Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Timeline

diary/blog for family and friends:
Jan - Misao's MLK Day accident...
Feb - (Chopey bday trip canceled)
Mar -
Apr -
May -
June - Trip East. Simon's Performances. Charlie's class graduation.
July - Ariba restructuring.
Aug - SF Half Marathon. SF Stepology vacation.
Sep - Back to school. VoltsRabbit purchase.
Oct -
Nov - Election
Dec -

to do:
Audiobooks: Know-It-All. No Death No Fear.
Books: Creativity. The Thing About Life.
Movies: Batman, Eagle v Shark, Roots
Music: Katy Perry - ugh - Ur gay. CDs from Mark.
Sports: Olympics vball, Redeem Team, Dropping the baton, etc
Exercise: Hoops, run, (bike)
Health:
Mortality: obits, ALS sickness,
Solar: Stats*
Prius: Stats*
Electric Car: VoltsRabbit
Politics:
Money: zillow, solar & battery stocks,
Calendar: birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Learning: writing, Spanish, electricity, h2 car,
Writing: Autobiography-old. -new. Kids stories. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir,
Teaching: ?Japanese?, Alternative energy, Programming, Personal finance,


* copy old yahoo! blog contents somewhere...

Friday, April 4, 2008

Running in 2008

In Loving Memory of my son and running partner,
Charlie "Chuck Huggz" Harrison











This year's plan was to try to do 75% of Hal Higdon's running regime, and play hoops two or three times a week. One run during the week and organized runs on the weekends. I'm not going nuts like this guy, Adam Blum.

My (dis)organized run schedule, and what really happened:
Date, Run, Distance, (goal time)
========================
2/3/08 SuperBowl 10K, 3K - DNS (did not start =scratch). Not ready.


4/6/08 Sunday -
Presidio 10, 10K @ 57:32, in memory of Ashlyn Dyer, too. (see my tribute on Stories at her site link). 4/13/08 Sunday - Santa Cruz, 10K @ 53:23 as bandit. Kee ran the Half in 2:11 (!). 4/19/08 Saturday - UCSC Slug Run, 10K @ ~58:00? behind Mav and P. Back and hip in pain. Not promising and not training...


4/27/08 Sunday - Long Marine Lab 10K @ 56:36 with Mav behind P. Right leg and hip numb. Right leg shin splints hurt, too.
5/3/08 Saturday - (r) Pat's Run, 4.2 Miler @ 1:37:56 Walked it due to shin splints and hip. 5/10/08 Saturday - Mt. View Human Race, 10K Walked the 5K only. Tender.

5/11/08 Sunday - Watsonville Homeless Shelter, 10K (Charlie would run this one!). DNS.

5/18/08 Sunday - (r) SF Bay To Breakers 12K (Charlie would run this one!). Got on the train but never made it to the starting line. Long story involved Santa Clara U. and Smirnoff.
5/24/08 Saturday - Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras 10k (<~50 min?) DNS. 6/1/08 Sunday - Practice Dipsea 6.8 Miler (Mill Valley, tentative) . DNS.

6/7/08 Saturday - (r) Nisene Marks Half Marathon (<~2 hours). DNS. Pre-paid the fee, but simply was in no shape to run this one. This means that any hope of running the FULL SF marathon is probably out the door.
6/15/08 Sunday - CRY 10k Mtn View (tentative) DNS. 6/21/08 Saturday - Pacifica Trail Run, 9K, 21K, 30K, 50K (tentative only - dance day)

7/4/08 Friday - SC Firecracker
10K (or the Angel Island run below?). DNS. I should've at least tried to run this. Still not in shape. Recovering from the Vermont trip.

7/5/08 Saturday -
Angel Island, 8K, 16K, 25K, 50K (tentative longest run). DNS.

7/13/08 Sunday - Los Gatos Jungle Run Half Marathon (<~2 hours) . Pre-paid for this one so I showed up to see if I could run a half marathon (13.1) completely cold with virtually no running training at all for the past three months. I ran the first 6 miles in 62 minutes, but fell in and started talking with a slower runner at that point. My calf cramped at 10 miles and walked/jogged the last 3 miles. Finished in 2:25, 25 minutes slower than in 2007 when I ran a pretty strong race in exactly 2 hours. Bummer, but I finished.

7/27/08 Sunday - (r) Wharf to Wharf 6 Miler with Simon. Pre-paid. The gun time at mile one was 20 minutes. We ran the whole way but somehow a lot slower than in 2007. I figure our tru running time was about 1:16. ScottP and Greta gave us a ride home. That was key.

8/3/08 Sunday - SF Marathon 26.2 Miles (4:30). Pre-paid. The day before I downgraded to the Half Marathon. Ran the 1st half that goes over the Golden Gate bridge. My new bib # put me in the very last wave of runners (8) starting, so I was starting with walkers and joggers and first-timers just hoping to finish. I actually felt OK and must have passed thousands of runners in the first 10 miles. My right knee swelled up at the 10 mile mark, so I was basically running on one leg from then. I lost my wind but still finished in 2:17, which is at least better than the LG Jungle Run. All in all, survived with no serious injury and did much better than I could have hoped. No way could I have run the Full marathon on this day! Maybe next year - but maybe not. Long distance running may be too hard on my bow legs, HS football injured knee, bad hip and chronic back problems. Maybe I should stick to hoops, some 5k's and 10k's and ride the bike some more. Charlie would be cool with that.

---
further possibilities...

August 9, 2008 Saturday - Dammit Run
8/17/08 Sunday - Felton Race Through the Redwoods 10K
9/27/08 Saturday - SC Mountain PCTR 10K, 21K, 29K, 50K (3:30 don't bonk!!!)
10/4/08 Saturday - Angel Island 8K, 16K, 25K, 50K
10/4/08 Big Sur Half Marathon, Marathon, 5 Miler
10/5/08 San Jose Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon
10/26/08 Silicon Valley Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K

--- Pics and Run Recaps ---


The San Francisco Half Marathon. What a goof-ball face. I'm feeling good at this point, (7 or 8 mile mark), coming back over the bridge and still passing lots of people.












The 2008 Wharf to Wharf with Simon. He is giving the "buck" sign and wearing his "Never Stop Believing" Santa Claus shirt. I'm giving the Mama forehead salute and wearing Charlie's memorial shirt. We're about to finish really strong.














The Presidio 10 mile or 10K on 4/6/08, coming back from the run across the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew Charlie would've loved to be there especially the great live music at the end. When I learned of the tragic loss of Ashlyn I knew I had meet her parents. I sent a tribute to her, and Ashlyn's spirit and goodness lives on. Next year I'll find out how to get an orange shirt...















The Santa Cruz Half Marathon and 10K on 4/12/08. It was HOT and the race was sold out, so I had to run as a 'bandit' (no bib # or official time). I ran the 10K with the turnaround right in front of my house. I found a bib in the garbage afterward and traded it in for a t-shirt and medal. I think Charlie would be proud of that move! My colleague from Ariba, Keeyoung, ran the Half in 2:11. Not too shabby, Kee!




---
Last 2007 year results.... (can be found from http://www.zinsli.com/)

Quintana Castle Construction


A man's home is his castle. My castle needs the moat cleaned and the alligators, at least the squirrels, tamed. The drawbridge I installed myself needs adjusting or it won't close unless you hold the button down. There is just always something to do. Here's my stab at a prioritized list. I will attempt to complete all of these in calendar year 2008. We've lived here since 1996. Time for an upgrade.

Done:


  1. Gutters cleaned 3/4 of house. - done 2/16


To Do:


  1. Heating duct over 1F hallway replaced. - HIGH

  2. 2F shared bathroom: replace floor, replace tub(?), replace sink cabinets(?) - HIGH

  3. Paint front door (rust spots) - HIGH

  4. Replace, clean windows on 2F.

  5. Sell Rabbit.

  6. Gutters clean 1/4 of house near solar panels. - need 2 story ladder.
    Squirrel nest removed from gutters near solar panels. - (see raining squirrel story)


  7. Clean garage, paint drywall white, put down faux shop floor (Kragen).

  8. Lattice-top the fence around the property.
    Plant fruit / plum trees around house.

  9. Prune large tree out front.

  10. Replace grass with sustainable landscaping.

  11. Video and doc house contents for insurance purposes.

  12. Replace fire sprinklers.

  13. Replace carpet / flooring throughout house, esp downstairs living area.

  14. Paint inside of house, esp downstairs living area. + Wainscot, molding?

  15. Replace gas h20 heater with insulated electric (or tankless) heater. - tank u very much. =tax deduction?$

  16. Dream 1: Build deck over garage, outside window of 2F bedroom.

  17. Dream 2: It's possible to add 3 bedrooms and rent them out: 1 off the kitchen (+ sunroom into back patio), 1 replacing the 'dining' room (+ sunroom into back patio), 1 as part of the garage (or make it an 'office'). This would pay the mortgage and prop taxes.

  18. Oh yeah, adjust the garage door closer...

Monday, October 8, 2007

E-Wedding

Week ending Oct 7: (to enter)
Power of Sound talk by Joshua Leeds.
Global Warming 5K with Mav Krull.
Tapping ducklings audition and selection.
Evans-Eddy Wedding and Reception.
Stop Light Camera Ticket.
Beu in NO.
'The Fourth Hand' reading complete.
EV truck for sale.
Mama and Bear in SoCal.
' ' 'Ghost Rider' 'Believe In Me' 'Flushed Away'
Reading Stargirl. Prince of Tides.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Tahoe, squirrels, cars and stargirls - week ending Friday Sept 28, 2007



It rained one day. Lost gambling. Lost a mini-golf game. But had a real good relaxing time and surprising escapades on the drive ... Here I am smiling at the camera at Emerald Bay (aka Eagle Bay). Does this shirt make me look fat?


Car stuff: Smogged the Sable. Couldn't sell the Rabbit. Fixed a nail in the Prius tire. Jeep needs a bike rack ... still. Thinking of buying an EV light pickup Mighty Max from Matt in Capitola.

The Squirrel Incident: Baby squirrel that lived under the solar panels on the roof fell off the roof and landed right next to me(!) He ran into the house to escape (!) Chased him into back yard but he couldn't climb the fence or trees. Jeremi and I cornered him and trapped him. Mama let him escape (ARRGH! I freaked out. Not good.) Finally they caught him again and we took him to 1855 17th Ave, Native Animal Rescue center. The woman who casually took him out of the box with a hand towel seemed to be from another realm. Woa.

Simon's reading Stargirl to me at night. I read him a chapter last night in my 'Indian' accent and he was cracking up. Funny stuff. I'm listening to "The Fourth Hand" by John Irving on my commute now. Good book and getting better. Irving is just so full of imagination and his writing is clever but easy. He's Tom Robbins without the acid.

Next week: Tapping ducklings audition. Global Warming 5K. Power of Sound. Evans-Eddy Wedding.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

goodreads.com

Joined goodreads.com as a friend of Mike Chopey today. This should be fun. links to follow...

Definition of Globalization

My title at work is "Globalization Program Manager". Really it means I work to make our software 'ready for the global market' by i18n enabling, l10n localizing and translating it, and r13n creating regionalization (region/country-specific) features. But we also offshore most of our work to lowcost centers in Dublin, Ireland and Bangalore, India. So in every sense, it's what I do. Sigh. This is trite but applicable. What can I say?
----
Finally, a definition of globalization I can understand:
Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princesswith an Egyptian boyfriendcrashes in a French tunnel,driving a German carwith a Dutch engine,driven by a Belgianwho was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you changethe spelling),followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,on Japanese motorcycles;treated by an American doctor,using Brazilian medicines.This is sent to you by a great Dane,using Bill Gates's technology,and you're probably reading this on your computer,that uses Taiwanese chipand a Korean monitor,assembled by Bangladeshi workersin a Singapore plant,transported by Indian lorry-drivers,hijacked by Indonesians,unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....That, my friends, is Globalization!

Monday, September 17, 2007

FloBlog Returns!

I started blogging on Yahoo! about 5 months ago. I hated the editor and limited settings and also ran into an, ahem, interesting series of issues related to people finding my blog entries that were supposed to be, ummm, private. So enough of that, and I will restart here on Google's floforall.blogger.com I plan to copy my Yahoo! blog content over here, if this goes well...
This will be in a diary-type format. The blog is for me, but if anyone wants to RSS feed me or comment go right ahead.

Sept 17, 2007 - Monday -

Book Review of "Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick. - About a normal 8th grade boy growing up, liking girls, playing drums, angsting out when his little bro gets leukemia. His life and family 'falls apart' (but not really. not at all. he has no idea what real tragedy is.) and he deals with it. Supported by not one but two girls seeking his attention, the entire school faculty and an 'all-star' band, he's not really hurting that bad after. But the book is touching, the characters and dialog real, it's not a Disney ending and it made me cry. It doesn't take much to make me cry. I highly recommend this book. Simon's teacher recommended it to him - for obvious reasons. Thank You Ms. Jue!

Movie Review "Buy The Ticket. Take The Ride." - great little documentary about Hunter S. Thompson that will make you want to go travel, write like gonzo, and gain some semblance of 'personal freedom'. Must viewing for all of us members of the 'doomed generation'. 4.0 / 5.0

Movie Review "Blades of Glory" - Will Ferrel and the Napolean Dynamite guy. Yawn. Slightly homophobic. Yawn again. 2.5 / 5.0

Beuford and Matt with brave faces, full of Bud Lite at a brutal 1 run Fenway loss to the Evil Empire. Brah!



questions:
Like the Police font?!
How would you describe color to a blind person?
How would you describe life to a not yet born person?