It’s been a busy week for us. My wife noticed that a stoplight near our neighborhood was malfunctioning and sprang into action. She contacted the City of Sammamish and got the required repair forms submitted. All of them. Meanwhile, the app I use on my indoor bike trainer stopped working. So, I filed a detailed… Continue reading Does This Cape Make My Butt Look Fat?
Today I biked past an old man using a walker on the sidewalk. He was wearing a cycling jersey. Not some cheap novelty tee or faded cotton wannabe, either. A real one—aerodynamic cut, triple rear pockets, full length zipper, snug sleeves, defiant colors. He was moving slowly, but not apologetically. I wish I’d stopped. Turned… Continue reading On Your Left
Tamie and I were married 33 years ago last Friday. To celebrate, I planned a four-day getaway to the Oregon coast, complete with beachside accommodations, charming outdoor restaurants, scenic hikes, and a romantic train ride for three. This seems like the appropriate time to mention that Rupert, our 80-pound dog, chaperoned. To be clear, this… Continue reading Our 33rd Wedding Anniversary: It Could’ve Gone Worse
Rupert and I got up early to participate in the fourth annual Ivan Memorial Hike. We haven’t missed one yet. My wife has missed all four. She hates the venue for some reason, but I enjoy the climb and Rupert enjoys chasing the spirit of a dog he’s never met. It was a very good… Continue reading Upwards, Still
I’m defective. For the last 18 months or so, my left ear has felt clogged. But instead of just muffled sounds, I started hearing a high-pitched buzz. ALL. OF. THE. DAMN. TIME. It’s now become almost impossible to understand conversations in public places, especially if there is any sort of background noise (I’m looking at… Continue reading WHAT
Tamie took my place in Idaho a few weeks ago so she could continue to help my mom recover from knee replacement surgery. I love my wife dearly, but really wish she’d learn to be more responsible. She should know, after nearly 32 years of marriage, to not leave me unsupervised in Seattle. Last time… Continue reading Misdirection
I was mountain biking last Friday and feeling pretty good about my efforts when my smartwatch started freaking out and barraging me with alerts because it’d detected some sort of regional incident. Since I was currently descending a section of trail ill-suited for stopping, I had to finish getting to the bottom before I could… Continue reading Incident Detected
Do you ever find yourself with an abundance of extra money and/or free time? Then I highly recommend learning to maintain and repair your own bicycle. To get started, you’ll just need a few simple tools, a can-do attitude, and access to a good internet debugging proxy. Here’s the step-by-step guide I recently used to… Continue reading Give Me a Brake
June 10, 2022 There’s a two-mile trail near my home that punches its way upwards through 2000 vertical feet of unkempt Pacific Northwest forest. It’s little more than a crack through thicketed undergrowth – a tangled and erratic mixture of stone, roots, and sludge. My dog and I first discovered it in 2011. I was… Continue reading Upwards
I helped put a new roof on our house this month. Specifically, I got to choose which shade of gray tiles to use and then pay for them to be professionally installed. This wasn’t nearly as fun as it sounds. Honestly, I didn’t know roofs wore out. I guess I’m still spoiled from the glory… Continue reading Our Bear Roof
