James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

Been kind of a rough week/weekend in some ways. The cold (probably flu) that I had turned to D and blasted her with it. She has been a mess this week. We thought she was out of the woods as the week went on but Thursday she did a 180 and by last night was at the Medemerge. It's been a kinda shitty 3 weeks in that regard.

So Friday I made a list. This is what I need to do this weekend:

1. Build a Rock-It
2. Ride Friday
3. Ride Saturday
4. Ride Sunday
5. Finish the 5th Harry Potter book
6. Start the 6th Harry Potter book
7. Go see Black Panther
8. Finish up last week's NYT special sections
9. Get some good ice cream
10. Blog

Ok. I don't know if this is eager or not. #1 and #8 actually encompassed a lot of time. So how did we make out?

Friday I picked up the kids from school then got on the bike for 2:30. This is after I rode 2:20 the day before. @utah incredulously asked me yesterday (just wait for Sunday) what in the world on this screen can motivate me to ride so long without issue. I cannot honestly say. But it works. D picked up some stuff for dinner which included some Haagen Dazs ice cream (PB chocolate, paging @jmanic). That covered that bullet point, which was one of the slam dunks, as we all know. Why did I put this on the list at all? Because against all odds, when I was sick the previous week+, ice cream was unappealing to me. Had to make up for that.

Also, got confirmation from @Dominos that Ben & Jerry's, while not "bad" per se, doesn't really fall into the "quality ice cream" category. A few years ago I would have disagreed but I find myself a tad disappointed now when I get it. Having said that, I keep trying to find one that hits the spot again.

That night we also watched the Olympics and built a fire. Bonus things.

Saturday was a mix of all sorts of things, starting with the usual kid's flurry which included Chinese school, basketball, volleyball, and a sleepover. I woke up early and laid on the couch and read for almost 2 hours while everyone slept in. I finished up the 5th book, then started the 6th book (I know, tall task there) as well as caught up on some of the paper I had let slide. This is the inevitable downside of getting a paper delivered, that it starts to accumulate. After the 8 week promo is up I think I'll go weekends-only and do the online version for the rest of the week. I am not much of an online reader of these things but I have to say the NYT app is solid, and I find I don't mind reading on it.

Ride was time limited, so did 1:10 while Julia was at Chinese school. Went harder than usual on this one, since I had less time. I am happy to say that at this point an hour of riding seems like I did not ride at all. It's been a while since I have felt that.

Went to see Black Panther that night with the boys (Julia was at her sleepover). I really enjoyed it. The next day I happened to read an article in the Magazine about it, which was also really good. This has been discussed quite a bit online and I agree that I love the direction of the movie. Great story, great movie. I recommend it.

Sunday I woke up at 6:00 and got on the bike before anyone woke up. In the end, I ride for 3:12 on the bike. This prompted Utah's comment to which I have no answer to. Pretty much all of the ride was done with the rest of the family asleep, which is always a bonus. I can say that it's interesting that this has been able to wake up at 6:00 on a Sunday to ride again, which is a step.

Picked up Julia around 11:00 and had to have a talk with her about her Instagram account, which her mother found the night before. She went and did this behind her mother's back which is a bit of a concern, though I know that kids do these things. So we had a talk about the whole "creeps in the world" issue then about bullying. I am obviously not opposed to online things but I do not look forward to the whole Teen Girl Bully shit that goes on. I guess we are now there. Fun times.

Finished the Rock-It, v1. As I texted to D when I was done, the expression "Death Trap" comes to mind. I need to adjust the springs. I'll blog about this later.

Went to Branchburg and saw Zac's team lose a heartbreaking game by 3, after they had been crushing the other team, up by 13 at the end of the 3rd. They totally broke down and the other team stepped up. They played a good game but in the end just didn't have enough to get to round 3.

Finished up the Times stuff from last week at about 11:00 pm. I read that Russia article which was more interesting in concept than execution. But after I invested 45 minutes into it, I felt the need to bring it home.

And then the blog, which I finished up this morning. This week, I am going to post in the mornings as someone commented that my post dinner schedule does not always lend itself to reading & comments, which I get. So this week I'll post in the mornings instead.

Have to run out the door and go to the Subaru dealer for recall service. More shit to do. No time for pics.
 
Speaking of rockets, Ethan was doing a math book yesterday and this was one of the exercises. He really enjoyed joke at the end.

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Wow, you do many things. If I ever made a list of things to accomplish in a weekend and it hit double digits, I think I'd add one more to the end - 11. Injure self. But that's probably why I haven't finished half the things I'd like to get done, too. Like I've been planning on cleaning up my bike shop in the basement and moving some of the unused bikes to storage for probably six months. Aside from cleaning up the tool area, none of it has progressed an inch since I first said I should do it.

My younger sister texted me this weekend about whether I had seen Black Panther because she wanted to take her son to see it and was wondering if it was okay for someone his age (he's somewhere between 6 and 12 ... I'm not a very good uncle.) I told her I hadn't seen it and didn't plan to, but I would if she wanted me to check it out for appropriateness (apparently, I am a good uncle.) But she said never mind and took him anyway. She said they both really enjoyed it. I found that funny - she was always an art-house movie fan as a kid. In fact, my younger brother and I used to refer to the old Red Bank movie theater (is that still there?) as the "Old Person and Jean theater" because she was the only person under 70 we ever knew who saw movies there.

Anyway, kudos for doing things.
 
Airbag replacement?
This will come complete with a report that your subaru will also need like $2000 worth of other stuff. At least they did this when I brought my wifes car in.

I am impressed/amazed that zwift can keep your interest for that long. I did 2hrs on the trainer yesterday...I decided to watch terminator salvation as I had never seen it...its like 1hr 48min long...the SECOND it ended im like...how the fuck am im going to sit here and pedal for the next 12 minutes?
 
Norm said:
Also, got confirmation from @Dominos that Ben & Jerry's, while not "bad" per se, doesn't really fall into the "quality ice cream" category. A few years ago I would have disagreed but I find myself a tad disappointed now when I get it. Having said that, I keep trying to find one that hits the spot again.
Click to expand...

Turkey Hill All Natural
it's some good stuff
 
Black Panther was excellent however some of the social political stuff surrounding it is alittle out of control. But a good movie nonetheless.
 
stb222 said:
Black Panther was excellent however some of the social political stuff surrounding it is alittle out of control. But a good movie nonetheless.
Click to expand...

Good to know. My main guy has been bugging me to see it. It was too hot when it came out and we couldn’t get the seats we wanted. This weekend we will check it out.


My last drive in movie was at North Brunswick in the back of my aunts Bobcat station wagon, now its a Walmart. By no stretch of the imagination was it appropriate for a five year old. I clearly remember lasting till the part where the two twins appeared at the end of the hall. Then it was "put your head down and go sleep" mode. I also watched the Exorcist with my father when I was like seven.
 
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Norm said:
D picked up some stuff for dinner which included some Haagen Dazs ice cream (PB chocolate, paging @jmanic).
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Totally jmanic approved.
I don't know why any other flavors of ice cream exist.
 
Is there going to be an ice cream debate now? I vote for any version of java chip/coffee/espresso bean... Of course, I'm willing to sample many many (many) flavors before casting my final vote.
 
his is amurika. there can be many different types of ice cream, all existing together. peacefully.
as long as cherry vanilla isn't forced on me, i'm good with those weirdos too.
 
Wanted

I'm looking for some podcast ideas, but before you hit reply I need to be more specific about what I am after right now. I’m really taking a liking to the long format pieces in the Times (eg, NYT Magazine pieces on the weekend) and I am interested in some of these Atlantic articles you guys have mentioned (@MissJR, @seanrunnette). I also used to like Time and some of the pieces they had in there, years ago. So here is what I am hoping to find - podcasts that fill this same niche. I think in some sense, the Dan Carlin Hardcore History podcasts do that, but those are really long and don't come out very often.

I think I can look to NPR for some of that but I also want to hear more non-USA based stuff. For whatever reason, I find I read everything about Afghanistan and Iran. Maybe I should get a DNA test, and I'll find out I'm 3% Afghani.

Also, I'm not looking for news. The US news is bad enough. I don't need Italian news on top of that. And so on.

Rockit v2 came out today. @jShort - you asked how it went on the IG post yesterday. After making a firmer "spring" I tried it today on an easy Monday ride. This is not actually my Rockit, I made it for a secret admirer. I need a wider platform so I had to slap a wider piece of wood on top of this platform, and I did not clamp it down. I also did not really take much time to center it properly. Having said all that, I give the contraption a B so far. I'll get more into these details but wanted to give a quick recap of the first ride I did on it. I'll be putting together my own sometime soon enough.

One thing that was obvious right away wasn't the standing on it. But it becomes immediately apparent that by de-cementing the bike, you get a slight right-left motion with each pedal stroke that makes the ride feel far more natural. It still needs some tweaks so I want to work them out before I bore most of you with that full post.

Subaru dropped off this morning, and as @UtahJoe mentioned, they called with about 23,000 things that were wrong with it. Somehow we have 5 bulbs out and an oil pan that is rusting and causing global warming or some shit. I told her that no, we're just good with that license plate bulb being burnt out.

Black Panther

I don't know, I personally think it lives up to the hype in the sense that the African American community is celebrating it. So let me step back to BBP and ABP. Before Black Panther (BBP) I literally read 0 articles about it. I knew I was going to go see it so I didn't care. You don't need to convince me, I want to go. ABP I have been reading all of the articles I have come across and saved over the last week or so. I think reading them ABP is better, as it makes more sense and I have the context of the movie. But I think this is more than hype. Was it the best movie ever made? No, I am sure it's not. And it doesn't try to be. But I can fully appreciate what it represents for the black community. The article in the Magazine last week about the movie is solid, really on point.

On that note I think what we fail to understand is how everything is really centered on the white man in this country and as the #meToo movement moves forward, we are getting a sense of how disproportionate everything is - be it books, movies, music, and even last week Michelin-rated chefs. Everything is white man-based. And as a white man, I guess you really don't think much about it, because it was just always this way. But why is that? Actually, who cares why. How about, why does it have to be that way moving forward? I don’t think it needs to be.

I'm not here to expand upon that, I just likd the movie. After reading a bit more I will likely check out other movies by the same director. Unlike Roots in the 70's, which many in the black community saw as a potential catalyst for more of the same, I hope this opens up the flood gates for more of its kind.

Also of note, the best book I have read this year is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Obviously this is more on the Roots side of the spectrum than the Marvel Universe.

Just Saying

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution establishes the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the US. I'm just giving you the facts.
 
it takes time to change, er adapt.
art reflects life, not the other way around.

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Bill of Rights/Constitutional amendments.
Interesting you bring that up. Free speech and the gun thing was not written into the constitution, it was added in 15 yrs later.
 
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Not sure it fits the bill, but check out Malcolm Gladwells revisionist history.

At my restaurant we use Piece of Cake ice cream in Rahway, their Tahitian vanilla is worth buying in whatever size format they are willing to sell it in.

My Subaru’s lights go out seemingly every other month.
 
Norm said:
Subaru dropped off this morning, and as @UtahJoe mentioned, they called with about 23,000 things that were wrong with it. Somehow we have 5 bulbs out and an oil pan that is rusting and causing global warming or some shit. I told her that no, we're just good with that license plate bulb being burnt out.
Click to expand...

I just did two recalls on mine (airbag and brake line corrosion) and they did the same thing to me. They even sent me an itemized text message with $2400.00 worth of "service" they "wanted to provide", including "diagnosing" replacement of the PS pump o-ring I did myself two days earlier because I didn't bother to clean the puddle of excess fluid off of the top of the engine block. Also $129.95 because my heat shields rattle...just turn the music up, dawg.

Every interaction I've ever been forced to have with a Subaru service department has made me sad, but then I remind myself that the whole industry sucks regardless of brand. Plus, no one makes an actual station wagon that a regular human being can afford anymore, so there's also that. I live in fear of the day my 3rd gen Outback dies...
 
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