web-goddess

Author: Kris

  • Shared today on Twitter

    Team picture: http://twitpic.com/cg3iz

    Check out the 7.05 km run I did with @runkeeper http://bit.ly/2VFMs2 #RunKeeper

    Somehow GPS conked out about 700m before finish, so I had to go in & manually adjust points. Just retweeted link to map w/ splits. 🙂

    Ha. SMH.com.au has big giant yellow Java error splashed all over front page. #fairfax #fail

    @sharre Nice one! Don’t forget to put it on the challenge… 🙂

    @redambition Woohoo! Everybody’s exercisin’ today! 🙂

    Quick, quick, look now before it’s fixed! Race results error has our team – Barry and the Apples – as the #1 winner! http://bit.ly/EuMwq

    I emailed them. Looks like the winning team mistakenly got our name applied. It was a fun surprise there for a minute though!

    @witty_knitter Welcome aboard. Being able to vote is nice. 🙂

    In case you didn’t get the memo from my bare legs and pretty red shoes, winter is OVER. We have decreed it.

    @mrs_sockvictim I should think so! I’m not wearin’ hot pants to work. 🙂

    @Opheli8 Awww, but we MISS YOU over here!

  • Shared today on Facebook

    achieved both goals for 2009 Bay Run: ran whole thing without stopping, and finished in under 50 minutes!

    Kristine Howard shared a link.

  • Bay Run 2009

    I’ve been looking forward to this race for a year now. I was supposed to run it last year with three guys from work, but a surprise business trip to L.A. made me miss it. No way was I going to miss out this time. So Stef, Tim, Shane, and I signed up early and gave ourselves a silly name: “Barry and the Apples.” The race is 7km (about 4.5mi) around Iron Cove, and it’s been getting more popular every year. They have separate events for runners, walkers, kids, and even dogs. Race Day dawned beautiful and clear and sunny, and Snookums came along for moral support. The guys took off first, and then the girls left 15 minutes later. I was apprehensive. I told the Snook that in an ideal scenario, I’d average 7:00/km and finish in less than 50 minutes… but realistically I figured I’d do closer to 55. I started out slow. The first half of the race had the only hills, as we climbed up to Iron Cove Bridge and ran along Victoria Road. Once we got back to the water’s edge and the course flattened, I deliberately started to push myself. I’d lost Stef in the initial crush, but at the halfway point I spotted her 100m ahead. I tried my best to catch her, but she was setting a good pace. Soon the first of the dog runners was passing us. I skipped the sole water stop. Lots of people were taking walk breaks, but I told myself that at the very least I’d meet my secondary goal of running the whole thing without stopping. At the 6km sign, RunKeeper told me that 40min had elapsed. I suddenly realised that I was going to do it. Even if I had to walk that last kilometer, I knew I could do it in ten minutes. My back was starting to hurt bad at this point, and I had a stitch in my side. But I kept going. I could still see Stef, tantalizingly close. I pushed. Suddenly the finish line was looming and then we were done. I barely had time to hit Stop on RunKeeper and notice that my time was under 49min before a nice woman was hauling me out of the crowd to remove my timing chip. I turned around to see the Snook taking my picture. “I did it!” Turns out we all did it. My final time was 48:38; Stef finished about a minute ahead of me; and the boys were each more than ten minutes ahead of that. We posed for one last group shot and then headed off for breakfasts and showers.

    Barry and the Apples

    Of course, the really funny bit is that I just logged on to check the results… and there’s “Barry and the Apples” as the #1 Team in the competition! I nearly fell over laughing. If you look at the results spreadsheet it’s clear that they’ve mistakenly given our team name to the actual winners. But still, now, for the moment, Barry and the Apples are the big winners of the Bay Run 2009.

  • The Tree, Take Two

    The Tree, Take Two
    Once upon a time there was a beautiful little tree. Then some horrible, no-good, very-bad person stole it. And the people who planted the tree were sad, and they thought that maybe the world didn’t deserve nice trees. But the bare patch on the street was so depressing that they decided to try again. So the strong man dug a hole, and the woman filled it with rich earth and worms from her garden…and now there’s a new tree, along with lemongrass and a passionfruit vine. We’ll see.

    New Tree

  • Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus

    Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus. I need to keep that in mind!

  • Shared today on Twitter

    It’s not like I LIKE being the humourless, nagging taskmaster. But it appears to be the only way stuff gets done.

    @mrs_sockvictim Me too. Cranky pants are on. Are you going to knitting?

    ANZ’s site says Access accts can have cheques. Yet when I call, it’s only SECRET SPECIAL accts that can & only M-F staff can set that flag.

    Is anybody going to SSK today? I’m debating.

    @witty_knitter @j_wren Bah, stuck at home doing tax. Sorry to miss it!

    Tasman Summer Tunic is finished and blocking! Does anyone know if Button Shop in the Rocks is open on Sunday?

    @gilmae Yeah… I’m starting to think Spottie’s is my only option.

    12 hours until I run the 7K Bay Run (bayrun.com.au) at Iron Cove. Weather looks good; feeling optimistic. Time for food, water, & sleep! #fb

    Up, dressed, hydrated… just waiting for the taxi to go to the race!

    WOOO! Met both goals: ran whole thing w/out stopping and SMASHED 50 minutes. Congrats to @shanea, @TimBags, and @Steffi_83 too!

  • Shared today on Facebook

    12 hours until I run the 7K Bay Run (bayrun.com.au) at Iron Cove. Weather looks good; feeling optimistic. Time for food, water, & sleep!

  • Mad Cow

    Mad Cow
    For the Snook’s birthday on Thursday, I’d booked us a table at Mad Cow at the Ivy. They have a special Winter Feast offer on right now, and the Snook thought it sounded interesting. (He liked that the menu was divided into two parts: “The Cow,” and “Not the Cow.”) Our first challenge was just finding the place. The Ivy is a large, dimly-lit complex of bars and restaurants packed with beautiful people and no signage. Seriously, WE COULDN’T FIND THE RESTAURANT. Eventually I flagged down a bartender and sheepishly asked where to go. He laughed; apparently this is not a rare occurrence. We were on the wrong level entirely. Eventually we found the place and got our table. The decor was… interesting. The whole white-and-yellow theme was like straight out of the 80’s. The manscaped waitstaff were all trendily dressed-down in jeans and sneakers. They did win points by asking the Snook which gin he’d like for his martini, and whether he’d prefer a twist or olives. We made our identical orders: “3 freshly shucked rock oysters, ginger rice wine dressing, ocean trout roe, chives” to start; “rangers valley wagyu flank steak, spicy barbeque sauce” for the main; and “single selection of local or imported cheese, gala apple, walnut bread” for dessert. The Snook had red wine; I had a James Squire Amber Ale. The food was all excellent. The oysters were beautifully fresh without too much accompaniment. The steak (which attracted a $5 supplementary fee) was a massive “tri-tip” the size of a man’s fist. (We took the waiter’s advice and ordered a side of roast potatoes to go with it.) I’d ordered medium-rare, and it was suitably bloody in the very middle. We chose a blue cheese and a goat’s cheese for our dessert plate, and we enjoyed both. The sommelier (who had a truly formidable mustache) helped me pick out an interesting port to go with it. The place was packed by the time we left, and we carefully threaded our way through the beautiful people to get out and go home.

    Overall, if you can overlook the 80’s wankery then I’d definitely recommend getting in while the Winter Feast promotion is on. The food was good, and you can’t beat three courses plus a drink for $50. Just be sure to dress nice and try not to look too confused when you’re wandering around trying to find the right restaurant…

  • Shared today on Twitter

    ARGH. Another freakin’ Joomla security update. I’m patching the stupid Knitters Guild site practically every weekend now.

    @ironbrandon Very, very, very reluctantly. I spent a lot of time using it at work last year.

    @ironbrandon Sure… but if/when I ever get over to NYC, I want some opera tickets! 🙂

    @Alegrya Which yarn shop? Anything good left?

    Looks like Champion Textiles may be closing. Not terribly surprised. I never got good service, fitout was dirty, and it was kinda smelly.

    @knitness No details except what’s on Rav. Apparently 20% off “Closing Down Sale” happening. Emailed Albie to see if he knows anything…

    @acatinatree Happy birthday! (The geeks are eating lots of cake this week!)

    @kategamble My usage is mostly personal, so no automation. To me, autotweets are more like mailing list; one-way rather than conversation.

    @randomknits WHAT?!

    Lunchtime workout goal: hill repeats.

    Here’s the view down the bastard hill I’ve been climbing… http://twitpic.com/c7rjz

    Just completed a 4.66 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/j3zNr #RunKeeper

    @TimBags I can’t believe I can recognize Dusko just from his chin.

  • Fantastic Mr Fox

    The trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Mr Fox movie is out… and I kinda liked it! (I’m as surprised as you are.) It bears very little resemblance to the original story, but to be honest it was never one of Dahl’s best works anyway. (It also underwent extensive revisions, as the original was even more a glorification of thievery.) I actually chuckled quite a few times during the trailer, especially at the young fox with the tube sock on his head. So for the moment, I’m cautiously optimistic about this one…

    I really should start updating my Dahl site again. This movie could generate some serious traffic.