Sunday, February 24, 2008

Close call

There’s a first time for everything right? How about almost nailing a deer, while driving 35 mph on a tandem bicycle…

On a seemingly harmless recovery ride around Lake Sammamish this morning, we encountered two deer at the side of Eastlake Sammamish Parkway. I didn’t see them until Nick was hard on the brakes. I peeled my head off his back in time to see 125 pounds of fur lose its footing on the smooth asphalt about 20 yards in front of us. I closed my eyes and did my best to relax in case Nick needed to take evasive action. Fortunately, there were no cars around at the time, and the deer regained its footing in time to scamper across the road, out of our way.

I caught the look of fear in its eyes as we passed by. It would be hard to say who was more frightened by the experience. Likewise, I will not hazard a guess at who would have fared worse had we actually collided.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Keechelus Ridge snowshoe

It was forecast to be a spectacular day last Sunday, so Marilyn, Joanne, Craig and I headed to the mountains for a snowshoe up Keechelus Ridge. As snowshoes go, this is not a particularly strenuous trip (6 mi. RT with 2,100’ of elevation gain), but it was just right. (Honestly, the hardest part of the trip was just getting there. Two and a half hours of waiting for accidents to be cleared and snow removal equipment to get off the road...We were ready to abandon our goal for something a little closer to North Bend.)

I’ve been experimenting with a little video taking. I’m not taking enough video to make a whole movie yet, but here’s a short clip with some still shots to fill it out. (Admittedly, I should have used the higher res versions of the pictures, but oh well.)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Total eclipse

On the way down to a friend’s new bike shop in Kirkland, I caught the beginning of tonight’s total eclipse. I had actually forgotten about it until then. After a quick visit and the purchase of a new pair of the best socks on the planet, I raced home to watch the moon reappear above our house. What a sight!

Monday, February 18, 2008

The thing speaks for itself

We’re moving on to the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in Torts this week, which reminds me of a favorite Gonzo quote:

“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish — a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow — to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested… Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.”

Hunter S. Thompson, Gonzo Papers, Vol. 2: Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ‘80s (1988)

Friday, February 15, 2008

Law Friday - Stuff White People Like

Someone emailed Nick a link to a new Web site today called Stuff White People Like. If you’re not overly sensitive to racial stereotypes as a source of humor, you’ll love this site. In fact, I can almost guarantee if you’re white you’ll be laughing at yourself in no time over your follies.

Apparently one of the things white people like is lawyers. (Hey, that’s great, right? ‘Cause someone will have to pay me so I can afford my husband’s Porsche after I graduate.)

The article begins with a poignant observation:

A common characteristic amongst white people is the need to over analyze things, so they partake in activities such as therapy, writing a blog, or becoming an arts major. So its rather obvious why white people love lawyers so much as it is the one profession that has mastered the art of “over analyzing things”.

Has the author has been reading my journal? (Crap! A journal...is that something that white people like too?)

You wanna know what else white people like? Movies and TV shows about lawyers. I think I’ll go watch the latest Law & Order now.