Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday February 13, 2017 8:02 PM

Cold February


Tuesday and Wednesday are cold days after the rain. I manage to get out for a bone-chlling mountain bicycle ride on Tuesday and work on the roses and do other things around the house. This weatehr is not amenable to outdoor activities.

On Wednesday I am lazy, but I get out the door and go to both Long Beach Community College campuses to get the books for my upcoming classes and to get my student ID card. When I get home I have a great session with the weights. Where did that come from after the last few blah sessions. And then I get out into the front yard and tackle the long-dreaded fixing of the sprinkler systems. But to my surprise I am able to get sprinkler by sprinkler and, with minimal digging, get them to produce water at maximal thrust and coverage. I don't know what happened, but the apparently broken pipe which would have required a lot of digging, is now working. Thus in the glorious sunshine with me getting all muddy, I get the sprinklers fixed for now (with some expected minor tuneups later). I grab a shower and continue taking notes on a great book from the library related to living one's life to full potential.

On Thursday it is cold, near 40F, so I go for a run. Halfway through the run the right calf starts hurting so I walk for a bit and then gingerly am able to run back home. I guess the self-modified orthotics didn't fully fix my calf (soleus) problems. After a shower I grab my laptop computer and go to the Library coffeehouse to work. I work on some grants and even pick up my fuzzy rule based data mining application and decide to re-do it in Excel to figure out the fine points before programming it live for the Web. When I get back home I trim the front bush and then relax. At some point I drop off for a nap.

Friday is also cold, but I'm riding anyway. I have the new 25mm rear tire on and it feels good even if many body parts are cold. Since we've had so much rain there are a number of places along the river trails where there is mud and water and debris blocking the path and I slow and cautiously pass. But on the way to the Santa Fe dam the path is blocked, so I turn around and head for home for a total of 47 miles. After a shower I go to a Japanese restaurant hoping that a waiter who I amsmitten with is present. But he isn't. So I drive to Chipotle and enjoy Mexican food. When I home I rake leaves and trim down a few small tree branches and hope to have the backyard cleaned up in another week or so. I lay down for a short rest but then get up and continue working on the fuzzy rule data mining. The actual final defuzzification process keeps bothering me and popping into my head during bicycle rides and tree trimming. I know that I am close and just need to keep plugging away.

It is very cold on Saturday morning so I take the mountain bicycle out for the old loop ride. It seems like the slight wind is against me every turn of the way and it is very cold. But I finish the ride and warm up in the shower. I go meet a former co-worker for coffee/lemonade at a nearby coffeehouse and we catch up on things. I had worked with Bob for 30 years and we had not seen each other for more than one year. At the coffeehouse I see a worker with a cute, sincere smile, so as I am leaving I give him my number and ask him to call me. When i get home I pull out the electric chainsaw and chop up some tree branches, run the sprinklers to make sure they are running properly, and get down for an hour nap. I'm not feeling the spark needed to work on the fuzzy data mining, so I give it the day off.

Since Saturday was a farily warm and sunny day, I turned the heat off in the house and then forgot to turn it back on before sleep. Thus I wake up at 5 am with the house down at 58 degrees. Today I get out for a 52 minute run as I don't want to deal with the cold weatehr during cycling - hoping for a few degrees warmer on Monday morning. After a shower I do the laundry, work on my ultrasonic sensor which has been giving me fits, clean the kitchen floor, and transcribe notes from a book that I am reading. I finally realize that the PC board that I'm using for the ultrasonic sensor has some offsets, so the wrong signals were going to the wrong pins. When I align things up the ultrasonic sensor starts working as it should. I'm happy for this accomplishment and ready for the next building block of my little project.

On Monday I wake up and have a good idea to implement the optimization part of the fuzzy rules data mining operation. So I skip the bicycle ride and start coding it up. I'll have to get in a workout with the weights later. The session with the weights sees a slight increase in weights and it feels good. I ride the motorcycle up to CSU:A and spend four hours with one of the teams trying to put together a plan that willhelp them leanr, meet the objectives of the custoemrs, and help them pass the class. I rush on home and relax for a bit before driving to the Bay SHore Congregational Church in Long Beach for a very large meeting on trying to solve the homeless problems. There a are many speakers and I start to get impatient but I know that I have to wait for my opportunity. After the two hour speakers session I start hitting up the Long Beach Police Department, the Long Beach Fire Department, the Long Beach Human Services Department, City Councilpeople, and others about why we don't have all of the homeless resources on the web (rather than on an outdated paper-based directory). I get a number of email addresses that I willhit up soon. I also run into Gio, possibly a lesbian, who I really like because she is both level-headed and encouraging when she speaks. I always surprise her with a BIG hug and I know that I have to go down to her business soon and buy some products (whether they are helpfull for me or not). I rush on home and have great sleep in two spearate pieces.

On Tuesday I have slept late and take the mountain bicycle out for a two hour ride. As the ride is endign I am losing energy and back at home I am ready for a nap. But I have promised Person T_U that I will take him and his dog to the nearby god park (for the first time) so soon we are walking over and enjoying conversations, interactions with doggies, and their owners. By 1:30 pm Person T_U has left and I go looking for Hutu and Nicholas and don't find either one, but I do get some fuzzy rule data mining programming done at Nicholas's coffeeshop. When I return home there is a bottle of wine that gets me through a bit more programming and the laundry and a relaxing evening.

On Wednesday I wake up at 4:30 am and cannot sleep. I get started on the day with some fuzzy mining work and lay out the business cards for the non-profit organization. I make a quick trip to the print shop but they can't help me until later and I pick up some fertilizer. When the day has warmed up a bit I get in a great session with the weights - I'm kicking myself for not having increased the weights for today's workout. When I mow the lawn the lawnmower continues to act as if it will die and I barely get the backyard done. After a shower I finally get the business car order going and then go grocery shopping. At the store I run into Sim and we catch up a bit. When I get home I pull the head off the lawnmower and see a lot of oil in the combustion chamber and can move the piston radially in the cylinder - this is terminal. It looks like this Sears Caraftsman lawnmower, which never ran properly from the beginning, will be replaced after eight years of service. Later in the day I pull out a new VHS tape to digital converter and start converting a number of old VHS tapes to digital format. I start with the 1990 Monaco Grand Prix.

I start Thursday with a difficult road bicycle ride into a strong headwind from the northeast. I struggle along and feel decent at times. When I get to the turnaround point I have a nice tailwind for a while but beneath the Whittier Narrows dam the tailwind is shielded from me and eventually aI run into the ocean headwind. But I finish strong at 48 miles. Since the lawnmower is terminal I go buy a new one at Lowe's, pick up lunch for later, pick up the new non-profit business cards, and head for home. I spend the afternoon multi-tasking between assembling the new lawnmower, working on the fuzzy rule data mining program, and converting old VHS tapes to a digital format. In bed while I reading I have a couple of nasty cramps in the inside of my quadriceps muscles in both kegs before I relax them and massage them away.

Friday starts out with rain. I've decided to sleep in today and I get out of bed a little before 7 am. I make progress on the fuzzy rule data mining and then send an email out to the CSULA students that I will not make the meeting because it is raining. Instead I work on the fuzzy rule data mining, start my taxes for the past year, and continue to convert VHS tapes to digital format. It is a slow day and I just keep making progress on some of the things on my "to do" list. Late in the morning I get in a heavy session with the weights and though I've just barely nudged the weights up from Wednesday's workout, it is a struggle. But it gets done. Later I take a walk for First Fridays and run into some of the Long beach Human Tarfficking Task Force people and we talk about efforts as well as why I've missed the last couple of meetings. Otherwise the rain has kept the crowd down.

The roads are a bit wet on Saturday morning so I take the mountain bicycle out for the loop ride. I crank along quite nicely and finish strong. After a shower both inside quads are threatening to cramp, so I go buy a combination calcium/magnesium/zinc mineral. (The then time state cycling champion who owns my bicycle store, Long Beach Cyclery, suggested combined magnesium and calcium for cramps.) During the day I abuse the minerals - taking three of them throughout the day. I stop in at a coffeehouse to work on some programming and then return home to relax and convert VHS tapes.

I get up Sunday and feel good and start out on the road bicycle. As I'm approaching the usual turn around point for a 48 mile ride I am cranking away and passing a lot of people heading up towards the Santa Fe dam, so I just keep on going. When I reach the upper dam I turn around and ride strongly home for about 56 miles. The legs felt strong throughout and exhibit no signs of cramping throughout the day. I wonder if I've just had a slight chronic mineral deficiency that needs to be watched? Ruby and I go eat Japanese food for lunch and talk about our lives and business opportunities. And then I convert more VHS tapes before and during the Super Bowl. For some reason, even with the Patriots down 28-3, I still think that they are going to win.

On Monday I am awake at 4 am as the rain is coming down fairly hard. Whereas I used to dread the morning rain because I was going to get all wet riding the motorcycle to work, now I enjoy the sound of the rain. It is supposed to be a nasty, wet day all day and into Tuesday morning, so I get in a session for the abdominals and lower back, go do some programming at a coffeehouse, return to home for VHS tape conversion and to clean the bathroom floor. And tidy up the house for the start of classes at Long Beach Community College on Tuesday.

I go to Long Beach Community College very early to walk around the campus and check things out. I then go to the library and work on my fuzzy mining program until it is time for class. This first class is an atmospheric sciences class and I enjoy the professor's attitude and knowledge and intent. When I get home I have dinner, do some VHS tape to digital conversion, and have a good workout with the weights. These are the same weight levels as last Friday but they seem relatively easy. And then I just become a vegetable in the evening.

On Wednesday morning the pavement is wet and I am tired, so I don't go riding or running. Instead I do some work at home and then drive to the other Long Beach City College campus for the social work case management class. Whereas yesterday's class had everyone about a third my age in it, this class is a wide range of people. There are three people named Ray in the class, there are ex-felons, ex-addicts, and other social workers trying to get a certificate in case management/criss management. I like the instructor a lot and I will learn a lot. When I head for home i stop and have lemonade with Scott, one of the kids that I used to babysit, so that we can catch up. When I get home I eat diner, relax, and then lift weights again. My joints are sore after lifting two days in a row, but it's a good workout.

Thursday morning is very foggy and damp but I take the road bicycle out for a decent 45 mile ride. I'm a bit slower today (for the most part). When i get home the bicycle is all wet and muddy so I spend time cleaning it up for the next ride. After a shower I go to the atmospheric science class and continue to learn. After the class I introduce myself to two students since I'm trying to be less shy and then I rush on home to mow the lawn with the new lawn mower. Unlike the last Sears Craftsman mower that never ran right properly from the beginning (and was susbequently the subject of a class action lawsuit that paid me $50 or so), this mower starts on the second pull and runs well. We'll see how well it lasts.

On Friday I take the mountain bicycle out early in the morning even though it is supposed to rain. I manage to finish the ride and clean up the bicycle and myself before the rain starts. Since there is rain I do not go to CSULA for the senior design projects and promise both teams to make it up their next Friday.

On Saturday I am lazy so I lift weights in the morning and still feel the "hungover joints" from Tuesday and Wednesday. I ride the motorcydle down to Tustin to have lunch with Person D_V and his roommate. We have a very long lunch at a Malaysian restaurant and then I ride on home. The day keeps threatening to spit rain but it holds off. When I get home I put on old clothes and spend 90 minutes or so taking the old lawnmower apart to try and figure out why it is burning oil. I get tired at the end and stop - just as the last piece of evidence is about to be discovered. I clean up and relax and do some required and recommended reading for the social work class and then collapse into bed for sleep.

On Sunday I start north on the Los Angeles river and go up past the Whittier Narrows dam until the bicycle path is flooded. In reality I could get past, but it is near my turn-around point anyway. Before I get back to the Whittier Narrows dam I see another cyclist struggling with a flat tire so I stop and provide him the tools to fix his flat - just as his cycling buddies are returning to see where he is. I get moving again and drag another cyclist down the San Gabriel river until I get off at my street. It's a good 48 miles. After a shower I ride the motorcycle to Pasadena and meet up with Person XXXX who I used to ride bicycles with but has moved to the bay area. We have not seen each other since May 2015 and we enjoy lunch and catching up. I rush on home to clean up the roses and tidy things up and relax to start a new week.

On Sunday night into Monday morning I have a nast leg cramp. I thought that I had solved these with the supplements. Needless to say my legs are "hungover" on Monday morning and I do not get out cycling. I take care of a few little things around the house, have a good workout for the abdominals and lower back, trim the sideyard, and run some errands before having a meeting with a financial advisor. When I get home I continue to disassemble the lawnmower to try and figure out what has failed. But even down to removing the piston, everything looks good. So the failure must be in the valve train. And later in the evening I review and markup a confidentiality agreement that is trying to be drawn up between a county agency and one of our social work ventures.