tubbylobster

tough mudder

Sat, 26 May 2012 16:46:14 -0500

despite my reservations, tough mudder ended up being a blast. team “Landscape Architects Do It Best In The Mud” managed to complete the whole course as a team, even with a couple of hobbled runners. and since that was the whole purpose of the event (it’s not a race, and there’s no timer), i’d consider it a great success!

for the most part tm was “just” a rather grueling 11-mile trail run over lots of hills and rough terrain, with about two dozen individual- and team-based obstacles set up along the way. most of these involved crawling or slogging through mud and climbing cargo nets or walls, with some monkey bars and swinging rings thrown in for good measure. i managed to make it through all of them except the monkey bars, somehow even surviving the balance beam. i think my favorite obstacles were the “mud mile” and “mt. everest”, but i really could have done without the live wires on a few of the other obstacles. the official pictures for the race are located here — they are pretty entertaining to look through =)

i’d do it again, and would highly recommend it to anyone who can survive a ~12 mile trail run. despite the tough language on their website (and the 4-page death waiver you sign prior to running it), it’s definitely manageable for anyone in decent shape, and the team-building aspect is a nice change compared to typical racing events.

on that note, mad props to my teammates for making this a fun experience. you guys rock!

Photo

Sat, 26 May 2012 16:20:41 -0500

:o

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:17:03 -0500

tough mudder tomorrow, wish me luck.

zoom

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0600

so this is the new car. i drove all the way to omaha to get it because none of the mazda dealers here negotiate prices. i saved about $1200 by making the trip, AND got a white one to boot. naturally, the weather (which has been non-existent for the entire winter) foiled my initial three attempts to make the trip down to get the car. in the meantime i had been starting to wonder if i shouldn’t have just gotten a focus, which would have been sooo much easier…

in the end, i’m happy with my decision to get the mazda3. i would have been perfectly happy with any of the other cars i drove, which included the focus, impreza, elantra, and veloster (lol), but none of them were quite as fun to drive as the mazda. it’s not as well-equipped, quiet, or luxurious-ish as the others, but it’s clear the company put most of its money into the drivetrain, which i can appreciate for once. it’s a little sluggish off the line (who cares though, really) and the suspension is tight, but that doesn’t bother me as the tradeoff is pretty awesome handling and steering feel (acknowledging, of course, that this is still an economy segment car). the smile on the front of the car seems quite appropriate, i really enjoy driving it — who knew! oh, and the 40mpg highway rating is legit. bonus!

i think my only regret, actually, is not having had the courage to get a manual. the auto is great; super smooth and even rev-matches downshifts, but it just feels like a car that should be driven with a stick. oh well. the only other bone i have to pick with it is that the blind spots are somehow much larger than the avenger’s, and are downright enormous compared to the impressive sight lines of the impreza. i’m hoping that doesn’t bit me in the ass sometime.

as for the other cars ($0.02+ incoming):

the focus was a nicer overall car and felt surprisingly luxurious inside (nice materials, etc.) but i didn’t care for the interior design and didn’t trust the goofy transmission. it also felt a little claustrophobic compared to the others. however, i could have gotten a great deal on one, with a lot of bonus features that the mazda didn’t have, like a winter package, nicer wheels, leather, etc. as well as a warm fuzzy for giving a revitalized ford my business. it was a tough call.
the impreza was expensive (in this part of the country at least) and felt, much like the mazda, a tad cheap on the inside. i had read nothing good about the slushy manual transmission, and the auto-cvt was a bit bizarre even though i know i would have gotten used to it. however, the awd, winter package (heated wiper gimmick!) and superior roominess were tough to pass up. if i had been interested in the safest / most functional / comfortable transportation, this would have been it.
hyundai: if the 5-door version of the updated elantra had been available, i would probably be driving one. both the elantra and veloster felt surprisingly solid, with well-designed and high quality interiors, and super quiet cabins. it was like driving an old-school accord or camry, with a tad more life to the suspension. both seemed a little underpowered (more so than the other three cars i drove), and i don’t care for hyundai’s swoopy exterior design at all, but other than that i was pretty tempted, especially with their incredible warranty and laundry list of standard features. in the end i decided i wanted a car that was more fun, with a little utility (hatchback), so that sort of ruled hyundai out for now. but props to them (and ford, for that matter) for getting their act together.

which brings me to my final point: at no time during this lengthy car-buying process did i set foot in a toyota or honda dealership. my, how times have changed!

ode to the avenger

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:31:00 -0600

this is long overdue of course, as i bought the new car almost a month ago now, but the avenger, my trusty vehicular transport for the past 10 years, deserves a little recognition. it was not the most entertaining, comfortable, or efficient car ever made, but it got the job done, and never once left me stranded by the side of the road.

i won’t pretend that its amazing durability wasn’t a surprise; i can’t imagine there are too many ‘97 avengers out there with this many miles on them. but i’m grateful mine lasted as long as it did, even if it was running on 3 cylinders and 3/4 of its suspension by the end.

in somewhat poetic fashion, by purchasing the new car from a dealer in omaha i unwittingly brought the avenger to within a half-mile of the dealership where it began its career. once i realized this fact, any doubts i had that it could make the 400-mile journey evaporated. i was just bringing the poor car back home!

the final tally was 208,604 miles. thank you, avenger! <3

nothing to see here

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:17:00 -0600

“It was far and away the warmest first 10 days of January ever measured in Minnesota history, averaging over 20 degrees F above normal statewide (27.2 F versus a normal of 7.1 F).” — Mark Seeley [source]
1,363 High Temperature records set nationwide in the last week, along with 266 Highest Minimum Temperatures [source]
Warmest, driest start to January in U.S. history, according to NOAA [source]
“For the first time in 30 years, a lack of snow has not allowed us to open the back bowls in Vail as of January 6, 2012, and, for the first time since the late 1800s, it did not snow at all in Tahoe in December.” — Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz [source,source]
The St. Paul Winter Carnival’s snow sculpture contest and snow maze have been cancelled due to lack of snow [source]
Winter snowfall total to date in Mpls: 10.7”. Normal: 26.5” [source]. For comparison: more snow has fallen this winter in Midland, TX than in Mpls.
80% of MN experiencing moderate or severe drought [source]

merry christmas!

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:00:00 -0600

Dear Santa,

Please send snow.

Much love,

Scuttles

almost enough to stave off a nap, but not quite =) been a good...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:02:09 -0600

almost enough to stave off a nap, but not quite =)

been a good week so far. the lhf run + ensuing nerdery last weekend was a fun time as always (some good pictures of the race courtesy of the dmr here), and i managed to get my last credit card paid off on tuesday — so i’m debt-free for the first time in probably 5 years. and now i’m back in ames enjoying the holiday + unseasonably nice weather.

happy thanksgiving!

happy 11-day

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:11:00 -0600

best day to put up a post. also OMG ROSS.

“It’s official: first flurries of the winter season late Wednesday night in MSP; 3 weeks later than average.”

not a good start if we’re going to have a nice snowy winter =\

Photo

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:36:55 -0500

one more weather post

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:59:00 -0500

while not nearly as bad as the insane heat and drought in texas, i just read some relatively-startling stats (weather fuh) concerning the wretched humidity we’ve had here this summer: mpls has spent 301 hours at a dew point of 70F+ so far this summer (the average is 182), and 102 hours at or above a very-tropical 75F (the previous record was 78 hours). it’s been miserable — good to know i wasn’t imagining things. fall is just around the corner, though… can’t wait.

the temperature is still too damn high

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:45:35 -0500

today was a beautiful day. a perfect summer day. the first day in what feels like weeks where i wasn’t drenched in sweat by the time i walked from my door to the car. if only the whole summer could be like this.

below is a screenshot of WU from last tuesday afternoon, which was the hottest and most humid day in minneapolis history (119F heat index, 82F dew point). also on this day: moorhead, minnesota was the ‘hottest’ place on earth (with a crop-enhanced heat index of ~134F). fantastic. as i understand it, the right coast is now suffering through this same heat wave.

we had something like 4 straight days of heat indices approaching 110F and legitimately-tropical dew points. naturally, i had 3 soccer games over these same 4 days. i hope to never repeat that experience, it was miserable. i really, really like soccer, but not that much.

on a more positive note, my ‘garden’ is growing really well now. staked the tomatoes today, and have been drying large amounts of thyme and oregano already. also have been enjoying mojitos in this ridiculous heat since my mint has really taken off. hooray summer!

the temperature is too damn high

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:39:19 -0500

it’s only june 7 and we’re dealing with this crap already. 103F in mpls today (fts)… apparently the highest temperature we’ve seen in 22 years. the good news: supposed to dip into the 40’s by tomorrow night. much better.

also, happy birthday steve! 31 is the new cool.

tastes like ... victory

Sat, 14 May 2011 17:21:00 -0500

just finished proctoring a final exam for the class i was TA-ing, effectively ending my responsibilities as a TA — hopefully forever. and about damn time, too. i had saved an oaked AB to properly celebrate the occasion; it will taste like victory.

finally emptied all the photos off my phone. this one is pretty...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:42:17 -0500

finally emptied all the photos off my phone. this one is pretty obvious — sunday afternoon nap, my favorite. (oscar abides).

this is all the junk mail that has shown up since about last...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:40:08 -0500

this is all the junk mail that has shown up since about last november — 2 paper grocery sacks, busting at the seams. and this is just one apartment. do they really send this much crap to every person in the city? makes me wonder how many tons of paper is wasted this way in this city alone…

wonderful! i stopped by the liquor store on the way home after...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:36:56 -0500

wonderful! i stopped by the liquor store on the way home after lunch (i know, i know — enjoying this aspect of grad student life while it lasts) and found that mpls started carrying stone brewery! seemed like all their usual beers were there in bombers (including a.b.) as well as some in 6-packs. hopefully we’ll get their seasonal stuff, too. now all we need is dogfish head and i can stop giving my beer money to that crazy state on the other side of the river.

i also went for a run today and wore shorts for probably the first time since last october or november. wasn’t particularly warm but it was a nice day, and the first shorts day always feels great =)

a hairy snowbeast attacks! definitely enjoying the snow today. i...

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:04:23 -0600

a hairy snowbeast attacks!

definitely enjoying the snow today. i know we’ve had our share this winter but it’s been really quiet since the huge storms in december, and the 50+ weather last week was really making a mess of things. this feels a bit more normal for this time of year.

not a lot to report since turning 30 a month ago, i guess i don’t feel any older yet. i started my new job part-time last week and just have to survive a semester of TA-ing before i can go full time. so far the new work & environment seems promising — an ecology lab doesn’t at all resemble an engineering one (in several ways). it’s at the very least a nice change of pace.

also, stevefest in two weeks, and barrel-aged week at TH next week. good times!

woo

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:00:06 -0600

last day of being 20-something…

merry christmas!

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:10:58 -0600

i successfully passed my phd defense last week, got all my grading done, and made it back to ames in one piece. the phd party was a great success and much delicious beer was consumed (also congrats to dr. ross!), i’ve gotten to see a lot of old friends already, and yesterday we pulled off a chc thursday. and today it is snowing. life is good <3

merry christmas everyone!