Why We Wear Helmets

I took Shannon out for his first mountain bike ride today. I put the blue bike back together for him to ride and lent him my back up, back up helmet(I left my #1 back up in Phoenix for future visits). We started out at South Sea-Tac, about the best place around I can think of to break in a newbie. Turns out that Shannon is pretty much a natural and took right to the trails. It was really fun leading him around the twistys, listening to his laugh coming up behind me. We rode all over the park, stopping occasionally to catch our breath and prepare for the next challenge. After an hour and a half and about six miles we headed back to the car to load up and head to lunch.

After lunch we drove back into town and I thought it might be a good idea to take Shannon over to Colonnade and show him what all the fuss is about. We rode around the beginner stunts for a bit and then headed off to watch braver souls handle some of the bigger stuff. After that there was a little show and tell at the pump track and the little jump that leads into it. After a couple of attempts he was all over it so we headed off in the direction of the Limestone Loop. Shannon was doing fine, he was walking the switchbacks but he did a couple of intimidating step downs without much trouble, not bad for day one on the bike.

The trouble was at the bottom of Limestone, I took the easy out and Shannon was looking for a route to the bridge. At some point he decided to abandon that and go for the out off a three foot drop to flat. Yeah, that's right, day one on a mountain bike and going for the slow roll into a three foot drop to flat. Oh yeah, it was a slow roll. No discernible lift on the front before going over the edge either. I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone take a hit that could quite measure up to this one. Shannon to the brunt of the hit on his shoulder and head, I sure glad he was wearing the helmet. After the initial shock we both had a good laugh, and I used the bike to illustrate where the whole thing went wrong. I think Shannon got the picture.

The damage.

I let Shannon take it home as a souvenir.

Back from the 'Nix

I spent all of last week in Phoenix helping my parents out with their new home. I set some tile, did some drywall, consulted on some minor design stuff, and sprayed all the doors.

Here's a little video I made when setting tiles in the living room.

I also got out for a little ride with dad and a few of his riding friends. We went out to FINS for a short little ride Sunday morning. FINS is one of the few places I never rode in the Valley, when we moved to Phoenix it was a gray trail, built illegally by a handful of guys on private developer land. It's my understanding that it has gained legitimacy in the last couple of years. Legit or no it's a fantastic trail system. A lot of work went into building a really nice network of trails and it'd be a shame not to ride them. I borrowed a Badger 29er from dad's friend Carl for the ride. It was a good time.


Of course, the most important part of any 'nix is going to be the food.

Matt's

Lola

Roosevelt

and Cibo.

Yum.

News

Just a quick little update. Still unemployed. On the upside, I'm down in Phoenix for the week helping my parents set up the new house. The weather is perfect, I'm getting some shit done, and as of this morning it is very likely that I am back to work when I get back to Seattle next week. As they say, it's all about who you know. Doesn't sound like near as rewarding work as the last job, but in these tough economic times, I'm not one to complain.

Free Muesum Day

The first Thursday of the month in Seattle is free museum day. I really wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been yet and EMP was at the top of my list. Michele reluctantly agreed. We started our day out at the McMenamins Queen Anne happy hour. It was nice to just sit and read our books for a while.

I really don't like the work of Frank Gehry for the most part, EMP however is pretty cool and I guess I'm also partial to the Springfield Cultural Center/Montgomery Burns State Prison. Ok, I guess I like some of his furniture too, but seeing the Case Western building in person really solidified my hatred of his tendency to try and combine old with crazy to create something new.

Pictures aren't allowed in most parts of EMP, the guitar sculpture is fair game though, and nearly everybody I saw was taking advantage of it.

My favorite thing there was the the Hatch Show Print exhibit, there were some really impressive prints from the last hundred years.

Nice look at the Space Needle from just outside.


Today, Bellevue Art Museum is free, I'm kinda excited for that one too.

Quicky Project

Michele requested a magazine rack a couple weeks ago, she showed me a picture from a magazine or catalog or something and I filed it away in my head for future use. I had some scrap europly and a little time so I threw this together. Michele's happy with it but thinks I modified the design some, I don't really remember. I think the proportions need a little help and it would look better had I used biscuits rather than countersinking and plugging screws. The finish looks quite shitty as well since I just used what rattle cans were available to me in the garage. All in all, I'm reasonably satisfied with the results, but I might just take another crack at it next time the materials present themselves.

Unemployment 2009: Day 4

Still no job. At least Michele's on vacation right now and we get to play a little. After an unsuccessful attempt to eat for free at Denny's yesterday we had breakfast at a place Michele's wanted to go since we moved here. Of course she's unwilling to wait in line for anything anymore, ever, so weekend breakfast at any sort of hot spot is out.

Later we went for a little stroll at the Arboretum so Michele could look for birds.


Today we might try to ride some bikes, how cool would that be?

Discovery Park

I guess there's a least one thing unemployment's got going for it, it's the first time in a long time that Michele and I get a week off together and there it's a cross country drive involved. Yesterday we took a little walk around Discovery Park. Not much to tell, but it was a beautiful day.