Solar Eclipse 2017

The solar eclipse just happened and it has me feeling cosmic and appreciative of our wondrous universe. It makes me feel pretty small and realize that most of my concerns are really trivial.

I was amazed at how the quality of light changed and how the crickets began to chirp. Not to mention the crescent-shaped lights on the ground beneath the trees. We had a colander out viewing crescents on the patio because we had no solar glasses. Briefly, a cloud covered the sun and we looked up for a few seconds at the eclipse. Then some neighbors let us borrow their glasses. They are neighbors who for some reason we have never even spoken to, but people realize this is a rare event, so it makes us more human, more kind.
This is an amazing time to be alive, with my daughter just turning 1 year old and now this truly inspiring event of nature. One can't help but feel gratitude and a sense of contentment.

One of my favorite Carl Sagan quotes:
“The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”

Eclipse babies

It was so dark that the flash fired!

Crescent leaves

Blue Ridge Triathlon race report

First of all, huge thanks to my wife Renee for getting up with me at 4am to get ready for the race and providing pit crew and moral support! Went into my 3rd triathlon in Blue Ridge, GA pretty confident after spending this year ramping up my swim at the Aquatic Center and Open Water Swims at Lake Allatoona. Swimming being my main limiter and biking and running, my strengths. I never realized just how much technique is involved with swimming and it's been a challenge to get faster in the water and to also become comfortable in open water. For this race, I knew I would have no problem with the Sprint distance: 600 yard swim, 18 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. No I don't have an expensive Tri bike with aero wheels, aero bars or aero helmet. In fact, you'd laugh at how much my race bike costs. Hey, I figure I'll build my body up first before diving in fully with the expensive gear. Rested 3 days prior and was battling a groin/adductor pull. Hurts like crazy unless legs a

Bassline of the week!

I heard this song on a run today and realized what a great bass part it has. That's Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads' playing on "Born Under Punches." Tina, in my opinion, is a consistently underrated bassist. She really has such a minimalist style. This bassline does exactly what it needs to and nothing more, simple and effective. It definitely gets bonus points for being in such a quirky time signature as well! She also uses space and air between notes to provide extra, er, punch. It's such a strange song frankly, with typical Talking Heads bizarre lyrics, seemingly random guitar licks and synth for that matter. Tina's part could've fallen through the cracks and her slap-and-pop style on the track helps the bass break through the mix a bit. This song is a great example of bass parts that just groove and are perfect in their simplicity. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Raleigh, etc.

It's hot here in Raleigh and I'm stuck in a windowless tiny office writing a technical manual. Actually I'm not writing much of anything. Sometimes the well dries up. I had a pretty bad crash last night on 286. Came through the other side of a creek crossing and front wheel washed out in some loose rocks. I may have applied to much front brake inexplicably. Really trying to lay off the brakes more and more. Anyway, left elbow and knee are banged up and plenty of road rash. As they say, that's racing. There is a race Saturday here that I thought about entering on a lark but now I may not.

Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

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