I rode my bicycle to and from the Rosedale park-and-ride (about three miles each way) both Monday and Tuesday. From there I took an express bus to work in downtown Minneapolis as I usually do. I gave my knees a break yesterday and drove to Rosedale, but I was back on the bike this morning. I hope to manage 3-4 carless commutes each week through the summer and early fall.
Long ago I read an article arguing that per passenger mile the bicycle was the most energy-efficient form of transportation known, not only to homo sapiens, but throughout the animal kingdom. It was in a reputable scientific publication, Physics Today IIRC, with plenty of numbers, equations, and graphs. I wonder if I could track down a copy of it.
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Thu, May. 8th, 2008, 05:45 pm
Bicycle and bus
Mon, May. 5th, 2008, 08:19 am
Bicycle Commuting Note
I rode my bicycle to the Rosedale park-and-ride this morning, instead of driving there.
The standard belt clip on a Blackberry is not suitable for cycling. The upward hip motion while pedalling tends to dislodge it.
Fortunately, I discovered this before the thing fell on the pavement. From now on I will keep it in my briefcase or a bag while riding.
The standard belt clip on a Blackberry is not suitable for cycling. The upward hip motion while pedalling tends to dislodge it.
Fortunately, I discovered this before the thing fell on the pavement. From now on I will keep it in my briefcase or a bag while riding.
Fri, Apr. 11th, 2008, 08:55 pm
Walking
Walked the skyway over lunch hour both yesterday and today. The usual--from Government Center to the Hyatt Regency and back. I am looking forward to warmer weather so I can go outside. There is essentially one way to walk much more than a mile on the skyway and I need a change of scenery.
Tue, Apr. 8th, 2008, 06:30 pm
Busy
... but I still was able to get out for a walk on the Skyway, similar to my route back on Monday of last week. Chilly outside, so I stayed in the Skyway the whole way.
Fri, Apr. 4th, 2008, 05:34 pm
Lunch hour
I started out from Government Center in the Skyway, but after a short time realized that the weather outside was not bad at all (50oF/10oC and fair), so I went outside and walked southwest along 3rd Ave, around the far side of the Convention Center, then northeast on LaSalle for most of the return trip.
I stopped at the downtown Barnes & Noble before going back to the office. This had the useful result that I was able to look at a few books that had interested me when I read their listings at Amazon.com. A few minutes of browsing convinced me that they were not worth buying after all.
Lunch itself was a bag of raw vegetables at my desk. Fear not that I becoming overly virtuous: I had blue cheese dressing with them. Also, last night Mia made Chicago-style pizza for our dinner.
I stopped at the downtown Barnes & Noble before going back to the office. This had the useful result that I was able to look at a few books that had interested me when I read their listings at Amazon.com. A few minutes of browsing convinced me that they were not worth buying after all.
Lunch itself was a bag of raw vegetables at my desk. Fear not that I becoming overly virtuous: I had blue cheese dressing with them. Also, last night Mia made Chicago-style pizza for our dinner.
Current Mood: 
pleased
pleasedWed, Apr. 2nd, 2008, 05:35 pm
Walking
After too-long a hiatus, I am finally doing something resembling exercise again. Both Monday and today I went out for walks on the downtown Minneapolis skyway system, going from Government Center to the Hyatt Regency on Nicollet Mall and back again. I think it is about two miles on the map, but the twists and turns of the Skyway must lengthen it considerably. I need to get a better measure of the distance I actually cover.
Because of the snowstorm I stayed inside for the entire trip on Monday, but today I ducked outside for a few blocks on the return trip. This was not too bad, even though I did not bring a coat. The cold (41oF/5oC) weather kept me moving fast.
Because of the snowstorm I stayed inside for the entire trip on Monday, but today I ducked outside for a few blocks on the return trip. This was not too bad, even though I did not bring a coat. The cold (41oF/5oC) weather kept me moving fast.
Sun, Mar. 2nd, 2008, 03:39 pm
Wood from the front yard
A crew from the city came by a few weeks ago and trimmed our front yard tree--the branches were hanging way out over the street. We saved the branches to see if I could make anything out of them with green woodworking techniques using only hand (non-electric) tools. After a couple hours of hard work with saws, splitting wedges and a maul, and other tools, the answer is yes: Firewood (if we let it dry for a couple years). The branches were just too knotty and bent to get any useful length of straight-grained wood. Perhaps I will be able to carve a few spoons. This was about what I expected from the literature; you really need wood from the tree's trunk, and from the trunk of the right tree. My selection here in a first ring suburb is limited.
I kept trying for quite a while, and it was with some difficulty I tore myself away from the effort. However, that was the right thing to do. I was tired, and might have made a mistake. So I quit while I still had ten fingers, and all of my blood was still inside my body. Well, I certainly got my exercise today.
I kept trying for quite a while, and it was with some difficulty I tore myself away from the effort. However, that was the right thing to do. I was tired, and might have made a mistake. So I quit while I still had ten fingers, and all of my blood was still inside my body. Well, I certainly got my exercise today.
Current Mood: 
tired
tiredFri, Nov. 23rd, 2007, 07:57 pm
"Black Friday"
Once again I made it through "Black Friday" without spending any money.( Read more... )
Current Mood: pleased
pleasedFri, Nov. 16th, 2007, 09:25 am
Progress on various fronts
( Read more... )
Current Mood: 
okay
okaySat, Sep. 22nd, 2007, 02:08 pm
Calm before the Storm
After that scramble yesterday at work to prepare for tomorrow's server move I have nothing to do there. Everything has to wait until tomorrow. So I have today to myself, except for such household chores as need doing.
( Friday night )
( Saturday )
( Friday night )
( Saturday )
Current Mood: content
contentSat, Aug. 11th, 2007, 09:57 pm
A hot Saturday in Minnesota
Wed, Jul. 4th, 2007, 12:11 pm
Bike Ride
Northeast to Centerville Road and Highway 96 in White Bear Township, then west through North Oaks (where I saw a red fox cross the road in front of me), and south along Rice Street. About 15 miles.
Current Mood: pleased
pleasedSat, Jun. 30th, 2007, 09:12 pm
Change in plans
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mia_mcdavid and I had planned to help a friend move this morning, but this fell through and left us at loose ends. We visited the Mill City Farmer's market, near downtown Minneapolis, which was fun, and afterwards went home.I had been expecting some serious physical labor moving stuff, which had not happened. So to get some exercise I went for a bike ride. With a variety of twists, turns, and dead ends, I think I rode about 15 miles, with enough uphill stretches to make my legs really sore.
Sun, Jun. 24th, 2007, 09:04 pm
Clann Tartan Muster Weekend
This was the weekend of what ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
colgaffneyis calls "Muster"--a reenactment training event for members. It was held on a lovely farm site just south of Mankato.
( Thursday )
( Friday )
( Saturday )
To be continued.
colgaffneyis calls "Muster"--a reenactment training event for members. It was held on a lovely farm site just south of Mankato.( Thursday )
( Friday )
( Saturday )
To be continued.
Wed, Apr. 11th, 2007, 12:49 pm
A little relief
I actually had something like a lunch hour today. Monday and Tuesday I was completely occupied with system crises all day long.
So I went out for a walk in the Skyway, to the Convention Center and then to the Hyatt Regency and back again. I did not even get any urgent e-mails on my Blackberry.
So I went out for a walk in the Skyway, to the Convention Center and then to the Hyatt Regency and back again. I did not even get any urgent e-mails on my Blackberry.
Current Mood: relieved
relievedSat, Mar. 24th, 2007, 06:01 pm
Day of Computers
Went out for a 2-mile run this morning, just to get in some exercise. First real running I have done in a while, but my knees survived.
( For my employer: Microsoft SQL Server )
( For myself: Slackware Linux )
While I was doing all this in the basement,colgaffneyis was having a meeting about baking bread upstairs. I looked in a few times, and tasted some of the experimental results. They were still talking when I finished--goddesssif has done a lot of work on this. I sat in on some of the discussion but eventually retired for a nap.
( For my employer: Microsoft SQL Server )
( For myself: Slackware Linux )
While I was doing all this in the basement,
colgaffneyis was having a meeting about baking bread upstairs. I looked in a few times, and tasted some of the experimental results. They were still talking when I finished--goddesssif has done a lot of work on this. I sat in on some of the discussion but eventually retired for a nap.