White Lightning Axiom: Redux

Whoooo DOGGIE! It's been a heck of a week, let me tell ya! TSD is tougher than all git-out and the pushup boondoggle has been getting me all worked up in the mornings. Throw some fasting and sedation in for a doctor's visit last week and you have all the bits lined up for a series of migraines. I was all lined up for that experience, ya know. I was on top of it in my usual sapient manner and cut off those rampaging nasties at the pass though. So, the doctor's visit went well. They pumped me full of wonderful stuff, I unexpectedly conked out after they asked me 3 questions and then woke up 15 minutes later without a hint or trace that I had been 'put down'. Lost time, I tell ya. There was a panoply of other patients in the the recovery ward that did not rebound as quickly as I ... I'm thanking God for my blessedly high metabolism every day.

The motorcycle safety training class: success. The written and road test were both passed and I now have a little slip of paper that says I may roam the high-ways and by-ways of America's transportation infrastructure unfettered. Now, the written evaluation was a snap. The big muscle lodged between my ears was barely even challenged since I took the online exam several times ... which ended up being exactly the same question for the in-class test. I had to read probably the first two or three words in the question/answer before realizing which of the three answers were correct for the multiple guess challenge. The road test was another matter entirely. One poor lady ended up 'High-Siding' herself TWICE during the swerve practice and if she had not worn a full-face helmet, she would have been hospitalized with a shattered jaw. End result: she passed but a center for a local foot-ball club and sergeant at a local detention institution failed. It was almost for naught to boot. The whole six hour class was nearly canceled due to lightning strikes. The morning class fell into that category and was rescheduled for the following morning. Instead, we were treated to an hour of fierce downpours and raging winds ... followed by unrelenting heat by the giant fiery ball of fury in the sky. Nothing like wearing wet denim on a steaming airbase tarmac to keep you sharp. So, now I'm through that, I can think about getting a motorcycle ... but with gas prices going down instead ($3.79 USD/g) ... the ROI calculation are all mucked up. I cannot buy that new leather jacket and chaps till I have a good use for them on the roads, you know.

I was able to attend the kids TSD test this weekend before heading off to the Airbase. The Grandparents made a surprise visit (the kids were surprised, not the Mrs and I) for the test. Needless to say, the Tyrants of Turpitude are now Red Belts and will be getting their black Ninja do-boks some day soon. I, myself, while extolling the advanced elite skills of the tyrants, will be taking my test this week in-class. This is going to be rather difficult for me, mind you. Alas, the next test will be sometime in November and I'll not want to wait that long. The tyrant may catch up with me and then all manner of hell will break loose.

Final note: the Agricultural Sector is doing well. The second (bumper) crop of peas is doing well, the beans (string and asparagus) are producing in sufficient quantity but the cucumber and zucchini vines are failing. No surprise since they were planted in the poorest soil I have ever seen. A few years of conditioning should take care of that. I've planted the second round of spinach/lettuce again since the roiling heat pretty much killed the sprigs from the last planting. Lessons learned: don't plant too early or you will fail. Much thanx to the Amish Hero-Dad and Super-Grandma for all the help with the 'farmers creed'.

Technorati Tags:Gas | Motorcycle | Karate | Children | Pushups

Labels: Children, Gardening, Gas, Karate, Medical Care, Motorcycle, Pushups

I'm a touch late with this, but it was a rather busy weekend. First off, we celebrated (remotely) Amish Hero Dad's birthday. The Tyranical Twins of Turpitude sang an eerie and somewhat disturbing rendition of 'Happy Birthday' over the phone. The Adam's family apparently was spooked when they heard the audio and reported similar instances of reality creep as was seen in 'The Ring'. But that was on Sunday ... Let's rewind a few hours, eh? Saturday afternoon was my time to roast on the hot tarmac of the Naval Air Base when I was taking my Motorcycle Safety Training Class. First off, I've NEVER ridden a motorcycle before so the whole clutch-shift thing was a little bit of a reach for me. And no, I have only ever driven a standard transmission vehicle once ... poorly. So, from 1300 hours till 1930, I was out there with a screaming hot engine beneath me with a full modular helmet and jacket on ... in the sun, Ninety degrees, on a square mile of asphalt. Yes, I was somewhat damp by the end of the class. I am, however, rather surprised at my ability to keep the damn thing upright and running even though I tended to end up in 3rd or 4th gear instead of 1st. Neutral was an outstandingly rare find for me. The written test is this coming Wednesday and the Road (Rash) Test is the following Saturday. If I keep my wits about me and Sgt Myers has a sense of humor (NOT!), I'll have a slim possibility of getting a 'Positive Evaluation'. So long as I do not lay the bike down in a 100 meter landslide of metal, rubber and flesh I'm going to call it a success.

Sunday was a slow day. Finally. We were going to head off to Sesame Place after morning Mass, but a phone call in the afternoon on the previous day called for an abrupt change of plans. Instead, we spend a big chunk of the day at the Seliga's Cloister with their Germanic buddies drinking beer and eating things that would make my Cardiologist gasp in horror. It was for a good cause, you know. Around 1300 hours the sky opened up and it rained thunder, lightning and tree-snapping winds for an hour or two. What a mess. Light out nearly every intersection and trees down in between. That alone would have made Sesame Place an utter disaster but there was this to contend with as well. I do believe that on the ticket, there is some mention of one's health prohibiting access. I mean, jeeze! Oddly enough, we blame the Fireworks at the Seliga Cloister some 6 years ago for the Mrs going into labor.

Final notes: My Monday Pushup Plan of 12/12/9/7/110 went all too smoothly so I'm considering doubling the counts. You are supposed to rest 90 seconds between sets, but I just don't have that sort of time! We will try to do the 32/26/22/22/MAX this Wednesday and see how it pans out. If it works as well as I think it will, I'll be doing 200 perfect push-ups ... [read:hubris]. This week will hence forth be known as 'Testy Week'. I have the 2 motorcycle test, a medical test on the morning of the 31st (more on that later, but it involves sedation) and the TSD test on August 2nd. I'll be going for the second stripe on my Red Belt, the Tyrants will be getting their Red Belt and their Black Do-Boks ... easier to put through the laundry. On top of that, it's the end of the Development Sprint at work so there is a lot of pressure [read:CRUNCH] to wrap up efforts on the project. Anyone have any extra positive vibes available, please send them my way.

Closing note: The Mrs just tanked up at $3.65/g USD at the corner station. No additional drilling, no additional production. Just words and speeches caused oil futures to slide into the $120/b range and it seems to be in free-fall now. It's making it really tough to make the ROI on the motorcycle/scooter to work out.

Technorati Tags:Gas | Weekend | Karate | Children | Motorcycle | Pushups

Labels: Children, Gas, Karate, Motorcycle, Pushups, Weekend

Totally and completely unmotivated today. I went to bed early and still woke up tired and fatigued. After the 736th time the alarm went off after a snooze, I just shut it off. So, when I did finally get my sorry hide into work, I found the coffee machine in a state of disrepair. Aghast, I was forced to trudge through the early hours without my drug of choice. The withdrawal symptoms made me even more grumpy and curmudgeonly than usual. Now, this was complicated by a few things that happened on the commute into work this morning. My new route that cuts off a few miles by taking local surface roads ran into a bit of a snag. I found myself behind a large dumptruck hauling some sort of sand or gravel for nearly the entire distance. It was not that I was going about 15mph the whole way but every time we had to accelerate from a stop, it would belch out clouds of sickly black sludge and I had to keep my windows in the POS Super Saturn locked up and hermetically sealed for the whole trip! The temperature and humidity is in the 'comfort zone' today and I could not imbibe in the pleasure of having the wind blow through my mane of rolling locks. Then, while stopped at a light, I watched as another large PECO vehicle rolled by and one of the troglodytes riding in the cab took a lung-full of cigarette carcinogenic cruft and threw the butt into traffic. It's not the smoking that annoys me. I fully support their right to do things that endanger their own health, but come on! Clean up after yourself, eh?

Final parting note: pushups. My first week is over. Not too shabby really. This morning, I did the 15/13/10/10/max where max was only 105 today. I blame the weariness of the work week for the drop in performance. Next week, I should do another test before starting so I can set a max to something I have difficulty doing rather than wussing out and sand-bagging like the piker that I am.

Technorati Tags:Pushups | Traffic | Sleep

Labels: Pushups, Slacker, Sleep, Traffic

So, tonight is my first class in motorcycle safety. I expect that the 3 hour class will mostly be going over various bits of information in preparation for the Saturday class where we will actually get to touch a motorcycle. Four classes, two on Wed and the other on Saturday. Will I end up as a devoted cycle rider in the end? Probably not, but we shall see.

The crippling heatwave that has been wreaking havoc with the garden and making the TSD review with the Tyrants an absolute horror? It's over. Of course, the damage has been done to the zucchini and cucumbers over the last week is irreversible. The only hope now is that what is left will produce a more hearty fruit due to it's tenacious capability of fending off the worst environmental conditions the Agricultural Sector has seen in years. The bucket loads of water that the thunderstorm landed on us last night was of little relief though, most of it just poured off into the drainage systems and was whisked away to the beleaguered flood plains. The temps are lower and we are supposed to get more rain of the 'pattering' variety though. At least the AC will not be laboring under the duress of Hell on Earth for the time being. Poor, poor veggies.

The Hundred Pushups program is on Day 2 now of 12/12/10/10/Max. My max today was 110. Huzzah! Bring it on. And all that other banter.

Technorati Tags:Gas | Motorcycle | Gardening | Summer | Pushups

Labels: Gardening, Gas, Motorcycle, Pushups, Summer

Well, I rolled the dice and managed to pull off 110 sucky pushups. Instead of the test, I did this as day 1 of week one (10/10/8/6/max) where my last set was the maximum number of pushups. I think I may have to 'refine' my technique though. Horrible I tell ya. My early interpolation and perversion of the schedule is most likely a bad sign too.

Other than the pushups, I'm spending the week focusing on the kids forms so that they will be ready for the test. It's a drive to make them insensate little warriors under my strict tutelage so that when August 2nd rolls around, they'll be confident enough to earn their red belt. The Tyrants can be apt to boredom once they learn a form so I need to help them with the focus ... but other than that, they seem to be on the right path. The next form is a real bugger though and I do not think that they will be able to do it in 3 months, but we shall see.

Dull post, eh? So much for all that bluster and bravado about being a more entertaining word-smith. One last thing of interest to note is that the gasoline prices in the area are down to $3.93 USD/gal ... interesting on many levels.

Technorati Tags:Gas | Karate | Children | Pushups

Labels: Children, Gas, Karate, Pushups