So the Vikings are moving to Arden Hills?
I'm so excited for a Monday night Vikes-Packers game where the blimp shows gorgeous views of endless flat parking lots and eight lane freeways. That makes our state look much better than 55 story glass office towers and bridges across the Mississippi that we're stuck with now. Why would we want anyone to think we live a dynamic city? I know when I'm looking for cities to go visit, I always say, "Where can I go that has cheap parking?" That's why I never go to Chicago (if you don't know me, there's a ton of sarcasm in this paragraph)
When people travel to other cities to go to games, do they ever say they hated Fenway or Wrigley because the parking was bad? I've never heard that. Yet when it comes to making local decisions, freeways always trump trains. Parking always trumps local businesses. Urban sprawl always wins out, and the metro area as a whole suffers one more blow.
So where do I sign up to be a Bears fan? I want to root for a city that I want to visit; a metro that I can still respect.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
A Computer Scientist's View Of a Trump Presidency
Is the Donald ready to run for the presidency? Trump's one big box to stand on is that he's a self described great business man. The problem is, here's the Trump business plan:
1: Find seed money S
2: Come up with big idea B
3: Finance B with S
4: if(B fails) {
5: File for bankruptcy
GOTO: 1
} else {
6: Bang fists on chest and scream about awesomeness level
7: S = leverage(B)
GOTO: 2
}
That works well for gaining personal wealth where a person is good at step 1. It doesn't work so well for the largest economy in the world, where everything in the if block equals global depression.
1: Find seed money S
2: Come up with big idea B
3: Finance B with S
4: if(B fails) {
5: File for bankruptcy
GOTO: 1
} else {
6: Bang fists on chest and scream about awesomeness level
7: S = leverage(B)
GOTO: 2
}
That works well for gaining personal wealth where a person is good at step 1. It doesn't work so well for the largest economy in the world, where everything in the if block equals global depression.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Yes, You're A Bigot
Want to know why I can't stand the religious right? Because apparently it's not bigotry if the only people you discriminate against are people who don't agree with your particular view of Christianity. Yes, your a bigot. You're right, I don't like you. I'm glad we're not friends and I don't have to see you socially.
(I'm referring to the second to last comment, but included the whole conversation for context. Click on the image to read. Edited to protect the guilty).
(I'm referring to the second to last comment, but included the whole conversation for context. Click on the image to read. Edited to protect the guilty).
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Skate Skiing and the Art of Falling Over
There are some things that I'm just not that good at (yet). I assume if I try a walking handstand right now, I'll probably end up with a concussion, for example. I think I can add skate skiing to the list. Lori is quite good at it. Compared to me, she's an olympian.
The problem with living in Minnesota is that for a few months of the year, my usual outdoor activities, running and biking, become much harder to do. They are at best, less enjoyable and at worse, downright unsafe. The benefit to living in Minnesota is that a host of winter activities become available. There's skiing in all it's forms: downhill, cross country, and skate. There's snowboarding. There's snowshoeing. Unfortunately, all of these involve awkwardly strapping something long onto your feet. If you're an adult who didn't grow up with these things, good luck, you will look dumb. You will fall over.
Photo courtesy of roland.
So two weekends ago, on a decent enough Saturday we took lessons. Lori is experienced at traditional cross country skiing, which appears to have been a huge help. I am not. Skis had been strapped to my feet twice before this experiment. I went downhill skiing once when I was 13 (yeah, that's 18 years ago), and last February I attempted traditional cross country skiing. The lessons all seemed to make sense, until I tried to apply what I had been told. The instructor told me I looked like I was trying to run, not ski (or glide, or however you want to describe the motion). Was I a runner? I was once, I wanted to reply.
The problem with "running" in ski's is that they're long. You can really think of skate skis like really big roller blades, sans wheels. Think of how you roller blade, or "inline skate", if you're not into trademark infringement. You push off with onc blade, pick up, put it down, repeat on the other side (more or less). Skate skiing seems to be very similar with two big exceptions. This first is that you can't push off, and shouldn't try. It will throw off your balance. You will fall over. Of course, if you've been spending your life participating in sports that aren't on snow, you will push off. You will fall over. The other big difference is the length of the ski over that of a skate. If you push off at all, you push your toe down instinctively. This is what my instructor called running on skis. This is a problem when the ski extends several feet out in front of you. I constantly dug the front of the ski into the snow, which at best slowed me down. At worst? Good guess: I feel over.
Last Saturday we went out again, this time to do a loop around the lake. That's the "flat" trail. I don't want to see the hilly trail. I managed to stay upright going downhill, but managed to fall over twice going uphill. I've never felt so uncoordinated in my life. Perhaps the worst part is constantly watching people --people whom I feel I should be in better shape than -- fly by me with no noticeable effort.
But it was a good workout. And it was fun. I expect it will get more fun as I start to get it down. The goals of the day were to get a workout and to find a way to embrace winter and not just tolerate it.
The problem with living in Minnesota is that for a few months of the year, my usual outdoor activities, running and biking, become much harder to do. They are at best, less enjoyable and at worse, downright unsafe. The benefit to living in Minnesota is that a host of winter activities become available. There's skiing in all it's forms: downhill, cross country, and skate. There's snowboarding. There's snowshoeing. Unfortunately, all of these involve awkwardly strapping something long onto your feet. If you're an adult who didn't grow up with these things, good luck, you will look dumb. You will fall over.
Photo courtesy of roland.
So two weekends ago, on a decent enough Saturday we took lessons. Lori is experienced at traditional cross country skiing, which appears to have been a huge help. I am not. Skis had been strapped to my feet twice before this experiment. I went downhill skiing once when I was 13 (yeah, that's 18 years ago), and last February I attempted traditional cross country skiing. The lessons all seemed to make sense, until I tried to apply what I had been told. The instructor told me I looked like I was trying to run, not ski (or glide, or however you want to describe the motion). Was I a runner? I was once, I wanted to reply.
The problem with "running" in ski's is that they're long. You can really think of skate skis like really big roller blades, sans wheels. Think of how you roller blade, or "inline skate", if you're not into trademark infringement. You push off with onc blade, pick up, put it down, repeat on the other side (more or less). Skate skiing seems to be very similar with two big exceptions. This first is that you can't push off, and shouldn't try. It will throw off your balance. You will fall over. Of course, if you've been spending your life participating in sports that aren't on snow, you will push off. You will fall over. The other big difference is the length of the ski over that of a skate. If you push off at all, you push your toe down instinctively. This is what my instructor called running on skis. This is a problem when the ski extends several feet out in front of you. I constantly dug the front of the ski into the snow, which at best slowed me down. At worst? Good guess: I feel over.
Last Saturday we went out again, this time to do a loop around the lake. That's the "flat" trail. I don't want to see the hilly trail. I managed to stay upright going downhill, but managed to fall over twice going uphill. I've never felt so uncoordinated in my life. Perhaps the worst part is constantly watching people --people whom I feel I should be in better shape than -- fly by me with no noticeable effort.
But it was a good workout. And it was fun. I expect it will get more fun as I start to get it down. The goals of the day were to get a workout and to find a way to embrace winter and not just tolerate it.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Is This Healthy?
This used to be what I considered a healthy lunch. You know, compared to heading out with a coworker to a burger and fries joint. Or for some pizza. I love me some Cosi. I have to branch out. Chipotle is fantastic, but I can't have every meal there. But it's hard when you're trying to get back in shape. The Pesto Chicken Melt from Cosi has always been a favorite of mine, and one I don't get very often as I don't get to work downtown nearly as much as I would like. So is this healthy? I suppose that depends on what one considers healthy. Certainly has quite a bit of fat. Rob wants me to get at least 200 grams of protein every day. This has 50. So I guess I'll count that a plus. And it tastes freakin' awesome.
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