Thoughts at a Time of Thanks

We are having a wonderful time here in Washington, DC with Cindy's family. With encouragement from Bill, I am posting a thought for the day that my manager at work sent out to us before we left for the Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy, with hopes that your thanksgivings are full of things to be thankful for!

Thought for the day: Everything travels at lightspeed through spacetime. Light travels only through space, not at all through time, so photons don't age. To them everything happens at once! Be happy you are not a photon. Rocks and similar stuff travel only through time, pretty much not at all through space. Be happy you are not a rock.
The rest of us travel mostly through time and a little bit through space, the latter usually more on Thanksgiving than at other times. Our travel is timelike and we mostly age. Be happy for the spacetime you can savor.

Finished Building My New Rear Wheel

Two years ago, I built a front wheel for my bike. I got a hub, spokes, nipples, and a rim and put them together into a wheel. It was fun to learn how the spokes, which are in tension, put the rim into compression, which is a structurally more stable configuration. Then the way the spokes from either side of the hub pull the rim in the transverse direction and when tightened from both sides of the hub they can change the radial displacement of the rim.

This past winter (2007) I started to build a rear wheel. It is slightly more complicated, since the cassette - the sprockets on the rear wheel - offset the spokes on that side of the wheel and make them asymmetric compared with the spokes on the other side. I have built the wheels in the basement shop of my friend Robert from work (same Robert as from previous posts). He was very helpful in guiding me through the process and for giving me access to the shop 24/7.

I laced the spokes in a 3X pattern, which means each spoke crosses over three other spokes as it goes from the hub to the rim. There are also 2X, 1X and radial spoke patterns, but since I am so heavy, I went with the 3X design to optimize strength.

I have 9 sprockets in the cassette, which is referred to as a 9-speed bike, though I have two chain rings in the front, which gives me 18 gear combinations. The largest three sprockets in the cassette are made of titanium, which is why they look a little duller than the others. The six other sprockets are made of steel.

I will break the new wheel in on the roller trainer I picked up from a garage sale recently. It is getting too cold to ride outside lately, though I got in a short ride with Charlene and Robert today.

More about the ordeals with the trainer in a future post.

Another Awesome Weekend Finger Lakes Ride

The weather has warmed up for the weekend, so in anticipation of it getting colder and rainier, I went for another nice ride with Robert and Charlene. We drove up to Lodi, on the east coast of Seneca Lake and took a nice tour that brought us to the west coast of Cayuga Lake and through the Finger Lakes National Forest (see map below or follow this link), picking up some local honey and goat cheese along the way - nice presents to bring home to Cindy who was hosting 5 girls (plus Erik and Inga) in a pre-homecoming party. (Presently, they are all --- except Cindy --- at the homecoming dance). We had lunch on the shore of Seneca Lake. The lake was amazingly calm and placid. We watched a couple launch a pair of kayaks - it seemed like a perfect day for that. We ate curried tuna sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, chips, grapes, chocolate-chip cookies, a pear, and a coke.

On this week's ride we only managed ~3300 vertical feet of climbing, this along with not having any particularly steep climbs, which last week pushed me into the red zone, enabled me to complete the entire ride without cramping up.

It was a particularly spectacular ride; the sky was a beautiful blue, the trees were in fantastic form, the temperatures were in the low 70's, and the humidity was low (at least by East coast standards). Throughout the ride I kept saying, "This is so awesome." It reminded me of Hope's recent catch phrase, because I kept saying it, to the point of not realizing that I kept saying it. It was an awesome ride.

Naples - Honeoye & Canadice Lake Bike Loop

(Charlene and Robert before departure from the Naples High School parking lot)

Yesterday, two friends from work and I took a nice bike ride from Naples, New York. You can see the route by clicking on this link. If you do follow the link, be sure to click on the jagged arrow next to the printer icon to display the height profile of the ride (give it a few seconds to generate the profile). (Note added after post: I was able to paste in an interactive map of the ride at the bottom of the post). We managed 4600 feet of climbing in the 47-mile ride. I love riding my road bike, but there are so many more opportunities in our area for riding trail or mountain bikes, that I am starting to love riding my mountain bike just as much.

It was a cool partially cloudy day when we started riding just after 11 AM. About 2 miles into the ride, I was sure I had forgotten to lock the van, so we rode back to the start of our ride to discover that I had indeed locked it. Not sure why I was feeling so neurotic.

There were a couple steep climbs along the ride. One in particular that was especially satisfying started at mile 25 and went up Jersey Hill, climbing out of Honeoye Lake's basin. When we got to the top, we made a quick left then right turn and started up another hill. A person getting out of their car and heading into their house asked us, "Did you just come up that hill?" I replied "Yes, Jersey Hill." to which he replied "Awesome."

Near the top of that hill, my cassette (the collection of sprockets on the back wheel) seemed to be binding up. We all dismounted and began to investigate. Robert noticed that the cassette was not turning as it should. A small, plastic guard between the cassette and the spokes had somehow become damaged and was binding the cassette. We decided to excise the plastic guard, first with a screw driver from the small wrench set I carry, then with a cheese knife in Charlene's pack, only to discover that this piece of plastic was nearly indestructible. Charlene went up to a nearby house and the owner lent us pliers, diagonal cutters, channel locks, and a large screw driver, with which we were finally able to remove the plastic ring. It is ironic how the failure of this small plastic piece was sufficient to make the bike unridable. Fortunately, the bike was ridable without the small plastic piece.

(Mountain bike in the kitchen, before the plastic ring excision. It's an aluminum-frame Trek with a shock on the front wheel. Nothing too serious, as you can see by the kickstand.)

The ride past Canadice Lake was beautiful. It and Hemlock Lake to the west are part of the water supply for Rochester, NY, about 30 miles to the north. As such, there is no development in the surrounding area, so it is almost like a nature preserve. The lakes allow kayaks, canoes and row boats, but no motorized vehicles. So, it is especially tranquil. We stopped to look at the map and I considered taking a photograph, but when I went to cross the small wooded area between the road and the lake shore, I could see lots of poison ivy, which discouraged me from getting close enough for a nice shot.

From examining the map, we identified a challenging gravel hill headed out of the lake's basin. This is about mile 30 on the map. While the climb was short, it was particularly steep (I had to concentrate on keeping the front wheel on the ground, since each time I pushed on the pedal, the bike wanted to do a wheelie) and the loose gravel made balancing and traction challenging. I had to stop at one point and walked for 10 yards or so, until the incline became shallower and I could get back on and ride.

After that climb, we traveled south along a contour for a short while, then turned onto Luckenbach Hill Road to climb over the crest between Canadice and Honeoye Lakes. It was not a particularly steep climb, but I was starting to cramp up before the climb, so much so that when I was about halfway up, I had stop. I got off the bike, but could not find a comfortable way to stand, so I ended up sitting in the road for a few minutes until it seemed to go away.

After that, I sort of took it easy and slowly recovered to the point where I could just keep up with Charlene and Robert, but only just. The picture above shows the dirt road we came up, bringing us to the top of the ridge between the lakes. We rested a little there and some Fig Newtons were just the right nourishment to allow me to finish the ride.

Robert on the left examining the map. Charlene on the right with the critical Fig Newton nourishment. There was a picture of me too, but it was so unflattering that I refuse to post it. At this point in the ride the clouds were breaking up and it was mostly sunny, though after we descended from this ridge, the sun was behind it, so we were in the cool shadow. As Hope mentioned recently in her blog: when the sun is out, you warm up quickly even at 60 degrees, but as soon a cloud roles by or you go into the shade, it cools right off. Unfortunately, this may be the last such ride of the season. The cooler temperatures and shorter days make it difficult to spend the day riding.

Near the end of the ride, just south of Naples we came upon a view of a ridge containing a number of wind turbines. The turbines are quite controversial in the area. Some argue that the machines destroy the natural beauty of the area, others find them oddly alien and interesting and appreciate the renewable energy they generate.

(You may have to click on the image for a larger picture in order to see the wind turbines running across the ridge in the photo).

Remembering Utrecht with Oane and Nancy

(click for larger image)

Another historical post. This is getting to be a habit. I wanted to share two photos of our visit to Utrecht, when I visited the Riensema's in December 1981. I don't remember a lot, just that we drove there to visit Nancy and Oane and went out to breakfast at a waffle house along one of the many canals. In case it is not obvious, from left to right in the top photo: Kirsten, Marion, Alina, Nancy, Tamara, and Oane (I must have been taking the picture). In the photo below, Oane is taking the shot and I am on the right. Does anyone remember this trip?

(click for larger image)

I am taken now by the smiles on the faces. It was a cold, dreary, winter day, but I remember having a good time. This is how I remember Alina, with her stocking cap and winter coat. I was startled when I saw her again at Donny's wedding. That is Tamara in her coat with the Icarus and no gloves. I am wearing a shirt whose material I bought from Aunt Di's place and my grandmother sewed it into a shirt for me. Not sure why Marion took her gloves off (or perhaps she put them on) for the second shot. Perhaps it was really cold.

Cousins' Christmas at the Schlosser Farmhouse

At the risk of being known as the old-photos guy (I suppose it could be worse), I am posting another photograph that Marion sent me. It is especially fantastic for having such a large group of cousins all together in one shot. From the back (with ages after their names), the tallest boy with the dark sweater is Karl, Jr. (16.5), the tow-headed boy in front of him is William, II (10), and the boy to their left is Robert (12). The large man scrunched up on the right is Frank Schlosser (~25) (Frank was Oscar Schlosser's son, Oscar was Grandpa Schlosser's younger brother). Immediately behind Frank is Edward (7.5), to his right, partially hidden, is Kay (5.5), to her right is Dottie Lou (8.5), to her right is Mark (6.5) and to his right is Marcia (8.5) (holding up two dolls). In front of Marcia is Marion (11.5), who is holding Patricia (1) and seated in front of her (facing away from the camera) is her brother Earl, Jr. (4.5). To their left is Sandy (6.5) and Donna (2.5).

From the Christmas tree it must be December. Based on the size of Patricia (in Marion's lap), it is surely 1952, which is why I am pretty sure of the ages listed. To add some perspective to the picture, in less than three years the flood of August 1955 would wash this house away. In 1952, Grandpa (72) and Grammie (60) Schlosser lived alone at the farm (all the kids had married and moved away). Justine (39) and Karl Sr. (50) lived at Cherry Hill in New Hartford, William (36) and Dottie (31) lived in Granville(is that right?), Mitzi (33) and William I (39) lived at the Old Lilacs in Granville, Earl (26) and Phallie (27) lived in Granville.

(Click on the picture for a larger image)

There do not appear to be any mysteries in identifying the people, but perhaps there are some untold stories that the people in the photo would like to share. Does anyone from the photo remember this picture being taken? Do you remember other Christmas's at the old Schlosser Farmhouse in Pine Meadow (Puddletown)? Any memories of the house or family gatherings at that time?

Waxing Nostalgic with Recollections of Brugge

We recently rented the movie "In Bruges" starring Colin Farrell, which is about a London hitman who is exiled to Brugge (the Dutch spelling), Belgium after a botched hit. It was a surprisingly fun movie given the subject matter and the serious nature of the plot. However, the real reason we rented it was that when I visited the Riensema's in December 1981, Tamara and I took a train to Brugge and spent the day there.

One of the highlights of the trip that I still remember fondly was when Tamara and I climbed the bell tower, which is about 120 meters high and offers tremendous views of the town and surrounding area. (Interestingly, the tower is prominently featured in the movie as well.) Tamara and I had not really been paying attention to the time as we enjoyed the view from the top of the tower and got treated to the deafening ringing of the bells at noon.

The other thing I remember about Tamara was that she was camera shy at the time. Though I felt bad, I am glad I coaxed her out from behind a tree where she was hiding. Hopefully, she can forgive me for it now.

Who's That Baby? Who's That Baby...

The title of the blog should be sung to the Isley Brothers' tune "Who's That Lady." (Click on the images for a larger picture).



Marion (b: July 1941) gave me this picture of my father (in the front with the striped shirt) Karl, Jr. (b: February 1936), his Great Grandmother (Margaret, b: April 1866), and his brother and cousins. It was taken in front of the kitchen entrance at the Old Lilacs on South Lane, where Grandma and Grandpa (Cyrus, b: October 1861) lived there with their daughter Chloe (b: September 1890).

From all accounts at Aunt Mitzi’s (b: August 1914) Memorial held on 8 – 10 August 2008, the tow-haired boy on the right, holding my father’s left hand, is William, II (b: September 1942). The girl with the dark-colored jacket sitting on Grandma’s right is Marion. The boy seated to Marion’s right is Robert (b: November 1940). The girl kneeling(?) behind Marion was identified as Janice (b: March 1935).

I find the photograph interesting for a number of reasons, but here is a list of a few:

1) It shows my father as a somewhat thin, gangly boy, not unlike me at that age and not unlike my son, his grandson, Erik (b: April 1994). (See previous posts).
2) The background of the picture is the entrance to the kitchen with the well in the table at the Old Lilacs. The house looks very much as it still does today.
3) I suspect that the children in the photo are Grandma’s grandchildren and great grandchildren. Judging by her smile, she must be very proud of these six lovely children out on the lawn in front of the house with her.
4) It is not obvious who the baby is in the photograph, which makes it something like a mystery.
5) There is a curious linear bright object running across the photograph, which looks like a dog chain.

There is no date on the photograph, so it would be nice to figure out when it was taken. Figuring out who the baby in the picture is might help nail down the date. Based on my father’s short pants and short sleeves and the jackets worn by the younger children, as well as the foliage on the trees and shrubs, I suspect it is probably late spring or early summer when the picture was taken (perhaps some time between May and July).

There appears to be a chain or something running across the lawn behind Robert. Is it a dog chain? Did they have a dog?

At the memorial we speculated the baby in the photo was either Mark (b: May 1946) or Edward (b: June 1945). Since Edward is older than Mark, I suspect it would be Edward in the photograph rather than Mark, though the baby does not appear to be tow-headed, as it is reported that Edward was (Mark's brother Robert does not think it is his younger brother). Additionally, since Janice is older than my father (she would be 10 years old and my father would be 9, if the photo was taken in July 1945), I think the girl behind Marion might be misidentified, since she appears slightly younger than my father in the photograph. Others have confirmed that it is indeed Janice and that she was smaller than my father. The ages of the others (if it was July 1945) would be: Grandma– 79, Marion – 4 years, William, II – 2.5 years, and Robert – 4.5 years, which appears to be in good agreement with the size of the children.

Since Edward was born in Framingham, MA it is conceivable that the family drove back to Granville to introduce everyone to the new baby. It seems like an ideal opportunity for such a nice picture. It would mean that Justine -- and possibly Karl, Sr. -- drove up from New Hartford with Karl, Jr. and Robert so that all the cousins could be together. But why would they meet in Granville rather than Justine and Mitzi's parents' house in Pine Meadow/Puddletown?

The baby might also be Marcia (b: March 1944, Winsted) or Dottie Lou (b: February 1944, Granville), which would reduce the ages in the photograph by about 1 year: Grandma – 78, Janice – 9, Karl, Jr. – 8, Robert – 3.5, Marion – 3, William, II – 1.5. These ages may fit a little better than if it were 1945. So, due to the location, I suspect of the two, it is likely to be Dottie Lou.

So perhaps the story goes, that everyone converged on Granville at the birth of Dottie Lou, first-born of William (b: October 1916) and Dottie (b: August 1921). That might explain why everyone came to Granville, rather than Pine Meadow/Puddletown.

If the photo was taken in 1944, which seems plausible, then Grandpa Cyrus would have passed away about 10 years before that. Chloe would be 52.5, Justine – 31, Karl, Sr. – 42, Mitzi – 24.5, and William, I – 31, William – 27.5, Dottie – 22.5. It is interesting to think of them in the primes of their lives.

So, I believe the baby is Dottie Lou, because it looks like her! Does anyone know or have other pictures of these three (Dottie Lou, Edward, or Marcia) when they were infants that might help definitively identify the baby?

First Day of High School Together

Inga and Erik took the bus to school together this morning! Erik is two-years younger than Inga, exactly; they share the same birthday, so they are something like twins. I enjoy telling the story, which is actually true, that one child was a week late of the delivery date and the other was a week early, so they actually conspired to have the same birthday.

Erik's First Day of High School

Following Marion's theme, here is a picture of Erik's first day of High School (he is a freshman this year) from this morning. As you can see, he has shot up in height and is significantly taller than his mother and could soon be taller than his father. His sister's first day as a junior in High School is tomorrow.


Erik seemed in a good mood returning from school. He is taking History of the Civil War, Math - Trigonometry, English, Biology, Orchestra, and World Drumming. Speaking of drumming, I am also including a photograph of him from the Battle of the Bands from this past summer. He is the drummer. If you click on the picture, you can see a larger version.

A Fortnight on the Lake Ends

Fourteen nights on Keuka Lake has come to an end. It was a pleasant two weeks with great weather, warm water, fun in and on the water. The last night, Erik's nearly 7-year-old cousin wanted to fish. We had tried early without much luck, but this night she caught 9 fish in the span of about 20 minutes. She was nervous at the first catch, but quickly became very adept at setting the hook and reeling the fish in. She caught perch, bluegills, and a bullhead catfish.

The image above shows some of the wonderful peaches we enjoyed.

I also include a few photos of the family leaping off the second story of a boat cover near our beach. Even the 60+ year-old matriarch of the clan managed to take the plunge (from left to right: Carlos, Greg, Inga and friend, Pat, and Cindy).

Feeding the Fishes

Feeding the fishes is a sometimes euphemism used for intentionally drowning a person. However, in the case of the title of this entry, it is meant literally. We bought live minnows from the bait and tackle shop down the lake this morning and managed to get a number of strikes, but caught not one fish after being on the water for about two and a half hours. We essentially spent the day feeding the fishes.

Fishing on the lake with Erik has been a real pleasure. Typically, I have been paddling from the rear of the kayak, while Erik trolls or casts from the front. We have ventured out north and south of the dock and also crossed the ~1-mile wide lake and explored the other shore. Most times we catch panfish: smallmouth bass, perch, bluegills, ... Certainly most were edible size, but nothing too impressive.

However, on one encounter, Erik was reeling in a good-sized smallmouth bass to the side of the kayak and noticed what he thought was the reflection of the kayak paddle in the water. When the apparent image of the paddle began to swim away from the boat, we both realized it was a bigger fish following the hooked smallmouth, about to make a meal of it, when the boat must have spooked it. We both felt chills run down our backs when we realized just how big this predator fish was. We tried for 10 or 15 minutes to get the interest of this big fish again, but to no avail.

Western Weather on an Eastern Lake

The weather today is just fantastic, clear blue, sunny skies with low humidity and comfortable temperatures. Today's weather reminds me of the weather we had when we lived out west. It seems to occur more regularly out west, so we are enjoying it here while we can.

Today I had the stitches removed from my surgery and was informed that the pathology tests indicated that there was not a clear margin on the perimeter of the incision. Meaning they found some nasty cells on the edge of the portion they removed, indicating they did not get the whole thing. So, they are going back in in two weeks to establish a clean margin.

I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I recovered from the first surgery, so I am anticipating that I will do likewise with this follow-up.

Mountain Bike Ride Around Keuka Lake

This afternoon two friends from work came by to ride mountain bikes around Keuka Lake. I had a haphazard start: I transferred the bottle holders from my road bike to my mountain bike and dropped one of the screws through the deck. With some help from Carlos and Cindy, I crawled under the deck, which was cloaked in spider webs and crawling with bugs, and in about 3 or 4 minutes located the screw. Additionally, I needed to fix a flat tire that had a slow leak, enough to completely flatten it overnight.

We got off a little behind schedule, but were soon enjoying the wonderful weather and some beautiful views of the lake. We stopped for lunch in a small park on the beach just below the chapel at Keuka College. We then continued down the bluff in the crotch of the lake with a short climb up to another beautiful stone church overlooking the lake. Keuka is the only Y-shaped Finger Lake, where the piece of land between the tops of the Y is called the bluff or crotch of the lake.

We then made a brutal climb up a hill to follow a high road above the lake. It was very hot and sunny and really sapped my strength. A short rest and some cold water and fresh grapefruit helped me recover. We then continued into Hammondsport and then back up the east side of the lake to the rental house. For those interested, here is a link showing the ride in a google-maps mashup program (it is a little slow to load, but click the "show elevation" button to get a profile of the ride).

After a short dip in the lake, we all enjoyed a pleasant dinner with the rest of the family (minus Steve and Lelia, who drove up to Lake Placid to pick up their dog, Lucky).

Keuka Means Canoe, Not Kayak, Landing

Yesterday, our friends stopped by and dropped off their deep lake canoe for us to use. I had spent quite a few summers paddling my Uncle Robert's canoe in Connecticut on the lakes and rivers there. I had become proficient at paddling alone, with others, maneuvering the canoe with great control, loading and unloading the canoe from the car top, and launching and beaching the canoe. I recall once when some friends from graduate school and I went up to a cabin on a lake in New Hampshire, I was very pleased with myself when I showed them how to get into the canoe while swimming in the water, maneuver the canoe in windy weather, and a general proficiency at controlling the canoe.

So, when we delivered my friend's canoe onto the beach here at Keuka Lake, I figured I would take it out for a "shake-down" cruise before taking Erik for a fishing expedition, fully expecting to display that "general proficiency." Well, I got about 5 feet off shore with the empty canoe and began a J stroke to turn the canoe to the right, when I felt the canoe pitch. I swiveled my hips, but the empty canoe quickly rolled to the point where I simply fell out into the water. Needless to say, I did not display the "general proficiency" I had hoped. Maybe canoeing is not the same as riding a bike. After retrieving the canoe and emptying it, Erik was happy to go out in the kayak again.

Fishing on Keuka

The picture shows the view from the path leading from the house down to the lake. I found out that Keuka means canoe launch in local Native American dialect. We rented a double kayak and have been putting it to near-constant use since we arrived, primarily with Erik in the front seat where he has been fishing. He has caught several smallmouth bass, bluegills, perch, and a catfish.

Last night before supper, during the quiescent period when the wind dies out and the surface of the lake becomes calm and smooth, Erik and I went out in the kayak. We trolled up and down the coast for about 2 hours. Erik was using a segmented lure that has a pair of treble hooks: one at the mid point of the lure and one trailing off the end.

As we were returning to the dock Erik got a big strike. From the bend in the pole and the inconsistent pull he knew it was a big fish. It was exciting to see him work the line in, trying to keep it under tension. When the fish got close to the boat Erik hollered, "Did you see it?" I could not quite see it, but as he continued to bring it closer to the boat it revealed itself to be two fish! One larger and one smaller smallmouth bass. I have seen this type of feeding-frenzy behavior when schools of fish attack bait, but this was our first double on Keuka Lake.

Summer Vacation on Keuka Lake

After reading the inspirational blogs of Alina, Bill, Clif, Dimitri, Hope, and Tamara, we have decided to take the plunge and blog a little from the shores of Keuka Lake (home to famed Keuka College) in upstate New York during our summer vacation.

Last weekend we were in Granville for a wonderful memorial to my Grandmother's sister, Aunt Mitzi who passed away recently. It was a short stay, but we managed to pack in lots of good times, as can be witnessed in the pictures of Clif and Bill (Gathering, Corn Roast, Memorial Service, and Doughboy Night).

This weekend we sit on the shores of Keuka Lake with family members from Cindy's side of the family, who have traveled from Bennington, VT, New York City, NY, Rochester, NY, and Washington, DC. The rental house is a wonderful property perched on the sloping hillside of the lake, nestled into trees to give us a sense of privacy, but open enough to give us a tremendous view of the Lake and opposite shore.

The yard features stone steps down one side of the house where I am sure faeries dwell. The hillside of oak trees, laden with acorns, is also, no doubt, a wonderful little milieu for squirrels. No hostile encounters to report, as of yet.