Holy Crap! Tonight, sans my girlfriend, I decided to roast some marshmallows. Make some S'more on the fire pit. I had it moved over to my bedroom, away from the brush I cleared. A small ember, I didn't even see it, must have flew over to the brush. Over or around two SUV's. Luckily I had the hose hooked up. I immediately tried to cool the core of the fire.
The brush was clearly the reducing agent. The heat came from my S'more fire =( the self-sustained chemical reaction and oxidizing agent were quite clear. As soon as I saw an orange glow beyond the trucks, I grabbed the garden hose. I didn't even think to call 911 because it was a small fire I was sure I could contain.
A neighbor yelled that he had called 911 and I could already hear the sirens in the distance. I was so thankful. When the firefighters arrived I had gotten rid of all of the live flames. The only exhaust gas was steam. I was cooling the core. They were able to cool the core more rapidly than I could have ever hoped. Steam was everywhere. At least I could breathe in the steam.
After all of the heat had been taken out of the equation, the brush was raked over and cooled again. Lastly, the fire pit, which originally threw the ember, was extinguished. I am sure I will only be making S'mores on my stove from now on.
My sincerest thanks and appreciation go out to the Baltimore County Fire Department for their help in my time of need. I tried to offer the crew a donation check and cash for some ice cream but their crew chief kindly declined saying that is what I pay my taxes for. He clearly loves his job, and I could not ask for anything more.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
How to get a loop or (Gordian) knot out of a bike chain
Does your bike chain look like a Gordian knot? Let me show you how to fix it (without cutting!)
Does your chain look like this:
If so read on for a picture guide to unlooping your chain. No special tools needed, although if you're like me, you might want to have a drink before going back out. This happened to me twice, and the second time I decided to find out WHY this happened. I have had up to four loops or knots in my chain at one time. Some would consider it punishment, but I purposely re-created the loops to take pictures for this post. If I could recreate them purposely, I should be able to destroy them purposely.
First, I think it is important to understand exactly how the loop occurs. The bike is upside down, the wheel just taken of. The keys are the pedal and the rear derailleur. If the chain that is normally on the bottom part of the circuit (when the bike is being ridden) gets around the pedal or derailleur, and falls below the chain that is normally on top then your first loop forms.
Now one loop probably wouldn't be too bad, and might be easy to fix. Simply take the chain back up around the pedal. But loops love company. The second loop forms when the back sprocket (derailleur pulley) loses its chain as well.
Now, to fix two loops or knots, you have to take two steps. It is important to get the loops as far away from each other as possible. Most people say that simply by "pushing them into each other" they will go away. This is not true. Step one is putting the back loop up and over the back sprocket, and step two is getting the chain up over the pedal. You will probably have to re-run the chain around the gears by the pedals.
Now, what if you have three or four loops? You can create more than two, but to do this you would have to have twisted the chain as a hole, so that the loops are facing up instead of down.
My unprofessional opinion is that you can only add loops one at a time at this point. you ad them off of the derailleur pulley (rear sprocket). You simply repeat the process from above. Notice, however, that the new loop faces the opposite direction as the first two.
I have had up to four loops in my chain. It was at this point that I considered throwing the bike away and getting a new one. But calm, cool, liquor... I mean collectiveness got me through the situation.
For the future, this can only happen if your bike goes from up and down to sideways. This will usually happen when putting the bike into a car. To avoid this in the future, put the sprocket side of the bike up.
Good luck with your chain!
Does your chain look like this:
If so read on for a picture guide to unlooping your chain. No special tools needed, although if you're like me, you might want to have a drink before going back out. This happened to me twice, and the second time I decided to find out WHY this happened. I have had up to four loops or knots in my chain at one time. Some would consider it punishment, but I purposely re-created the loops to take pictures for this post. If I could recreate them purposely, I should be able to destroy them purposely.
First, I think it is important to understand exactly how the loop occurs. The bike is upside down, the wheel just taken of. The keys are the pedal and the rear derailleur. If the chain that is normally on the bottom part of the circuit (when the bike is being ridden) gets around the pedal or derailleur, and falls below the chain that is normally on top then your first loop forms.
Now one loop probably wouldn't be too bad, and might be easy to fix. Simply take the chain back up around the pedal. But loops love company. The second loop forms when the back sprocket (derailleur pulley) loses its chain as well.
Now, to fix two loops or knots, you have to take two steps. It is important to get the loops as far away from each other as possible. Most people say that simply by "pushing them into each other" they will go away. This is not true. Step one is putting the back loop up and over the back sprocket, and step two is getting the chain up over the pedal. You will probably have to re-run the chain around the gears by the pedals.
Now, what if you have three or four loops? You can create more than two, but to do this you would have to have twisted the chain as a hole, so that the loops are facing up instead of down.
My unprofessional opinion is that you can only add loops one at a time at this point. you ad them off of the derailleur pulley (rear sprocket). You simply repeat the process from above. Notice, however, that the new loop faces the opposite direction as the first two.
I have had up to four loops in my chain. It was at this point that I considered throwing the bike away and getting a new one. But calm, cool, liquor... I mean collectiveness got me through the situation.
For the future, this can only happen if your bike goes from up and down to sideways. This will usually happen when putting the bike into a car. To avoid this in the future, put the sprocket side of the bike up.
Good luck with your chain!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Done my Marathon!
I set out at the beginning of this week to run a marathon over 7 days. That was quite a goal for the person who had only run 5 miles at a time up until this point in my life. It was a tall order, but I thought it would be a fun challenge. Then I missed the first day. O well, just ramp up the others. Then I realized I had one day less than I thought. Daily mile weeks run Monday to Sunday. I thought there were Tuesday to Monday. One less day. Then my new business kinda of robbed a day from me yesterday. I say kind of because I made a conscious decision to challenge myself to run 10 miles on the last day.
Wow. 10 miles. I had never even thought (realistically) about running that far. I know I would like to run a marathon, and eventually do the IronMan barefoot. 10 miles was a tall order. Blew right past the 10K (6.21miles) milestone. I was pumped. I had some iskiate before the run (about 30 minutes). I wore my compression UnderArmor with a long sleeve shirt over (to prevent flooding the treadmill).
I chugged some more iskiate at the 42 minutes mark. I knew I would have to eat during this run. I had no clue how long it would take. As it turns out 1:35:27. a 9:33mile. Better than expected considering there was a 4 minute walk in there. I did get scared when the treadmill turned off after 60 minutes, LOL. I think I caught a couple people off guard running that far barefoot. Especially the girl at the from desk.
When I was done I was DRENCHED. I was soo excited though. After all of my shorter runs I have felt like I could go further. This time I finally did. The best part: I felt like I could go further! Go figure. That was enough for today though.
It was so empowering to accomplish this goal. I told my mom what I was up to today, and she just asked that I be careful. Later found out that they had 10 baby ducks born in their yard. A mile for every duck. What great coincidence.
I'm back down into the harbor tonight. I got the Panorama done:
While it is good, I think I can do a better one now that I know how the stitching process works. Better raw materials make better finished products.
Wow. 10 miles. I had never even thought (realistically) about running that far. I know I would like to run a marathon, and eventually do the IronMan barefoot. 10 miles was a tall order. Blew right past the 10K (6.21miles) milestone. I was pumped. I had some iskiate before the run (about 30 minutes). I wore my compression UnderArmor with a long sleeve shirt over (to prevent flooding the treadmill).
I chugged some more iskiate at the 42 minutes mark. I knew I would have to eat during this run. I had no clue how long it would take. As it turns out 1:35:27. a 9:33mile. Better than expected considering there was a 4 minute walk in there. I did get scared when the treadmill turned off after 60 minutes, LOL. I think I caught a couple people off guard running that far barefoot. Especially the girl at the from desk.
When I was done I was DRENCHED. I was soo excited though. After all of my shorter runs I have felt like I could go further. This time I finally did. The best part: I felt like I could go further! Go figure. That was enough for today though.
It was so empowering to accomplish this goal. I told my mom what I was up to today, and she just asked that I be careful. Later found out that they had 10 baby ducks born in their yard. A mile for every duck. What great coincidence.
I'm back down into the harbor tonight. I got the Panorama done:
While it is good, I think I can do a better one now that I know how the stitching process works. Better raw materials make better finished products.
Friday, May 7, 2010
How did I gain this weight?!!?
Alright... I missed a day of my marathon. Yesterday I did not run. It was rough, but I had to be down in the harbor to get pictures of the night skyline for the website. Here is one of the better ones...
And actually, I did run a little bit... On my way back to the car when my meter was going to expire. LOL. Now I realize I will just have to run a little bit further every other day to make the 26.2.
On my run today I accomplished two things... First, got my run in. Sadly didn't eat anything before I went, but it still went surprisingly well. Second, I stopped at Advance Auto really quick and got a hitch for my truck. The good thing about that - and extra fourteen (yes, 14, I weighed it when I got home) pounds in my bag. Oh my god... I didn't know how much a little extra weight could do. I would hate to be fat. The last 1.5 miles were significantly harder, but I was able to keep up the pace.
I am also finding that contrary to what most people say and believe I prefer to run outside, I find it easier. I practiced focusing my Y'Chi today too. It was pretty easy when I was running in the grass, but harder when in the street and on some crappy sidewalks. Kept feeling like I was going to step on something not fun. Even with the Vibram's on I worry abut that. I was also starting to get the pelvic rotation into the mix, especially when the extra weight was added to my back. Some how the little bit of extra sway in the back pack really helped me feel it better. Like a third limb of "cotton."
Off to earn some dough now, hopefully. I will be running in Washington Pennsylvania the next couple days. Hope it goes well.
And actually, I did run a little bit... On my way back to the car when my meter was going to expire. LOL. Now I realize I will just have to run a little bit further every other day to make the 26.2.
On my run today I accomplished two things... First, got my run in. Sadly didn't eat anything before I went, but it still went surprisingly well. Second, I stopped at Advance Auto really quick and got a hitch for my truck. The good thing about that - and extra fourteen (yes, 14, I weighed it when I got home) pounds in my bag. Oh my god... I didn't know how much a little extra weight could do. I would hate to be fat. The last 1.5 miles were significantly harder, but I was able to keep up the pace.
I am also finding that contrary to what most people say and believe I prefer to run outside, I find it easier. I practiced focusing my Y'Chi today too. It was pretty easy when I was running in the grass, but harder when in the street and on some crappy sidewalks. Kept feeling like I was going to step on something not fun. Even with the Vibram's on I worry abut that. I was also starting to get the pelvic rotation into the mix, especially when the extra weight was added to my back. Some how the little bit of extra sway in the back pack really helped me feel it better. Like a third limb of "cotton."
Off to earn some dough now, hopefully. I will be running in Washington Pennsylvania the next couple days. Hope it goes well.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Jason Derulo - Ridin Solo
So the last two days I have listened to Jason Derulo - Ridin Solo 156 times... And that is only on the computer. LOL. Not counting in the car or at the gym. Pretty insane. Needless to say it is a great song. And no, I don't listen to lyrics, but the music is awesome. I wish I could think of more songs like it. There is actually a pretty good piano version on youtube by Yoonha Hwang at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shuvKLF50BE.
As for my training today, I read the first chapter of Chi Running while I was sitting in the massage chair at the gym. I finished it at the nearest table. It was great. The comparison of leaning forward while running to a unicyclist was great. As I was running I pictured that. I also pictured that as the unicyclist wants to go faster he leans further forward. Maybe that will surface in a later chapter. I also noticed a lot of parallels to the peaceful warrior. Focusing on the body and doing your best, not worrying about what other people expect.
As for the run, it was great. I did 4 miles on the treadmill in 37:17. I am on par for making my marathon. The funny thing was that as I put up the speed the running actually became easier. The only thing is that my muscles aren't ready to move that quickly yet. I did one Ridin Solo at 6mph, then one at 6.5, than one at 7. Seemed to work out well. And my feet were definitely moving faster than the tempo.
Gonna need some sweet potato tonight! Can't wait for my massage in the morning.
As for my training today, I read the first chapter of Chi Running while I was sitting in the massage chair at the gym. I finished it at the nearest table. It was great. The comparison of leaning forward while running to a unicyclist was great. As I was running I pictured that. I also pictured that as the unicyclist wants to go faster he leans further forward. Maybe that will surface in a later chapter. I also noticed a lot of parallels to the peaceful warrior. Focusing on the body and doing your best, not worrying about what other people expect.
As for the run, it was great. I did 4 miles on the treadmill in 37:17. I am on par for making my marathon. The funny thing was that as I put up the speed the running actually became easier. The only thing is that my muscles aren't ready to move that quickly yet. I did one Ridin Solo at 6mph, then one at 6.5, than one at 7. Seemed to work out well. And my feet were definitely moving faster than the tempo.
Gonna need some sweet potato tonight! Can't wait for my massage in the morning.
My new goal
This week I am going to run a marathon (throughout the week)! Lol. I got my daily mile report card this week and it said 18.9 miles. I was like, wow, that is kinda close to 26.2. Or at least it is in my world. Today I started off with 3.2 miles. I will pace myself through the rest of the week so that my next daily mile report says at least 26.2.
Today was pretty busy, but I got my business web site up and running. It is at http://www.kellersafetyproducts.com
Even though nobody that reads this would probably want anything on it, just humor me.
I have also decided to put vaseline on my left foot followed by a sock after every run. That foot has always been dry and with the last crack I don't want any more to follow. If anyone knows any other strategies let me know.
The random fact for today is that sweet potatos have 32% more potassium than bananas. The fruit that we all know and love for potassium has been one upped. Per 100 grams a banana has 89 calories and 358mg potassium. The sweet potato has 92 calories and 475mg per 100 grams! And the sweet potato is chocked full of vitamin A and beta carotene. One potato has by far your daily dose of Vitamin A. Hope this is interesting to you all!
**Addition: A potato has even more potassium than a sweet potato! 100g of potato WITH SKIN has 49% more potassium than a banana! 13% more than the sweet potato. Only downside: no vitamin a or beta carotene.
Today was pretty busy, but I got my business web site up and running. It is at http://www.kellersafetyproducts.com
Even though nobody that reads this would probably want anything on it, just humor me.
I have also decided to put vaseline on my left foot followed by a sock after every run. That foot has always been dry and with the last crack I don't want any more to follow. If anyone knows any other strategies let me know.
The random fact for today is that sweet potatos have 32% more potassium than bananas. The fruit that we all know and love for potassium has been one upped. Per 100 grams a banana has 89 calories and 358mg potassium. The sweet potato has 92 calories and 475mg per 100 grams! And the sweet potato is chocked full of vitamin A and beta carotene. One potato has by far your daily dose of Vitamin A. Hope this is interesting to you all!
**Addition: A potato has even more potassium than a sweet potato! 100g of potato WITH SKIN has 49% more potassium than a banana! 13% more than the sweet potato. Only downside: no vitamin a or beta carotene.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Got the last two!
I finally got the last two miles today! I woke up, had a chia frecsa (with lemon because I coudln't find the line =/), and went. My toe had looked very good but I decided to wrap it well anyway. Then when I got back to where I started there wasn't even a thought in my mind as to whether to stop or not. I just kept on going. I felt GREAT! I ran the extra two miles that I had been longing to for the last two days. The new GPS smart runner for the palm pre is still pretty neat. It doesn't have a lap funtion that I can find though. Want to do the two routes separately but couldn't figure it out. O well. 4.2 mile, 45:23.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Split toe... No problem
Today I went for a run around my parents house. I was a little bit hesitant because of a dried, split big toe. I noticed it last night as I was going to go for my second run. I immediately wrapped it in gauze and petroleum jelly then cancelled the run. Hopefully by morning it would be recovered. It wasn't well enough to go this morning. But later in the day I wrapped it real well and went for it.
Looks kinda like frankentoe. But it worked. My mom and I took off for the 2.5 mile run. It was great to have a companion to run with. I also got to introduce her to the smart runner app for the palm pre. It logged the distance, time, avg speed, max speed, etc. Very cool. In the end I felt great, almost went for the extra two miles, except didn't want to do damage the toe. Mom ran the circuit faster than she ever had before. Congrats!
Looks kinda like frankentoe. But it worked. My mom and I took off for the 2.5 mile run. It was great to have a companion to run with. I also got to introduce her to the smart runner app for the palm pre. It logged the distance, time, avg speed, max speed, etc. Very cool. In the end I felt great, almost went for the extra two miles, except didn't want to do damage the toe. Mom ran the circuit faster than she ever had before. Congrats!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Treadmill with a mission
Today I didn't really feel like running on the pavement so I was going to the gym to lift. After I got there the treadmill was literally calling my name! I decided to hop on. I paid very close attention to my form. I noticed a fatal flaw: I was trying to keep tempo with the music! When I used the elliptical and gazelle machines I would go to the beat of my music adjusting the difficulty accordingly. It was an attempt to "get in the zone." However, on the treadmill, the 124-130 beats per minute was causing me to stride way too slow. Thus, my strikes were trying to cover more distance, and I was landing in front of my center of gravity. I was able to knock out 3 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes. I "got out of the zone," paid attention to myself, and had a blast. Now the treadmill doesn't scare me at all. Although, I would still prefer to run outside.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Iskiate (Chia Fresca)
In Born to Run Christopher McDougle tells us about the Tarahumara magic elixer known as Iskiate (Chia Fresca). I found some Chia seeds in Baltimore last night. While they were overpriced, I couldn't wait to try them. This morning, as soon as I woke up, I had a Iskiate. I was doing work around the house and noticed an awesome increase in energy. So much so that I let the coffee sit on the burner for an hour before I drank it! Usually I look forward to the energy burst from caffeine, but the Iskiate did the trick. It tastes really good too. I put:
1/2tbsp of splenda
1/2tbsp lime juice
1tbsp chia seeds
and filled with 6oz warm water. It made a cool gel after about 5 minutes. Make sure that you use warm water so that the seeds don't clump. If I wasn't getting the house ready for a showing I would have gone for a run. It was quite impressive.
1/2tbsp of splenda
1/2tbsp lime juice
1tbsp chia seeds
and filled with 6oz warm water. It made a cool gel after about 5 minutes. Make sure that you use warm water so that the seeds don't clump. If I wasn't getting the house ready for a showing I would have gone for a run. It was quite impressive.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Hot bath and Massage
Just got done soaking myself in an epsom salt bath! Wow, was that refreshing. After I was done I massaged my sore calves with some sweet almond oil. All this while enjoying a strawberry banana soy smoothie! It was awesome. 20 minutes turned into an hour. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself. Hopefully I will be fully recharged by tomorrow to go on another run!
Car is registered!
The seller of the Mountaineer got a bill of sale back to me! Thanks you Nicole!!! The only "problem" was that I couldn't drive the truck to get my portion of the form notarized and register the truck... and Cara was at work... It was a blessing in disguise because I decided to run to the notary and title place (4.85mi)
The wind kicked my butt a little bit on the way to the store. And would ya believe it, the wind changed directions (perpendicular to path) so there was no push on the way back! But my car is titled and registered now. Its a shame because I kinda like the whole running places thing. It is convenient and helps me save money. I stopped briefly at the new Vitamin Shoppe and realized I couldn't buy anything because I had no way to carry it.
The wind kicked my butt a little bit on the way to the store. And would ya believe it, the wind changed directions (perpendicular to path) so there was no push on the way back! But my car is titled and registered now. Its a shame because I kinda like the whole running places thing. It is convenient and helps me save money. I stopped briefly at the new Vitamin Shoppe and realized I couldn't buy anything because I had no way to carry it.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Soleus is Sore
After waking up today, my soleus muscle is really sore. Before I even got out of bed I knew it. Good to know that the muscles are getting stronger. After a 3.5mi barefoot run I would hope so. Luckily it is raining too much today for a morning run. It is supposed to clear up later, and it a light massage is successful I will head out for a run/bike. Also my girlfriend has pointed out that I have become more "granola" recently. Wanting to bike places, live on a farm, have animals. I guess the watermelon patch we planted out back doesn't help things too much either.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Training the Muscles to Run Barefoot
It has been a while since the Jingle Bells 5K. I was a bit to zealous and let my form degrade to the point of injury. This time I am taking it a bit slower. The weather wasn't much better today than the 5K. Rainy and cold. My hands never did quite warm up even after 3.5 miles. But I got out and ran and felt great. I had the energy to do more, but decided I should err on the side of caution this time around.
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