Midlife Dirt Bagging

Liberty Bell

2009-07-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

Made an attempt of the Beckey route on Liberty Bell. Basically a 5.6-7 route with one 5.9 move along a finger crack past the pitons. I was in climbing boots, so the move would have been much easier in shoes.

Brian and I have become super disciplined about our turn around times.

Got a late start.
Portions of the trail wiped out by avalance.
Got on the wrong trail.
Got off route.
Didn't belay from the right spot.
So, on a Sunday with a 3.5 hour drive back, we bailed.

Huh?

2009-06-17T14:52:00.001-07:00

Bitchin

2009-05-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

Got tired of gettin' flats. Got myself a piss load of new tires, new tubes and some pimp ass mother fucking italian swanky Sidi cycling shoes! Get up off that thing!

5/9 - 71 Single Speed Miles

2009-05-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

OK. I've had it. I've blown 5 tubes with these damned 700x23 tires. I love Conti's, but these 4000 S are impossible to get on a rim.

Saturday's route was really nice. It teetered into the brutal space as I was on the singlespeed with 39x17 gearing. Low for the hills, but brutal on the flat....If I had ridden my geared cross bike with the knobbies, that would have been easier.

Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, Mirrormount Hill (2x), Renton, Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Medina, Kirkland.

http://www.mapmyride.com/view_route?r=787124207011693307

110 Miles

2009-05-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

Kirkland - Granite Falls - Kirkland = 110 miles. 7 hours in the saddle.

Happy Birthday Mrs Dirtbagger!

2009-04-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Two birthday cards.
Texted Happy Birthday song.
Hand delivered flowers.
Took her out to lunch.
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream after dinner.

I ride to ride

2009-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

A Zen Teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles.
When they had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"

The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!"

The teacher praised the student, saying, "You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over, as I do."

The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path."

The teacher commended the student, "Your eyes are open and you see the world."

The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo."

The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."

The fourth student answered, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings."

The teacher was pleased and said, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."

The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle."

The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student, and said, "I am your disciple."

Got a job

2009-04-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Working again....To early to tell.

Fire Road Flyer - Stage 1

2009-03-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

Decided I needed a geared all weather bike. The Litespeed certainly fills that void easily. Pulled the old Dura Ace 8 speed, and XT deraileur, put on some used Dura Ace 9 speed I had from the other road bike.

Swapped the alum bars for some used Easton Carbons. Peeled the decals for a stealthy look. Added Fenders, a new SRAM 12/23 cassette and 9 speed chain.

Sun is shining, weather is sweet

2009-03-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah.

Make you wanna move your dancing feet now.

To the rescue, here I am.

Want you to know, yall, can you understand?

Want you to know thatTook the nice bike out for a spin. Across the 100th street bridge. The nicest way to get over the 405. Then up Hollywood Hill for the "Top Shelf" run.

Up 135th SE, headed toward Trilogy.

Back down Novelity and across 124th.

I then headed north a took Big Rock road in Duvall out to Kelly road, down Stillwater hill and into Carnation.

Up and over Tolt.Cascades were visible today...Nice. Down the 202 to Duthie Hill road. Duthie hill up to Samm Plateau, QFC for a quick bite then along ELSP.
Back into Redmond via Marymoor.
Across the 72nd(?) Street Bridge
When you see the Chesapeake's butt, you know the ride is over.

4.5 hours in the saddle, little hills included Hollywood, 135th SE, Big Rock, Tolt, and Duthie. I'm guessing what, 60 miles total?

McClinchy Mile

2009-03-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Roger convinced me to ride the McClincy mile with him today. A super flat ride of 47 miles and I rode my SS road bike.

Roger and Mt Pilchuck in the background.
Finished with energy to spare. Weather was perfect and it was a pretty nice ride.

Run on CD's, remember those old things.

2009-03-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Local borders is closing out all their CDs to sell only pop crap. I picked these up for 30% off....

Allman Brothers - Live @ Fillmore East
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Exodus (Deluxe Edition)
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live @ The Roxy
Bob Marley @ the Wailers - Kaya (Remastered with extra tracks)
Burning Spear - Creation Rebel (Studio One Recordings)
Dennis Brown - The Best of the Joe Gibbs Years
Elton John - Elton John (Deluxe Edition)
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection (Deluxe Edition)
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come (Deluxe Edition)
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand the Weather
Stevie Wonder - Music of my Mind

Welcome to 1982!

2009-03-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Friend Scott sends some scanned images from high school...Good Lord.Either junior or senior year. In my football jersey, no doubt.
Mark and Me...Where was this? I have no idea....When was it? I THINK it is junior high. Holy Shit.

Scott and Mark....

Funny Harley Jokes

2009-03-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Q. What is the easiest way to take a Harley apart?
A. Start it

Q. What do Harleys and dogs have in common?
A. They both like to ride in the backs of trucks

Q. How do you know when a Harley needs oil?
A. It isn't leaking

Q. What is the difference between a Harley and a vaccuum?
A. The position of the dirt bag

My Ride Today

2009-03-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

I usually send out an email mid week to see who wants to ride. Some can, some can't. Today, no one can. So Saturday AM it's raining...raining....Shit....

About 11:00 it stops.....Time to go.

I head across the valley and drop by to see a friend. He's tied up with domestic daddy duties. He won't be riding, even with somebody on his doorstep. Oh well.

Down Novelty, I cross 124th, and decide to jump on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

It's looking a little gloomy....I suspect the bad weather is a coming.

Maybe it will clear up...No body on the rail trail on a day like to day...Snow forcasted. Rail Trail Action Shot

I pass through Carnation, get a coffee (which she didn't do right, which pissed me off, but instead of having her redo it, I just let it bother me. What a dumb ass.) and head up Tolt.This is a spot on the road where I stopped to fix a flat I got probably 100 yards ago. Is that the karma for being pissed off about the coffee drink? Probably.

I decide to climb Ames Lake, like 100 times before. but on my way back on Union, I decide to detour, cut through a couple of subdivisions and end up back on Ames Lake again. Good. Now I know more of the Broadhurst subdivision. I use my usual bypass road.Back on the side road of the 203....This spot always floods.No problemo as it's barely past my rim.....I've ridden it MUCH deeper.
The dark gloomy weather coming? Here it was. BB sized hail. Nice.
It's OK as someone was home, waiting for me to return.

I've got wood

2009-02-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

On the mountain SS, about 5 weeks ago, took a bash in the left shin. Couldn't walk for two days. Had to buy another bottle of Advil as I drained the few remaining pills. Even had to dig deep into my little pharamcological stash and get out a Percocet.

Anyway, more Advil from Fred Meyer (it was on sale) and I was able to get by. A week ago, the thing is still swollen, but just a little. Huh...It actually stings a little. Damn. Damn.

Go to the local GP doc, and express my desire to lance and drain it, to make sure it doesn't get worse. As he cuts into it, he finds wood. Nice...

I keep the largest chunk he finds. On the right is the current anti-biotic. Gonna have to take 40 of the bastards.....

The crosshairs, the old scab and no swelling. Healing nicely..

Horrible Job Market

2009-02-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

Damn, it's tough out there...

It's funny, cause it's true!

2009-01-28T13:51:00.001-08:00

Gotta love this!!!

Classic

2009-01-09T11:49:00.001-08:00

The Best Dog

2009-01-06T17:40:00.001-08:00

Marymoor...Her favorite spot

Such a good dog!

Why I dislike the religions "right"

2009-01-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

These fucksticks actually STILL BELIEVE that being homosexual is by CHOICE.

Therefore you're choosing to sin against God.

What morons. That's as stupid as taking the bible literally and believing humans have been on the earth only 6000 years.

Can you imagine anything more insane in your life?

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

Guerciotti is here

2008-12-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

So the Guerciotti I bought of craigslist showed up via UPS a couple days ago. Not bad, but not as nice as I had hoped. It's got a couple of really nasty patch spots, one on the back side of the seat tube that is horrible.

Overall it's a nice frame with a matching fork, and it's the correct size, but not totally sure I'm gonna keep it. I think I'll just offer it up on craigslist.

I'm really in search of a nice track frame, but since they are popular now they are super hard to find.

Snow for Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Headed to Houston. Pics to follow.

Oh, and I mastered a rip stik. All the cool kids can ride them.

http://www.ripstikusa.com/product/

SNOW

2008-12-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we get snow. This time we GOT the mother fucking snow, mother fucker!!

Helped Save Me...

2008-12-21T22:15:00.001-08:00

WOW

After watching your waistline very closely, scientist found that just a little jiggle around the middle can increase your risk of six different cancers.

“But the main thing to focus on is keeping your overall body weight down,” said Dr. Anne McTiernan. The recommendation is to shed those unwanted pounds. Weigh now what you weighed when you were 18 years old.

“If you are normal weight when you were 18 the goal is to stay within 5 to 10 pounds of that weight and not do what most Americans are doing which is gain weight over time,” said Dr. McTiernan

Do you? :) I do now. Plan to stay there

Huge Snow Today in Seattle - 2

2008-12-21T21:33:00.001-08:00

Nuff said twice. Big snow yesterday, big snow tonight.

Spent 2+ hours shoveling our driveway, and the sidewalk of the old folks home next door. First day was OK....today was tough.

Huge Snow Today in Seattle

2008-12-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

Nuff said. Big snow yesterday, big snow tonight.

Spent an hour shoveling snow.

No Job - Email

2008-12-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

Heard back on the last interview that I did. Head count got pulled, just like previous roles. MSFT is clamping down and it's not gonna get better anytime soon. Damn.

Oh, I get this email.

Brother, We came across this group with an interesting story and great music we thought you'd enjoy. Here is a link to their website. We bought the mp3 album from Amazon today and really enjoy it. Check it out.http://www.sncmusic.com/ Sister

Wild on so many levels.

4 Hours Singlespeed

2008-12-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

Got out on the singlespeed for a nice 4 hour ride today. I think the weather's gonna change and we're gonna see some big rain or snow.

Bianchi Back

2008-12-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

Got my single speed Bianchi back from UBRDO today. James did a pretty good job of getting my rear wheel back into some reasonable shape...Now waiting on replacement bearings from WTB.

Long Ride Palomino

2008-12-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Sold my good old ride, Klein Palomino today. I just wasn't riding it, and I've got other project bikes in the works. Young guy who's wanted a decent bike and can't really afford something super pricey got a nice used bike for 725. I originally paid well over 2700 for that bike 4 years ago. It's still got lots of life in it.

The Meat President

2008-12-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

So we go to the MSFT Christmas party. The pre-party dinner was @ the Metropolitan Grill in downtown. Nice place. Best place in Seattle for Steak. I decide I'm gonna order the big boy of the selection. 50 ounces of bone in Rib Eye. It came on it's own platter, fit for a king!

There were some table skeptics, however I proved them wrong by completely devouring the steak and I also wiped out the potato, AND a spinach salad before! Wait staff shook my hand. Head waiter said it was impressive. More impressive? I ate about 10 desserts @ the Xmas party 1 hour later.

HOWEVER, I AM NOT READY FOR THIS...

http://www.bigtexan.com/

Guerciotti On The Way

2008-12-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

I found (what I think) is a 10 year old Guerciotti frame that is really clean and nice as a project bike. It's nice columbus tubing and hopefully is really nice and straight.

I've also started building out my Colnago Master. This was my first "real" frame, and although I had it repainted, it's still super sweet. I should have left it alone, but the repaint was at least 10 years ago.

Goodbye Litespeed

2008-12-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

Litespeed found a new home today. Guy's gonna use it as a rain bike. He got a fantastic deal on a really decent frame. Fix the paint gashes and she's a pretty decent looking bike.

Nice Day!

2008-12-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

3 hours on the nice bike today.....Excellent ride

Alpinist is no more

2008-12-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

All good things must come to an end. My favorite magazine, a monument to the climbing world and probably one of the best publications (for tons of reasons) has ended.

http://www.alpinist.com/

Alpinist LLC to Suspend Operations
Jackson, Wyoming — October 16, 2008 — Alpinist LLC, which publishes the climbing magazine Alpinist, runs the website www.alpinist.com and produces The Alpinist Film Festival, announced today that the October 2008 financial crisis has forced them to suspend operations.

Founded in 2002 by Marc Ewing and Christian Beckwith, Alpinist began in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as an archival-quality publication dedicated to world alpinism and adventure climbing. The quarterly quickly gained a reputation for both superior writing and beautiful photography; by 2004, Italian climbing legend Reinhold Messner called it, "The best climbing magazine in the world today." Alpinist went on to win numerous awards; in March 2005 it was featured in a seven-page article in Outside Magazine ("The Purists") that explored its impact on American climbing.

Bummer.

No 5 Hour Drive

2008-11-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

Turkey day was so excellent. Me, Mrs Dirtbagger, and Dirtbagger's Mom. No 5 hour drive to Spokane. No horrible weather. OK, it was raining, hard but no problem with that shit.

Here's the Skinny

2008-11-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well, one month later, here is the drama.

My calorie difference didn't equal my weight difference. That meant that my basal rate, which was an estimate was incorrect. I initially had 2250, now adjusted down to 1983.
Based upon that, redid my spreadsheet. Here is the run down.

During this month of October I rode 19 times, for a total of 50 hours. Longest ride was 5 hours.
Calorie burn / calorie intake was about the same @ 86,000.

Best - 10/25 - 157.2 - 4.6
Worse - 10/9 - 160.6 - 8.2
End - 10/31 - 161.2 - 6.4

I appear to have difficulty getting my body below 160. I would dip near and then feel completely ravished and would gorge on just about anything. Gonna keep pushing and see if I can get below 160.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Punk'in

44 - Wow

2008-10-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

OK, Big Fucking News. Today I am 44 years old.

HA!

Back to MSFT??

2008-10-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Job Front

So I'm not really making progress looking for a job outside of MSFT. It taught me several things.
1. I don't and have not networked well.
2. I've not kept up on what's going on in the business world like I used to.
3. Finding a job outside of MSFT channels is much much harder than I thought.
4. Contactor/Vendor jobs are pretty limited in their scope, scale and influence.

So about a week ago I sat down and reviewed all the positions I thought were of interest. I then asked Noah to email each of the hiring managers and send my resume. She sent a total of 22.

I got 3 responses all of which said they had filled the position.

HOWEVER, one shiny glimmer of hope. I did get a phone interview last Friday. I think it went well. This last Monday I received an email that I would be contacted by human resources to schedule a full interview loop.

Well, I hope it goes well as it's the only sincere thing I've got in the queue right now.

Back Fat

Oh, today I was @ 158.6 weight, with 7.1% body fat. My goal is by 10/20 be below 160. At the end of the month, I want to hold BELOW 160 and at Christmas still be below 160, and carry that through the new year into this next summer.

Bike Ride

I've been riding 2-4 hours almost every day. I let the air out of the tires of the Colnago and put it up for the winter, convinced we would not see any nice days. Then we had yesterday. Spectacular. Pumped the the tires and did a nice 4+ hour ride.

Oh yesterday, I got in an arguement with a CADMAN (local trucking company) dump truck driver and he pissed me off so much I noted is truck number, called his company and complained about his lack of professionalism. I had to leave a voice mail, but I basically told him, I ride a lot. I have a lot of experience on Washington roads, I encounter their trucks EVERYWHERE, and I have never ever in all my years encountered what I thought was such outside of the norm, extra ordinary, lack of professionalism, ever.

Less than 1 hour later, the supervisor's supervisor called me back took down the facts and told me he would follow up on the episode and then contact me this next week to let me know how it went. Wow.

Mom is Moving HERE!

Mom's moving over here and we've been helping her look at houses. Her qualifications are so rare that she has 3 companies (in this uncertain economy) wanting her to come for interviews. One place in downtown said that she should NOT accept a job with anybody UNTIL she interviewed with them. Wow. That has certainly NEVER happened to me! Way to go MOM.

FUNNY

2008-10-09T20:48:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8kv4pSxa8

Fucking Mandelbrot?

2008-10-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ok I got nothing to say.

Back on the WAGON

2008-10-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, 10/1 time to start tracking calories, again.

Gotta get sub 160 before the end of the month.

Work Out

2008-09-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

OK this thing was brutal....One hour work out in the morning was pretty damned hard. Then the rest of the class was chalk sessions.I learned lots of great things on lifting, methodology, training. Good session. Here I'm hauling around a 40 lbs medicine ball.

Here was their blog on our workout.

http://www.recreatefitness.com/blog/

Lucky Lab Brew

2008-09-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in the alphabetic district of Portland @ the Lucky Lab Brewery, drinking beer, eating pizza and chilling. Everything (except my wife, my dog, and my dorky cat) are here. Well, OK, I only have once bicycle, no climbing gear. But shit, I'm close....OK, not really even close, but it's cool, nonetheless.

Did I mention I have a buzz?

Blast from the Past - 4 Years Ago

2008-09-11T22:43:00.001-07:00

This might make you laugh.... Me @ the Argentina/Chile border guard station, January 2004.

Almost 6 months later

Prepped for 4 hours of surgery, July 6th 2004.

Two months later, second chemo session.
I got a huge gash in my neck, I've got a big ass needle poked into my chest. I have a plastic device embedded into my chest about the size of a chestnut, my whole face is puffy from chemo. Oh and I suspect I puked up my lunch from earlier today.

What a horrible experience.

Today, I weigh about the same I did 4 years ago, after 4 rounds of chemo therapy....Therapy....that word makes me laugh when used in conjunction with chemo.

Just like when people say "when you got sick." Funny...I felt fine.

Cancer is full of funny contradictions.

Being alive vs. being dead is one, I guess.

I did it.

2008-09-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

9/11 - 160 - But that was after a four hour bike ride.

If I can hold it for a week then, I really did it.

On 9/11, my career crumbles just like the twin towers

2008-09-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

My professional career is over. I couldn't even get hired here:

> Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:15:36 -0400
> From: VirtualEdge@safeco.com
> To: xxxx
> Subject: Safeco Insurance – Proj Mgr Sr, IT #3806
>
> xxxx,>

> After carefully reviewing your qualifications for this position, we have decided to pursue other candidates. Our Career Center is updated as new positions become available. I invite you to visit Safeco.com frequently to apply for opportunities, maintain your profile, check your application status and set up job agents to receive new job postings by email.

> Thank you for participating in our process and for considering Safeco as an employer. Best wishes in your job search.

> Safeco Recruiting

Turned down by a machine at a lame insurance company.

Seminar Agenda

2008-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Got the agenda for our weekend mountain athlete lifting seminar....Looks painful.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

0730-0900 Strength Training Session
In this hands-on session attendees will experience first hand a training session which includes a 1-RM strength test, complex work and strongman training.

0900-0930 Mountain Athlete Training Philosophy & Goals of Gym Training
Our approach. What we feel is important, lessons learned, and the drive for continuous improvement. The transferable goals and attributes of gym training as they relate to mountain, industrial and tactical athletes.

0930-1000 Basic Training Concepts
Fundamentals of strength and conditioning will be explained and discussed: Adaptation, Progression, Accommodation, Specificity, and Individualization.

1000-1130 Periodization Basics
Discussion of differences between Linear, Undulating and Conjugate periodization, periodization cycles (macro, meso, micro), and applying periodization principals to a yearly calendar. Periodization for hybrid gym training, and integrating hybrid gym training with program design for sports and activities outside the gym will be covered.

1130-1200 What athletes need. How we train it.
A nuts and bolts discussion of how gym training can complement the performance and out-of-the gym training and practice for mountain, industrial and tactical athletes.

1200-1300 Lunch Break

1300-1400 Training Strength
Different types of strength, types that are important for mountain/industrial/tactical athletes and how to train them will be covered.

1400-1430 Core Strength
A strong core is key to durability, especially in mature athletes. Discussion will include static versus dynamic core training, loaded core training, and strength endurance.

1430-1500 Power Endurance & Metabolic Conditioning
Power endurance - or the ability to deliver power over extended periods is perhaps the most important physiological attribute to hybrid athletes. The principals behind power endurance will be discussed. Training sessions to train and evaluate power endurance will be demonstrated and discussed.

1500 - ?? Programing Basics (Lecture)
Conjugate periodization to train in the gym for maximal strength, explosive power, power endurance, strength endurance and metabolic conditioning will be covered. Lecture will include programming for an example month.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

0800-0900 Core Strength Training Session
In this hands-on session attendees will experience first hand an intense, core training session.

0900-1000 Sport Specific (Climbing) Training & Periodization
Physical attributes and how to train them for climbing will be covered, including how to incorporate sport specific training with hybrid gym training.

1000-1100 Training Session Design
This is where the rubber hits the road. Designing daily workouts which meet conjugate periodization goals, yet take into account athlete physical and mental fatigue, movement and muscle balance, and time restrictions is as much art as science. Learn the approach we use.

1100-1130 Professional Development Strategies
Developing a strategy for continuous learning and professional development which pays attention to time and cost restriction will be discussed.

1130-1200 Final Q&A
An open question and answer period to address any lingering questions.

Tim is Back!

2008-09-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Tim is back from living in China for 4 months. Now somebody to go run with. He's a good guy and helped me a bunch when I was sick...

We went for a 40 minute run. Back felt OK. Legs felt really good. I think I need some new running shoes.

Saddle Time: 4.5 Hours

2008-09-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

I rode 4.5 hours today, on the new bike of course. I really like that bike.

It rides really well.
It fits me really well.
It looks cool.

What more could you ask of a 9K dollar bicycle? :)

Job FIRST, Hypermotard SECOND

2008-09-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

Nuff Said.

The GYM is working

2008-09-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Back if feeling better than it has in weeks! Its working.

Back STILL hurts

2008-09-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

So after 8+ weeks of 2x a week chiropractor, and 2x a week naturopath, I'm done. Time to take the situation into my own hands.

Go the the gym and pulverize my back until it gets in line!

Best Rap Song Ever

2008-08-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop,
a you dont stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

now what you hear is not a test--i'm rappin to the beat and me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet

see i am wonder mike and i like to say hello to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow

but first i gotta bang bang the boogie to the boogie say up jump the boogie to the bang bang boogie

let's rock, you dont stoprock the riddle that will make your body rock

well so far you've heard my voice but i brought two friends along and next on the mike is my man hank come on, hank, sing that song....

Just say No to back fat

2008-08-18T22:56:00.001-07:00

Getting Skinny

165.0 - 5.6% body fat. I need to try much harder if I'm gonna get to 160 by the end of the month.

No Job

2008-08-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

Didn't work out as I expected. Not really what I wanted to do. Oh well, time to start looking again.

Prep

2008-08-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

So, how do you prep for an interview with a company that has NO public information? Uh you don't, really. That's OK. My answers are the same as they always are.

Blah Blah Blah.....

I get my references updated. Print a couple extra copies of that and my resume.

My buddy Matt says, "there is a game @ Safeco today, which means NO parking." Ouch, I better go early.

The offfice is in pioneer square, so I head out super early to scope it out and make sure I know where I'm going and where I can park.

OK that was much easier than I thought it was gonna be. I now have 1.5 hours to kill. Hmmm. How about the world famous Elliot Bay Books? What are all these people doing in pioneer square? I guess this is the place you hang out if you don't have a job. Oh well....Off to EB books!!

I find an interesting book. I look through it. It makes me laugh. I buy it.

OK it's interview time.

I walk through the door. 10 or so people all sitting @ desks.....somebody in the back behind a desk gets up.

I am assuming you're Alan?
I am.
Hi Alan, I'm _______. Let's see if we can find a place to chat.

We head to the snack room.

He asks me some questions. Since they do lots of work for MSFT he likes that I have some experience there.

I ask some questions about the company, the direction, the niche.

We finish in 45 minutes. Clearly this was not a MSFT drill. God that gets really really old. He says HR person will be back.

She comes back. Asks how the interview went. I tell her well and I like what they are doing. I ask her what she thinks of how it went. She says. I think it went really well. We chat about some details and then she leaves to go get someone else that I should meet.

She and guy #2 sit down and we chat informally. He says he just wanted to come in say Hi and meet me. He leaves.

Somewhere along the line, she says, we'll provide you with a laptop and if you want to use your cell phone, we'll take care of that too.

I ask if I'll be joining them, and she smiles and says, Yea, I think so.

We talked about salary and vacation time and etc. Seems OK to me.

So, for the record, I found a job making pretty good money, doing development project work, in less than 72 hours. Not bad.

Later talking to my buddy Jim who works for Ebay.

Dude, you already took the job?
Yep
They hired you on the spot?
Yep, pretty much. They might check my references, but I think it's a done deal.
Awesome.

Yea, I say it's pretty awesome.

Interview Confirmed

2008-08-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

I get an email mid day.

"Hi Alan, you're confirmed with your interview with _____ at 2pm, tomorrow August 6th. Here are directions to our office."

Cool.

Later in the day, I go for a late afternoon ride with my friend Roger. It ain't so cool. In fact it's fucking hot. Real hot. I hope we don't ride too hard. Roger's done STP in one day, and RAMROD this year. I've done NOTHING.

He takes me on a tour of the Kenmore/Lake Forest Park area. We ride lots of hills. Good thing I had the 34 on front. Damn. 2 hours later I get home and I'm pretty blasted. Not from the ride but really the heat. Remember hotter than 80 is REALLY hot here.

A stab in the dark?

2008-08-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

I decide I need to start looking for a job.

http://www.dice.com/ - Not bad but mostly contract positions. Contract jobs aren't all that bad, but when you know the contract company is billing you at twice what they are PAYING you, ya gotta wonder......

MS.com - Too much crap. Do I really want to work @ MS again? Maybe I should consider somewhere new?

Hmmm....I'm a pretty huge fan of ol craigslist. I've sold good shit, I've bought good shit. My friend Brian says all the hip kids are using craigslist.

So I do some searching. I see a listing. Description looks interesting. Kinda vague, not much detail. No doubt I can do it. I'll send of an email off Monday AM and see what happens. It's a legit company (or at least they have a website) so....

Monday. Send off the email. Say I'm interested in the job. Attach my resume. Expectations. NONE.

Weather looks really nice today. I think I'll go for a longish bike ride......

Damn, I forgot my phone.....No biggie....I'll be home in a couple of hours.

Huh, somebody called and left VM.

"Hi Alan, My name is ______ and I would like to talk to you about what kind of role you're looking for, blah blah blah. Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx."

Holy Shit. Did I even expect a response? No.

I collect some notes and prepare to call her back. We chat and long story short, she wants to know if I would like to come in. Of course I would. She'll send me interview details tomorrow (Tuesday)

Squamish

2008-07-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

GO GO GO

Sweeeet

2008-07-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Italy Pics To Come

2008-07-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

TBD

Goodbye MS

2008-06-28T07:02:00.001-07:00

My contract ended yesterday. I am officially unemployed again. That's good since I plan on taking the entire month of July off. We leave in 2 hours. Excellent!

I busted my back

2008-06-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

Long story short, on Saturday I fell while climbing. Brian carried me out. Compound fracture of the L2 vertebrea. Totally my fault and I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

Since I walked up to the emergency room, I guess I wasn't an emergency, therefore I got to wait 3+ hours before I saw a doctor. Better yet, we were there a total of 8.5 hours. I can't wait to see what the bill is.

For the first couple of days, I've been in some pretty good pain. How to you spell relief? P-E-R-C-O-C-E-T!!

It's healing fine, thank you.

Boxes

2008-06-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

Boxes full of wonderful goodies have begun arriving @ my door step.

JUICY!!!

8,420

2008-06-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

In 2008 Melanoma will be diagnosed in 62,480 Americans and will kill 8,420, according to the American Cancer Society.

6/10/2004 = 4 Years Ago.

SKINNY!

2008-06-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

So, before I started actually tracking my weight via a spreadsheet, I blogged that I was @ 182. Today, I'm @ 165. 17 lbs..... http://midlife-dirtbagging.blogspot.com/2008/04/im-fat-for-me.html

So on Sunday I decide to go for a ride. As I take off up Market street, I cannot believe the difference in how much lighter I feel. I don't feel super strong, but I certainly do notice the difference in weight. In just over 7 weeks, I've lost 17 lbs and now am at 8.5% body fat in the morning (worst time to measure) and about 6.5% in the evening. Crazy.

For comparison....

When racing cross, that was 5 years ago, I weighed about 168.
When I started working a year ago, I was @ 170 ish.
In college I weighed 160.
When I finished chemo, in October of 2004, I was @ 159.

I read this recently and was completely blown away.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24670307/

Roughly 15 percent to 19 percent were eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily, the researchers found, while 30 percent to 47 percent were getting the recommended amount of exercise. From 83 percent to 92 percent had quit smoking.

Overall, 5 percent were meeting all three requirements, while 12.5 percent were meeting none. Fewer than 10 percent of survivors of any of the six cancer types were meeting two or more recommendations.

Among breast, prostate, colorectal, bladder, uterine and melanoma survivors — all of the cancer types the researchers looked at — health-related quality of life rose steadily with the number of lifestyle recommendations met.

I need to do the best job I can to take care of myself. Shouldn't you?

Mercury is no longer in retrograde, I think.

2008-06-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

6/7 - Stereo guy came and worked on my truck. Fixed.
6/6 - Get invited for a informal interview. Good.
6/5 - Swap road Dura Ace cranks and put in a 118 BB. Solid.
6/1 - Geek Dudes replace hard drive and get Vista Ultimate installed. OK.

I lost my weight tracking spreasheet on my failed laptop hard drive. So I took a two day break and started again.

6 weeks later

2008-06-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I'm 13 lbs lighter....Body fat @ 9.5% in the morning, 6.6% in the evening.

Reservations are Made

2008-06-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Climbing @ the end of the summer in July!!

http://www.squamishrockguides.com/
I sent an email and got a response from Marc, the owner.
We talked for a while and then I made the reservations.
Colin Moorhead is gonna be our guide.
I can barely wait...2+ weeks in Italy.
Then a little break, then 4 days on the rock with a professional instructor!

Amazing Man....Amazing

WikiLeaks

2008-06-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Wikimedia Foundation has received a copyright infringement claim from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon Church or LDS Church. The infringement claim is in reference to a URL used as a source in a Wikinews article about Mormon Church documents leaked to the website Wikileaks, titled "Copy of handbook for leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obtained by Wikinews". The URL was originally cited as a link in the sources subsection of the article. The Wikimedia Foundation is a donor-supported non-profit organization which runs Wikipedia and Wikinews. This is the first time that the Wikimedia Foundation has received a copyright infringement claim regarding an article published by Wikinews.

The Mo's bring the heat.

How much?

2008-05-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

So on 4/26, I started tracking everything I ate, with the goal of losing 10 lbs by the end of the month. For example an egg is 74 calories. A large avacado, 300, a tablespoon of my favorite salsa, 20. Non fat milk, 110, a cup of museli, 440.

Here is what I learned:

1. If you track everything you eat, and write it down each and every day, you really begin to pay attention to each and every thing you put in your nasty little mouth.

2. Calculation your basal rate is kinda hard because it's how much it takes you to be alive, plus some extra wild ass guessing factor. I originally estimated I burned 2250 calories a day. Three weeks in, my weight loss was much more than my calorie loss, so somewhere my calc was screwed up. So, I now think my basal rate is more like 2500 a day.

3. If I ate well (no ice cream or cookies or stuff like that) I was pretty easy to stay below 2500. I averaged a net 900 calorie difference.

4. On big exercize days, I allowed myself another 300-500 calories. Big days were in excess of 2500 calorie burn days.

5. I averaged 400 calories @ each meal and another 400 calories in snacks.

When I started working again a year ago, I was 172 ish. A month ago, I was more than 180. Today, I weighed 167.7, with less than 10% body fat.

In another month I plan on being below 160.

Italy - 1 Month

2008-05-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Day 1 Rome
Days 2-3 Florence
Days 4-6 Lucca and Pisa
Days 7-8 Cinque Terre
Days 9-10 Piedmont
Days 11-12 Milan and Italian Lakes
Days 13-15 Venice

OK enough.

2008-05-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

5/24 - XM radio in truck stops working. Bummer
5/25 - Cranks fail on Bianchi bike. Bummer
5/26 - Hard drive fails on laptop computer. Bummer.
5/26 - Bail on 7 Hills of Kirkland. Bummer.
5/27 - Get told they probably won't renew my contract. I gotta look for a job. Bummer.

Mrs Dirtbagger sends me this.

General influence of Mercury retrograde

Mercury rules over the mind's processes, studying, communication, businesses, travels and the like. When Mercury reverses its direction, all these areas are affected as well.

This is an excellent time to work on old projects that never got to be finished. So, think about the things you started and never finalized.

Next, you might wish to prevent any bad things to happen to you: so double-check your agenda, call your business partners to confirm that everything goes as planned, have everything ready before the deadline and leave some extra time for unexpected events. Make copies of your important files and documents, save your work more often.

The other solution is to go on vacation or at least slow down the pace of your projects. You will find that going slowly during the Mercury retrograde period will spare you many efforts of redoing the same action that wasn't performed right the first time.

7 Hills of Kirkland

2008-05-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

So I've wanted to ride this damned thing on my singlespeed so bad. Last year I couldn't because of my stupid ritchey cranks kept giving me problems. Read that is the damned left crank arm kept falling off. Fucking thing.

So Fabien helped me a ton by getting it replaced on warranty and Ritchey sent me a brand new pair. Excellent. We got the bike in his shop and we install the 2nd set of cranks 9 months or so ago.

All was just fine and dandy until about 6 weeks ago. I had gone off on a 5+ hour ride on the single speed. Left foot felt squirrely. Hmmm...Cleat? Pedal? Nope left crank arm.

So I have Mrs Dirtbagger come get me in the super Toyota. The 7 hills is only a couple of weeks away. I've ridden a little so I can do the 62 easy. If I take it slow I'm sure I can do the 100.

I take the bike over to Sammamish Valley Cycle. They will do a good job. I've got a week to go.

Work was busy as hell and I didn't get to ride the bike at all. Saturday comes, the 7 is in 2 days. I get on the bike and it sounds like the bottom bracket is gonna totally explode. SHIT.

I blast over to Samm Cycles. Alvin was there and super helpful....We talked about options, and he was willing to fix the bike right there. I eventually decided to by the tools and tear apart my litespeed 9 speed dura ace and use that crank since I knew it was bomber.

I get the Ritchey off the Bianchi, and get Dura Ace off the Litespeed. Oh guess what, the first generation of bearings on the Dura Ace is a round bearing and a needle bearing. Take them apart and bearings go everywhere. Great, guess I'll be using the Shimano Bianchi bottom bracket, since the Dura Ace one just became toast. One of the mechanics said "Oh they don't make that bottom bracket for that crank any longer." Now I sure as fuck know why.

So i proced to use Saturday and most of Sunday trying to get the bike together. When all is said and done, I'm not happy. I destroyed one crank arm to put together another and in the end wasn't even confident about it. So that night, the bike was together and I asked myself? Was this worth all that? Isn't this trying to tell you something? What do you need to learn here? I could easily imagine being in Carnation or MONroe or some craphole like that and having the Crank arm spin off, wondering how many hours it would take the sag wagon to get to me. Shit.

So what did I do? I bailed big time. 7 Hills got my 70 bucks. Oh well.

So 2 years in a row, 2 missed 7 Hills for 2 Ritchey Cranksets is just 2 fucking much.

Next year, I'm gonna ride 7 Hills on a Unicycle.

Hmmm

2008-05-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

I see a new bike in my future.

This one is quite nice. I dig the blue.

This one is super nice. Neuvo-retro. Very cool...

62

2008-05-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

Rode the singlespeed 62 miles...

Happy Birthday Bunny

2008-04-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm Fat (for me...)

2008-04-26T17:46:00.001-07:00

182 Damn. 10.2% Body Fat.

Goals
5-31 170
6-30 165

Best of Craigslist

2008-04-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

three pink plastic lawn flamingos, the momma, the daddy and two
babies. in good shape except the momma has a bullet hole. will
trade for a good dog or weed eater, will also consider any kind
of alcohol as long as it ain't been opened up.

Climb High, Clmb Hard, Live Free

2008-04-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sharma
Others
Linder
BIG
KING
MORE
NICE
Mother Fucker

47 Miles

2008-04-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Went for a little ride today.
Kirkland
Juanita
Kenmore
Puddinville
Snoqualmie Valley
Ames Lake
Marymoor
Old Red Road
Kirkland

Golf scoring wins again!

2008-04-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yet another reason to hate GOLF. What a self absorbed horse's ass. I outta mail this fucker a letter bomb.

Yahoo Link

Another Link

Another Post

Kinda fitting since his goose is cooked. :)

I have no question mark.

2008-04-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

So my keyboard in Husband Land aka Cubby Land quit working. Bizzare....Think about that one for a while. Take off a punctuation from your keyboard. What would you miss. The question mark. Everything else you could just get by if you just spaced between words folks would get it Eventually Right Maybe Not.

So what do I do with a keyboard who's question mark doesn't work.....question mark...

Try it. Take a key off your keyboard and they write around the fact that you don't have that letter. Where would you get so furstrated that you couldn't communicate I'm really high so that doesn't matter much to me right now. Isn't that kinda cool.....question mark...

You're at work. On email, How long would you function with no question mark
.....question mark........question mark........question mark...

Now take that a step further. Can you think of someone who if their keyboard question mark quit working, how long would it be before they even noticed.....question mark........question mark...

You think wild stuff when you're high. I guess this counts. The Rastafarians believe that the smoking of ganja puts you closer to your true self as you question many things. Do you need to be high to be aware.....question mark........question mark........question mark........question mark........question mark...

Think THAT. Could you train your brain to achieve the feeling from being high.....question mark...Is that possible.....question mark...Bizarre.....question mark...

AND NOW...Think THAT. Holy Shit, I just forgot what I was going to type.

How could that be anymore beautiful.....question mark...

WTF

2008-04-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I noticed my upper gluets were really sore. That night I went to bed and was in pain. I couldn't figure it out why or how. I hadn't gone for a ride, or a run in a couple of weeks. Certainly wasn't unloading a truck load of floor dry....college....long ago.

I just realized...I smoked a joint and ended up dancing to reggae music for a couple of hours easy. I guess dancing for two hours is hard. Now. For Me. Weird.... I'm pretty sure I've never had those words come across my vocabulary. Ever.

Think about it. When is the last time you danced for an extended time period. Seriously....

I could run 5 miles tomorrow and not be as sore as I was two hours of dancing. Dancing is harder. Dunno. Whatcha think......

A Table....

2008-04-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to build a table in blogger. Wow....I don't know how to do this. Something probably pretty simple. Maybe this is this a sign of my age, and that technology is passing me by...

Check it out. A modern Jesus....

2008-04-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 60. He once reflected:

I don't have prejudice against himself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

Husky is Here

2008-03-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, the Husky bike showed up this last week, Friday I think...Yea. Pics to follow.

DO NOT WATCH

2008-03-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

Worst President Ever....Really...

An Event Filled Day

2008-03-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

6:07 am - Awake. I was worried about getting out of bed early enough. I guess that isn't a problem
6:21 am - Out of bed, but my brain is a litte foggy
6:25 am - Feed the best dog in the work, Fish Sauce
6:30 am - Put in contact lense
6:42 am - Get CD's ready for drive to Portland
6:45 am - Sit in hot tub...Hmm...
6:55 am - Exit hot tub...Brrr....
6:57 am - Get dressed
7:05 am - Get truck loaded

7:09 am - Leave house, Fish Sauce and I are Big Tundra Riding Dirty
7:12 am - QFC donut purchase :)
7:18 am - Starbucks non fat double tall latte
7:20 am - Southbound Road Bound
10:30 am - Hillsboro area
10:45 am - Arrive Beta bike house
10:47 am - Leave Beta bike house for auto parts store for receiver hitch pin
11:08 am - Reciever hitch pin purchase. Met Richard @ the auto parts store. He liked my truck.
11:25 am - Return to Beta bike house, meet seller
11:35 am - Chitty chat motorcycles
11:55 am - Quick 20 yard ride on Beta bike. Looks good. No blue engine smoke, starts right up.
12:10 pm - Load trailer into receiver
12:25 pm - Load Beta bike onto trailer
12:30 pm - Chat motorcycles again, and buy Gary's trials boots for 20 bucks
12:40 pm - Have no cash, return from Well Fargo ATM
12:42 pm - Chat motorcycle straps

12:45 pm - Say Goodbye
12:50 pm - Arbys Turkey/Swiss sandwich order
12:55 pm - Northbound road bound
4:00 pm - Kekland

4:15 pm - Unload stuff from truck
4:30 pm - Clean up Gaerne http://www.gaerne.com/ boots. (pronounced gah-earn-ah)
5:20 pm - Power nap
6:00 pm - Animal feeds
6:04 pm - Dinner prep begins
6:25 pm - Eat Dinner
6:45 pm - Watch movie http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Yes_Men/70000103?trkid=222336&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=1742694367_0_0
8:30 pm - Watch DVR recorded HBO show, Flight of the Conchords
9:02 pm - Tub time
9:35 pm - Exit tub time
10:10 - Lights out
10:15 - Post movie blog http://suckymovies.blogspot.com/2008/03/yes-men.html
10:23 - Blog about movie blog

So overall, not a bad drive to Portland. Met some really nice people who've decided to get rid of a couple of their motorcycle toys. Mostly hers not his. Fish Sauce always loves a road trip.

The Beta bike is nice. It started right up and is in really good shape. I gave them their asking price as that was more than reasonable. What benefit to I really gain in haggling? None.

Loading the bike was pretty easy, and even with my cheapy straps (not really heavy duty motorcycle straps) the bike sat back on the trailer really well. That trailer is another great Craigslist purchase!

The boots were a total surprise. I didn't really even know what I was buying, as I'd never seen a trials boot. They appear softer and more wearable than an MX or Road boot. Nice rubber platform for your feet. Honestly they looked as if they've only been worn a couple of times, max.

Once I got them home and really inpected them, it was clear they were a little dried out (since they had sat from unuse) but with some light Simple Green scrubbing and a good application of mink oil really cleaned up nice. All leather Italian made trials riding boots? What a huge score! They are the balance oiled model. Very classic.

Oooo...Soon

2008-03-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for nearly a month and a half, every day.

I found this just a few days ago. ROAD TRIP!

Gimpy Sauce

2008-03-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we're @ over 2 months since Fish Sauce got her knee worked on. I am happy to say she's not limping anywhere NEAR what she did, and frankly we're a little bummed since her attitude is much much improved. She plays more, runs more and is much more active. Obviously she was really in pain.

Go Fish Sauce, Go. You're the best dog there is, and ever could be.

What will you change?

2008-03-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

Are you the best person you can be?

1361 days, 9 hours, 58 minutes and 10 seconds ago, cancer changed many aspects of my life.

What would you change, what will you change?

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

Think about it.

Fish Sauce

2008-03-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Fish Sauce

The Best Dog in the WORLD.

Dixie Dog in Spookaloo Snow

2008-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

She's a sweet dog, too bad she's such a chucklehead.I'm pretty sure Mom's healer isn't supposed to be up to her knees in snow.

9,028 Feet To Go

2008-02-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

A little trip down memory lane. September 2006

Me at advanced base camp, 21,000 feet, Everest in the background.

I hope to get in some good climbing this year. I think it will be tons of fun.

Trials. VERY COOL

2008-02-27T21:40:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCy9nrchqFI&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qod4yw24U5k&NR=1

http://www.dailymotion.com/related/4103441/video/x125dj_indoor-de-toulouse-toni-bou-adam-ra_sport