• LEGO Millenium Falcon
• HUB stainless steel growler
• Soccer socks (mine seem to disappear)
• A couple simple, non-electric, analog soil thermometers. I want to be able to leave one in the cold frame and also have one which I can push into the ground in the garden whenever/whereever I want. I suppose it could be fun to get an auxiliary sensor transmitter station for the Davis and direct bury a number of sensors in the garden. But then I also really need to get a replacement for my poor dead NSLU2 so I have a simple little low power/noise always-on embedded linux box running in the house to do this type of data acquisition and publishing, plus write some simple glue again to push the data where I want it and beautify it.
• Seeds for the 2012 garden:
  • Carrot: Nichols’ VCT631 Yaya 1gm, or Territorial’s CR283-B Yaya 1oz, or Territorial’s CR287-B Romance 1oz
  • Onion: Nichols’ VOP501 Wall Walla plant bundle. And Nichols’ VON623 White Wing 1.5gm, or Territorial’s ON542-S Keepsake 0.5gm
  • Lettuce: Territorial’s LT376-L Blushed Icy Oak sampler and MS474 Mild Mesclun Blend packet. Or Nichols’ VLT305 Flashy Butter Oak 0.5gm and VMX488 Mesclun Mix 4gm
  • Bush bean: Nichols’ VBE635 Trofero Filet 2oz. Or Territorial’s BN021-S Jade Bean 1oz.
  • Powdered Legume Inoculant: Nichols’ MHG244 Powdered Inoculant packet. Or Territorial’s ZFE266 Garden Combo Inoculant smaller packet
  • Green Zucchini Squash: Nichol’s VSQ649 Jackpot Zucchini 3.5gm. Or Territorial’s SQ792-S Emerald Delight Squash 3gm
  • Tomato: gift cards toward Territorial grafted tomatoes when they are available in early spring?
• iTunes or Amazon music download giftcard
• Coffee Joulies, which appear finally available for purchase! Though I’ve read a review which seemed to show they didn’t actually do much?!

Most of what people think of when talking about whether steps should be taken (eg: rules, equipment, pre/post screening) to try to minimize problems associated with concussions in sports is the momentary blacking out or the dizziness and stars of a solid ringer. Stephen’s parents know this in great detail at this point, but for the rest of you parents here: read up on Post-Concussion Syndrome and especially note that even parts of the medical community are conflicted as to whether it is a “real” diagnosis. You will have to advocate for your children in the face of a society that doesn’t yet recognize the scope of this problem.

As an adult I suffered a severe concussion three and a half years ago playing soccer. I don’t remember much of the first three days of 2008 and that January was a challenge for home life, work and grad school. I had a severe concussion also as a young child bicycling in the pre-bike-helmet-days. I’m confident a helmet would have made a significant difference. I don’t really remember that event, a stranger driving me to the local hospital or the subsequent ambulance ride to the regional university hospital. With the 2008 hit I was ordered off of contact sports for 6 months due to a subsequent concussion in that timespan being highly likely to be fatal. That’s real. So too are the changes in terms of symptoms I still feel I have to a small degree even today: Problems tolerating stress/emotion/alcohol, Affect changes, anxiety, or depression, Changes in personality, Apathy, Concentration problems, Irritability.

A few months after my more recent concussion I was chatting about it with a parent on the soccer sidelines who turned out to be a neurosurgeon. He told me these types of symptoms are the biggest struggle his patients face. That says a lot coming from somebody whose job it is to cut into those patients brains!

The debate around concussions is in the news almost weekly. Try to keep some of the above in mind the next time you hear it. And maybe it comes in useful if and when someone you love suffers a concussion.

Day Four. 3:15hrs 10.5mph avg 33.48mi. Very misty at top but jammed down toward HR. Stopped at Apple Valley Country Store late morning for berry pie a la mode. Beautiful sunny day with a gentle cool breeze. Then more rolling up and mostly down, got to shower thanks to Tom’s household and now a brewery is in the cards.

If all goes according to plan we’ll have arrived back in Hood River after riding somewhere between 130 and 200 miles in four days, almost entirely off-pavement with a healthy dose of singletrack mixed in there. This and the three earlier blog posts with profile and terrain info have been automatically pre-scheduled to publish each morning. If there’s mobile phone coverage anywhere along the route (ie: Day 3) then I might have actually managed to also publish a few additional pictures from during the ride (and hopefully that wont have been from an ER while somebody’s collarbone is set). Otherwise there should be some come in the next day or two as my body recovers and I get around to posting things.