(no subject)

My parents and my brother Timothy all walked down to the lake shore to watch Kenosha's fireworks display. Prior to setting out, I asked them to pose for a photograph. As well as having few photos of myself, I don't have as many of the people who are close to me as I'd like either. This one makes me happy to look at.


Family Photo for the Fourth!

Copyright Stormdog 2013


From left to right, we have myself, my mother, my father, and my brother Timothy. My brother James, unfortunately, was not at the house. Most likely, he was at his girlfriend's place. I'll have to see if we can get a photo with him in it some time soon.

Anyway, the evening was wonderful. The fireworks were nice, but just spending a rare evening with my family, talking and enjoying each other's company was even better. After the fireworks ended, we walked back to the house where I dropped off my camera gear, then the four of us walked back out to Shirl's, a nearby local ice cream and food place on Sheridan Road, where I had that milkshake I've been craving since having my tooth extracted. The classic rock on the soundsystem made the scene feel like a slightly anachronistic slice of past small-town America, even though the rational part of my brain knew better. My parents talked a bit about their time at college at NIU, and about going to Gen-Con when it was at UW-Parkside and I was still in utero.

The experience made me feel both connected to my family and connected to my community. My dad and I talked about watching another baseball game this summer at Simmons Field (a minor league park that once hosted All American Girls Professional Baseball League games with our hometown team the Kenosha Comets), and we all noted how nice time spent together was. After getting home, my dad talked about possibly running a roleplaying game for folks at the house using the Fate system that he's been reading through. Something informal and unscheduled so we don't feel stressed by a time commitment. That would be really cool, actually.

Anyway, it's quite late for me and I'm getting tired. I think I'll post one more photo and head off to bed. I hope you all had a wonderful day, whether it's a holiday for your country or not.

(no subject)

The clouds at Lake Michigan were quite pretty before the setting sun rendered them largely invisible.

Groups of people huddled around yellow and orange lights along the shore. From over the lake, a cool, constant breeze came in shoreward, brushing wisps of hair into my eyes. The water below susurrated gently, insistently, against the rocks of the shore. For a few moments here and there, the scene felt tribal, prehistoric. I imagined camping in semi-nomadic bands at the side of the great lake in a large, unknown, scary world that felt, for that evening, so much smaller in the company of the extended family of my fellows.


Clouds on the Michigan Shoreline

Copyright Stormdog 2013

(no subject)

This describes a major problem I have with Libertarianism. It's nice to believe that everyone should have the freedom to live as they will, but it is not, and cannot, be that simple.

How Freedom Became Tyranny
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 20th December 2011

http://www.monbiot.com/2011/12/19/how-freedom-became-tyranny/

(no subject)

I made it to Evanston!

I notably underestimated the time the ride would take, but that's ok. My total time was 3 hours and 44 minutes. I was slowed down by having rather more weight than usual, the fact that a third or so of my route was crushed limestone rather than pavement, and a couple instances of losing track of the trail, most notably around Highland Park.

But the ride was hugely enjoyable, and I think I'd like to do it again sometime. Or really, just do more longer rides in general. It makes me think of all the riding around Kenosha I used to do when I was in high school. I'm not seeking solitary space away from people nearly so often these days as I was then, but the span of time to myself is still enjoyable. it's a little meditative; for most of the ride, I felt very much in the present moment. I started feeling pretty tired around Winetka, but a short break and water helped. Slightly later, I stopped into a Walgreens to buy a bottle of Gatorade. I loved the look on the cashier's face when I told her I'd just biked down from Kenosha. She had to ask for clarification that I meant by bike the whole way.

I started getting a bit nervous in Evanston too when it started getting pretty dark, but I was almost there by then and made it without incident. I don't feel too worn out either, though I think I might be a bit sore tomorrow. I tracked my cadence closely and tried to pedal efficiently, around 90 RPM, and I think that's really the way to do it. This was certainly the longest single ride I've ever done, and I feel kind of proud of myself for managing it. I also have even more respect for people who go out and ride 100 or 200 miles a day, or do multi-week bicycle touring. That's some serious endurance.

I have a picture for today from field school that my professor took of my digging partner and I with our excavation unit, but I don't have a copy yet. I'll post it when I do.

Now, I'm going to rest and enjoy the company of my kitty Danae! Tomorrow will be board gaming, dinner with Lisa, and, well, I dunno. Things. It'll be good.