Winter Trees and Hip Hop Seamus :-)

found on flickr...

I love flickr. You are looking around for an image of a mountain bike part and this shows up! http://flickr.com/photos/kurtz433/2570525737/ You just never know what you are going to get ...

New Riding Partner in the Making...

Deserted Playground To Ourselves...

The last place most kids would want to go over the holidays is the school, so Seamus and I headed to the playground there.

Some photos of Seamus enjoying the warm day at the playground. It was 63 F around noon today!

Seamus also likes things that spin. He will have me give him a whirl in this thing for 10 minutes at a time.

Holiday of Lights

Thanks Aunt Kathy! I now require that my baths take place in the dark :-)

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas from the Little Guy !

e-card I really liked ....

Great Inspirational Clip Collection...

just too good to resist...
another YouTube great...

Ornament...

Seamus hangs his first ornament.

Snow Experience...

Seamus enjoys the snow. Speed compressed to save you time.

Makes me smile...for several reasons.

Mass Alternative Transportation ?

You gotta admit this looks like fun (at least if the weather is nice). http://busycle.com/

T. Boone

T. Boone is not my favorite guy for several reasons, but he has an idea and I think it has some merit. Yes, it will make him some money. However, it could save us all some money to.

Community Colleges Might Surprise You....

(Click to Enlarge)

I work at a Community College in Western North Carolina. Most people are familiar with the model for Community Colleges. Most students are local, usually to a county or small multi-county region. They are designed to serve people who, for various reasons, don't have the opportunity to relocate for education.

Each symbol on the map above represents the home address of one student enrolled in a Natural Resource program at my college during 2007-2008. This is still an exception, but an exception that is growing for certain specific programs. The big reasons in my opinion, small class size, relatively low entrance requirements, articulation agreements with most state 4-year institutions, and our low tuition (currently only 42$ per credit hour).

It just makes sense....

Click to enlarge.

Poppa and Seamus...

Feeding the ducks...

Seamus, Nana, and Poppa feed some ducks and geese.

Seamus goes to the park with Nana...

Fall comes to the mountains...

Sometimes it is easy to forget how beautiful it is around here. This image was taken from the Ingles (grocery store) parking lot. It was 80 F yesterday and we have a freeze warning tonight.

Peek-A-Box and Dance Moves

Turn up the volue to hear what he is dancing to. Looks like a primitive version of the 'Robot' to me :-)

Chop Chop...

The Timbersport's Team at the Community College I work for competed in one of their annual events. It really is a great competition to have a camera at.

Daddy's Bicycle

Seamus really likes bikes!

Christmas in September...

Well, preparations for Christmas anyway. Seamus loves my bicycles, I have been looking for a tricycle that had lots of design cues from traditional bicycles. I think I found it. I can't wait for him to see this in a couple of months.

Smart investing...

It would appear, that at least in the short term, petroleum is still a good investment.

"Last quarter, Exxon Mobil posted the highest profits of any corporation in U.S. history - $11.68 billion"

No gouging and no gas...

(Maybe this 3:30 pm traffic jam I took a picture of in Las Vegas a few years ago is a thing of the past)

Well the problem is back. The gas stations in town are all out of fuel, as are the stations in Asheville. Prices did not skyrocket this time (there were allegations of price gouging last time), the result is however the same. Everyone is in a mild panic ...and so we should be. We live in a community that has no sidewalks and mile after mile of narrow country roads.

The one fun thing for me. I am sort of an oddball novelty on campus. I am one of three bicycle commuters on the whole campus. The jeers have now turned to honest questioning. I can imagine the day when there might be as many of six of us commuting by bicycle :-)

Of course once the supply routes reopen and fuel arrives, the F250's used as commuter vehicles will be back in full force.

If Seamus made a video....

I take Seamus on a walk around the neighborhood almost every night. The donkey's are a must see!

Fuel before food...

So, I am not sure if many of you are experiencing this in your hometown or not. Here in Western North Carolina, due to our location, fuel delivery routes, the hurricane (nowhere near us), or some unknown combination of these and social factors, there is a gas panic.

When I returned from Raleigh on Tuesday I filled up the Civic and regular unleaded was $3.69 per gallon. On Friday when I rode my bicycle into work the neighborhood gas station was selling regular unleaded for $3.89. By 6 pm that evening the price was $4.19 as I pedaled home. Today ....it is $4.89. That is $1.20 more than Tuesday!

It doesn't appear folks are worried about food, but the thought of walking, cycling, carpooling, or heaven forbid public transportation is leading to a purchasing frenzy...apparently unaffected by price.

Bike Powered Bar!

My father-in-law sent me this link. Many of you know I like bicycles. I also like adult beverages. What a great combination!

and then came the rain...

It took me a while to get to this post, but after installing this baby in late July it was over a month until it rained at our house. It worked, well after some minor adjustments.

The math is easy enough to do. You can figure out how much rain you are going to collect, but after a few hours when you have 85 gallons it is still pretty amazing and that is only from about 1/8 of our roof. It makes me seriously consider getting a modern cistern installed.

Pumpkinsynthesis...

I purchased this bike in 2000, just after moving to Vermont. It has been a very trusty steed for a mail order bike. It is more or less relegated to commuting now. Due to the color I affectionately named it "The Pumpkin".

Photosynthesis

Photosynth is a Microsoft Live Labs product that could be fun. This first attempt isn't much (due to the user), but I think this could have useful teaching applications.

The Cat....

Seamus has been fascinated by cats for sometime now, but we have one dog (Bear) who would probably eat a cat. Thus, we will not be getting a real one anytime soon. However, a couple of weeks ago I found this neat cat puppet on Amazon.com and ordered it for him. His response to it has been overwhelming. He carries it around, hugs it, lies down on it, meows to it, etc. The picture and video were tough in indoor light today (Christine took these), but you get the idea.

Proximity

Traveled to Greensboro for a meeting at a trendy hotel that was very sustainable. Solar assisted hot water and much more. Most interesting to me, all the hotel shuttle vehicles out front were unusual antique or foreign taxis.

The big hike and cool breeze ....

Well, I had to work again today, but Seamus, Christine, Grammy, and Grandpa went for a Hike up to Max Patch. For an 18-month-old he gets around really well. I was told he did almost the entire hike without being carried.

Here is Joe cool! He would be even cooler if he could drink from a cup without spilling it down the front of his shirt :-)

Seamus and the impossible 40...

First, a picture I took of Seamus a few weeks ago (pre-haircut). We bought this recliner and he loves to sit in it and watch movies. His current favorite, almost an obsession is Milo and Otis. I don't know what it is about this movie, but he can't get enough. He definitely looks All-American in front of the tube. Archie Bunker would be proud.

I have a meeting in Greensboro tomorrow and had to drive down today. I decided to see if I could break 40 mpg in Christine's 2002 Honda Civic Sedan. I heard of folks getting 42-44 mpg in this model. The trip is almost entirely Interstate with a couple of big hills and then rolling to flat terrain. I did run the AC, but all the windows were up. I also did not exceed 65 mph during the entire trip and kept the cruise on for 80% of the way. I also tried to accelerate very modestly.

The best I could do? 39.527 mpg for the 212 mile trip. I bet if I went 55 mph I could get 42, but I might also wind up stuck to the grill of an 18-wheeler! Cost of fuel for the one-way trip $19.49

Busy busy...

One of Seamus' more mild daily destruction projects.

The waterbowl incident....

Haircut and a movie...

Well the crazy big blond hair finally had to go. Despite all the warnings about how he would not tolerate a haircut, I got out the clippers, demonstrated on myself and then called him over. He didn't mind the buzz a bit.

Then an even more noteworthy event occurred. Seamus at 18-months-old watched his first full length feature with me. I had put The Water Horse in the Netflix Que thinking he might like the creature and watch 15 minutes of it. Instead he watched about half of it from his pint size recliner and the other half from my lap. We also shared several bowls of popcorn together. I think the plot was probably lost on him, but he kept watching for the water horse to pop out. This movie was about 90-minutes. I am still amazed he sat through the whole thing.

Goats and a sheep...

We had a quick visit to John Mark and Susan's farm tonight to check on some Giant Pumpkins (really) and of course Seamus had to go. He loves the animals.

Hilton Head....

Greetings from Folley Beach in Hilton Head. On family vacation with the sisters and their families. More pictures soon. Seamus is a huge fan of the ocean. I was wondering whether he would like it or not, but he loves it especially being out in the waves.

Here Seamus checks out the pool at the Beach House.

Old News...

I know there has been video on Flickr for sometime, but I finally took a look around and there is some neat stuff.

To be seen....

Well here is the new rear light for the bicycle. Only $20 and it makes my presence on the road approach the level of obnoxious. ...just what I want. The worst part of my commute is the first 2 miles leaving my house and taking a secondary road to a road with a bike lane. Maybe I will get a second one of these lights!

Seamus has taken to wanting to rough house in the guest bedroom in the evenings. Here is a little video for the relatives to get their toddler fix.

Beautiful Weather...

The weather has been incredible since the rain stopped. Sunny and highs in the mid 80's, not even really that humid. The flowers are a bit ragged from the recent rain, but new blooms are on their way.

Catching up...

Well it has been a couple of crazy weeks. Work has been extra busy and then there was a family medical situation that required a trip home to Richmond. Fortunately, everyone is going to be fine.

For now, here is a Rain garden that was installed on one of the local green ways. The students will be using this in the future as an outdoor laboratory.

A different point of view...

June moon... and oldy

River in motion

Seamus plays at the falls... he likes rocks.

Playing in the water...

Seamus enjoyed being out in the sun and water on the downstream side of the Lake Junaluska Dam.

Ice cream...

Seamus really enjoys his ice cream...

Get along little doggies....

Seamus, has taken to riding Bear...well sitting on the stationary / resting Bear. Bear was a rescue and is one tough dog. We believe he is half border collie and half Newfoundland. He weighs around 95 lbs and is lightning quick...being blind in one eye slows him down a bit, but not much. He is a slayer of squirrels, rabbits, voles, and other things that come his way.

Despite his alpha male status he tolerates anything Seamus dishes out...I think mostly because Seamus has been slipping him food since nearly the beginning.

at the Lake...

It has been very hot here for June. In the low 90's. Seamus and Christine went to the Lake.

Popsicle...

The best way to eat a Popsicle is to hold it from the frozen end :-)

In addition to being tasty you can also change the color of your outfit if you don't like it.

Word of the day ....mollusk

Watermelon

There was watermelon at 'play date' today. Apparently, the boy ate half his body weight in melon.

Memorial Day and the Pool is Open for Business...

Frogger...

Seamus makes one of his favorite toys pay...

New Belgium Brewery

Toured another awesome plant research facility today, but was not allowed to take pictures. All I can tell you is that the future of agriculture looks very bright. Later in the afternoon we toured the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins. It was started by a guy who was an electrical engineer inspired by Beer on a Belgium bicycle tour in the late 80's. The brewery is beautiful, very sustainable, and every employee gets a bicycle on their one year anniversary of hire date. Pretty cool!

Garden Scenes

I am traveling in Fort Collins for work. The really cool stuff I saw today I was not permitted to take pictures of, but here are some fun shots from a garden center and a very creative public children's garden.