The Pawtucket races were NOT cancelled due to lightning.

Hanna held off long enough for boat 1 to win the C division (a $1000 prize), with what would turn out to be the best overall time of the day.

However, so many of our team failed to even show, that most of us were on both boats, and hence were well and truly fried when we went back out as Boat 2 for the A division race. Yes, the line-up got so screwy that Boat 2 spanked Boat 1 in the time trials.

Now I'm home, listening to the rain, playing with the shiny, new nin.com (and wishing it had a twitter function, and multiple icon options, and KoL's chat interface rather than IRC... as long as I get "lounged"). And, o mystical fate seems to have noticed my recently renewed interest in Trent's triceps by offering me opportunities to beat the crap out of mine. Last minute promotion to stroke at Thursday's practice, double-boating today. Maybe I really do have guns for dictator555 to notice, and she's not just being polite. Neat! And, $1000 means practice fees will be cheaper. Yays.

Steve Hollinger has a new show on Newbury St.

I'd have to go even if he hadn't given me a piece of art last year. (Watch me debate buying one of his bigger, solar-powered, steampunk-tacular pieces, in lieu of buying a condo... ha ha)

I was hoping I'd have it framed and hung by now so I could have a little after party. (Looks meaningully at jim_p.)

Not that it would've worked out anyway. I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow to drive to Pawtucket for the Dragonboat races... which they'll wait until the last possible moment before cancelling due to Hanna's lightning. sigh.

with appendicitis. About to have her "happy ass hauled into surgery".

Per her voicemail: "Please let everybody on LJ know".

I may try to visit after dragonboat practice tomorrow, assuming the lingering scent of fermented community lifejacket isn't a sufficient biohazard.

I have no contact info for her there, and my phone is convinced she called from 1-100-005-4179, which seems pretty surreal to me.

A number of folks who've never attended Burning Man were, inevitably, unable to resist forwarding this: Burning Man has Jumped the Shark.

I pretty much agree, but, I feel like the author has missed the point, somehow.

It's still a unique environment for artistic expression. One's first Burn will still be awe-inspiring, if not life changing. One's next burn, however, well, Seb summed it up best: Burning Man spoils you for everything, including (next) Burning Man.

Nonetheless, I feel a poll is in order.

Poll #1237615 burningtheshark
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None

When did Burning Man Jump the Shark?

How many Sharks has Burning Man already jumped? (in thousands... of attendees)

seems to be more influential than I expected it to be by now. (link fixed now, again, dammit)

Tried to go to Center Street cafe on Sunday and they were closed for the holiday! The Nerve!

So, we picked The Alchemist instead, primarily because they had outdoor tables. (And... awesome name.)

However, brunch hound that I am, I cannot recommend them for brunch. The staff was decent, the music was decent, the food was... underwhelming. I hear they do other meals satisfactorily, but, I have no first hand experience of it.

I managed to break my phone in the process of trying to get up this morning.

so, recommend a new phone, that I can get today.

(edit: I currently have T-mobile, with no major complaints, other than that my next phone contract should include more, i.e., ANY, free text messages).

Comics are supposed to worry about dying, ya know?
"I don't want to die out there, man. Jeez, I was dying. It was Death out there. Like a morgue."

On the other hand, if he succeeds, if he makes you laugh he can say,
"I killed 'em. Knocked them dead."

--George Carlin, "Death and Dying", On the Road

cthulhia: *just did a run around the mystic lakes.*
cthulhia: so, I made it 7 miles, to arlington center, when I ran into a donut shop.
dougo: WHAM
cthulhia: tragic. managed to escape with only a muffin and a small iced coffee, but... I walked the rest of the way.

Current Location: arbitrarium

(boston dragon boat races)

"Ice Man" made the B/C division, as expected.

First race scheduled for 10:45.

Second race will be between 1:40-2:40.

Third race between 3:30-4:15.

weather prediction: STUPIDLY HOT.

*sigh*

good times.

First off, the thunderstorms being predicted "all weekend" as recently as yesterday have already been downgraded to "maybe Saturday Night". Just because someone canceled a picnic doesn't mean you can't go on your own. Just sayin'

Tomorrow is our team's time trials. I'm on Iceman*, and our Saturday time trials are between 8-9 am. These happen at the MIT boathouse (not near the footbridge), and may not be all that interesting to non-dragonboating spectators. (No cultural festivals or the like.) I don't think I need to stay with the rest of the team, so I could go do a nice carb-loading brunch afterwards. I'll have my phone with me by 9 am ish.

Sunday's initial race slots are determined based on Saturday's times, and then redetermined after every consecutive race. (Each boat will race 3 times, possibly more if they have to do finals). The races go from 9-5. So, if you arrive by noon, you should be able to get to see me race at least once.

Assuming you can tell it's me, which honestly isn't all that likely. Our team color is black, but, since all the teams use the festival's boats, paddles and PFDs, the only consistent color will be our sleeves, but even then people roll those up. Some of us have black doo-rags but, the doo-rag enforcer is no longer on the team. If that is actually enough to help you identify my boat, I do wear the doo-rag, because it annoys me less than flyaway hair, and then I reinforce that with a blue polka-dotted bondi band. I'll be in the 2nd or 3rd to last row, on the left. (i.e., "my left hand is in the water" left, not the drummer's left.)

---
*The new co-captains decided to name our team's boats after Top Gun this year in order to avoid overt ranking. (And it looks like the Race Committee may be calling us by those nicknames, rather than by the team name). I'm pretty sure our A-boat is "Goose", and that "Maverick" is the C-boat, if you just go by who shows up at practice the most, but... the new coach really does mix it up more, so... that boat isn't obviously better. And... I think the other two "heavy" paddlers are left-paddled, so we can't be on the same boats that often. At least I'm paddling well enough that other people can tell that I paddle better on a specific side.

(The landlords called and apologized about it, explaining it was a matter of procedure for their sale and all..., but...)

Burn candles, or whathaveyou, to give me good, fast, luck in finding a new home.

I have to be out of my current place by July 1st.

(I will probably also need moving help around then, and help sorting, purging and packing for the second half of June.)

I ran more of the last 3 miles than expected. Mostly because I didn't want to stop unless someone was handing me water and gatorade. The water stations, which were sparse all along, were especially so off of Mem drive. I am spoiled by the Boilermaker, which has at least a water station every kilometer, ice stations, a mid-point popsicle station, and more than enough food at the end even for pokey pacers like me. Not to mention that they throw a block party for the neighborhood with the most spirit, so... the spectator turn-out is awesome, and, you get things like Ice Station Zebra, where all the volunteers are clad in zebra-print.

If I do this race again, I may insist, on penalty of doubting whether I have any real friends, assigning folks to various mile markers with extra water, and sunscreen. Since the bag check was not secure, I tried to get my T-shirt after the race, when they'd (1) shut down that area and (2) only had Ms left. I may need a person to hang out and be my bag check, too.

However, they win points for irony. The race is formally in honor of deceased police officers, (in Boston). The starting gun song was from The Departed. (Yay Dropkick Murphys! but... *snicker*)

race	year	pace	total (chip)	total (gun)	5 miles (gun)	10 miles (gun)
Run To Remember	2008	12:39	2:45:46	2:47:42	1:00:08	2:04:40 (ish)

fangirl715 may be able to confirm the 10 mile time. We walked over the bridge together. I was underwhelmed by the food that was left for us late arrivals, and ended up taking up her brunch offer instead. I was insanely hungry, but... post ravenous. I managed to not gnaw off an arm while waiting for a table & then food at JohnnyDs, and couldn't come close to finishing my meal once it came.

I had weird running stress dreams like I used to always have the night before the Boilermaker. Yesterday's double dragon boat practice, and then Earthfest all day (it's odd how draining just being in the sun can be), left me so exhausted I could barely stay awake long enough to get my laundry into the dryer (much less visit drinkin' island, alas). So, I could've actually gotten a solid 8 hours. But, I had vivid dreams where I woke late, and then couldn't get to my basement to get my running clothes. There was some elaborate good-luck ritual going on with my not-really-my neighbors, they called it "Russian Bowling" and involved having trinkets laced all over eve