Save a cow - eat bison instead!

Today's ride

Well, Tuesday, actually. After work I put Mechel in the Burley and we rode to Rockland Lake State Park. 21.05 miles, 11.88 MPH average. It was very hilly, and Mechel is getting very heavy! I had to get off and push, and one hill was so steep I had to take a break from pushing! That hill at least has a name - it's bad enough when you're defeated by a hill, but when the hill isn't even worthy of a name....

Taking this to seriously, am I?

Anyway, it's called Phillips Hill. In the image below, which is a altitudinal cross-section from our house to the lake, the ride home was from right to left:

We also got to ride across Lake DeForest, which is the flat spot between mile 6 and mile 7.

Mechel had a great time. We saw baby geese, and a train, and a fire truck, and....

When I put him in the Burley, he was squirming around a bit. I asked him what he was doing. "I'm getting comfortable," he said. Not bad for a 31 month old...

Sunday Fun

A couple weeks ago, we lost power on one of the two 110 volt legs coming into our house. I did a quick hack in the power box to bridge the working leg to the broken one. The failure was due to all the construction that's going on between our house and the road (a new house is being built there).

Since our house is so old, the power company would not allow a simple repair. The folks building the new house had to dig a trench from the road to our house. In the process, they had to dig through our ornamental garden.

Tricia asked the Digger operator to move the plants first, so he dug up each plant with the 2'x2'x2' chunk of dirt it was planted in.

Trish and I moved the plants to the side of the house where the oil tank used to be. I found some paving stones in the yard and we made a little path:

We had a couple left over, so we planted the Clematis and a Hasta next to the parking area:

Thankfully, it rained quite a bit on Monday, which should be great for the newly transplanted plants. Some of our Hasta looks as if it has been nibbled on. We found some deer tracks around the yard yesterday, so I suspect they're the culprits.

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A few weeks ago I had diverted the gutter that used to run across the path to the front door. It fell down, so yesterday I reinforced the joints with screws. Not as elegant as the St. Louis arch (who was no saint, by the way), but at least no one will be tripping over the gutter any more:

The Meaning of Vanunu

Read the article.

RIP Pat Tillman

Tillman, 27, turned down a $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals to be an Army ranger after 9/11.

"There is in Pat Tillman's example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity, and in his humility, such an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public-spiritedness of Americans that many of us, in low moments, had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait.

When Pat made his choice to leave the NFL and became an Army Ranger, he declined requests for interviews because he viewed his decision as no more patriotic than that of his less fortunate, less renowned countrymen who loved our country enough to volunteer to defend her in a time of peril. It is that first lesson of patriotism that we should reaffirm in our own lives as we celebrate the courageous life and mourn the heroic death of this most honorable American." -Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz

In other words, who knew there still exist Americans whose aspirations and passions extend beyond the local shopping mall....

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This week's ride to work

We're in week #16.

AM:
Avg: 17.74 MPH

PM:
Avg: 13.88 MPH

Unlike last time, I was able to get all the way home without getting off and pushing.

Prager: The World Stinks!

"In sum, I feel that I am living in a world that is morally sick. Good is called bad, and bad is called "militant," "victimized," "misunderstood" and "the product of hopelessness," but rarely bad. Only those who fight the bad are called bad."

Read the article.

And then there was one....

Cox and Forkum

B"H So many Simchas!

This past Thursday, I went to the Seudas Bar Mitzvah (the dinner in honor of the Bar Mitzvah) of our neighbor, Yehuda.

At the dinner, Yehuda was Mesayem Shishei Sidrei Mishna (he completed the Six Orders of the Mishna). This is an incredible accomplishment, one which I hope to soon accomplish.

(L to R): Yehuda, Yehuda's father Avraham Hillel, and Yehuda's Grandfather

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On Sunday, I went to the wedding of our friends Rafael and Shalva in Woodbury, NY. Rafael and I were in Yeshiva together in 2002. Here's Rafael at the Kabbalas Ponim:

The Rabbeim (Rabbis) sign the Kesubah (wedding contract):

I haven't been to so many weddings, but I was struck by how different it felt this time, since I've known Rafael for a couple years. I was just so happy for them - it was really something.

The first dance lasted a little over an hour (!):

...Of course, that was at least partially due to the fact that leading the band was none other than Yisroel Williger (listen)!

As a gift, I got one of those four picture folding frames with a picture of Rafael and I, and maps of the three adventures we went on together. Here are the images:

Mazel Tov to all!

Have seven months with nothing to do?

Why not build your very own BattleMech?

...It's a 38% scale replica of the 20 to 100 ton mechanized robots from the role playing game "BattleTech". Many an afternoon were squandered playing BattleTech in my teen-age years. At least it kept me out of trouble. More or less.

Here's the article detailing it's construction.

Finished? More free time? How about a garden monorail?

9/11 - The Movie

"This will sound crass, but bear with me. 9/11 would make a hell of a movie."

Read The Bleat.

Grow up already!

On western culture's cult of adolescence.

Read the article.

Barnum and Baily meet Bagels and Blintzes

Well, matza actually - it is Passover after all. Mom and Dad were going to take Mechel but they had to catch their plane. Oh well.

Here's the article.