Powered by Twitter Tools
We don’t have a garage at our house, but we do have a pretty big driveway. We’ve tried to solve the motorcycle parking issue with these plastic tarp sheds – each is about 8’x10′.
The one on the left is three years old, and holds my partners bikes: a 2006 SV650 and a 2007 Vulcan. The one on the right is just two years old and holds my DRZ-400 SM as well as my partners project bike, a 1976 Triumph.
(I am crawling Craigslist for a late-80s/early-90s sports bike to make into my own project bike! Searches for mororcycles for sale between $300-$500 are so much fun.)
The older shed isn’t doing well. Last winter the snow load was a little too much for the aging tarp and it began to shred. We have a newer tarp stretched over the frame of the shed for now like a silver toupee, picturesquely held on with milk jugs filled with water – but we should really find a better solution for next year.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily, motorcycle enthusiast
Powered by Twitter Tools
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily, motorcycle enthusiast
Powered by Twitter Tools
I drove out to Middleborough MA today to work from the office out here for a couple of days. I brought Mike with me because he’s between jobs at the moment, and it was really nice to have the company on the four hour drive.
Next time I’ll take six hours and ride my motorcycle out here. Tomorrow I’m working a full day and we will head back home – unless we decide to get a cheap room and stay another night so we can watch the sun rise over Cape Cod.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily
Powered by Twitter Tools
The engineering building where I attended most of my college classes is totally gone. What a shock to see a whole city block in New York empty! And look: you can see the historic Foundation Building from here now!
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily
Monday Night was the annual Founders Day Celebration, awarding alumni of Cooper Union for outstanding achievement. I was awarded Young Alumnus of the Year last year, and it’s an accomplishment I’m still kind of grappling with.
Cooper Union has been in tremendous turmoil for the last six months. The new president came in, took a look at the finances, and determined that the institutions mission of full tuition scholarships to all admitted students might not be feasible moving into the future. Many in the Cooper Union community feel that the meritocracy created when students are allowed to study with no fiduciary responsibility between themselves, their peers, and the educators is unmatched and central to that which makes the school stand apart from other small colleges. We’ve written lots about it at The Cooper Union Commons blog and also at the new Friends of Cooper Union website.
But last night, however, was about celebrating alumni accomplishments. It was a lovely evening in Guastivinos – which rests under the 59th Street Bridge and has structural tiled ceilings and manages to combine art, architecture, and engineering functionally and beautifully. Everyone was dressed up, on their best and most fun behavior, and we were able to celebrate that spark that makes Cooper Union special – the maker-doer attitude that Peter Cooper has managed to instill in each of us as we continue on in his footsteps and in service of his legacy and dream.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily
Powered by Twitter Tools
I’ve started lifting weights in the morning. This morning I had to stop and admire my carefully coordinated nail polish. I know I’m not the only one who does this – another one of my friends tweeted she did the same thing recently, too.
I actually love lifting weights. I haven’t gotten to dead lift capabilities or anything, but in the casual way I do it even THEN I can see how rapidly my body is able to improve itself.
I have been meaning to get into better shape, but the fact that our big motorcycle trip is just 2 1/2 months away means it’s more of a priority. Hundreds of miles a day on a motorcycle is miserable if you don’t have a general level of core strength and muscle competency. Plus there’s there’s the part where I need to fit into my motorcycle pants – and if I was smart I’d save $20 a pound lost so I’d be on my way to picking up a one-piece suit when I hit what I would like to be my steady baseline weight!
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily
Powered by Twitter Tools
We coerced the boys into a 3-mile hike today. Those guys are so frustrating! They were adamantly opposed to hiking today – Twelve looked like he was on the verge of tears for the hour of coercion, executive decisions, and prep he had to endure. And as soon as we hit the trail he made up this brilliant walking form of Minecraft-meets-dungeons-and-dragons that fully occupied Twelve and Eight for the first 2 1/2 miles if our walk.
Wouldn’t you know it: 10 min into the walk Twelve said “I like going on hikes like this together. We should do this more!”
Mike and I nearly rolled off the mountain. Unfortunately I couldn’t get him to repeat that statement into my voice recorder.
It turns out that the hardest thing about parenting is probably the constant feeling that you are doing it wrong. either society tells us this, or we are too hard on ourselves, or the kids say so. Luckily if you push through this awful sneaking sensation the odds are you’ll have a potentially frustrating yet rewarding moment of zen in the woods, where the kids decide they are having the time of their lives. And if you can avoid a hard-hitting “told you so!” those moments are so worth it.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Powered by Twitter Tools
The group that I normally ride long distances with is one of the best groups ever, I’m sure. We are trusting and respectful in a way that makes everything more fun and more exciting – there is zero drama, because I trust my friends to say what they need, I trust them to respect my needs as well. So when we are out riding, if one if us needs to go off for a while it’s no big deal: we just meet up later. If someone does something what makes another person uncomfortable, we tell each other. It’s pretty awesome.
Two years ago we ride 11 states in 11 days (and avoided highways as much as possible). I blogged it here. We’ve been using a group tumblr blog to track our trips as we ride them.
Tonight we all met for dinner and it was so super fun. What a great group of friends! This year we will ride down to Helen GA and ride in circles around it. I can’t wait.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily, motorcycle enthusiast
Powered by Twitter Tools
Temporary Kitty is not supposed to get on the table. Temporary Kitty knows this. Temporary Kitty hops up there anyway, and does whatever he wants. Temporary Kitty wants to play with your pens, and bat them off the table. Temporary Kitty wants you to pick him up and pet him. Temporary Kitty wants to eat your potato chips.
Temporary Kitty wants to denude your spider plants. Temporary Kitty wants to take a nap on your laptop and attack your typing fingers when you’re working.
Temporary Kitty is incorrigible. Temporary Kitty is adorable. Temporary Kitty just sighed real big, like it was the least he could do to put up with my tappa-tappa-tappa. And then he sneezed, and got Temporary Kitty boogers all over my laptop screen.
Um. Ew.
I’m blogging a photo a day for the month of February. You should too! #29in29
Posted in daily, daily book
Powered by Twitter Tools
I’m wrapping up at the Sustainable Remediation Forum meeting in San Diego. It’s a 3 day conference – and it is packed. This week I was waking up at 4AM pacific time, working for a couple of hours, and then going to the conference. The meetings are so interesting that you end up staying there for the full day, chatting with people at breaks, and then group lunches and dinners. It’s incredible! And TIRING.
This is a good problem to have, though. It’s just lovely to find a group of engaging colleagues with wide and robust interests.
And did I mention San Diego? We went for a hike in Torrey Pines forest today after the last session. It was so beautiful! Totally worth my imminent red eye home.
this is day 2 of the #29in29 challenge!
Posted in daily, environmentalism
Powered by Twitter Tools
