I am absolutely addicted to this game. I don't usually like computer games, but I'm telling you: this physics-based on-line game is the next best thing to the game "Boggle"....and I ADORE "Boggle."
If you haven't tried it, go to this link:
http://www.fantasticcontraption.com/
There are 21 total "levels" and the objective gets increasingly more challenging with every level.
I simply COULD NOT create an object that would get the little red circl (the object) up the stairs and into the final "box" destination/goal using the wheels, rods, and water pressure rods that were provided. Then, this morning, I had a STROKE of GENIUS and finally created the perfect machine! It's like a little tank, but hinged in the center.....
Check this out - just hit "play" and then "start":
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=3659681
(and once you play the game, you'll appreciate this even better!)
FAILED ATTEMPT LINK JOURNAL (so I can come back and remember what I tried):
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=3661365
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=3662144
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Green River Riding Trip
Chris and Jon (Local Hero) joined up with some other guys to hit trails in the Green River area this weekend. He goes for a Boys Ride every fall and ride Dead Cow Loop, 5 Miles of Hell, Lenny's Butterfly Trail, and other notorious trails in that area.
Chris was the Ride Director this year, rallying forces on his own for the first time. From his reports every evening, sounds like the trip was a success!
Apparently he had one crash that he says re-broke his pinkie finger (again?!!) but no other tragedies. I missed him and am glad he's on his way back home this evening. Maybe one of these upcoming years I'll have the skills to be able to go on one of the trips-- but from the looks of these pictures, I'm a couple years out yet! Holy crap, look at the height of those giant steps?!!!
I've never been on the "5 Miles of Hell" trail, but I don't think I want to go....
Chris' Snoring Issue
So Chris is currently in Green River on his annual "boys ride" with his gang, but I thought it was SOOO funny to read the post his friend/roomate posted on MotoUtah.com about his adventure trying to sleep in the same room as Chris (AKA "Slave" on MotoUtah):
"Slave and I are in Green River and we rode 5 Miles of Hell yesterday. I was up all night before the ride getting stuff taken care of, then the ride tired me out. It's 5:00 AM in Green River.....I'm not sleeping. SLAVE1 has the loudest, most horrible, I'm at the door of death, smokers snore that I've ever heard. Each breath sounds like he's fighting for his life. I tried putting the pillows over my head, sleeping on the floor on the other side of the bed.... the only thing I still want to try is punching Slave in the neck as hard as I can. Luckly for me, the lobby is playing country music. Wait, I hate country music. How do you deal with it KTMgirl?"
I couldn't help but respond:
LOCAL, Didn't Slave give you the set of Instructions I sent with him for you?
1.) 8:30 PM: Take sleeping pills (Sleep Rite brand is best) so you can be tired by 10:00
2.) 9:00 PM: Drink a White Russian to aid the effects of sleeping pills
3.) 9:30 PM: Remove remaining Captain & Coke from Slave; the less he drinks, the longer he stays awake, providing you a better chance of falling asleep before him.
4.) 9:45 PM: Mix another White Russian, cuz Slave is still drinking, and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Maybe you won't remember your hours of non-sleeping in the morning....
5.) 10:00 PM: Make Slave put on Breath Right Strip; if he's too intoxicated to apply, you'll need to stick it on him yourself-- WATCH OUT: he'll try and swat at you, be light on your toes!
6.) 10:30 PM: Build WALL-O-PILLOWS at least 18-24" high as a sound wall - the more dense the pillow, the better.
6.5) INSERT EAR PLUGS WITH DECIBEL RATING OF 32+.
7.) If he falls asleep before you and is still snoring despite your efforts, quickly YANK the pillow out from under his head to buy yourself 6-9 minutes of snore-free time to try and fall asleep.
8.) If the pillow-yanking method doesn't work, just kick him in the shins whenever he snores, and DISREGARD the mean, half-slurred response you'll evoke from him--he doesn't really mean whatever hurtful things he says!
9.) 11:00 PM: Pretend you are Victor Frankl or a POW being tortured, and practice mental dissociation from your horrid reality.
10.) 12:00 AM: If you are STILL awake, you might as well give up, find a good chick flick to watch in some other room, and pop a couple more sleeping pills; after a couple nights of this, the foggy haze of delirium will begin to FEEL like real sleep!
GOOD LUCK, CHAMP!
PS. He's a great snuggler!
"Slave and I are in Green River and we rode 5 Miles of Hell yesterday. I was up all night before the ride getting stuff taken care of, then the ride tired me out. It's 5:00 AM in Green River.....I'm not sleeping. SLAVE1 has the loudest, most horrible, I'm at the door of death, smokers snore that I've ever heard. Each breath sounds like he's fighting for his life. I tried putting the pillows over my head, sleeping on the floor on the other side of the bed.... the only thing I still want to try is punching Slave in the neck as hard as I can. Luckly for me, the lobby is playing country music. Wait, I hate country music. How do you deal with it KTMgirl?"
I couldn't help but respond:
LOCAL, Didn't Slave give you the set of Instructions I sent with him for you?
1.) 8:30 PM: Take sleeping pills (Sleep Rite brand is best) so you can be tired by 10:00
2.) 9:00 PM: Drink a White Russian to aid the effects of sleeping pills
3.) 9:30 PM: Remove remaining Captain & Coke from Slave; the less he drinks, the longer he stays awake, providing you a better chance of falling asleep before him.
4.) 9:45 PM: Mix another White Russian, cuz Slave is still drinking, and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Maybe you won't remember your hours of non-sleeping in the morning....
5.) 10:00 PM: Make Slave put on Breath Right Strip; if he's too intoxicated to apply, you'll need to stick it on him yourself-- WATCH OUT: he'll try and swat at you, be light on your toes!
6.) 10:30 PM: Build WALL-O-PILLOWS at least 18-24" high as a sound wall - the more dense the pillow, the better.
6.5) INSERT EAR PLUGS WITH DECIBEL RATING OF 32+.
7.) If he falls asleep before you and is still snoring despite your efforts, quickly YANK the pillow out from under his head to buy yourself 6-9 minutes of snore-free time to try and fall asleep.
8.) If the pillow-yanking method doesn't work, just kick him in the shins whenever he snores, and DISREGARD the mean, half-slurred response you'll evoke from him--he doesn't really mean whatever hurtful things he says!
9.) 11:00 PM: Pretend you are Victor Frankl or a POW being tortured, and practice mental dissociation from your horrid reality.
10.) 12:00 AM: If you are STILL awake, you might as well give up, find a good chick flick to watch in some other room, and pop a couple more sleeping pills; after a couple nights of this, the foggy haze of delirium will begin to FEEL like real sleep!
GOOD LUCK, CHAMP!
PS. He's a great snuggler!
Monday, October 20, 2008
"Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
So after 6 years of owning the book, I finally finished the Novella "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse. It's a classic. I just haven 't been in the frame of mind or stage of life where I feel I would have appreciated it, until now.
To summarize, kid wakes up and realizes he wants to know the meaning of his life. Joins the wandering "Samanas" who are like roaming, self-denying "sages" who meditate on life and practice minimalism to the extreme. Studies with Gotama Buddha for a while, but decides to strike out on his own. Gets caught up in the world, become rich, impregnates his hot whorish lover, and leaves her before finding out shes prego because he hates being "of the world" and is all suicidal. Lives alone and wanders for a long time in the forest and becomes roommates with a Ferry Boat guy that lives at a river who is a "sage." His girlfriend/kid run across him like 10 year later and she dies, leaving the kid with him. Kid runs away because he hates living like a freakshow by the river. After years of "studying the river" and looking inwardly at his own life and lessons, Siddatha, then a famous Sage and spiritual leader, concludes that the best thing you can do for yourself is realize that life is like a river - full of transition, ever flowing, constantly full of change. He believes that each person has to strike out on their own, and independantly realize their own destiny, finding their own way to their inward "awareness" or consciousness, not necessarily through a specific system of religious practices, beliefs or dogma.
Quote "He saw all these forms and faces in a thousand relationships to each other, all helping each other, loving, hating, destroying each other and become newly born. Each one of them was mortal, a passionate, painful example of all that was transitory. Yet none of them died, they only changed, were always reborn, continually had a new face: only time stood between one face and another." Chapter 12, pg. 121
It was a great book, written in 1922, and full of imagery and a good message. If you haven't read it and want something a little "deeper" to chew on, this is a great read for a blooming psychoanalyst - or for a good dose of free-spirited religious philosophy. If you decide to read it, curl up with some Herbal Tea, some Nog Champa incense burning, and some Nepalis music playing.
To summarize, kid wakes up and realizes he wants to know the meaning of his life. Joins the wandering "Samanas" who are like roaming, self-denying "sages" who meditate on life and practice minimalism to the extreme. Studies with Gotama Buddha for a while, but decides to strike out on his own. Gets caught up in the world, become rich, impregnates his hot whorish lover, and leaves her before finding out shes prego because he hates being "of the world" and is all suicidal. Lives alone and wanders for a long time in the forest and becomes roommates with a Ferry Boat guy that lives at a river who is a "sage." His girlfriend/kid run across him like 10 year later and she dies, leaving the kid with him. Kid runs away because he hates living like a freakshow by the river. After years of "studying the river" and looking inwardly at his own life and lessons, Siddatha, then a famous Sage and spiritual leader, concludes that the best thing you can do for yourself is realize that life is like a river - full of transition, ever flowing, constantly full of change. He believes that each person has to strike out on their own, and independantly realize their own destiny, finding their own way to their inward "awareness" or consciousness, not necessarily through a specific system of religious practices, beliefs or dogma.Quote "He saw all these forms and faces in a thousand relationships to each other, all helping each other, loving, hating, destroying each other and become newly born. Each one of them was mortal, a passionate, painful example of all that was transitory. Yet none of them died, they only changed, were always reborn, continually had a new face: only time stood between one face and another." Chapter 12, pg. 121
It was a great book, written in 1922, and full of imagery and a good message. If you haven't read it and want something a little "deeper" to chew on, this is a great read for a blooming psychoanalyst - or for a good dose of free-spirited religious philosophy. If you decide to read it, curl up with some Herbal Tea, some Nog Champa incense burning, and some Nepalis music playing.
Your "inner Hippie" will be very happy!!!
(Here's a link about the real guy - very interesting after reading the book.)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Knolls Race 10.11.2008
...THE RESULTS ARE IN:
I took 1st place at the last race! But before you get too excited- realize that Trish didn't show up to this race-- so lame!!! I don't feel victorious. However, she will be at the next race in Page, Arizona next month. It's the very last race of the year - and my very last chance to beat her.
I'm in 4th place OVER-ALL because I was disqualified from one race, and missed another. The girl that's in 3rd right now, will TAKE 3rd place if she shows up in AZ. If she doesn't show up in AZ, I may have a chance to place 3rd over-all, if I do well at this last race. Mostly, I wanted to place over-all, and feel slightly pissed that I'm 4th overall.
RACE REPORT: Well, it snowed! I froze my butt off and my hands and face were completely numb throughout the whole race. We were all bundled up, but I don't have all the cold-weather gear. The wind was blowing like crazy and it was a MISERABLE course- mucky, sandy, snowy, blowy, freezing!!! I just took my chillin' time and didn't crash, because it was slippery!
Chris didn't race this race - he worked it. He actually was a sweet heart and asked to help with my race, so I had the opportunity to pass him four times throughout the course. Being a Boyscout, he'd built a massive fire in the middle of the stormy desert to weather out the storm and was there cheering me on the whole time, helping everyone who was getting stuck in the super-deep sand!!! Trooper. He also lucked out and won a couple items from the Raffle they auctioned.
Mostly I hung out in the trailer and cooked Mexican food all day after the race-- it was too freakin' cold to hang out!!!!But you should have seen some of the folks that crossed the finish line - looked like they'd just drug themselves through a mile of muddy trenches! Check out these pics. The pic of this one dude illustrates just how deep it was in some spot - so deep, the back tire is burried and guys were peddeling themsleves through the sand, trying to keep upright!
FINAL RACE:
FINAL RACE: November 15th
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