Cross Country Skiing

Alycia and I have been discussing cross country skiing for quite a while now, thinking that a fun enjoyable outdoor activity will be just what we need to look forward to the snow and winter wonderland that is North Dakota for 5 months (approximately) out of every year.  We visited the local ski shop and looked at the bottom of the line cross country ski package, and it was pricey enough that we wanted to make sure that it was enjoyable enough before we dropped a few dollars on our own skis, poles, and boots. 

So on Sunday we went down to Lincoln Park where they check out cross country skis, ice skates, and sleds for free (awesome!!) and picked up some cross country skis.  Seriously, how awesome of a city is that rents this stuff for free in its local parks.  So we got geared up and set out on the trails, spent an hour and a half zipping around the huge park, and had a great time.  The temperature was in the pleasant range 15 above or so, but there was a stiff wind, which made it seem pretty chilly.  We were definitely done after an hour and half. 

As you can imagine, the whole town is geared for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and other modes of frozen conveyance.  There are a ton of skiing routes (you can see them here) around town, and you can pretty much get from our house in Riverside Park on the north end, all the way down to downtown, and through Lincoln Park to the south end of town.  

Alycia had only been downhill skiing before, and not only had a great time, but took to it like a Presbyterian to rummage.  Considering that it's great exercise and very accessible (part of the trail starts right near our house in Riverside Park), there are very likely some skis in our future.  And next time, I promise we'll try to remember the camera so you can see how much fun you aren't having.

Volleyball Tourney Results

So the results from the Center Court Snowball Volleyball tournament on Saturday were less than stellar.  In fact we didn't win a game, though not for lack of trying.  Our team captain who organized the ordeal didn't know that the level of competition would be so strong and well above a team that hadn't ever played together (us).  Add our newness as a team to the fact that many other teams were littered with former Division 1 college volleyball players, and were just outmatched from the get go.

I learned a few things about how to play indoor volleyball, the plays you run and such, so that was something to build upon.  I also learned that if the other team has 2 to 3 girls that are my height, the outcome may not be in our favor.  Seriously, there were some really tall girls there.  

We all had a great time though and will play together again in the league starting at the end of the month.  It was also a very entertaining and active way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening, and though I missed both NFL playoff games, that was OK since they were both un-entertaining blowouts.  This weekend - Go Chargers!!!

Volleyball Tourney Weekend

Guess what sports fans?  We've found a way to parlay our previous wallyball team into an actual volleyball team.  The four members of the wallyball squad plus a substitute that helped us out when I was out of town have formed, Voltron-style, to become what I hope will be an invincible squad of indoor volleyballers (though to be honest, I've never played indoor volleyball, only beach volleyball). 

The new volleyball league starts in a couple of weeks, but there's a tournament tomorrow that should serve as an adequate warm up/get acquainted session for the new teammates. You may hear some odd noises Saturday afternoon coming from the direction of the Center Court Fitness Club in Grand Forks, but don't be alarmed, that will just be the newly formed squad dominating us some sucka-chumps.

Once the league starts up, I'll relay our stats, triumphant tales, and any other news.  I'm not sure what our team name is since I'm not in charge (for once).  I would have opted for the team name "Unprotected Sets", though the wholesome folks here might not have been too keen on that.  I was also thinking I may unearth and reanimate our former beach team name - John and His Minions, that would be rad. 

In weather news, the high for Saturday is forecast to 5 above, and I couldn't be more excited, it's the warmest it'll be here in a week.  Next week is rumored to have a chance to get into the mid-20's.  Praise Jeebus. 

Laboratory Grown Meat

Ah the progress of science.  Soon, we're promised, we'll be able to enjoy a tasty pork chop or rib eye steak without the messy ethical quandaries that are endemic in eating delicious animals.  How is this possible?  It turns out that scientists are in the process of perfecting laboratory grown meat and are a few years away from having a commercially viable product (at least that's what they say).

No more ethical quandary, but what about the nutritional morass that come with eating something grown in a lab?  Well, let's not focus on that for now.....

The Only Top Ten List I Read

Yay, verily it will come to pass that the year will end and everyone and their brother (and their cousin, friend, and friend of a friend) will spawn a Top 10 Something of the Year list.  Like the rising and setting of the sun, the pull of the year end list is inevitable, and impossible to avoid.  This is further compounded by the end of the decade and the same people who produced the other lists also feel compelled to create a Top 10 or Top 100 of the Decade list.  I read very few of these lists, especially when it comes to music, where everyone seems to have a top ten list. 

I usually quickly skim the 10 Best Album/Song/Artist of the year articles every year, but once I see Taylor Swift, Coldplay, or Lady Gaga on the list, I realize that the list, like the artists mentioned in the list is complete and unmitigated crap and quickly leave.  Does this make me a pretentious music snob?  Yeah, probably.  But I'm perfectly OK with that. 

There's one list though that I actually pay very close attention to, and that is Paul Shirleys'.  Paul is a former pro basketball player turned author, who writes for espn.com about music.  I appreciate not only his musical recommendations, but also his writing, which pulls no punches without being unnecessarily caustic, and is never dumbed down for the masses.

I usually forget about his columns for 6 to 8 months, then at the end of the year, when aforementioned crappy Top 10 Lists come out I think "Holy crap I forgot about Paul Shirley".  I then guiltily track down his article and spend the next 2-3 weeks in a non stop orgy of reading the previous 6 months of his columns and listening to hundreds of tracks by several dozen new bands.  Out of the 50 or 60 bands I listen to, I usually find a handful that are worthy to purchase the album, and lo, things are right in the universe again.  Thanks Paul, you're now my cool imaginary friend who recommends great bands.  I'm missing the "actual" friends who recommend great bands, since I moved to North Dakota away from all my actual cool friends, I'm very appreciative of my imaginary friend Paul. 

You can read the full Top 10 Albums of the Year here, and if you're into music, I would also highly recommend going back and reading some of his archives, they're chock full of great music writing and give me numerous suggestions of new bands to check out.  His articles also have links to just about every band so you're just a click away from sampling Frightened Rabbit (try the song "Poke") or Manchester Orchestra (I dig "Pride"), very cool indeed.

A Record Low And Non-Record Snow

Some weather related info here.  Yeah you're probably getting sick of all the posts about snow and cold and whatnot, but either propose some other topics (and they'll be taken under advisement) or deal with it.

It turns out that Blizzard Alvin, our Christmas Day gift from the weather gods, while a tremendous blizzard in its own right, was not a record.  The Grand Forks Herald did a thorough search of the historical record and found a larger snowstorm in 1966, and another in 1996 that preceded the huge floods in Grand Forks.  Why it took several days to discover something that happened in 1996 is beyond me, but we won't focus on that.  The other snowstorms were something like 31 and 27 inches respectively, so Blizzard Alvin likely ranks a solid third in "biggest snow events in Grand Forks history".

In other weather news.  Last night was a record low for this date, -35 degrees at the airport, breaking the old record of -27 degrees.  Now mind you, this is just the air temperature, no wind chill is factored in.  It was -35 degrees overnight and I can tell you that it was darn cold.  By the time we got up in the morning and took this picture (around 8:30 am), it had warmed to about -26 (see photo below).

Even though it's sunny, the thermometer says that it's a bit chilly outside.

So what does one do when it gets chilly outside?  You find a comfy chair, get a nice warm dog on your lap, cover up with a flannel shirt, and hunker down for a nice nap. 

New Reader Shout Outs

As you may well know, our policy here is to gratefully acknowledge each individual who subscribes to this wonderful blog with their own personalized shout out.  Due to the tremendous interest generated by the Family Holiday newsletter, we were able to increase our subscriber base by a whopping 40%!!!  This would normally be amazing until you realize that we merely added two new subscribers to the five we had previously.

So let's give a warm welcome to Yonni and Emma who became new subscribers to our lovely blog, possibly as some sort of New Years Resolution to take pity on me and increase my readership.

I've known Yonni since the first days of Junior High School, almost 20 years now, which is just a baffling amount of time.  And though he has forsaken the Stars and Stripes for the proud Maple Leaf of Canada, we don't hold that against him, unless of course he actually knows the lyrics to O' Canada, in which case he's dead to me.

Emma is a part of our Pacific Northwest contingent and is in the Top 5 of my "People You Need To Have Along When Venturing Forth For An Adult Beverage or Two" list.  Hopefully the homestead will eventually end up in Oregon and we can hang out with her and her doting beau Geoff more often.

Welcome to both of you.  May your presence enlighten us and your clicking generate thousands of dollars of ad revenue.

More Pictures

I gotta give my audience what they want.  And what do they want?  More than anything else they want pictures of Professor Alycia teaching her class "Snowblower Operation 101" and cute puppy pictures.  I'm more than happy to oblige.....

Vroom Vrooom, look at her go.

Look at that snow fly!!!

Sorry about this picture, it's a bit X-rated, naked dog and all.  Shaak Ti had a bath and then sat and stared at her post-bath biscuit treat.  Alycia thinks nothing of letting the dogs scamper around naked for hours after their bath.  I think it's terribly inappropriate and always admonish Alycia for her laissez faire attitude towards canine clothedness.  Special thanks to Auntie Alma for the delicious Christmas biscuits.  

Baths always make her sleepy....and that's just fine.