Look At Me, I'm In Tatters! I'm Shattered!

Actually, I'm not. But, I did dump my bike pretty hard yesterday. I was on my way home and approaching a U-turn that I have to make after coasting down a hill. I suppose that I have developed a little game out of attempting this turn at greater and greater speeds, and if I had had a speedometer yesterday, I would be able to tell you the upper limits of that potential today.

My best guess is that I was going between 15 and 20 miles per hour through the turn when my back wheel slipped out from under me to the left. I don't remember anything between that moment and the next when I found myself skidding (skinning?) across the pavement. I stood up and checked myself out for injuries and only two were immediately noticeable. A good amount of skin on my right elbow had been promptly removed and a small chunk was missing from the palm of my left hand.

I walked the bike over to the grass near the road, reset the chain on the appropriate sprocket (it had been dislodged on impact), and rode the rest of the way home wondering if I had broken anything on the bike or myself. I did not take time to further inspect the bike as I had my bleeding arm to attend to. As I cleaned all of my wounds, I gradually discerned that I did not break any bones, maintaining my current record of perfection in that arena. However, I also discovered that I had a lot of road rash covering my right arm and a hefty bruise on the shoulder. Just in case you were wondering, topical grooved cement injuries make one look as if one has been flame-broiled.

The net result of this little incident is a very sore shoulder, sore neck, and lots of leaning to my left side in chairs. I have also learned that I am not, in fact, made of glass. I am actually rather pleased that I can still take a fall without a necessary hospital visit. Eventually, I'll take a more thorough look at the bike, but my initial prediction is that it is fine. My only concern is for the rear derailleur. It sustained some scrapes and I am hoping that the impact did not bend anything.

Labor Day Weekend 2005

I can now add water skiing to the list of athletic activities at which I am terrible. One might argue that I've only tried once; however, while that is very true, it is still hard for me to accept that I have little to no ability to be dragged through the water by a boat. Honestly, once I passed the age of 25 without having tried water skiing, I thought I would never get the opportunity. But, Marilyn, one of Amy's past coworkers invited us to her and her husband Dennis' home this Labor Day weekend and assured us that we would be trying on our first set of skis.

Not long after our arrival, Dennis took us on a quick tour around part of the lake. Not many other boats were out at that time, but we got a very nice view of the surrounding area. The evening was cool and the breeze on the lake was pleasant. I haven't felt that relaxed in quite some time. My state of relaxation ended abruptly, however, once the ladies crushed Dennis and I 3-0 in a small bout of 8-ball billiards. It was really 1-2 in our favor, though. One's opponents scratching on the eight ball shot isn't really a win.

The next day after a good bicycle ride around the lake, we were out on the water. Dennis drove the boat to a relatively unpopulated end of the lake and Amy volunteered to take the first run. She began to have second thoughts, or so it seemed, as she lowered herself into the water, although from the expression on her face, I doubt her hesitation had much to do with any fear of water skiing. Her reluctance to get in was soon forgotten, however, as she attempted a successful ski run.

Her first couple of tries were as anyone might expect. She was getting used to feeling of being dragged by the boat and trying to determine the optimal positioning for her body weight in order to avoid further dives into the water. As you can see in the adjacent picture, she almost made it up. She was so very close that time. I really thought she was going to make it up. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe that that was her best attempt. Suffice to say, though, that's about as far as each of us made it on any attempt. I also tried as well as I could, but I quickly determined where my true skills lie:


So, despite our first few unsuccessful attempts at an amateur water skiing career, we had a fantastic time visiting with Dennis and Marilyn. It will be difficult to go back to work tomorrow, but thanks to this picture of Fuji the dog, it won't be quite as difficult. If Marilyn and Dennis will have us back, we can't wait to try skiing again next time. As long as our forearms aren't still aching and I can once again open a soda can or snap my fingers without flinching, I'll be ready to go. Thanks again to Marilyn and Dennis for having us as guests!

Death to the Games Industry: Long Live Games

I don't normally use this blog as a funnel of information from other sources, but this article by Greg Costikyan has been slashdotted.

Comings and Goings

Usually when our doorbell rings, it's Patrick, a guy with Down Syndrome from across the street. He has his own signature style of ringing the heck out of it, which lets us know that it's him by the tell-tale, rapid-fire bell impacts that never quite have time to reach the "dong" in "ding-dong". We're never sure quite why he's coming over, and it can be fun to try to guess. Sometimes, he just wants to say hello and remind us that he's a good neighbor. Agreed. Other times, the requests turn exotic in a mundane sort of way, such as taking photographs of our dining room table.

So, when the doorbell rang last night, it was an initially tense situation. The bell rang once and completely, the "dong" actually having time to decay to nothing. I was downstairs watching television when Amy answered the door and her reception of the visitor was surprised and happy. So, curious as ever, I went upstairs to see who it was. Steve, who last visited us in early June with his wife Ellen, was standing on the porch! So, we invited him inside and he told us that he was making a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to deliver his father's car. We chatted for a couple of hours and then he continued on his way. He wanted to visit the Field of Dreams and I believe that was his next official destination. It was nice to see you, Steve. Farewell for the remainder of the trip.

However, not only has a reunion occurred but a separation as well. I have decided not to renew my membership with GANG for the coming year. While it is a professional organization, the parting is bittersweet simply because I was able to meet and become involved with many great and interesting people who also work with audio, video games, and multimedia. Unfortunately, while the people I met continue to be great, the organzation itself seems almost completely static. While much hoopla has been generated by and about events like Video Games Live, things like that don't generate concrete benefits for the membership. I haven't really seen anything new regarding concrete benefits like that in almost two years with the only exception being the addition of a Grammy catagory for music in an interactive medium. And all things being what they are, I don't think most of the membership is really gunning for a Grammy quite yet.

Why is GANG becoming stagnant? While there are probably many reasons, I think it may be partially due to the fact that the board of directors isn't democratically decided. In essence, the same people, with a few exceptions, are voted in every year and as a result, new perspectives are rarely introduced. That process also indicates that the same few people bear the extra burden of running GANG and maintaing their current workload of their businesses. That can be an incredible burden, I'm sure, but I don't think that it serves the paying membership of GANG in the best way possible. So, this is primarily why I have left the organization for now. I will gladly return if some revitalization occurs, but until then, I'll keep my membership money.