Family hike and run

I wanted to go for a run today, but also wanted to spend time with everyone. So, we all went over to Millvale across the Allegheny River to enjoy the nice snowy day. Well, at least those of use that like to go that far. Max (our cat) stayed at home. Guthrie and I took off and ran while Bethany and Silas strolled around and enjoyed the scenery at a slower pace.

The picture above is looking upstream at the 40th Street Bridge. Below is looking south across at Lawrenceville.


Guthrie was so happy to get out. The city looked pretty in the misty distance.


Yes, wet and muddy.

Guthrie got wet and cold, but much of the mud came off. Not a bad trade off, as we were heading to the car.

And, we eventually caught back up with Bethany and Silas on their way back from Mr. Small's Skate Park.

Inside at the races

I have been testing out the newly sewn-up guts to make sure that biking feels fine before I get back on the road for commuting. It does. Silas rode along with me yesterday. He seemed to like it. I'm hoping I can hook him on biking, canoeing, and running before he realizes that most people don't like to work so hard.

Melon study

After I recently clippered my hair all off, we took some pictures of Silas and me to show that his hairline looks nothing like mine. :)

Lighting questions on building science blog

Sorry for these cross-postings.

On my HGTVPro blog, I am asking for help from the community in compiling a comprehensive list of things people want in the lighting design of a house. If that strikes any of your fancies, please check it out and comment over on my Building Science blog post on lighting on HGTVPro.

Thanks.

Last of the canoe pics: Anuses of Pittsburgh

Some last photos from the river.

Spelunking by canoe

Kevin noticed a neat culvert or outlet into the river when we were out the other day. I couldn't pass up exploring it, despite the vague odor of sewage. It was a dry day and had been, so I was pretty sure we wouldn't be caught by any sudden deluges and flushed back out into the river.

It was a really neat experience. The acoustics were awesome. This was on the north side of the river, so the sun shone in for a little distance and reflected in further. There was a slight trickling sound of water far in. I got in far enough to see it, as shown below. Where the cross section changed from round to rectangular, it got too shallow to continue. The hips of my canoe were pretty close to touching both sides at that point, so it was pretty definitive. It was too narrow to turn the boats, so we had to backpedal to get out.

The photos are in chronological order, so go from the river inward.




Pretty much dark by this point. A little dim light. The pictures were only possible because of the flash. There was a weird sensation that just up ahead where it was dark, there was a huge pit and waterfall into somewhere much more subterranean. Of course, one would be able to hear such a thing, but that didn't stop the overactive imagination. It was kind of exciting.

Post on my official building science blog

I'm still trying to figure out how trackbacks work. On my HGTV blog, I put up a new post about strategies for conserving energy on miscellaneous electric loads. It's pretty dry, as it is more or less a cut and paste job from my work for our 2008 annual report to the Department of Energy. I've neglected that blog, so I felt it was fair to cheat. :)

Actual URL of the post: http://blogs.hgtvpro.com/hgtvpro/building_science/archive/2009/02/some_thoughts_of_energy_conser.html

Trackback URL: http://blogs.scrippsnetworks.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1848

Canoeing the Monongahela River pt. 3: More Walls

The river has such a crusty history. Some of the old hints at the riverbank's former 'usefulness' are really interesting. I have no idea how some of the things we saw fit into the bustle of industry that was once here, but I enjoy looking at them.

The photo above is one of the supports of the Hot Metal Bridge. The last photo of the strata that can be found along the river was particularly fun. The building is part of the Pittsburgh Technology Center.

Canoeing the Monongahela River pt. 2: Wall

About a mile and a half upriver, we came across a fascinating iron (steel?) retaining wall.

First canoe excursion of the year

Kevin and I took advantage of the nice weather today to get out on the Monongahela River for a nice paddle. 3.42 miles. ~2 hours. 254 photos on Eric's camera. Unknown number on Kevin's.

Some pictures will follow. But not tonight, as it's bedtime for me.