antimony

So I saw the Hobbit, as our winter celebration with the group at work (along with lunch out). And now I am home and kind of cranky from the 3D headache (which I have gotten with 2/2 3D movies that I've seen, so I don't think it was Hobbit or high-frame rate specific).

Comments on the HFR 3D, my general feelings, and a little about the adaptation from books to movie, but no major spoilers (including for the book) inside:

( mild spoilers (see above) behind cut )

Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/138986.html

\o/ because nothing could make being home sick better than being audited on my 2010 taxes. argh. for something I have full documentation for, I just don't want to deal with the hassle.

Current Mood: annoyed
Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/138651.html

Still liking the new bike -- took a little trip out to Bolton to have lunch at Nashoba Winery. And to learn how to read a cue sheet. The lunch went better than the reading -- I got lost a couple of times, most of which were after I'd run off the west end of my map. Oops. Next time, print maps.

I wish I had more time to ride. I've been doing more multi-modal with my commute (if nothing else, my arms are definitely getting stronger from hefting the folding bike around) to get more miles in, but it's going to be all-dark soon, which makes it a lot less fun. (Also, I can, in fact, outrun the headlight on the folder.)

So, with detours, 74.09 miles, a little under 12mph average (but it was running around 13 most of the ride -- I just chilled out on the last ten miles or so).

ETA: I also went back and poked at an elevation profile, and have figured out that 7% is about where I run out of gears. Will see if getting in better shape changes that, or not -- I'm running a compact double on the bike, no granny gear, but there's room for futzing with cassette sizes.

Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/138272.html

So the last time I posted, I mentioned getting a new bike; it arrived about a month ago, and I finally had a chance to get it out for a long, fast ride yesterday. Whee! I missed riding like this. Yes, I used to do it on my Nishiki (1984 Nishiki Bel-Air mountain bike), complete with fairly knobby tires, but it's really nice to do it on a bike designed for speed. And yes, some may remember that I had another road bike, a Bianchi Brava, but it never fit right, and I gave up on it a few years ago.

(In other news, I am still not fast enough for group rides, sigh. There is a dearth of rides that a) actually, honestly, state their speeds and b) go 13-15 mph on flat ground. I like riding with people, and being the slowest person in a group sucks. Even if the leader clearly didn't mind hanging back, some of the other folks clearly did.)

High points of the ride: I can climb the hills on Trapelo Road while tired without a granny gear, which means I'm not completely out of shape. Also that not having a granny gear on the new bike was not a horrible mistake. :D I've been riding a lot more lately, though I am still out of shape compared to when I was riding 10-20 miles a day. I need to commute more (though not on the new bike). Even if it's getting dark out there.

Low points: a squirrel fell out of a tree and hit me. Seriously. Something dark and heavy came flying down, too fast to swerve or do anything but hold my line, and bounced off my left wrist. The guy behind me said "that was a squirrel". WTF, squirrel. It was probably a low point in the squirrel's day, too.

And, since there were very few reviews of this bike out there when I went looking, I'll post mine (warning: super-long):

( click for pictures and not-so-mini-review )

Current Mood: accomplished
Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/138229.html

Adirondack pack basket: confirmed good for grocery shopping. Also confirmed to almost, but not quite, hold more groceries than I can successfully bike for 3.5 miles while carrying. Mounting a bike with a rigid, ~40# basket on one's back: entertaining, but possible, given a curb.

In other news, hello DW/LJ. I've been biking a lot more lately, which is good, since I'm buying a new bike. :) Not for grocery shopping, though. I might get the grocery-shopping bike repainted, as several years of outdoor living (frosh year at Swat, most of my time at MIT) did a number on the paint, and it's getting past the point of nail-polish touch-ups. I'll miss the old color, though. Weird to think of it being any other shade, since I've had the bike for over twenty years. (Yes, I could, and might, pick out a very similar color, but I'm also going to lose the decals and the only replica ones I can find online aren't exactly the same, though the same era, so I might go with a completely new look.)

Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/137865.html

I know, I know. I never call, I never write, I never post to LJ/DW. Whoops. I probably still won't, much.

The thunderstorms today were deeply impressive, especially if one was biking in them. The road near the Riverside T station was knee-deep in water; that was the only spot I couldn't plow through, but there were lots of points where my feet were going under while pedaling. (Yes, I know, terrible for the hubs and the bottom bracket. I will keep an eye on them.)

I was riding over to look at a new road bike. I miss riding. I don't do it much any more, and I am tempting myself with a shiny new bike to put the joy back in it.

Really, state of my life. I work, I bike, I canoe, I surf the web. <3

Current Mood: amused
Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/137530.html

I saw that meme about places one has slept in 2011, and instead of giving the rather short and mostly uninteresting list, I figured I'd finally post my pictures and story of going camping in Ipswich this past September.

I tend to pick up sporting-ish hobbies and discard them without accomplishing a whole lot; this is partly because I am competitive by nature, but not actually very athletic, and partly because I am lazy. But I've wanted to go canoe camping for a long time, and finally managed to do so on our honeymoon. That was fun, so I wanted to do it again, and also was going boating a bunch with

saxifrage so I idly started looking at canoes. One of the ones I liked best showed up used on Craigslist, and suddenly I had a boat.

So after a few paddles, I booked a night on Perkins Island on the Ipswich River, in the middle of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.

And this is where the picspam commences, so ( follow me behind the cut for more )

Next summer: as I said above, if anyone wants me to lead a group overnight on Perkins Island, I'd be happy to. It'd be kid-friendly and novice-friendly -- we wouldn't have to start as far upstream as I did, which would avoid any possibility of dealing with downed trees.

And then I'm going to take my boat up to Maine and do a longer trip.

Current Mood: accomplished
Crossposts: http://antimony.livejournal.com/137027.html

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