James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

Carson

Sport Bacon
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The Country Griddle in Flemington has a nice bagel and lox platter with some fresh fruit. In your travels.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Haha funny. My child is a product of modern technology as much as any other kid. Last night was nice and all. But tonight she got home from camp and was pretty trigger-happy to get on the iPad. She was mostly ok through dinner but then I could see the nervous tics developing and I let her play tonight while we sat in the living room and I worked while D planned stuff that may happen in October.

As for work - I made no friends today. Today was possibly one of the least enjoyable days I have had with this new company structure. That is all.

Went to the Bridgewater Mall after lunch to meet D to buy her a ring for her finger. I'm happy she is going with a sapphire which is awesome looking. Sorta like this:

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It's pretty awesome.

Then went to see @Kirt to get Ted2 back. He's had it since the Stewart race. We talked a bunch and I could only keep thinking how many people were bugging me while I was just enjoying myself talking. Of course as I got in the car to go home a message popped up "ARE YOU COMING TO THIS MEETING?" I didn't reply.

Rode the Zwift this afternoon because of the storms. I was mentally tired from the work day and physically tired from the 2 rides yesterday so I really did an uninspired workout. I could have pushed but I need to make sure I leave some in the tank for next week's 50 mile/day Vermont vacation. I just went up the hill all the way to the tower, then back down. Kept it pretty tame so in all it was 90 minutes. I also know I can't really hit 60 hours this month so I'm not going nuts about it.

Watched Eureka s3e15 - Kim is dead again. Sad.

Watched Ken Burns Vietnam E1, about 45 minutes of it. So far so good, it passed the time. I have never watched a Burns documentary before.

Then like I said above, did a bunch of work between 6-10. Today was one of those days I really needed everyone to stop working or get hit by a meteor to be productive. So the afternoon was mostly rocks & Zwift, then the evening was my catching up with work things.

Tomorrow I really want to try to ride the road bike in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. The heat is a beast but I can try.

Tomorrow night is dinner out.

I'm ready for the weekend. I'm really ready for vacation.
 

rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I enjoy the amount of research Ken Burns and his teams do while putting together projects...some have gone on for over a decade before they even started filming etc. I've seen the Vietnam series, the Civil War series, the Baseball series, and the National Parks (my favorite). It was the NP series that really lit a fire under my ass to get out West and check out some of the natural wonders that are in our country...We have knocked a few out and can't wait to get to the rest on our list.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Sapphire? Just give @Dominique your CC number and send her to www.bluenile.com

im getting excited...what color dresses will the bridesmaids be wearing?

I really enjoyed the first couple of episodes in the vietnam series....those parts of the story I was unfamiliar with. Really good series.

And I still cant decide if Brian Wells was in on that robbery at least to some extent
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yesterday was a day of work, until it wasn't. I had some things to do in the morning then I had a 12:00 call at which point I was going to set sail for the day. I told my boss I was bailing after noon and he said he was bailing after 1:00. I knew I would have to work the weekend and I had put in some time the night before. So it was a good say to pull the plug early. Those of you who noted my Strava title yesterday know where this is going.

At 12:33, just as I am walking out the back door, on my phone pops up a meeting invite for 1:00. A meeting that is 4 hours long. I slide the meeting, decline it, and walk out the door. I then proceed to ride my bike 4 hours and 15 minutes, just to spite such a retarded meeting invite on a Friday afternoon. I did about 2/3 of a century.

I will say that while the start of the ride had me a tad annoyed, I managed to shake it off and get a damn fine ride in. My intention was to ride 2-3 hours, so I started towards RV and went CW around the back side. Took a break at the boat launch and filled up my bottles:

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I love riding the damn after that lot. I could ride that for 50 miles. Just so awesome. Went through Lebanon then towards Califon, over the hill and stopped in Pottersville and hit the general store for stop #2. I was almost at 3 hours by then. I grabbed a cold coffee and some water then checked my messages, where I saw a message from my boss who texted me that a different PM had invited him to a different urgent meeting on Tuesday...for 4 hours. WTF is wrong with these people?

I went up & over the hill into Gladstone and it really struck me that the hills around here seem so much easier now that I have been doing these 30+ minute simulated climbs on the broom in the basement. I know some people don't buy it, but the shit works. I felt great today.

I rounded out the day and rolled home at 4:15 or so. Showered up real quick, drank 2 seltzer waters, then went out to dinner with @UtahJoe and the Mrs. Utah.

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Saturday (today) was the cash in for Julia's birthday present from April, where I told her we would go to the city and see a show. We settled on The Play That Goes Wrong. She was also allowed to bring a guest, her friend Briana. We also worked in her birthday meal, which was sushi. The kids are now starting to get expensive tastes, for better or worse.

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Lunch was good, and we had a little free time so I made them walk to the coffee roaster For Five and got an espresso & a coffee. Solid place, would go again.

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Yeah I wore the same shirt as last night. IDGAF. Above is standard coffee shop pose: espresso in one hand, coffee on the other side. Espresso was decent. Coffee was very good. Then we hit the show. Standard pre-show pic of us:

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The show was awesome. If you are considering it, you should go. It was RLOL funny for much of the 2 hours. I don't think it's there much longer. So you should check it out.

It was a 2:00 show, wrapped up at 4:00. Drove home, dropped off her friend, and we were home around 5:45. Was going to ride but I was tired and did enough yesterday. I'll also put in a big effort tomorrow morning in the basement while Julia spaces out & D goes to Blue. Ended up working almost 3 hours tonight. Then called it a night.

June is over. Tomorrow I'll do a midterm report card.
 

jackx

Well-Known Member
Good stuff! So glad to read that you went for a 4-hour ride instead of attending a 4-hour meeting on a Friday afternoon just before July 4th week/ weekend.

It’s always great when you happen to have a long time window for a ride, start going in a general direction and see where the loop takes you and where you end up based on how your legs are feeling, where you haven’t ridden in a while, etc.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Midterm Exam
Name: Joseph "Norm" Zurawski
Year: 2018, Q1 & Q2 (effectively, H1)
Subject: Life, the Universe, Everything
Graded by: Anonymous

Introductory Comments:

The following is a graded evaluation of the subject named above, based on the performance in the first half of the year measured against certain key criteria (see: Curriculum) defined by the subject himself. Study & evaluation are not entirely objective, according to this reviewer. Key holes exist in various items which will be explained below. Based on the outline provided, I have done my best to evaluate the subject against these softly-stated goals. The expression "softly-stated" also belies one of the issues with this evaluation. Without a basket, it's hard to know if the goddamn ball went in or not.

Ignoring these plot holes, the subject has done reasonably well as defined in the following sections.

Goals & Objectives:

As suggested above, there really are no stated goals. The growing sentiment to "be better at stuff" pervades our society more and more these days, to the point that one must ask the question, "What stuff?" It becomes such a subjective load of poppycock that it's hard to get a handle on the course which is to be followed. On that note, see the subject of the course, which is the oft-quoted Douglas Adams book title: Life, the Universe, and Everything. I suppose I should be thankful that it was not: So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish.

With the caveat of my concern here stated, I will admit that the subject has morphed the softly-stated goals into something as the months have gone on. However, in the area where the most improvement is sought, namely weight, there yet remains no starting point, no end point, and no current point. All we see from the subject are words like "better" or "lighter" or references to his belt or the fit of his pants.

Curriculum:

Student was self-testing on the following curriculum for the 2018 calendar year:
  1. Exercise Time
  2. Blogging/Writing
  3. Non-work "Things"
  4. Weight
  5. Reading
  6. Non-drinking Streak
Striving for more exercise time is an admirable goal and one which feeds into item 4, the subject's ever-present weight issue. Adding to that is the decision to cut out drinking entirely and it's easy to see these 3 items forming the basis of a solid plan to, well, "be better" at the scale. Having said this, there is no line item for food consumption which is a key element in the weight loss equation. Additionally, one should probably call mention to the lack of sleep tracking here. One can debate the merits of sleep as it pertains to weight loss, but when one is talking "and Everything" one must include sleep.

The 2nd and 5th line items are admirable enough, reading and writing are probably nice-to-haves but again, as measured against sleep I would think these should be tossed out the window in lieu of getting enough rest every day.

As far as "non-work things" are concerned, well that's just cute-as-pie, isn't it?

Curriculum Topics:

Commenter's exploration of the items listed in the curriculum:

Exercise Time - June saw a total of 56.4 hours in 30 days, which is a fantastic sum. Total on the year is 284.4 and the Strava bike total is 260 for the first half year. All of these numbers are on pace to obliterate all previous records. Addition of Zwift & Kickr to exercise arsenal has worked wonders in keeping this on track. Questions may arise to sanity of riding 3+ hours inside in the middle of summer (eg, July 1, 2018) but one cannot question the drive thus far. Original goal was 400 but has been officially bumped to 500. Pass.

Blogging/Writing - June total was 19, tied for the lowest of the year. Half-year total is 141 which is well above the 125 pace needed to hit the goal of 250 blog posts. Some slide has been seen with the addition of the big riding hours as well as the work travel. But the general pace has remained steady. Quality of work in June may have slipped a bit but overall motivation is ok. Pass.

Non-work "Things" - Again, we are in an entirely subjective realm here. 27 in June, 147 on the year. On target for 250. See addendum below for June items. Pass only in as much as purely subjective item meets purely subjective nonsensical total.

Weight - No stated goal, so no way to really pass here. Subject has lost 14 pounds in 2018 which is good, but as stated above, no indication given as to the goal. So I am left with no recourse but to fail due to lack of any criteria to base this on. After presenting subject with failure on this front, subject conceded that goal for end of 2018 is "190 I guess." When asked what current weight is, subject replied, "not 190." As such, grade still remains as a fail.

Reading - Total and complete crap metric. Subject subscribes to NY Times newspaper but eschews this in lieu of reading 3 books/month, this creating a stockpile of Times sections he intends to get to "eventually." Original aim to read 12 books, which represents 1/month which, in addition to the Times, is fine. But after Harry Potter Orgy decided that 36 total on the year was the new goal. Chance of hitting this almost nil. Current total 16, which is 2 short of needed 18 to hit goal. June saw a trio of books by the same author, Spy Hook, Spy Line, and Spy Sinker. Subject was only able to complete 2 of these 3 books. Fail.

Non-drinking Streak - 447 as of June 30. Pass.

Addendum on June "non-work things" that were done in June, for the sake of completeness:
  1. Shows/Events: Han Solo movie, MSL soccer game, The Show That Goes Wrong
  2. MTB Rides: Nassau (2), Stewart (TM, pre-ride, Race), Jungle Habitat, Port Jervis, CR Monday
  3. Work trips: Delaware (1), Chicago (3), St. Louis (3)
  4. Dinners: Kubicks, Manics, Utahs
  5. Misc: Podcasting, several long rides, bought engagement ring
Overall Assessment:

Overall assessment of subject's desire to "do better" is probably that this goal is being achieved. Subject appears to be losing weight, exercising at a pace which will break all previous records, and is putting in creative time in the reading & writing realm. Non-work life is kept reasonably full with the constant stream of "non-standard" things being done. Good assortment of events, parks, and friends leads me to assess the current state as fairly balanced. One might be led to question if the goals laid out were custom-made to fit with the subject's existing habits, but the record-setting pace of exercise in addition to the ~1.5 years of non-drinking probably stand as enough evidence to lessen that.

Grade: Pass

Due to the bullshit nature of this grading system I am only allowed to give a pass/fail grade. Subject has obviously done well enough but 1 non-defined item plus 1 lofty item prevent full passing marks. However, in all the grade remains a pass. If I were able to give a letter grade, it would need to be an insect that buzzes and makes honey, even if I am not allowed to say such.

Looking Ahead:

July will see subject out of New Jersey for a large portion of July. Trips to Vermont, Austin, and San Francisco translate to spending only ONE full day in New Jersey between July 3rd and July 22nd. Final week should provide some sense of normalcy. Currently 4 trips already planned for August, none of them for work. These include Raystown, upstate NY, Canada, and bike camping weekend in Allamuchy. July may prove to be a challenging month to keep some of these goals in sight.

The back 9 of 2018 should provide an interesting backdrop to finding the "and everything" completion of the year.
 

jackx

Well-Known Member
Certainly seems that you drew a no-nonsense assessor. Wondering if this is an AP class or graduate-level class, based on the assessor's demeanor. With luck perhaps the Q3/Q4 assessor will provide extra credit for sundry non-quantifiable extras, for example, indeterminate parental unit duties and chauffeuring of tween unit(s).
 

rlb

Well-Known Member
I will say that a lot of these sushi places are putting more and more sauces on the sushi. Neither of us really likes that so much. I think it throws the whole thing out of balance and covers a good thing with mediocre goo

I agree. Mr. Pi is delicious and fresh but they do use a lot of sauce, especially on the "special" rolls. I have no idea if this is where you went, but I think I've spotted a post or 2 from you that place.

In Somerville there is a place called Shumai near the ShopRite. It's a super odd location (in an office type building connected to the Mexican restaurant over there) but the food is great and they don't sauce the shit out of everything. They are definitely more of a sushi place (vs roll place).
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
So we embark on a new month, that being July. Q3 begins, H2 begins. Halftime is over, back on the field for the back 9 of this mixed metaphor. Where are we going?

Ok so I'll state 190 as the end of year goal. Fine. I'm not 190 today. I'll let you know next Tuesday how my pants fit.

Today was hot. Went on the Monday ride with a new bike - the Santa Cruz Hightower. It's a demo bike that I am...was, considering buying. After one ride today I am pretty sure this isn't for me. I don't really love these 27.5+ tires. And the head angle (rake? Cake?) on this thing makes the front wheel flop all over the place. I know some will say that the bike is good at X, or Y, or something else. But for what we rode tonight, it definitely was not a great bike for CR. Likewise, I am pretty sure the RIP is going to be better at a place like Jungle. So I am wondering, what's the intention of the bike?

The dropper is nice on the downhills. But overall even on the DH runs, I feel like the bike just doesn't track very well. The bike itself allows for a large margin of error. But that's the bike's ability to correct the piloting mistakes inherent in this bike's dance track, so to speak. So it can corner well with the dropper down, but then it overcorrects or blows through some things simply because it is not maneuverable enough to direct as-needed. So you get the cushion of the bike being better able to handle mistakes. But the mistakes are due to the bike itself at times.

I know that there is a learning curve, and maybe I should try to learn more? But I didn't get enough of the "first bike awesomes" in this ride tonight. At this point, I'm not sure I'll bring this up to KT or not. Since it's not likely I will buy it, I don't want to smash it and have to repair it. We'll see what tomorrow morning brings. Maybe I'll just Burke-bomb it at the DH park.

Tomorrow we wake up early and hit the road. Technically we are both working which we will do sporadically in the car, maybe sporadically in the afternoon, evening, etc. But we'll be heading up to Pine Hill, where we were thinking of meeting @Mitch but probably won't now since he went and rode it today without us. Then for dinner we are going to the Schilling Beer Co which is a place we've been to before and really enjoyed, and which obviously holds a memory for many of us.

Looking forward to getting out of sweaty NJ and hit up sweaty VT. Stay tuned, and all that good stuff.
 

Mitch

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
But we'll be heading up to Pine Hill, where we were thinking of meeting @Mitch but probably won't now since he went and rode it today without us
I tried to get them to go to the Green Mountain trails but my vote was not enough and they picked Pine Hill. Sorry, i had it all planned out because today they are DH at Killington so I'm free but looks like ill have to hit Green Mountain this am.
Pine hill was fun, lots of sweat was used on climbing.
Something about best made plans of mice and men often go awry. We will talk later. Drive safe.
TENT VIEW OF MORNING
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capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
After one ride today I am pretty sure this isn't for me. I don't really love these 27.5+ tires.

Same. I demo'd a 27.5+ tallboy and absolutely hated those wheels and tires. Different strokes for different folks i guess.

Love the shit out of my Tallboy 29 though.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Is the hightower more of an enduro bike? I feel like they are for much more aggressive, fast, riding on super rocky downhills. Maybe I'm way off.
I think you'd like a new xc bike like I was saying in the other post. Maybe one with 120 front and rear. The tallboy would be a good idea too.
I feel like these enduro bikes are so overkill for everyday riding.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What kind of bike is the Hightower? @jShort I think you have it right but I would still contend that even on the fastest DH parts of CR (eg, the Guardrail run) the bike is just too sloppy for my liking. I think I would need a longer stem as a start. The cockpit isn't right, for sure. I'll tool with it this week. I decided to take it along and at the very least use it for the Burke bike park. I will say that I missed the dropper post on the corners today.

So this morning we woke up at 6am, packed the car, had a tea & quick bite to eat, then hit the road by 7. I had packed the espresso machine in the car so I didn't get my normal dose of caffeine, so by 8:30 we were at a pit stop on 87 picking up some coffee and topping off the gas. Back on the road and a few text exchanges with @Mitch and we decided to pass on Pine Hill and hit up the Green Mountain Trails, just north of Killington. Got there around 12:30 and met Mitch & Jenny.

The ride was basically like this:

1. Up
2. Then down

In between there was a little bit of this:

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At the top, the view was amazing, like this:

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And this:

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The climb was kinda like 7 miles and 1500 feet of vertical. Then it was pretty much all down from there. The climbing was moderate enough, believe it or not. Everything there is built really well and you don't even realize you're putting this much vertical in until you get to the end. The climb to the summit was brutal but the lookout was nice.

The downhill was amazing. While I tend to agree that this is not a destination park, I think it's pretty damn good.

When we finished up we all sat in a river. There's a picture out there somewhere of the 3 of us sitting in it. Maybe Jenny has it. Here we are at the end:

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After the ride we went to the general store down the road and got ice cream.

Then I got a speeding ticket in some bumblefuck town in Vermont. 40 in a 25. But you'd never know where the town starts and ends. I think an outhouse counts as a town here.

Then we hit up Schilling Beer Co for dinner:

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Grabbed the hotel in town here (Littleton, NH) and managed to see the town's fireworks display as we were walking to the room.

Tomorrow we hit the Kingdom, bright & early. You should try to get your picture in this blog in the next week.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What kind of bike is the Hightower? @jShort I think you have it right but I would still contend that even on the fastest DH parts of CR (eg, the Guardrail run) the bike is just too sloppy for my liking.

The one enduro I did was at bear creak. It was way gnarlier than anything at CR. Imagine that downhill at CR with giant rock gardens.
The enduros today are yesterday's downhills. I think. @Ryan.P could probably confirm.
That kinda justifies that bike for enduro racers.
 
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