Tvindy

Trampolining

I have always loved going boing boing on the trampoline. I like the sense of becoming weightless as you shoot up into the air and then start heading down again for the next bounce. The higher you jump, the longer you stay in the air. When I was living and working at a non-profit in Massachusetts, we were way out in the boondocks with a lot of open land. It was the perfect opportunity to buy a trampoline of my own. I purchased the largest one I could find and set it up. It was enjoyed by me and many of the volunteers for a long time to come as can be seen in the above image.

I was amazed by how many people there were already quite skilled on the trampoline. One woman there was particularly impressive and was able to bounce into the air while keeping her body straight and rotating herself 360 degrees around two axes simultaneously and then landing on her feet. Another volunteer was very skilled at aerial somersaults and claimed that he had learned the skill jumping on his bed as a child. I can't imagine accomplishing such a feat on a bed.

The only impressive trick I learned was jumping high into the air (as high as I could) and then leaning back during re-entry so that I hit the trampoline with my upper back, just below the shoulder blades. This would shoot me back up and allow me to land on my feet. What I loved about this move was that it kept me in the air for the longest possible time. Eventually I was able to do it dozens of times in succession.

Once I left Massachesetts, my trampolining days came to an end. There was no way I was going to put a trampoline in my yard in Muncie. I could see it quickly being stolen, vandalized, and resulting in the paralysis of many neighborhood children. Also, I did not relish the thought of putting myself on display for the neighbors. I checked at the local university (Ball State) for trampolining classes or other opportunuties for trampoline use. They definitely had trampolines, but it appeared they were only for use by students in advanced acrobatics classes. I was out of options.

Here at the U of O, things are different. They offer trampolining classes! I did not find out in time to register last quarter. One day when walking across campus to one of my classes, I peered into the basement window of one of the buildings and spied a gymnasium filled with trampolines, all occupied by bouncing students. Returning to my dorm room, I looked it up and discovered that they offer three levels of trampolining classes, as well as an aerial maneuvers class.

Every day on my way to class, I made a point to pause outside that window and watch the action inside for a few seconds. Different people were doing different things. I even saw a student on a snowboard bouncing up and down, which must have been part of the aerial maneuvers class. I also saw a student in a harness learning to do somersaults. I had tried to learn somersaults, but after landing on my head a few times, decided that the danger of a broken neck was very real, so I gave it up. But with a harness, I should be able to master the skill safely and in very little time.

This is all very exciting for me. Tomorrow I will have my very first trampolining experience in a long time (almost five years). With proper training, perhaps I will become the trampolining champion of the universe.

The Aquarium

Ready for more pics? When I went to the coast, I also made a point of visiting the aquarium in Newport. Check it out here.

More Coast Photos

I've added photos from this weekend's trip to the coast to the album. The last ten shots are from the more recent trip.

Back to the Coast

I went back to the coast today, so I could experience it more fully. I am tired, so I will just post this one pic for now. Look at all those rules! I remember back when you could just go to the beach without all that bureaucracy. Anyway, I am sleep and must tired. (Or is it the other way around?) Tomorrow I will catch up on responding to comments.

Ham

In the spirit of my recent obsession with the interiors of other people's refrigerators, I think now would be a good time to relate my famous ham saga.

Once upon a time back in my early childhood, my mother went grocery shopping and returned with a canned ham. There was nothing extraordinary about this. It had happened many times before. The ham was placed in an old refrigerator in our basement. That was where we kept larger items that would keep for extended periods of time. Of course, this can contribute to the "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome, and this particular ham had the misfortune of being forgotten. Now and then when the subject of "What's for dinner?" was raised, someone might mention the existence of the ham, but ham preparation takes a lot of work and pre-planning. It is not something to be undertaken on the spur of the moment, and such reminders never came at an opportune moment.

As the ham languished, a new concern arose. Was it still safe to eat? My mother's trepidation in this regard was yet one more psychological obstacle standing in the way of said ham being allowed to fulfill its destiny. It also meant we had to go a very long time without having ham for dinner. One night we finally did have ham. But it was not the ham from the basement! My mother had actually gone out and purchased a new ham!

Time went on. Sometimes we had ham for dinner, but it was never the senior ham. We couldn't just throw it away, since it might still be good. One day my father said someone at work had explained to him in great detail how the canning process used for ham prevents spoilage indefinitely. That did not reassure my mother enough to try cooking it, but if there was any possibility that it was still good, we certainly weren't going to just throw it away.

So we didn't. Over time the ham became something of a minor family joke. What turned it into an uproariously hilarious joke was that when we moved, the ham went with us. So did the old refrigerator. Now we were living in a much smaller house without a basement. The refrigerator containing the ham was kept in the garage, and most of the time that's all the fridge held. To this day I do not understand why the ham accompanied us on our move.

At this point I should probably situate these events in time. I was born in November of 1968. Our big move was in late summer of 1976. Exactly what year the ham first became a part of our family is unclear. Certainly it was before 1976. 1975 is the earliest possible date, but I strongly suspect it goes back to 1974 or even 1973.

In 1984, our family spent a year living in Cameroon, and I made it clear to the people who were to rent from us that they were not to eat or dispose of the ham. I even used a labelmaker to make a sticker that said, "EXPERIMENTAL: DO NOT EAT". It was still there when we got back in 1985. Back then I thought that owning a decade-old ham was a big deal.

Right after the turn of the century, my parents moved again. My mother had finally resolved that it would not be worthwhile to take the ham along on the move. (I guess she finally decided she would not be cooking it.) That's when I inherited the ham. I don't bother to refrigerate it as there wouldn't be much point. The outside is a bit rusty, and the metal has started to swell (meaning botulism). I keep it on a shelf in a large ziplock bag. I fear that someday structural integrity will be compromised, the ham juice will escape, and rust will eat away at the can, destroying a priceless family heirloom.

A few years ago on eBay I was able to acquire another ham can (sans ham) of the same brand, which was Marhoefer Meats. (Yes, you can find anything on eBay.) That can will last forever, but the format of the lid design is different. It has a different picture on it and is probably of more recent design, although the company did go out of business many years ago.

In another twenty years the ham will be a half a century old, which is the minimum age for something to be considered an antique. At that point, I will pass it on to my descendants (along with my old AOL disks), at which time it will be determined that I have finally lost my marbles and need to be put away.

Does anyone else out there have anything in their refrigerators this old?

Links

what decade does your personality live in? quiz brought to you by lady interference, ltd Somehow I just don't think this is accurate. (from PurlingSwine)

Reason #32,289,305 not to re-elect Mr. Poopypants. (from Bill)

Have you heard about this? Okay, here's my contribution: George W. Bush is a miserable failure. (Actually, I would have preferred a better term, since, in my opinion, he has actually succeded at accomplishing most of his evil goals.)

See how much and to whom your neighbors are contributing. (from aethele) How come voting is confidential, but contributing is not?

Thinking of acquiring a new pet? How about one of these? (from goddamn)

I want this! (from Leo) I'll keep it in my backpack, and whenever a prof turns off the lights to show a film or presentation, I'll whip it out and stick it in my mouth. (Graduate school is very competitive, and you have to do things like that to make sure the teachers remember you.)

Here are the 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English. I actually learned a few things on this page, but I couldn't believe that they didn't include "forehead". People, please remember that the h is silent! (from Zannah)

The wonderful thing about the US under the Bush administration is how much the government has come to value science and technology. (from mikeslist)

Do you suspect a roommate of watching your "private" VHS tapes when you are away? This oughtta teach 'em.

Take the Outhouses of America Tour.

And finally, in the category of "Best Post I Read This Week" is Bill's How to get a Computer Science / IT Job.

Look at All those Fridges!

The whole fridge idea seems to have been moderately successful. Most of this is due to Snowball and her support of the idea. Below is my attempt at listing all the participants. (If you participated and are not listed, or if you know of someone who is not listed, or if you, or someone else, participated after I wrote this entry, feel free to add additional links in the comments section.)

Receptionista

Jenny (Australian fridge)

CalGal [Faulty pemalink. Go to her March 22, 2004 entry.]

Mike

Michael

Snowball

Courtney

Bakerina

Jeremiah

me

[Later Additions]

Jo

The Meme That Would Not Die

Honestly, people! The fridge rules in the last post were just a suggestion! Now everyone thinks it's some sort of challenge. Jenny has already done it, and Receptionista has also promised to follow suit. And that's not including all the other people who posted fridge pics before the new rules were conceived. This is not the kind of meme I want to be known for, but since I've already opened my big mouth, it would be wrong of me not to participate. Here goes.

This is the front of my fridge:

Here, once again, is the interior. (Notice the addition of a slice of pizza.):

This is the inside of the door:

And here are the three oldest items found within:

Nothing is very old, because I bought the refrigerator in January. The first ice pack came with an order of fresh mozzarella from this company, placed shortly after I arrived. The second ice pack was from a later order of mozzarella, but this time I ordered the good stuff to use in my Campania presentation. The reason I can tell the two ice packs apart is that I tried to sanitize the first batch with rubbing alcohol before putting them in the freezer but ended up dissolving the markings. I was more careful with the second batch. The olive oil packet came with the second batch as well and is the item that I deem least likely for anyone else to have in their fridge. It's not just olive oil; it's imported olive oil in packet form.

Some Updates

My grades were finally made available to me today. I got three A-s (Just how do you pluralize A-?) for my three undergraduate classes. In my one graduate level class (RL 620) I received a B, which surprised me. (I distinctly remember telling the RL 620 profs at the beginning of the quarter that I expected an A from them. Apparently they weren't paying attention.) I also learned that they give separate GPAs for graduate and undergraduate coursework, so I have two GPAs. As an undergraduate, my GPA is 3.7, but as a graduate student, my GPA is 3.0. This is not ideal, but at least I'm off to a reasonably good start.

I still have a sore throat. It's definitely better than it was before, but it never leaves. I'll check in at the health center again when the university opens on Monday of next week. I suppose it must be pollen. Oh well, at least that means I'm not sick.

The refrigerator pic idea has sort of caught on and has converged at snowball's site. Based on the pics, I have a few suggestions for how this meme might be improved in the future. I'm not passionate enough about it to give it the sort of promotion it deserves, but if people in the future decide to continue with the idea, here are a few rules/guidlines that might be helpful:

1) Include a shot of the front of the closed door (so we can see the pictures and magnets), a straight-on shot of the interior, and a shot of the interior side of the door. These pics should include everything from the floor to the top of the appliance.

2) Find the three items that have been inside for the longest time. Remove them, line them up, and take a photo. Then explain what each one is, approximately when it went in, and why you have had it for so long.

3) Now find an item that you are certain no one else has in their fridge. Photograph it, and explain what it is doing in your fridge. If some other participant documents a similar item in their fridge, then you have to find something else.

But like I said, these are just suggestions. I'm not declaring an official contest, but if someone else wants to take the idea and run with it, go for it.

The Oregon Coast

Yesterday I made it out to the coast. You can see some of my pictures here.