Memorial Day weekend in Vermont

Hundreds of colors, all described by one word – “green.”

Click on the picture for a slideshow from our trip

People flock to Vermont for the fall foliage, but I prefer the vibrant greens of the springtime.  The colors are equally striking, and it’s a celebration of returning life, instead of a last hurrah before the impending quietus.

Medford’s new wind turbine

This year, a new presence looms over Medford.

In January, Medford installed a Northern Power Systems Northwind 100 turbine on the McGlynn School grounds. It looks cool.

According to the Medford Clean Energy Committee, the turbine supplies about 10% of the school’s electrical needs, saving about $25,000 per year. Medford’s portion of the cost of erecting the turbine will be recovered in about 7-8 years.  

However, the energy committee site also lists $550,000 in other funding, plus ongoing matching grants (perhaps to help cover expenses), so the true time to recover the cost is more like 30 years.  Since Northern Power claims the Northwind 100 has a 20 year lifecycle, it’s not clear that the device makes sense on purely financial basis.

On the other hand, energy costs are likely to continue to escalate, so the rate of return will probably increase. There are benefits in helping green power efforts get off the ground, and we all win when we make more use of clean energy.  Also, there could be educational benefits from Northern’s Wind for Schools package.  And it’s pretty.

Abracadabra

I was out on a run on a beautiful spring day when I saw a leaf floating in mid-air over the trail.

When I came back with my camera, almost an hour later, it was still there.

Racing is fun, and keeping fit is great, but the best reason to keep running is that sometimes, when you’re outside on a glorious day, you find a little bit of magic in the air.

Grip the Pole with One Hand

I’m not the only one who will do anything for a cheap laugh.

Get hooked on fish porn at www.masterbaitonline.com.

A Burnt Offering

I was running along the trail on the Medford side of the Mystic Lakes when I came across what appeared to the remnants of a small ceremony.

I’m not up on religious rituals, but the black candles seem to indicate something satanic.  It wasn’t clear what was sacrificed.  I didn’t see any bones in the ash.  I wonder if the bundle of greenery is some specific herb, or just whatever was lying around?  I’d hate to think they weren’t following proper procedure.

If only elections were about excellence

“Both the U.S. health-care system and the U.S. educational system are exclusively “best” strategies: They excel at furthering the opportunities of those at the very top end. But they aren’t nearly as interested in moving people from the middle of the pack to somewhere nearer the front.”

-Malcom Gladwell, Gladwell-Simmons II: Part 2  

Is this a bad thing for the average person, or is this why the US does well? Is excellence for the few the proverbial “rising tide that lifts all boats”?

Turtle Trot 5K

Last week, Ruth and I went to visit Ruth’s mother, who lives in Estero, Florida. They happened to be holding the 4th Annual Turtle Trot 5K while we were down there, so we signed up.

Races start early in Florida to avoid the heat, so we were at the start a little after 7AM, ready to go.  We were joined by Ruth’s brother Matt.

The race benefits Lover’s Key State Park, and is run on trails on the key.  I’m the elbow on the left:

The race felt it was necessary to include a warning in the race packet about a “38 foot mound” that kept the course from being totally flat.   Good thing they mentioned the hill, otherwise we wouldn’t have noticed it.  On the other hand, it was humid and well into the 80’s, the no-seeum’s were out in force, and I had taken most of the previous month off due to an injury, so we weren’t expecting to take full advantage of the flat course.

The race was chip-timed, so the results were up quickly.  Ruth finished in 26:55, 6th of 35 in her age group, and one place ahead of Matt.  I ran a 22:44, which put me third in my group, in line for a medal, so we waited on the beach at the finish for the awards ceremony.  I had my modest face all ready to go.

Unfortunately, while the race was chip-timed, some of the late registrants were hand timed.  When they added in those results, I ended up 4th out of 20. No medal for me.

The process works in my favor, for once

While I’ve been working through the penalties for my second DUI, I’ve been surprised a number of times by additional requirements that were not spelled out in court.    It’s remarkably hard to get good information about the process for working through a DUI conviction.  Even people who are regularly involved in the process, lawyers, probation officers, registry officials, and substance abuse counselors, don’t know all the details or where to go to find definitive answers.  It can be very frustrating, but few people really care because after all, I must deserve whatever happens since I’m a drunk driver. 

The lesson, as always, is don’t drink and drive.  Homily over.

One of the surprises that came up was during my 26 week aftercare program for second offenders.   While this program was specified as part of my sentence, no one mentioned that after the 26 weeks were up I’d be required to continue going to monthly group meetings for the duration of my probation.  Keep in mind that I’d have to pay for these monthly sessions, in addition to paying for the 26 weekly sessions.  Luckily, my insurance covers them, so I only have to make the co-payments.

I started the 26 week program in May of 2008, and attended the weekly group sessions into December.  Then in the exit interview Tom, my counselor, told me that the monthly program was being reviewed, and they wouldn’t be holding sessions until they decided how it would be changed.  I’d be notified when things were settled. 

I didn’t hear anything for months.  Then in April, after I’d begun to believe that I’d escaped further sessions, I received a letter stating that I’d have to start attending group meetings twice a month.  I was not pleased, but there was little I could do.

My first session, again with Tom as the counselor, was scheduled for May 7th.  During the session, Tom mentioned that while the new process called for sessions twice a month instead of just once, the sessions now ended a year after intake for the 26 week program instead of ending when probation ended.  Tom followed up for me, and found that since my intake was in mid-May 2008,  I only had to attend that one session before my year was up.

Note that two unusual things occured here.  First, no one decided that I’d need to attend extra sessions to make up for the ones I’d “missed”.  Second, someone in the system took it upon themselves to get an issue resolved for me.  Thanks Tom!