Assuming this whole academic lifestyle works out, it’s also a good place for me to blah blah blah about how wonderful I am to all my e-stalkers. Like I need any more ego inflation…

It’s good to see the glass-iest building on campus has held up well. Just a few panes short of a good time.

Hard to tell there’s been an earthquake. Looks like a typical grad student nest, don’t it?

All it needs is a couple of pizza crusts and a few empty cans of Mountain Dew.

Whew, well I’ve done my workday for the week. Time for a long weekend.

[these photos were taken by a co-worker during the first staff clean-up day. The structural repairs had started (like replacing the giant glass door) but no other tidying. Even the two 21" CRTs were intact and upright.]

Thanks for helping yourself to my bike trailer while I was cleaning up earthquake damage at my office yesterday. I’m sure it was just what you needed to haul all that stolen glassware back to your meth lab.

When I find you, I will pound a sixteen-penny nail through your scrotum for every time I’ve had to explain to my little girl why we can’t go for a bike ride.

Sincerely,

Aaron

I really can’t complain. Back when I was employed, it worked well, thanks to my employer’s flexibility. Now that I’m playing at student, it’s even better, as long as I feel I’m keeping up with what I need to keep up with.

This week, Anna started a four-day-a-week schedule, which means I get a whole extra dad day each week. Nominally this is a work day, and since it’s winter, I’ll probably spend those extra days at my desk, trying some of this grad student slacking I’ve heard so much about. Or a bit of contracting work on the side. With the spring fineness, maybe I’ll even leaven in a bit of goofing off. Personal time? What an idea!

In other news, we’re enjoying a sartorial Nansen phase. Northward ho!

Winter might be right around the corner, but it’s no match for Super Commuter(!) and his faithful sidekick High-Viz Girl(!)

The GB and I have successfully completed four round-trips to work (out of a possible six) in the last two weeks, a grueling 8 urban kms each way. Hey, it’s a start. Yes, it’s quite flat, and yes, we do stop to commune with the ducks in the park at the halfway point.

The weather has been superb thus far. We’ll see how my resolve holds once the winter nasties come in.

On a bike-geek note, it’s actually quite a bad idea to attach a bike trailer to a singlespeed (36×16, thanks for asking). Starting from a standstill requires volcanic torque. I expect my thighs to be the size of the mighty Tōtara by spring. That should make shopping for trousers interesting.

I’m a huge fan of food recycling. Perhaps I learned it in the college dining hall. Steak becomes steak sandwiches becomes stir fry becomes …

For me, the pinnacle right now is chicken stock. How much simpler does it get? Cook the chicken, eat the chicken. While you’re eating, put the carcass and a some saddish vege in a pot of water. Boil till you’re sick of it.

Strain out the chunks (upper right), and use the stock (lower right) to make, for example, a lovely risotto (lower left). Actually lower left isn’t technically risotto yet, but the liquid love that will be, as the kids say, bringing the party.

Fin.

We received news on Tuesday that Alex Charles was killed in a crash on Monday while doing a tourist flight for his day job with Tasman Sky Adventures, a company he started a few years ago. Alex did much of the flying for my low-cost photogrammetry work last year.

I counted Alex as a friend, and I had dinner with him and his family whenever I was in the neighborhood. And, I’ll admit, bummed more than a few free rides in his microlight.

I’m not sure I knew him well enough to say something trite like “he died doing what he loved.” But I suspect it’s close enough to the truth.

Our thoughts go out to Alex’s family and the crew at Tasman Sky Adventures.