Truer Words - A Journal

Our First Attempt at Camping

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:09:17 GMT

This was quite a weekend.

Occasionally, our ecclesia goes camping together. It's not every year, but probably 3 out of 4 years, in mid-June. Wanting to share new experiences with Lauren, I decided to give it a go this year.

I've never camped. Maybe 30 years ago, when I was little, Jed and I used to camp out in our back yard, but otherwise I've never camped. That's ridiculous.

We all got spots near each other at the Hopeville Pond State Park (thanks to Ellyn for organizing the whole weekend). Not being a camper, I have no tent so Mark and Michelle loaned us theirs, and an air mattress. Gary and Ellyn loaned us a couple of sleeping bags, and Lauren and I headed over there Friday evening.

Mark helped me set up the tent (he wasn't staying over night) and pump up the air mattress, then we all settled in around the campfire. At about 10:30 I said goodnight to everyone because she was falling asleep on my lap and I wanted to let her sleep in the tent. After a diaper change and lots of fun taking out my contacts near total darkness, she was curled up like a kitten on one of the sleeping bags, fast asleep.

That lasted for a little over an hour. More than enough time for me to fall into a deep sleep.

Then, she woke up. Happy. VERY VERY HAPPY. She came over to me. She patted my face. She laid her head down on my chest and said "aaaaahhhhhhh", then went back to sleep for three minutes. Then she kissed my cheek and slept with her head on my arm... for a few minutes. Then she laid down completely on top of me and slept for a few more minutes. Then she tried to get into the suitcases.

This went on for hours. She wouldn't settle down, and would cry when I try to put her back on her own sleeping bag. Otherwise, she was perfectly happy... but also totally wide awake and unwilling to let me sleep.

At 3:45 AM I finally gave up. By 4, we were both back in the truck and headed home.

I think if I were ever facing torture, I could handle some pain, but they'd break me in a day or two with sleep deprivation.

I/we slept until late morning, then drove back to the camp site. Saturday night we didn't even try: just went home, got a good night's sleep, and went back again Sunday morning.

I'm glad we tried, and I hope we can try again next year when she's a year older.

Happy Birthday Michelle & Isaiah Drake

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:25:13 GMT

Corinne, Lauren and I went to Isaiah Drake's birthday party on Monday. He's one year old. Monday was actually his mom's (Michelle's) birthday, his is today, but we were mostly celebrating his because it was his first.

I took 134 pictures (good grief), and managed to whittle that down to “only” 104 before uploading them all to Facebook. The flickr set contains a more manageable 55 pictures: I recommend the slideshow.

The party (cookout) was held at Ben & Mandi Isbell's house on the Bradford River. Games, canoeing, lots of food, cute kids, friends, and loads of presents for Isaiah. Ben even started a big bonfire on the ground near the deck (but more than one story below) that made some of the kids a little nervous.

(If you're reading this in email, make sure you see it on the web for the pictures.)

Familial Update, and Grumpy Seth's Advice on Raising a Baby

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:04:23 GMT

We're still moving, probably in October. The landlord is still planning to sell this place. It's a little stressful as we've lived here over 9 years (will be ten years in October) and I really like the neighborhood. Still, if we leave the house for more than a few minutes, then we're probably headed for Westerly. Moving over there will save us five or six gallons of gas and many hours of driving every week.

Corinne seems to be looking forward to it. I don't think it's entirely because the kitchen she'll be getting is thrice the size of what we have now, but that's probably a big part of it. ;-)

Business has been decent this year. Back in December, one client sent me some money to pre-pay for some work "to be decided." Work with Bare Bones has been steady, and I finally produced a working (though incomplete) module for YAML.

Shannon is no longer working two jobs. The second job, at a Hallmark (greeting cards) store, was paying minimum wage and only giving her 12 hours per week, so after a few weeks she told them she wouldn't be coming back.

Instead, she's going to school! She got Pell grants and various other forms of financial aid to cover almost all the costs of going to the Connecticut School for Massage Therapy. She started this week. It takes (I think) 18 months to get her certificate, and when she's done she'll finally have a real, employable skill for a job that pays a lot better than retail ever will.

She'll be about half done with her schooling when Mike comes home in January.

Thursday I went to court with her in Waterford for a "status update" on her appeal to get custody back of her son Richie. Richie's father, Dick S., decided to contest it. We went to the court thinking that she was going to walk out with custody papers, and instead all we know is that this is going to take longer than we first thought. (That's good, as we've asked Shannon not to rush this. We're already doing most of the work with Lauren. Neither of us mind that, but we're not ready to add another kid to the house.)

Corinne wanted pizza on Thursday night, so I was going to take Lauren with me to get it from Olympic Pizza in Norwich. Shannon came home from work early because (in her words), she "didn't feel like working," so she went with us. On the way, we had a talk about her relationship with Lauren.

Had very late second thoughts about posting the rest of this, so for now I've taken it out. Sorry...

Nobody's Home

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:15:55 GMT

My grandparents needed some help with "things," so Ellyn (technically, my aunt... Dad's sister) asked Corinne to go down with her for a week. Originally they were going to drive, but (thankfully) I talked them out of that idea. They flew out Tuesday afternoon, and come back on Tuesday the 22nd.

With Corinne out of the house for a week, I can't sleep at home. (Shannon's 21, her husband won't be home for another nine months, and I don't want anybody getting the wrong idea.) Since I can't stay at home, I suggested they take Lauren with them also. Shannon and I both need to work, but one of us would have to take the week off to watch Lauren full time if she had stayed at home.

Thus, my first tweet of the day, yesterday, "Woke up alone in a strange house in a small bed, far from home." (The bed was in Ellyn's & Gary's guest room.)

For most of the week they're gone I'll be working from home, but mornings from Thursday to Saturday are at Rich's house. He and his family are out of town, so I'm making friends with his gigantic, 30-inch Cinema Display and officially Getting Stuff Done™. In the afternoons I'm heading home again, going for a ride (weather is PERFECT this week), then working at home until late evening when I head back into Westerly for the night.

Yeah, I'm missing my girls. :-(

Corinne and Ellyn both report that Lauren was a nightmare on the plane down there. She screamed more often than she was quiet, and just wouldn't settle down. She slept great Tuesday night, but terribly Wednesday night and awoke everyone except Gramma. When Corinne and I last spoke, Lauren was screaming in the background.

I think my girls miss me, too. ;-)

Shannon's son Richie was supposed to be up here now for a three day visit, but that was canceled at the last minute. So Shannon is bored, but has Saturday off and is going bowling with her friend Jen.

Quick status update on Shannon: she is now working a second job at a Hallmark store, and can't seem to decide between starting a cleaning business (simply because her Mom says she could make good money doing it) and going to school for massage therapy (which is what she really wants to do). I'm strongly in favor of the massage therapy (because, as I said, it's what she really wants to do), but she also wants to get her son back. If she's working one or two jobs and going to school for massage therapy, there won't be much time left for her kids. I'm hoping she'll just keep on keeping on until Mike comes home in January.

Jed and Alycia Are In Town

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:39:36 GMT

My brother and his wife are out here visiting for a couple of weeks. Haven't seen him (or really even spoken with him) since the wedding back in June (which I'm surprised to discover I wrote NOTHING about, so I can't link to it!), so it's great to see both of them. They're staying at Mom's and Dad's house, but yesterday morning they came over for a few hours and had lunch, and then we all went to Gary's and Ellyn's house last night for dinner.

The biggest thing for me was Lauren meeting Jed... but in the end seemed to be much more impressed with Alycia than with him. Alycia can make a "clicking" sound with her mouth that makes Lauren smile every time.

Had a great time at the Schlag's last night. In attendance: Jed and Alycia, Mom and Dad, Corinne, Lauren and Myself, Ben and Mandi, Stan and Windy (Ben's parents, up for two weeks from Houston), Carrie, Mark and Tory (friends of Ellyn), and of course our hosts Katie, Tom, Gary and Ellyn. Food was good, conversation and "play" was even better.

Unfortunately, Lauren has a cold so Corinne took her home early. After a long conversation with Stan and Dad, I went downstairs (their basement is set up a bit like a 50's diner) and had another good chat about some fairly lofty subjects (spiritual life vs. religion, evolution, etc.). Then we made up for it by playing "spin the quarter" for at least 45 minutes.

Later, Dad drove me home.

Eighty Laps

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 18:55:18 GMT

My father's father (Arthur Dilingham, Sr.) has a beautiful birth date: 7 • 27 • 27. It's symmetrical and palindromic, and also happens to mean that this summer marked the end of his eightieth lap 'round the sun.

Saturday his wife, his children, his children's children, his children's children's children, and a very (very, very) small percentage of his friends and extended family from around the world gathered in his honor to tell him just two things: "Happy Birthday," and "We Love You."

The party was held at Goddard Park in Warwick, RI, at the old Carousel Building.

There was a very cool tribute video assembled by my cousin Tiffany and her husband Josh (with, I think, the aid of the rest of the NH contingent of Dillinghams and their kin). It included pictures and/or video of most of the family, and a stirring, deeply emotional, recorded message from Barry Van Heerden in South Africa. (I've heard Grampa sing Barry's praise many times over the years, but I had no idea that he looked at Grampa as a father and mentor.)

Corinne shed a few tears when she saw Shane's picture in the video. Tif had written to me in advance to make sure it was ok. (Of course it was! Including and remembering him is always better than the alternative.)

They even included at least one picture of Lauren in there. That was cool, especially as Gramma and Grampa have both treated Lauren as their latest great granddaughter.

There was also an open mic on the stage, where we were all supposed to tell stories. Unfortunately, though some of us inherited some of Grampa's storytelling talents, none of us will eve be The Master Storyteller that he is. So, most of the stories were told by him! Three times he (literally) lept onto the stage to tell another story, and then hopped back off it again to retake his seat. (Eighty years old, hoppping onto and off of a two-foot-high stage! He's spry.)

He told the Bert and I classic, "I am Gagnon, Champion Moose Caller" story, but (more importantly) he also told some of the TRUE funny stories from his life, including the one about the skunk in the ventilation system at his school in Dighton, MA. I think his school principal probably went to his grave wondering who did that.

I have tons of stories I could have told, but couldn't think of the best ones until after we left so I never took the stage. Had I remembered, I certainly would have recounted the trip to Florida with him, Jed, Dad and myself (I wasn't ten, yet), to move Aunt Marrion. The highlights of that drive to FL included:

Arthur Fiedler's Greatest Hits (Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B!)
the brain teaser about the man with three sons
the brain teaser about the egg-laying chickens
Dad and Grampa acting like it was hot the moment we crossed the state line
Aunt Marrion freaking out when Jed and I happened to be in the vicinity of Grampa's wallet
feeding the seagulls on the beach

Everybody picks on Dillinghams for being... well, Dillinghams. Smart, knowing it (all of it), easily brought to tears, always having an opinion, and "talking until we think of something to say." Though Gramma had as much of a hand in forming us as did Grampa, there's no doubting the source of those particular characteristics. :-)

But, as much as we tease him and each other for those things — endlessly — we love him for them, too. We're a big family (wink, wink), and he’s been the patriarch for as long as most (any!) of us have been alive. (So it's not that we think he's perfect, or pretend that he is. It's that hearing him speak yesterday, and hearing everyone else speak about him, it's clear that he inspires us to aspire to perfection, and we're all better for it.)

Happy Birthday, Grampa. I love you, we all love you.

Westerly Summer Solstice Festival

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:54:35 GMT

Last night, Corinne and I brought Lauren to the Westerly Summer Solstice Festival. She's three and a half months old and has no clue what all the stuff is, but we figured it would be fun anyway. :-) We were right, but mainly because we met Ellyn, Katie, Tom and Gramma there.

The highlights of the festival included the best smile picture of Lauren (so far) as seen here; a really tasty sausage and peppers grinder; the rock wall that Tom couldn't climb often enough; the beautifully restored, antique fire truck owned by the Westerly Fire Department, and the local karate school's street show.

I took lots of pictures, so go peruse.

Ride #34: 73 Miles with Steve and Mike

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:25:18 GMT

As I mentioned, Steve and Mike came down for an 80 mile ride on Thursday. We actually rode only 73 because we started a little late and Steve had to head home for a school concert with one of his nineteen sons. (Nineteen, four, whatever.)

The route was basically a combination of my various training routes, but I really did try to avoid any significant hills this time. (Two years ago, Steve dubbed Cossaduck Hill Road, "I Hate You Dillingham Hill." Couldn't do that to him again!) We started at the house, went up 184 to 117 into Ledyard, Col Ledyard Highway most of the way back but then cut over to Pumpkin HIll Road (to avoid having to climb Pumpkin Hill itself), to Gallup Hill Road for a few hundred feet. Then I said, "Let's do something fun," and they followed me DOWN DOWN DOWN Town Farm Road's crazy-steep hill (and my bottle bounced out of my cage at 47 mph, so I couldn't coast out at the end, had to go back for it). Right on Wolf's Neck, left on 201, right on Al Harvey, right on 184, left onto North Stonington Road, across 27 onto River Road into Mystic. Left onto Route One and over the drawbridge.

Then we stopped at the Henny Penny in downtown to recharge our bottles, then stopped again just a mile later at the New & Improved Mystic Cycle Center. I said that they have a full scale model of the old store in the changing room. That was a joke, but it almost could be true... the new store (well, they've been there for over a year now, but it's new to Steve and MIke) is really big.

Continuing East on Route 1 North, then a right onto Green Haven Road all the way to the Pawcatuck River, where it makes a hard left and turns into River Road, and then into Mechanic Street just before it ends back at Route 1 in downtown Pawcatuck. Right on Route 1, through Westerly, then onto 1A into Watch Hill. We stopped for lunch at St. Claire's Annex, same as two years ago. Finally pulled out the camera and took the only shots of the day: one of Mike sitting at the table (looks like he wants to hurt me, but I don't think he even knew I had the camera out), and two outside after we ate.

After lunch we finished the loop around Watch Hill, saw the big hole in the ground where the Ocean House used to be, and continued to Misquamicut Beach.

I could tell that we were going to have a tail wind along Atlantic Avenue (Misquamicut)... yeah! I love flying down that road. It's as flat as they come around here, and with a tailwind you can really fly. I was at the back of the group, and started to pick up speed. As I passed Steve, he said something like, "Restrain yourself!" but I couldn't do it. I maintained 31 mph for about 1/4 mile (all the way around the big beach parking lot), then noodled along at 18 mph waiting for them to catch up with me. (They apparently hadn't picked up their speed at all.) Normally I would try to average 25 or better for the full length of Atlantic Ave.

Left at the end of Atlantic, up into Dunn's Corners, stopped to recharge our bottles again at the Mobil station. Crossed over Route 1 onto Bradford-Dunn's Corners Road to the other property Gary and Ellyn own (rental property). Stopped in to say hi (and use the bathroom). Ellyn and Katie were there, cleaning up after the previous renter before the next weekend rental. This is when I talked Ellyn into having a Memorial Day picnic on Sunday, by tempting her with Lauren. :-D

The rest of the ride could be summarized in one word: hot. (Not that I would ever leave it at just one word, right?) We continued on 91 to Collins Road, past my parents' old place, to Maxson Hill Road, to Frontier Road, to Route 3, to Wellstown Road, to Route 216, to Route 184.

When we reached the rotary for Routes 2 and 184, Steve was so hot he was in imminent danger of self-immolation, so we stopped at Mystic Pizza II so he could splash nasty, algae-infested water on his neck from their outdoor fountain. Yuck!

From Mystic Pizza II it was eight uneventful miles home.

Steve (and Mike) even met Lauren! She was sleeping when we arrived, so I took a quick shower and then woke her up. She even stayed happy the whole time.

Great ride guys, thanks for coming down!

Stats: 73.11 miles (117.7 km) in 3h 58' 45" for an average speed of 18.37 mph (29.58 kph).

Refugees from the Weather

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:26:04 GMT

Sunday that crazy storm started to blow, the Nor'easter that dumped record amounts of rain all over the northeast. Very early Monday morning — around 4:00 am — there was a very powerful blast of wind and our power went out. (I happened to be awake at the time.)

Later that morning, Connecticut Light and Power didn't know when our service would be restored (but they were "aware of the problem"). By noon they were reporting (through their phone service) that our power would be back by 12:00 am on the 18th (so, midnight on Wednesday morning). This was on Monday the 16th. So we were facing up to almost two days without power. Nuh-uh.

That's not going to work. We have a baby here now, and would really like to keep her warm and well fed without resorting to extreme measures. We talked about finding a hotel room for the night, but Ellyn suggested we talk to Eric & Bonny about staying in their summer rental property for the night, as it's currently empty. They said yes, so that's what we did. (Thank you guys!)

After returning from my weeekly breakfast with Rich (and, this week, Kerri, Teddy and even Lauren!) in North Kingstown, Corinne and I decided to pack up the vehicles and trek back to Mystic. The phone company was still saying that service would be restored by midnight tonight, and we really wanted to be home. (Plus, we'd only brought enough "baby stuff" for one night.) (Pictures are of Rich and Kerri holding Lauren.)

First thing we saw as we approached the house? The garage door ascending in response to the truck's built-in remote. YAY!!! According to the blinking clocks all over the house, the power had been back on since before Corinne called the first time this morning.

Incidentally, this storm was no joke. Though western CT received more rain than we did, it's rather hilly around here so the streams, creeks, brooks and rivers all rose significantly. One in Waterford (just a few miles away) rose a full nine feet. Also, the wind ripped our closed deck umbrella right off of its base and tossed it over the edge, wrapping it around the birdfeeder I had mounted to the side of the deck with a fancy wrought-iron hanger. (Our only losses were, thankfully, the umbrella and some wind chimes that I think were given to us as a wedding present.)

I've posted some pictures of the very flooded Mystic River Road.

Happy New Year, One and All

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 15:22:11 GMT

2006 was a good year for me and mine, in many ways.

To all of my family near and far, to my ecclesia here and worldwide, to all of my friends new and old, close or distant:

Happy
New Year!

Hoping 2007 will be even better, for all of us...

Tuesday's Grab Bag of Highs and Lows

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:57:47 GMT

Tuesday was an intense day, with some very high highs and very low lows. I'm just going to brain-dump it all.

Low and High:

Perry died. This is very sad for all of us, but he lived a long, full life and had plenty of time to know even his great grandchildren. I had to call this both a high and a low... it's hard to attach anything "all bad" to Perry Lanphear.

High:

Breakfast at Snoopy's Diner with a friend and client. The business side of the meeting went well, as plans were made and progress reviewed. The friendly side of the meeting was even better. Best of all were the pancakes! Mama mia. Must take Corinne there so she can replicate those Apple-slice-filled beauties. (Oh wait, I gave up food. Nuts!)

High:

After my gigantic breakfast, I drove up to see Steve Davis in MA so we could go for a ride. He had a basketball game the night before, so was worried that he'd be too tired for my pace. I promised that I would ride super hard the day before and then eat a huge breakfast to weigh me down. I did both, but neither were necessary: he kept me talking the whole time! It's hard to push the pace when you're talking so much that you can't breathe heavily. Sneaky, Steve.

This was ride #103. Stats: 36.4 miles (58.60 km) in 1h 59' 37" for an average speed of 18.25 mph (29.39 kph).

Low:

Our average speed for that ride. (Sorry Steve, couldn't resist.)

High & Low, Again:

After I left Steve's place, I went straight to Gary's & Ellyn's house in Westerly. Ellyn had invited the whole family for a "send off dinner" for Gramma and Grampa. They were up here in New England for much longer this year than previous years, because of Mandi's wedding, but now they're heading home and last night was our last chance to see them this year. I was about 90 minutes early because the alternative was driving all the way home, finding something to do for 30 minutes, then driving back again.

I had a chance to watch Grampa cut down a whole Pineapple into rings. He'd never done it before, and definitely did not like the fact that there's so much waste. Rather than just slice a little more deeply as he "skinned" it, he made shallow cuts and then worked with a paring knife to dig out the bits of rind that were left. After slicing it down, he carefully cut the inedible core out of every piece. This was all both highly amusing and rather painful to witness, but he didn't cut *himself* so all's well that ends well. :-)

Almost everybody made it to the dinner. Corinne had to work until 6:30 so she was late, but wanted to be there so she could say goodbye. Dad was there until 6:45, but had to leave to teach a class. Gary worked late but made a quiet appearance while we were still eating (spaghetti and meatballs). Katie's in Colorado so couldn't be there at all. Mandi, just back from her honeymoon for a day, showed up just before G&G were about to give up and go back to their rental for the night. (She had to work late, also.) Sarah was there but left a little early because Art, who couldn't make it due to work, needed some dinner. Everybody else in the family (Mom, Jed, Ellyn, Gramma and Grampa, Tom, and Rusty) was there, too.

Quite a day.

I'm Done Eating.

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:28:23 GMT

Yesterday Corinne and Jed pooled their talents to cater the wedding rehearsal dinner for my cousin Mandi and her fiancé Ben Isbell.

I don't want to eat any more. Period. I'm done. NO MORE FOOD.

Last night undid six months of trying to lose weight and get in shape.

I don't have the worst of it, though. At least I don't have to try to shoehorn myself into wedding garments.

The evening started with enough hors d'oeuvres to nearly fill the fifty people that *may* have been there (only about 35 showed, I think). Then came the tenderloin steaks (with Bernaise sauce!), the grilled swordfish, the chicken asiago, the twice baked potatoes, the corn, and at least a dozen other items I haven't remembered.

When everyone was completely stuffed, with buttons popping left and right and quiet whimpers of "please, no more!"... only then did the bread pudding make its appearance.

The pudding was alive, and had telekinesis. It looked into our stomachs and pushed the food down (Jed said it pushed it down into his leg). Suddenly we all had "just a little" more room.

The pudding was wily, though. It expands to triple — nay, quadruple — its original volume AFTER you eat it. A few of the guests actually exploded.

So, I'm done. No more food. I've eaten enough, and don't plan on being hungry anymore.

Except maybe one more bite of that bread pudding. But then I'm really done.

Catching Up, A Little

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 17:06:49 GMT

I was scolded last night by a relative (whose name is not "Ellen", but sounds the same) for not posting anything here since last week. "I've had nothing to read!" she lamented, "You didn't even mention the wonderful picnic at the Schlageter's house!"

"She just wants to toot her own horn," her daughter (whose name is not Mindy, but sounds like it) said.

"Hah!" was her witty response.

Anyway, yes, it's been quiet around here. Next week is the Rails conference in Chi-town, and I need to have my first Rails project "functional" before then so that my client (who is also going to be there) has something to demo.

Also taking up my time, recently:

I spend 30-45 minutes (almost) every day working on the new deck, usually at lunch. Mostly, I'm staining parts that Jed later installs (it'll get a touch-up second coat when we're done).
The bike! My weight still isn't going down (much), but my performance and endurance are gradually improving. I'm done pretending to understand why things are so different this year! (I have more stats and reports to post, sorry I fell behind again.)
Friday night I led the Bible readings at the hall. At least, I led them "officially." We had a special guest, which "eased the burden" on the leader, significantly.
Last Saturday I was supposed to ride in the Quabbin again (first time in a few years), but I wimped out at the last minute due to the flooding rains promised by the professional liars at weather.com. (They got a few quick spatterings, nothing more.) Instead, I rode 55 miles around here, and didn't really work at all that day.
Sunday (after Memorial Service) Corinne and I both enjoyed the "wonderful picnic at the Schlageter's house." It really was a great time! Almost everybody showed up (even Stan and Windy Isbell!), the weather was perfect, food was good, and the Drake kids were there (neither of my nieces, though). What more could I ask for?

Frisbee, that's what! I brought three to the picnic, but I was actually out-Frisbeed for the first time in my life! I tossed it around with Darren for a few minutes, then with Michelle... but then Bill wanted a chance and he just never tired of it! I finally called it quits after a few decades, and had to admit that Bill:
- is a better Frisbee-throwing-machine than I am
- is very stubborn
- has the ability to catch and throw on auto-pilot while his mind wanders
Either way, I've been humbled.

More on the Trip to PA

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:51:17 GMT

Being in the area this weekend will give Clark and I a chance to have lunch on Saturday (hopefully). Haven't seen Clark since the last trip, so that's cool. Also, the weather is supposed to be very nice for at least part of the weekend so I plan to put in some real miles.

Also, the weather is supposed to be very nice for at least part of the weekend so I plan to put in some real miles.

We're not driving the Blazer because of ongoing transmission trouble: can't use it for long trips. I asked Ellyn if we could borrow her mini-van for the trip. She said yes, but today Mandy (her daughter, my cousin) called to say that the mini-van 'bumped a guard rail' last week. It was still drivable, but the hood can't be opened and it needs an oil change so we can't take it. Bummer.

Not sure what we're going to do now. Mandy offered us her Altima, but I don't know what we're bringing with us and -- much scarier -- how much schtuff Corinne is planning to bring back. I know I can get the bike rack on the Altima, but there's a lot more to this problem...

Maybe I can talk my Mom into letting me borrow her mini-van. ;-)

2005 Tri-State Seacoast Century

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:36:32 GMT

Saturday I rode in the Tri-State Seacoast Century for the third time. It's a 100-mile bike ride along the coastlines of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine.

I didn't get to sleep until almost 11:30 on Friday night. Not good, considering that I was supposed to meet everybody at Steve's house by 5:00, and he lives about 80 minutes away. I was out of bed when the alarm went off at 3:00, and straight into the shower... but I think I fell asleep just standing there as it was almost 3:30 by the time I got out.

I was on the road by 4:20, but didn't have enough gas. That added another ten minutes, as I bought some (bad) coffee and powerbars at the gas station.

Google's directions to Steve's house said to take exit 7A off I-95 in Massachusetts, make a right, "go 0.4 miles, continue for another 0.4 miles, then turn left onto Chauncy Street." Here we have a whole bunch of problems. ;-) First, there was no Chauncy. Second, I was stupid-tired and upset about already being late. Third, I can't stand the way online directions always say things like "go 0.4 miles, then continue on the same road for another 0.4 miles." This stuff is all script-based, so why don't they merge that into a single "go 0.4 miles?!"

Anyway, being stupid-tired meant that I was just looking for Chaunch Street and not paying any attention to the mileage, and went too far because I never saw the sign. After an extra mile or so, Rt. 140 grew a median (so I couldn't do a U-turn) and rudely dumped me onto I-495. More minutes flushed away as I drove up to the next exit to turn around and try again.

When I finally pulled into the driveway, I was frustrated and just hoping they'd all jump in Steve's van and we could go immediately. (So, I'd drive my car up, too.) Steve tried to talk me out of it, and after I'd relaxed for a minute I agreed. We put the bike on the van and all five of us were finally on the road.

Five? Yeah, all folks I've mentioned many times before: Mike Lucas, Jason Cicero, Jim Boyko, Steve Davis, and myself.

None of us had a camera this time, so there are no pictures. That's an unfortunate first for this group. :-(

Start of the Ride

Last year we waited nearly 30 minutes in the sign-in line at Hampton Beach State Park (NH). This year we waited at least... a minute. Very nice.

We hit the road at about 8:00. That's an hour later than we had intended, but it worked out nicely: it was a chilly day, and the extra hour gave the sun a little more time to do its thing.

Jim wasn't feeling up to riding the whole century with us, so he waited at the park for us to complete the first ~20 mile loop down to Mass and back. In fact, it turned out that he had other plans entirely: he was only going to do about thirty-five miles with us to the Nubble Lighthouse, have lunch, and then continue North to Kennebunkport to meet his wife, Katie.

Those first twenty miles were bumpy but uneventful. Well, mostly. My jersey had ridden up a little and was showing a crescent of skin on my lower back. Steve yelled, in his most drill-instructor-like voice, "Dillingham! Pull up those shorts!" Ahem. I guess I'm glad he didn't have his camera with him, after all!

To Nubble Lighthouse

Jim was waiting for us at the entrance to the park. After a quick pit-stop, we were on the road again.

The wind was in our face at about 12 mph. Normally the opposite is true for this part of the ride, but this also explains the chill: the wind was coming out of the North. It's ok, though, as we were really trying to restrain our pace for this part of the trip, and the wind definitely made it easier to stay slow.

Along the way we picked up a sixth rider, named Rob. Nice guy, alot like us in that he just loves to ride and does a lot of it.

Lunch at Fox's Lobster House ("One Nibble on the Nubble and You're Hooked!"), right next to Nubble Lighthouse, was a clamroll and onion rings. Mmm, gotta love fried food in the middle of a long bike ride. (I think everybody else had lobster rolls.)

The weather at the lighthouse was perfect. The wind had stopped (a bad sign, actually), temperatures were in the high 60's, and it was perfectly sunny and clear with very low humidity.

Back to the Park

After the lighthouse the route continues North for a little longer before looping around and heading back South towards the start. Rob stayed with us, he said he liked our pace. Jim stayed with us for awhile, too.

Near the point where we expected Jim to part ways for his trip to Kennebunkport, we stopped at an intersection. Two ladies were there ahead of us, and one of them didn't unclip fast enough... whomp! She fell over on her left side. It looked funny, but she was stuck so Mike and I helped her back up.

In the confusion, Jim just seemed to disappear. Not one of us saw him go! He may have turned off the route before the the lady fell, and just never said goodbye, or he passed us and made a right while we were trying to help her back up. Whatever, it was very strange.

Rob pulled at the front for a little while, and then apparently blew up and was shelled off the back. Again, he never said a word, just pulled for a little too long and then sort of vanished. I actually expected that (the vanishing, not the silence), unfortunately. He liked our pace on the trip up, but we were intentionally keep it low. We were somewhat less restrained on the return trip.

Oddly, we picked up *another* rider named Rob for the last twenty miles or so. He was as strong as any of us, and worked well with our paceline to keep the speed up.

Speaking of the paceline: I've taken to calling Mike's pulls, "chasing the dart." Mike is a fantastic rider, and we all know that age (he has 20 years on me) is the only reason we can keep up with him. Unfortunately for us, his size and complete lack of bulk mean he doesn't make a very nice draft. He guessed that this is why we kept emphasizing "short pulls," but he was only half right: we were all trying to take relatively short pulls (less than a mile) to keep our strength up. (It didn't always work out that way, but nobody from our group took really long, hard pulls.)

I mentioned that the lack of wind at the lighthouse was a bad sign: that's because it was turning around, and was in our faces again for most of the trip home. It wasn't as strong as last year, but it would have been nice to ride home with a tailwind!

Lesson for the Future: Don't Skip the Water Stop

As we approached the final water stop, Steve suggested we skip it. He had enough water (especially at the pace he drinks it!), and wanted to just push all the way back. Nobody objected, so we blew right past it.

This was a mistake. It wasn't long before Mike realized he didn't have enough to finish the trip. We only saw one open store after the water stop, but it was just a couple of miles later and Mike didn't think he needed to stop. (If he'd known that was the last one, we definitely would have stopped.)

Next year, don't skip the water stop.

It wasn't tragic, Steve shared some of his with Mike, but that's obviously not the best solution.

Final Push

For the last ten miles, we really turned on the juice. Mike says we gained 0.3 mph overall in the last ten miles alone. Cool. Steve, Rob and I did a lot of the pulling, but nobody was dropped and we all finished together.

Unfortunately, I didn't reset my cyclometer until after the first 20 miles, so I don't yet have the numbers. This certainly wasn't a 20 mph century (I'm guessing it was about 19), but this ride is definitely not about speed so I think we were all fine with that.

If It's Brown...

Another lesson to remember for next year. Don't go to Brown's! I wasn't hungry, but the other guys were. Steve ordered a burger, Jason some fried chicken ("fingers," I think), and Mike got some fries and something else that I can't remember. Steve said his burger was, "the worst I've had in a long time," Jason had to wait 35 minutes for his food, and Mike had to wait almost 45 minutes!

This was silly, as the Davis's were planning a big barbecue for us at their house anyway. Brown's is expensive and excruciatingly slow. Next year, let's just go to the Davis's. The waitress is prettier and much friendlier, the food is much better, and they serve free appetizers and beer while we wait for the meal!

Stats: I'll drop them in as soon as I have them. Steve? Jason? Mike?

Sunday Picnic, Chess, and Frisbee

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 17:53:58 GMT

Sunday afternoon, Corinne took a nice, long nap, and I went over to Gary & Ellyn's for a cookout with "whoever wants to show up with some food." (I brought a half-dozen jalapeño hamburgers, and some tortellini salad, all made by Corinne.)

A bunch of us sacked out in the living room in front of the Red Sox game while we waited for the food to cook. Thankfully, that didn't take long: watching regular season baseball on the tube is painfully boring.

After we ate, Darren challenged me to a game of chess at the table by the pool. I haven't played in a couple of years, but the only person I may have played against more often than Darren was Simon. (Simon and I played many games per day for a couple of months, Darren and I have been playing since we were teens.)

I started off well, capturing some of his key pieces and a number of pawns. He made a strong comeback, and had me on the ropes for awhile, even predicting (numerous times!) that I'd be in checkmate within two or four moves. We were frequently interrupted by people asking incredulously if we were "still playing the same game!?" My patient and completely fallacious response was that Darren takes a really long time to move. :-D Actually, in the old days I would take so long to move that he would either play another game with someone else (concurrently), or read a book!

In spite of his bold predictions, I staged my own strong comeback and nearly had the game sewn up... until I made a completely stupid move that resulted in instant checkmate. I should have used Darren's magical "undo" feature to make my bad move go away (ahem!), but instead I just conceded defeat.

After the game, Jed joined us for some frisbee in the front yard for about 45 minutes. Then we had supper, followed by more frisbee with three of the young'uns (Tommy, Tamar, and Autumn) doing very good imitations of Monkeys in the Middle. The festivities didn't end until it was almost too dark to see the frisbee about to hit you between the eyes.

All that throwing and chasing of the frisbee resulted in some really stiff, sore muscles. Monday morning, my right pec was on fire, and my right ankle hurt enough to make me wince just going down stairs. :-) It was worth it.

(Added an hour later: I'm so forgetful! One of the reasons I posted this was because Darren-the-lefty told me this morning (in an email) that his left arm was so sore he had to drive with his right.)

It's too bad we only have one vehicle. I didn't find out until later that Corinne wanted to go to the picnic after her nap, but didn't want to ask me to come get her. (There's another one, same place, next weekend...)

Happy Birthday Ellyn

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 19:42:27 GMT

Wow, my "big sister / aunt" Ellyn hit a nice round number today.

Happy Birthday!

(Yes, she really is my dad's sister, but she's only eight years older than I am. I'm closer to her age than any of her brothers!)

Katie and Gary are at the Red Sox Game!

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:09:25 GMT

I'm not a big baseball fan, but I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of my cousin Katie Schlageter, and her dad (Gary). They are right now on their way to the game at Fenway Park.

These are two of the most die-hard Boston Red Sox fans I know (barring Dave). I wonder if Steve Davis is there, he's a big fan too.

Actually, "die-hard Red Sox fan" is obviously redundant. Sorry.

It would really stink if they got rained out, but what a blast to be there with them. Watching them would be more fun than the game!

Oh, and check out that site, bostondirtdogs.boston.com. Very cool. Their headlines and photo editing are very creative. ;-) It's all about the Red Sox, but they couldn't include that in the name because MLB teams are so harsh with the unofficial team sites.

Rain Rain Didn't Go Away

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 20:15:02 GMT

>It would really stink if they got rained out

Wow, what a bummer.

Heh. I hope they had a nice drive up to Boston, then home again.

Boooooooring!

Friday Night: The Drive to the PMC, and Registration

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 01 Aug 2003 08:21:10 GMT

Corinne got out of work at 2:30 today so that we could make an early start up to the PMC in Sturbridge, MA. The Opening Ceremony started at 7:00, but I had to register, eat dinner, and get my hotel room, so a couple extra hours before the O.C. would be needed. Before we could leave, I had to make a "quick run" over to Mystic Cycle to pick up some energy gels, and I got stuck in traffic. It took over an hour, when it should have taken just twenty minutes!

It rained on the way up. The closer we got, the heavier it rained, until it was absolutely pouring at the Sturbridge Host Hotel, which hosts the first night of the ride, all rider registration, and the Opening Ceremonies...

Friday Before the PMC, Continued...

2003 ACS Relay for Life

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 31 May 2003 16:14:43 GMT

To everyone who sponsored me in the relay last night: Thank You! I really appreciate it. You know who you are.

This was my third year, and it was definitely the best so far, mostly because there were even more people. Our team was bigger (more from the ecclesia decided to participate this year), and there simply a lot more people there. Also, Ellyn and family really did a nice job of setting up the team "camp site," so there was food and nice chairs.

Two years ago it was very hot. Last year it was very cold. Last night there was a chance of rain, but it never happened (surprising, considering the rain we've had this year). Temps were in the upper sixties, with no breeze, which is perfect for walking.

I walked from 10:10 to 11:10 PM, and went around the track eleven times. Afterwards, I made myself a steak-and-pepper sandwich on the grill, and hung around chatting with Ellyn, Mark, Jed, Eric, Avonlee, Jasmyne, Bonnie, Mandi, and Katie (listed in the order I remember them sitting around the circle) until 1 AM.

Eric was threatening to fall asleep in his chair, and I was feeling a little too comfy in mine, so I went home when he started setting up the tent for he and Av (daughter). Bonny was home with the boys, she was going to walk this morning.

Really had a great time, I wish we could have get-togethers like this (with or without the teeming masses of strangers) more often.

Next up: my first century is next Saturday (one week), and then there's the PMC on August 2nd, for which I still need to raise at least $1100.

Curing Cancer Gives Me Blisters

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 30 May 2003 16:39:45 GMT

Tonight is the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, in Westerly, RI. I'm walking for an hour (or a little more), and raised $360. That's a pretty good wage!

My turn to walk -- for the team put together (again) by Ellyn -- is at either 10 PM or 11 PM. I can't remember which, so I'll show up for 10 and probably end up eating BBQ for awhile. On the other hand, maybe I'll be huddling in the tent. We're expecting rain.

I only rode 34 miles today. That's two miles shorter than normal, so I won't be too worn out for my walk. ;-)

We Don't Have to Amputate

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 23 Mar 2003 17:52:29 GMT

This morning, just before memorial service, Corinne and I were standing on the front steps at the ecclesial hall, watching Ellyn back into a parking space. She looked like she was going to back right over the reflector at the end of the space, which was put there to keep people from going too far. (She did, in fact she totally flattened it.)

Corinne sort of panicked and tried to rush down the stairs to stop her. Er, her top half did. Her feet didn't move (at least that's how it looked). Her left knee came down on the corner of the top landing, then her shin was dragged along the corner until her ankle was stopped by the weight of the rest of her body landing on it (she basically sat down quite hard on her foot, which was resting on the corner of a step).

She had a huge lump on her foot, and we were afraid that it might be broken... but it's sprained and/or badly bruised. The lump went down a bit with ice and a couple of Advil (I think they were Advil), but she's still calling it a "goiter."

Poor baby. I had to exhort this morning, so I couldn't even sit with her to keep her comfortable or take her home (which was my first inclination). To make matters worse, my exhortation was a discombobulated mess because I frequently lost my train of thought when I'd get a flash of the lump on her foot, or remember her crying out in pain (as it happened).

She is somewhat ambulatory, but moving pretty slow. Work should be fun for her tomorrow.

(Art suggested amputation on the phone, thus the title of this entry.)

She's In!

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 11:59:47 GMT

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the dinner at the Schlageters' house where Mark, Jed, Corinne, and I played guinea pig for my cousin Mandy so she could try out a recipe before submitting it to Johnson & Wales as part of her application for enrollment.

She made it! Ellyn told the family today that Mandi was accepted, and will be able to commute from home.

Congratulations, Mandi!

Dinner at the Schlageters' House

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 14 Jan 2003 20:45:03 GMT

Corinne and I went to dinner at Gary and Ellyn's tonight. Mandi is graduating from High School this year and wants to attend Johnson and Wales in Providence. In fact, what she really wants is a scholarship, and to get it she has to inventa dish, prepare it, photograph it, and submit it. If they choose it as a finalist, she then has to prepare and present it for the selection panel.

So, we got to play guinea pigs! I'm used to it, Corinne is always trying new stuff on me, but her expertise with knife, spatula, and spice is the real reason we were invited: so she could critique Mandi's concoction. My brother Jed, who also attended J & W, was there (along with Mark, who was there for the same reason I was: guinea pig).

Mandi made seafood-stuffed crepes with brown rice and a pink alfredo sauce containing a bit of horse radish. Really.

So how good was it? Lick-the-plate-even-if-someone's-looking good. Seriously. Mandi has The Talent, just like Corinne, Jed, and my Mom.

What a wonderful family. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 28 Nov 2002 08:49:46 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody

Corinne and I will be at Mom and Dad's today with Jed, Art, Sarah, and Allison. This evening we're having dessert with Ellyn, Gary, Mandy, and Katie. Shane drove to his Dad's place late last night (he arrived safely at about 3 AM).

To all of my friends, family, and extended family: thank you. It's been a rocky road this year, but you've all helped us in many different ways, and we'll never forget it.