New Year
Fri Jan 1 13:30:15 EST 2016
Dan Walsh/Jim Davis
When I was getting into bed (around 05:00 06:03) I pulled a muscle and my whole back and left side were on fire. Lying flat on my back was reasonably comfortable, and I went to sleep like that. Today's there's still some aching down my left side. It is easier and easier to overdo things as I get older, but sometimes these things just come out of nowhere, when I'm doing nothing unusual. ☹
On the bright side, I did get a reasonable amount of sleep.
Friday 16:27
There's a story on the radio about college football wanting to make New Year's Eve a big day for games.
Baseball has July 4th, the NFL has Thanksgiving, and the NBA has Christmas Day.
What's overlooked in this plan is that New Year's Eve is not a holiday; it's not a day we get off from work.
I don't follow or watch sports anyway.
Sunday 23:03
On The Big Broadcast: Jan. 3, 2016 | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio (old-time radio dramas) tonight they had a dramatization of Hemmingway's "A Farewell to Arms" by the NBC University Theater. The BB host mentioned that the University Theater didn't do well with listeners, even though it had high production values and fresh content (i.e. stories that were less familiar - had not been done to death). Perhaps part of the problem was the "educational" aspect - listeners could get college credits with the broadcasts counting as part of the coursework. People just told themselves that if it was educational it must not be enjoyable/entertaining.
I noted tonight that at the intermission, when some academic spoke about Hemmingway and his writing and the circumstances of this particular book and Hemmingway's career in general, he also dropped several plot spoilers about the 2nd half of the show. As much as one might like to assume that "everyone" has read these books, we all know that isn't the case. So what kind of production announces all the upcoming plot points beforehand? There's not much reason to listen to the rest of the show.
Monday 01:03
Accuweather is predicting 25°F/-3.9°C for 21:00 tonight, about when I typically leave the office. And windy, so it will feel like 10°F/-12.2°C. This is where driving starts to look attractive, but I don't drive to work any more. Public transit can be better or worse. It might get me home faster, in a heated vehicle. And it might leave me standing outdoors waiting for a bus. And I've had some long waits.
Monday 22:30
I had a tailwind most of the way going to work today, so the 37°F/2.8°C didn't feel too bad.
Coming home was another matter. The wind had not changed, so I had pretty stiff headwinds the whole trip home. It was 28°F/-2.2°C when I left the office, 24°F/-4.4°C along the canal towpath and crossing the river (although the thermometer zagged to 19°F/-7.2°C and 28°F/-2.2°C within about 10 seconds on the bridge), and 22°F/-5.6°C in my yard.
And something was going on in Georgetown; traffic was detoured off of Water Street. The first roadblock said they weren't letting cars through but bikes were OK. Then a few blocks further the cop said everyone had to go up to M Street. I wish they'd get things straight, because M St was a lot farther uphill at the 2nd cop than the 1st. I didn't go up to M St though; I got on the canal towpath. And then went back down to Water St to get to the Capital Crescent Trail. I'm always a little uneasy next to the canal, and more so when the temperature is below freezing. After all the rain last week there were a few patches of frozen mud on at this end of the towpath. (The part I routinely ride, west of Fletcher's Boathouse, is wider and drier.)
Tuesday 22:30
This afternoon and tonight were colder than last night, but it was much less windy. I didn't have the helpful tailwind going to work, but neither did I have to deal with its opposite number on my return. It was 19°F/-7.2°C for the last part my ride.
I thought my blinker was feeble last night because the cold was affecting the battery voltage, but tonight I realized it's been more than a week since the batteries were charged - and that would also make the light feeble. (They're charging now.)
Somebody on the sidewalk yelled "Get a real bike!" I guess he thought he was clever; maybe even funny. My bike is beyond real; it's exotic. That was like yelling "Get a real car!" to someone in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Except that my bike is actually well suited to commuting. And it's got more rack space than a typical bike, should one want to do something practical, like shopping. I feel sorry for people who feel compelled to talk even when they don't have something worth saying.
There have been far fewer people out on bikes this week.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/788542.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
Dan Walsh/Jim Davis
When I was getting into bed (around 05:00 06:03) I pulled a muscle and my whole back and left side were on fire. Lying flat on my back was reasonably comfortable, and I went to sleep like that. Today's there's still some aching down my left side. It is easier and easier to overdo things as I get older, but sometimes these things just come out of nowhere, when I'm doing nothing unusual. ☹
On the bright side, I did get a reasonable amount of sleep.
Friday 16:27
There's a story on the radio about college football wanting to make New Year's Eve a big day for games.
Baseball has July 4th, the NFL has Thanksgiving, and the NBA has Christmas Day.
What's overlooked in this plan is that New Year's Eve is not a holiday; it's not a day we get off from work.
I don't follow or watch sports anyway.
Sunday 23:03
On The Big Broadcast: Jan. 3, 2016 | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio (old-time radio dramas) tonight they had a dramatization of Hemmingway's "A Farewell to Arms" by the NBC University Theater. The BB host mentioned that the University Theater didn't do well with listeners, even though it had high production values and fresh content (i.e. stories that were less familiar - had not been done to death). Perhaps part of the problem was the "educational" aspect - listeners could get college credits with the broadcasts counting as part of the coursework. People just told themselves that if it was educational it must not be enjoyable/entertaining.
I noted tonight that at the intermission, when some academic spoke about Hemmingway and his writing and the circumstances of this particular book and Hemmingway's career in general, he also dropped several plot spoilers about the 2nd half of the show. As much as one might like to assume that "everyone" has read these books, we all know that isn't the case. So what kind of production announces all the upcoming plot points beforehand? There's not much reason to listen to the rest of the show.
Monday 01:03
Accuweather is predicting 25°F/-3.9°C for 21:00 tonight, about when I typically leave the office. And windy, so it will feel like 10°F/-12.2°C. This is where driving starts to look attractive, but I don't drive to work any more. Public transit can be better or worse. It might get me home faster, in a heated vehicle. And it might leave me standing outdoors waiting for a bus. And I've had some long waits.
Monday 22:30
I had a tailwind most of the way going to work today, so the 37°F/2.8°C didn't feel too bad.
Coming home was another matter. The wind had not changed, so I had pretty stiff headwinds the whole trip home. It was 28°F/-2.2°C when I left the office, 24°F/-4.4°C along the canal towpath and crossing the river (although the thermometer zagged to 19°F/-7.2°C and 28°F/-2.2°C within about 10 seconds on the bridge), and 22°F/-5.6°C in my yard.
And something was going on in Georgetown; traffic was detoured off of Water Street. The first roadblock said they weren't letting cars through but bikes were OK. Then a few blocks further the cop said everyone had to go up to M Street. I wish they'd get things straight, because M St was a lot farther uphill at the 2nd cop than the 1st. I didn't go up to M St though; I got on the canal towpath. And then went back down to Water St to get to the Capital Crescent Trail. I'm always a little uneasy next to the canal, and more so when the temperature is below freezing. After all the rain last week there were a few patches of frozen mud on at this end of the towpath. (The part I routinely ride, west of Fletcher's Boathouse, is wider and drier.)
Tuesday 22:30
This afternoon and tonight were colder than last night, but it was much less windy. I didn't have the helpful tailwind going to work, but neither did I have to deal with its opposite number on my return. It was 19°F/-7.2°C for the last part my ride.
I thought my blinker was feeble last night because the cold was affecting the battery voltage, but tonight I realized it's been more than a week since the batteries were charged - and that would also make the light feeble. (They're charging now.)
Somebody on the sidewalk yelled "Get a real bike!" I guess he thought he was clever; maybe even funny. My bike is beyond real; it's exotic. That was like yelling "Get a real car!" to someone in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Except that my bike is actually well suited to commuting. And it's got more rack space than a typical bike, should one want to do something practical, like shopping. I feel sorry for people who feel compelled to talk even when they don't have something worth saying.
There have been far fewer people out on bikes this week.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/788542.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]