BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

Sorry, Kin.

Forgive the foray into something incredibly off-topic for me, but there's nowhere else really to write it.

Today, Microsoft discontinued the Kin phone after 48 days on the market.  I have very mixed feelings about this.  

On the one hand, Microsoft really bungled that project.  I understand the schadenfreude that many fellow ex-Danger folks feel: Microsoft bought our company, screwed it up and abused the Palo Alto team to the point that many of us left, and then wound up with a product that failed in a truly spectacular way.  It's the ultimate "neener"; it's that awesome feeling you get when you see that jackhole on the freeway pulled over a half mile down the road.

But on the other hand, it seems to portend the final death of Danger.

I joined Danger as employee #17 on August 1, 2000.  I was 23 years old, I had a tiny studio apartment and a 1986 Honda Nighthawk that I was scared to ride around the block.  

Danger sent flowers to my mom after her surgeries in 2002.

Danger founders contributed significantly to the Alzheimers' Memory Walk that Peter and I did for my dad later in 2002.

When Peter and I were back in Wisconsin last year, cleaning out my mom's condo, we found a card that the Danger founders sent to my mom in 2005 after my dad died.

At least 10% of the guests at our wedding in 2007 were Danger employees and their families.

Our home is filled with Danger paraphernalia: T-shirts, glasses, mugs, little flashlight things that look like zippos, action figures, pens, notepads.

February 11, 2008 was a very confusing day for all of us, but we wanted to make it work.  

I wanted the Kin to succeed; I really did.  I don't give two shits for Microsoft, but there was Danger blood in that device -- for better or for worse, that's where Danger wound up, and discontinuing the Kin and moving the team into the WinMo hive is more than yet another reorg.

So, I'm sorry, Kin.  At least we'll always have Danger.

Campsite review: Half Moon Bay State Beach

Recommended: YES Location: 95 Kelly Avenue
Half Moon Bay, CA  94019 Date of visit: June 18-29, 2010 Weather: Typical late spring on the coast -- a bit foggy and chilly. The wind picked up overnight but it was pleasant around the campfire, around 55F. Overnight low inside my tent was 54F. Campground Condition: * There are 3 separate beaches at Half Moon Bay State Beach, but only Francis Beach has campsites. We stayed at site #15, which is a handicapped-accessible site but opens up to general use if it hasn't been reserved by 7pm.

* The campsites are very close together. The bluff/beach area means that there is very little tree cover ...which means no privacy from campsite to campsite. Surprisingly, though, it was quite quiet. Even the group of teens across the way from us were silent by 11pm.

* Each site has a fire pit, concrete parking pad, and picnic table. There are garbage cans and recycling bins at the restrooms, plus water spigots about every third campsite. * The bathrooms are clean but basic.  The bathroom building near our site had four individual unisex restrooms with toilet, sink, and mirror. No soap or paper towels. The building also contained four individual unisex showers (25 cents for 2 minutes), but I didn't go in to check the condition.

* Firewood is available from the campsite host for $8/bundle (June 2010 price).

* Please note that dogs are not permitted on the beach; you can bring them to the campsite, but they have to stay on the trails or at your site. The website below has more info. What to do: (copied from the below website) * The Half Moon Bay State Beach Visitor Center is open Saturdays and Sundays.  Entrance to the Visitor Center is free.   *Coastside Trail runs along the eastern boundary of the four beaches providing close to a three mile stretch to walk, jog or ride bikes. The trail continues north to Pillar Point Harbor. 

* A horse trail parallels Coastside Trail from Roosevelt Beach to Francis Beach. While in the state parks, horses are restricted to the designated horse trail and are not permitted on State Beaches.  More info: Half Moon Bay State Beach website

My photos:

Our site (#15):

 

That's the restroom building in the background; it was well-lit but the tree kept the light from being a problem at night.

 

The beach is easy walking distance from the campsites:

 
Horseback riding groups go right past the campground in the morning:

 

Lots of nice views from the hiking trails:

 

June progress report

Woah, it's June!  How'd that happen?

What's Going On?

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've had Holy Crap Improvement since May.  I wouldn't go so far as to say "night and day" but I can definitely go with "night and late afternoon".  

The pain is definitely muscular at this point, with very occasional nerve flare-ups.  I have one spot on the outside of my left calf that almost always feels cold/wet, which is more odd than worrisome, but other than that the nerve symptoms are now few and far between.

We went on a 10-day vacation to the East Coast and I had almost no symptoms at all.  No heat packs, no physical therapy, nothing.  I did use my tennis ball quite a bit (more on that later) but even with the plane ride and car rides and walking, my back did awesome. WOO!

What I Can Do:

Still working full-time.  Sitting at my desk is still the single worst thing for my pain levels, which is a bit of a bummer since, y'know, that's what I do all day.  Forcing myself to take "micro breaks" helps, as does the most recent conference room chair that I stole, er, borrowed.

No real change on the sitting and standing thresholds from last month -- still holding at about an hour for standing (provided I can sit occasionally and fidget) and about 90 minutes for sitting.

I had a HUGE breakthrough in walking this month.  Huge!  While visiting Dan and Colleen in New Jersey, we took a day trip into New York City.

Look, here's us at Times Square:

Now here's us in Central Park:

Now here's us in the Upper West Side:

That was all walking! That's like 5 miles at least.   Five miles!  My shins didn't speak to me for a day afterwards, but my back was mostly just fine with the exercise.

I'm also back to doing public skates once in a while.  Only ~10 minutes at a time, but I'll take what I can get!  My cardio system is totally trashed, which is a little discouraging, but to be expected after taking 10 months off.

No real motorcycle news -- I've sat on the XT a couple of times, but it's almost TOO upright; I have some bad lordosis going on and the XT posture exacerbates it.     

Sleeping/lying down continue to be no trouble at all.

What I Can't Do:

I'm still trying not to carry much.  I can do small things for short distances, but I'm really not pushing myself with this.

No hockey, though I am doing small amount of public skates.

No Beemer at all.  I can sit on the XT but haven't tried moving it or riding it.

No weight lifting. I'm starting to incorporate light cardio; elliptical only.  No treadmill!

What I've Stopped Doing:

I've weaned off the Thermacare back wraps and only use them when I'm having a lot of spasms.

I've stopped doing physical therapy for the time being.  Between my vacation and my physical therapist's vacation, I haven't been in for 3 weeks and I'm actually doing quite well.  I'm giving my wallet a break and will start up again if I need to.

I still use my Relax the Back "zero gravity" recliner but I can sit on other chairs and couches now, too.  

What I'm Doing About It:

Still doing my daily home PT, which is now seven stretches and two exercises.  Twice a week I add two Swiss ball exercises.  I try to do PT at the Apple gym a couple of times per week so that I can also warm up on the elliptical (5 minutes at 0 resistance) and use the Swiss ball there. 

I need to get my cardio back in shape, so I'm starting the Couch to 5K program on the elliptical machine at the gym.  Instead of "walking/running", I'm doing "walking/walking slightly faster", but my lungs are so shot right now that anything will be an improvement.

I try to get weekly massages with a physical therapist, which helps a lot with the muscular pain.

I went to the Stanford Spinal Jedi last week and was very encouraged.  He struck a good balance between taking my complaints seriously but also emphasizing that my injury isn't *that* bad in the grand scheme of things and it will get better.  So, yay.

I have a follow up next week with my regular back doc.