Meatmachine.info

The British Psychological Society asked world’s leading psychologists to reveal one nagging thing they still don’t understand about themselves. Their answers (in 150 words or less) are a lot of fun to read.
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Norbert Schwarz says incidental feelings still affect him, even though he is aware of them. “Some 25 years ago Jerry Clore and I studied how gloomy weather makes one’s whole life look bad — unless one becomes aware of the weather and attributes one’s gloomy mood to the gloomy sky, which eliminates the influence. You’d think I learned that lesson and now know how to deal with gloomy skies. I don’t, they still get me.”

One nagging thing you still don’t understand about yourself
(Via Boing Boing)

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This seatcam video is pretty rad, me thinks.

Catamount Cyclocross Day 2 Lap 1 from colin reuter on Vimeo.

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Pat’s band was playing at a bluegrass festival today, so I covered for him at Pullins, working alongside Mica and Dan. The day wasn’t super busy, but I was surprised by how tired I was by closing. After flipping the open signs around I worked on my new rear wheel for a little while, finishing it all but for the rim tape. The front hub should come back from anodization on Wednesday. Next friday there’s a “TEAM” Paul meeting, and our first race may be that Sunday.

After work I rode over to the library and met up with a classmate from my machine design class. Right now we’re working on turning our concepts into a materials cut list. This means we need to figure out exactly how the parts of our machine will fit together, and are deciding the parameters that will define it’s framing. We ran into a couple pretty critical problems, and I felt like I spent most of the two and a half hours beating my head against a wall. We came up with some elegant solutions as well though, but I had let myself get tired and hungry and cranky. We called it quits before 9 and I decompressed over the phone to Xue as I walked to get some Pizza.

Two slices and a root beer. They were playing the Pixies when I got there, and Dig for Fire and the food made me feel really energetic and motivated. I think talking to Xue helped too. I left, heading back towards the library, with the intent of killing some chemistry homework. Of course the library isn’t open Saturday nights though. Nobody does homework on Saturday when they can do it Sunday, right?

Feeling a little useless, I came home and tried to play video games, but it only made me anxious, so I quit.

Then I recorded a cover of Islands’ Tender Torture. Have a listen?

Tender Torture.mp3

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I sent Xue a Polaroid camera in the mail with a handful of film, and she found it when she came home from work tonight.

I also got some film for myself. Pic related.

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The air is finally starting to cool in Chico. This morning I had to wear a sweatshirt on my ride to class. I’ve though it was finally October for about the past week, and the calendar has just now caught up with me.

I’m really excited for this month, and this season, and the end of this year.

Xue’s coming to visit in just a few weeks, I don’t really think I can contain my excitement. I try to keep it tempered, but not too hard. Anybody who I’ve talked to about it knows I’m just going nuts. !!!

The local ‘cross season is also starting this month. I’m going to be racing with Team Paul for my first season. Not really sure what to expect, besides hurt and cold and tired sensations, and knobby tires. I’ve been riding my single speed Raleigh everyday, trying to make it the second most familiar thing between my legs. I’ll be lacing up a new wheelset for it in the next week or so, built on High Flange hubs and Delgado Cross rims.

This November will mark having worked for Paul for a year straight, which makes me happy. I feel like I fit really well there, it’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve had.

In January I’d like to head East to see some family & get some snow.

And before we know it, it’ll be 2010 and we’ll all have futurepacks and jetguns.

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It’s way too late, and I have homework that I need to do for class tomorrow, but I almost have an excuse. Tonight I put the finishing touches on a little gift and wrapped it all up to mail out tomorrow.

A little late night arts & crafts is okay from time to time, but one mustn’t make a habit of it.

Halfway through the evening I was confronted with this little alien, who somehow found its way into my home.

I placed it under a glass and watched it pace for a few minutes, before it settled into a shifting three-legged pose.

I tried to feed it a little bit of a medjool date, but it wouldn’t even look at it so I let it go outside.

Now I really need to start my homework. Good morning all.

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Watched a few little bites of Science of Sleep the other night, and this song has been stuck with me since. According to those in the know it’s just a modified cover of Velvet Underground’s After Hours. I like the cat version more though, so that’s what I sang.

Chanson des Chats.mp3

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One of the three classes I’m taking this semester is Intro to Machine Design. In a nutshell, the professor takes us through all the stages of building a machine, from listing specifications to design analysis, project management, construction, and ultimately testing.

Right now we’re working in small groups to finalize our concept designs, and we’re just about to start making scale models. Yesterday my partner showed me a catalog from an extruded aluminum framing manufacturer, and it got my head swimming with ideas. So today Brad & I met up for a while to talk about designs for a framebuilding jig.

We put some ideas on paper, and I now I’ve got some questions to ask my Mech professor about the materials. Soon soon soon.

Tonight I worked on trigonometry homework for a few hours, and then rode over to the library to borrow a chemistry textbook to do my homework for that class. Spending the time and getting my homework done is giving me a king of satisfaction that I’ve never tasted that much of before.

I haven’t written any music for a few weeks. I have learned some new covers this weekend though. I’m debating now wether to go to bed and be a happy shiny person in class tomorrow at 8am, or if I should record something for you. We’ll see.

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Also:

If you’re looking to go long-term with this (I am a cycling coach btw) then be prepared to understand that cyclocross is the most anaerobic thing you will ever do on a bicycle, bar none. Translation: if you do not like pain, don’t bother. Cross is the only discipline I can think of where you start out in a full sprint, then go FASTER. You’re essentially sprinting into and out of every barrier section, every turn, every change of surface… pretty much everywhere. There’s no respite. If you think this sounds fun, well, it totally is, but then I’m a pain addict adrenaline junkie. Also, don’t think that just because the races are short, that by definition they are easy. The funniest thing I’ve ever seen is aerobic athletes from other disciplines who are all like “oh hell, thirty minutes?! I can do ANYTHING for thirty minutes!!!”. Yea, okay Geronimo, tell me that on your fourth lap, when your legs feel like cast iron pilings, that 18” hurdle feels ten feet tall, that measly little 10’ runup looks like Mt. Everest, and all you really want to do is find a quiet corner to go lay down and die… or puke, your choice.

-How do you train for cyclocross races?

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Tonight there was a gathering at Ryan’s house. He’s dropped out of school to do journalism work in Burma, and he’s leaving on Tuesday. We all talked about his plans, his unknowns, his hopes.

We ate chocolate cake and drank. MaMuse played two songs, and I played two songs for Ryan after most everyone else had left. I stole a copy of his visa photograph and stuck it in my wallet.

The group reassembled at the Tion warehouse, which I guess is now “The Frame”. There was music and lights and people dancing with their arms moving in long slow waves. All I wanted was some Mogwai/Microphones style noise to drop in onto the melodic Zimbabwean performance.

I regretted paying all of $15 for admission, and carefully peeled back the perforated adhesive on my “non-removable” glow in the dark wristband. I gave it to Julia so she and Robert would only have to pay $15 to enter, instead of $30. We had all been told it would be just $5 at the door.

“That’s like paying $7.50 each, not too much.”

“Yeah, that’s the price of a bad movie.”

I came home and set my new alarm clock for 7. Tomorrow I’d like to sprint my single speed up Humboldt before heading to the market. Then in the afternoon it’s schoolwork in the library. After that I dream of recording some music, but we’ll see how my luck turns out.

Now I go to bed, my lips are sticky from small exotic candies.

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