Simpsonize Me!

Everyone has probably heard about it by now, but the link in the title takes you to the Simpsonize me site. You upload a photo of yourself and create a Simpsonized version of yourself. You've got a lot of options once the inital character comes up. I had to tweak the character a bit, but a great resemblence, no?

Basic Motorcycle Riding

Well, I passed my Basic Motorcycle Riding Course and can head to the Secretary of State's office to take the written test and get a motorcycle endorsement on my license. Considering that I don't quickly learn new activities that require this kind of coordination, I felt pretty good about passing. Apparently one third of people who take the course don't pass it. Many of the "lessons" are similar to riding a bicycle, which I do every year. This year there was no MS ride for me, as I decided not to ride the MS after so many of the crew were not going to be doing it this year. Instead I took this course which ran the same weekend. Of course, riding a bicycle means all of your acceleration comes from your legs and all of your braking and shifting comes from your hands. With a motorcycle, acceleration comes from your hands, shifting is a comination of hands and feet and braking is a combination of hands and feet. Same goals, different means of executing them. I bought the bike from a priest at UDM. I have to get the title transferred and then pass the test. Then I can get insurance for the motorcycle and register it. Pictures when they become available.

The pictures above are mostly of other riders taking the range test for the course. My group went later in the day, so I got to observe them working on their test.

A Sweltering July Sunday

We're supposed to hit 95 degrees today, so I got some sprinkling in this morning before I did stuff. The birds know the right places to land.

Tantalizing Times in Libraries

I have been able to check out which libraries have my book via the database we have access to at UDM. But I just found out that Google Books provides links to the WorldCat Database with this information. The link for my book is in the title of the post. As of now there are 72 libraries that have my book. WorldCat is a nice database for the public to have access to. It's worth checking out for lots of reference material.

Water World

These pictures were taken at Collegium with the help of some of my fellow attendees. They all involve water shots of one sort or another. The champaigne brunch on the Portland River was a nice trip, although really windy on the way back. They had a typical paddlewheel riverboat, just like on the Mississippi. The Pacific is another story of course. It was a very cloudy day, but it was still great to get out to the ocean and walk around.

University of Portland

While at Collegium, we stayed at the University of Portland. It is a small university situated on the river with great views of the area. It is a cozy little campus, beautiful to walk around with a mix of new and older buildings. We were well fed during the stay. I especially enjoyed someone having food ready everyday and just getting what you want. It was good food for a college type situation. The university is building a new soccer stadium even though the old one looks fine. Apparently, considering the success of their women's soccer team, the old one isn't big enough. The townhouse we stayed in are certainly far superior to anything on the UDM campus (although I was glad to see the process of dorm window replacement starting at UDM today). I was impressed with Portland light rail system that transports folks from the airport to the downtown area. It was clean, efficient and informative. It would be great to see more places with something like that.

Trip to the Pacific

On the day of retreats, some of our group in the meditation retreat advanced to the shores of the Pacific at the end of the day. Led by our leader Dennis who rented a van, this motley crew headed for the beach. Fortunately, I brought my camera along to record this auspicious event. We walked around the beach for a while, taking pictures and taking in the sights. We then made our way to a Thai restaurant nearby and then back to the beach for a final look-see. It was a great side trip, as we chatted about the big and the small. Although the water was cold, it wasn't intolerable to walk in (though no swinwuits for this crowd). It was wonderful to look out onto the great expanse of the ocean for while, a more tangible way to ponder infinity and to fill the senses.