soapboxpudding

an evening with Elvis Perkins in Dearland

2009-03-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to someone special.
Grab a drink, sit in a comfy chair, and press play on the video below.

Stu and I had a long overdue date last night- with each other and with Elvis Perkins. I heard him on KEXP back in the Fall of 2007 and became very excited when I saw he was coming to Seattle soon...in March. I was crushed when I found out that the show listing was old...for March 2007 not 2008. I've been waiting anxiously since then for him to tour again.

Fast forward to March 2009- We drove to Seattle to see the start of his tour last night and our efforts were not wasted. We were both impressed by the obvious fact that Elvis Perkins is no prima donna. Throughout the show we got the sense that the band was a group of friends as well as equals. Elvis spoke very little at first deferring in-between song conversation to his band mates. His humour showed itself later when he mocked himself for starting the first song of the encore off key. And much to the frustration of my short legs he opted not to take a mic at center stage preferring the corner instead, which created an even distribution of players across the stage. Overall, we got a very human impression of the whole band.

If you haven't heard of him before now I encourage you to give a full listen to both Ash Wednesday and his new self-titled release. His lyricism and imagery are impressive and haunting throughout both albums. He paints a picture but doesn't spell everything out for you. His music conveys a sense of wistfulness but it's the equal sense of rising hope that gets me in the gut. This man has seen his fair share of loss and I find his subtle optimism encouraging. He's often compared to Leonard Cohen and, in my opinion, it's well-deserved praise.

Victory rootbeer! time

2009-03-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

True I gotta spit it out but it still tastes like victory. Mmmmm.

why the celebration you ask?
well, i finally gave birth to a behemoth today. she weighs in at 123 pgs.

if you count references and appendices she tops out at 147p. Sweet baby jesus is right!
don't worry, it has lots of pretty pictures. and neither you or anyone else is likely to read it.

I sent her along to my supervisors for a final look-see and then she's off to the external.
Mark you calenders folks for my t0-be-confirmed academic divorce date: March 30th

I'm thinking bowling and Banditas! afterwards. stay tuned for details.

I look forward to many bike rides and actually hanging out with my friends in the near future.....For now though it's victory rootbeer and snuggle time before bed.
Much catching up on sleep and work to do.
nite.

So you wanna go to grad school?

2009-02-01T05:16:00.000-08:00

Ever see those anti-meth billboards out west? you know, the 'Extreme Meth Makeover' ones that show a before/after photo to reinforce why doing meth is really, really fucking dumb idea. Or the 'I lost me to Meth' ones. I marvel at how does someone decide, 'Wow, looking that shitty looks like fun, let's go do some meth'.

I'm thinking we need anti-graduate school billboards. Sure grad school sounds like a good idea but does looking this haggard and shitty look like fun?

Does regularly not leaving your house for over 48 hours sound enticing? Or maybe 30 hrs without sleep? Realizing people don't even bother to call anymore because they know you can't come out and play. Here's my advice: Don't let a masters steal your life. You'll B. A ok without it, trust me.

strange days

2009-01-20T14:59:00.001-08:00

Today's forecast is overwhelmingly hopeful although clouds continue to build on the horizon for my homeland. Meanwhile up here in Vancouver we're socked in with snakes. Some of them bear a strange 5-ring pattern on them.

Once you go Barack you never go back

2008-11-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

"It was the feel good election of the year"- Brent Lipson, roommate

The fact that my country, with all it's racist and intolerant past and present, has elected it's first black president is pretty damn amazing and encouraging. Keep in mind that that only 40 or so years ago it was still illegal for whites to marry 'negros' in some states. Insane but true. Black people still face substantial racism and inequality concerning access to good schools, housing, jobs, the justice system and more. Even really poor people like my family have had an advantage. We might be the product of poor Eastern European coal miners but we are still the children of poor WHITE hunky coal miners. Our hardships in the past and present are still less than our fellow black Americans because of white privilege. It disgusts me that I can go home, to western PA and hear any number of racist comments from friends, family, and strangers. Yep, that's the same western PA that Murtha got crucified for calling racist and redneck. Sorry to say it but he's right; lots of folks there are still ignorant and guess what, many of them are proud of it.

Listening to Obama's victory speech just now was inspiring to say the least. I wasn't teary-eyed, it was just raining on my face, much like those in the crowd. As Obama stated, he won't fix everything, it's up to us to do a lot of the hard work especially when it comes to our attitudes toward each other. Less selfishness and more compassion and community is necessary. Call is socialism if you want, but I think it's closer to basic respect and decency.

We, America, have made a lot of progress since segregation but the subtle manifestations of ignorance and intolerance that abound need to be addressed and not lost in misguided political correctness. Just because most people have learned you can't say racist shit in public anymore doesn't mean they aren't still thinking it. Unfortunately, sexism is less subtle and much more pervasive but that's a post for another day. We need to change attitudes and I hope having an intelligent, well-spoken, and contemplative black man's picture hanging in every federal office across the country will be a step toward inclusion, understanding, and tolerance.

Obama gives me hope for many reasons but most of all because we finally have a president who is a bit more like the majority of 'us'. He comes from a broken home and although his family wasn't poor he didn't grow up rich. He didn't decide to work in low income communities because he had the security of some upper-middle class kid whose parents could bankroll him while he does philanthropy. Obama is different because he might actually know what it's like to struggle like the rest of us little people. His maternal family comes from small-town lower middle class roots. Life hasn't been padded for him like it has been for so many recent presidents and congresspersons, heirs to their family fortunes and protected from most of life's general struggles by their parentage.

To me the divide in America is not based in religion, race, or sex- it's class. Having someone who didn't start out in the upper class be our president could make a difference in our collective future because he isn't so far removed from 'us'. The real elite, that transcends political parties, like to keep 'we the people' divided with those emotional topics so we don't pay attention to how we're all getting screwed. Any ruling majority fears the power of the people. Their rule is maintained by making us forget how much collective power we can yield so they divide us and conquer. The administration of the last 8 yrs eroded not only our constitution but our spirit. The minions of the Project for a New America Century have worked very hard for far longer than Bush's 8 yrs to leave us so fearful and jaded that we were easily controlled.

I know Obama is not our fairy tale prince destined to end the corporate stranglehold on our lives or monkey wrench the military industrial complex. Obama is a figurehead, true, but his real power and threat neo-cons is not the colour of his skin. It is his ability and desire to encourage 'we the people' to pick up our responsibility of daily citizenship and participate.

Yes, we can.

Eat shit all you other fireworks displays

2008-10-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh turned 250 this past weekend and celebrated the occasion with one of the largest ever fireworks displays. They shot fireworks from 16 different places including eight barges in the rivers, atop five Downtown buildings, and three surprise locations. Damn but i wish I had been there-see for yourselves below. A bunch of bikers also celebrated the opening of the Great Allegheny Passage by making the trek along it's route from near DC to the Steel City.

A day for the history books

2008-10-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

The power of this speech is immense. Watching the head of the largest union organization deliver a moving endorsement of Barak Obama to the steelworkers union brought tears to my eyes. Trumka has a lot of balls to stand up and point out the racism in the US and especially in the working class and how the right has been screwing over the average joe with our complicity.
As stu put it- this is why the right hates unions.
Let's take back America. Hells yes.

from the east to the west

2008-08-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

Our mission: Pittsburgh to Vancouver in 9 days with a bit of dillydallying along the way.

Our route is akin to that of a drunken crow......Pittsburgh, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Banff, Jasper, and finally Vancouver. We're getting a right proper taste of Canadian flavour as we trudge slowly along the Trans-Canada. About 6,300 kms in all.

Ontario is much, much longer than you realize unless you've driven across it. Stu and I are in day 2 of driving across this ginormous province and we're ready for friendly Manitoba. We stopped at Lake Superior Prov. Park and took a short hike to see some 8000 yr old pictographs carved upon cliff faces along the lake shore.

So much I could say but sleep is calling and Stu is already snoring. Tonight we're sleeping at a motel in Ignance, which is about 3 hrs east of the Manitoba border. Ontario is stupid large.
Stay tuned for more details and many flickr photos. Nite.

Ladies Tea Cup

2008-08-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the 2nd annual ladies alley cat; If you're in Vancity and a lady I highly encourage you to attend. Last year's Schoolgirl Pussy Cat was my first race and I had a blast despite having a heavy bike, not knowing anyone or the city very well. I met a lot of great gals that day, many of which I've come to know as my friends. Haley, last year's winner, is organizing it and her reputation for fun has got me very excited for this race.

I actually met Kimmy at the Union/Main stop light on my way down to the gazebo. We looked at eachother, I asked if she was heading to race and upon learning that we were both noobs and wanted to be DFL, we decided to race together. After chugging beers at the union/quebec skate park, doing our best epileptic impressions of 'dance, dance, revolution', and racing to and from downtown and east van for various other checkpoints we finally rolled into the finish a long, long time after everyone else.

Although I'm not competative I was kinda looking forward to seeing how much faster I'd be this year with a better bike and well-earned bike legs. However, the bum rotator cuff sidelined my ass for most of the summer leaving me still gimpy and terribly out of shape.

Me thinks it might be a repeat performance.
Go Team DFL.

Turning 30

2008-07-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that I'm actually 22 yrs old in this photo with mum (circa 2001).
Fast forward 7 yrs to me as a spanish clown at the June MC3 ride (2008).

I think it's hilarious that I'm 30 yrs old.
I think it's partly b/c I don't 'look' the part; I don't feel like I resemble the notion of the 'standard' 30 yr old that years of social conditioning has ingrained upon my brain.
For one, people say I haven't changed at all. I think I look older and have the best hair of my life so far, that said, I'm used to my face so it looks fine to me. Getting patronized by people as if I'm a high school kid reminds me that I look barely legal.

Secondly, I don't have any screaming brats, nor an unhappy marriage, and I don't live in suburbia. I go on rad bike rides, live in an awesome house with amazing roommates, I'm an alley clown, I have good friends, an amazing puppy dog, and a true partner in crime. Sure I got serious health problems and a lot of work stress but all in all I really like my life and I like being me.

Oh and I refuse to affect the "I'm getting old now" mantra. Most of my peers who say they feel old have no fucking clue. I've felt 60 since I was 12 and being old sucks so quit your bitching and enjoy it now. I refuse to dye my grey hair so I look more attractive and youthful. And I refuse to "grow-up and stop doing kids stuff". Kid's stuff is fun and now I actually have money to buy shit like 100 gal of jello. It's ludicrous to do otherwise.

I'm confident I'll think farting is funny 'til the day I die and there is nothing immature about that. Riding bikes of all sizes are a good time as is dressing up in silly costumes. And I continue to refuse to take myself too serious, feel insecure about things i can't change, set unreasonable standards for myself, or measure my self-worth against any bullshit social norms. My mum taught me that most of the time life sucks so I have to make the best of what I got, laugh at myself a lot, and find a way to enjoy myself or else I'm just gonna be pissed off and unhappy.

Velo Jello

2008-07-15T01:06:00.001-07:00

*thanks to Becky from the Assembly of Text for such awesome invitations!

frivolity thy name is jello

2008-07-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

Move over barry and levon, I just bought $240 worth of Jello.
I had the $240, I had to have the Jello.

Not sure exactly when I started wanting to sit in food but i know some of the key ingredients for the recipe of my obsession:

-Mix in equal parts:
a childhood love of playing in my food
hours and hours of watching Double Dare
Barry and Levon rubbin their butt in $240 of pudding
the kids in the hall's happiness pie

now cook and chill baby.
Velo Jello is just around the corner......

Midnight toiling

2008-06-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Looking west, Hotel Manitoba

and then some. I've been up late enough this past week to hear the crows start swawcking, the sky get light, and the stream of traffic on 12th ave approach bankfull stage.

I gotta get out of this 11am-5am work schedule. Making up for time lost these last 3 months dealing with and trying to heal, my rotator cuff. I can high-5 now (gently) and cut my own meat again- like a big girl. Yipee. On the plus side of these late nights, i do find the wee hours of the morn' oddly productive and I'm making steady progress on my thesis and my job.

I'm pretty damn dog tired though and flirting with sickness......either that or I got rice stuck up my nose the other day and my sinuses are staging a strike action. You wouldn't believe how many times I've inhaled rice while eating it.
Don't ask, I don't know how or why; it just happens.

I decided to try and flush my aching sinuses last night with a Neti Pot I haven't used since I lived in Knox-vegas. I learned that flushing your sinuses @ 2am when you don't have enough salt on hand is a bad, bad, idea. Regular tap water burns like hell; I really don't recommend it. Neither did the online instructions but I somehow missed that part.
I'll blame it on sleep deprivation.

And on that note, good night.

Georgia on my mind

2008-06-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

My very adorable mother in 3rd or 4th grade

circa ~ 1951

I've always said I would have been nuts if I didn't have you to keep me laughing and I've always been proud of you (except for the brownie episode) and even that turned out ok. When you graduate you graduate - Don't put more pressure on yourself for no reason, remember - no one else even went to grad. school so be really proud of that. - my mom

I think being a bad mother is one of the worst offenses in this world. And sadly there seems to be a lot of 'em out there. I didn't grow up with much but I am pretty damn lucky to have a loving and selfless mom. She's seen more struggle than most. She taught me how to be tough, resourceful, and to make the best of situations. We've got some similarities but in general are incredibly different people. To me, she is very much a 1950's lady. I drove her nuts playing in puddles, bringing snakes home, and being naturally messy (i'm a bit more neat these days).

However, I respect and admire her most for her honesty and unconditional love. Like her, I am blunt and can't stand disingenuousness. Many times I've walked into the kitchen and asked "how does this look?" or told her some story and had her shake her head, asking aloud through laughter,..... "if i hadn't seen you born, i'd wonder if you were mine?.... i don't know where you get all this nae nae (meaning my eccentricities)". But she always follows it up with "but you're my nae nae and i love you". She's never tried to make me be anybody but myself and she's never made me feel like I was a failure, even when I knew I was letting her down.

Georgia Ann Scarlett, you kick ass.

victory at last

2008-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

Todays post is purposely vague. Sorry but all I can tell you is that I reached a personal holy grail today. Still in excited disbelief. I had resigned myself to enjoying the battle while never expecting to ever win the war. However excited I am I'm still not going to tell you all what it was. Just trust me when I say that today was epic.

And no, it's nothing to do with my thesis.
When i hand that bitch in you'll know about it fo' sure.

Bike Bike Bike Party

2008-05-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Howdy all. Will catch up soon. I swear, lots of stuff eating up my time of late including preparations for awesome bike fun this Saturday, May 10th. Come out for polo, BBQ action, and mini bike mayhem hosted by 2/3's of the alley clowns. Short films and dance party fun later in the night. Costumes encouraged! Go 50's, 60's, or 70's for the evening!
Check out www.velomutation.com for more details.

too much map, not enough nap

2008-03-23T00:22:00.000-07:00

all lab work and no biking make ranae go something something.......
oh, and make neat maps too.

map 1: My test subjects had to draw a 'safe' backcountry route from points A-B (obscured) through avalance terrain.
They did this 3 times (in b/w other activities).
This map displays the distribution of their 1st attempt .
Yellow polygons= loaded areas; Blue= avalanche paths; Red= terrain traps
Some of them obviously didn't try or are really, really out to lunch.

map 2: Location of all terrain hazards (loaded areas, avalanche paths, and terrain traps) overlain onto a density map of the routes in map 1

map 3: Terrain trap polygons overlain onto a density map of user's 1st routes. The yellow line is the actual route you should take from A-B (drawn by one of the avalanche experts I worked with). They averaged hitting 2 traps, which itself isn't too bad. However, hazards often overlap which leads to a higher risk of initiating an avalanche.

Ranae's overlapping days and nights of work also contribute to an increased risk of becoming even more lame.
on that note, now i must decide if i should go home to bed or the brickhouse for a nitecap....hmmm......

hippitty hoppity floppity

2008-03-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

My ears are gravitationally challenged.

Still though, not bad for the first of what I hope is a series of bike helmet hats inspired by White from Tekkonkinkreet. This one will debut at the Egg Hunt alley cat next sunday just gotta get the ears to stand tall by then. Lucky me, I can't sleep. Instead of working towards two deadlines I have Monday this bunny hat is the witching hour's top priority. The ears themselves are sturdy as hell...perhaps too sturdy...they're reinforced with cardboard and wire, which makes 'em kinda heavy. I think I'm going to run wire down out of the ears and secure it into the base of the hat.
If you got a better idea, suggestions are most welcome.

Making the grade

2008-03-13T02:42:00.000-07:00

And this student's map doesn't really make good art either.
Crap like this makes a TA laugh and groan at the same time.
Map Quality: F
Lab Mate Quality: A+

This map is what happens when that aforementioned academic geeeeenius actually graduates because the educational standards at SFU are so low and he gets hired somewhere.
Although the absence of information in this map makes it into neat abstract-nerd art it is still useless and uninformative .
Grade= D

Any map that involves POOP is gonna grab my attention. But what does the east half of N. America, plants, and poop have in common? This maps sure isn't solving the mystery. Unfortunately, awesome subject matter still can't make up for what a shitty map this is.
I'd give this map an F but they get bonus points for writing POOP really large on it
Grade: D

Fucking Genius.
Possibly the best use of a GIS I've ever seen and a one of the many reasons this world needs map nerds.
A fucking +

a biker is born

2008-03-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

Today (Thursday) was new niece day. Audrey Scarlett Macleod arrived at 4:55am. Scarlett is my mothers maiden name and I'm all warm and fuzzy that Robyn chose to use it, as is my mom.
The wee one measured 6lb 14oz, 18.5 in; exactly like me. I'm hoping that we continue to have more in common as she grows up. I see her arrival on Denny's 35th b-day, which we celebrated through cookies, booze, and a bike ride a very promising omen. I can't wait to meet her.

M.I.A

2008-03-06T01:13:00.001-08:00

To all my friends: I'm not ignoring you. I'm just really lame right now.

Why? The usual suspects: my new job + trying to finish my thesis + Frances + life in general.

You can find me during the day in 7217 TASC1 drawing on pictures of glaciers or late nite in 6121 RCB making maps and playing with #'s. The late nites aren't so bad...I really do love data analysis. Figuring out what the data is telling you + good music = pretty rad. More sleep and bike rides would be nice tho. I keep telling myself that pain now means I gain my life back in the summer...bike rides, movies, breakfast in the yard......and so much more.

Staying as sane as I'll ever be through Sunday nite potlucks, Wednesday Catan games, playing with Frances, and late nite study dates (avec donuts). Lookin' forward to seeing all y'all a lot more once I get this damn monkey off my back.
Oh and FYI- my defense will include a keg of the geeenius, courtesy of yours truly.
Momentous occasions warrant such extravagance.

alive and eating donuts

2008-03-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

Duffin's donut tonic will cure what ails you. Well, it may not cure it but non-peer reviewed empirical testing suggests that donut consumption is a significant sign of recovery.

That's right, I'm finally back to the land of the living after 2 solid weeks of bronchitis. Not only did i have a throat full of knives, and asthmatic lungs of swiss cheese, but I lost my voice for a few days. I'm gonna state the obvious here and say that I talk a lot; being unable to communicate easily (i could whisper a bit) was, at times, very frustrating. But it really wasn't as bad as I feared. Marlo and Adam came by to hang out with me and as mar-mar put it 'see what it's like when ranae can't talk'.

My silence made me more aware of how much my interactions with Frances depend on verbal communication. I can admit that I talk to my dog a lot; she's a good listener. She is also extremely sensitive to tone of voice. A southern inflected, stern "Frances Jellybean"is all you need for her obedience. I think I need to read more about learning and emotions in dogs.

Speaking of learning: I discovered, by way of an amazing sick nurse, that Aloe Vera juice is not only a good mixer with vodka but oh-so-soothing for a sore throat.
I encourage you to try it.....for both.

musing of a fevered mind

2008-02-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

Sick in bed with a cold waxing nostalgic about game shows gone by. I sure do miss going to my grammy's house, having chicken noodle soup, and taking my most important medication- one game show per half hour as needed. Reality TV just doesn't compare.

Looking back I realize that I manged to juggle a healthy amount of playing outside with A LOT of TV game shows. Sick days, which I unfortunately had a lot of growing up, included at different times: Let's make a deal, The Joker's Wild, The Price is Right, Press Your Luck, Concentration, Double Dare, and later on Remote Control.

I love TPIR so much that I actually flew to LA for only 1.5 days in July 2006 to attend a taping of the show. Sadly my destiny was thwarted (by my unwholsome looking tattoos) and I never made it on stage. I did get to ask Bob a question (what kind of dog do you have?) then promptly forgot his answer in my excitement. I also scored an aisle seat so I got to Hi-Five all the lucky dogs as they ran down to contestants row. You can see me jumping up and down a few times during the show. I have a copy of it if anyone ever wants to see my game show glory days.

Concentration was my other favourite and in retrospect I can see why; it actually had an educational component. Contestants had to solve rebus puzzles, which are a type of word puzzle. They use pictures to represent words and pictograms for syllabic sounds, which are combined with letters to form codes. Here's one I made, a free beer goes to the first person who solves it:

Occupational hazards

2008-02-20T00:16:00.000-08:00

Can't stop working, bear will eat me.

Catching up on sleep and work after an epic weekend adventure in Portland for Mini Bike Winter V. Stay tuned for details and photos.....

pittsburgh, I love you

2008-02-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

Got the 'burgh on my mind lately. Here is my blog ode to Pittsburgh:

Why my transient heart is still black and gold:
*446 bridges in 151 km2
*raddest bridge name ever: Hot Metal Bridge
*aka:Roboburgh
*2nd steepest topography of a US city: 712 sets of stairs; many sidewalks are staircases and the steepest street has a 37% grade
*polka and pierogies: lots of 'em, which makes sense when we are the third largest Croat town, after Zagreb and Split
*pittsburghese, yinz jagoffs
*we don't take no shit dating back to 1776: Western PA lobbied to become the 14th state: Westsylvania (so piss off philly with you're pennsyltucky crap)
*regional alcoholism has a long history: the whiskey rebellion
*dean martin, george romero, andy warhol, flashdance
*Largest Zombie walk ever and birthplace of the Great Guinness Toast
*the city's got heart.....a blue-collar town with a soft spot for underdogs

this science is cool.

2008-02-09T02:08:00.000-08:00

I don't want to sound like a queer or nothing but I think glaciers are kick ass.
My job is rad. I spent the day listening to music while looking at glaciers in 3D. I am currently mapping the extent of the Little Ice Age in Glacier National Park using aerial photos and will calculate volume loss + other stuff later as part of a project for the WC2N and CNHR.
Sweet jesus did I miss glaciers.
It feels good to be home again.

Hitler's Escape

2008-02-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

The Effort:

Walking 1/2 way down the mtn to my truck (parked at horizons) with 3 + the bean

getting a jump b/c i'm a tard and left the lights on...again (I carry jumper cables for a reason)

dealing with one douche bag whose battery was invisible. his penchant for sketchy donuts delayed jumping effort #2

getting another dude to give us a jump

chaining up 'cause my truck is shit in the snow

The Payoff:

Avoiding this: Snow strands hundreds at SFU

snow caused white-out conditions at the Burnaby campus and prevented TransLink buses from climbing the mountain.Between 1,500 and 2,000 students were still on campus at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, four hours after TransLink cancelled bus service to the Burnaby university.

bikesinside!

2008-02-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

Hell of a bike weekend. I'm still tired.
This weekend featured the RAD ride and BikesInside! Several beloved bikers blew into town for it including Jake from pgh and Jeremy from MT. The Alley Clowns took to tall & mini tall bikes for a performance ride, which included the poetic prowess of the fossilosopher lee and a dancing to keep warm. Ended with cake, gang signs, beer, and beats at gallery gachet then a frosty ride home.

Missed most of the sunny saturday afternoon 'cause I was finishing my bear and clown costumes. This little clown couldn't have pulled it off without help from jake and robin. xoxoxoxo to you both.

The evening was so much fun that it passed in a blur. The Jakana fashion show was A-mazing. Rev Phil presided over several footdown derbies, which segued into a continuous circus maximus of minibikes. it's ridiculous how much fun it is to repeatedly ride/chase people on minibikes in a circle. The Alley Clowns debut was mayham, as it should have been. Dingo from portland made my night when he gave me his clown blessing and put my face on for me. Our secret bear-ninja-cowboy skit ended a bit prematurely due to crown participation/excitement, which was rad. Nix and I sleuthed out all the shit eaters with help from the poo bucket and maitland survived the minibike of death (cue 'oooohhhh' sound). Not as many attendees as velomutations but definitely more dance party action.
Like I said, a hell of a bike weekend.

stupid hippies

2008-01-29T05:25:00.000-08:00

building a university on top of a mountain was a really dumb idea.
SFU is what happens when you let a bunch of stoned hippies plan things.
however, refusing to respond to the repercussions of that decision is just fucking stupid.
what's their excuse now?

bricolage

2008-01-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

weed grinder? nope. seed grinder.

In the middle of preparing my contribution to an Ethiopian potluck I found myself in need of crushed coriander, cardamom, and allspice.
My dilemma: I only had whole seeds and my mortar and pestle shit the bed a while back.
Solution: pull a MacGyver.
The result: tasty.

i loved MacGyver as a kid and I think 'jury rigging' is one of my few skills. The ability to 'MacGyver' things is, in my opinion, a dying art. I've taught Intro to Geography lab several times during my grad career and have seen a complete lack of problem solving skills in my students. In my opinion it's pervasive and I think it's related to our 'ready made' society and the disappearance of 'blue collar' families. Most items come pre-assembled from somewhere else; kids don't see things being made anymore. Things seem to have always existed as they see them now. The concept of 'process' is absent. Also material goods are disgustingly convienent and cheap; In the past, poor families were forced to repair things. Nowadays if something breaks most people call a specialist or buy a replacement. Rarely do people try to fix it themselves. The end results is that 'Jack of all trades' types like my dad are an endangered species. Their skills, resourcefulness, inventiveness, and industriousness, are dying with them to the detriment of us all.
I can't help but worry about the future when the future can't figure out which way a river is flowing on a topographic map or how to measure the length of something that isn't straight.

midnight oil

2008-01-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

I've started taking photos of myself wherever I go to write my thesis. I like the idea of documenting my progression, as seen in my face and surroundings, throughout the final stages. Perhaps I'll compile them into some sort of Flash-based flip book after it's all over. What can I say I'm a big fan of 'change over time'.Saturday evening's writing locale:
the best damn diner booth in town until 2:36am.
And we actually studied; didn't just sit there chitchatting with our computers open. It's no secret that I'm a nerd but even I get surprised by how much fun it can be to stay up working late with a friend.

Back to Hotel Manitoba and it's many treasures........ I'm happy that the residents know that only the blast furnaces of Pittsburgh could mend Thor's might hammer. Of course that's a no-brainer to any 'burger.Wrapped up the evening with well-earned cartoon time and a then an icy ride home to a delicious 4am sandwich. Stu and I agreed that if we had been left to our own designs we probably would have ended up going out or going to bed instead. I vote for more study dates. Anyone else?
oh, and I think i need to post more often.
don't want to steal any 3-photo-thunder.

Vitamin D!

2008-01-22T00:18:00.000-08:00

January sunshine makes everyone in this town smile. Gives this city, which possesses so much natural beauty but suffers a serious lack of human warmth, an almost friendly disposition. Spent as much time as possible on my bike, in the sun, and in the company of good folks the past few days. Today included an 9.5km ride to New Brighton Beach with Frances; our longest adventure yet. The Alley clowns took a field trip on Sunday to see C!RCA perform '46 circus acts in 45 minutes'. Left amazed and with our heads full of clowning ideas. Felt fortunate as I ended a fine day with the weekly bike potluck and a brisk ride back home in the midst of a bike posse.
It seems that coffee shops are the secret to me finishing this thesis. Having no internet and constant movement around helps me focus. Setting daily rewards helps too. I earned a trip to the Brickhouse after working til 11pm on Friday. I guess I'm a nerd but it felt good to work late. Current writing music: Ratatat, the Beta Band, Menomena

Breakin' habits

2008-01-17T01:45:00.000-08:00

A brisk and moderately sober ride home from the brickhouse tonight has me wide awake. I like how cold nights change my attitude towards the Adnac hill from potential asthma attack to harbinger of blood flow and body heat. Props go to Peter the barkeep for the evening's visual entertainment.

meringue

2008-01-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

Ooooooh yea, I'd jump into a giant version of that. Then I'd sit in it and drink a Guinness, preferably with friends. Meringue's texture results from beating egg whites, which causes some of the hydrogen bonds in the proteins to break, making the protein's structure unfold. There is debate over who invented this textural wonder. Some attribute meringue to an Italian living in Meiringen in the 18th century while others credit Lady Fettiplace for it in 1604. Her recipe book, compiled at a time when literacy was uncommon among women, preserved many traditional English dishes as well as one for 'white bisket bread'.

salary!

2008-01-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Gale force winds hit Vancouver today and blew in a my first Macbook AND a great deal on this jacket. A complete lack of buyers remorse since I ordered the Mac. The timing is rather ironic as I also signed my first real J.O.B contract today. Salary, benefits, dog-friendly lab space, control over shoes and clothing, and the reduction of student loan debt. Getting payed fo' real starting Feb. 1st. Not only will I begin mapping glacier loss in Glacier National Park, BC due to climate change but I will make my clown crew debut at Bikesinside! work. fun. fun work. Yee-haw.

tuff

2008-01-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

A friend recently wrote to me:
"what doesn't kill you makes you stonger".

Here's a list of things that have tried to kill me:

*severe croup
*asthma
*hundsknubel ski hill in Soerenberg. it broke my face.
*a brown recluse/gangrene
*driving while narcoleptic
*my first canadian roomate

Sometimes I wish I still had a ringer T-shirt I gave to Angela the first time I left Knoxville. I could use the reminder sometimes. I should add it to the list of shirts I need to screen/make.

It simply said "TUFF" in blue fuzzy letters.

Oh yea, did you notice one of those cows is a Nazi?

flight of the bmx mini tall bike

2008-01-12T00:47:00.000-08:00

Just got back from the MC3 ride, which was fittingly my first real ride on the mini tall . The rain held off and it was a lovely night for a ride. I'm pretty pleased with how she rode and feel like I've finally bonded with this bike. I was a bit apprehensive about the coaster brakes but they were fine. The steering is a bit twitchy but that is to be expected with a fork that steep, not to mention that the front wheel needs to lose the chunky tire. Overall it's a relaxed riding position; just need some grips and longer cranks to straighten out my legs a bit. Many thanks to Jim and Sailor who did a fine job guiding my creation.

On the subject of legs though, I'm pretty proud of mine tonight. I was asking for bets as to where on Adnac I would have to dismount and walk her up the hill. I couldn't believe it when I passed a girl on a road bike, made it up to Commercial, and then all the way home. These lil legs of mine are tougher than I thought.

As for aesthetics, I'm still not sure if she'll get the rattle can treatment or not. The general consensus is that 'pink and black are hot'. Not being a huge fan of pink, I'm thinking dark, sparkly purple and gold would look pretty rad and compliment the leaopard print seat well. And of course, I'm in love with my molocules. I drilled apart some cog sets to fashion a slightly abstracted inosilicate structure across the monkey bars, which just so happens to match part of my forearm tattoo.

You can take the nerd out of her lab but you can't take the nerd outta the biker.

streets of (almost) doom

2008-01-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a surprisingly pleasant rainy bike ride.
Had a few close calls though:
1. Barely avoided the hood of a VW doing a last minute U-turn on Adanac
2. Ran over cleverly disguised glass and miraculously avoided a flat
3. Almost got hit by an undercover SUV on Comox

Back to the positive though, this was my first excursion with a pair of MEC CyclPad Gloves. I bought them having heard mixed reviews but found them to be surprisingly warm although not waterproof. There is a good thread on Fixed Van about gear for winter riding. Adequate rain gear, 3 yrs of getting used to this weather, and being on my bike goes a long way to making this weather more enjoyable. Was tempted to head back out for midnight mass but I gotta be a nerd and burn some midnight oil on the thesis instead. Hopefully a trade off for the MC3 ride tomorrow.
The end is nigh though. Will be the first ride with the new mini-tall. But that's a topic for another post.

Vancouver winter fashion

2008-01-10T19:34:00.001-08:00

It's raining cats and dogs out there. So much so that I couldn't coax Frances off the porch to pee. Putting her coat on usually gets her out there but not today. She got as far as hiding under the table in the yard, flashing me a pathetic look, and promptly running back for the door. Luckily we clocked an hour of quality romping with her pal Pica earlier during a break in the deluge. Time for me to suit up and head out there on my bike. Days like these will make those sunny summer days all the more wonderful when they come around again.

when geologists chitchat

2008-01-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

You have to love when a conversation about whether or not to go snowboarding tomorrow evening breaks down into a discussion on adiabtic lapse rates.

The Problem: With a high of 8c (low 6c) in Vancouver, will it be rainy or snowy on Seymour? Sure you can check the alpine forecast via their website but the scientist in me likes to do my own calculations.

The Math: Temperature lapse rates vary depending on the source of a frontal system, however it is safe to assume a MALR of -6c/1000m. The upper runs max out at 1200m and the lower runs sit between 1020-900m.

The Conclusion: No go.

The freezing level should be up around Mystery peak dumping unwanted rain onto those powdery, jib-friendly slopes. Pass holders may not care but I grew up on the Ice Coast and now I'm an unapologetic snob re: snow conditions.

FYI: Vancouver receives 80-90% of it's avg 1,219 mm of precip b/w Oct-April.
WoW.

technology: screwed by a pooch?

2008-01-08T00:37:00.000-08:00

Stu showed up in my lab today with this gift from a friend. I'm not one for conspicuous consumption but for a moment I was tempted to think that a humping dog USB key was a fine example of function blended with crass form. But Fido here is just a tease...stick him in and he humps endlessly but is shooting blanks, so to speak.

The flip side depicts a rather distrubing robot cock dog. I would love to know what he's saying. anyone out there able to decipher?
creative translations welcome.

do what now?

2008-01-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Working on my budding juggling skills and it turns out that the guys in my practice CD-ROM are not only pro-jugglers but yo-yo masters as well. For several, it's their only job. rad. A quick youtube search offered up this amazing video. Good beats and ridiculous tricks.
And not surprisingly, asians are doing the fuck out of it.

square one

2008-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

been wanting to stretch these lobes for a long time but it was always low on my list of potential monetary expenditures. thanks to Nathan's DIY know-how and resources I've got a new project for 2008. how big will i go? guess time will tell.

ohmygodohmygodohmygod

2008-01-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

it ain't a recipe for happiness pie but fun jell looks like the secret ingredient to vancouver's 1st food sittin' party*.
stay tuned this summer for details......
*NOT to be confused with a WAM party.
(Sluts are not included with purchase of fun jell)

rats

2008-01-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

happy new years all. so far it's starting off tired.
Was a year of extremes for me.....had some of the best days (and summer) of my life along with some of the worst. Learned a lot though and hoping to put hard won lessons to good use in 2008. Some 2007 Highlights:
*travels to missoula, the kootenays, Golden, all girl camping @ baker
*good friends (old and new)
*my new road bike and a shit ton of rad bike rides and events
*amazing powder days
*finally getting data
*sitting in my yard eating b-fast on sunny mornings
*being open to love (unfortunately that means being open to heartbreak too. crud.)
*and of course...Frances, mum, and dad.

jello. goodbye.

2007-12-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

(circa 2005-6?)Sometimes life surprises. Because you never expect it to be that. Dangerous disguises.
That you never expect to see-
built to spill

dinner or a casting call?

2007-12-29T02:17:00.000-08:00

"I wonder how much it costs to rent a baby" wondered Adam after watching an episode of buffy tonight about a baby-eating sewer-dwelling demon.

Hmm, interesting question. How much do baby actors earn?

Apparently it's a lot for twins:
-about $200 a day as extras
->$2,500 per weekly episode of a sitcom
-$75-125/hr for print media

And now to ruin your breakfast:
babies chosen to play newborns are coated in cream cheese and jam to simulate birth (ewww, a breakfast baby bagel)

bumper cars

2007-12-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

Ranae: I think the drive down the mountain was way less sketchy
Weazy: Yea, except for the head-on collision
Driving home from snowboarding we managed to get hit head-on by a minivan skidding out of a turn while it was going UPHILL.
If that doesn't make sense to you, well that's because it really doesn't make any sense.
Add this front-end damage to the smashed windshield and obsceneties scratched all over it and I'm confident that I now have the most white trash vehicle in Vancouver. Any challengers?

biking 101

2007-12-26T23:41:00.000-08:00

Bike Basics- always carrying the following:
a spare tube, patch kit, tire irons, allen keys, and a bike pump.

And I usually do... dammit.
I got school'd today though. Got my 5th flat of the winter on my way down to watch the sunset from 3rd beach with no spare tube or pump. Had been planning on buying a portable pump on my way home. ha! Lucky for me a cyclist appeared among the countless unequipped tourists riding past me.
Patched the 4cm long gash in the tube and tire to only get a pinch flat while pumping up. Round 2 was a success and I even managed to get the last bit of tire back into the rim by myself...a task that has eluded these weak-ass hands of mine until today. Feeling good that I could do it without another pair of hands.
Oh yea, and tomorrow is new pump day.

an expatriate xmas

2007-12-26T00:07:00.000-08:00

My favourite xmas quote this year:
"I won't be home for a few days, don't drink my tang"
-words uttered to a 14yr old wade by his dad who was calling from jail.

so this was my 2nd xmas away from home. got a tree to make it feel more seasonal. Woke up late to open presents with Frances, which was a first for us.

I was fortunate to spend last nite and today with good folks, new and less new, and retire with an overly full belly of yummy food, beer, and wine each night. Feeling thankful alright.
Had a Guinness-themed xmas eve dinner at my place with a few fellow residuals. Dinner included:

Guinness chicken, guinness gravy, southern biscuits,bruschetta, walnut salad, and pasta salad all washed down with many pints of the geenniuss. Mmm, mmmm.

satan's xmas discography

2007-12-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

Here are my holiday song suggestions, which are sure to spice up any xmas party:

Ramones- Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)
Pansy Division- Homo Christmas
Run D.M.C.- Christmas In Hollis
De La Soul- Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa
Crass-Merry Crassmas Album
The Vandals- Oi to the World! Album featuring the following hits:
'Nothing's Going to Ruin My Holiday' and 'Christmas Time for My Penis'

the twitching hour

2007-12-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

still awake, still feeling mildly industrious. Much fun was had tonight in celebration of kimmay's b-day. had to eat some stuffed cabbage under threat of expulsion, lucky for me I love that hunky ass food. i should, i grew up on it. now that i think of it, we never got to the heart shaped b-day cake. hmmm, distractions.
well now it's time for nutella on toast and juice.
mmmm, my kind of nightcap.

semantics of safety

2007-12-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

Remember kids: be safe in the snow out there. don't be the victim of the NARSID. Not only will you die but your death will lack any zazz.

Now the NARSID is not to be confused with the Narutard or Narwhal, the unicorn of the sea.

Like a hot knife thru butter

2007-12-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

Grad school can be a bitch but it has it's perks. For example, blowing off data analysis yesterday and heading to Mt. Baker @ 6am with denny. My grin is the cumulative product of the following:
first tracks through 41cm of fresh powder, warm feet via the use of adhesive toe warmers, changing my hat so that the simpsons tossel didn't create gaps in my hood, nerding out on the chairlift, and getting the fuck outta Vancouver for a day.
A bit of snowboarding therapy is just what i've needed.
Barely anyone was there. We rode our asses off and pushed our limits in some gnarly, steep glades. As I fought to haul my ass up out of the deeps I realized I really need to work my abs more often. eek.

We ended the day practicing with our avalanche beacons, a great last run down in the twilight, and some ritual hot chocolate. Mmmmm.
I've said it before, and hopefully you've felt it as well, but i must state again that there is no feeling i know quite like carving through fresh powder.
It's the closest I think we will ever come to weightlessness.
Ahhhh.

boiling it down

2007-12-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ranae: you know beck is a scientologist right?
Steph: what? seriously?
Tomasz: so what is the deal with scientology anyways?
Ranae: that alien ghosts infected the planet with negative energy
Tomasz: (incredulous laughter)
Ranae: yea, so basically god is a whore and scientology is his case of VD

nerdery

2007-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

I made these maps today. it was tedious but fun. Here's what you're looking at:

map 1- the dots represent routes drawn by my research participants. They had to draw a 'safe' route from pts A-B.

Map 2- This a density plot of the routes in Map 1. Pretty neat.

GIS is often a evil repetative-task-master but sometimes you can make neat shit with it. I'm gonna have to go back and include some of the 'test' routes I drew. They included some pentagrams, 666, and various stick figure death scenes.
Science is fun!

Ohm nom nom

2007-12-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

The 9 most badass bible verses

I found this on boing boing a few weeks ago (linked from cracked.com)and thought i'd share it with you all. 'Tis the season afterall.
The commentary accompanying these versus are priceless.
Trust me on this one and read it.

(ps- i think i finally got the formatting bugs worked out. woot!)

computerless

2007-12-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

and break your laptop? My POS laptop has finally shit the bed, maybe it was heavenly retribution. Or maybe it was just a POS. Got a loaner but the internet hook up isn't working. My recent digital silence is combo of not having the internet at home and working my ass off on my thesis. I think it's safe to say that there is a significant correlation between those two.

Some good news: I finished a draft of my literature review and am hoping to finish my methods and results chapters by the end of the year. Freedom is getting closer and closer.

The bad news: I won't be back in the 'burgh for xmas. I am charging all the hoodrats to raise a pint for dear old me when you're all together at the hotrod this year. I'll be there in spirit. And somebody please give Swiss a 'welcome back from Africa' hug for me and then check his oil. You know, make him feel at home.

approaching a critical mass (of pink bikes)

2007-11-30T23:26:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a cold but dry November Critical mass. yep, that's right, i said 'dry'.The temperature is hovering around 0c so I bundled up and only my toes and fingertips got chilly, which is to be expected. We took some weird routes tonight, which usually means bikers were not at the front for a large portion of it. It was a great ride nonetheless and i got to see and talk to a handful of rad folks i don't see often enough. Headed over to the Black Frog to dork out with my fellow geographers afterwards.

In other news:
I just added a new mini-bike to the stable.
Say hello to my little pinko commie bike.
She's a rapido made in czechoslovakia.

This brings my total to 8. I've been told I got a bike problem.
Here's the break down:
1 old trek mtn bike, midge (my centurian road bike), 1 mini bmx,
1 new lil pink lady, 1 mini-tall (in progress), and I'm selling the other 3 'casue they're too big. I now have 4 bikes with some debatable shade of pink on them. Have i mentioned I hate pink? oh, the irony.

Here's the story of my new mini:
I bought my mini bmx from a guy named steve a few weeks ago and saw this gal sitting in his basement when i was there. I told him to call if he ever wanted to sell her. Luckily for me, Steve
likes seeing a bike go to someone who would appreciate it. I found some similar ones online from the 70's but none of them had the flat-yet-curved rear triangle combo like this one. We'll just call it a beer shelf. I'm gonna extend the seat tube so my knees aren't so bent,
other than that she kinda fits (it's good to be small!).
Looking forward to my first mini-ride ever this sunday with some of the mini-bike army.
yee-haw.

the devil in higher edumacation

2007-11-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

according to robin, it snowed 6 cookies today.

we all handle stress differently, sometimes we hunker down and bang out what is needed. somtimes we opt instead to get baked with a few friends and on a 9 o'clock whim throw together
the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies in less than 4 minutes.
srsly, less than 4.

I've been battling my literature review for the last 2 weeks. i'm making progress but it's quite possibly the hardest section of the thesis to write. so far, my master's degree is the most masochistic endeavor I have entered into, one reason being that I rarely see the fruits of my labour. I sometimes miss working at the food coop where I managed stocking and receiving.
It was rad to see the product of my efforts every day(and i got a hell of a workout and tons of free organic food to boot!). sure it wasn't giving my brain an acedemic workout (one of the reasons I wanted to go back to school) but i at least i got a sense of daily gratification, which is often lacking in grad skool.

I've definitely been feeling detached from my thesis for the last 6 months. I used to be so fired up about getting other people fired up about science but my passion has waned as i ran into hurdle after hurdle. Oddly enough, a book I read on learning styles last weekend has begun a rekindling of that passion and it feels good. cognitive science is pretty rad shit.

For a long time there was no end in sight. getting data made the glint at the end of the tunnel become static. getting the lit review completed will bring it into full view. tonights fucking off hasn't furthered my goal but let's just go ahead and call it therapy.
tasty, tasty, therapy.

In other news:

Daniel Johnson's 'Hi, how are you?' album, which is probably the most successful cassette tape recording ever, was just re-released as a limited edition vinyl last week. I've been millimeters away from pressing buy for several days now.
so hard to resist.

vancouver weather

2007-11-26T19:03:00.001-08:00

i'm kinda known around these parts as someone who bitches about the weather. I won't disagree but i have to say that vancouver gives me lots material to work with.

For example, here is an excerpt from the vancouver weatherpage forecast for tomorrow:

'We are expecting a mostly dry day on Tuesday but the air mass will be a bit on the unstable side meaning anything can happen.'

I've learned that you have 2 options here:
always carry a rain jacket/umbrella or be prepared to get wet and deal with it.

I'm getting used to the rain but i do miss the sun of TN. if only the Alleghenian orogeny had occurred more recently than 300 million yrs ago. This summer was a bit chilly and rainy but this fall has had way less rainy bike rides than expected. Although, it's currently pissing rain in the city snow is falling in the mtns and that's exciting.

Tonight, i'm gonna hunker down inside to write my thesis and eat the last of the cookies i baked saturday nite. They didn't come out flat (thanks to shortening not butter) and i avoided over-cooking 'em again.
looks like i've got my baking skillz back.
woot!

an introduction

2007-11-25T10:37:00.001-08:00

Howdy. Soapboxpudding here.
I created this blog in the summer but until now have let it lie dormant.
Time to rectify that.
I've gone through a lot of upheavel lately and am now reconnecting with neglected parts of myself, including my creativity and sense of self.

I don't have a clearly defined directions for this blog so we'll see where it goes. I do know that it won't include long personal posts. I can't stand that shit. I do have a hankering that it will include brief bits about some of the following:
science/geology, bikes, dogs, shit, and the humour and randomness I've been finding
in the people around me and my current geographic location.

so to begin, here's a hello from me and the bean.

thinks i'd like to sit in:

2007-07-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Jello (mission accomplished 1998)
Noodles (mission accomplished 2003)
Tapioca pudding
Tiramisu
Lemon-meringue pie
Adzuki beans
nouget
coffee beans
baked beans
marshmallow
creme brulee
nutella
yogurt (vanilla preferably)
co-co wheats
grits