The Great Urban Race

Yesterday Kip and I raced in the Great Urban Race. The last time we raced in one of these was back in 2007 and we came in 2cnd out of 50 teams. This year there were almost 500 teams.

These are pics from the race, before during and after. Pretty much in reverse order.









The finalists for Best Costume. The Underage Chinese Gold Medal Gymnasts won.





Before the race, this shows about half of the people competing. It was actually less convoluted along the race course than last year when there were around 100 teams.




Semi-finalists for best costume.



Kip really wanted to dress up. Here he is admiring the gymnasts' costumes.



The Race started and ended downtown



Took us to Olvera Street






MacArthur Park



Hollywood



















The Sunset Strip



When all was said and done we had a great time, came in just over 3 hours and .....
placed a very respectable 4th place. Which qualifies us to compete in the Championships in New Orleans.

Any sponsors???

PS We were a P & J sandwich from coming in the top 3.

A Long Hot Run

I dropped Skye off at the dentist with Cindy, which found me in Burbank around 11 am with time to do my long run.

I parked nearby on a street that had access to the horse trails that lead up into Griffith Park. I've run this area before, but usually in the cool morning when the dew is still holding down the dust on the trails. Today was very different. In spite of it still officially being winter, the temperature was in the eighties. The sun was directly overhead leaving very little shade. And the dust kicked up easily and soon felt like it was coating my mouth, nose throat and lungs.

The trails were composed of loose sand and gravel which is great for horses I suppose but made for a slow pace. And the trails that headed into the mountains were ridiculously steep. I was not walking or hiking but the speed was pretty much that equivalent. I had my running-computer-geek watch informing me that I had slowed at times to a 22 minute mile pace. Unlike a riding a bicycle where you labor up a hill and know you will be rewarded with an effortless fun ride down, running downhill is quicker to be sure but at the considerable price of jarring one's muscles and joints.

When all was said and done I put in 1 hr and 33 minutes and ran 8.28 miles. That's a pace of 11:17 minute miles burning around 1473 calories, or in St. Patrick's Day terms 7 pints of Guinness.

ATYPICALDAY

Ran trails at Kenneth Hahn park for 1hr 15min. I love how close we live to that park.

Home school lessons with Skye for a couple of hours.

Jui jistu training for l hr 30 min.

Errands

More home school with Skye

Got house in order and prepped for "Jon's Social Experiment"

Hosted "Jon's Social Experiment"

Day sprinkled with phone calls, e-mails, web surfing, thoughts, scheduling, Jon-Cindy talks, etc. etc.

L.A. Marathon

I signed up for the LA Marathon today. 26.2 miles of pure bliss(not really). I haven't been running or doing any kind of consistent training in like a year or something ridiculous.

76 days until the race. I've run the LA Marathon 4 times, '91, '02 (4 hrs 46 min), '05 (4 hrs 45 min), and last year '08(4 hrs 49 min). Not fast granted, but pretty consistent. I didn't really train much for any of those, but this year will be different.

Denizens of the pond

After cleaning out the pond and realizing that whatever destroyed the koi didn't get the high-fin shark and the little mosquito fish, I decided they could use some company as well as some help cleaning up the algae and stuff on the bottom of the pond.




Better pic of our "shark".




One of the two Golden Dojo I got to help clean up the pond muck as well as to keep the shark company.





Its a bit hard to make out but there's the dojo and a tadpole and one or two of the mosquito fish.

Random list, account, photos from Last Week of February

February came and went. Spring is officially weeks away but it feels pretty springy here at the Milagro house.



Gardening

If you look really hard you can see my potato's sprouting. There are a bunch of other little sprouts. I have no idea what they are so I'll let them grow for a while and see what they are.





My salad barrel needs some thinning, but is doing quite well.






Pond scum cleaning

Several weeks ago our Koi pond was raided and all of the koi were taken, eaten by some pesky raccoon I imagine. But after that I kind of let the pond go. So yesterday I finally got around to cleaning it up.




The Sole Survivor

After cleaning out the algae and gunk, I discovered that one fish had survived the carnage. Our little High Fin Shark, survived.




More Gardening

This mint plant got more than a little root bound in his pot. I've got a spot for him in the garden where he can spread out those roots a bit more.








Sewing lessons

Skye and I are learning how to sew on this industrial monster. I little intimidating because it goes really fast. But we're getting the hang of it.

Coaching Skye's Y basketball team

Home schooling

Hanging out with the other "mom's" at park days.

Skye did a scale model of the solar system for her science Super Duper. The sun was represented by an 8 inch ball, making the earth the size of a peppercorn and Jupiter around the size of a small jaw beaker. The park we were at wasn't quite big enough to set up, in fact it spilled over into an alley way and Lincoln Blvd prevented us from reaching Neptune and Pluto. (I know its a moon) All in all the model has you walking 1000 yard (10 football fields) to go from the sun to Pluto. And remember in that model earth is the size of a pepper corn.

I gave up my Union Local 44 Decorator Card and am now on the roster as a property person.

Hourly vs. salaried
Back-aches vs. headaches
Stress and status vs. Chillin' and being one of the gang
More money(sometimes) vs More flexibility(also sometimes)

Brazilian Juijitsu

Hosting a Social Experiment

Gardening Adventures

It seems like gardening should be so simple. People talk about simpler times, of agrarian roots.

Somehow every time I set out to take on some simple gardening task I end up spending hours in the garden. I love to garden so this is ok. Finding enough hours in the day, that's an entirely different manner.

But it was with the simple intent of planting a couple of wine barrels that began the June Bug journey. I had had tomato plants in the tubs previously, but that had been months ago. I figured I'd dig around pull out any remaining roots and be on my way.

As my hands worked the soil, I came upon this enormous grub, that we latter identified as a June Bug. And then I came upon another and another and another. I emptied the barrel and proceeded to sift through the dirt until I hauled in 62 of these little monsters.





I didn't know what to do with them and Skye asked me to keep them. For now they are in this little terrarium covered in dirt. I don't have any idea how to care for them, but there they are. I might look into their edibility and see if I can find a good recipe for them.




The previous home of the monsters. One barrel had 62 grub. The other barrel, none. Now I've got lettuce, soybeans, and carrots in them. They seem to be doing quite well. In the black barrel I planted some fingerling potatoes that I ended up not cooking and they started sprouting so I figured why not.

The Good Bugs

After determining what these grubs were, I turned my attention to prevention. Because I am growing organically, I often end up getting a beneficial insect to counter the baddies. For these grubbies, I would use beneficial nematodes which I ordered on line.

A few days later I recieved a little plastic jare full of Steinemema feltiae more affectionately call NemAttack and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora or NemaSeed from Arbico Organics.

Beneficial Nematodes are microscopic, non-segmented worms that occur naturally in soil throughout the world. Once released, the nematodes seek out their host, enter through body openings, emit a toxin and death occurs within 48 hours.

I also ordered some 1000 Aphidoletes aphidomyza, Aphid predators. A Predatory Midge that Attacks All Types of Aphids

By the way that became part of Skye's science lesson for the day.




Remember the worm farms that started off as one of her home school science presentations and has grown into a whole new hobby of mine.

They are doing great, churning through lots of shredded junkmail, kitchen scraps and yard clippings. Processing it from what would have been tossed in the refuse bins into wonderful fertilizer.





Inside one of the bins, the good bugs hard at work.





I put together this little green house to start up some seedlings. Inside I've rigged an irrigation system set with a timer to cut down on a little of the work.





Inside the green house.



So far I have only been able to plant one-half of one of the four raised beds. I also have many empty pots that want to be utilized.




The citrus trees are producing wonderfully. We've been giving them away by the bucketful. Hopefully soon we'll be able to use them ourselves.

The Grey of Green- Lightbulb disposal

The other day after changing several burnt out light bulbs, I seemed to recall that there was a "correct" means of disposing of light bulbs. After spending way too much time looking for the book "Green House--eco-friendly disposal and recycling at home" I found some disturbing information.

Incandescent lights are trash, nothing hazardous, no recycling market for its glass or metal. The new more efficient and therefore "green" CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) contain mercury. Now I have heard that the amounts are insignificant, however when hundreds of thousands or rather millions of them start ending up in landfills. Well you can imagine the unfortunate toxic results. But like batteries and ink cartridges and paint and on and on with the hazardous waste we as individuals create there are collection programs and facilities.

Now I am saving my bad CFLs until I can locate such a place. So keep that in mind when tossing out your used "green" bulbs.

The Tangled Web We Weave-Emphasis on Tangle

I think of myself as somewhat organized but having taken on too much, in regards to commitments, projects, job, family, life to have things as organized as I would like. I know that things would go more efficiently if they were better organized, but that takes time which then puts me further behind on other things which then leads to me not having time to get organized so that I might save time, a classic paradox. What follows is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Note it is Monday and I started writing on Saturday but ran out of time and very well might this morning as well, but here goes.

Saturday 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
My job on the remake of Fame ended on Friday and so this morning I awoke at 5:30 and decided to take it easy(ha, ha) and just send out two e-mails in regards to the times of Skye's basketball games.

Somehow, I misplaced the schedule and everything else regarding the YWCA basketball program that Skye is playing in on the team I am coaching, which along with coaching duties involves the coordintation of things like picture day and after game snacks etc.

The search for this notebook led me to find many other organizational deficiencies throughout the house prompting a Spring cleaning/organizing campaign that has resulted in emptying closets, unloading book cases, clearing desks and piles of stuff throughout the house in need of sorting. After a couple of hours of doing this I found the basketball stuff under the desk where I had been working, sent out the e-mails and then continued on with the "relaxing" Saturday.

This project I am sure will take a great deal of time, perseverance and diligence. I include pictures because when I don't I get emails asking for pictures back in the blog so that is why you get to see my piles of jumble.



I love magazines and have a hard time parting with them. So I have many, many of them and they get sorted and shelved. I have fallen behind on this.



One of the many book sorting stations.




That was all on my desk this morning.

Too much stuff, but getting rid of stuff ends up taking a ridiculous amount of time, more on that latter.

Obama--A New Chapter

It's well over a month since my last entry. A lot has happened in that time. I have not written for a variety of reason, even considering discontinuing this blog. But after watching President Obama (I like the sound of that) I have decided to pick myself up, dust myself off, and begin again.

So I won't try to do a Cliff note version of the past month, but I will start off fresh looking ahead.

Cindy and I are currently working on the remake of the movie Fame.

Skye is continuing home schooling. The home school network of friends and activities has been of an enormous help as has our current tenant/friend/watcher of Skye, Jennifer.

I am coaching Skye's YWCA basketball team and trying to keep fit, both mentally and physically as I continue my study of Brazilian Juijitsu, my "urban farming" adventure, our convoluted Nicaragua quagmire, and a plethora of other pursuits, diversions, missions and goals.

Juggling all of this has been challenging to say the least. But stay posted for new photos, stories, updates, etc, etc. etc.

Hurray for Obama

Hurray for America

Hurray for a New Chapter

Let's make it a good one!!!!!!

Koi Matters

Several weeks ago our Koi pond was raided by, well we never knew what. Whatever it was ripped up the lily pads, ate the water snails but didn't touch any of the fish. Odd but when all was said an done not a bad loss.

A few nights ago we weren't so lucky. Whatever it was, or maybe it was something different caught and ate one of the koi and also ripped the water lily to shreds.

Saturday morning when I went to check on them, yet another was missing. I found this one several feet away from the pond looking very dead. But there was still a whisper of life in him, so I tossed him back in the pond and he sunk to the bottom, but I could see some movement and so for the next hour, I worked on reviving this koi fish, moving him back and forth to get oxygen moving through his gills, pulling him out of the water and then plunging him back in, "swimming" him around. I was up to my arms in cold cold water and finally left him on his own, hoping for the best but certainly thinking the fish would be floating on the surface next time I saw him. Miraculously he survived.




"Thanks for not giving up on me"




He made it but you can see by the redness around his mouth and gills that he had a tough going.

I didn't see any marks on him so I don't know if he had jumped out or if it was an unsuccessful hunt for some opossum or raccoon.



Here he is back with his pals.

However the following day the big white one was missing.


I had to get serious. I bought chicken wire to cover the pond and a live animal trap to catch the invader. It didn't take long to catch something. Unfortunately it was a stray cat. Getting the pissed of cat out of the trap was a chore, but we did. We re-baited the trap and shortly after it was sprung, again by one of the many neighborhood cats. By this time it was late and I did not want to mess around with another angry cat in the cold and dark.

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I felt really bad for the kitty we trapped. The cage is covered with ivy but still I'm sure the cat is soaking wet and going to be really, really mad. I do not look forward to its release.

Gotta go let the cat out of the bag, or trap.

Purple Belt-- A long journey

Years ago, like 1994, wow, that's almost 15 years ago, I saw the first Ultimate Fighting Championships on video and watched this skinny Brazilian Joyce Gracie beat guys of all sizes and styles doing this thing called Juijitsu, Brazilian style. There were only a couple of places in Los Angeles that taught such classes, one was the Gracie studio which as you can imagine was hugely popular and that of the cousins of the Gracie's the Machado brothers. I went to the Machado brothers and for years grappled and trained with many amazing fighters, many who went on to compete internationally in a variety of Mixed Martial Arts competitions.

When I would go on location or travel I would look for the local juijitsu studio to train. Having trained with the Machados guaranteed a open arms and respect at the various dojos I visited. They were and are quite famous in the Martial Arts community. I received my Blue Belt and continued to train, although with my work and travel schedule demands it was inconsistent to say the least. So my skill level plateaued with me losing the gains I made every several months. After many years I finally decided to hang it up and try some new sports.

I missed it a lot but I thought that after a while I would forget about it and it would just be part of my history. But I never really did. Then quite by coincidence, fate one might say a friend of mine had just finished working on the David Mamet film Red Belt, about MMA competitions starring one of the Machado brothers. I went on line to check it out and found that John Machado had a gym near the Fox Hills Mall, minutes from my house. I dug up my old Gi and went down to check it out.

That was a little over a year ago. I have been able to train more consistently, and have at long last pushed up my game to new levels, earning after all of this time my Purple Belt. It has been an amazing journey. The Machados and their students are very supportive, always encouraging and positive. I am very happy and proud to be part of the community again.



From left to right, Renato Magno, John Machado, Jon Danniells (me), Rigan Machado, Andre Lima


Skye has been taking Tae Kwon Do at the same studio and loves it and has just started studying Capoera. I think training in the martial arts provides amazing lessons far beyond the physical aspects and recommend it highly.

A non-Traditional Thanksgiving

The Plan
Wednesday was a blur. I had laid out a set of lessons for Skye that could be done in the car, "Carschooling", as I power shopped. We loaded up at Salvation Army, racing to make sure we could get Cindy to her flight on time. And we did, just barely. Now with Cindy on her way to be with her family, I turned my attention fully on the what Skye and my Thanksgiving was going to be. We had a couple of very gracious invites to Thanksgiving get togethers, which were very tempting. In fact, it was not until we were in REI buying Skye new boots that I conclusively decided that we were indeed going on our Thanksgiving camping trip to Bryce National Park. First thing first, the old Explorer needed a new battery. It had been two weeks since calling AAA for a jump and being told that the car wouldn't start again with the battery I had. It did start again and again, but I wasn't about to go up in the snow and continue to push my luck. Dropped the car off at the mechanic and had him fix the rear brake light, so I could take care of my pending fix-it ticket I had gotten the week before.

Then of course, was the matter of Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey dogs and smores sounded just right to Skye, and I concurred. So a quick stop at the grocery market and then off to home to pack. Then it occured to me that I would want to print directions and I was in the middle of printer hell, at home. So to Staple we went to buy a new printer. (Really there is a story behind the printer computer home nightmare, but not for now)

Packed, did some work calls/e-mails filing, downloading etc., packed some more, dinner, research trip, install and get working new printer, more packing(will try to do some school work and/or trip-oriented type lessons) watched an hour PBS program, The History of Thanksgiving, put Skye to bed, quick blog, showered, in bed by midnight-ish.

Alarm goes off an hour and half latter, 1:30am. Take bike rack off car, unload work-stuff, accumulated crap and then load and pack vehichle. Wake up Skye on the road at 2:40 am. On schedule to be in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving buffet brekfast.




You can see what a lovely day met us the following morning on our arrival in Vegas. Actually this is how the sky always looks in the Venetian. Actual Vegas was cloaked in dark clouds and rained as we raced about the Strip looking for a buffet that was actually opened at 7 am, Thanksgiving day.




The immortal Siegfreid and Roy and tiger friend. Finally after getting lost in several almost empty casinos, we landed in Caeser's Palace for a feast of plenty.




Had to include this pic, made me laugh and scared me too. BTW, this was one of many of these ads, freeway billboards as well. Gunsales rocketed after Obama won. WTF?!?!

On the Road Again
We got back on the road a little latter than hoped for, but not too bad 9 am. We had approximately 4 hours left to drive, find a camp, get firewood, etc, cook and enjoy our Thanksgiving delight.

We breezed through Arizona, into Utah. Skye helped navigate and we were making good time, until.......

We couldn't find a small road that would connect us to the highway that fed into Bryce. We went a bit further north and found a road that should have gotten us there, except we had to turn back after the snowy conditions made it seem like a bad idea to continue on small winding icy road at 7000 ft elevation.

I was begining to feel like Skye and I were getting ready to do a reenactment of the winter before the first Thanksgiving feast, you know almost no food, freezing, miserable, "was coming to America such a good idea"

Finally we found a road further north that was larger and less snowbound, connected to highway and made it to Bryce a little after 4pm.




Skye on her cell phone, telling her friend about camp and our upcoming feast.




Success!!! We managed to set up camp, get a fire started and prepare for dinner.




Meanwhile Skye explored around camp. She sighted a deer when she got to the top of the hill.




Roasting dogs and marshmellows over an open fire, yum!




It was snowwing during our Thanksgiving meal and through the night. Fortunately we had pretty good sleeping gear, so that once you were bundled up for the night it wasn't quite so cold. Now getting ready for bed and waking up, very different matter, cold, cold, cold.

Bryce, Bryce, Baby

This is camp the morning after, not so bad. But as much as I love the smell of a bacon at campfire in the morning, it was way to cold. So of to the local cafe for a nice breakfast, warm bathrooms, and the internet.(Lakers continue to win)




Stretching out in amazingness of Bryce National Park. We escaped the crowds by hiking into the canyon, yes there were tourist buses and SUVs packed with vacationers, but still pretty empty compared to most of the year.




Absolutely exquisite.



The trails were pretty muddy which led to us mud-skiing as Skye called it. It made for getting out of the canyon a tedious yet comical adventure.





Post card perfect.



After several hours of hiking, Skye had had enough and was ready to get back to camp.




Skye spotted this gorgeous buck and was snapped out this shot. It became one of the highlights of the trip.

Back at camp, after numerous attempts we realized the snow wasn't quite right to make snowmen, not sticky enough, I suppose. So we made 2 dimensional snow men instead.





We had Turkey dogs and smores again. Much windier and colder than night before.