January Gone Already

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Where did January go? Wasn't it just New Years?

Not a ton of news this month. For a couple of years Carol and I have been planning to buy a Volkswagen Vanagon camper. We now have the cash in hand and have started serious shopping. After a bunch of research I determined that we want one made between 1986 and 1991 (when VW stopped making Vanagons). We thought we wanted a full camper (with stove, sink and fridge), but after talking to several friends who have owned them we've decided to take their almost unanimous advice and try to find the "weekender" version that does not have the kitchen equipment but still has the pop-top sleeper and the full bed downstairs. I have notifications set up craigslist for all of Western Washington plus Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, OR.

Before we made the no-kitchen decision we found a full camper in Portland that looked good. We drove down there one Sunday to check it out. The van was pretty good, but it was the first one we had driven and we decided to wait for more experience. We're glad now, having learning more about them.

Why do we want to buy a 20-year-old van? Because this vehicle is the only "normal" sized "car" that can comfortably sleep four people. We plan to use it for lots of spontaneous weekend getaways. We had the plan long before knowing we were moving to Boston. Now we'll use it to explore the environs of our new home. Anyway, we'll keep hunting. We know that a van this old will need a fair bit of investment every year to keep it going. We're prepared for that.

While we were in Portland we visited OMSI. My grandparents lived in Salem, OR when I was a kid and our occasional trips to OMSI are very fond memories. The girls had a great time there.

Winter Bike Commuting

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We're currently in the middle of a Pineapple Express weather pattern in Seattle. This is a recurring winter pattern in which the jet stream conveys tropical moisture to us and keeps it aimed at us like a fire hose. This one is unusually massive: we are expected to get about 6" of rain in a couple of days in the lowlands and as much as 20" of rain in the mountains. There is already significant flooding and huge natural avalanches in the Cascades.

This weather makes bike commuting especially fun. Personally, I like the challenge. I assume even more than usual that drivers won't see me, so I take all street crossings and such with extra caution. I have ample reflective gear and obviously lights front and rear and I wear light-colored clothing (I'm amazed how many idiots I see on bikes after dark in black clothing and no lights or reflectors).

I don't bother with waterproof clothing. My commute is only 25-35 minutes depending on direction and wind, and I always ride pretty hard so I generate plenty of heat. Rain gear would make me as wet inside from sweat as I get outside from rain. I do wear clothing that is warm even when wet and I have my system down pat after several years. I've learned what pieces of clothing to wear for any conditions.

Today I happened to leave work just as a big wave of rain was arriving. Riding in heavy rain adds some challenges. I have to take my riding glasses off because the rain drops refract the city and vehicle lights and make the world way too psychedelic. And I have to remember that my brakes aren't going to work for several seconds after I apply them - they have to dry themselves off first. So I have to think way ahead and anticipate when I'm going to have to slow down or stop.

The worst part of bike commuting in Seattle winters is how filthy my bike gets. I don't clean it as often as I should - perhaps once every two weeks. We just had a huge snow event last week and the roads on my route were heavily sanded. Wet tires pick up all that sand and grime and deliver it right on to the rest of the bike. The grit also wears the brake pads faster and produces brake dust, which when mixed with water produces a dark gray paste that gets everywhere. Changing a flat tire on a bike coated in all that material is an especially dirty job (and not very fun when standing in a downpour next to a highway).

One of these days I plan to obtain a mini camcorder and make a speeded-up movie of my commute. For now, you'll have to settle for photos of the aftermath.

Ice Skating

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We met up with three other families at the Seattle Center ice rink for an outing. Neither Audrey or Charlotte have ever been. Charlotte considered it for about five seconds before deciding not to try. "I might fall down!" Audrey was game, though, especially with the walker-type devices they have for little kids.

I skated with Audrey for a while, mostly trying to convince her to avoid swimming upstream in the crowd. Then Carol took over and I got to shoot some video. Audrey skated for nearly an hour.

We went across the way to the Center House food court for lunch, where we happened upon a huge holiday model train layout and the entrance of a youth pipe and drum band. After that we visited the Children's Museum downstairs where the girls had a blast for another couple of hours.

Oh, by the way, yesterday was Charlotte's first day leaving the house in underwear. She managed to tell Carol two of the four times that she had to go before doing so. Carol had come prepared with three changes of pants. Charlotte has been getting close to being toilet trained. Carol had a goal of getting there during my Christmas break (by New Years), but Charlotte had some kind of intestinal bug for more than a week that presented a setback. Now we're back on track. We're looking forward to celebrating our last diaper fairly soon.

Christmas Video

I shot a bunch of video on Christmas morning. Here are highlights of the girls' reactions and comments.

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Puppy Bot

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With the break from school and work I have some time for playing. Last night I decided to build a new robot for the girls. I didn't have enough time to figure out something from scratch. Fortunately there is nxtprograms.com, which contains dozens of "plans" for robots that can be built with the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit. I decided on a puppy, since that is Charlotte's favorite thing in the world (well, next to baby dolls at the moment).

The puppy walks forward for two seconds or until he detects and obstacle. Then he looks left and right. If he hears a sound during that time, he'll turn the direction he's looking. If he doesn't hear anything he'll move forward again.

As you can see from the video, Puppy Bot was a hit.