Bell's Oberon

Speaking of beer, my family had a fair amount of Bell's beer in Glen Arbor.

Oberon is delightful.

Bell's is far and away my favorite non-west-coast-microbrew.

Deschutes Brewery Down the Street

My favorite beer of all time is Mirror Pond.

It is certainly the beer I have consumed the most since I got out of college. Sadly, the beer I probably have consumed the most of is The Beast.

I am pretty happy that there will be a Deschutes Brewery down the street from me this coming Spring.

Note: the picture above is their new label - finally they are getting rid of the crappy current one. It isn't that great either. Oh well you don't drink the label very often. I still think the first 2 generations were best: (source)

Second Generation

Original

Glen Arbor

I just got back from a Herrick family vacation in Glen Arbor, MI.

It was a lot of fun. I really needed a break - I have been very busy.

I used to go there every summer as a kid with my family. It was nice to get back there - I hadn't been there in about 20 years.

I can be a bit of a bigot about Oregon and how it is superior to just about anywhere. But it is tough to beat the Great Lakes in the summer. My mother will love to hear that (no mom this does not mean I am moving back to Michigan any time soon - sorry :) ).

Here is a picture of Pyramid Point that I took.

2 Year Old Gets Out of Crib

My 2 year old has overcome the shackles of her crib.

She wanted to get out so she climbed out.

She then proceeded to reenact how she did it for me and her mommy.

Quite a milestone.

Here is to her overcoming future obstacles in life.

Reunion

I was in Indianapolis, IN and and Loveland, OH last week for work.

This happily coincided with my reunion at the University of Dayton.

It is nice to take a step back from your life once in a while and go back in time. Life goes by so fast.

I can't say enough about the education I received there. And I met some lifelong friends. I was very impressed with all the improvements that they have made there since I have been gone.

I managed to stay out until 4AM Friday and 3AM Saturday. And I consumed some Milwakee's Best (aka "The Beast"). It was nice to see just how far my beer taste has come :)

Anyway, after a lot of driving yesterday and a long flight home it is great to be back in Portland with my beautiful wife & daughter.

Why I have a blog

I haven't started using Twitter yet. But I saw this post from James Governor. It describes (at least in part) why I maintain this blog and why I read blogs.

James says: I can afford to drop a few percentage points of my own IQ because of the quality of insights the network brings me. It is like parallel processing. My chip can be lower power, fewer MHz, because this is a clustered, virtualised architecture. I am less intelligent but better connnected. Its a trade off I am more than willing to make.

Nice

This just in from the nicest person I know (my mother):

Part of a prayer I read this morning:

............"that I will be well in my own soul and part of the world's healing this day." Amen

New Cyclocross Bike

I finally have pulled the trigger on a new cyclocross bike.

I went to River City a few times this past week. On Saturday, I brought my friend/co-worker Ed came with me to help pick it out.

I ended up getting a Gunnar Cross Hairs.

My brother-in-law works for SRAM so I wisely got their bits on there. The River City dude said that the SRAM bits have been getting good reviews so I'm excited.

I also got some tricked Chris King hubs / wheels.

I'm pretty excited to pick it up this week - they are building it now.

Spring in Portland

Well, it has been Spring now in Portland for at least 2 weeks.

It really is shocking to me still - after living in the Midwest previously my entire life, how early Spring comes and how long Spring stays here. I was reminded of this by my mother today. She said the snow has almost melted in Grand Rapids, Michigan (where I grew up). I was like, "that's nice - we have had pink flower trees for 2 weeks!".

These pink trees are everywhere here - they just start going off. For me, when I see the pink trees, I know that I'm going to be ok. Because it is no joke, it does rain here - a lot. But compared to what!? It rarely gets below 40F here and there is no snow, sleet, etc. And the sun peeps through at least a bit most days.

I guess if you compare it to San Diego, the weather is not great. But I like seasons. The weather in the Pacific Northwest is my favorite.

I took the picture below in 2002 - my first "it is going to be ok because of the pink trees moment". The picture doesn't do it justice - these trees are everywhere and there are other flowers etc.

Hopefully Spring will come to you soon too.

It will be ok - I promise.

Deschutes Fly Fish Day

I finally got to go fishing today. I wish I could do it more. Portland is great - you can get to the Deschutes in a little over 2 hours. The trout are native (called Redside trout) and are great fighters. Nothing like seeing one of them nail your dry fly. I caught three.

I went solo so I didn't take any pictures of the trout. But I did take pictures of some deer on a cliff looking at the river at dawn, a hawk, and the Deschutes river canyon in general.

Below the pictures I included some stuff on the symbolism of deer that my mom sent me last summer when we saw another deer family. Makes me feel bad for liking venison.

Update 12-MAR-2007 My mom read this blog post and sent me stuff on symbolism of the hawk! Work has been crazy busy & stressful and recently a bit sad/disappointing so it's nice to see there are some good signs out there. I added it beneath the symbolism of the deer.

Deer Family (you probably have to click it to see them - it was cool - I need a telebooya lens)

Symbolism of the Deer Deer blend very well with their environment but are very sensitive to every sound or movement. Often twins, even triplets, are born in the spring. Does and bucks live in separate groups until the mating season. The white-tailed deer are moderately gregarious, and family members forage food together along with other family groups, giving the appearance of a large herd. People with Deer Medicine are often described as being swift and alert. They are intuitive, often appearing to have well developed, even extrasensory perceptions. Sometimes their thoughts seem to race ahead, and they appear not to be listening. Deer's medicine includes gentleness in word, thought and touch, ability to listen, grace and appreciation for the beauty of balance, understanding of what's necessary for survival, power of gratitude and giving, ability to sacrifice for the higher good, connection to the woodland spirits, alternative paths to a goal . The gentleness of Deer is the heart-space of the Great Spirit which embodies His love for us all. Deer teaches us to find the gentleness of spirit that heals all wounds, to stop pushing to get others to change and to love and accept them as they are. The only true balance to power is love and compassion.

The Deer. Hunting prey animal, sacrificial and sometimes mentioned as "first helper" in a few emergence stories, also family protection and of course speed.

Deer - Love, gentleness, kindness, gracefulness, sensitivity, purity of purpose, walking in the light, swift, nimble, meek, gentle, meditation, love, longevity, wealth.

Deer and Stags represent swiftness, gentleness, grace and balance. They teach us the ability to listen and to sacrifice for the greater good

Symbolism of the Hawk Air Animal Totems have a penchant for assisting us in matters of higher knowledge. Air being the most ethereal of elements, it's understandable that the creatures who inhabit it are able to lend the best understanding of its invisible ways. Closest to the heavens, air animals are our best allies as they herald our desires to the Great Spirit.

Air animal totems are also symbols of strength (both physical and mental) and sovereignty. Very important traits, particularly when we are experiencing new transitions or surroundings in our lives.

If air animal totems are catching your attention, you should feel very heartened by their presence. Allow their spirit to boost your confidence, and remind you that the ultimate power is within this present, unseen moment. Air animals are good omens, and their appearance is like a wink from God.

The hawk is the great messanger and observer of the sky.

Hawk - Nobility, recollection, cleansing, observer, clarity, discrimination, inspiration, intuition, victory, healing, visionary power, and guardianship.

The hawk is the great messenger and observer of the sky. Hawks are fearless birds who will even face off with poisonous snakes if necessary. Hawks' piercing shriek tears through the air. In its shrill cry lies an important message which represents illumination. Hawk teaches us to scope out the situation and focus on our talents, trying to draw them out. Hawk learns to see the big picture in order to understand the past, present, and future. Hawk asks us to be observant of surroundings so we won't get distracted from our path by others. It also reminds us not to get caught up in minor annoyances so we can maintain our inner balance.

New The Shins

I have been listening to the new The Shins, "Wincing The Night Away" all day. My bro-in-law Kevin gave it to me.

It just hit me that this album is as good as their previous albums.

Not an easy feat (spoken from someone who took harmonica lessons from a Franciscan nun - so I know a lot about this). ;)

I love that moment when it hits you that you really like something.

Sometimes it feels like it is random the things we remember our parents saying. I distinctly remember my mother saying to me, "You have to celebrate and embrace joy wherever you see it." Her point of course was that there is so much in the world that is hard, sad etc. and you should cherish the joyous parts. I only remember her saying that once, but I have thought of it thousands of times since then.

Blog Arrival

Well, it appears that my blog "has arrived".

I have many more readers then I had 1 year ago.

I must have hit some threshold where I am worthy of being blog spammed.

I'll drink (my delicious cappuccino made with delightful Luccaffe espresso) to that.

But it is pretty annoying. I will hold out on moderating until the spam reaches an unbearable threshold.

So I'm not a courier - SO WHAT!?!?

Portland is a bike town. It wins awards for bike friendliness and what not.

There are also lots of couriers. Lots of them are rather insane and ride on their tricked out fixed gear bikes. These things are sexy bikes - flat out. You have to be either stupid or have insanely strong legs to be able to ride one of these things.

Anyways, as I consistently note, I am wershed up. These dudes aren't. They are cool - Portland gromit cool. If I was cool again, I'd be one of these dudes.

They also have tricked out back packs - you know the kind - all messengered out.

So as you know, I walk to work - it rocks. I recently bought a tricked out messenger bag. It's orange, ginormous and pure bold. And it is water PROOF not water resistent (when you live in Portland, you care about these things).

If you aren't pure bold enough for a messenger bag they have all sorts of other not messing around bags that may be to your liking.

This will conclude the 2007 Portland Snow blog series. I will return to tech blather next time.

Snow results in Chili. Chili results in Hot Sauce. Hot Sauce Results in . . .

Alright so I'm a B-player on hot sauce tolerance, but I still like it.

You need to try this particular hot sauce and you don't have to be some sort of hot sauce meat head to like it.

Marie Sharp - Belize. The one I have is the "Habanero Pepper Sauce - HOT". It is a mix of carrots and habanero and it is delightful.

I oddly had chili with lunch that was average to poor. My beautiful wife then happened to make chili for dinner that was good to delicious. I added some of this sauce to it and it became delightful.

I got a tip on this sauce from the best butcher in Portland a few years ago and am on my third bottle.

Walking to work in the snow in Portland

It snowed a whopping 4-5 inches in Portland yesterday from 5-8 AM.

In a city that does not have many snow plows, this is a problem.

Luckily for me, I walk to work so it was no problem.

Our office shut down at 12:30 PM - this was nice I was able to get things done. The problem with snow days in corporate America is that none of the deadlines move.

I grew up in Michigan - it took over a foot of snow to make anyone even think of shutting school down etc.

I was blathering about this to my co-workers when Ed pointed out that I now get cold when it is less than 50 degrees. In true Portland form, I wear a ski hat if it is less than 50 degrees. And sometimes when it is over 60 degrees. I guess 6 years in Portland has an affect on you. I wish I could say "You can take the boy out of the Midwest, but not the Midwest out of the boy". Or something like that. But at least on this front, it appears that I am being assimilated. Oh well.

First Turducken

I had my first Turducken Christmas Eve.

It was delicious.

Here is a picture of it.

Yes this is ridiculous, but don't knock it until you try it.

We didn't do the hard work of assembling it. We just bought it at my wife's childhood butcher (and now my sisters) and baked it. The truly experienced apparently deep-fry them.

Blog Tagged

Patrick Logan blog tagged me.

You are supposed to share 5 little known things about yourself.

Update 15-DEC-2006 Patrick Logan wondered why I didn't take the time to explain my nickname, "fuzzy" and "panic" (i.e., Panic From Fuzzy). So I'll work it into my five things. Just a warning - it isn't very exciting.

Here are my 5:

1. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was being "held back" (i.e., failed) the first grade. I was just a late bloomer. But who knows what would have happened if I continued on when I wasn't quite ready. I give my parents *a lot* of credit for letting me fail at lots of things when I was young. They also encouraged me to pick myself back up. Based on my experience, I think the best thing parents can do is let their children fail. It teaches them resilience. If they don't fail when they are young they will not know how to deal with things that are hard when they are in the real world. If they aren't failing once in a while, you aren't doing your job as a parent.
2. In high school I played hockey, tennis, and soccer (for 1 year). I liked hockey best. I quit soccer to play hockey more (I had some catching up to do). I was an average player. Getting up for 5:30 AM ice time was very good for teaching me work ethic. I received the nickname "Fuzzy" on my high school hockey team. No particular reason - you know how nicknames sometimes just stick. My Dad calls me Fuzzy and me friends from college and high school do as well. I basically stopped it once I entered "the real world", but it has seen a resurgence since I named my blog this (go figure).
3. I attended The University of Dayton. It is a Catholic school. The brothers there are Marionist and their philosophy is to "Promote quality education of the whole person". This worked well for me. I studied a lot, but also "socialized" a lot. I really enjoyed my years at UD. Today I am not that into organized religion. But I am still a spiritual person. I need to figure out what to do about this in the next year or two as my child grows. I want her to be spiritual too. I might go religion shopping or I might just go to a Catholic church.
4. I got a C in my first computer science class. Programming was very hard for me at first. You may laugh, but the concept of loops *blew my mind*. I remember sitting in my professor's office telling him how hard I was working (I was) and having him say that computer programming isn't for everyone and maybe I should hang it up. My resilience kicked in here and I eventually got it. I am very glad I stuck with it because I really love what I do for a living. The term "panic" came from UD. My friends and I were very into lingo (using clever word plays etc.). For whatever reason, the word "panic" was used often. I still think that it is a very versatile word and that it is applicable to heaps of "real world" situations.
5. I love the outdoors. I hike and fly fish as much as I can (less since I had a child 1.5 years ago). My favorite activity is definitely fly fishing. I stop thinking about work related stuff for hours on end when I go fly fishing

Here are my 5 tags: Sarge Dodge, Mike Dierken, Matt Asay, markg, Kris Tuttle