Rain...

We finally got some rain! I've never been so excited to see the wet stuff falling from the sky. We all went outside and did a little dance. E actually put on her fancy boots and ran around nude... yep these will be the photo's we bring out in those dark teen years to knock her down a peg or two.

The rain barrel filled up quickly and began overflowing. The temperature fell. It was a beautiful thing. We had several days of rain that followed, and I was glad for it. The little riding I get to do has been on very dry dusty trails, the rain will bed things down nicely. All of this time in the sun really has made us appreciate seasons and weather so much more. It's not that we don't appreciate nice sunny warm or hot days, just that variety is the spice of life, and it's been too long that we haven't had any variety. Thank you rain gods!

English Composition, Anatomy, Physiology, and Chemistry...

.... so I've been stupid busy over the last week and a half or so. Started classes full time, no time to read other blogs let alone post to my own lame blog. For those that are following along:

English Composition. Can I take a moment to rant? This class exists solely to justify to those that wasted their time in this major, why English Composition is important. I've held some mid level positions in some very large corporations, and I can tell you that nothing I ever put my hands on adhered to the MLA standards. Also, has anyone noticed that the fields that once were so prominent and probably used this garbage regularly are going away? It's called evolution folks, colloquial language is the majority, MLA is a minority and shrinking ever day.

On a positive note, I love Chemistry so far, and although there is a ton to absorb, Anatomy and Physiology are excellent as well.

On the bike front, the most riding I've gotten in since school started is pulling Ella in the trailer to the pool. I'm going to have to take advantage of my small window on Tuesdays to ride off road. I'm also thinking I need to utilize some night rides around town.... sigh, such is the life of a broke, student.

Busy week....

So this week was Kathy's birthday. Her folks came to town from MS on Sunday, which means I spent last Sat & Sun cleaning and getting ready for them. I don't know why we go to such lengths to clean and de-clutter, when her folks arrive the house gets trashed in 0.0005 seconds. Keeping up appearances I suppose.

Monday was K's official B-day. I got her two dozen roses, and some aqua globes... yep those cheap ass infomercial things... that's what she wanted. Instead of running around and trying to make her happy all day, she & her mom went to San Antonio to do some sushi for lunch and did a little shopping. That opened up the afternoon for me to ride, and I wasn't about to let an opportunity like that slip away. I had a nice quick lap around the lake... life was good. When I returned, we all got cleaned up and headed back to San Antonio to some seafood place for dinner, thank you father-in-law for picking up the tab!

Tuesday was meet the teacher @ E's school. Her PK4 teacher is really nice, and I think E will really thrive in a scholastic environment... I swear I don't think she's my child!

On Wednesday I had an in person interview for a job that would have been perfect. Sadly I was cold, and haven't really had work on the brain, and have had too much Noggin on the brain, so I failed horribly. I suppose this is just further reinforcement that I need to just get my damn RN and be done with corporate America.

Thursday we loaded up the van and headed to Concan, TX to the Frio river. Kathy had seen an ad in some magazine that showcased this park on the Frio, and it looked wonderful. It was a hellishly long drive, and I honestly don't know if I could tolerate driving that horrible van full time... but I digress. After over 2 hours in the car the river was quite a relief. The water was a little low, but this was a good thing as Ella thinks she's an Olympic swimmer and can't stay out of the water. We had a great time and played and swam in the river for a little over three hours. Then another 2+ hours in the van home, only to shower, change and go back to E's school for a Parents orientation class... that's an hour of my life I won't get back.

Friday morning Kathy had to go back to work, and her parents headed home. My plan was to have a nice quiet day @ home, but a friend we made recently wanted to go to playnastics, so we met them there, then went looking for a new car seat for our friends new foster child, then headed to Chick-fil-a so E and 'bella could play. Got home checked email and got the reject letter from the gig on Wednesday... I knew it didn't go well.

Pretty good week with the family, gotta get focused and get this RN program done so I don't have to deal with lame interviews for job's I'm over qualified for.

Hitting Madrone early with Michael, camera phone pix until I pick up the Audi this weekend.

yeah, yeah keep yer pants on!

Ok, so I'm lame and haven't kept up lately. Not much really to report. Wife is working way too much, I'm going cray @ home with the rug rat, virtual school is much more challenging that I originally thought, can't wait for actual Nursing classes (still have a full semester before I can start).

I haven't been on the bike nearly enough, and I really can't take it much longer. On the weekends when K works late, I can't even sneak out for an early ride because if E wakes up early and K has to watch her, I'm a jerk. I try to go later in the day, but I'm a jerk for not spending time, so no matter how you slice it... I'm a jerk for wanting to ride. Thing is, riding makes me much more mellow, and a better person to be around. It is a healthy thing to do and it could be worse. I could be one of those NFL network guys that stays glued to the TV Saturday-Monday night. I could have a bunch of rowdy drinking buddies over to "watch the game". Or I could be like a lot of my friends who have a "fantasy league"... Then there are the friends I have that do this, and gamble... the way I see it, I'm much easier to deal with.... no?

Have the in-laws in town until Thurs, and am driving mom's "shag'n wagon"... I left my little point-n-shoot in the Audi, so no pix (well maybe camera phone) until next week.

Inflatable Wonerland...

Got a call the other day from our neighbors, they were going to take their son to the Inflatable Wonerland, and wanted us to join them. We did, and boy did E have a blast. She had been to the pool earlier that day, so this was a full on Funday!

Irresponsible parenting....

... so I'm not the best parent. I never claimed to be. I do the best I can with what I have and try to be as good an example as possible. Today, I felt like the best parent in the world. Took E to the pool in the morning, and we were about to wrap it up (after 11 the sun/heat become too much)when a mom, granny and their 3 kids come in. I waited around for a few minutes to see if there would be any chemistry between E and their little girl, who looked younger.... none. The mom, seemed pretty scatter brained, granny didn't have a clue.... typical Texans, nice as can be but not much going on between the ears. So, mom let's the middle boy hit the pool with his floatie ring thing... he's 2ish years old.... typical boy, just wants to be there yesterday. So, he hops on his floatie, but it's an around the waist style, and he's mounted it like a chair.... begins to float away. Granny is too busy looking off into space, while mom is dealing with the youngest..... ~1 year, when it happens... Jr flips forward launching the floatie and leaving him face down in the water... I look over and granny is oblivious and mom has her hands full, but not a word is said, I'm in the water, shirt, flip flops, glasses, hat. get Jr up and out, give him a couple of back pats until he cries, and walk him out to mom.... again, not a word. I'm kinda freaking out a bit inside because if I hadn't jumped it could have gone really bad... I look over @ E and thank the stars above that I'm not that clueless... at least not all of the time ;^)

Redneck Riviera

... so over the holidays I gave my friend Erin a hard time about erecting a trampoline in her back yard. While I think they're fun, they're an eye sore for the lucky neighbors all around.

Well, not to be outdone, I present to you.... "the Redneck Riviera".



What's that? Why don't we just go to the neighborhood pool? Well, you see it's been in the low 100's all week, average temp 103*.... and the "hood" pool doesn't have any shade.

Top that you little Mormon hottie!

Life is good friends

Yeah, that's right....

Tri-geeks.....

.... you can always tell when the tri-geeks have one of their "muddy buddy" races or "off-road triathlons" by the number of drink bottles strewn about, that and all of the reflectors in the technical sections of the trail. I try to clean up as best I can... hate to have the trail I love closed due to some race promoter not doing a thorough job cleaning up after the race. The worst part is that the participants don't realize that the promoters poach the trail (can't have a pay to race event on the Corps land, so they start just outside and then utilize Corps land) and no one has the budget for clean up or trail maintenance. It's up to the local groups Camino Real, or individuals.

some of what was left behind by the tri-geeks on their last event


**** Note to self, bring a couple of trash bags next time so you can clean up more trash.

2nd ride this week

Not sure how or why, but I was granted another free day... who am I to question such things. I was thinking about trying to hook up with the Thursday night swill ride, but the cross bike isn't ready for prime time, so opted to brave the 99* temps and hit madrone again. Again, a nice ride with no time constraints or agenda other than to recharge my mind and soul. I couldn't find the small point & shoot, so all I have are the cell phone pix. Better than not.


Tougher than it looks, the line is right up the tree

Getting tight, watch out for ticks

Fixed Inbred

Inspired by Clair aka Scorpionwoman

Ride

Wow, finally a bike related post. So, I've been in a funk. I haven't been riding much lately, and the rides I've been on, have been lousy. I'm usually rushed, thinking about getting home to take care of E, or clean, mow the lawn, etc. I've let the rut get deep. Today K gave me the best gift I've had in a while.... time, time to myself. Time to ride, to clear the cob webs, to take as long as I wanted. Initially I wasn't going to go, K woke me up early because she thought she heard E fooling around (6:45), but E was sound asleep in her room. I'm also super light sensitive, so once the daylight hit my eyes I was up. Then the dogs wanted breakfast, so my day began. E woke up @ 8:00, K was up half an hour later, and wanted to work out on the elliptical. Needless to say it was ~ 10:00 before I was gathering my things to head out to Madrone, I knew it would be hot, but I didn't care. I just have to get it out of my head and deal with it. Until we move to another part of the country this is my fate.

To give you some sense of scale, the rocks in the middle are not normally visible. The banks on either side are also usually about 2/3 covered in wet stuff.

The lake @ Madrone is lower than I've ever seen it. The trail was in great shape, I only wish I were. I'm back to riding fixed and some fairly simple stuff rocked me, but I didn't give up, even sessioned a few things until I owned them. I don't know what time I got out there, it didn't matter. I took my sweet time, as I didn't have to be anywhere. It was wonderful for my mind, body, and soul. I really must take the time to make time for myself and express that I need this time weekly. I honestly can't remember the last time I had a free day to do as I pleased. I also came to the conclusion that I've been letting negativity toxify me. At first it's little stupid things that annoy me, then bigger things (like having an offer letter and finding out the offer is being withdrawn), and then it becomes all consuming. I need to just let go of these things before they poison me any further. Need to keep focus, and work on the things in my life I can make better. So, note to self, let it go man. Let it all go and you'll be a better person for it. Being on the bike is not my addiction or drug, it is my detox, it is exactly what the Dr. ordered.

Peace...

What to do on a 158* day?

?.... why go to the jump castle place of course!



Can't wait until summer!

Road ride?!?!?!?

This is what I'm reduced to. Michael was good enough to join me on a mission to mission ride in da hood of South San Antonio last night. I have no idea what the mileage was, but we were on skinny tires (me on the old Panasonic, M on his X-check)he was running gears (sorta) while I was sporting 42x16 on some tiny 700x23's... I really need to get some 28 or 30's on there to make the ride more fun.... that or get an x-check of my own.

While not exactly an exciting ride, we did spy loads of "natives" enjoying the filthy waters edge of the San Antonio river, also at least 3-4 packs of ferrel dogs running wild in the streets. Next time I'll bring the camera!

I'm a sad excuse....

... lately it seems most of the blogs or bloggies I follow have been ignoring their blogs and have been concentrating more heavily on FB or Twitter. Can't blame anyone there really, I got hooked on FB for a while, but find that I enjoy reading blogs much more. So, as of late I've been following Kent Peterson's blog. If you're into cycling, Kent is the real deal. Once you get into his style, his writing really gets to you, at least it has for me. While I've been following his blog for about a year now, it's not until today that I read his epic journey from Canada to Mexico on a single speed. I'm amazed by the guy, and wish I could just absorb some of his knowledge and wisdom. Kent is what I wish I were more like in my life. Although he is a brilliant guy who was a software engineer for many years, he's chosen to give up on the BS and do what he enjoys. Really what more is there to life? He seems to be very content with his arrangement and has made it work out. Kent, if you ever get to reading this, I wish I had some of what you've got. I wish I could give up the life of "want" and just be happy with the simple things. I know deep down inside I don't need all of this, and I only need to take small steps to eventually get to where I need to be. Thank you Kent for your words and inspiration.

Awesomeness....

.... Is having a daughter that loves to ride.Today was a great day to cruise the neighborhood, overcast, loads of cloud cover and a nice breeze. She's awesome on the thing, can't wait to get her out on the trails!



Wish I were as styling as this

Another fine day of Irish weather....

If you're one of the two people who follow this thing, you know that we live on the border of Hell & Hotter than Hell. Most of the time I can't stand getting outside during normal daylight hours as the sun just about melts me. Whenever we have the possibility of rain or an overcast day, I jump for joy. Yesterday was one of those spectacular days, overcast all morning with some drizzle in the afternoon. Needless to say, I had to take advantage of the fine weather and the fact that I did not have daddy duty. Off I went to the Madrone trail. Wow, it's dry out there. It's been a harsh winter with very little rain. The lake is as low as I've ever seen it, as you can see by the abandoned truck dumped in the lake.... wonder if the driver got out... didn't feel like checking... this time.


In other news, I've decided to take a break from perpetual motion.... yep, no longer scorching the inbred.


Initial thoughts were... well strange. There were a couple of times on the slight techy downs that I tried to apply a little back pressure on the cranks only to have them spin backwards... amazing how your brain holds on to past information. After the front section of the trail, I did pick up a load of speed, by the time I hit flying cactus I was zipping around like I'd never scorched on that bike before. In the end, coasting is fun, but I do love to ride a fixie off road. I think I'll keep it spinny for a while. When the new project gets off the ground I'll go back to scorching with it.

Okie dokie, that's it for a while. Have a safe and happy weekend all.

Gone.... (or a silly long run on sentence)

buh-bye....



... so in these tough economic times one does what one has to do. The Vassago pretty much sat in the garage 98% of the time, instead I tend to ride my cheap-o on-one inbred franken fixie... don't know why exactly it's like driving a civic with a fart-can exhaust when you have a proper race car in the garage... maybe that was part of it. The Vassago, while very capable off road, was more of a garage/trailer queen. I liked the look of it, it would last forever, but I didn't enjoy riding it. The crappy inbred always won out... so I did what any guy who hasn't worked 8 months would do... I sold it. The other thing I found, is that as much as I wanted to love my 29er experience I just didn't. While I think it's a spectacular platform for tall, fit folks, us short, fat, out of shape folks just need a little more room for the boy(s) and need a rear wheel that will get up to speed faster. Hence the beauty of the 69er or 96er. All the benefits of a big wheel up front & all the benefits of a smaller lighter wheel out back. The funds of the chi-chi Ti race bike will go to good use as we're having a patio put in the back yard. The builder gave us a little 10x12 covered porch which is nice until you get furniture and a grill out there, throw in a plant or twelve and there's no room. The new patio will be 27x12 with a 2' bump out on the existing 10' section of the original porch. The old porch will then be enclosed with screening. We'll finish off the patio with a shade sail to give us a break from the brutal Texas sun (our house is oriented with the back facing south... sun all afternoon). I need to find an ROI model for a pavestone patio to see if we'll see any $ back when we go to sell.

Wow been a while

So yep, I've been slackin'. I haven't been on technology for a while, I think I got Facebooked out... it became clear one night when Kathy came home from work and asked where Ella was.... I just pointed out back.... Poor thing was in the back yard naked playing in the sand box. I suppose that would have been the breaking point. So after being threatened with divorce and getting it together I decided to take a break for a while. I'm not sure if I'll ever FB again to be honest, it just sucks you in and you can't let go. Blogging is a bit less addictive, and still allows me to keep in touch with friends. So that's what I'm up to.

The weight loss thing is rocky. I began eating well, and running in the mornings, but that only lasted a short while and I'm back to it. It's tough to break old habits, especially as I creep closer and closer to the big four-oh! I can do it, I just have to set it up and stick to it. The first 30 days will be the toughest, after that I'm sure I'll be loving it.

And in other news... after nearly 20 years out of school, I'm apparently not nearly as dumb as I thought. I was able to utilize transcripts from my times in school before and able to put them to good use! No math needed other than what I already have for my degree!!! So all that was left was to take an English placement test... out of a possible 100 I scored a 94... not too bad considering the last English course I took was a high school level course in 1988!!! Holy sh!t am I really doing this? I can knock out my first class in 20 days in a program called "Maymester" where you go to class 5 days a week 4 hours a day for 20 days. Now that's my kind of school.... it was as I was getting ready to sign up that my phone rings. Fate is a biotch.... Verizon wants me to come be part of the team. So now the dilemma... do I blow them off or go ahead and interview.... 3 interviews later and it's looking like I may be back in the working world. If this is the case, I'm still going to knock out my pre-recs at night and Kathy will enter the "bridge" program. It's only a year, then I can leave the workforce and go back to school full time. Two short years later and I'll be an RN... and with any luck I'll be able to convince Kathy that VA is the place to be.

Madrone trail ride

rode the madrone trail on Thursday as Kathy had the day off and wanted to spend some girl time with Ella. I had a good ride, but as mentioned in my previous post, I'm feeling really out of shape and fat. Rather than feel sorry for myself for getting to such a point in my life, I've decided to make a change. The trail is really the one to thank. As I rode along I found numerous bits of trash from people being lazy and not caring about this wonderful resource, which made me reflect on how people can be so self involved, lazy, etc...




HELLO FAT A$$, the trash that makes me sick out on the trail is no different than what I'm doing to my body! I ignore it, treat it like crap, fill it full of trash, and then wonder how I got here. Well, no more! If I can clean up the trail, I can clean myself up. It's time to awaken from the slumber I've been in. Time to open my eyes and realize that I've only got this one body and this one life to live. If I sit back and ignore it, it will pass me by sooner than I want it to, and I won't have enjoyed the ride. 2009 is my year for change. Thank you Madrone trail, you're wisdom is greatly appreciated.

from the boat ramp, my favorite place to stop and "think"... nice views too

I'm fat.....

... yes, this is nothing new, but I'm finally feeling fat. I've reached a point where I either need to accept the fact that I'm going to be fat forever or I need to really step it up and stop the current lifestyle. When we lived in Atlanta (Roswell actually) I got on a running kick and did really well. Lost ~ 20lbs, but more importantly lost 3" around the middle and was gaining muscle mass again. I need to get back to that place. I stayed pretty well on course even after the move, but once we moved to the second temporary house, and my work schedule kicked in, I lost all interest in working out, and my attitude went downhill with my fitness.

The challenge I face: a picky eating 3 year old. Like most kids these days, she's hooked on pop-tarts and the like. This is a serious challenge in that when she eats, I eat and I've ballooned to maximum capacity since being the stay at home dad. The upshot here is that I've never known a kid who likes fruit as much as she does, so maybe I can coax her into a better nutritional regimen via fruit, and slowly introduce more veggies. I also feel it's important to influence her life with healthy eating and exercises as we only have a few good years left before the outside influences take over.

The plan.

Slowly introduce a healthier diet. I'm going to start off by trying to change breakfast from pre-packaged refined foods to whole foods. Once this is in place for a few weeks, we'll incorporate lunch, a few weeks later dinner. Loads of research to do on this still as I have no clue what a growing girl really needs.

Exercise... this one is easy. The one thing I have going for me is my 3 y.o. would rather be outside doing anything, she's an outdoor nut. The plan here will be daily walking with the dogs, weekly hikes (2 places close by that are perfect & fun), bike rides... new walking bike should help here, and as fast as she's going I can probably ride the wife's cruiser next to her. Solo runs... ugh, this is the part I love/hate. Once out there and doing it, I love running (well, jogging really but that's as much as you get from me) the part I'm not going to love is the 5am wake up to achieve this goal. I know I'll get used to it, but it will be a challenge given my current physical condition and lack of motivation.

My dream is to get down to 140-5 lbs. My goal is a more realistic 155-158 lbs. The time frame for all of this? Well, back in the day I could drop 20 lbs no problem in 2-4 weeks, now pushing 40, the weight doesn't like to come off as easily and I know a crash diet won't do me any good. So, from what I've read, a healthy weight loss plan is 1-2 lbs per week. My current weight of 191 lbs with a goal of 155 lbs means that if I go it slow, as is recommended, and I lose 1 lb a week, I should be to my goal in 36 weeks or 9 months (like giving birth in reverse... interesting). If I start off 3/09 I should be to my goal by 12/09 or for my 40th birthday. Now, should I achieve my goal, I will have to reward myself with some sort of gift (and since I'm not much of a gold chain/corvette kind of guy) I'm thinking a killer mountain bike (think the wife will go for it?)

Anyway, wish me luck and follow along is you're that bored. Hell, if LFOAB can do what he's done I can achieve this goal.

Walmart*

Yesterday I was at Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Iams Dog Food
for my loyal pet, Remy, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

What did she think I had, a fuckin' goat? I told her no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the "Iams Diet" again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because
I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I
awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my
orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it
works is to load your pants pockets with Iams nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so
it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here
that practically everyone in line was now listening to my story.)

Shocked, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food
poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish
Setter's ass and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was
laughing so hard i expected him to pee his pants. Long story short, Wal-Mart won't let me shop there anymore.















* Originally a version of this story appeared on CL, but I thought it was funny enough to re-post to my blog

67*'s and foggy

And Kathy has Ella, this could only mean one thing. I was going to get my fat arse out and ride... wow, have I lost a ton of fitness in the last month and a half. Gotta get back on some sort of program, even if that means early AM runs on the treadmill.

Went to the Madrone trail, weather was down right brilliant, 67 degrees, no sun, loads of fog. Visibility as I pulled up to the lake was maybe 100 yards. The fog, while great at keeping the sun off my poor skin, didn't do me any favors on the rocky terrain of the Madrone trail. The rocks were super slippery and I felt like I was back east... it was wonderful. Of course, my chums back east are out riding in 20 degree weather, so I am spoiled... for now. No great action shots as it was too wet to take chances with the new camera.

A few parking lot shots to show off the Texas equivalent of mud.




Which reminds me, I need to see if Ricky has any more of those 1 beer stickers or the artwork so I can have some printed up

To Protect & Serve....

.... so a blog that I follow recently had a post about being attacked by some junkies while riding his bike. He was lucky in that the would be assailants had to scale a fence before reaching him. The first junky slipped and fell on his head, the second attacker got up to him and tried to strong arm him, but got knocked down due to the momentum of the 24 mph bike. I responded to his post by saying that I was glad he was not injured, and that I didn't see violence as his style, but should he choose to defend himself moving forward I thought a particular fire arm would be a good choice.

Responding back a bit later, a poster gafalled at the notion of protecting ones self and said the poster should have called the police. This made me think for a moment, what would I do? As a younger and single male, I would have given these two a shake down. As a husband and father, would I take a chance like that and go Mano y Mano? Not likely. If I had a weapon would I take their lives?

My argument for yes... In a large City/Urban environment the police are overwhelmed with violent crime, and an attempted "mugging" would be put very low on the priority list. This is why drug attics take advantage of such situations. Also, since the would be robbers failed on this attempt, what if anything did they learn? Certainly not to get off of drugs and to lead worth while lives as productive members of society... more than likely they learned that trying to scale a fence prior to an attack is a bad idea, they also probably learned a little bit about physics. So the next time they decide to attack an unsuspecting bike commuter, they'll hide in the shadows, and will utilize a blunt object as a means to dismount their victim.

My argument against... I'm a father and husband, do I really want to tangle with two dumb ass druggies? Would I be justified had I used a weapon against two men who meant to do me bodily harm and take my property, or would I spend a decade or greater away from my family in jail? Could they take the weapon away from me in a struggle and make my wife a widow and leave my daughter with out a father?

What would you do?

Gone, but not forgotten...

... I write this with a heavy heart for I have suffered a loss tonight. A good friend, who never asked anything of me other than time and care but gave back more than I can describe in words is gone, but not forgotten. I will miss you old friend, you deserve more than I could provide.



A bit of my cycling soul has been sold, but the new owner looks like a good lot. Take good care of him Jonathan, and if you decide it's not working out, don't hesitate to let me know.

Possible solution to my job situation....

...Australia offers 'best job in world' on paradise island
Buzz Up Send
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Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print Mon Jan 12, 10:16 pm ET AFP/File – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- … SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.

The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner's home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's state government announced on Tuesday.

In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.

The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.

"They'll also have to talk to media from time to time about what they're doing so they can't be too shy and they'll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors," said acting state Premier Paul Lucas.

"The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world."

Lucas said the campaign was part of a drive to protect the state's 18 billion Australian dollar a year tourism industry during the tough economic climate caused by the global financial meltdown.

"Traditional tourism advertising just doesn't cut it sometimes and we are thinking outside the box by launching this campaign."

Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said some people might question whether it was risky to let an unknown person become an unofficial tourism spokesperson for the state.

"I think the biggest risk will be that the successful candidate won't want to go home at the end of the six months," she said.

"This is a legitimate job which is open to anyone and everyone."

Applications are open until February 22. Eleven shortlisted candidates will be flown to Hamilton Island in early May for the final selection process and the six month contract will commence on July 1

This place is a zoo....

... since I'm the official stay at home dad, the riding has been significantly reduced and more family friendly activities have ensued. On Sunday our friend Simona and her son Noah asked Ella and I if we'd like to go to the zoo with them. Ella's been sick, but she forgot all about that when we got to the zoo. While the San Antonio Zoo is nice, it has nothing on the National Zoo in DC.


Ella & Noah feed the sheep

NYD ride....

Today was the annual NYD ride @ Madrone. I brought my friend Alan H. who is quite fit, but could use a little more work on the MTB skill department. This was the perfect opportunity for him to work on his skills as it's a very social ride. 1/2 way through I got a pinch flat and didn't have a proper tube.... long walk back to the car. I did catch some (sh!tty) video of Alan S. cleaning the boat ramp via cell phone camcorder... gotta remember my snazzy little digi cam next time as it's got a better resolution... I think?