Running Calorie Counter

Here is a site that has a pretty good Calorie counter.

I like it because it takes into account what you weigh, how fast you go and how long you run.

Dahlia and Kim

Flash Animation--not to be missed!

This is really good. I have played it on my PC and on my daughter's Mac, so just about anybody should be able to view it with no troubles. It is a fight between a lootiefull* stick-figure and his creator. It is called Animator vs. Animation II. There is so much going on on the screen that you will have to view it a few times to get all the details. Of course, this is part of a whole genre of stick-figure flash animations... Enjoy, dbp

Lootie is a Konkani* word which means what it sounds like: Full of mischief.

Konkani is the ethnic group centered around Goa, India. And the Konkani word for Konkani (the language) is Amchicala. FWIW.
Animator vs. Animation II by *alanbecker on deviantART

My Sunday 13.5 miler.

The Good news: I haven't run this far since I was 18. The bad news is that it took me 116 minutes (8:35 per mile) That is 35 seconds/mile off of what I need to do in a marathon and this was only a little more than half-marathon length.

An Email Dialog Between a Mother and Her Daughter

Dear Mommy,

It's soooo hot out side. I know that if you had to go outside, you wouldn't want to because of the heat. I know that you're trying to be nice when you take us out somewhere, but if you are all mean and crabby while doing it, it's not fun for us. Maybe you should think about that!

- S.

Dear S.,

It is very hot outside and I know I wouldn't like it because I don't like hot weather. But I thought you and D. might enjoy getting outside for a bit since you have been cooped up inside all day. The heat doesn't seem to bother you guys very much.

Good point about me ruining your outing by being crabby - I understand and I am sorry for blowing up at you. I was trying to do something nice for the two of you and I had to give up working out to take you to the library. Remember - I have very little free time and if I use it to do something, that means I can't do something else. I was upset at you because I felt you didn't respect that fact. But mostly I was upset because not only did you fail to pick out a book but you also blamed me for that failure. You had the audacity to accuse me of not giving you enough time (we were there for 45 minutes) and not helping you (I submitted the request for the book you wanted that they didn't have and I told you to look for another book in the chapter book section).

Let us make the most of these outings and let us not be so crabby.

I love you,

Mommy

Dear Mommy,

Thanks for the compromise. I'll be thankful when you take us out on trips. But you don't act all crabby while doing it. I also understand that you thought that we would like some time outside. Since it was so hot I didn't feel like doing anything outside. So I came in.

Thanks!

Love, S.!

Dear Moonoo,

Thank you too! Here is a Haiku to tell you how I feel about you...

Delicate as flame.

Fierce as fire. Bright as the Sun.

My Surenna glows.

I love you,

Mommy

My Sunday 9-Miler

This run took me 77 minutes! That is like 8:34/mile and I plan on running a marathon in under 8:00/mile. I don't think so.

Jemma Takes a Bow

I should note that you can (and should) zoom in on the video. Just right click and choose Zoom in.

Jemma's Dance Recital

Mullets...

Yesterday my older sis sent me a funny ppt. on this odd hairstyle. Now, I don't know anybody personally who sports a mullet, I still have a theory about its appeal:

It has the same shock-value of really big obnoxious tatoos, without all the expense, pain or permanance.

ADDED: For those who haven't seen me in a while...

This is not a picture of me! I am white, skinny and possibly disreputable looking. But this is just a picture I harvested off of the internet tubes. dbp

Separated At Birth?

Last Saturday on our anniversary weekend in Boston, we got the chance to visit a Thomas Moser showroom. I had gotten ideas and dimensions for the hutch I made from various sources; but mainly from the picture below.

My view upon seeing it in the wood: Theirs features better workmanship than I can do. OTOH, I spent about $1000 on the wood and hardware and theirs is about 15K. So, there is that.

Their rocking chairs are unbelievable and worth every penny of the $1400 or so that they cost. Someday I will have one. That is a life goal.

One thing I did differently from Thomas Moser is that I used a lighter wood for the back. It gives a nice contrast to the cherry in the front and it provides more light so that you can see the items that are in or on the piece.

Surenna's Father's Day Drawing/"Poem"

She drew this in just about 5-10 minutes on Father's Day.

Off to a good start..

My wife and I are just starting to enjoy our anniversary weekend: This post is being made from the Park Plaza concierge lounge--where they have computers! It is nice. There are snacks, coffee and cold drinks available to us all day. dbp

Added: Later we will go to a fancy steakhouse and then to a play.

Weekend Projects...

A shelf for the recycling bins

And changing a doorknob, puting-up curtain rods, installing shades, repairing an elephant's tusk

...and taking my wife out to see Grindhouse in Davis Square. Actually, that last thing wasn't a chore but rather a guilty pleasure made possible by her parents staying over to watch the kids.

dbp

Peoni

Earth Plants

I kept missing my chance to take a picture when these were in their prime--I would get home late or it would be cloudy. Finaly, I had a nice bright day but it is after two days of heavy rain--so the flowers are kind of beat-up now. So, you have seen these way early and past their prime. Maybe next year I will do better photo-wise. dbp

Should I or should I not?

I have been considering doing a marathon (again), but...

I don't want to do it unless I can run it in 3:30 or less.

Why this magic number?

That is the time which would qualify me to run in the Boston Marathon. It seems to me that I should be able to (at least) meet the minimum requirments for such a race, to have any business running 26.2 miles. The problem is that I have only raced at the 10K distance the last few years, so how do I estimate what I could do at the much longer distance? (A marathon is more than four times the length of a 10K) Google grants wishes: I found very quickly (first search attempt) a website which has such a calculator.

It converts my lateste 44:41 10K into 3:25:20 for 26.2 miles.

Yay! It looks as if I have a reasonable chance of meeting my goal. Now I just need to pick-out a marathon held in New England this Fall.

dbp

Mother's Day Run

Here is a new run I tried out on Mother's Day.

I wanted a run which was 10 miles long (this is 10.5) and I wanted to stay out of the woods since the trails are still mosh-pits from all the rain.

dbp

Peonies look like alien life forms when they are sprouting

In a few weeks they will look like regular Earth-plants. Meanwhile cue Strauss

dbp

Tulips=Spring!

We received these bulbs from Kerry and Nithin. Very Nice!

dbp

Just a little self-justifying commentary on the race last week...

I ran the Groton Road Race last week and took almost two minutes off my time from last year. Alert readers will notice though, that I did not do as well in terms of overall placement or standing in my age group.

There is a reason for this: There were a lot more runners this year and they were faster than last year. This year, the race was selected as a "Grand Prix Race"

USA Track & Field's New England chapter (USATF-NE) has selected the Groton Road Race 10K to be the championship race in its 2007 Grand Prix series. Elite runners from throughout the region will gather in Groton to test their mettle on our renowned course and to compete for points toward the Grand Prix individual and team championships.

So last year I came in 103rd out of 446 and 36th out of 95 in my age group. This year I was 326th out of 912 and 84th out of 197 in my age group.

A very simple statistic can sometimes be a very powerfull one: In this case the median time tells a huge story.

Here we look at the middle place finisher in each year: Last year 53:03 this year 48:37!

dbp