June 3, 2002

Groovy!

Which era in time are you?

As with most interesting quiz links that I post in this journal, I found this on Silver Blog.

Posted by jfer at 8:56 AM | Comments (4)

Sad and depressing

ACC left a message on my answering machine on Friday. My conversational Czech class (which was suppose to start today), has been cancelled due to lack of enrollment. I was really looking forward to learning Czech this summer. I'm still looking for alternatives, but there aren't many options that I can find.

Posted by jfer at 10:18 AM | Comments (3)

June 7, 2002

Tri-ing Soon

The Danskin Triathlon is this weekend. I've just now and for the first time reviewed my times from last year to see what numbers I have to beat to achieve a Personal Record. I'm a little nervous now....my times from last year seem awefully good:







J'fer's 2001 Danskin Time Splits
Swim....................................21m 23s
Transition 1............................4m 42s
Bike....................................50m 44s
Transition 2............................1m 51s
Run....................................30m 09s
FINAL............................1h 48m 52s

According to the Danskin Race Results site, I went an average of 13.2 mph on the bike and my run pace was 9m 43s a mile. I'm fairly certain I can bike faster than that now and I hope to cut my transition times (especially the swim to bike). Wish me luck! And good luck to my family's relay team (Mom, Elizabeth, and Courtney), Kathleen Hornaday, Meredith O'Reilly and all my workout buddies from Team Danskin as well as all who participated in Camp Danskin.

Posted by jfer at 1:54 PM | Comments (1)

Okay, I'm not really working

Okay, I'm not really working right now. I noticed a link for New Yorkers to map their blogs and of course thought of Meredith and wondered if they had a New Jersey link (they don't). But I picked a random borough, then a random subway stop, which led me to Sugar. I've really enjoyed reading her blog....I wonder if their are any other blog maps...you know, for Austin maybe?

Posted by jfer at 3:08 PM | Comments (0)

Rain....Glorious Rain!

It's been so long since I've heard any thunder here in Austin, I was extremely startled (but pleased) just two minutes ago to hear that wonderful rumble shaking the windows of my office. Last time I looked outside, I thought it was looking kinda dark and rain-like, but then dismissed my thoughts as wishful thinking. But no!...It is actually raining in Austin! So the good news is, it's raining. And the more good news is, according to KEYE, there's only a 20% chance of showers on race day :-)

Posted by jfer at 4:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 9, 2002

FINAL

I'm very please with the results of the Danskin Triathlon. I did much better than I expected I would:







J'fer's 2002 Danskin Time Splits
Swim....................................18m 29s
Transition 1............................4m 10s
Bike....................................47m 47s
Transition 2............................1m 53s
Run....................................30m 06s
............................1h 42m 27s

As everyone can see, I took almost 3 minutes off my swim and bike times. Additional information listed on the Race Results site include my overall swim rank (1034 out of 2349), bike rank (925 out of 2349), MPH on the bike (15.6), run rank (1069 out of 2349), run pace (9m 42s/mile), class rank (my class is 30-34 year olds and I placed 213 out of 591), and my overall rank (869 out of 2349).

My family and friends had very successful races as well. The Barry Scott Memorial Team consisting of my mom and cousins, Elizabeth and Courtney, completed the course in 1h 47m 02s and ranked in the top 10 of their class (okay, they were ranked 6 out of 14, but that's still in the top 10!). Meredith O'Reilly finished in 1h 44m 23s with a class rank of 250 out of 591 and an overall rank of 985 out of 2349....which is very, very excellent results for her very first triathlon ever! Kathy Hornaday's time was 2:50:09 which is slower than she completed the race last year, but she didn't have nearly the time to train...I'll probably get her thoughts and feelings on her results later this week. As for Team Danskin, we'll be getting together again on Wednesday for a race post-mortum...really just another excuse to get together again and socialize which we are all looking forward to.

One final thought for the day...Must Keep Tri-ing!

Posted by jfer at 10:42 PM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2002

We've just come back from

We've just come back from a wonderful visit with my parents in Ft. Worth. We originally went up to hang with Dad for Father's Day, but he had to work this morning so we also got to spend some nice quality time with Mom. She also came over to Dad's this afternoon for burgers and to visit with Danny and Joanna. I'm very happy for my dad. He's really enjoying his new home and pool...especially the pool! He'll do some work in the yard or on the house and jump into the pool for 5-10 minutes to cool off. Then he'll do some more work then jump back into the pool for another 5-10 minutes. He's very cute about it!

Homer also had a good time swimming and playing with Duke, my stepbrother's dog that lives at my dad's. Homer still looks pretty worried as he swims around...I don't think it helped much that Duke would usually follow him in and try to play with him in the pool like they play together on dry land!

Posted by jfer at 11:18 PM | Comments (1)

June 17, 2002

My eyeballs are too long.

My eyeballs are too long.

Posted by jfer at 11:05 PM | Comments (2)

June 19, 2002

Viewer's Poll

I usually hang up the phone when there is a recording on trying to talk to me, but this time it was Judy Maggio with a KVUE viewer's poll. Apparently Southwest Airlines is instigating a policy that would charge overweight patrons for two seats. The poll wanted to know if I thought that was a fair policy (I do) and whether or not it would positively/negatively/not influence my decision to use SW (it wouldn't influence me at all).

Posted by jfer at 1:32 PM | Comments (2)

June 20, 2002

To the Rescue

My cousin, Elizabeth, sent me the link to this article. It's about a seal that rescued a drowning dog...I don't think there are any seals in Walnut Creek - maybe we shouldn't let Homer swim there anymore...

Posted by jfer at 9:51 AM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2002

The Trials of Walking the Dog

Last night, I was on my own with Homer for our nightly walk. Usually that isn't a big deal, but my whole universe must have been off kilter yesterday (Meredith says Mars was in retrograde....it was effecting her too) because the walk certainly didn't go off as smoothly as it usually does.

In a harmonious universe, as we round the porch, I stop to apply some bug spray. Last night, I discover that the spray nozzle of our Skintastic has disappeared; I searched for it in the grass for a couple of seconds then decided to brave the bugs unprotected. So off we started again.

We didn't make very far before I realized that I had failed to put the pinch colar on Homer (it's amazing how much better he is on the leash with the pinch colar!). So we returned to the house; I unlocked the door; we regrouped in the foyer; I put the correct collar on the dog; and off we went again.

This time it seemed like we had gotten back on track. There weren't any other dogs in the park but Homer was enjoying checking out the scents of all who've passed recently and remarking his favorite spots. We made it halfway through our regular route when I realized all is not as right with my world as I had supposed. I didn't have my keys with me! When we returned to the house to change out Homer's collar, I put my keys on the ledge next to the door and failed to pick them up again before locking the door behind us! Ugh!

So we get back to the house and I try the front door. It's locked (of course). I think, "Maybe I didn't lock the sliding door after letting Homer in today". So I force open the back gate (it's not quite straight on its hinge and is kinda stubborn). But the sliding door is locked. Then I think, "Maybe our bedroom window wasn't locked after the last time we slept with it open." It was. I proceeded to check all the doors and windows accessible from the backyard. Once I was done, I was still locked out of the house. Again, Ugh! Stepan had gone to the grocery after swimming and probably wouldn't be back for another 45 minutes or so. I was really wishing I had my book.

I knew it was hopeless, but I went ahead and checked the living room windows off the porch. The first one - locked. The second one - JOY!!! It was unlocked! I carefully removed the screen and the window slid open beautifully :-) I let Homer in through the front door, put my keys where I could find them in the morning, and retired to the sofa to recover from my ordeal. Of course, I don't even remember the last time that particular window was open...I don't even want to think about how long the house was unsecured from the evil people of this world. The window is firmly locked now and I'll keep my keys in my pocket from now on.

Posted by jfer at 9:52 AM | Comments (3)

PacMan on-line!.....Silver Blog has the

PacMan on-line!.....Silver Blog has the coolest links ever!

Posted by jfer at 12:06 PM | Comments (2)

June 26, 2002

We're Just One Nation

In the past, I wondered about the inclusion of "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. I need wonder no more, it's been deemed unconstitutional by a US Federal Court.

Posted by jfer at 2:38 PM | Comments (2)

June 27, 2002

Obsessed

I spend way too much time these day reviewing my on-line wedding registries.

Posted by jfer at 5:26 PM | Comments (1)

June 29, 2002

Rain, Glorious Rain

It's raining in Austin. It's a nice steady rain, too. We've turned off the air conditioner and opened all the windows so we can hear it as we do the house chores that have been put off for too long.

...let it rain, let it rain, let it rain... (but let it stop in time for my 18 mile bike ride in Georgetown tomorrow morning!).

Posted by jfer at 7:38 PM | Comments (2)