Cadel Evans

I had a bad dream that woke me up this morning. I heard this whiny Aussie voice on the other side of the phone and it was the renowned terrorist Cadel Evans telling me that if I didn't do something (I can't remember the details) he was going to take someones head off (again, can't remember the details). I guess this reaffirms my hatred for him. Randy Moss, Larry Bird, and Cadel Evans. The axis of sports evil!

Anyway, today's efforts involve switching two toilets around in our house, maybe a bike ride, and possibly a visit from my brother and his new bride.

Peace

cd

PS I am already procrastinating this semester's homework

It starts...

First off, I am building a 0.5 mile short track in the pine savanna in the back. I burned off about 30 minutes back there tonight after a short warm up on the 29er and for the first time in a long time my legs were numb and throbbing.....in other words, GOOD TIMES.

Secondly, we have colds here. Just in time for school to start. It doesn't seem too bad so hopefully it will come and go without incident.

Next...Congratulations to Jessica and Paul on the birth of their son Josiah! It kind of makes me want to procreate again!

Next...my first big contract fell into my lap today. The party involved will send a rough proposal tomorrow and if it looks reasonable we will enter negotiations soon and I will have my first contract with an external firm. It makes me want to get going on the marketing and sales. When this position was first presented to me, it wasn't supposed to be full time until January. After talking to our main business advisor/investor last week. I told the advisor how excited I was to tackle this new responsibility and he was pleased that I was directing these efforts. He took my boss out to lunch today and they must have talked about me. My boss talked to me after this lunch and told me that he has been thinking about my position in the company and he said the sky could be the limit as far as compensation goes. I am sure he will try to stiff me, but I am glad I am getting the opportunity to add sales/marketing to my resume!

Lastly, the coursework websites for the fall semester became active today. At first glance it doesn't seem like a lot of work, but that remains to be seen. The only thing that I REALLY don't like is getting these assignments 9 days before class starts. I have like 200 pages of reading to do, I have to find a paper on drug target development, and then I have to watch these leadership videos and make decisions wit these different scenarios. The classes look interesting and for once the lab won't be a cakewalk.

peace

cd

Good Movies

The rest of the weekend was great. On Saturday we watched the movie Smart People. It was quite good and I recommend it, especially for the smart people that I know. Sunday's activities included another 1.5 hours on the monocog 29er. I really love riding that thing on single track. If I could just get used the punishment of roots, rocks, and log piles it would be great. I have been through the island on the singletrack there three or four times per week and my skill are starting to come together. I will probably check out standing rocks this weekend as it will be the last weekend that I will be available to really hammer at the trails. I got home from the ride and I was going to do some tree trimming when I saw Lorelei was going to watch a movie. I asked her what she was watching and she said "Hot Fuzz". I started to watch it and I couldn't leave. The trees will be available for trimming later. Hot Fuzz was awesome and I strongly recommend both movies!

peace

cd

Good Times!.

The week was long but not grueling. That being said, I am glad it is over. Monday was a bad day, but time has led me to forget why it was a bad day. I got home and rode the Fisher like a madman for 1.5 hours. Got home, took a shower, grilled some chix breasts and the day was forgotten. It really is amazing how that kind of activity can make you feel better. The bike is feeling more aggressive and agile under me. I do need some new tires. I went into some corners heavy and almost lost it about three or four times. This was on the gravel that sent me to the ER with 10 stitches six years ago. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were happy days spent with the family. Friday was a good day. Work was good and I met with a graphic artist to enhance our display that we take to trade shows. My boss listen to most of my ideas and adopted them so I was happy about that. The week ended with a much needed happy hour at the only brewpub in town. Nine bucks for a pitcher of really good weizen! I then sped to Saloon DuBay to have dinner with the family and some of the in laws. They have the best pizza. Our pizza had BBQ'd chicken, bacon, lots of cheese on a hand tossed crust. There is not tomato sauce, but a mayo/ranch/stone ground mustard base on it. The night ended with a good Packer preseason game. The offense looked good, and when they get Ryan Grant back with Wells at center they will be one of the top offenses in the league. The defense is where the problem lies. There was NO run defense and our corners are starting to get old, especially Al Harris. Today has us going to the grotto with Lorelei's family, tomorrow should include a bike ride, laundry, and a trip to the lake if the weather holds.

Peace
cd

Nice Weekend

The weekend started well with a two hour spin on the 29er single speed. I put a 16t cog on the back with the 32 chainring on front. I stole the cog off of an old cassette to see how it would spin. Because of the worn nature of the cog I dropped the chain a couple of times over some roots (not a good place to drop a chain, woods, mosquitoes). Otherwise I figured out that I should go with a 15t around here. I am going to order a surly 15t cog soon! Riding the single speed is my new weapon of choice. I really enjoy it, I don't have to worry about blowing up derailleurs, and I don't have the constant bob of the fork. I also find that I have more confidence in single track and especially log piles. After the bike ride, I got cleaned up and we went down to see the river. They drew the levels down about 9 feet by that time and we went to see what the river bed looks like. There were these similar sized piles of rocks that had pilings around them. They must be remnants of the logging days. That kind of stuff is cool, and I think it is cool that the DNR is not allowing anyone to take any of that out.

The evening included watching the Packers pregame. I usually don't take much stock in preseason games. The scores and wins/losses don't mean anything. I did find myself wanting to take back my support of Ted Thompson as the offense looked really bad. The line was porous, the quarterback looked stunned, and the receivers didn't want to catch the ball. The D looked all right, but I don't understand why they would let people see the new 2-5-4 defense in preseason. It looks effective, but why waste that now? It could be a long year.

Today we hung out a bit. I made buckwheat pancakes for the kids and after our bellies were full we went to Sunset Lake for a couple of hours. It is a beautiful spring fed lake with a sandy bottom and not much vegetation. There were probably 100 other people there enjoying the day as well. Lorelei and the kids have been out there a couple of times this summer, but I haven't. I did my best Michael Phelps imitation out there, but I am pretty sure I will never be a 14 time gold medal winner in swimming.

Peace

cd

A decent proposal

My old friend Murf emailed me this week with an interesting proposal. He lives in St Paul and he was wondering if I would be interested in a bike trip from his house to his parent's place on a lake in SE North Dakota. COUNT ME IN! That would rock. I am starting the diet for the quest right away. The only thing I should need for such and adventure is some touring tires, panniers, and lots of tubes. Minnesota has some rails to trails pathways that are totally paved. There is one that goes from St. Cloud to Fergus Falls. This is the trail that we would take. At Fergus Falls turn due West and about 70 miles later we would be golden. We are too old to haul camping gear and sleep on the ground. This will be a hotel trip. Lorelei and I also talked about doing triathlons next year, and Murf and I want to do the 12 hour version of 24-9. Chequamegon too if the opportunity presents itself. Ambitious yes, will I do all of it, no, but it is really FUN to think about.

Peace

cd

Man is she strong!

My new training partners and I went out for another hour last night. We got almost 14 miles in with a tag along and a trailer! We would have had more but for some bugs getting in Edison's trailer. Maddy and I were really pushing, and when I looked back at Edison he was just sitting there in his trailer reading his magazine. He looked like a passenger on a commuter train that had about an hour to kill reading the paper. Really funny. I would let up on the corners on the trails and Maddy would start pushing. She could have gone for another hour save for our hunger. The night ended with some Philly Cheese Steaks from Cafe Lola (YUMMY!) and hanging out with the family.

Work today has been interesting. I got my first promotional materials to the printers for proofs, outsourced our mailing, and got my next promotional assignment. This stuff is really fun and I am finding work much more enjoyable. Tomorrow I have a few items to finish up in the lab as I prepare to hand over all of my lab duties to another person. Next week I start creating a client list. Business is FUN!

Peace
cd

New training partners!

I picked up two new training partners last night. They told me that whenever I want to ride they will go with me, just call them and we're off. Luckily Maddy and Edison live in our house. I hooked up Maddy's tag along to my commuter bike, and then I hooked up Edison's trailer to Maddy's tag along. It was like the Dokken train. We went out for our inaugural ride last night. I was just thinking it would be a quick spin around the block as I only had flip flops on. We ended up doing about 10 miles at 16 mph. Maddy just kept giggling. We went through some of the green circle and she loves the trails. I remember going through single track with her in the trailer and she loved it. I just tell her to hang on and not peddle through that stuff. She is incredibly strong. I figured that there is almost 400 pounds of people/hardware in our train, and when I stop peddling at 15 mph she can make us accelerate. I had dreams of a mixed tandem at Chequamegon for a while. Her personality is just like mine, daredevil, competitive, inquisitive, and shy. Edison just sat in his trailer looking at everything blur by. He looked like he was having a good time. I figure two nights per week with all three of us plus one day on the weekend might give us some good times together and give Lorelei some much needed time to herself! Everyone wins! Now if I can just get the kids to say "WWhheeeeeeeeeeee" when we go bombing down the hills everything would be great!

Peace

cd

2+2=4

Four hours on the bikes this weekend. It would have been more like five but I blew up my derailleur on Saturday about 15 miles from the finish of my expected route. The top pulley just fell out, no chain tension, no ride. Lorelei and the kids came to rescue dad. Saturday night Lorelei's family came over and we had a beautiful day outside chatting, grilling, playing....just having a great time and taking advantage of the beautiful day. Sunday morning I got two hours on the 29er single speed. I really love that bike, and I will love it more once I get the right rear cog. When I bought the bike I was running a 20t, a short time later I put a 17t cog on, and last night I put a 16t cog on. I don't do a lot of hills with the bike, so I don't think that gearing will be too big. I might even go down lower. I did my first single track of the summer yesterday and it felt great. I even crashed! I am on a single speed bender on the island from now until school starts again in three and a half weeks.

Peace

cd

Interview?

The question of the day here is, "Do you have an interview or something?" I must really dress like a schlub or something. As my first external task of being the marketing director, I have to go get proofs made of my first attempt at a marketing campaign (direct mailing to existing and former clients). I didn't come to work today in jeans, t-shirt, and hiking boots. Get used to it, I won't be in the laboratory that much anymore (only when difficult situations arise), so I can look a bit nicer now. In other work news, I had to reprimand a staff member yesterday for careless work. My boss got invovled and it was a bit uncomfortable, but I guess thats whats expected from management. Work has been great as of late, but I fear I am wearing too many hats here...Clinical Lab Supervisor, Director of Marketing, Safety Officer, Lead Assay Designer, and Regulatory Affairs Director. I spend about an hour and a half on each task and I could use a break from some of them. Our external inspection is coming this fall and there is a lot of work to do to prepare. We have been warning the boss, but he has said he will take care of it. This week he told me he is going to start delegating some of these tasks (complete ALL of them) so the rest of this summer and this fall my two main tasks will be Regulatory Affairs and Marketing. I guess this is what I wanted?

peace

cd

10th Anniversary

Last Friday was Lorelei and my 10th wedding anniversary. We had planned to go to Door County to a posh resort for four days, but and "emergency" wedding to Fargo took care of that. We were sad for a couple weeks, but we tried to look at our alternative plans as a good thing. Our child care was still in place, so we decided to have a "staycation". The new buzzword of the summer. We would live like we used to before we had kids. We had a GREAT time. We went out for lunch, had shots before noon at said lunch, traveled a bit, went out for a nice dinner at a restaurant in the woods overlooking a lake..... We had a great time. At our fancy dinner our waitress asked what we were all smiley about. We told her it was our 10th wedding anniversary and we were celebrating. It really is great when other people (strangers) can see how happy and in love a couple is. It was really special that she mentioned that. We are still as in love as we have always been, but we have 10 years of life together and two beautiful children that deepen the love beyond words.

Saturday I went out for a 45 miler but had to cut it a bit short as I broke another wheel. I would like to say it was because of my massive, powerful legs, but it is probably from my spare tire. During this ride, Lorelei wrote the kindest words that have every been written (about me at least) to describe us. The words will remain private, but it chokes me up even now thinking about them.

Peace

cd