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Thursday, January 22, 2004 Speaking of kayaking - an expensive way to get exercise In spite of all the rain we had last week, the creeks and rivers didn't really rise. (Well, some of them rose quickly but didn't stay up.) So, I went down to Town Lake and paddled on the lake on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day, and I was really in The Zone, paddling steadily and effortlessly from below Barton Springs to Congress Avenue Bridge. Until the Boat Cop arrived on the scene and gave me a $150 ticket for paddling without a life jacket. That is by far the most expensive bit of outdoor exercise I've ever gotten (including skiing). Dude, you're harshing my mellow (paddle experience)! posted at 10:38 AM new old car Bought a car yesterday. This is only my 3rd car, and the first that isn't an old Orange VW Beetle. Some of my friends and co-workers are confused - don't I already have a car? What's wrong with the Landcruiser? Ain't nothin' wrong with it; it's just not mine. I've been freeloading off of Jenni since my Bug died. My new old car is a '93 Honda Civic. Bought it from one of the scientists where I work -- also a friend -- who is moving back to France. I can't wait to see what my huge kayak looks like on top of that tiny car. posted at 10:28 AM Cedar Waxwings Saw the first Cedar Waxwings of the season yesterday as I was leaving work. I'd been expecting them for awhile, since I saw them earlier in January last year. I walked out of the building and heard that familiar sound, like an old man with a whistling nostril, and my eyes darted around the mostly bare Shumard Oaks until I found my birds. There they were, lazily cleaning themselves and whistling. Good to have them back. (They may have been here for awhile already and I just hadn't seen them. I'd been hearing that sound, but couldn't tell if I was imagining it or if I was being misled by Starlings -- vaguely similar whistle, though more shrill -- or if the Waxwings were there but eluding me.) posted at 10:24 AM Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Kraftwerk for Dummies posted at 4:34 PM Yogic Sleep for Dummies So, I was tossing and turning with insomnia when I remembered seeing the term 'Yogic Sleep' somewhere in my web trawling. Hmm, I thought, I wonder what that is, now that I can't sleep. So I got up and Googled "Yogic Sleep," and the top return was the Dummies site. Yoga for Dummies. I find this very funny. I guess I always thought those books were kinda, well, dumb. But I think I'll peruse this a bit more, because the page on Yogic Sleep or Yoga Nidra was actually helpful. (Guess that makes me a dummy.) UPDATE: I see a lot of folks coming to the site searching Yogic Sleep. I hate to be unhelpful, so let me point you to a great site on Yoga Nidra with a free intro mp3 that is great in itself. posted at 12:59 AM Friday, January 16, 2004 Rain, sweet rain Our dry spell has ended at long last. And, of course, it's making up for lost time. The creeks are rising, really for the first time since last February. Maybe there is some kayaking in my near future. It's been so long, though... will I remember how to paddle? p.s. click on the Morton Salt Girl for a history of, uh, the Morton Salt Girl. posted at 8:26 AM Thursday, January 15, 2004 year of yoga Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my return to yoga. And I don't intend to stop now! I've been going to yoga class 3 times a week and will be going tonight. It has been rewarding to see how much progress I've made. I could barely touch my toes this time last year. My hamstrings are still very tight, though. Maybe by this time next year..... posted at 2:04 PM Wednesday, January 14, 2004 link spam I may soon retire the referrer log, if it continues to fill up with P*ris H*lton and other triple-x links. I guess if the Cyclone was a real high traffic site, like 2blowhards.com, the pr0n links would just rotate out so fast it wouldn't matter... but I seem to have been targeted, because I got like 10 links to Ms. H*lton overnight. I don't want to be a pawn in their Google ranking game. posted at 9:08 AM Friday, January 09, 2004 now listening to... posted at 4:11 PM Monday, January 05, 2004 Freakin' Crazy Texas Weather Yesterday afternoon, we were sitting outside on the patio at Nuevo Leon in t-shirts and shorts, drinking margaritas; today, we're bundled up against the cold. We drove straight into the front on our way home from NL. That's always such a bizarre feeling to drive across the line of a front. I spent the morning yesterday birding. I drove out to Hornsby Bend, only to find out that it is one of those places that gets locked up during Orange Alert. For what reason, I don't know. Just like I don't know why they lock the entrance I use every freakin' day at work and make everyone enter the campus by a different route. So, anyway, I drove on to Webberville Park and saw lots and lots of birdies. Kestrel, Caracara, Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Cardinals (lots), Chickadees, Titmice, Kinglets, Eastern Bluebirds, Wagtails, Red Tailed Hawks, Crows, Buzzards and more. Speaking of Red Tailed Hawks, I saw two of them doing a bizarre aerial dance over the freeway on my commute home this evening. Glad I didn't have a wreck as I crained my head out the window to watch 'em. posted at 8:18 PM Friday, January 02, 2004 Now reading... Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (for the first time!) and Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers. posted at 11:10 AM The Spiritual Tourist Read The Spiritual Tourist over the holidays. I found it at Half-Price Books, and it looked interesting. Quite enjoyable travel writing. The travel destinations just happened to be ashrams, Zen monasteries and Deep South miracle churches. posted at 10:59 AM finally... Damn, man. I don't what's been going on here, but I haven't been able to post for days. I changed from ftp to sftp, and it seems to work now. Not sure that was the problem or no. Anyway, it's good to be back. Now, if I only had something to contribute. posted at 10:45 AM Thursday, January 01, 2004 Kaboom kaboom Fell asleep long before midnight last night with the windows open, 'cause it's nice out. Woke up just before midnight when the explosions and yelling started. The city sounded like it was under siege, but it was just the fireworks. Didn't get back to sleep til 2:30. posted at 2:04 PM