecent? The thing runs as a screen saver. It doesn't prevent you from shutting it or the computer off. There seems like there is padding of the numbers somewhere. Sure, if the guy installed Seti@home or any other software on their network without permission he should be held accountable. However, he was their IT director. Technically, he had the authority. Seti@home is an academic endeavor, they are an academic entity. It seems like the guy thought he was doing some good and now the Gilbert police want to file felony charges (see azcentral story)?

Do you think that the media would have presented the story the same way if he had installed folding at home on the network instead of seti at home? Punishing a guy for trying to find a cure for cancer may have been less popular than punishing him for searching for aliens. It certainly wouldn't have been as funny.


A crazy dream

I saw an ad in the paper about acres of land for sale. 36 acres for $19,900; 94 acres for $29,900; 120 acres for $39,900 and 227 acres for $59,900. I don't know exactly how many mountain bikers exist in Arizona, but I know we have a lot. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just pitch in a dollar, have partial ownership and save the land for mountain biking, camping and hiking? Guess that's kind of what we do with our taxes. This would be voluntary though. I don't have the time to organize something like this nor would I even know how. Anybody want to run with this idea, feel free and let me know.