P,
Hi Whirlissimo!
Wrightson with rides to boot, sounds fab! However, if you continue to rake
in the hardware, sandbagging as seems to be your collective wont, of late,
perhaps you should be taking a U-Haul to Portland! That way we could carry
bikes down and not risk a ticket for and obscured license plate! Any Duty
Free malt make it back?
I am, as you might well know, a tad distressed about the 3.25 miles as
opposed to the 3.33 mark but Big Molly has yet to come up with a waterproof
odometre which can withstand pressure on the pool bottom. Once that is
strapped to my wrist I'll be able to fine tune distance to the exact .33!
Sorry to hear about your mechanical problem. For my part, I just had my
nagging, recurring chain skipping rectified. Turned out that the rear fender
was so attached that it was actually acting as a conduit for all the grit
and such picked up by the wheel and funneled everything onto some part of
the shifting mechanism which then caused that not to operate as it should.
With fender moved there is no build-up and I can now ride up Seymour, upside
down, backwards and in high gear!
Robo Ray probably won't want to leave much before 10:00am, if he is able to
ride at all. We'll have to quiz him about his nefarious past, à propos, "A
fagin crook led a gang of young thieves stealing valuable bikes to order
across Tyneside." His hometown of Harlepool. He was probably the Enforcer!!!
You may well be guilty of faginism but The Sisterhood follows another
character from Dickens, namely Mr Micawber:
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result
happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound
ought and six, result misery."
Forecast suggests showers early tomorrow morning so anytime after 9:00am
should work, depending on the peletonieri! "Not to put too fine a point upon
it,." (Thanks again, Mr Micawber), let me know your thoughts. Cheers, Il
Conduttore!
P,
I am good to ride later in the morning if that is what works for Ray and
others. If the peloton is AWOL then I can leave as early as you want. Need
to pick up the fagin MT at 3PM.
Provisoso: The MT was home sick for part of today so there is a slim chance
she will stay home and if so I may be anchored as well. W
Pat/George,
I'm flexible till 3, so whatever
time works for the both of you.
Ray
Hi Guys,
What are your plans for a destination? I have a friend that I want to get
some riding time in with so maybe we can join for all or part of the ride.
In regards to the waterproof odometer, I am looking at a sonar / GPS system
from the US navy and I will advise on cost once I hear back.
Thanks, Al (Big Molly)
What are your plans for a destination? I have a friend that I want to get
some riding time in with so maybe we can join for all or part of the ride.
In regards to the waterproof odometer, I am looking at a sonar / GPS system
from the US navy and I will advise on cost once I hear back.
Thanks, Al (Big Molly)
Hi Patrice,
Thanks for the birthday wishes!
I have a friend that I haven't see in quite some time who would like to head
out for a ride as well so let me know what your plans are and I'll see if we
can meet up with the peleton.
Kind of busy to write much right now but will catch up when I see you. Cheers, Al
I'd like to join the peloton Wed a.m. if it works - 10:00 (or 10:13) would be preferable to 9:00 in the eyes of both my mutts and me. I'll check in for an email update around 8:00 a.m.
8^) cheers, Mark
Hello Lads:
Given the fact that the Burnaboids would like to join the peleton, I suggest
we meet them at Science World, or thereabouts, at 10:30am, local cyclisti
leaving from Harbour Terrace, Heartbreak Parkade at 10:17am. Ragin' Bull
could attach himself, barnacle-like, to the advance guard as it swings past
Spruce Harbour Marina, at 10:20:33am if he so desires! I suggest we do an
up-and-over LG and explore Spirit Trail to the east of LG. If riders want,
we could continue all the way to the Second Narrows and then the Burnaboids
would be closer to home, once over bridge. As everyone knows, I'm always
easy about any route as long as I'm not forced to touch the ground or stop
for latte and pannini!!!
I gather that Robo Ray and Whirlygig are reasonably flexible regarding start
time so if anyone would like a slightly later departure please reply in time
for others to make necessary chronological recalibrations. Other than that,
an indication from each rider that my executive decision suits so that we
know which riders to expect where.
Kjell: Let me know, by phone or email if you'd like to join us and we'll
arrange a rendezvous point.
Look forward to seeing those able to make outing. Cheers, Il Conduttore!
P,
Science World, or thereabouts, at 10:30am. Unless something changes, see you
at Heartbreak Parkade at 10:17.33 am. W
Pat/George,
10:17 at the Heartbreak it
is. Ray
Hi Gents,
My friend Chris and I will join up at least for the around and up and over
and see you at S.W. at 10:30. Cheers, Al
Hi Pat,
I would have liked to join you, but this is the first I hear about it, and now it is much too late. Have a nice ride! Kjell
Hello Lads!
I am heartened by the size of the peleton and the unanimous agreement about times/rendezvous points. However, in the spirit of exactness, which Marcus Aurelius ever pursues, I have included an excerpt for all riders to ponder, for your chronological edification, remembering my penchant, (some, I know, would say "obsession"), for .33's on the distance scale. It would seem, however ironically, that I am in the forefront, (on the frontier of the space/time boundary, no less), of measurement and suggest you all re-think your derisory comments on "circling", etc. Cheers, I remain. as ever, Your 'Umble Il Conduttore!
From delanceyplace.com 2/1/12 - the ultimate clock
In today's excerpt - the technology of our daily lives has become so advanced that the need for accuracy in clocks presses hard the most accurate of today's clocks - which are accurate to five parts per 100,000,000,000,000,000 (or five in 1016). Improving this accuracy is absolutely necessary for such things as improved GPS navigation, improved satellite communication, and improved detection of faults in the massive communication networks we now depend on:
"Today those who would build a more accurate clock must advance into the frontiers of physics and engineering in several directions at once. They are cobbling lasers that spit out pulses a quadrillionth of a second long together with chambers that chill atoms to a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero. They are snaring individual ions in tar pits of light and magnetism and manipulating the spin of electrons in their orbits.
"And thanks to major technical advances, the art of ultraprecise timekeeping is progressing with a speed not seen for 30 years or more. These days a good cesium beam clock, of the kind Symmetricom sells for $50,000, will tick off seconds true to about a microsecond a month, its frequency accurate to five parts in 1013. The primary time standard for the U.S., a cesium fountain clock installed in 1999 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at its Boulder, Colo., laboratory, is good to five parts in 1016 (usually written simply as 10-16). That is 1000 times the accuracy of NIST's best clock in 1975. Successful prototypes of new clock designs - devices that extract time from calcium atoms or mercury ions instead of cesium - have recently attained accuracy in the 10-18 range, a 100-fold improvement in a decade.
"Accuracy may not be quite the right word. The second was defined in 1967 by international fiat to be 'the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.' Leave aside for the moment what that means: the point is that to measure a second, you have to look at cesium. The best clocks now don't - so, strictly speaking, they don't measure seconds. That is one predicament the clock makers face.
"Further down the road lies a more fundamental limitation: as Albert Einstein theorized and experiment has confirmed, time is not absolute. The rate of any clock slows down when gravity gets stronger or when the clock moves quickly relative to its observer - even a single photon emitted as an electron reorients its magnetic poles or jumps from one orbit to another. By putting ultraprecise clocks on the space station, scientists hope to put relativity theory through its toughest tests yet. But now that clocks have achieved a precision of 10-18 - proportions that correspond to a deviation of less than half a second over the age of the universe - the effects of relativity have started to test the scientists. No technology exists that can synchronize clocks around the world with such exactness.
"So why bother to improve atomic clocks? The duration of the second can already be measured to 14 decimal places, a precision 1,000 times that of any other fundamental unit. ... More stable and portable clock designs could ... be a big boon to navigation, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the Global Positioning System and of Galileo, a competing system under development in Europe. Better clocks would help NASA track its satellites, enable utilities and communications firms to trace faults in their networks, and enhance geologists' ability to pinpoint earthquakes and nuclear bomb tests. Astronomers could use them to connect telescopes in ways that dramatically sharpen their images. And inexpensive, microchip-size atomic clocks are likely to have myriad uses not yet imagined."
Author: W. Wayt Gibbs
Title: "Ultimate Clocks"
Publisher: Scientific American, Special Edition: A Matter of Time
Date: Spring 2012, Pages: 62-63
January news from Dry Creek
Thanks for the update of recent goings-on in Vancouver. Our accountant
was here today (yes, he makes "house" calls) and told me that he has
been up to Vancouver quite a few times over the past year and fell so in
love with your city that he decided to open up a business up there....a
payroll service. I'm not sure exactly how he's going about running a
payroll service from down here, and apparently he's not sure how it is
all going to work out either. I think he said he also bought a boat and
has it berthed somewhere up there. He's a middle aged sort of guy,
single with no family ties that I know of here in the area. So maybe
he's thinking of relocating. He did say though that the Canadians (you
folks) aren't making it easy for him to establish a business up there.
Something about maybe having to become a Canadian citizen. I find this
all very interesting and will keep you posted if I learn anymore about
his activities up in Vancouver.
Otherwise, the new year is off to its usual slow start. In fact, I just
took a weekend trip up to Seattle to visit Susie and check up on things
up there. All seemed to be in good order and we had some fun times
walking and driving around various neighborhoods in search of the
perfect used but in good condition and inexpensive storage cabinet of
just a certain size to fit into a small space. We weren't successful,
but had fun nonetheless. The weather wasn't bad. In fact, it was even
sunny all day, one day. This weekend coming up we are celebrating Dave's
mother's 90th birthday and believe me, we are all happy to be
celebrating it after the three heart attacks she suffered last fall,
culminating in open heart surgery on January 10th. She is home now and
seems to be doing very well, still with full-time care. But she hopes
once she gets stronger, she'll be able to cut back to just part-time
help and maybe even be on her own again full-time as she was before the
heart attacks. She is one tough lady!
There has actually been a lot of activity in and around the winery
lately, what with racking and blending the 2011 wines a couple of weeks
ago, and now bottling of the 2010 longer-aged wines this week. This
keeps us all on our toes! ~Pat
Hi Pat!
Please tell your accountant to give us a shout when he is next in Vancouver. We'd enjoy meeting him. You are so close when in Seattle why not pop up next time? Hope birthday party goes well.
Busy time here and I am starting to be a tad concerned about how quickly march 5th is approaching. Still have plenty to do in order to be ready to leave but somehow don't seem to be making much headway. Many social engagements it seems. Certainly not complaining but I need to be more disciplined about getting ready to complete such tasks as filing income tax, per esempio! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio Chauffeur Etraordinaire!!!
Happy News!!
Hi there ,
Well, it's come to be. We're just delighted to let you know that today, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Lynsey gave birth to a brand new beautiful baby girl, Emily, and pleased to report all is well with Mom, baby and Dad who is just blown away with excitement. We spoke over the phone within half hour of the birth and even heard Emily give one of her first cries. What a day!! We plan on making the trek to N.J. Sunday morning to share in the excitement of the new parents.
Well, it's come to be. We're just delighted to let you know that today, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Lynsey gave birth to a brand new beautiful baby girl, Emily, and pleased to report all is well with Mom, baby and Dad who is just blown away with excitement. We spoke over the phone within half hour of the birth and even heard Emily give one of her first cries. What a day!! We plan on making the trek to N.J. Sunday morning to share in the excitement of the new parents.
Roma & Leonard
Hi Roma and Leonard!
What wonderful news indeed! Cora Lee sends along her best wishes to you both as well. Such a delight! Trust Emily and Lynsey are doing well. Enjoy your visit.
Busy time here and I am starting to be a tad concerned about how quickly march 5th is approaching. Still have plenty to do in order to be ready to leave but somehow don't seem to be making much headway. Many social engagements it seems. Certainly not complaining but I need to be more disciplined about getting ready to complete such tasks as filing income tax, per esempio!
On a far happier note, this past Wednesday evening we journeyed to West Van. (Her majesty had taken bus downtown earlier that afternoon, allowing her chauffeur the freedom to ride!) Once I collected her outside VPL we took Georgia to Stanley Park Causeway, (My second time over the Lions Gate that day as I had ridden over with friends, late that morning, en route to Second Narrows to do a loop through North Van and then East Van and then back home.), to Kings Avenue. We were having dinner with Julia and Ross, close friends. Kjell and Jane, mutual friends, were invited so it was a lovely evening. J/R have a small cabin on Sydney Island where there is an over population of deer. Consequently, deer have been culled, under government supervision, for many years. We have enjoyed he venison which Ross has passed along, from time to time. I was secretly hoping that they would serve it for dinner when I learned of the invitation, and I was not disappointed.
It really is a delicious wild meat, at least in our experience, and sustainable to boot! (That would have made Whirlygig, [a rabid, quasi-vegetarian who only eats sustainably harvested fish, per esempio], happy!) They served it with green beans covered with almond slivers together with mashed turnip, so he and Kerry could have enjoyed part of meal. After dinner, repaired to their living room to chat in front of the fire and sip Bowmore. Before dinner, Wade Davis' name came up and Ross lent me One River. Looks fascinating.
"Richard Evans Schultes was arguably this century's foremost botanist. He was the father of ethnobotany, the study of indigenous peoples' knowledge and use of plants. He inadvertently inspired the 1960's drug culture with his scholarly writings on natural hallucinogens. When Japanese troops overran the world's rubber supply in Southeast Asia, Schultes, through his research on wild rubber trees in the Amazon, found himself central to the Allied war effort. Davis, one of Schultes's most devoted students, recounts the stories of his voyages along hundreds of miles of forested rivers, his near-fatal encounters with rapids and disease, his collaboration with Amazon shamans, and his dealings with people from the unsavoury to the sublime -- including a Nazi sympathiser, a heroically faithful native assistant, and the cult figures Timothy Leary and William Burroughs."
Might have to stop swimming, (Logged 3.5miles at the Aquatic Centre on Thursday so am very pleased as my form, such as it is, seems to be coming back, albeit slowly.), and riding so I have more time to read! However, Star Trooper Footness took the bus downtown yesterday so I was able to join Whirlygig and Robo Ray for a ride that morning. Whirlissimo and I rendezvoused with Raymundo at the sub-station on the corner of Maple and King Ed at 9:45am and proceeded, via Cypress, to Marine Drive. Just before we reached this main arterial thoroughfare, I noticed that Ray was lagging behind and we slowed to ask if he was fine. In fact, he wasn't. He felt that he should turn back and we asked if he'd like us to accompany him to make sure he made it safely home. He dismissed the preposterous idea, (Knowing his personality, I knew he would!), and we said goodbye, he to retrace the route back up Cypress, we to make our way to Iona over Arthur Laing.
Crossing the bridge, we remarked to one another how incredible the day was, drinking in the blue, blue sky, cloudless, the sun shining blindingly, its rays noticeably warm on our faces. Ride out to Iona was a delight, most pleasant in spite of the slight headwind. We passed quite a number of people standing beside their parked cars, "plane spotters", as the road to Iona Park runs parallel to one YVR runway, the nasty razor wire atop the recently installed new, higher security fence, glinting maliciously in the bright sunshine.
Once at the small parking which serves Iona Beach Park, Giorgio called Raymond on his cell and confirmed that he had made it back home with incident. He was lolling on his patio enjoying the sun, probably sipping a latte, for all we knew! He mentioned that he thought that he had forgotten to take his heart medication the night before and this oversight had caused an irregular heart rate. Pleased that our comrade-in-arms was in better spirits, we took off for Steveston, battling an even stronger crosswind until we left the airport behind and had crossed over the No. 2 Road Bridge.
Ride into Steveston was uneventful and we chatted amiably, stopping, a few blocks before the marina where Captain Barnacle had the Inside Passage in dry dock last year. I convinced Whirlygig to return via No. 6 Road, as opposed to the shorter Shell Road route, and we were both glad that we had made this choice. Large, deep ditches bracket much of the length of the road and we came across three Blue Herons, two rising from the water at our approach, another watching us carefully as we cycled past. We had seen one, atop a log, in the middle of the small lagoon at Iona but these were much closer. I am always amazed at their remarkable, almost mind boggling wingspan. Quite a stirring sight to see them soar, effortlessly, as we huffed and puffed our way along.
Lots of heavy truck traffic once we passed Blundell Road so we put our heads down and concentrated on making it to Vulcan Way as quickly as possible. Once there, we had to make a slight dipsy-doodle, onto the sidewalk, around a traffic accident involving two semi-trailers. Not quite sure what happened but one tractor trailer, cab only, was squashed against the curb by the the trailer of the other vehicle. The responding Mountie had just pulled up and was asking one of the drivers: "Do you have anyone injured in your cab?", as we trundled past.
Made the base of the CSTB with 59K on the clock and once back on Vancouver side of the Mighty Fraser, Whirlygig made straight for Heather, not even giving me the chance to argue for Cambie! Pleasant ride uphill, glad that Robo Ray wasn't with us, half-wheeling us for the entire ascent! Dropped Giorgio off at 2nd and Macdonald and rode home, via Kits Point for 76.33K on the Deadly Odometre, pleased as punch!
Inside, Her Regalness was watching The Young and the Restless with Maggie upon her lap so I zapped a cup of java and answered a few messages before showering and changing. We were off to The Pitchforks for bridge, along with Rosita and Dusty. Arrived about 6:30pm and after greeting one another started to play. Since there were only six players, Champagne and O Susannah, had decided to play "speed bridge". North/South play against East/West and after one side makes game, North exits to be replaced by a new player, remaining spots shift clockwise. Loads of fun even though the cards were abominable, for everyone!
After first two games, we stopped play to enjoy a lovely dinner of green salad and lasagne. Champagne and Cora Lee shared their portions as she could not eat the wheat pasta and he didn't want any meat! A couple of kids fussing over their food!!! Back to the table for a few more games/rotations and then the distribution of prizes. No matter what your score, (Need I mention, Dear Reader, that I had highest point count, helped muchly by the 6 No Trump bid, with Dusty as partner, made on last hand. In fact, we managed a Grand Slam although we only bid a Small Slam. My mistake. I mistook Dusty's response of 6 Hearts, to my 5 No Trump, as meaning he held one ace, when in fact he had signalled two.), each visiting contestant, (an exercise in de-cluttering for hosts!), received note pads, mouse pads, small stuffed toys, pens, coffee mugs and reusable shopping bags, all promotional materials from the Pitchford's travel business. best of all, the crowning touch, silk flower Leis!
Wonderful fun and games and enjoyed having dinner with Marnie, their daughter, and seeing Scott, their son, (he was out for dinner with friends), just before we left. Even managed to do a bit of travel business in between bridge hands as we ordered our 21 day rail passes for Japan. Had not decided, until fairly recently, what length of time we would purchase. Also put our request for travel insurance in motion. Thanking our gracious hosts we waved goodbye and made for home. Streets were quiet as it was 11:30pm so back at Harbour Terrace quite quickly once we figured out which direction we were supposed to travel! When we left Rosemont, Pitchford's street, I made a wrong turn and then, following Her Majesty's strident commands, we ended up heading into deepest, darkest Burnaby before we realized the error of her/our ways! Fortunately had brought along Garmin Goil as had not been to their place in sometime and was a tad unsure of just how to get there. Had thought I'd be fine on return leg but such was not the case. Nothing wrong with a bit of reconnoitering, day or night, I say! However, my passengers were not overly impressed or amused, I have to report, Dear Reader!
Still, safe and sound, at last, and into bed, after brushing and flossing, to read a couple more chapters of An Impartial Witness, helping Bess Crawford solve her latest murder. Again, Congratulations on the birth of Emily!!! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio Chauffeur Etraordinaire!!!
Snaps: From Grouse Mountain, yesterday, taken by Marvin, Nicole's boyfriend; Kits, earlier today, not far from us, again taken by Marvinator.
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