Check out this video:
What are your thought? I think it's very interesting but scary in a lot of ways.
What are your thought? I think it's very interesting but scary in a lot of ways.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Books: Mistborn Trilogy
I don't read books as much as I used to. Perhaps tat's a function of being in school and reading for class. Summer provides a welcome relief from textbooks and research articles. This summer in particular has been good for delving into the pages of a new story. Earlier this summer I wrote about Percy Jackson and Greek Mythology. However, the most satisfying read for me had been the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The books individually are Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. Each book is riveting. Sanderson weaves a beautifully complicated tale of love, trust, faith and magic, of which he introduces three unique new systems.
Similar to other fairly recent fantasy books I've had the time to read there is a dark feel to the books. The heroes must overcome insurmountable odds in their quest. Of course the basic principle that the main characters are reaching for is hope in a hopeless situation. Perhaps that is a common theme in our world today and these authors are just trying to buoy up their audience.
The story begins with Kelsier, the first hero, pulling together the elite of the Final Empire's underground. Along with these talented characters Kelsier finds Vin, a young street urchin with the as yet unknown potential of a hero. Vin is a mistborn, one who can "burn" certain metals and their alloys to perform certain magically abilities. This is called allomancy. Sanderson, in the other this books introduces furochemy and hemalurgy but explains them in more detail in the next two books. These new magics systems show Sanderson's creative genius and tie in perfectly with how the story unfolds and finally concludes.
To sum up the first book and perhaps entice you to read them, Kelsier, Vin and the crew plot to overthrow the Final Empire and the Lord Ruler, a feat that has been attempted but never completed over the last 1000+ years. Along their journey they teach each other about the power of trust and love. We see how Vin, Kelsier, and the other main characters are able to do what they need to by drawing on the power of these traits. In the end we learn why faith is so important as well.
I would say more but that would give away the story. Let's just say that I stayed up late a couple of nights because I had to finish the books. At 3:00 am on a Saturday morning I finished The Hero of Ages and thought, "That was the most incredible finish to a book/trilogy I think I've ever read." Sanderson pulls in pieces small details from each book that were seemingly unimportant and threads them together with the increasingly tense story line and leaves you with a complete conclusive tapestry. He more than resolves the story, he creates a new beginning that leaves you breathless. I loved these books and would recommend them to anybody who likes fantasy books.
Similar to other fairly recent fantasy books I've had the time to read there is a dark feel to the books. The heroes must overcome insurmountable odds in their quest. Of course the basic principle that the main characters are reaching for is hope in a hopeless situation. Perhaps that is a common theme in our world today and these authors are just trying to buoy up their audience.
The story begins with Kelsier, the first hero, pulling together the elite of the Final Empire's underground. Along with these talented characters Kelsier finds Vin, a young street urchin with the as yet unknown potential of a hero. Vin is a mistborn, one who can "burn" certain metals and their alloys to perform certain magically abilities. This is called allomancy. Sanderson, in the other this books introduces furochemy and hemalurgy but explains them in more detail in the next two books. These new magics systems show Sanderson's creative genius and tie in perfectly with how the story unfolds and finally concludes.
To sum up the first book and perhaps entice you to read them, Kelsier, Vin and the crew plot to overthrow the Final Empire and the Lord Ruler, a feat that has been attempted but never completed over the last 1000+ years. Along their journey they teach each other about the power of trust and love. We see how Vin, Kelsier, and the other main characters are able to do what they need to by drawing on the power of these traits. In the end we learn why faith is so important as well.
I would say more but that would give away the story. Let's just say that I stayed up late a couple of nights because I had to finish the books. At 3:00 am on a Saturday morning I finished The Hero of Ages and thought, "That was the most incredible finish to a book/trilogy I think I've ever read." Sanderson pulls in pieces small details from each book that were seemingly unimportant and threads them together with the increasingly tense story line and leaves you with a complete conclusive tapestry. He more than resolves the story, he creates a new beginning that leaves you breathless. I loved these books and would recommend them to anybody who likes fantasy books.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bikes: Ulcer Revisited
The fact that I'm typing this blog implies that I survived the ride. In fact, my goal of finishing the ride and feeling good the following days was met. I still have a few aches and pains but they are much less than the agony of the IT band syndrome pain that I experienced last year. Furthermore, I rode my bike to and from work today with minimal discomfort. My right calf hurts a bit when I plantar flex my foot (go up stairs, etc) and my thighs are still a little full of lactate but other than that I'm doing very well.
My timer chip shows I left at 6:59:53 am. The first miles were a breeze. I was trying to keep at least an average pace of 15 miles an hour to be back at around 2:30. I feel like most of the miles between Thanksgiving Point and the 48 mile break were mostly downhill which made riding fun. I did have a pinch pop at about 10 miles which I fixed in record time. I hooked onto a group with some experiences riders a little further along that pulled me and some others behind them at 22-24 mph.
"Lunch" was provided at mile 48, right before we started up the biggest climbs of the day. As far as climbs go the ULCER doesn't really have any. I think the website says the 105 (really 107) mile course has a climb of 741 feet. That isn't really a climb, but all throughout the second half of the course are long steady uphills/false flats that can really punish a rider. Especially if the rider has a heavy headwind. There were a few portions where we had a stiff headwind which pushed our pace down to 11-13 mph riding in a group. The only way I was able to make it through these portions was the help of other riders who I drafted behind.
The last 30 miles we had a pretty good tailwind which pushed me back to the finish line. I'm not sure if I didn't sleep enough the night before, or if I wasn't used to riding for so long in the heat or what but I was extremely tired by the time I got to the food stop at mile 87. If I hadn't had the strong tailwind I don't think I would have made it. My rear tire bubbled from the heat of the road, my chain was popping occasionally on certain cassette cogs and I was exhausted. Seeing a couple of people from the groups I tagged along with at the water and food stops helped me along as well.
I finished my ride at 15:04:23 pm and my cyclometer said I had been in the saddle for 6.5 hours. I was pooped but I was done. As I was telling someone yesterday, the ULCER is one of those things that you can look back and feel great that you've done but while you're doing it you think, "Why did I ever get myself into this?" I'm glad I did it and I might just do it again. Maybe...
My timer chip shows I left at 6:59:53 am. The first miles were a breeze. I was trying to keep at least an average pace of 15 miles an hour to be back at around 2:30. I feel like most of the miles between Thanksgiving Point and the 48 mile break were mostly downhill which made riding fun. I did have a pinch pop at about 10 miles which I fixed in record time. I hooked onto a group with some experiences riders a little further along that pulled me and some others behind them at 22-24 mph.
"Lunch" was provided at mile 48, right before we started up the biggest climbs of the day. As far as climbs go the ULCER doesn't really have any. I think the website says the 105 (really 107) mile course has a climb of 741 feet. That isn't really a climb, but all throughout the second half of the course are long steady uphills/false flats that can really punish a rider. Especially if the rider has a heavy headwind. There were a few portions where we had a stiff headwind which pushed our pace down to 11-13 mph riding in a group. The only way I was able to make it through these portions was the help of other riders who I drafted behind.
The last 30 miles we had a pretty good tailwind which pushed me back to the finish line. I'm not sure if I didn't sleep enough the night before, or if I wasn't used to riding for so long in the heat or what but I was extremely tired by the time I got to the food stop at mile 87. If I hadn't had the strong tailwind I don't think I would have made it. My rear tire bubbled from the heat of the road, my chain was popping occasionally on certain cassette cogs and I was exhausted. Seeing a couple of people from the groups I tagged along with at the water and food stops helped me along as well.
I finished my ride at 15:04:23 pm and my cyclometer said I had been in the saddle for 6.5 hours. I was pooped but I was done. As I was telling someone yesterday, the ULCER is one of those things that you can look back and feel great that you've done but while you're doing it you think, "Why did I ever get myself into this?" I'm glad I did it and I might just do it again. Maybe...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Bike: ULCER (Utah Lake Century Epic Ride)
The first time I did this ride was the summer that I got my bike and had a buddy to ride with. I trained pretty hard for a month and did the 67 mile version. I finished the ride and felt great. In fact I thought I could have done the whole thing but I thought I'd start slow because this was the longest ride I'd ever done. The night of that first ride I was playing soccer with a youth single adult group and almost got compartment syndrome playing soccer. That halted my enthusiasm and training for a log time. That's also when I got the nickname Lexi-hop-along.
The next year I did the 112 mile version of the ULCER. I didn't train as well, didn't stretch the week or day of the race. I attribute the fact that I finished the race that to a group that I latched onto in the last 40 miles of the race. However, I didn't really walk for the next week or so because I really injured my left IT band.
This year I plan to repeat the good things and leave out the bad from my previous experiences. On August 6th I will be giving this ride a third go-round so can't really slack off now. I've already started training and I'm implementing lots of stretching in the workout. The first few training rides were a little rough and I felt really out of shape - mainly because I was. The most recent rides have been much more encouraging and my endurance and speed have increased. I've included a couple of pictures from my rides this year. I will continue to update here and there about my progress and how the race goes. Wish me luck!
Friday, July 1, 2011
So much more: Lily Hokanson
I know a lot of people have been anxiously waiting to hear news of this little one. She’s finally here! Lily Hokanson was born at 8:27 pm on June 30th. She weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. Both she and mom are doing fantastic. The doctor checked her out this morning and said, "She sucks better than a Hoover vacuum.” That’s a good sign if you ask me.
Because Lily decided to stay comfy instead of coming on her due date (June 21st) we decided with the doctor to have Serena induced. We came in to the hospital about 8:00 am. Serena was started on Pitocin at about 9:30. The doctor broke her water between 12:15 and 12:30 pm. After that it took a while for things to get started. At about 3:15 or so Serena got an epidural. Lily was quite the stinker and she dodged all the monitors. The nurse and doctor finally put internal monitors on to make sure she was doing okay. Before shift change at 6 pm our nurse checked Serena and she was only dilated to 4.5 cm or so. When the next nurse came to check her about 45 minutes later she announced Serena was complete and she’d go notified the doctor. That surprised us a lot but I was happy because I really wanted a June baby. Serena started pushing about 7:10ish pm. She was a star pusher even though she couldn’t really feel anything. Lily came out very lively. I got to cut the cord and watch as the nurse cleaned and weighed her. Mom and baby had some quiet time together before I took Lily down to the nursery. Both mom and baby are doing very well. We’re so excited that Lily is here to teach us and to bless our lives. We’re so grateful for all of the wonderful medical staff and all of the support from family and friends.
Lily is such a beautiful baby. She has gorgeous long eyelashes (thanks to yours truly), elegant fingernails and lots of silky soft strawberry blond hair. We decided she waited so long to come so she would be beautiful when she got here. Serena and I are so in love with our little child already. We’re so happy!
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