July 2007 Archives

Heavy Exercise = Ammonia

Yesterday we took to the Chehalis-Western Trail with out bikes in the hopes we could do some serious miles in our sporting efforts for exercise. We managed to make a 13.4 mile round-trip before my body went into shut-down mode.

When we returned to the car I was breathing deeply to wind down from the exertion, and I started smelling ammonia! It was pungent enough to make me pass out--and I thought perhaps if I just stopped breathing it would go away, but then I realized that some kind of funky biochemical process was at work, because after all I did spend 5 years of my life studying molecular biology and could tell you all about the phosphorylation of amino acids and recite in detail the biochemical pathways of ATP, and so on. Somehow I had lost through the mists of time why I'd be giving off NH₃.

For those nerds who are curious why I was producing ammonia, you can read all about it on this forum that explains my body was doing what it should be doing. If you are extremely curious about phosphorylation, Wikipedia.org offers plenty of information to numb your mind.

Total Miles This Week

I've had the bike one week and the total miles I've put on it is about 25 or so. Not bad considering that the bulk of that mileage occurred yesterday. I calculate that I burned about 500 calories yesterday, which means that I successfully burned off one small cheeseburger and almost a small French fry.

The Goal

Where we pick up the trail in Lacey, I believe it is 14 miles to the town of Rainier. My goal by the end of the season is to make it there and back and live to tell of this great adventure. Hopefully, I won't produce so much ammonia while doing so that I "gas" myself into a stupor. Apparently, I wasn't drinking as much water as I should have been, and I thought I was stopping enough to replenish my water. Apparently I need to hook myself up with a very long straw attached to my water and continuously sip away as I pedal.

Meanwhile, to "train" for the 28 mile round-trip, going out in the evenings for our daily 5 mile round trip will suffice to get my body used to creating ammonia.

I found in my collection of crochet stuff a booklet of Patricia Kristoffersen's Mini Masterpieces. It's patterns for 30 Little Doilies. Being that I haven't felt like making an entire doily, I think I'd have some fun and whip up some little ones. Each doily is about the size of a coaster, maybe a little smaller. They are kind of cute, in a cute because they are small kind of way.

Out with the old, in with the new

I recently sold my Giant Revive that I purchased in 2004 so that I could get a different, more standard bike. I loved my Revive. It was comfortable, like riding on a cloud, but it wasn't meant for long distance travel. The Revive in very heavy, and the wheels are very small. It has only 7 gears. It's meant to be a gaunt around town--a very flat town. Yet, as far as comfortable seating goes, the Revive was a dream. I had "butt problems" and the seat didn't bore into my crotch.

Now that my "butt problems" are over, I can return to a traditional style bike. I opted for another Giant bicycle as they are well-built, affordable, and have style. We purchased the ladies Cypress DX on Saturday. Yesterday I was finally able to take her out for a christening ride. Her sleek silver frame and classic lines attracted two compliments from passers-by. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it is the bikes I pick, but I tend to have the phrase "Nice bike" told to me when I go out for a ride. If I had a lot of money, the bike I'd love to have would be the Electra Betty.

It just so happens that we're going through a mid-summer rainy spell, and between rain showers we'll slip out and go for a ride. I wonder if I'll be able to accomplish another 20 mile round trip like I did that one day? Maybe with the new bike, since it is easier to ride, maybe this time I'll set a new record and go even farther!

We live within the city limits, in a mostly quiet neighborhood. A block away from us is a Unity Church. I've often thought I should go check them out. They are one of the few sects of Christianity that include the concept of reincarnation into their beliefs. Though I've lived virtually next door to them for almost four years, I've never set foot into their church. I've been meaning to...but come Sunday morning I enjoy my time to myself. My outlook on church attendance is best expressed through what I wrote in my journal:

Some people go to church to find God. I go within myself and connect with my spirit. A church is a creation of man; my spirit is a creation of God.

How this serves as a segway to what I really want to write about, I have no idea. I'll explain what makes me wonder if a cosmic message isn't sneaking its way onto the doorstep. In the past two months there have been two different religious solicitors who have rang our doorbell. Typically we get one every six months. The first visitor was from the Assembly of God Church. (I attended one of those once. A woman started speaking in tongues. Looking back on that scene in my mind's eye, it reminds me of when Harry Potter started speaking parseltongue and everyone looked at him strangely.) The man at the door asked me if I'd like to learn how to get into heaven. My reply was, "Thank you, but I'm not interested." It felt peculiar saying it that way--yet, I felt like he could have been asking me if I'd like to buy hog bristle brushes from him and would I like to know how they can get my hard wood floors exceptionally spotless?

Yesterday another solicitor came to the door, this time Pooky took duty of answering the door. When he came in he brandished a pamphlet which he handed to me. The lady was about my age, and he passed along that she complimented my flowers. (I have spent a lot of time swooning over my flowers this year, so it was nice to be noticed.) Later on, while taking a break from our marathon reading of Harry Potter, I looked at the pamphlet and see we were visited by the local Baptist Church. Inside the pages read: How to Be 100% Sure You Are Going to Heaven. Again the theme of "getting into heaven"!

I digress for a moment in my story. I inquired with Pooky if he thinks our house is being targeted, that perhaps our house gives off a peculiar vibe that attracts religious solicitations? Could it be that it is time I removed the giant neon pentagram from the roof of the house? (Just kidding on that. The only thing our yard displays is a lush garden of flowers.) I am not certain if our religious visitors knock on anyone else's doors in the neighborhood--then again I don't spy to see if they are going door-to-door.

Being of open and fair mind, I thought I'd read the brochure given to us. Maybe in all of my years of self-study on comparative religions, of studying various spiritual philosophies, dogmas, and practices, I somehow may have missed something essential. I suppose I should state for the record that I don't believe in the notion of heaven as typically set forth by mainstream faiths, nor do I subscribe to the belief that one gains access to the "exclusive club" by who or what they believe in. From what I know of God, God is not exclusive--being that way is the domain of organized religions and of humankind.

After reading the brochure I was left feeling clueless and perplexed. I'm still not quite sure what they were trying to tell me. The word "sin" was frequently used, in the context of "price" and "penalty", with a meta-message of "reward" and "punishment". None of this spoke or resonated with my soul. I apparently read the Bible much differently than these folks. Yet, always the seeker, I like to think that perhaps there is a message or theme that I might somehow glean and learn from.

I'm reminded of what incited my belief in God. I had been an agnostic most of my life, bordering on atheism, yet I always believed in the existence of the spirit and soul and of the "supernatural" and "paranormal". Perhaps what is confounded me about the message of "getting into heaven" has to with looking at the same thing but describing it differently. The story about the three blind men each touching a different part of the elephant and describing it comes to mind. For me, my elephant came in the form of Mt. Rainier. Those who have lived in the shadow of the mountain know that as you travel from Seattle to Centralia, the view of the mountain dramatically changed. One might think it is two different mountains. In the north, the mountain shows a singular inverted V facet. Where I live the mountain resembles a giant M. If you view the mountain from its lesser known eastern facet, the mountain looks completely foreign, having yet another distinctive appearance.

Perhaps it is just one of those oddball coincidences of life that the religious solicitors have frequently knocked on our door with a similiar message? But then nothing in life is ever truly random. Everything is connected, happens for a reason. I seek to ascribe meaning where none need to be applied; I think that even in the weirdest of ways, in the most seemingly meaningless moments, that is when God (spirit) is trying to tell me something.

Is that a clam in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

The above is a photo of the neck of a geoduck, a very large clam native to Washington state, British Columbia, and southern Alaska. The word is pronounced "gooey duck" which is derived from a Native American name for the clam. Personally, I think the clam would be more appropriately named "penis clam", but that is just me. I put together a slide show of the photos I took at a geoduck party Pooky and I recently attended.

Get Your Own Spoiler!

I sometimes wonder if media hype isn't purposefully generated or exaggerated to create these societal frenzies that are temporarily more important in our lives than the latest female celebrity to fall off the wagon? Am I not a dedicated fan for visiting the reported sites that claim to have HP spoilers? The information is conflicting from the two sites I found that weren't shut down--which makes me ponder that these sites aren't authentic. Let's have some fun with the spoiler craze! I found this nifty Harry Potter Spoiler Generator. I selected this one because I'd really like to see Voldemort take up making pancakes, and if he did start his own religion it couldn't be any worse than the ones who have gone around starting wars or burning people for heresy.

My Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom is: Voldemort learns to make pancakes and founds a new religion Get your Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom

No, It's Not That!

Here's a Fun Contest

You have until Thursday to submit your guesses as to what this is! There won't be a prize given out for the correct answer, instead just knowing what this is will serve as prize itself! You are free to look around and Google to find the answer. I'll give you a hint--out the three choices of animal, vegetable, or mineral, this is an animal. Good luck!

Searching for Shrone

I got the idea inside of me to look for Shrone things on the Internet. I found this song/video called The Sweet Townland of Shrone! In the song he sings of the Paps! And they show them! OMG!!!! I can't believe it! More than ever I know that this is my native soil and that I must one day visit this place! It's too much deja vu at one time and not enough caffeine! Perhaps one day as I stroll the lanes again in this incarnation I'll be singing in a lilting brogue "the sweet townland of Shrone..."