It's been a bit since posting, much has been going on. However, the biggest news in my little world is that I ran the Wineglass Marathon yesterday at a 3:55 pace for the whole thing. Several pictures (not posted here) show me running next to the 3:55 pacer at the 8 mile, half, and 18 mile mark. It was ridiculously consistent. And ridiculously cold. And wet.
The course starts in Bath and ends in Corning. See the map below.
View Larger Map
Overall, very fun. Onwards to the next few this year!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Naked, in the Kitchen
Sometimes you stumble across advertisements that catch your attention for the wrong reasons. Take, for example, this display for a kitchen remodeling store in Leipzig, Germany. I'm not quite sure what they are trying to get across, but it almost seems like women should be naked and in the kitchen with their legs spread. Very odd choice of display.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Day 2 – An Empty Atlantic
One day I will upload images to go along with these posts.
I spent much of the remainder of Day 1 on the internet primarily watching Netflix at my Gate in Boston. The highlight was a raspberry heffewessien by Harpoon Brewery and a meek cheese Panini. They really advertise the fact that in Boston, they are just across the river from Logan Airport. Just across the river might as well be across the world when you are trapped in a mile-by-mile landmass, in between where you were and where you are going. There really is no escaping from travel once you start.
The flight to London is very uneventful. Less than half the seats of the plane are full which means I can stretch out and relax. The luxury of dosing into odd dreams is interrupted by watching Sophia Copalla’s Somewhere and eating a pasta meal provided by Delta. I have to say, Delata’s pasta disappointed less.
Getting off the flight in Heathrow, collecting my baggage, and venturing through customs went by with little incident. At the customs booth, the agent was more interested in my research that I would be conducting in Germany than as to why I was staying in Cambridge. Sometimes looking harmless (and unshaven) has its benefits. The last time I went through customs at Heathrow, I was carrying a Cornell Campus Mail envelope, which, much to the amusement of the agent, looks exactly like the packages they hand over to those they are deporting from London.
A three hour bus ride awaited me. Mostly nodding in and out of consciousness occupied my time. The other was being caught up with images of the countryside and small towns. After a bit, it felt as if we had to stop at every small town from Heathrow to Cambridge.
At long last, arrival in Cambridge and my friend P is waiting for me. Successfully made it all the way! Not a small feet for someone who stressed about these things.
She insists on dragging my luggage (only one roller) through the back streets of Cambridge to her flat. Luckily, she is a triathlete so I do not feel so terrible. However, it amuses me that the bag is about half her size (P, if you are reading this, just think of me saying “bag” and I hope all is forgiven). Additionally, when you get into a walking pace with a rolling bag, you often can pick up a decent bass line for composing a song. Cobblecobblecobble-Curb-Cobblecobblecobble-Curb-Curb-Crackinsidewalk-Crackinsidewalk-Curb-Curb-Cobblecobblecobble and so forth.
Her flat is marvelous. She rents a small three and a half room one, minimally but very P like decorated. The view is fantastic, it overlooks King’s college and most of Cambridge. Overall, it looks like a comfortable home to be in for her two year stay there.
I am most impressed by the couch. The beast has no legs and rests directly on the floor. At first glance, it appears as if it has fallen or perhaps pillows constructed into seats. However, once I took a seat, I fell in love. A great piece of furniture apparently does not need legs.
She proved an adept tour guide as we wandered the streets and through ancient colleges. Pubs abound and she took me to one especially for the fish and chips. Well, they were out of fish, so we finished our pints and went on to an African restaurant (in Cambridge). Surprisingly good food was provided. The beer on the other hand, well, pales in comparison to the dark and strong American Beer.
From there, we ventured back to her flat through the windy streets. I was relieved to relax, a bit tired from the whole transition from the States to Europe. And thus concluded Day 2.
I spent much of the remainder of Day 1 on the internet primarily watching Netflix at my Gate in Boston. The highlight was a raspberry heffewessien by Harpoon Brewery and a meek cheese Panini. They really advertise the fact that in Boston, they are just across the river from Logan Airport. Just across the river might as well be across the world when you are trapped in a mile-by-mile landmass, in between where you were and where you are going. There really is no escaping from travel once you start.
The flight to London is very uneventful. Less than half the seats of the plane are full which means I can stretch out and relax. The luxury of dosing into odd dreams is interrupted by watching Sophia Copalla’s Somewhere and eating a pasta meal provided by Delta. I have to say, Delata’s pasta disappointed less.
Getting off the flight in Heathrow, collecting my baggage, and venturing through customs went by with little incident. At the customs booth, the agent was more interested in my research that I would be conducting in Germany than as to why I was staying in Cambridge. Sometimes looking harmless (and unshaven) has its benefits. The last time I went through customs at Heathrow, I was carrying a Cornell Campus Mail envelope, which, much to the amusement of the agent, looks exactly like the packages they hand over to those they are deporting from London.
A three hour bus ride awaited me. Mostly nodding in and out of consciousness occupied my time. The other was being caught up with images of the countryside and small towns. After a bit, it felt as if we had to stop at every small town from Heathrow to Cambridge.
At long last, arrival in Cambridge and my friend P is waiting for me. Successfully made it all the way! Not a small feet for someone who stressed about these things.
She insists on dragging my luggage (only one roller) through the back streets of Cambridge to her flat. Luckily, she is a triathlete so I do not feel so terrible. However, it amuses me that the bag is about half her size (P, if you are reading this, just think of me saying “bag” and I hope all is forgiven). Additionally, when you get into a walking pace with a rolling bag, you often can pick up a decent bass line for composing a song. Cobblecobblecobble-Curb-Cobblecobblecobble-Curb-Curb-Crackinsidewalk-Crackinsidewalk-Curb-Curb-Cobblecobblecobble and so forth.
Her flat is marvelous. She rents a small three and a half room one, minimally but very P like decorated. The view is fantastic, it overlooks King’s college and most of Cambridge. Overall, it looks like a comfortable home to be in for her two year stay there.
I am most impressed by the couch. The beast has no legs and rests directly on the floor. At first glance, it appears as if it has fallen or perhaps pillows constructed into seats. However, once I took a seat, I fell in love. A great piece of furniture apparently does not need legs.
She proved an adept tour guide as we wandered the streets and through ancient colleges. Pubs abound and she took me to one especially for the fish and chips. Well, they were out of fish, so we finished our pints and went on to an African restaurant (in Cambridge). Surprisingly good food was provided. The beer on the other hand, well, pales in comparison to the dark and strong American Beer.
From there, we ventured back to her flat through the windy streets. I was relieved to relax, a bit tired from the whole transition from the States to Europe. And thus concluded Day 2.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 1 : On Voyage
Travel.
Once again, I am travelling away from home. Unusual for me, I am actually staying in the new location longer. Leipzig for a research position for the summer.
I have the oddest times. Case in point, I woke up this morning in my friend R's house who agreed to take me to the airport. We had to drive to campus to pick up my suitcase, as I have been homeless for the past for months. As I said, odd.
The Ithaca airport is an over glorified bus terminal. I was worried that I was going to be late for my flight as I hectically was searching for a charger. However, on arriving to Ithaca, I realized that I was only one of six passengers making the voyage to La Guardia. Without thought, I brought on a bag that was two times too big as a carry on. Apparently, when there are only six people on the flight, they really don't care.
However, my Boston transfer was surprised to see such a large bag as a carry on and were happy when I suggested they check it for me. Note to self, confidence can outweigh any excess baggage fee. Also, I thank United for being flexible.
To Boston. I purposely scheduled a long layover so I could get work done. Work. Work. Work.
Which was interrupted. An elderly woman offered me a can of beer. Unfortunately, I decided to not take it as I was a little woosy still from wishing my labmate A off the night before. I should say, Doctor A now.
I was able to relax, for the first time in a month. Additionally, the specter of homelessness is gone. Things are changing once more for me. A new phase.
Much like travel, life comes with these phases. Todays is a new adventure, one I designed, orchestrated, and pushed an entire institution to obtain. Tomorrow means visiting an old friend, P. A few days after, Germany to work on a research project I have been integral in designing. Weeks later, returning to the US in order to resume life.
With a house.
And my car.
The basic luxuries of modern life.
Once again, I am travelling away from home. Unusual for me, I am actually staying in the new location longer. Leipzig for a research position for the summer.
I have the oddest times. Case in point, I woke up this morning in my friend R's house who agreed to take me to the airport. We had to drive to campus to pick up my suitcase, as I have been homeless for the past for months. As I said, odd.
The Ithaca airport is an over glorified bus terminal. I was worried that I was going to be late for my flight as I hectically was searching for a charger. However, on arriving to Ithaca, I realized that I was only one of six passengers making the voyage to La Guardia. Without thought, I brought on a bag that was two times too big as a carry on. Apparently, when there are only six people on the flight, they really don't care.
However, my Boston transfer was surprised to see such a large bag as a carry on and were happy when I suggested they check it for me. Note to self, confidence can outweigh any excess baggage fee. Also, I thank United for being flexible.
To Boston. I purposely scheduled a long layover so I could get work done. Work. Work. Work.
Which was interrupted. An elderly woman offered me a can of beer. Unfortunately, I decided to not take it as I was a little woosy still from wishing my labmate A off the night before. I should say, Doctor A now.
I was able to relax, for the first time in a month. Additionally, the specter of homelessness is gone. Things are changing once more for me. A new phase.
Much like travel, life comes with these phases. Todays is a new adventure, one I designed, orchestrated, and pushed an entire institution to obtain. Tomorrow means visiting an old friend, P. A few days after, Germany to work on a research project I have been integral in designing. Weeks later, returning to the US in order to resume life.
With a house.
And my car.
The basic luxuries of modern life.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Immortality
From time to time, I am bothered by the concept of non-existence. By being a creature, an observer, that has always existed (from my viewpoint) to know there will be a time that I will not exist slightly disturbs me. Which, undoubtedly it should, or else I would by bungee jumping daily. (Conversely, acknowledging that there was a time that I did not exist sometimes is equally bothersome when you really think about it.)
However, I think the alternative would be far worse: immortality. At first blush, it seems like a grand idea to not face a biological death. We would have unlimited time to travel the earth, learn new ideas, and meet hundreds of thousands of people. We could live out any and every dream that we had, especially if we are able to stop aging when we are the prime of our youth.
Yet...
I am horrified by the possible outcomes that this would do to humanity. We are free from the natural course of death and let's assume that we also are able to conquer all bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases. We would only have to face each other and more dangerously, ourselves. We would face the atrocities of humans more fully and each face an 'unnatural' death in the end if we keep at the current pace of violence.
But suppose immortality eliminates violence as well (which, after a time, it would seem logical that it would fade). Imagine a life without urgency, it would be similar to playing a favorite video game without the possibility of death. For a time, it will be exciting to be able to do as you want. However, the removal of the challenge of survival allows for monotony to creep in to the game play. Eventually, it will grow tiresome.
What would be our motivation to do anything? Procrastination would dominate our daily life and most likely pleasure would reign supreme. The necessity to reproduce would fade, eventually we would be consumed by ourselves.
The exciting thing about life is that it is indeed finite. Every choice we make defines who we are and who we will become. We are observers of a very limited space and are champions of a very small portion of time. But for those precious years, we are truly alive. Death is a fact that we all must face in our own way, but as with any successful project, there must be an end.
So, all though I am uncomfortable with the concept of non-existence, in the words of a co-worker:
"It is a relief to know that one day (in the far future) this all will end."
Monday, May 16, 2011
Dirty Jobs to Congress
Mike Rowe makes a very concise argument to the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee about the need for support for specialized services. A good point he makes is that as we age, our curiosity about how things work begins to fade. If you would like to combat that, I would recommend checking out The Works by Kate Ascher. The book summarizes in page after page of infographics how New York City operates. I am a Civil and Environmental Engineer and even I was stunned by how beautiful and organized the book was.
Yes, it is a link to Amazon. I would recommend going to your local independent bookstore first. If you are in Ithaca, I recommend Buffalo Street Books Coop.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
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