May 2007 Archives

Every once in a while I have a secret I can't reveal here. This is one of those days.

Nothing dreadful Just a little secret.

More on this next week, I hope.

I found a pair of very inexpensive earphones on EBay. I liked them because they full insert in your ear. We're talking about a purchase, from Hong Kong, that came to under $11 including shipping!

After a two week boat ride they arrive late last week. I unpacked them, saw they said "Shure" and plugged them in. Not terrible. Not great either.

I'm pretty sure they're not really Shure.

When I looked at the earphones, one other thing stood out. The right ear bud is connected by nearly three times the lead as the left.

They sound fine. They look weird.

I contacted the EBay seller, who will replace them. But, he wanted to see a photo. That's only fair.

This is near the top on the 'weirdosity' scale.

A few months ago my web traffic started to plunge. From about 1,500 page reads a day, I was down to 1,000. On some days, it was less.

I finally figured it out. My Google page rank has gone from a 5 to a 4. That means Google is much less likely to suggest visiting my site in response to certain keywords.

It's not like this is a business to me. Still, I'd like to see my traffic increase, not decrease.

What to do? I'm not totally sure. But, I will ask a favor as you read this. If you ever see a reason to link to my site, please do. That's true if you have your own site or even if you're posting to a public spot (though please, only link if my content is germane to what's being discussed). Links are good. Links are helpful.

Unfortunately, getting back to a "5" might take months, if I get back at all.

Among the geekier sites I visit on a daily basis is Digg. Most of its users are younger, smarter and more computer savvy than I am. Hanging out there is like being in the world's nerdiest club.

All of Digg's content is submitted by its users. Mainly you see links to other sites and attached comments from Digg users.

The site name comes from its modus operandi. An entry's popularity (and hence its position on the site) is decided by how many registered users "Digg" it.

Right now Digg's home page is a shambles. Digg's users are in the midst of a protest. The site has been rendered worthless.

What's going on maybe a harbinger of the anarchy ahead within Internet 'communities'.

It started this way. Someone cracked the digital rights management key that protects HD-DVDs. Though HD-DVDs were designed to change encryption schema under just such an occasion, this discovery is so deep within the process, it pretty much leaves these disks (the disk makers actually) defenseless.

Though worthless to me, having this little string of numbers will allow a skilled programmer to do anything he wants with these disks.

Digg's users, propeller heads that they are, posted the story and the magic number on the site. That in turn brought on a takedown letter from the attorney's representing the HD-DVD alliance (here's a similar one that went to Google).

What was Digg to do? Leaving the number up opened the site to legal action under the federal DMCA. On the other hand, once the secret was on the Internet, it was public knowledge. There's no way to protect the key anymore.

Digg acquiesced and its users went nuts!

Now, every story on Digg's home page contains the number! Some of the entries have the number hidden in plain site while others make no pretenses about what is being posted. Some of the posts are cleverly sophomoric. All are worthless to regular Digg users.

Digg's real content has been buried. That's what an online protest can do.

I have no idea how this will turn out - right now it's ugly.

Are there different rules for the Internet? Does information really yearn to be free? Can Digg's owners regain their website?

Right now at least, there are no answers.

Blogger's addendum: This is big enough that it's now made the front page at Drudge. On top of that, the Digg site seems to be down. This story has not ended.

Where does this all go? I'm clueless. However, that's a lot of chutzpah on Kevin Rose's part.

There are so many sites I see and say, "Yeah, that's it." Here's one! Here's a site with the potential to undercut television.

Obviously, I'm out of the target demo. You probably are too. Judge it for what it is.

* Episodes are incredibly short (even "TBS" has a better commercial/content ratio)
* Cast is astoundingly inexpensive. No names. No seasoning.
* Look at the crew list. This is done with a tiny fraction of a TV budget

Is anyone watching? I don't know. The threshold for profitability is low. It doesn't need the number of viewers a 'real' TV show gets.

Earlier this 'conventional' TV season, I wrote about big budget shows like Studio 60 and how we wouldn't be seeing them anymore. This is why.

Like it or hate it. This type of production is the future.

I'm curious if my daughter's seen this? Has she watched more than once?

Last week I wrote about, and posted pictures from, our weeping cherry tree. The blooms are nearly gone now. The tree is fine, but that colorful stage is so brief.

Other trees and bushes have taken its place.

I'll post photos from two right now. I know the yellow one is forsythia. As for the other... no clue. I do know they're both really pretty.

This is part of what makes springtime in Connecticut so amazing. Though short lived, the colors really stand out.

Meanwhile, while all of this is going on leaves on deciduous trees, like our oak trees, begin to unfurl (bottom photo). The leaves seem already full grown, so the transition from bare tree to full leaf coverage is very quick.

With the passing of Wally Schirra, there are only two of NASA's original astronauts left. If you watch TV and they call him Walter in the obituary, you can bet the person saying it isn't old enough to remember.

Wally Schirra trained to go to space before anyone knew if it could be safely done. And after he went once he did it again and again.

When I first heard of his death, instead of flashing back to Mercury, Gemini or Apollo, I remembered Actifed. Wally Schirra was the first astronaut to 'shill' for a product - appearing in commercials for that cold relief medicine.

Of course, that's preserved on youtube. What isn't?

Schirra was a "Right Stuff" kinda' guy, cool enough to fall asleep in the van on the way to the launch pad! I'm not sure if NASA even looks for that kind of astronaut anymore?

Interestingly, it was a surprise Schirra got after landing that is used as proof that Gus Grissom didn't 'blow' his Mercury capsule's hatch, allowing it to sink. Grissom was accused of panicking while waiting to get out - not a good reputation for a spaceman. It's an ugly story that's haunted Grissom's legacy even after his tragic death in the Apollo 1 accident.

Upon slashdown, Schirra's Mercury capsule was hauled up on the deck of the U.S.S. Kearsarge. When he blew open the hatch, the recoil from the switch was enough to leave a nasty bruise. Grissom had no bruise. Proof positive the hatch malfunctioned!

My parents are still watching standard definition TV, even after a visit from a Comcast installer. It's frustrating enough to require an email from me to Comcast's corner office.

I'll let you know if anyone responds.

Blogger's note - Comcast to the rescue. Here's the follow-up.

Where I grew up, wildlife was primarily pigeons and rats. Our building didn't allow dogs (though some were kept anyway). That's why I don't know what this bird is, though judging by the dead tree he's defiles, I'm guessing woodpecker.

He was around 20-30 feet up when I took these shots. Though catlike in my moves, he finally had enough of my picture taking and flew away.

I'll hand it to Comcast for very good customer service.

My father said he received a phone call, an apology and a service technician came out and fixed his problem. This is the way a company should react to a troubled customer.

Now, like everyone else who gets HDTV, he's watching Discovery Channel 24/7!

Frank, the landscaper, came by last week to reseed parts of our lawn. Much of what sits over our septic system never recovered when the system failed and was rebuilt a few years ago.

Talk about a foreign subject to a city boy: we now have a septic system that could handle the prune growers convention! Trust me - when you store poop under your front yard, you don't want the system to fail¹!

We also have a sprinkler system (our 285 foot deep well doesn't seem to mind supplying the water), which was off for the winter. In order to get the lawn going, I needed it on. I phoned the irrigation service company.

Their recording says, "wait." I couldn't.

I left a message saying I was going to do it myself. Amazingly, they came the next day, before I could throw the switch. Oh... they also found a sprinkler head that needed replacement (as they ALWAYS do).

Though the grass is lacking, the color show associated with our flowering trees continues. On our east property line are a few peach and apple trees. As with the others, these came to us in the back seat of my car.

In sixteen years I've eaten three peaches and never seen a real apple. I don't spray - it really is my own fault. I still like having the trees.

Each of the flowering buds I've posted in the last week lives a very brief life. Within a few weeks, the most brilliantly colored blooms in our front yard will turn lush and green and fade in with their surroundings.

Right now, I'm enjoying the show.

¹ - Though not terribly unusual in Connecticut, our sixteen year old house has well water, a septic system and uses oil heat (delivered by one of frequent commenter Woody's trucks). There are no sidewalks on our street of eight homes.

He was talking about a split of Microsoft's web and non-based web assets, but it really doesn't matter. This quote from John Paczkowski is an instant classic!

A few weeks ago I wrote about our desire for a new car. We have it now, a brand new Toyota 4Runner.

A few readers were kind enough to offer advice, including Jim McGuire who wrote about FightingChance.com. It's a service, providing 'real' prices and a buying strategy.

The strategy didn't work exactly as anticipated. We faxed over 20 dealers and heard back from five or six.

That being said, we had enough info to get what we consider a pretty good deal at thousands off the sticker price and 0% financing. Plus, we got exactly the car we wanted.

I was going to write about it sooner, but I wanted the car to be a surprise when we visited Stef earlier today. School will be over in a few weeks and we drove to her dorm to pick up a few things including the back seats from her smaller SUV.

We headed out at 10:45 AM hitting little traffic through Connecticut and into New York. As we pulled onto campus, I called Stef so she would meet as at her car.

And then it happened.

About twenty seconds from our destination... a few hundred yards away at best... a large bird with a bad stomach decided to let loose. Oh the humanity! A white bomb exploded across the hood, splattering onto the window.

The car only had about 350 miles on the odometer. I am now personally committed to putting him on the endangered species list. How could this fowl be so foul?

Steffie and a friend showed up, ready for seat removal and lunch. Lunch would have to wait. We were heading to the car wash. It was a little dusty anyway.

Speaking of lunch - we headed to the Cheesecake Factory. I am currently doing "Atkins,' so food is always a challenge. I had a shrimp and crab salad which was as good as it was oversized.

I wans't going to have dessert until I saw "6 Carb Cheesecake." Is that even possible? And, if it was, what would the cheesecake taste like?

I was amazed when a real sized piece of cheesecake came to the table. Sweetened with Splenda and not sugar, it was sweet and tasty with real cheesecake texture and taste. I liked it enough to buy a full cake to bring home!

And, the car is clean.

Ken Melech just left the house. He's a photographer at the station, someone I've known over 20 years.

With no cell service in my neighborhood, he stopped by to use the phone.

He's up here because of a bear sighting. Really. No joke. It's been seen in the vicinity of the elementary school Steffie attended.

So far there's no video and I've certainly got no still photos, but it's a pretty curious situation. Who would have thought I live in bear country?

Helaine went away this morning. It's her annual pilgrimage to Milwaukee. I was groggy as she left, but I think I said goodbye. At least that's what I remember.

I was up early (for me) as Gil (one of my fellow meteorologists from work) was coming over. Gil, US Marine that he is, said he'd help me get started with some physical exercise.

We walked through the neighborhood, up streets and back. We cut through one yard (past a yelping dog) to visit a nearby pond. I'm sure it's a private pond and we only reached it by cutting across private property. There was no one to ask for permission.

It was only walking, but it was a reasonably long stretch and I felt pretty good when it was over. I'd like to keep it up.

Maybe Steffie will play one-on-one basketball with me this summer?

At the moment, I'm pretty happy with my dieting progress. We changed scales midstream, but I'm guessing at least ten pounds down so far. Physical exercise shouldn't cause you to lose weight, though most people think it does.

It would be nice to be fit. I can't remember the last time I really was. If I can only keep this up.

"The Cable Show," an industry trade show for cable TV is underway in Las Vegas. To a certain extent, I'm surprised this show still exists. There aren't that many CATV companies left.

This is huge news. Speed is capacity and no one ever has enough capacity - think closets in your home.

It is easy to think faster cable modems mean getting web pages and videos faster. And, of course that's true.

More importantly, higher bandwidth changes what a data service can provide. I can't imagine all the possible applications, but this certainly brings us closer to an environment where everything is on demand. For instance, higher bandwidth could allow all video (TV shows, newscasts, movies, sports, etc) to be individually fed.

Since Verizon is already rolling out its FIOS service, with high speed data directly to the home via fiber optic lines, this cable achievement assures some level of ongoing competition.

My fear continues to be cable and phone companies favoring their own (more profitable) products when it comes to transmission speed to the home. It's the whole concept of network neutrality. But even that becomes less of a factor when there's a broader pipe.

¹ - I own a small position in Comcast as part of my retirement plan.

Big headline on the top of the Drudgereport tonight.

OMG! Better prepare. Cold drinks. Shorts. Double check the air conditioner.

Are they serious? The 2080s? I just had to revise my low temperature forecast for tonight and I only prepared it six hours ago!
Give me strength.

There's a story about a man who's out-of-shape. He goes to his doctor, who recommends running.

"Run three miles a day, and call me back in a week," the doctor says.

So, the man does and at the end of the week, he picks up the phone and calls the doctor.

"How are you doing," asks the doc?

"Great - but I'm 21 miles from home!"

It is that sense of futility that I take into my new found desire to be a little more fit. My diet is now close to a month old. The easy pounds came off first and my clothes fit a lot better. The loss has slowed down.

I'm still a middle aged guy and everything that implies. I look like someone who leads a well catered, sedentary life.

A few days ago my co-worker Gil (the Marine) came by. We took a nice brisk walk. This was charity on Gil's part (Unless... maybe he's trying to kill me? Hmmmm) because he could surely do what we did walking on his hands. As I've been told - you never stop being a Marine.

There was a sense of accomplishment in that walk, so today I set out to pick up the pace. It's been a long time since I ran. It was something I never did well.

Those who've seen me walk know I do it with an odd gait, my toes hitting the ground long before my heels.

I immediately felt the additional weight my body has put on over the years. It was totally obvious as my feet hit the pavement. All these years and that memory was strong.

I made it to the end of my street and turned up a small incline (I'd never noticed it was an incline before). I was huffing and puffing.

Our neighborhood is quiet in the early afternoon. I slowed down. I didn't want to collapse and then wait hours for the corpse to be found.

Sweat was beading on my forehead. My shirt had a dark spot where it clung to my perspiring chest. I slowed to a walk, my hands on my hips in that 'futile runner' position you see elite athletes assume right after they finish the marathon.

Damn you elite runners!

I continued along my route, alternating between running and walking. I didn't stop. I pressed forward.

At one point I got behind our mailman's truck. Every time I'd approach, Rudy would flick the ignition, shift into gear and rumble ahead. I was now living the life of a spaniel.

It wasn't until Rudy delivered a package (positioning his wheel chock behind the read tire, on a flat piece of pavement¹) that I passed him. Would he notice me as I moved silently along the left side of his van, or would he just pull out and - thwack?

A good mailman wouldn't do that. Too much paperwork!

Meanwhile, I was feeling closer-and-closer to death. Luckily, I made it home where a fresh bottle of very cold water (and two aspirin) waited.

By writing about this very simple first step, I'm hoping to guilt myself into continuing. Exercise is good I guess... well, except for Jim Fixx. It's just so damned inconvenient. Everything else is more fun. Everything!

¹ - The Post Office mandates this 'wheel chock behind the tire - 100%' policy so we can continue to make them the world's easiest target for inefficiency.

I've been busy in my own world this afternoon, looking at the thunderstorms off to our west. I think they'll stay away.

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, Helaine's in Milwaukee, waiting for some friends to arrive from the New York area. I suppose their pilot has also been looking at the thunderstorms.

As is the 21st Century way, Helaine monitored the flight online. The information this afternoon has been less than complete. There were delays, but they were indefinite. Little solid info has been posted. I imagine it wasn't much better in the airport.

A few minutes ago, we spoke again. This time I had a better chance to look at the flight she's following and was amazed at what I saw.

If you look closely at the flight path, you'll see the plane left LaGuardia and then made a few circles over the New York area. I'm guessing this was to sequence flights from the four¹ big New York area airports for their indirect trip south of the thunderstorms and out to the west.

I'm surprised the flight took off without real clearance to actually be on its way. Circling is something I didn't think planes did much anymore. It's really wasteful. And even when planes must circle, you'd think it would be limited to just before landing, not just after taking off.

My Bluetooth earpiece broke yesterday. I'm attached to that thing, though I'm told it looks like I'm wearing a penis on my ear. Alas, the problem was not crazy gluable.

I found a good price on a recommended Plantronics model from NewEgg in California, a company I've bought from before and with a good rep in the business. I requested next day delivery.

It wasn't until after I paid that I saw you could pay extra and get 'rush service.' Isn't that implied when you pay for next day delivery? I hadn't paid the extra amount, so I wrote to NewEgg.

Before you read the response, a question. Have you ever been standing in the TSA screening line at the airport and had someone ask if they could get ahead. It's implied they need to get ahead, and I've never said no. Who would?

Of course Scott's right... and he's wrong. At the very least he should have asked someone there how long it might take, because my order did ship last night in spite of his protestations and my failure to pony up for rush service! It's on the truck from North Haven, heading to my house as I type.

What I end up with is the worst of all world's for NewEgg. I get what I wanted and I'm still upset with them!

I will likely continue to be a customer. Scott was probably operating within company policy. However, in my opinion he did the wrong thing because he did nothing.

I'm guessing if I ran into Mr. or Ms. NewEgg... someone with a stake in the company, they'd say the same thing.

One night a few years ago, on my way home for dinner, my lip began to swell. By the time I drove into the garage I looked like Homer Simpson. My upper lip was swollen to the size of my thumb. With my mouth closed, my upper lip covered my lower lip.

For the next few weeks my lips, fingers and toes would swell and then return to normal size for no apparent reason. The soles of my feet and my palms would itch and then, again for no apparent reason, stop itching.

I can't be 100% sure, but sometimes my windpipe felt like it was restricted.

I spoke to my family physician who sent me to a specialist - an allergist. This guy was good. He said, we can find what's causing it, or we can fix it. I chose the latter.

Since that time I've taken a little antihistamine pill every day. It's worked. Until the last few weeks.

Once again my lip has started swelling. There's no itching. There's no finger or toe swelling. It's just the lip.

Is this the same thing?

I upped the dose of antihistamine, taking two at once (and making myself very sleepy). So far, it has not stopped the swelling.

I've noticed this seems to happen at night, when I'm home. By that time I'm nearly 24 hours into the medication. Is it wearing out prematurely?

Recently, I've been eating some blackberries at night. I wonder if that's what's causing my trouble? It's only a guess.

In the meantime, if they're making a live action Simpsons feature, I'm your boy!

Dan Peterman, our copter pilot at work, always asks when I'll be flying with him in his little Cessna? Today was the day.

His plane is nearly as old, and in better shape, than me!

Though his Cessna 'lives' at Chester Airport, Dan was out and about, so he picked me up at Robinson Aviation, on the East Haven side of Tweed - New Haven Airport.

Heading directly into 15 knots of wind, it only took a few hundred feet to lift off Runway 14. Dan's plane, a tail dragger, first points skyward, then levels, then takes off. It's a little odd.

It was a little bumpy today, but not too bad. We headed down the shoreline, up to Chester then to the two casinos. Turning south, we flew over the subs at Groton and then back to Tweed.

I had a little stick time. In many ways it's like learning to drive a car. I held the wheel too tightly and attempted to correct for every bump - as a new driver would.

I've been talking about learning to fly. Maybe it's time? The FAA has eased restrictions with the new sport pilot license... though I'm not sure if there are training facilities with the right equipment near me.

Here's a shortened version of our little journey.

Note: You might have to click on the video player twice before it starts. I'm sure everyone at Microsoft has a good laugh over that.

As long as I had the video camera out yesterday, I thought I'd stop at my favorite spot. Only a few hundred yards from where I live, the road crosses over a small brook - Jepps Brook.

This tiny stream flows year round, though it gets very weak in the summer. Even though It is incredibly quick to respond to rain, I've never seen it out of its banks threatening anyone. In that sense, it's a good neighbor.

It flows through backyards in the 'burbs now, though that wasn't always the case. A mill house at the end of a small pond is now a residence. A spillway father down stream was probably once used for power as well.

If there's a story behind the name "Jepps", it's well hidden. The only mention of Jepps Brook on Google comes from me. And I only know about the name because a few maps include it. It is close to being geographically anonymous.

I have driven by this spot every day for sixteen years. Most days I stop. It's a view I'll never tire of. It is the antithesis of where I grew up.

Here's about thirty seconds of Jepps Brook. Wish you were here.

Blogger's addendum:

May 10, 2008, I received this addition for this entry from Walt Harris. Walt's family goes way back in Hamden.

Geoff,

Regarding the mystery surrounding the name Jepps Brook (your blog entry "My Favorite Spot", May 13, 2007): The name Jepps stems from the nickname of Judson Warner, an early 19th century owner of the land surrounding Jepps Pond.

According to my grandfather, B.M. Harris, in Some Early Mills of Hamden, read to the Hamden Historical Society in 1936, "it was Justus Warner's nickname of Jep that was given to the four-acre pond that was used for storage water between the Bradley and Chatterton mills." (Handwritten edits change "Jeff" to "Jep", and "farm" to "pond".)

The Chatteron mill, the house shown at the beginning of your video, was owned by my grandparents and is now owned by the Cavanaughs I believe (Yes - GF). The Bradley mill location is at the intersection of Still Hill Road (the mill was a distillery) and River Road, and is now under study by state archaeologists.

Regards,
Walt Harris

I spoke to Helaine this morning. She was due back in Connecticut this evening around 6:30... until Midwest called. Mechanical problems, they said. Flight canceled.

The skeptic in me still looked to see the 'equipment' with the mechcanical problems will be flying passengers into Milwaukee before being pulled. I am always suspicious with airlines. Can I cancel my reservation for mechanical problems and suffer no consequences?

Helaine is much more gracious than I am, even when the reservations agent asked if she could fly to Newark (101 miles) or Washington (318 miles) instead of Bradley... where her car is?

Helaine explained the situation, so they booked her Midwest to Cleveland and Continental to Bradley. Neither the Midwest nor Continental flights are actually operated by those actual airlines. Again, can I fly under an assumed name without consequence?

With no Helaine, I have been left to my own devices. The pre-cooked food she left ran out last night. I have become needy with age, but even I can go to the grocery store - and I did.

Exactly who goes to Stop and Shop on Mother's Day? I can't say for sure, but it was jammed. I picked up my "Little Red Riding Hood" basket at the door and headed inside.

The losers were lined up in front of the Mother's Day cards. Yikes! 2:00 PM on Mother's Day and they still didn't have a card? I joined them and began to search. I had already gotten Helaine a gift, so the card is more like icing.

Who am I fooling? It's the card that's important and the (in this case) peripheral that's peripheral.

After picking up the cards and food I wanted, I moved over to the Dunkin' Donuts stand. The girl behind the counter was scratching her arm as if she had psoriasis. Nice. Hope that rash clears. Thanks for sharing.

In a George Bush Sr. moment, I watched the guy in front me use a debit card to pay $1.80 for coffee and marveled. I have a credit card (only one) and no debit card. I'm so last century.

I pushed a $10 bill at "Itchy," who handed me change and a receipt.

Do we really need receipts for coffee? Is someone going to return their coffee with cream and one Splenda?

At the automated checkout, I realized I don't have a Stop and Shop card. Without it, everything is priced as if I were buying on Rodeo Drive.

I asked the guy in front of me if he would swipe his on my behalf. "No worries," he said.

I'm home now. Helaine just called to update her progress. She hasn't moved through security yet, but she's confirmed on both flights. In a quirk of interairline weirdness, she's got a handwritten paper ticket and no boarding pass on the Cleveland to Bradley leg!

Oh... and Midwest Airlines gave her a $75 flight voucher and another $8 for food. It's little consolation, but as with everything on Mother's Day, it's the thought that counts.

Helaine is home. Her connecting flights connected. Her interline luggage transfer transferred.

Earlier, I mentioned the paper ticket Midwest Airlines issued in Milwaukee for the connecting Continental flight. Though confirmed, it came without a boarding pass. That was quickly taken care of at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport.

The Continental agent took a piece of partially used blue paper, ripped off the corner, scribbled two numbers and a letter and handed it to Helaine. That's her boarding pass on the left!

Helaine asked the podium agent if it really would be OK? She replied she'd tell the gate agent that very moment... which she did.

Helaine boarded the plane with no problem.

With Helaine in transit, I stepped up my stalkerazzi methods. Not only did I watch the plane on FlightAware, I listened to the ATC chatter as her plane cleared Boston Center and entered Bradley airspace.

Obviously, I am a sad and lonely little man.

While waiting for Helaine's plane to get closer, I heard one inbound jet call the Bradley tower with a question... if the controller had time. Honest, I'm not making this up.

No more than 10 miles out, in that stowed tray table and fully upright seat portion of the flight, "Captain Shouldn't I. B. Busy" asked about a building with a dome he saw on top of a ridge line. I've posted a photo of what he saw on the left.

As he flew a few miles closer each minute, the tower gave him the story behind the Heublein Tower on Talcott Mountain in Avon and the Heublein Family. The captain said he'd pass it along and then added, "But no one will believe it."

I didn't.

Helaine and I went running yesterday. Gil came by and we ran again today.

Compared to people who consider themselves runners, our distance is quite small. For us, it's still an accomplishment.

As we left our street and made a left up a slight incline, I realized I was feeling stronger today than I had before. My first pause, as my lungs tried to catch up with the rest of my body, came much farther up the road than it had before.

I felt pride in that accomplishment.

We added a few hundred yards to the run today, looping up a stub of a road before heading back down a long, common driveway surrounded by tall trees.

Gil, of course, took this like the Marine he is. I'm not sure he worked up a sweat. Helaine and I struggled, but finished.

"Water," Gil said. I needed to drink and drink a lot.

He keeps telling me if I run, I'll start using notches farther down my belt. That would be nice.

He also says I should run in the New Haven Road Race 5K (3 mile) on Labor Day. I'm not sure if I could run a 1/2 mile race today without stopping, so this is a great leap... but September's a long way away.

What kind of race starts at 8:40 AM? Are they kidding? That's the middle of the night (for me).

Right now the weather's perfect and my aches and pains are few. I have incentive to continue. We'll see how I fare with time.

Am I disciplined enough to continue once the summer takes hold and my gains are not as rapidly achieved? That's my internal question.

I was standing in front of camera one, ready to record something at the chromakey, when Renee (our floor director) looked at me and said my suit was looking a little big on me.

Sweet!

Jerry Falwell passed away today. This is not the news. I'm not going to neatly summarize his life.

On the other hand, one truth was revealed with his death which struck me as very odd. Just in case you haven't seen it already, I'll repeat it here.

Back in the early 80s, Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine published a satirical story about Falwell's first sexual experience. It was crude. No, it was beyond crude. It was disgusting.

Something disgusting coming from Larry Flynt should be no surprise. It's pretty much his stock in trade.

It was also protected speech. Though Jerry Falwell was obviously upset and probably hurt by what was written, the words Flynt published were beyond his control.

After a battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court, Larry Flynt and Hustler won, Fallwell lost.

It's that history between Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt that made today's comments by Flynt so tantalizing. How would Larry Flynt eulogize Jerry Falwell?

That's just one of the weirdest match-ups ever. Who brought them together? Who could have thought, after all that vitriol, they would be civil? What were their first words to each other?

What will stick with me is Flynt's closing... the acknowledgment they both were selling something. It's weird beyond words.

Tornado Watch in effect. Only a second to type.

These get my blood flowing.

Got to remember to keep it in perspective. Can't unduly scare. These thoughts constantly in my mind.

I keep hearing the words of my Radar Meteorology professor who reminded us to not zoom in too long.

The ability to examine the storm in detail is alluring. You just don't want to loose sight of the big picture. That's among the most valuable weather advice I've ever gotten.

I hope this watch produces no storms. Unfortunately, it probably will.

I'm never happy to be right about severe weather. The storms came yesterday afternoon under that ominous "Tornado Watch."

Let me pause for a moment. A little tangent.

The Weather Service has watches and warnings and advisories. There are too many descriptions for too many different events. It is confusing to the public, in spite of the fact the whole idea is to inform the public.

Last night, by storm's end, over 50,000 customers were without power. That's a misleading number, because of home (one customer) might contain four or five or more people. There were tree down all over the place.

I started getting emails with tornado claims. There's really no way to tell unless you're in a Kansas type situation where the tornado is 'in the clear' and easily seen. We don't get that here.

Early in the afternoon, as I'd gotten ready to go on for a quick live report, our director had pointed to an image on one of our remote cameras. It looked like a funnel.

I quickly made the decision not to mention that. I couldn't be sure what it was from our distant camera shot and it wasn't reaching down toward the ground.

More importantly, I thought the verbal warnings and instructions I was giving would have been proper in a tornado and there was no reason to cause panic.

Should I have mentioned the funnel? Based on what I knew then, I still think I made the right decision.

Now I have more information.

That photo on the left came via email from someone name Ted in Milford. Though I'd normally enhance a shot like this to bring out the contrast, this is 'as is.' It looks like it was shot through a window, hence the reflection of a fluorescent light fixture on the right.

All the experts who've seen it say it's a funnel cloud. A tornado is a funnel cloud that reaches toward the ground. This was close and could have grown to be one.

After a day like yesterday, I usually look back to think about what I did and said. I wasn't perfectly smooth - but who ever is? I think my info was good and appropriate and I respected the fact that every time I came on, I was interrupting someone's viewing.

My job is to prepare the viewers, not panic them.

I went to do something on my laptop with Windows Vista last night and got shot down. This is starting to upset me.

It was a simple thing. I have a Bluetooth headset. I wanted to be able to use it with Skype or the 'dictation' feature of the operating system. I bought a cheap Bluetooth USB dongle¹ and plugged it in. With shipping we're talking $13, so this wasn't a major investment.

In Windows XP, it would have worked flawlessly. In Vista, the driver installation failed. And, there is no other Vista driver for my device without paying more than the dongle itself cost!

This follows on the heels of my discovery either Dell or Microsoft turned off the ability to record directly from a WAV file or internal computer line input. Best example would be recording audio from a TV show I was watching on my laptop.

Again, in XP, this was built in and robust. Now, it's gone.

When I read other comments about either of these two problems all I see is frustration from others. I guess that's the WOW factor Microsoft was talking about.

¹ - Hey, I don't name this stuff.

Finals ended yesterday. Steffie is back in Connecticut.

I wasn't here for her arrival, but I'm told it was very much like clowns getting out the car at the circus. In Steffie's case, substitute clothes for clowns.

Let the laundry begin.

It was actually nice to have her around and awake when I came home from work. We had a good conversation before I went to the family room and she went to bed.

I suppose in some ways it's sad for her. In school all your friends, all your activities, are right at hand. Here, it's just Helaine and me. All her contemporaries are a car drive away - at best.

Tonight, mother and daughter drive to Rhode Island (and back) in the rain. Sometime next week Stef will probably start working at the mall (where she worked last summer).

She says she wants to join Helaine and me in our running regimen. That would be very nice, though she is undoubtedly in better shape than her parents. It would be cool if the three of us were ready for the New Haven Road Race in September.

It will not be perfect. Stef will be facing 'parental guidance' not seen in the dorm. But, there's a lot more we agree, than disagree on.

I'm looking forward to this summer.

I have a Tuesday appointment to see my allergist. He is truly 'the man.' A teaching professional and respected researcher, he heads the department at a prestigious hospital.

I hope he can help, because my swelling lip is driving me crazy!

This problem first manifested itself four or five years ago. For no apparent reason, my upper lip swelled to the size of a finger! The skin was pulled taut. I was in no pain, but I looked pretty scary.

For the next few months my lip, toes and fingers would swell and then return to normal. I never knew what would happen and when. As an added bonus, my palms and the soles of my feet would intermittently itch.

Antihistamines made my problems disappear... until a few weeks ago. Out of the blue, my swelling returned. This time it's limited to my lips. And, again, though there's no pain, it's very disconcerting. Antihistamines are no longer helping.

As I type this, my upper lip looks like it's been stung by a bee.

The last time, fixing me was easy. That cure no longer works. Though apprehensive, I'm hopeful about Tuesday.

I store most of my photos on my site, but increasingly I go to Picasaweb because it's so damned easy. Now they've added a slideshow feature.

Even though I've displayed these shots individually, I'm reposting them to see how this thing works.

Helaine and Stef got home around 3:00 AM. It was the first time I'd talked in three hours. I opened my mouth and a froggy voice escaped. Uh oh. Swollen lip and laryngitis! I'm guessing they're related.

When I woke up this morning there was no change. Only now is the swelling beginning to subside and my voice returning. It's all very troubling.

I've decided my running schedule will be three on, two off. Today was the return to running day. It's raw outside, which is pretty decent weather for exertion.

Helaine and I did about fifteen minutes around the neighborhood. The best news is, my starting sprint was again longer than the previous time. The run was still exhausting and there were plenty of hands on hips moments, but if my stamina is increasing, I'm meeting my goals.

About 2/3 of the way through I started to feel my first running related injury. Just above my ankle there's tightness. I don't want to say pain, it's not at that level, but I can feel something I don't normally feel.

There's a long way to go. I'm still way out of shape. Helaine reminds me I can't undo all these years of sitting in one fell swoop.

Progress is being made.

At 6:00 AM, I'm usually asleep, especially on Sunday.

"Something's beeping." The voice was Helaine's, next to me in bed.

As the alpha male in our family, I respond to all noises. If pirates are in the kitchen, or Martins have moved into the attic, it's my responsibility. I also kill and dispose of all insects and other critters.

Mostly asleep, I walked over to the panel for our alarm system. I punched in the code, only to have it respond with a different beeping.

"The power's out," Helaine said.

The alarm was beeping because it was unhappily drawing on its battery. It's a safety feature to keep a burglar from just snipping a few wires and walking in.

I silenced the alarm and we went back to bed. It was deadly quiet. It's surprising just how much noise the little things around us make 24/7.

Power returned around 7:30. Truthfully, I would know of neither event had it not been for Helaine. I can pretty much sleep through anything. She specifically asked me to include the fact she needed to shake me to get up!

She needed to shake me to get up!

There wasn't much more sleep in store for me because I had been asked to appear at a charity walk beginning at 9:30. I can't do every one I'm asked to do, but I feel an obligation to do charity appearances.

This is a personal decision. I know some people on radio or TV who do more and others who do less.

Today it was a walk for Spinal Muscular Atrophy at Brooksvale Park in Hamden.

Don't feel left out, I didn't know what it was either. It's a terrible disease that affects a few handfuls of families in Connecticut. It would affect more, but the lifespan of an SMA child is short.

As it turns out, I think (when we first moved into this house) we had a neighbor with SMA. I recognize the symptoms, but didn't know the name.

He was a sweet little boy, profoundly handicapped, who went to sleep one night and just died. Excruciatingly sad.

Walks like today's are fun, not sad, events. The kids affected are living the only life they know and they're enjoying life as any kid enjoys life. To a certain extent, technology has made a huge difference in their everyday lives, though the long range outcome is still very bleak.

There was one young girl, Emma, tooling around in a sophisticated, rugged, little motorized wheelchair. I commented to her mom, it looked like the chair had become part of her.

Emma knows the extent of her physical footprint just the way you know yours. It's just hers is a lot larger.

Maybe it's become too much of a throwaway line for me, but it's true. When I do one of these, I get more out of it than they do.

I spoke with Steve, my doctor, this evening. It was a very small part of the conversation. Peripheral if you will. Still, I got to say three words about myself I'd never said before.

"Sports related injury."

My left upper ankle, sore yesterday, is more sore today. I haven't run since Friday. I'm not sure I can run Monday. It's all very troubling.

I'm really motivated to get in shape. I wish my body understood.

Former Vice President Al Gore is on the stump, promoting his new book, "Assault on Reason." One of his points, something I agree with¹, is the marginalization of elections, treating them like horse races or beauty contests.

Here's what TVNewser wrote about Gore's appearance on Good Morning America.

When I first wrote about this back in Janurary, I quoted Ann Coulter. Now Al Gore. Could there be stranger bedfellows? Yet they're on the same page here.

Looking at polls, statistics and Al Gore's weight are simple - but that's not reporting. That's not news. It's really 'newsroom helper'... a way to fill more space with less product. And, it's a disservice to all of us.

No matter what the election, our decisions are important. There are matters of taxes, the environment, even war and peace.

The horse race element just takes our attention off the real issues and makes the whole thing superficial. It does us all a disservice.

¹ - As you probably know, Al and I part company on An Inconvenient Truth.

If you're a steady reader of my blog¹, you know I've been having trouble recently with my lips swelling. For no reason they go from 'normal' to Homer Simpson sized. Sometimes it's the top lip. Sometimes it's the bottom lip. Both corners have swelled up a different times as well.

It's not painful, but it is troubling - and unsightly.

I went and saw my allergist today. He's a really nice guy. I enjoy spending time with him. But, I think we both agree, I probably stumbled upon the cause before I got there. It's ricotta cheese!

Really.

But Geoff, you might say, haven't you eaten ricotta cheese all your life? Yes... except I'm on the Atkins Diet now. Ricotta cheese makes a great, Atkins friendly, dessert. I was eating half a coffee cup of ricotta cheese every single day - sometimes even more. That's a lot more ricotta than I'd ever eaten over any extended period of time.

With enough time and quantity, any small resistance I had broke down. Even the antihistamine pills I take were no match for the power of cheese (sorry, I had to).

When Helaine made this startling discovery, I stopped eating the cheese. I haven't swelled since. Isn't that weird?

I asked the doctor if it's possible to be allergic to ricotta cheese, but I knew the answer. You can be allergic to nearly anything.

So, it's back to the drawing board for an Atkins friendly dessert.

You know, with a teaspoon of Splenda, ricotta cheese makes a great dessert... though not for me.

¹ - You've really got to get a life.

I just called Steve's office to make an appointment. It's that damned leg!

Running was going so well, until I felt something during a running session. I got back home and experience a little discomfort. Unfortunately, day-by-day the pain has gotten worse.

It's been at least a week since I ran. When I walk, I hobble. It's even painful while I'm sleeping.

The leg doesn't look swollen. It's puzzling.

I'm still dieting and losing weight, but I wanted to run in the Labor Day race. This might be more than a setback than just pushing my schedule back. This might be the end of my running career... after all of a week of training.

There's always my bike.

Blogger's Addendum: After I 'published' this entry, I received a call from Dr. Steve (actually, I only heard the voicemail). He told me he found out I was seeing him because he read about it here. Only after that did he get official notification!

My leg/ankle is still killing me. I can walk on it and don't wince in pain, but I am limping and the discomfort has woken me in the middle of the night.

I went to see Steve today. Sock off, pant leg rolled up, on the table... he looked every bit a doctor as he examined me.

He saw enough to send me off for an X-ray. The Temple Medical Center is only a few blocks away.

Though Steve is an 'old school' sole practitioner, once you leave his office the medical profession becomes the medical industry. As a patient in this system, you're a tree on your way to becoming a box of toothpicks.

Unless you're 'in the system' on a regular basis, it's easy to lose track of how big 'organized medicine' is. I parked at the Temple Street Garage and walked the sky bridge to the medical center's building. After an elevator trip to the ground floor, I walked across a connecting lobby, then up another elevator to the radiology practice.

The waiting room is massive with magazines everywhere and a glass wall behind which the office staff sits. Because my stats are on file for Yale, they are on file here.

A nice woman behind the glass put a hospital bracelet on my left wrist. I went back and sat down to wait my turn.

Before I go on, let me say it's good to be Geoff in New Haven. When people know you, and are nice to you, it makes an otherwise pedestrian experience enjoyable.

Today, people could not have been nicer. That's not lost on me. I am grateful for their attention. I cannot understand the attitude of today's big celebs who forget to be gracious and nice.

I was ushered through a door and into the inner sanctum of medicine. We were deep enough in the building for my cell phone to lose service. There were windowless halls leading to windowless rooms.

I ended up in an X-ray room (I'm sure there's a proper technical term). Shoes and socks off again, I stretched out on a slab while my foot had a target projected onto it.

The technician threw a lead shield over my private parts! I suppose it's some sort of historical site worthy of continued protection.

Bzzzz.

After three X-rays (now digital, thank you), I put my sock on, only to be requested to take another. No sweat.

A nice guy named John showed me my shots. A foot is crazy with bones. It's tough to imagine how complex that part of your body is. He could see my tissue was swollen. There were no breaks!

So, now it's on to physical therapy. I have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

Whatever bruise, tear and pull I have needs help to heal. And, I have to ask them to figure out exactly what I need to do to start exercising again.

I don't want to lose my motivation. On the other hand, I also don't want to limp.

Last night, looking for something on Youtube, I stumbled upon "Pen Spinning."

Crazy!

Take a look and let me know what you think. This is the first I've heard of it.

Spring is my favorite time of year. It's coming to a close.

Too short! Spring is always too short.

I think we're seeing the last of the real spring color in our yard. The snowballs are in bloom. So are the flowers on the rhododendron bushes.

When we moved in and planted, sixteen years ago, some of these rhododendron were knee high. Not any more. The ones against our back deck are at least seven feet tall.

I've been running the sprinklers six days a week (not the night before the lawn gets cut). Our lawn is in he best shape it's been in a few years... and getting better. This might not sound like a big deal to you - humor me.

Meanwhile, these photos probably comprise my last look at spring color 2007