What You've Done Today - Always You Must Meddle, Looking For Trouble Where None Exists.

[BruceVC]

14 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Went out to vote. Seems we are having a record turnout this time, will be interesting to see what happens this time.

Well done for voting, Im very concerned with the general voting apathy I am seeing throughout the world in mostly Western Democracies and especially among young people. And when I say young I mean >35 years old 

 

 

[uuuhhii]

pc can not start for a while for some reason

not sure how broken it is this time

[Hurlshort]

Race Report!

It was about 50 degrees out in the morning as I set up my transition area and got ready to swim, so not too cold. I went to bathroom, put on my wetsuit, walked to the beach, and immediately had to go to the bathroom. Ah well, it was going to have to wait. I know some people can pee on the swim, but I have never mastered that skill. We lined up in pens based on our expected swim time and slowly filed towards the starting line. It is a staggered start, with 5 athletes going every 5 seconds. The surf was pretty big, with 4-5 feet waves coming in sets of 3. I ran in somewhat cautiously and started duck diving. I was really focused on my breathing at the start. It can be extremely hard to catch your breathe on the swim. I used some breast stroking to get out past the waves, but after about 100 yards I was able to settle into freestyle. It was a bit hard to sight the buoys. It was choppy, it was overcast, there was a ton of swimmers everywhere, and one side of my goggles kept filling with water. But I made it out to the first big turn buoy and kept a decent line after that as we made our way towards the harbor.

I swam it in just over 36 minutes. I was struggling with the cold by the end, and I had a few heavy kickers in front of me, but my time was good enough to crack the top 3rd of the 300+ people in my age group. Once I got out of the water I hit the bathroom and started to try to get ready for the bike. I have a bit of an issue with transitioning after a cold swim. My body doesn't cooperate. So I took 15 minutes getting my wetsuit off, putting on wool socks and my vest, and basically just shivering. But hey, I'm not a professional, so I'd rather get on the bike comfortably.

The bike takes us through Camp Pendleton for most of the race. It is a pretty unique place to ride. There were marines everywhere, tank crossings, and lots of helicopters. It was also a very bumpy course with some sharp turns and 3 decent climbs. I probably could have used my road bike. I had a good speed going, keeping it around 20 mph average. I lost my water bottle and half my nutrition about 3 miles in. I was in good company, there were water bottles and nutrition all over the ground. I came around one turn and saw about 6 cyclists getting bandaged up, so I was trying to keep the rubber side down. There were a lot of flats being repaired as well. I enjoyed the climbs, but I love climbing up hills. I kept my pace where I wanted for about 45 miles, but started to struggle over the last 10 miles of the course. Overall I had a 19.1 mph pace, which was good, but it dropped me into the middle of my age group rankings. I managed to get water from the aid stations and ate a bit, but I knew I didn't do well enough on nutrition.

I started the run and it was still pretty cool out. It was probably perfect conditions for most, but I think I do better in the heat. I felt decent as the run started, but my legs were pretty worn out from the ride. My plan was to push from the start and slowly pull back as needed. I started out at a 7:45 mile, then 8:15, 8:30, 8:45, and 9:00. By mile 6 I was settling into a 9:15 pace and I kept that for a few more miles. Mile 10 and 11 were hard and I had to walk for a bit, but I got back to 9:00 for the final mile of the half marathon. I ended up with a 2:02 total time on it. I was hoping to go sub 2 hours, but my legs were beat and I was also pretty nauseous. Nutrition is always my bane.

Some friends were near the finish and let my know I had 3 minutes left to keep my time under 6 hours, so that motivated me to run the last stretch hard. I ended up with a 5:58 time, which is smack dab in the middle of my age group. I didn't throw up afterwards, so that was good. My kids actually found me at the finish too, so that was awesome.

I spent the race a bit worried about my wife and how she was doing. The swim was not easy and she doesn't love the ocean. But she got through the swim using backstroke, and got on the bike for the full 56 miles. When she got in to run, they told her she missed the time cut off. She was devastated. The run is her best part. She still had almost 3 hours to finish the run, but they took her timing chip and told her she was done. It was tough, I didn't know quite how to comfort her. She was going through all of the stages of grief. The next morning she decided to go for a run. I tried to go with her but I was a mess.

She ended up running the full 13.1 miles the morning after the race, and I had the kids meet her with my medal at the end. So super props to her for finishing the full distance despite the race directors. Honestly I'm a bit turned off by the whole Ironman way of running things. They are a big brand, but I think they focus more on the bottom line than the athlete experience. I guess they have to in order to have these huge events, but I think I'll stick to smaller local races for a bit. There were 2800 people racing yesterday and over 400 did not finish or were disqualified. Considering the training and investment people put in for these events, that seems like a shame. They should have encouraged her to run until they had to shut down the run course. 

Anyways, it was a good challenge. We've got a small local race coming up in May that is much shorter, so I've already got a reason to keep on training.     

Edit: Oh, her run time was 2:30 for the half marathon, so she had the time to finish. This is her working through the anger stage.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Hurlsnot

[Raithe]

I admit, I had a much less action packed day.

Some back and forth on work, some assorted paperwork. 

British Airways got in contact with me over the "You know those tickets you had booked right before pandemic hit, so we gave you vouchers to use on an equivalent flight once normal travel resumed? Well now that costs of flight are going up, we're going to save more money by giving you a direct refund rather than letting you cash those vouchers in this year."

Still pondering on the 3D Printer repair.

Puttered around on designs for Mando armour still. Possibly sliding a touch more like this:

But it isn't completely sparking my creative juices for a "this is the one"...

[Gromnir]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:40 AM, Hurlsnot said:

 

Edit: Oh, her run time was 2:30 for the half marathon, so she had the time to finish. This is her working through the anger stage.

 

gotta admit, if as a teen we had a similar photo o' a parent working through the anger stage, we woulda' found ways to replicate it ad nauseum even with admitted far more limited early 80s technology. we did have photography as an elective in high school, so perhaps we coulda' managed to find a way to even garner school credit with the image. almost goes w/o saying we woulda' had the photo affixed to the outside o' at least one trapper keeper. etc.

as a parent, you don't get take backsies. 

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Guard Dog]

Today I am doing no work, taking no calls, etc. Baseball starts today and I'll be parked in front of the TV. Well, it actually started yesterday. G & I watched the Brew Crew lose to the Cubs but it was a great game. 

[Gromnir]

10 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

Today I am doing no work, taking no calls, etc. Baseball starts today and I'll be parked in front of the TV. Well, it actually started yesterday. G & I watched the Brew Crew lose to the Cubs but it was a great game. 

the field of dreams game from last year were the only complete baseball game we has seen in decades. we gave up on baseball during the strike season in 94 and have rare looked back. 'course we got lucky the field o' dreams game were so good... can likely go w/o baseball for another quarter century. 

we do recall how watching a giants games during the summer at candlestick park while we were in college were one o' our worst baseball memories... 'cause o' the cold.  got unexpected fog and wind while wearing a t-shirt and shorts? were embarrassing for a guy who lived through blizzards in the dakotas and chicago, but were a summer game at candlestick which emasculated us. 

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

8 minutes ago, Gromnir said:

the field of dreams game from last year were the only complete baseball game we has seen in decades. we gave up on baseball during the strike season in 94 and have rare looked back. 'course we got lucky the field o' dreams game were so good... can likely go w/o baseball for another quarter century. 

we do recall how watching a giants games during the summer at candlestick park while we were in college were one o' our worst baseball memories... 'cause o' the cold.  got unexpected fog and wind while wearing a t-shirt and shorts? were embarrassing for a guy who lived through blizzards in the dakotas and chicago, but were a summer game at candlestick which emasculated us. 

HA! Good Fun!

I believe it was Mark Twain who said the coldest winter he'd ever known as one summer in San Francisco.

[Gromnir]

3 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

I believe it was Mark Twain who said the coldest winter he'd ever known as one summer in San Francisco.

is apocryphal... unlikely true it were said by twain. however, am gonna admit the sentiment feels true regardless o' who first said. if you have lived some place on the left coast where there is a significant convection effect that draws in cold and fog, then summers often involve dreary and cold mornings with the sun not being visible 'til sometime after noon. the thing is, the afternoon burn off o' fog and damp don't always happen.

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

Well is sounds like something he'd say. And he did live there for a time. I'd bet he's be an interesting guy to share a drink and cigar with. 

BTW, is it just me or is a woman who can identify a safety blitz or know what a suicide squeeze is strike you as incredibly sexy?

[Gromnir]

11 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

Well is sounds like something he'd say. And he did live there for a time. I'd bet he's be an interesting guy to share a drink and cigar with. 

BTW, is it just me or is a woman who can identify a safety blitz or know what a suicide squeeze is strike you as incredibly sexy?

we got an ex, call her kim, who still jokingly credits us with her marriage. we met her in college and managed to stay friends with her.  kim ended up dating a serious football junkie and so she came to us for help 'cause, "didn't you play football?"

...

serious? when we were dating, approx 1/3 o' our waking hours were dedicated to football and kim only had some vague recollection we played the sport?

whatever.

anyways, we got a hard time saying no to a serious appeal for help, plus we were also friends with kim's sister and mother (and yeah, am knowing that sounds weird)  so were triple difficult to do other than acquiesce. so we explained cover 0-6 and the various man v. zone permutations as well as how a qb reads a defense before the snap. taught her how to identify the "mike" backer, which isn't always the middle lb, and why that is such an important aspect o' the qb read. etc.

after more than a dozen hours o' the Gromnir Clinic, (we even had a film tutorial) kim knew a fair 'mount o' football, particular defensive side o' the ball. unfortunately, her newly acquired football acumen intimidated her beau and they broke up, but the next guy she dated felt same as you, that sports knowledge in a gf is sexy, and they got married and thus far have lived happily ever after. 

HA! Good Fun!

[Malcador]

1 hour ago, Guard Dog said:

Well is sounds like something he'd say. And he did live there for a time. I'd bet he's be an interesting guy to share a drink and cigar with. 

BTW, is it just me or is a woman who can identify a safety blitz or know what a suicide squeeze is strike you as incredibly sexy?

People talking about a "suicide squeeze" are people to run away from.

[LadyCrimson]

Got my OLED TV/main PC up here now. They're sorta set up but waiting for a couple more tables for a whole setup. Still planning on staying for a year or two at least, but it all feels so weirdly temporary. We're both just feeling displaced I suppose. Sigh, whatever.

Hubby has also decided he doesn't like wood foundations ... for me. I think this is because he's watching me side-crab gimp up and down the kinda steep/high 3-step stairs at every door and becoming concerned. I can walk flat ground/hills for miles just fine but me and stairs don't get along anymore unless they're perfect for my short legs/height but they never are. Just build some short ramps or something maybe.

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by LadyCrimson

[alanschu]

Last day at work so uh, cashing in all my store points and pretending to work >.>

[Gromnir]

39 minutes ago, LadyCrimson said:

Got my OLED TV/main PC up here now. They're sorta set up but waiting for a couple more tables for a whole setup. Still planning on staying for a year or two at least, but it all feels so weirdly temporary. We're both just feeling displaced I suppose. Sigh, whatever.

Hubby has also decided he doesn't like wood foundations ... for me. I think this is because he's watching me side-crab gimp up and down the kinda steep/high 3-step stairs at every door and becoming concerned. I can walk flat ground/hills for miles just fine but me and stairs don't get along anymore unless they're perfect for my short legs/height but they never are. Just build some short ramps or something maybe.

 

unless is an extreme new home, is unlikely a wood foundation. chances are what you have is a raised foundation, which would explain the steps. raised foundation is having concrete footing and piers and is sometimes referred to as a crawlspace foundation in places other than the west. raised foundations has wood 4x4 posts and joists involved, but the actual foundation is gonna be concrete... unless you is sooperfancy and got space-age pressure treated wood which replaces the concrete elements. 

slab foundations is notoriously problematic in many neighborhoods o' the sacramento area. the most common reason for going with raised foundations is also why you have steps. for a slab you need grade the property flat(ish). no steps if flat, yes? however, grading property beyond small degrees is ill-advised if you got a whole lotta clay in the soil 'cause post grade, the water runs along the original clay layers. improper drainage is the most common cause o' foundation failure. this is also the reason why if you are adding a pool to a property in the area, is best not to go cheap, 'cause like slab foundations, for a pool you need go to relative extreme lengths to avoid significant/catastrophic cracks and leaks. 

HA! Good Fun!

[Malcador]

57 minutes ago, alanschu said:

Last day at work so uh, cashing in all my store points and pretending to work >.>

Break the build before you go

[Sarex]

18 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Break the build before you go

Knowing Bioware it's already broken.

[alanschu]

25 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Break the build before you go

I am legit working on a bug with a tool and the guy I worked with and am gonna info dump (since I'm not THAT guy) were joking that it'd be quite a mic drop "check in and leave" to do something like that on my last day lol.

[majestic]

Finally decided to buy some hardware upgrades. Going from my trusty old Western Digital WD10EALX to a Samsung 980 PRO SSD should be, let's say, slightly noticable.

[Sarex]

6 minutes ago, majestic said:

Finally decided to buy some hardware upgrades. Going from my trusty old Western Digital WD10EALX to a Samsung 980 PRO SSD should be, let's say, slightly noticable.

As your primary?

[majestic]

Just now, Sarex said:

As your primary?

Sure thing. The hardware I'm currently using is 10 years old, except for the 970 GTX , that one's slightly newer - but not much.

[Sarex]

3 minutes ago, majestic said:

Sure thing. The hardware I'm currently using is 10 years old, except for the 970 GTX , that one's slightly newer - but not much.

I mean I'm not much better. I'm on the first gen of the x99, but I still have an ssd for a primary. My trusty OCZ Vertex 4 with a mighty 128gb. I did upgrade recently to a Intel 6950x. Ditto on the graphics card.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Sarex

[Malcador]

Did taxes, so with the refund cash will get a new rig. Although looking at the games I do play, I doubt I actually need the power of a 5600x or something but it has been 7 years since I built one.  Worst part is actually having to go to the stores as the big Canadian online retailer died a (deserved) death a couple of years back.

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Malcador

[Sarex]

22 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Did taxes, so with the refund cash will get a new rig. Although looking at the games I do play, I doubt I actually need the power of a 5600x or something but it has been 7 years since I built one.  Worst part is actually having to go to the stores as the big Canadian online retailer died a (deserved) death a couple of years back.

On the one hand I envy you, on the other I can't justify to myself getting a new PC as I play so little games nowadays and the ones I do play are not that resource intensive.

[Hurlshort]

With what I owe in taxes, the IRS could build a decent gaming rig.