CAPS 2008
the competition is being dominated by rockfarmer. new rules for 09 have already been pitched. an interesting experience for sure.

powerless
I was amazed when the power was out for more than a day that the neighbors were drawn out of their houses to talk to each other. maybe we should unplug from the grid regularly to reconnect.

keys to adventure
learned my lesson about leaving my keys on the beach while I swim in the ocean. don't do it. the umbrella guy can come by, pick them up and change all your well-laid plans of a just a day trip to ocean city. all turned out ok. I found a nice place to stay, performed with the street magicians, and tried to act my age surrounded by the craziness of senior week.

garden update
the carrots are getting bigger, the mixed green are thriving, the tomato plants have more than tripled in size and are blooming, there are green beans and pea on the vine, and the cucumbers are running away and blooming.

seen on TV
taking advantage of the freezone on-demand feature and watching old movies like "suspect" and "shattered." also enjoyed "the prestige" and "the prize winner of defiance ohio." morgan spurlock did a fine job documenting coal miners on "30 days" too. "raiders of the lost ark" on VHS was awesome, but I can't make myself finish "the temple of doom."

car camping
really enjoyed the first fishing, camping, wildflowering trip of the season with dad at blue bend.

cranky monkey
have started training for my first mountain bike race ever. it's at wakefield park in july, and I have a long way to go before I can hop logs, cross creeks and zip around curves without that voice in my head to screams, "brake!!!!!"

mulberries
enjoyed the pickins on all my dog walks although the fruit is not as sweet as last year.

lucky break
the shifter cable on my GT broke at schaeffer farm when I was miles from the car. I was happy to see it was stuck in granny gear because there were many hills left to go. peformance bikes in fairfax fixed it right up, and I got new brake pads too because I still heed the voice.

potomac paddling
trying to go out at least once a week in my kayak. made it out twice this week. once I was surprised by a new-to-me fish, a giant gar. the other time was joined by kim from work. fun.

in media res
reading "major" "a wolf at the table" "another roadside attraction" and "confederacy of dunces." finished "the know-it-all" - good stuff.

looking forward
won't be long until the 4th of july, the summer games in beijing, more trips to greenbrier county, a virginia beach adventure with some browns creekers and "choke"