Frank, Galileo, and I are on vacation with my parents in Alaska -- check out for more pictures.

NorthtoAK returns North

This weekend, the NorthtoAK clan returned to the far North to prepare for the next part of our summer extravaganza -- the visit/AK cruise with my folks.

The weekend was great -- Calla and I did a run in Fairborn on Saturday (a whole 5k)! She did awesome.

Mom reports that the weekend was moving day for Grandma's house, which was bittersweet -- check out the picture of Mom's big tree!

On Sunday, most of the day was preoccupied with travel. After going to Bob Evans, Frank's parents, Frank, Galileo, and I travelled to Cincinnati to get on a plane. Because of the super-great folks at Delta in ANC, the puppy was allowed on the plane with no issues.

"You're special"

After the dog was all set, we were issued tickets. Mine had big S's all over it, which were highlighted in yellow marker by the friendly guy who checks your ID at the security gate. Apparently, I am "special"
-- i.e. security threat -- for some reasons unexplained to me. So when I got into security, they separated me and Frank (Frank was not considered special) and I got to go in a separate line. My line took a long time to go through, and at the end of it was a wanding, pat-down, bomb-chemical detection and a complete rifling through all of my stuff. I'm hoping that my specialness wears off soon, because if I'm always going to be marked as a security threat, I'm going to have to learn to get to the airport even earlier!

Inflight
So we had a flight to SLC which was about 3 hours, and another to ANC which was 4 hours and change. I get confused on these flights and still believe every time I fly west I am somehow getting slightly younger due to the time changes. No matter how many flights I do like this, they are still terrible.

Ironically, the inflight entertainment to SLC was "Miss Congeniality 2", which was a film that I had dodged in Dayton. Believing it was some sort of sign, I watched the entire movie. My favorite part was that it took place mainly in Las Vegas, and I could point out all the casinos and places that we had been. The plot? Apparently Miss America's kidnapped and Sandra Bullock has to save her with a merry gang of misfits.

The next movie, though was a bit more difficult to figure out, perhaps because only one of my headphone sides was working. Matthew McConaughey follows the terrible movie Reign of Fire with Sahara, which is just as horrible but without dragons. Basically, way back there was an American revolutionary war submarine that somehow got lost in Africa (?). At the same time, Penelope Cruz uses a horrible accent and wooden acting to play a WHO doctor looking at plagues in Africa. Somehow (gosh I would not want to give all of the plot of this wonderful story away!), the plague and the ship are related to pollution and plague, which will cause worldwide nastiness. So, Matt and his merry gang of misfits has to go fix the problem. The only redeeming part of the movie to me was that William H. Macy was in it.

Home
Yes, somehow we made it through the flight with the bad inflight movies and found ourselves at ANC at 10pm ADT. To us, it felt like we were stepping off the plane at 2am EST. If there is anything more miserable than sitting on a plane for hours on end, it's getting into the airport and attempting to think way past one's bedtime.

The good thing is, we all made it home in one piece, and are slowly recovering from jet lag :).

James Lileks talks about Tivo

LILEKS (James) The Bleat has a quick diatribe on Tivo and it's need for an updated interface :)

Clifton Gorge

Frank and I went to Clifton Gorge (Yellow Springs, OH) last weekend...here are some pictures:


Clifton Gorge


Waterfall


Another gorge shot


I have a thing for twisted trees...


Twisted Trees #2


More trees


Gratuitous Flower Shot

5 Years

If you can't tell from the pictures below, it's a special day. Five years ago, Frank and Northtoak/Lori were married in a chapel on the campus of Miami University, on an unexpectedly pleasant July day.

Frank and Lori at the Cincinnati Zoo

Frank and Lori in Chena Hot Springs

Here we on on Flattop

Frank and Lori in Copenhagen

Pottawatomie Park

When I was up in Chicago, my parents and I went to Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles. It's a nice park, well used by the locals, along the Fox River. I realized I hadn't put these up yet (because I had not transferred the files in a while)...

Here are some pictures:

Duck!


Pottawatomie Indian and the other side of the river


Jet-Skiing on the Fox River


River's edge -- on the other side of these logs is the Fox River bike trail.


Pavillion at the Park

T-Mobile and the Tour

For those of you watching the Tour tonight, VeloNews:here is an excellent analysis of what is wrong with T-Mobile and why Lance is along his way to a seventh title.

Self-heating cans

Last month, I wrote about the self-heating can for coffee. Now, a blogger has done what I threatened but did not do-- they have hacked the can so you can see for yourself what is inside!

Listen...

I don't usually talk about religion, but the Anchoress wrestles personally today with "why bad things happen to good people".

North to AK will be running the Las Vegas Marathon

It's official! I'll be running the Las Vegas Marathon on December 4th. My goal? 4 hours. That's like a 9 minute mile for 26 miles. I admit, it's kind of daunting, but I figure it can't be much harder than running 10 minutes per mile as usual.

The other question is, after last year, why Las Vegas again? First of all, it goes down the strip this year, which should keep me entertained. Secondly, there is a straight shot flight to Las Vegas on Alaska Air (believe me, when you live in Alaska, a direct flight is a luxury). Also, apparently the wind should not be as bad this time of year.

So I will be enjoying my last few weeks of not-training by not running with any plan and enjoying the unchecked life of a normal person :).

London Blogging

This morning, I casually checked Instapundit to get a jump on the news today. By 7:30am, there was already incredible amounts of
first hand accounts, compilations, pictures, links to sort through about the London bombings.

This immediacy to me is one of the best aspects of new technology. Instead of listening to a talking head on the TV, you can read real-time accounts of individuals, just like you, that are actually experiencing the event. "Citizen reports" bring a fresh perspective that has been lost for so long due to greater emphasis on the entertainment value of mainstream media.

Independence Day Fireworks at WPAFB

Hello!

Today, NorthtoAK has a guest photographer, PonyCherrySoda! PonyCherrySoda took lots of great pictures of last night, when we went to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and saw fireworks.

Here is a picture of the photographer (who is 11) and her sister:

Calla and Holly


Galileo LOVES the Air Force!


Frank and Gaileo


Frank and Galileo #2


Frank and Holly


Lori and Galileo


Kentucky Paratroopers


Kentucky Paratoopers


Kentucky Paratroopers #3










Galileo Sepia




Some people PonyCherrySoda doesn't know


Frank likes the band!


Grandpa


Wright Flyer










Grandma


July Sky


Galileo getting ready for the fireworks


July Sky Black and White


Plane


Another Plane


Fireworks


Fireworks #2


Fireworks #3


Fireworks #4


Fireworks #5


Fireworks #6


Fireworks #7


Fireworks #8


Fireworks #9


Fireworks #10