I found another cat to photo. This one belongs to Sarah and Brian. We stopped on the way up to Abby and Collin's to see Sarah and Brian's new house. It is very nice. Here is Penny. She likes to stay by the pellet stove and she greets anyone who comes in.

Hey it's snowing.

I have a picture of Jazzy. She's pretty pissed off here because she was brought downstairs. Happy New Year's Eve.

This is the weather I'm missing back in Washington:

The next wave of rain is due in Sunday afternoon -- and this one might kick up the easterly foothill breezes to 30-40 mph, but otherwise, new year, same weather.

Another wave of rain for Monday, and then another wave for Tuesday. Perhaps a few showers for Wednesday, and then more rain for Thursday and Friday.

I have another animal from Jon & Carol's collection up on the hill. Years ago Jonathan thought it was a good idea to have goats. Unfortunately they have none now, therefore no pictures. What they do have is Myles. He is in sorry shape. The funny part of his tenure up there is that he now likes Jonathan. I understand that the feeling isn't mutual. The pictures I have don't convey the level of disrepair he is in, so I have included two. Here is Myles:

This is interesting. Back when Mom was sick, my sister and her husband were here in Massachusetts taking care of her (I'm typing this from there). They had with them their camper and her red car. While on Google Earth looking at that home, I was wondering who's red car was in the driveway when the satellite took the picture. When she showed up yesterday and I saw her red car I knew. I could then make out in the photo their camper and Mom's white car. There is even someone walking in the street. I might just have to upgrade to Google Earth Plus to find out whether I can see any more. So here is the satellite picture:




And here is her car now:



We still have some snow despite all the rain we got yesterday. You can see the ice in the drive. I hope the streets are clear for the Sawmill River 10k Run on Monday morning. I haven't been able to run much after the marathon because of my IT-band problem, so I hope I can finish the race well enough. I ran the inaugural race years ago and it had snowed the previous night so I had to run in the tire tracks. It wasn't easy to keep my footing.

Sorry about the red eye, but I had to use the flash for these shots. Here is River.




This is his pal, Shanaya.



We all went up to Abby and Collin's for dinner. We were able to coax Joan out of the woods. There I was able to get Ling,



and Tye. I'm not sure about which cat is which. I might have their names wrong.



Y'all have a great day.

Yesterday I was able to hunt Bob down. Maybe today I'll find Dave upstreet. Here is Cindy and Bob's boxer, Frasier. This guy is very energetic. He jumps straight in the air with all four legs; very, very busy. You can see here that he is patiently waiting for his master's permission to move. Very convenient for picture taking.

Here are a few of the individuals I visited today:




Here are Chloe and Tanner.







They keep the Gray Guy in line.




Here is Lindsey. She's not feeling well.




And last but not least , here is Bailey. Bailey thinks he is a person. Don't tell him though, he would be crushed. I guess he is a dog person or person-dog.

I didn't see Jasper because he feels beseiged by the Corgis and the gray guy. Here in Montague, Bailey keeps Jazzy upstairs all the time. I've seen her once. Picture a siamese cat with very subtle, lingering traits of a coon cat. Other than seeing these folks, today Becca let me use her new car to sort of run errands and to take in part of this river valley. Joe and I went to 'hamp today for some coffee. Later this evening Becca and I accompanied the kid, with her friends, to a movie. "Rumor has it" is a light film, good for a date, but better left to renting at a discount. Jennifer Aniston is adorable as ever, Kevin Costner always does a good job, and Shirley Maclaine digs into an over-the-top role.

Whew, this Holidale from the Berkshire Brewing Company is strong. Y'all have a good Wednesday.

Here is the Sawmill River in its cold, subdued glory. It rained like hell Christmas day, but not enough to erase the snow. I was on a plane Christmas Eve and on my way home for a surprise visit back home. I couldn't write about that in here because it would have tipped them off. Before the flight I was also busy getting this computer set up to my satisfaction. I'll write about the family surprise later.




Here is my neighbor's barn. It is a nice New England scene.

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Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

The latest installment from the Woodland Park dissenters.

Yay, I'm typing this on the new computer. This thing is light. I hope the insides are stronger than the plastic on the outside. I've been up too late already. Good night.

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Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

On Aurora/99 this morning.

You can't really read what the last picture says. There was an "error in reading drive C." My hard drive failed so I'm out a computer right now. I'm using someone else's for this. I 've ordered a new one fron Dell and it'll be here next week. I'll see whether Ill be able to pay for it. I'm also going to get high speed internet. Woo hoo. It will have wireless too. I'm always a few years behind the curve.

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Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

Ok, This is what I get when I try to start my computer. It looks like I'm offline for a while. I can read most of my email on this phone.

I added some links to the left
<===================,
returned some links which had been missing for awhile,
hid some partisan links,
and now have a cool "map of site visitors" link.
Click away.

I don't know why I am typing in this format.

...to walk into that role
where energy moves
connecting, coursing
the smaller is flattened
the greater is widened
light is everywhere
time is still,
and no more.

everyone take some
i'm told there is plenty.
maybe some day
i'll walk into that,
where reality lies
and questions cease
beyond this coil, yet,
yet I have never
left.

The gulf stream may actually be slowing.

I can walk again, so I'm going to work this morning. The IT-band problem is still sort of there but not nearly to the extent of before. Having this time "home" helped me get some domestic stuff done. All my bills are mailed off now and I have food for the work week. I also brought in the plants I'd like to keep. It was a good thing I signed the lease for another year when I did. These apartments were sold, and through the new management company they are raising the rents significantly. This place isn't worth what they want, but if the housing market lets them do it that is where they will go. Now, out into the cold....

I couldn't go to work today. My legs are shot. The outside of my right knee is especially painful. I sent my boss a text message last night saying that I wasn't sure whether I would be able to walk the next day. I can barely walk but working at landscaping is out of the question. I'd have to be able to climb up and down off of and into the truck. No frickin' way. Thankfully, I don't think that my chronic knee injury has surfaced this time. I think what this is is the inflamation if the "it band" (iliotibial band). It is described here. It took six hours for the nausea from testerday to subside. That was pleasant. Y'all have a nice week out there.

From "Loomings", via Kos:

"The world is a large, large place, and ripples will not change its course, though the occasional tsunami makes it wobble slightly. There are days, like today, when I wonder at the landscape, and imagine the whole besotted world to be dashed up against the rocks, and wonder if any of us will ever gain our bearings again."

Go read.

I have good news and not so good news. I finished the race in good time (so I am told) 3:31:51, but boy did I pay for it. I was doing well until mile 17 or so. I guess the first half was too fast. The way I feel now I wonder that any speed for the first half would have spared me from my screaming legs and post race nausea. My legs still hurt. I didn't qualify for Boston, not with the second half of the race I put in. I finished 50th out of my age group of 187 and 331st* of the males in general. Seasoned marathoners (I know) were impressed with my time in my first marathon. I appreciate that.

I don't think people are supposed to run 26 miles. That was the distinct feeling I got at mile 17 or so, where I sort of woke up, fully comprehending what I had gotten myself into. I was thinking, "this sucks now and it is only going to get worse." I tried to rally my body a few times, but to little avail. I was spent, too early. And it all happened just how I had been told. "The first one is a learning experience" and "don't go out too fast," they said. I'd like to keep that good pace throughout the whole race the next time. "Next time?" Yup, I just wrote that.

Uli Steidl won again in 2:24:24. The next guy was 10 minutes behind him.

*update: 334th

Well, this is it. It seems easy to forget all the miles which have added up to get here. They really don't add up. They are done in segments or groups. This race is then adding them up in quantity and quality. I have to go 26.2 miles in distance and also at a relatively good speed. My average minute/mile needs to be 7:38. I've chipped my half speed down to below 7:10. Here is to hoping that my body can do the former for an extended period of time. All in all, not bad at all for being over 40. It is strange reading that.

I was up at about 4:30 this morning. I wasn't as anxious last night. I took a pre-race shower and then started the coffee/small b'fast/computer regimen I have. I think I got the rest I need. I'll see.

Here is the present, at this writing, radar:



The race starts and ends between I90 and 520 in the middle of the green blob. That is kind of funny, because it starts next to the EMP blob.

I bought something today I should have listened to my gut about. I don't know how people run with tights, and to be truthful I never thought I would even entertain the thought of buying them, but stupid me did. They constrict movement and are a fashion faux pas (at least to me). What was I thinking? Oh, I know, how freezing it will be on Sunday. I might give them another try. I'd prefer it if young women wore these things. Sorry, but I would.

This is a test because I can't seem to see my blog right now.

I haven't felt much like writing in here lately, obviously. I "ran" against some advice yesterday and put in about 40 minutes here in Bellevue. Some say to run a little as close as the day before the race. I'm hoping that a moderate run close to my race pace three days before the event will be ok. I gauged the run by my breath. I felt I had to shake out my legs a bit. I didn't think that not running at all for the week before the marathon would be a good idea. I'm having a minor concern in my knee again. If I start off easy on Sunday I should be all right. I've been trying to figure my pace from the pace charts and calculators available on running web sites.

I'm having a much more leisurely weekend this year than last. I moved this weekend last year, then ran the Seattle Half and then had to contend with a big test the following Monday. It was harrowing and exhausting. I couldn't properly train for the race because I needed to study for the test and all the other tests in the course. I'm hoping this year will be different. I try to avoid the perfect storm weekends like that now. Sleep last night wasn't that fitfull. I had a crazy mix of work and the race combining to make a truly bizarre mix of dreams. There were monkeys, monsters, and wars. We were told to do a five days worth of properties in three. Presently I can't complete the schedule I have now. This leads to anxiety. The sheer length of the marathon is leading to it's own anxiety as I try to put it into perspective.

Maybe going to the expo today to pick up my bib, shirt and stuff will help me wrap my head around this. I might also run down to Fry's to see what they have for sales. I know this is not exactly the best day to do this, but at least it will get me out of the apartment.

I just checked the weather for Sunday, and this is what they have to say:

"Sunday is the annual running of the Seattle Marathon. It will be a cold and damp race. Temperatures should be in the middle to upper 30s at the starting line Sunday morning."

Lovely.

Here is "little" Nicky on my bike. These pictures don't show how big he's gotten. I had time today so I cleaned up the bike a little, lubed the chain and connected the heating element controller for my gloves and socks (I didn't use them today). For some reason he stayed on the bike long enough for me to get these pictures.

Well, I'm registered.

This journal is turning into a running log. Friday we went 7+ miles on Cougar, Saturday's run was 6 and this morning in the misty rain at Redmond Watershed two of us went 23 miles while a few others did similar distances. This morning there were 10 of us out there. The last 5 miles were (as you would imagine) cold and wet. My shoes were soaked through as was pretty much the rest of me. We were all in a similar condition. I should have taken pictures but I was quite happy to get out of the wet clothes quickly. We went right to our cars. I didn't really notice this on the drive home, but my hands were still a bit numb in the shower. I ran through another turn of the ankle yesterday and continued on it today. It protested but I thought I could get the miles in without too much of a problem. It'll be all right in a few days. I think we crossed the line into hardcore this morning, but it was cool.

I guess once a year I do this; I called in sick today. Last year I was able to get this apartment on my sick day. Today I'll be able to get some miles in on Cougar Mountain. We were raised to always attend to our responsibilities. This includes going to work, always, going to school/class or whatever else. The result is that we as a family are very dependable and easily taken for granted.

Our yankee upbringing keeps us out of the spotlight - doing otherwise would be bringing attention to oneself. Can't be doing that. That is one area where Mom's yankee work ethic jibed with Dad's Polish farmwork ethic (for lack of a better term). The Poles I used to know in Western Massachusetts were peerless in fieldwork.

Aaaanyways...no work for me today. I need these miles for the Seattle Marathon. Most runners start tapering three weeks before the race, not two. Gotta sign up for the thing too. My track workout went well on Wednesday. I'll get three solid days in this weekend and then I can taper. Y'all have a great weekend.

This was what greeted us the morning after the race. The rest of the day was beautiful.

I'll be running in a relay in Canada on Saturday. There are eight legs to the 100km course. It is the Haney to Harrison Relay in Vancouver, British Columbia. I haven't been up there on this side of the continent yet. I looked at a map of the area and a lot of the street names are very English. As close culturally as we all are, just to be able to get out of town to see new landscape (not in the landscaping sense) will be refreshing. I dug out my passport (makes re-entry a lot easier) and I think I have most of my other things lined up. I really need to get away. We'll travel up there Friday, run Saturday and return Sunday. It'll prove to be an expensive outing (for me) but I haven't let that snag me.

We all worked on the same property, Shorewood, yesterday. Steady rain started after mid-day. Some of us were kept late. I wasn't asked about that. Because of this I wasn't able to get to the Redmond run on time. I tried to run the small group down but was unable to follow. On my return to Town Center I turned my ankle a bit. It will be better in a few days. That is one of the reasons I don't like to run in the dark.

The next week and a half look very wet. The new boots from REI aren't all that. I can still get wet. A Soggy, soggy Pacific Northwest.

I've been waiting for the official results for the Dawg Dash held this morning on the UW campus. I ran long yesterday, putting in about 21 miles with the ESR group, two of whom are training for their upcoming marathon in Florence, Italy. So I didn't expect much out of the run this morning. Mile one and two seemed to be about right, speed-wise, and I didn't see the signs for three and four. I knew I was running well because I was catching people for the rest of the course. I ended up with my best time. I broke 41 minutes. I hope they didn't get the course wrong. I did this after all those miles yesterday. I really wish I could write that I have figured out my career goals and/or directional project for myself, but I can't. I'll take my victories where I can.

My life right now is about picking up leaves, some strange symbolic (?) dreams and not getting enough running done. I'm also doing the fitzmas watch. I'll try to get a more full post here (some time).

There are many entries out there for this but I liked the way this paragraph reads, via Kos:

"If the NY Daily News story is correct, that's a hell of a lot of lying to the American people. Sure, it's not a lie about a blowjob, rather one about national security and compromising intelligence assets in the battle against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but still...."

I had a very productive day today and it was a true day off at that. I didn't sit around the apartment or waste my time at Tully's or Starbucks. I woke without an alarm. I made coffee and a small breakfast and then I went online to watch the Plame watch. Indictments are going to fly. I did my hour's run course in under an hour, I got the emissions on the car ok'd and then I went to BCC for the information session concerning the radiation tech program there. The program director could be a stand up comedian. I then got on my motorcycle (finally) and zoomed to the Northgate Mall in order to try to redeem my Simon gift certificates. I was successful with three of them and the other three have to be redeemd at the Palm Beach mall. I don't see myself getting there any time soon. The ride home took me through Monroe to Fall City and Preston to I90. My feet are still cold.

It looks as though I am all set to apply to the program in the winter. I just need some patient contact. I'm thinking about taking a nursing assistant course. Maybe now would be the time to think about getting a job in that field anyways. I'm not sure. Again, my BA is helping me out greatly. I guess I'm finally using it. Thanks UMass.

We'll be running very early in Mill Creek tomorrow. I'm still tired from work. Five tens instead of four. Everytime we run in Mill Creek it rains. I hope it isn't raining tomorrow. Peace.

Leaves

.
I'm feeling uninspired and tired. At work today Robyn and I picked up a lot of leaves. I didn't go to the track workout afterwards, though I hope to run on my own tomorrow evening. Last night we played ultimate frisbee until it was nearly impossible to see the disc, thus ending the ultimate frisbee season. A week or so ago we switched from more day than night (strictly sun/not sun) to the inverse; more night than day. We're headed into that time when Washingtonians sort of hibernate. If any new neighbors move in they'll see them in the spring. They drive a lot in the dark, through the rain, and in the (relative) cold. I hope this winter is better to Sonya. She has a lot of studying to do.

Oh, Robyn and I went to Beth's for breakfast this morning. Great eggs! It beats Denny's and any stinky casino, hands down.

I took this picture while Chuck and I were in New Orleans back in 1987. We toured the south on our bicycles and New Orleans fit into the middle-to-end of our journey. This statue sits atop a mausoleum near the French Quarter. So sincere her sorrow and a portend of what to come.

I went down to Fry's this afternoon to look at the laptops personally. Their sales help were not often too helpful. They were more acting in the capacity of the pitch man than the helpful salesperson. When they (one by one) figured out I wouldn't be a sale that day they left me to my own. The last guy was actually helpful. He pointed me to the HP Livestrong notebook. I was hoping to find something I would like in the Toshibas. I have a better idea of the size I want and the necessary components.

OK, here are the excerpts from Jane Roberts' "The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events" I thought would shed some light on the working behind the curtain. They can be found between pages 12 and 33 of the book.

"Dying is a biological necessity, not only for the individual, but to insure the continued vitality of the species. Dying is a spiritual and psychological necessity, for after awhile the exuberant, ever-renewed energies of the spirit can no longer be translated into flesh.

"Inherently, each individual knows that he or she must die physically in order to survive spiritually and psychically (underlined). The self outgrows the flesh. Particularly since [the advent of Charles] Darwin's theories, the acceptance of the fact of death has come to imply a certain kind of weakness, for is it not said that only the strong survive?

"To some degree, epidemics and recognized illnesses serve the sociological purpose of providing an acceptable reason for death - a face-saving device for those who have already decided to die. This does not mean that such individuals make a conscious decision to die, in your terms: But such decisions are often semiconscious (intently). It might be that those individuals feel they have fulfilled their purposes - but such decisions may also be built upon a different kind of desire for survival than those understood in Darwinian terms.

"It is not understood that before life an individual decides to live. A self is not simply the accidental personification of the body's biological mechanism. Each person born desires to be born. He dies when that desire no longer operates. No epidemic or illness or natural disaster - or stray bullet from a murderer's gun - will kill a person who does not want to die."

...


"The physical world that you recognize is made up of invisible patterns. These patterns are "plastic," in that while they exist, their final form is a matter of probabilities directed by consciousness. Your senses perceive these patterns in their own ways. The patterns themselves can be "activated" in innumerable fashions. There is something out there (humorously emphatic) to observe.

"(Long pause, one of many, at 10:04.) Your sense apparatus determines what form that something will take, however. The mass world rises up before your eyes, but your eyes are part of that mass world. You cannot see your thoughts, so you do not realize that they have shape and form, even as, say, clouds do. There are currents of thought as there are currents of air, and the mental patterns of men's feelings and thoughts rise up like flames from a fire, or steam from hot water, to fall like ashes or like rain.

"All elements of the interior invisible environment work together, and they form the temporal weather patterns that are exteriorized mental states, presenting you locally and en masse, then, with a physical version of man's emotional states. Period."

...

"Now: The physical planet is obviously also ever-changing while it is operationally or realistically or pragmatically relatively stable. The physical matter of the planet is also composed of literally infinite hordes of consciousnesses - each experiencing its own reality while adding to the overall cooperative venture.

"(Long pause.) Natural disasters represent an understandably prejudiced concept, in which the vast creative and rejuvenating elements important to planetary life, and therefore to mankind, are ignored. The stability of the planet rests upon such changes and alterations, even as the body's stability is dependent upon, say, the birth and death of the cells.

"(10:20.) It is quite obvious that people must die - not only because otherwise you would overpopulate your world into extinction, but because the nature of consciousness requires new experience, challenge, and accomplishment. This is everywhere apparent in nature itself. (Pause.) If there were no death, you would have to invent it (smile) - for the context of that selfhood would be as limited as the experience of a great sculptor given but one hunk of stone (with quiet dramatic emphasis).

"The sculptor's creation is pragmatically realistic, in that it exists as an object, and can be quite legitimately perceived, as can your world. The sculptor's statue, however, comes from the inner environment, the patterns of probabilities. These patterns are not themselves inactive. They are possessed by the desire to be actualized (with a hyphen). Behind all realities there are mental states. These always seek form, though again there are other forms than those you recognize."

...

"It is easy for you to see that seeds bring forth the fruit of the earth, each [of] their own kind. No seed is identical to any other, yet generally speaking there are species that serve to unite them. You do not mistake an orange for a grape. In the same way ideas or thoughts form general patterns, bringing forth in your world certain kinds of events. In this respect your thoughts and feelings "seed" physical reality, bringing forth materializations.

"You operate quite nicely politically, living in villages, townships, countries, states, and so forth, each with certain customs and local ordinances. These in no way affect the land itself. They are designations for practical purposes, and they imply organization of intent or affiliation at one level. They are political patterns, invisible but highly effective. There are, however, far more vigorous invisible mental patterns, into which the thoughts and feelings of mankind are organized - or, naturally, organize themselves.

"Each person's thoughts flow into that formation, forming part of the earth's psychic atmosphere. From that atmosphere flows the natural earthly patterns from which your seasons emerge with all of their variety and effects. You are never victims of natural disasters, though it may seem that you are, for you have your hand in forming them. You are creatively involved in the earth's cycles. No one can be born for you, or die for you, and yet no birth or death is really an isolated event, but one in which the entire planet participates. In personal terms, again, each species is concerned not only with survival but with the quality of its life and experience.

"In those terms, natural disasters ultimately end up righting a condition that earlier blighted the desired quality of life, so that adjustments were made.

"Am I going too fast?

('No, ' I said, although Seth-Jane's pace was pretty good as far as my writing speed was concerned.)

"The 'victims' choose to participate in those conditions at spiritual, psychological, and biological levels. Many of those who are counted among the fatalities might otherwise die of extended illnesses, for example. At cellular levels such knowledge is available, and in one way or another imparted, often in dreams, to the individual. Conscious comprehension need not follow, for many people know such things, and pretend not to know them at the same time.

"(11:44.) Others have finished with their challenges; they want to die and are looking for an excuse - a face-saving device. However, those who choose such deaths want to die in terms of drama, in the middle of their activities, and are in a strange way filled with the exultant inner knowledge of life's strength even at the point of death. At the last they identify with the power of nature that seemingly destroyed them.

"That identification often brings about in death - but not always - an added acceleration of consciousness, and involves such individuals in a kind of 'group death experience,' where all of the victims more or less embark into another level of reality 'at the same time.'

"Those people were aware just beneath consciousness of the possibilities of such an event long before the disaster occurred, and could until the last moment choose to avoid the encounter. Animals know of weather conditions ahead of time, as old tales say. This perception is a biological part of your heritage also. The body is prepared, though consciously it seems you are ignorant.

"There are innumerable relationships that exist between the interior environment of the body and the weather patterns. The ancient feelings of identification with storms are quite valid, and in that respect the "realism" of feelings is far superior to the realism of logic. When a person feels a part of a storm, those feelings speak a literal truth. Logic deals with exterior conditions, with cause-and-effect relationships. Intuitions deal with immediate experience of the most intimate nature, with subjective motions and activities that in your terms move far quicker than the speed of light, and with simultaneous events that your cause-and-effect level is far too slow to perceive.

"(Long pause.) In that regard also, the activities of the inner environment are too fast for you to follow intellectually. Your intuitions, however, can give you clues to such behavior. A country is responsible for its own droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes - and for its own harvests and rich display of products, its industry and cultural achievements, and each of these elements is related to each other one.

"If the quality of life that is considered spiritually and biologically necessary fails, then adjustments occur. A political problem might be altered by a natural disaster if political means fail. On the other hand, the rousing creative energies of the people will emerge.

"Excellence will show itself through the arts, cultural creativity, technological or sociological accomplishments. The species tries to fulfill its great capacities. Each physical body in its own way is like the world. It has its own defenses and abilities, and each portion of it strives for a quality of existence that will bring to the smallest parts of it the spiritual and biological fulfillment of its own nature."

Seattleites are getting ready to retreat to the dry environs within their walls in advance of the coming rains. They were buying books at the twice yearly book sale at Magnuson Park this weekend, put on by The Friends of The Seattle Public Library. I got three of the cat books by Cleveland Amory. The first two were about the cat. I know this because I read them years ago. Those I gave to Lee. The third, I just found out, is about Amory himself. Pity, I like it when he writes about his cat. The other books I got are metaphysical (as usual) in nature. I've started Marianne Williamson's candid "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of 'A Course in Miracles'". It brings me way back to when I used to live in 'Hamp. I read "The Course" when I lived there. I certainly hope there has been some progression since that time. It seems like a world ago. I picked up a book by Sayana Roman and another about Edgar Cayce, both dealing with the subject of communication.

I thought this fall would be my time of preparing for a marathon, but perhaps my course of study was brought home by me in the saddlebag of my motorcycle yesterday. I couldn't run today because the pain in my right knee has shifted to the right outside area of that joint, the lateral tendons of the muscles of the femur and maybe the lower leg. I don't feel like looking them up in my anatomy & physiology textbook. That also reminds me that I'm not in school this quarter. I seem to be playing this blind.

I had intended to quickly write a little bit about the booksale and then go into the Seth quotes about The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. I ran out of time so now I need some sleep. Y'all have a great week.

Arianna Huffington, of The Huffington Post, on the current state of American journalism: "The unquestioning regurgitation of administration spin through the use of anonymous sources is the fault line of modern American journalism."

I almost bought a new laptop yesterday. Nevermind that it wouldn't have been a very fiscally sound move. After adding in an exta battery, some software, a 2 year warranty etc... the price climbed. I think the deciding factor, other than it was getting late, was that the wireless card would not have been built in and the machine would not have been much smaller than the monster I have now. So I'm still stuck with this Windows 98 SE with a dead battery and a screen that is held up with cardboard and duct tape. It is really pretty.

I haven't forgotten about the disaster-related excerpt I found. I want to get it in here. It really is insightful. We have a poor understanding of what we call the universe and how it works. We make our own reality, and that includes the weather. We die on our own schedule even though that may not be consciously evident. And we don't really die. Ultimately, nothing is really destroyed.

I'm getting use of the bicycle purchase though and I'm getting my bike legs back. I nearly lived on my bike while I was in Florida. It gives my knee a break. A break for me would be some sort of direction for myself. My tea-leaves reading friend, Lilia, says she sees no romance for me, still. So, no romance and no solid direction. This is getting old. Perhaps once I start writing, then the computer will materialize and I'll have something to do. Have a nice week.

Sorry kids, but more name calling; Google "asshole" and click "I'm Feeling Lucky." For that matter, Google "failure" and also click "I'm Feeling Lucky."

Read the timeline to the Katrina disaster. Really, ya gotta read it.

Goodbye Bob Denver (Gilligan). Gilligan's Island, along with Hogan's Heroes and The Brady Bunch kept us entertained in the afternoons after school. From reading this article, he was also a really nice guy.

I was only off my best half marathon time by a minute and three seconds this morning. I must have read the clocks incorrectly as I crossed the line. That makes me feel better. I thought I did a 1:36 or so. It was a 1:34:26. I started out fast and I thought I could hold it. The first hill on the UW/Bothell campus threw me and I couldn't get back what I needed. I might have done too much last week trying to get ready for this race. For the first time I think my legs gave out. I know what I need to do now. Oh yeah, so far so good with the knee. Thanks for asking.

I have a passage from Seth/Jane Roberts which may put the Katrina event in perspective, if there can be such a thing. That would be better than name calling. I'm glad to read that the Louisiana officials are sticking to their guns. Here is the print version (you might not need to join their NYT club). I need more time to type it all in. I'm finally feeling better after the race and the sun is out. I can't ride the bicycle (I'm beat), so I'll take the motorcycle out. Have a marvelous week.

Via Atrios, "BEHIND THE CURTAIN." It was all staged. They really are fuckers.

Here is an excellent (in my opinion) column from Howell Raines I read in The Seattle Times Today. It's Title is The Crescent City blues. Here is an excerpt:

"Certainly, the sacrifices of New Orleans need a kind of national reckoning, one that would enable the people to see the president who forgot to care for what he is. Every great disaster — the Blitz, 9/11, the tsunami — has a political dimension. The dilatory performance of George Bush during the past week has been outrageous. Almost as unbelievable as Katrina itself is the fact that the leader of the free world has been outshone by the elected leaders of a region renowned for governmental ineptitude."

Here is a sample taken from The Rude Pundit's latest entry:

"Nah. Fuck him. When he told Diane Sawyer that "I don't think anyone could have anticipated the breach of the levees," someone should have taken him, flown him to New Orleans, put him in a tiny pirogue somewhere off Claiborne Avenue, and sent him merrily on his way."

Read the whole thing.

So, so tired. I've been overdoing it lately and I'm feeling it. I worked with Robyn today and because of this I think I got less done. He is our applicator (herbicides, etc...), and he isn't interested in maintenance. I can't blame him. Bob found it funny to refer to us as Natman and Robyn today.

No ultimate in Marymoor this evening. I had a hard time trying to not fall asleep on the ride home. I'll do the track workout tomorrow after work and then probably take Thursday off (workouts, that is). I'd like to take work off for good but I need a plan for that. I haven't even looked into school yet. I think I'm still stinging a little from my failed interview and thus avoiding BCC. What would I like to do? Something artistic and enough to support me. I'd like to be able to be free enough in my expression that I wouldn't be tied into an orthodox mindset and group of norms. Needless to say I'd be a lot more relaxed. Annoyingly so. Good night.

Bob and I hiked from the Paradise Visitors Center on Mt. Rainier to Camp Muir yesterday. I think I am now a little more a part of the northwest since I joined the REI collective. I needed boots for hiking, work and the motorcycle. I hope these do all three. They may be a little too nice for work, but I had to bite the bullet and get them. The hike itself was difficult, as it was last year. It took us 4 1/2 hours to make it up there. The snowpack was smaller than last year with crevasses, water and tricky routes around them. I'd take a half marathon over this hike almost any day. It was humbling. This panorama shows the Muir Snowfield but the small size of this picture does not do it justice, and it also doesn't convey the sheer steepness of the incline. The pictures I took last year were more scenic. Yay for the sun!

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photo_086.jpg
Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

I biked from my place across the I90 bridge after work today.

We had Peter's service on Friday. Here he was at the Redmond Watershed in the spring:




We scattered his ashes on Saturday morning on Rattlesnake Ridge. There is quite a nice view from up there.




I'll add a few more pictures from that day I hope. On Sunday I finally bought a bicycle. It is, of all things, a Schwinn.




It is quite light for the price, especially when compared to the bikes which were available when I bought mine 22 years ago. That one is long gone. This new one is made out of aluminum and it has carbon fiber forks. It is above entry level but to me and what I was used to it is very far up. I rode it to Redmond Town Center today, about 14 miles round trip. Another biker already yelled at me to "go." I've heard at how impatient and rude they can be. This is the point where I miss the back country roads of Western Massachusetts. This is a strange website. I have a year to pay it off. I hope my lottery tickets pan out.

Hey, I almost forgot. In the spring I fished some geraniums out of the Costco dumpster. They weren't pretty anymore, but geraniums are tough. I repotted half of them and kept the rest on their original pots. They get water, sun and food and they have been flowering like crazy. Because my deck looks so nice, I won $75.00 off next month's rent. Something is working for me. Now, to think about school ....

I didn't get my four days off. We have a new boss and he said no. He was whining about me asking for a vacation day so I tried to shut him up by telling him that its for a funeral. He then went on about an enjoyable Irish funeral he attended in Dorchester. Fucking moron. He is from Massachusetts too. Hudson. I think he is similar to a previous con-man of a boss we had once, but without the alcohol. As you can surmise, I'm not feeling too optimistic about this guy. I have to start planning for the fall and for my next job. I'd like to stick around to watch him crash but I need to get moving. Tootles.

Oh yeah, I played ultimate frisbee this evening. I think I'm gonna be sore.

I worked Monday in exchange for Friday so that I could attend Peter's celebration of life. The problem is that the celebration is next week, not this. Now I have a four day weekend. I don't want to do this again next week so I think I'll take that Friday off with a vacation day. This Friday I'll help Trish clean her yard. I can't get away from the dirt and greens. We run in Kirkland this week.

Here is a link to Peter's obituary. When I would tell family and friends about Peter and Trish, I would have to say how incredibly nice they are, were. I really enjoyed running with Peter. We were well matched speed-wise and I already mentioned how decent he was. I found out later he was a fan of Garbage. So we liked the same music.

Here are a few words from Emmanuel. No matter how much I read this stuff, I have always seemed to forget it; it always sounds fresh and new. He says,

"Violent death is violent only to those who remain behind to view it. To the one who dies, it is simply a wondrous flight Home. All the drama takes place on your side of the doorway. From my viewpoint, the entrance to death is clear Light.

...

"The very act of dying does wonderful things for people. It releases them from illusion. You cannot imagine what a relief it is when you finally have accepted the fact that you are going to let go of the physical body. You say, 'All right, I'm being squeezed out of this like toothpaste out of a tube, and I simply cannot go back because the body doesn't function.' The moment you surrender, it is joyous.

...

"And what is it like beyond this world?
It is very different.
It is much the same
for you take yourself with you.

Those who find the thought
of traveling through eternity with themselves
distasteful
have important work to do.
It is the work of self-love.

You are your best companion
and you accompany yourself always.

That is the only structure I can give you
for the entire universe
is predicated on love
creating itself."

Emmanuel's Book II, The Choice for Love, Pat Rodegast and Judith Stanton

Lee convinced me that rather than doing my laundry I should take the motorcycle out for a long ride today. She told me, "I'd be out there." So away I went.



I arrived here in the Seattle area exactly three years ago today. In an apparent coincidence I took the bike out for a very long ride to re-visit the Gorge. My route back took me through the Yakima Canyon and then into The Rainier National Park.





I took this picture of Tara at the Gorge. It is one of my favorite pictures from that trip. When I made my way across the Columbia River, I knew I would want to visit that area again once I had some experiences from beyond the Cascades. I can't say I have anything profound to say. But, I have to ask, three years later and what am I doing? I don't feel I can cut and run. I won't go back to Florida. I (hopefully) won't cook again. And it is premature for me to return to New England. I'll get back on the bike tomorrow and I'll go to work. I have to think about this more. Check out this other picture of Tara.

Read a 4 year-old's take on God. Go!

I'm going to start running again on Saturday. I've taken quite a while off for my knee. I don't feel much from it now but when knees are involved, I can't be sure. Another long run could bring it back. It looks like I'm going to breakfast tomorrow at Beth's at a ridiculous hour in the morning. We used to eat there before work every Friday before the shop moved to Mukilteo. Denny's is a poor substitute. You can't have enough punks and cigarette smoke in the morning, is what I say. Y'all have a good weekend. Venceremos!

I took a long ride around Mt. Rainier yesterday. After I pieced together this picture, I think I like the one below of Mt. St. Helens better. We were a little further away than the last visitors station and there is a nice contrast between the foliage and the gray of the wasteland. The Rainier picture was taken on either route 7 or 161. Here, distance doesn't work so well. I had to get this of Rainier because the previous day we were nearly fruitless in this quest. If there were more variation of terrain then I think it would be more impressive. I wonder when this one is going to go up? I want to be more than a state away. Yellowstone might just go too. Another continent would be advisable then.

This is a better picture.

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photo_093.jpg
Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

Yup. There it is.

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Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

Brother Jerry and his traveling partner, and wife, Judy, are visiting after their tour of Alaska. We are on our way to Mt. St. Helens today.

"Yes, the world is not a totally evil place. There are always cats in pants."

I don't know why I took this series of the bridge. What I liked were the hills in the background. I went to Issaquah for coffee and the paper, and then on to North Bend to see whether they had any work shoes for me. They didn't. It was such a beautiful day that I decided to head up Route 2 and I ended up in Skykomish. It was a perfect motorcycle day. Not being able to run has had a negative impact on me. It was nice getting out of town, if even for a short time.

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photo_089.jpg
Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

I went out for coffee today and ended up in Skykomish.

I haven't run in two weeks. I'm giving my knee enough time to hopefully fix itself. I passed on this morning's run here in Bellevue. I may go over to Greenlake today to get some new shoes. I have a list of other chores as well. Tomorrow is the Seafair half marathon I won't be running. On the positive side, I think my knee is coming along relatively well. I had some knee problems in Florida that lasted for what seemed a long, long time. I'll get more boat pictures here soon. Happy sailing.

I went down to the Wooden Boats Festival on Lake Union today.

Happy fourth. Enjoy your long weekend. If you have it, enjoy the sun. Aum Peace.

We were called to the hospital yesterday as a group for the neurologist's clinical evaluation and prognosis. Peter had suffered considerable brain damage in the bike accident. Without getting into the specifics, his quality of life even if he awoke would have been greatly diminished, to put it mildly. His wife and family made the decision to honor what they thought Peter would want and that would be to let him go without further medical intervention. That was started last night and he left his body early this morning. I'd like to thank any who sent their wishes along. Thank you.

peter in snow2

peter in snow2
Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

I run with this guy. His name is Peter. On Saturday he had a very bad accident while riding his bike. At the present time he is still unconscious at Harborview. I'd like to ask you all for some sort of prayer or thought for him and his family. Thank you.

Update: A week later, Peter is still in a coma. He is still in ICU. His condition is not good but we hope for the best. The Eastside Runners and family friends are helping the family. Be careful out there.

Here are more Nicky pictures:

He likes to attack shoes (and feet).





Victorious.