Day 93 - Portland, OR - Lifting Chart

One of the things that I am trying to reintegrate into my workout routine is some light-duty weightlifting.  When I was at COCC (community college), one of the classes I took was a weightlifting class.  I didn't like the instructor, but I liked the technique of keeping a weightlifting "chart" of sorts.  That's basic stuff to people who lift, but for me, who's always kind of hated lifting, it was a game-changer just to keep track of how I was progressing.  I've fallen of the wagon, though, but by posting here, I'm committing to getting back on track.  It's not rocket science: you just list down the left side of a piece of paper the exercises you'll do each time, and then under the column for each day you write down what you did.  Here's what I'm currently doing for my routine:

Push-Ups
Bicep Curls
Seated Leg Curl
Leg Press
Chest Press
Pec Fly
Chin Up
Rear Deltoid
Sit Ups
Plank

I don't necessarily do them in that order; it depends on which pieces of equipment are free and how I feel.  I do try to do all of them each time.  Some people do "leg day", "arm day", etc., but I'm not enough of a weightlifter to need that (at least not yet).  This is more of a complement to my cardio, which is my focus.  When I'm focused, I can get this done in 15-20 minutes, but usually it's closer to half an hour by the time I end up waiting for machines, drinking water, changing, and generally wasting time.  Each of them I do 3 times for 10 reps, except for Push-Ups and SitUps where I try to do 10% more than the previous time or until exhaustion (same with Plank, I guess, but for time instead of reps).  And I can't do anywhere near 30 chin ups so I use a machine that provides an assist.

Day 92 - Portland, OR - Escape Room

For my birthday, I invited a couple of friends to do an Escape Room with me.  I'd never done one, but I've always been interested in puzzles, scavenger hunts, teambuilding, all that kind of thing, so I knew it would be right in my wheel house.  And I was right!  We did the "Arcade" themed one from Portland Escape Rooms, and it was really fun!  Huge thanks to Tommy, Kelli and Vivien for helping me almost escape.  We were on the very last puzzle when time ran out; I think we were 3 or 4 minutes from getting out alive.  I loved the experience and would love to do it again; hell, I'd love to run one of my own!  The "Escape the Room" phenomenon is one of the best modern trends around and I hope it continues.  More pictures and information to follow; they took a group shot of us and hopefully it will be up soon and I'll share it when it is!

Day 91 - Portland, OR - Windows Phone 10

Yesterday I did something a bit cray cray; I bought a Windows Phone.  Now, before you go thinking I've lost my mind, I bought it just to write code on.  I want to broaden my skills, so to speak.  But I should mention a few things about this phone: first of all, it's a really nice phone.  It has a solid feel to it, and it's quite peppy, and very usable.  I haven't used the phone part, admittedly, (because I didn't want to activate it) but then, who uses a phone as a phone these days anyway?  The hardware is slick.  It's obvious that it's the descendant of the Nokia machine; say what you will but they build quality phones.  User replacable battery, for example.

Of course they don't call it Windows Phone 10.  It's just Windows 10.  Which is cool, because I think Microsoft is genuinely onto something here.  The major reason I haven't invested in an iPad Pro is because it doesn't run OS X.  It runs iOS, which is cool and all, but doesn't run the stuff I want to run, most notably XCode.  Merging all the Windows platforms - what they call UWP (Universal Windows Platform) is clearly the right answer.  

And another thing worth mentioning about this phone - the Microsoft Lumia 640 - is that it costs 30 dollars.  30.  Without contract or anything.  At Best Buy.  It's a very nice, solidly mid-range phone, that I could recommend to anyone (from a hardware standpoint), for roughly 15 times less than the cost of a comparable iPhone.

This is not to say anyone will buy one.  They won't.  At least, not this time around.  But if Microsoft can keep pushing out $30 phones and merge Windows with their phone OS, and if I could run Visual Studio on my $30 phone (which, by the way, can already connect to a keyboard, mouse and monitor), then I honestly think they could be on to something.

Day 90 - Portland, OR - Workout Music

Lately I've been going to more than my fair share of organized gym classes, in particular spinning, and one thing I've noticed is that good instructors are really on top of their playlists.   I've also been spending some time just alone working out at the gym, and I've noticed that I am *not* on top of my playlist!  So in an effort to fix that I've been walking through my music library and looking at a lot of workout and BPM-related apps.  Two that I've identified as winners are BeatGauge, which is a desktop app for Mac that instruments all your existing music with BPM ratings, and Splyce, which is an iOS music player that's BPM and workout-centric.  I think we can all agree that the built-in iOS music player is crap, especially for working out.  It's filled with junk I don't want and does things like make the play/pause button super tiny and in the corner.  Fortunately, lots of folks have stepped in to fill the gap, but I particularly like Splyce because it's free, and it fits the way I work out.  It lets me use my own playlist but tells me the BPM of all the upcoming songs and also has kind of an "intensity meter" that it uses to display the song.  Today I used it for an elliptical session and I felt like I got about 10-15% more out of my workout, without even changing my music.  That's pretty good, for free!

Day 89 - Portland, OR - Spin Class

The last few days, I've been going to back to an old standby, the Spin Class.  For obvious reasons, I'm trying to train for this summer.  And I'm reminded how much I enjoy a well-run spin class.  I've been trying a few places near me because they often have first-class-free type deals.  And there definitely are differences.  It might seem like you're just getting on a bike for an hour or so, but there's a bit more to it than that.  One of the things I've realized is how a spin class is so different than just riding my bike around, for example for commuting.  It's so much more focused and sustained; at least a good class is.  So here are some of my things on my wish list for a spin class:  first of all, a really good on-bike computer.  Some don't have any at all; most have at least cadence.  But I want total distance, calories, instantaneous and average cadence, resistance level, and maybe more.  On an easy to read display.  Also, it's got to be a freewheel-based cycle, which they almost are now.  The freewheel is the best replica of riding a real bike.  And I want to clip into the bike; ideally with both Look and SPD style pedals.  The instructor should be engaging, but not critical; only positive reinforcement and no shaming (I hate that).  The room should be clean and smell good and there should be towels available.  And the music can't be too loud; I have to be able to easily hear the instructor.  These things all seem obvious, maybe, but I've been to several high-end professional spin centers that get one or more of these totally wrong.

Day 88 - Portland, OR - Poison Oak

Today's post is just going to be a big PSA for poison oak.  You don't want it.  Last weekend I went hiking with my awesome BCEP team and we had a great day out on Coyote Wall - it had been beautiful weather and the slopes, normally dry, were awash with green.  We stopped and had lunch and also practiced rappelling, which means a lot more Adam-to-green-stuff contact than usual when I hike.  And at some point I must have gotten into some poison oak.  And now I suffer.  It's kind of everywhere, including places you really don't want to have it.  I must have spread it with my hands or something.  So, just...just don't.  Just say no.  Google what it looks like.  Or I'll do it for you. 

Day 86 - Portland, OR - Leaving Portland

I've talked openly here about leaving Portland for a while now, obviously to do my bike ride this summer.  But I've also decided that after the ride, I'm likely not heading back here.  I've had an awesome time here in Portland.  It's been a big part of my evolution as a person.  I feel a lot less upset and stressed out than I was in San Francisco.  But I think my journey needs to continue somewhere else.  I've had a lot of trouble with the weather, for example.  And I feel very far from my family.  This is also a bit of a difficult job market for me.  But, to be clear, I am leaving with very fond memories of Portland.  I love the commitment to the outdoors, the generally intelligent and live-and-let-live attitude of people, and some of the creativity.  The Pearl has been a fun place to live, and Planet Granite is just an absolutely amazing rock climbing gym.  So no complaints, but I think it's time to move on.  I'll be moving back across the country with my Dad at the end of April, staying in Jacksonville for about a month with my parents, and then heading out on my ride.  When the ride is over, I'm looking at a few spots, mostly the Austin area, the Bay area again (though not in the city anymore), and possibly also in Jacksonville.

If anyone knows of any opportunities for a quality Senior software engineer, especially one specializing in graphics, in the Austin metro area, Bay area or in Jacksonville, please keep me in mind!  I wouldn't be available until August but I'm ready to hit the ground running then!

Day 85 - Portland, OR - Kirtan

Folks, this blog is not only awesome, it's also educational, and today I'm going to teach you about Kirtan.  When I was a kid, I had to go to church.  We're talking Roman Catholic church, the whole nine yards of it.  Now, I didn't really like church much at all, but one part that I really did like was the singing and chanting aspect.  Not so much the "memorize all this stuff we believe" part but just the communal act of chanting.  Kirtan is the closest thing I've found to extracting that part of the experience that I enjoyed.  Now, to be sure, Kirtan is a pretty hippie exercise that certainly isn't for everybody.  And there still can be that "memorize this stuff" aspect.  But the words are not taken terribly seriously.  It's not about the meaning of the phrases, generally, but more the sensation of them, the vibration of them.  If that sounds really frou-frou, I understand, but trust me, it works.  Once, long ago, I went to a festival and attended a "sound healing" workshop, and it sounded cheesy, but basically I laid on the grass while people played giant gongs and it was heavenly.  The vibration of the sound as it moves through your body is something I find deeply soothing.  It reminds me of putting my head against the glass of the car as we traveled down the highway on a road trip; another awesome feeling.

Generally speaking it's rare to find full Kirtan sessions.  There happens to be one here in Portland every Sunday at 6 and today I managed to make it by.  Usually I find Kirtan as one piece of a larger session involving yoga and meditation.  Either way, though, if you happen to find one, it can be worth your time.  If you're new to all this, I suggest finding one that's being taught by a community center or a yoga studio, as opposed to a temple.  Not that Buddhist Kirtan isn't great, but it can feel a lot more church-y and some people get turned off by how complicated the chants are or just how religion-y feeling the whole things is.

Give it a shot; you'll like it.

Day 84 - Stevenson, WA - My Gear List

Today was a conditioning hike for my BCEP hiking/mountaineering training group.  We went out to Coyote Wall and did about 8 miles hiking and practiced rappelling.  In honor of today's hike, I thought I would put together my own gear list which I've been developing with the help of the BCEP folks and through my training.  I won't claim it's a perfect list but I'm starting to hone in on what I like to carry for mountain climbs.  Note: this list includes things like crampons and mountaineering boots that are not needed (or even appropriate) for all climbs.  It also includes some items that were designed to support an overnight stay and a weekend away, because it's my list for the Snow Weekend.  I've tried to separate those out into a different list.

Again, I won't claim this list is perfect or complete.  It's just my list!

Main list:
Ten Essentials (flashlight, compass, map, first aid kit, matches, etc.)
Gaiters
Light (liner) gloves
Heavy gloves with internal warming pack
2 wool hats
1 pair light socks
1 pair liner socks
2 pairs wool socks
2 pairs underwear
2 tshirts
2 shell layers
top coat (waterproof)
snow pants
hiking pants
hiking/mountaineering boots
micro spikes
hiking poles
2 grilled cheese sandwiches
oranges
3 clif bars
GPS unit w/working batteries
watch, charged
harness
4 locking caribeeners
3 prussiks
practice rope
mug
pack knife
pants liner
belt
snow shovel
ice axe
glasses in case
helmet
headlamp w/batteries
2 pairs sunglasses
goggles
 

overnight extras:
sleeping bar
laptop w/power cable
Freedom of the Hills
phone charger
silk liner
toiletries
eye mask
regular shoes
 

Day 83 - Portland, OR - Fitness Journey Adventure

Oh no!  Cliché alert!  I'm about to go on one of those Epic Fitness Journeys that people love to post about on Facebook.  Yes, there will be douche-y photos of me shirtless in my bathroom, but no, I will not make you look at them.  I will also try to avoid discussing my carb intake.  I'm not terribly good at this thing, the fitness thing.  I've always had a pretty catch-as-catch-can approach to fitness.  I love it, but I love it the way that somebody who plays soccer on the weekend and roots for Arsenal loves competitive team sports: haphazardly.  And that isn't likely to change, really, at least not in a wholesale way.  But I am posting here to commit myself to a somewhat more rigorous plan.  I happen to have the next few months fairly open with plenty of time to commit to fitness, and in addition I have this upcoming little thing called a ride across the country.  Just between you and me, it isn't really necessary to be in amazing shape to complete that ride, but it does provide a convenient excuse, doesn't it?  When I was a kid, I thought I was fat, and ever since then, I've always been just short of committing to getting in really good shape; and with my 39th birthday coming up, I think it's finally time.  The stars are aligned, so to speak. 

So I'm looking forward to trading some cheeseburgers for smoothies, taking it easy on the alcohol, drinking plenty of water, and getting to the gym every day.  And we'll see if 45-60 days of that, followed by two months of chasing my way across the heartland, can make a dent in the flab.

Day 82 - Portland, OR - A Dark Room

Last night and this morning, I did something I haven't done in a very long time - I got totally immersed in a video game.  Four hours flew by and I didn't even realize it.  The game in question is called A Dark Room.  I have been playing it on my iPhone, but you can play it in a web browser, too.  It's $.99 if you want the iPhone version but it's free on the web.  The thing is, there's absolutely no graphics; just fancy text.  But it's captivating.  It's a kind of survival game, but with a subtle horror element that I don't really want to ruin.  You'll have to just try it.  It's a model of game design; everything is tightly and carefully crafted.  It's not terribly hard, but it will encourage you to keep coming back and trying again.  I love the way the story unfolds as a consequence of your actions.  The understated story really is well served by the game mechanics and the lack of graphics.  It's kind of one of those "the thing you can't see is scarier than the thing you can" deals.  

It inspires me to make my own games, especially because it's so powerful without the use of complex art (which is typically the thing I suck the most at).

Give it a try, and you'll see what I mean.

Day 81 - Portland, OR - Voting in the Oregon Democratic Primary

Today I figured out how I needed to vote in the Oregon Democratic Primary, and in the interest of civic duty, I decided I would share what I found out with the audience.  It's not terribly hard, but you do have to jump through a couple of hoops.  I am making it more complicated on myself by being out of town when the ballots are getting mailed out.  Oregon is a primary and not a caucus (so that's nice), but it is a closed primary, so you have to register Democratic if you want to its in the Democratic primary.   The easy way to do this is to go to a local public library and fill the form out and mail it in.  But you have to do this by April 26.  The primary isn't until May 17 but if you're not registered by April 26 you can't vote.  

So get off your tuckus   and go get that voter registration form filled out!

Day 80 - Portland, OR - The Room

Lately I've been playing this great game on my iPhone called "The Room".  Yes, there was an incredibly terrible movie called The Room, this is totally different.  They're on The Room Three, and it's all part of an ongoing lovecraftian story of the search for knowledge unleashing horrors on the world.  The environments are amazingly detailed, ranging from abandoned islands to the interiors of a creepy clock tower.  The game consists of a series of puzzles, kind of Myst-like but with a lot less confusing navigation and, honestly, much better game design.  I really like playing first thing in the morning when I wake up because the puzzle solving gets my brain started on the right path for the day.  Check it out!  I admire these guys; they're one of the indie studios I look up to as a model for what I'd like to create someday because they do things the right way.  http://www.fireproofgames.com/.

Day 79 - Portland, OR - OK Go

I remember the first OK Go video that really blew my mind.  It wasn't the treadmills.  I like the treadmills (everybody likes the treadmills), but I thought that was just kind of cute.  A Stupid Human Trick.  A one-off.  No, the one that blew my mind was This Too Shall Pass.  If you haven't seen it, go watch it now; it's a Rube Goldbergian contraption that not only will make you shake your head but fits the song perfectly.  This Too Shall Pass, as we pass by thing after thing in dizzying fashion, much the way life sometimes seems to just zip by.

But it wasn't until I watched Inside Out, Upside Down that I finally realized that OK Go is my personal spiritual band guide.  Everyone has one; for some people it's Dave Mathews Band, for others it might be They Might Be Giants or Pink Floyd.  I love all those bands, and TMBG in particular was my spirit animal through high school and college.  But as an adult, OK Go really gets me and inspires me.  It isn't just that they make awesome music (they do) or make awesome videos (they do).  What really gets me about them wasn't obvious to me until I saw that opening scene in zero gravity and the disclaimer about how they "really shot this", no green screen, and I thought well, of course they did.  They got in a plane and vomited 58 times while plummeting towards the earth over and over and spliced together 21 second snippets of zero gravity video to make their music come to life because of course they did.  They are OK Go.  This is what they do.  And as I watched, all my cynicism dropped away and I realized, as cheesy as it sounds, that I can do this.  I will ride my bike 3800 miles across the country because of course I will.  I will find a great job that's fulfilling and lucrative because that's what I do.  OK Go is out there showing us that you can have what you want, be who you want to be, if you just admit that it's possible and then bust your ass to make it happen.

Day 78 - Government Camp, OR - BCEP Snow Weekend

I am just back in town, having unpacked the last soggy sock and discarded Clif bar wrapper from an awesome weekend up in Government Camp.  I've talked a few times about BCEP, the Basic Climbing program that's part of Mazamas.  This weekend was my team's weekend up in the snow!  We got to hang out all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday and camp out as a team up at the Mazamas Lodge.  It was, essentially, an ideal weekend: part adult summer camp, part adventuring, part learning.  If you know anything about me you know it was basically a dream come true; 12 awesome students and a really cool group of instructors.  Our team name, by the way, is the Glacier Snakes; specifically the Black Adder group.  And, yes, we have a secret handshake.

On the mountaineering tip, we got to do all kinds of crazy things.  Rappelling, for example; guiding yourself down a fixed line with your own belay, your life in your hands (not really; it was training, after all, so we were on a fairly gentle slope and some nice sticky wet snow).  My favorite part of the weekend was learning to self-arrest: basically, hang down a hill head first on your back with someone holding your ankle and then let go, picking up a head of steam until you drive your ice axe into the snow and spin yourself around and grind to a stop (you know, in case you fall climbing a mountain).  There was lots of other stuff, too: knot tying, traveling in a fixed line team for glacier travel, navigating crevasses with a fixed line team.  There was also a 3 liter box of wine, a sunburn my nose won't quite forget, innumerable terrible puns and an amazing meal at Skyway on the way back.  I feel like I made (at least) 11 new friends and not only did my knowledge increase but also my self-esteem and my emotional intelligence.  Total package.

Day 76 - Sauvie Island, OR - 32.6 miles - Instant Gratification

Many of you have probably heard of the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment with children.  If you haven't, go read that Wikipedia link and come back.  The idea is that studies have shown that kids who can handle delayed gratification are, all around, much happier adults.  This is not terribly surprising, nor is it rocket science.  

I've studied yoga and meditation for years now, and I always felt that they were trying to get me to invest in kindness and compassion - and of course they are, and those are a big part of what I've gained from them.  But increasingly, I'm feeling that their special message to me, specifically, is to really get a handle on this instant gratification thing.  Which brings me to the bike riding and the distance running.  You just can't be on the instant gratification wavelength when you do these things.  I love that feeling of accomplishment that comes from the long haul.  It's an interesting aspect of my mind that despite the fact that I can't resist eating a donut, I seemingly have no problem riding my bike for 8-12 hours a day for days at a time, often with little at the end of the day besides a grilled cheese sandwich and a tent.  In fact, those grilled cheese sandwiches taste like caviar, and the tent is the Taj Mahal.

What, in your life, are you willing to wait for?

Day 75 - Portland, OR - Surface Pro

A few weeks ago, I posted a encomium for my MacBook Air, that's been my constant companion for years now, (prompting speculation about whether I engaged in conjugal relations with this piece of machinery).  In the interests of equal airtime, I must admit that I am *almost* as enamored with my Surface Pro.  The two devices represent sort of the same niche in computing technology; the "ultrabook".  But they couldn't have more different approaches.  Both are slick and welcoming.  Both work amazingly well, with consistent performance and no issues.  That's exceptional in and of itself coming from Microsoft, and speaks to the power of controlling the hardware platform in addition to the software.  Windows 10 just works really well on a Surface Pro.  The size and weight are almost exactly the same; both fit that form factor that's so important to me when I'm on the road.  The Surface Pro has an amazing screen, and the power of the touch screen and stylus - both of which are amazing.  Battery life is really good on the Pro, as well; it used to be good on the Air but of course that's getting older.  The major downsides to the Pro are the keyboard; while clever, the Smart Cover is just not nearly as good as a real keyboard, and the fact that it, well, runs Windows, which I just - even at its best - can't find as lovable as OS X.  I like the Pro; I like it a lot, in fact.  I have the cheapest model, but it hardly ever lets me down.  But in a pinch, like this summer on my trip, I'd still have to pick the Air if I could only have one.  Although it would be nice to have a clean slate to put new stickers on!!

Day 74 - Portland, OR - Speed Testing OpenGL on the Apple Watch

Today's post is going to be extra dorky so if you're more into yoga and fitness, feel free to step away.  A while back I ran across a blog post by a man named Steve Troughton-Smith that described how to run arbitrary code on the Apple Watch.  Apple itself only allows running a tightly restricted subset of their libraries on the watch, and one of the things you can't do (officially) is run raw OpenGL.  But this guy figured out how to run basically anything.  You can't submit what you make to the App Store (obviously), but it's cool.  So today I sat down and got his stuff working with OpenGL and GLKit to explore the performance of the Watch.  I ran some basic tests and got some preliminary information.  If any of this is interesting to you and you want to know more please feel free to comment:

GL_VENDOR Imagination Technologies

GL_RENDERER PowerVR SGX 543

GL_VERSION OpenGL ES 2.0 IMGSGX543-124.1

GL_EXTENSIONS GL_OES_depth_texture GL_OES_depth24 GL_OES_element_index_uint GL_OES_fb_render_mipmap GL_OES_mapbuffer GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8 GL_OES_standard_derivatives GL_OES_texture_float GL_OES_texture_half_float GL_OES_texture_half_float_linear GL_OES_vertex_array_object GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_color_buffer_half_float GL_EXT_debug_label GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_discard_framebuffer GL_EXT_draw_instanced GL_EXT_instanced_arrays GL_EXT_map_buffer_range GL_EXT_occlusion_query_boolean GL_EXT_pvrtc_sRGB GL_EXT_read_format_bgra GL_EXT_seperate_shader_objects GL_EXT_shader_framebuffer_fetch GL_EXT_shader_texture_lod GL_EXT_shadow_samplers GL_EXT_sRGB GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_rg GL_EXT_texture_storage GL_APPLE_clip_distance GL_APPLE_color_buffer_packed_float GL_APPLE_copy_texture_levels GL_APPLE_framebuffer_multisample GL_APPLE_rgb_422 GL_APPLE_sync GL_APPLE_texture_format_BGRA8888 GL_APPLE_texture_max_levels GL_APPLE_texture_packed_float GL_IMG_read_format GL_IMG_texture_compression_pvrtc

The SGK543 is the same chip found in the iPhone 5.  Of course the chip in the watch is likely to be tuned differently; I imagine the clock speed is lower to extend battery life.  But I'll try to find out more.

The chip can render 50k full screen quads at 2.25 seconds per frame, which is not bad.  We should have all the performance we need to run some cool demos and games.  But that will be the subject of a future post.

Day 72 - Portland, OR - The Oregon Lottery

Here in Oregon we have this lottery.  Now, I'm used to the concept of a lottery - you go buy a ticket, you watch the TV, Vanna White pulls ping pong balls out of a large glass bowl or something, and you never ever win anything.  I always thought the lottery was weird and I still do.  And when I was working back in Texas, I became familiar with this idea of the "lottery" - a way of extending the lottery to basically include all gambling.  One of my friends worked for a slot machine software company and they got a contract to do some slot machines for Oklahoma.  In Oklahoma, gambling was illegal - but with a "but".  The but was, bingo was legal - ostensibly because efforts to make bingo illegal had faced such opposition from churches and charities that it was a political non-starter.  Because bingo was legal, some clever soul had figured out a way to make a slot machine out of bingo.  The way it worked - what I was led to believe - was that a game of bingo would play on the side of the machine, and the reels would just "fake spin" and show you the results, which were the same as the results of the bingo game.  It sounds shaky, but it totally worked, and people really didn't care about the difference - at least, the kind of people that play slot machines at diners in Oklahoma.

Anyway, we have the same thing here in Oregon, except it's way, way worse.  Last night I went and ate at my favorite Indian buffet, and the place was busy so they sat me over in the bar area, where they have some slot machines.  I defy you to look at any of these slot machines and tell the difference between them and just a regular slot machine in Vegas; except, they have the official "Oregon lottery" stamp on the side.  Now, I am not necessarily 100% against slot machines and gambling.  I believe adults should be able to do what they like if it doesn't hurt others.  (At the same time, I think gambling addiction is a huge mental health problem in this country).  But I am against hypocrisy.  And claiming that these machines have anything to do with the lottery is a farce.  This is why things like the lottery are a problem; when we're not honest about our intentions, someone will force us to be.  Prohibiting gambling while allowing the lottery is just a sham that gives the state control.  And these slot machines make that painfully obvious.  For a state as liberal and as generally right-headed as Oregon, the lottery feels, to me, like an embarrassing moral weakness.  And it's just weird.

Day 71 - Portland, OR - The Shamrock Run Half Marathon

Today I ran the Shamrock Run Portland Half Marathon.  I had a great time; there were a few interesting things about this run.  It was fairly flat and gentle.  But it was cold, and it rained constantly.  I don't think I've ever been more wet in my life.  And, although I've written before that my body likes it when it's cold and performs better, in this case I think it was too much of a good thing.  I started to cramp up badly and had to slow down dramatically near the end to keep from getting worse cramps.  I understand my body now and know its limits and i knew if i pushed it I was just going to have to stop.  As it is, I finished in 1:58:48, which is not that bad, but I know I could have done better.  The combination of the wind and the rain worked to really drag all the heat out of my body.

As a side note, one of my enduring memories of Portland now will forever be standing in a really muddy field with a beer in my hand with 3 other guys, trying to listen to a band while it was freezing and raining and having us all just look at each other and say "The hell with this, it's time for a hot shower".  :)