Koonce Family Blog

NutureShock book review

2012-02-04T22:15:00.001-08:00

Normally book reviews are on my technical blog, but I am reading a book about how kids develop. The first part of the book focuses on "the inverse power of praise" and specifically how it is important to provide praise for the process not rewarding the finish. Research shows that frequent reward does not develop persistence and leads to people being "praise junkies". I may be in that camp to some degree.
Not telling your child they are smart leaves it up to them, and robs them of the chance to learn that for themselves.

The author hits on other subjects
* Sleep - it is important for them/us
* Race - it is complicated to get the kids to not have bias, it is sort of counterintuitive in some cases
* lying - promoting truthfulness leads to more lying and they learn from watching their parents. just remind them of expectations
* tattling - it is the era of holding info back if you tell them you don't want to hear it.

I am halfway through the book and looking forward to reading the rest.

HAPPY Chinese New Year - Year of the golden dragon

2012-02-04T19:26:00.001-08:00

Abby wanted to know why people worship (or celebrate) dragons, so today we went to the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. It is the year of the Golden Dragon which means that there is prosperity for everyone in the new year.
We are going to talk with our friend Ann Xu tomorrow to learn more about this and beforehand we decided to brainstorm some questions. Here are the questions she came up with.
How many chinese dragons are there?
Why are dragons important to people.
What do Chinese dragons eat?
What is your favorite color chinese DRAGON?

After getting back home from the Garden today, I asked her what she saw. The list includes:

a fantastic chinese dragon

people with fuzzy pants ( performers )

Groups of fish

lanterns of all sorts

The Chinese have a lot of great traditions and one of them was hanging riddles from the ceiling to exercise your mind.
Abby impressed us with her ability to decipher a few of them including: What building has the most stories? AND What has four legs, but never moves? Answers at the bottom.

We ate puffy rice bars, sugar mango and the traditional Moon cakes. The flavors the kids tried were the mung beans and red beans variety and they were both very sweet! The kids also had tea; Abby had the Orange Cranberry, which was very good and Amelia had peppermint.

Dinner with Grandpa and Grandma

2012-02-03T04:29:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic time last week with Grandpa and Grandma sharing dinner, stories and our new favorite game Wig Out!

It is fun that we're at a point where we can all play the same game and it is very enjoyable for the kids and grown ups alike.

Amelia's getting to be a better reader and has a good pointer finger that helps her sound out words.

Grandpa and Grandma read a bit of Return of the Dragon to them both, they are both fascinated with dragons, so that is a big deal in the Koonce household right now. The books are actually entertaining for everyone too, so I guess that's just a sign of the times until the kids get to a point where they specifically don't like what we do (ha!)

Amelia Masterpiece of all time!

2012-01-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

A beautiful piece of work.

Building Beavers one Nephew at a Time

2011-12-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a future Beaver proud of his Christmas gift. Go Henry!

Christmas Gifts Part 1

2011-12-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

We celebrated with my family in Milwaukie with my sister's family. It was a great time and the kids had a lot of fun. Abby was very happy with her Dragons!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

My favorite quotes of the morning " this is the best Christmas ever!"

When we root, we root for the Timbers!

Can I take the fire out of the mouth of the dragon?
Dragonology, cool! Now I can learn everything about dragons.

Santa was a busy guy this year!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2011-12-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

We put out treats for Santa and his reindeers. Santa had a nice mix of cookies and a butterscotch steamer and the reindeers got eight slices of carrot. Prancer gets the one with the top.

Christmas Eve was a nice day we decorated the Gingerhead House, opened the Playmobile Santa who got into his sleigh.

Susan readied the Christmas Eve gifts for the kids (the traditional pajamas with an added bonus was the candle that would help light Santa's way tonight as he finds the treats. The kids had a great time walking through the Oaks Bottom refuge.

Do you see George, You really had a Wonderful Life.

No man is a failure who has friends.

Little Package Cap #29 — Earflap Cap Archive — Shop — Little Package Cycling Caps

2011-11-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

This Little Package cap is definitely on my Christmas list. My big head needs a little larger size than this one, but you have to love the quality of the handmade design. It's also consistent with the goal of going local this holiday season.

#29 — Earflap Cap Archive — Shop — Little Package Cycling Caps:

'via Blog this'

Abby's Second Grade Report Card

2011-10-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is old, but I just found this and thought it would be worth saving in some way.

Here were a few excerpts from the comments on Abby's 2nd Grade Report Card from Missy Duncan.
I've enjoyed having Abby in my class this year. Abby is always willing to help out in the classroom when I need something. Although she would rather read books all day, she is starting to add more detail to her daily writing and stories. I've also noticed that Abby is paying more attention in Math. She's picked up on number strings, carrying and borrowing quite quickly.

Amelia at 5 Years, plus some

2011-10-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Amelia has been 5 for over six months now, but we just had her check up last month and I just found the sheet, so here's an update on her.

She is 44 1/4" which is 55% for her age and 43.8 lbs, which is 55%, so slightly above average. She's in kindergarten in Mrs. Tursi's class which has been a pretty good transition, except the long days means she's a little cranky in the afternoons. She's starting to sound out words and is having fun with all of the art projects in the classroom.

Favorite 5 Things from our Vacation

2011-07-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

There were so many great memories from our trip, it is worth making a list.

We had a great time celebrating the marriage ceremony of Paul and Geske. It was wonderful to learn about the Danish traditions and more about the culture. The kids had a chance to be in a setting that was unfamilar and they did quite well.

I had a new experience in Europe, driving! We took the kids to Egeskov Castle and toured the grounds. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the various museums, tree climbs, and play structures.

The travel between Copenhagen and Odense was a fun couple of train rides down to Svendborg. We enjoyed people watching in the Copenhagen train station. This was a nice warm up for the Night Train which we would take down to Amsterdam.

Getting to Delft, we got on our bikes. Abby had a great time riding the City and exploring. She did a great job following along, paying attention to the various signals, street markings, and bumps that are common in the Dutch engineering practices. Of couse, there were lots of pictures of the innovative transportation applications.

We enjoyed a visit with the students out to a greenhouse, the Netherlands has a dizzying array of them throughout this part of the country. They are automated and have a great way to operate with very little energy consumption.

In the picture Peter Furth (the professor that shared his program with us), took Amelia on for a while in the greenhouse.

On that same trip, we made it to the North Sea. It was a windy day, but we enjoyed dipping our toes in and playing on the beach.

The Dutch culture is very welcoming and touring the Cities was enjoyable.

Having Fun with the Students in Houten

2011-07-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a bicycle tour of the City of Houten to explore the unique design of the ring road and the bicycle highway that runs through the City.
More about that on the Peter Koonce Blog.

View Larger Map

The fun we had was that we came across a zip line and they got me to take a ride. I could have been going a little faster, but here's what it looked like.

On the way to the North Sea

2011-07-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

A few more photos of the girls on bikes. It rained a bit on us on the way there, but we didn't melt.

Abby and Amelia hit the North Sea

2011-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Abby and Amelia biked with the PSU class. Here they are getting a class in sand play with the students. They're building a roundabout and testing the course with the volleyball.

This isn't just any roundabout though, it is a roundabout that allows bicycles to travel underneath. We found the exact model of this on the following day in Houten (or at least I did).

Abby bikes and Amelia Rides Through the Streets of Delft

2011-07-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

A bike box in Delft prioritizes bikes over right turning traffic.
In the Netherlands, right turn on red isn't allowed.

Abby and Amelia joined us on the third day of the class, which would end up 36 miles later going from Delft to the North Sea and back. It was all day trip with stops at a greenhouse control system company, a greenhouse, a central market along the way, and the beach. Leaving TU Delft (the University), we wound our way through the streets of Delft which are chaotic at times and really fascinating when you're able to wander through them. When you are on your bike, the facilities seem like a joy and you want to bring them back to the U.S. When you are on your bike beside your 8 year old, they seem too narrow, with scooters zipping by and cars that are still too close for comfort.

Since Abby is an accomplished rider, all in all they are pretty good facilities.
On this trip to the beach we added a stowaway in the form of Amelia. Where is she in this picture you ask?
She's on a tag along rack, riding on a pillow. We saw the Dutch do this on so many occassions, we thought we would try it. It turned out it worked with some modifications. Later, we took Susan's backpack off which gave her a little more room to look around. It was also clear that we needed to slide up on the seat of the bike to make sure she wasn't leaning back, but that wasn't so difficult.

All in all, a good day and a nice way to get from the beach and back.

Ikea provides guidance on life

2011-07-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

We visited Ikea on the way home from the first day's orientation. It was actually the most convenient stop to pick up towels and things that we didn't bother to pack through the travels for the first week of the trip.

It was odd because we had talked to the students that we have brought over to Delft about our expectations we have for them. It was also very different than the time we spent sharing with them in the main part of the City where we got them to their dorm rooms and showed them where to get phones if they wanted one. These errands were completed in the Central City where bikes are king.

The Ikea parking lot is much different, but still has bicycle amenities and paths up to the store. It definitely looks different on the outside than one in the U.S. would.

Inside the store is exactly the same. I have been to Ikea probably two or three times. I found the sign here amusing. They were basically providing career guidance with this sign, suggesting.... " FIND YOUR WAY".

Touring Delft

2011-07-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Delft is a beautiful city. A relatively small town that has a huge center to the city that anyone who visits Delft has seen. It is clearly the arrived moment in Delft.
We cruised through the City and had a great time exploring the town, although we didn't do anything touristy. Sunday is a little bit slower day in Delft because many of the shops are family run and they are closed for the day. The souvenir shops were open and so we previewed what we might get for friends at home.
The bikes were fun to ride through the City. Abby commented that people here didn't seem to mind being in her way and she felt they were rude as she was biking through the pedestrian area. To her credit, the signs are all new and the language on them are Dutch.

We made a stop for the obligatory photo opportunity in the wooden dutch shoe in the Markt Square. Abby didn't want to share the shoe with Amelia, but we got them to cooperate after a brief negotiation.

It was a beautiful day, a little cold in the shade or when the wind picked up, but we were clearly enjoying July in Holland. It was a little cooler than home, which was nice considering that we wanted to be active and spend time outside most of the day.

We ended our trip to town with some grocery shopping at the C1000. The complete opposite of the Market experience and one that we're not interested in repeating. It reminded me of Winco Foods with value shopping and a hectic checkout line. Hopefully, we bought enough for a few days.

On our way home we ended going back a different way through the OostPortBurg or East Gate.

Bike Snob Euro All Terrain Kid Cruiser

2011-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

.I recently finished reading Bike Snob and of course as with most folks that have a book, they also have a blog. Bike Snob's is here. If you a) have too much time on your hands and b) are fascinated by bicycles, than check it out. If you can't say yes to both of these questions, don't. Regardless of that, we came across this at the Delftse Hout camping area and I had to post something about it. This was originally a mountain bike. I am assumign that because of the full suspension and nobby tires. The person that owned the bike probably got too old and just needed mroe transportation than shredding down a mountain, so added the cruiser handlebars. The last fun addition was the Trail Gator for pulling the kid behind, which adds another level to this transition bike that just addes to its uniqueness. That and the turquoise tires which scream for attention.

Marketing your City

2011-06-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Simple, effective marketing. You want a city that connects with you. The I amsterdam sculpture is a pretty easy way to buy yourself some photo opportunities. It is a simple metal sculpture next to the Rijksmuseum. It's probably a little out of place from a historic and cultural landmark point of view and I imagine it was hated when it was first installed by the local community, but it works for the tourists that are in the area for the museums. The girls got a kick out of it and it had Abby singing a made up song about Iamsterdam. Sheet metal, paint, and creativity.

Building from 1627

2011-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable architecture in Amsterdam and the construction that has standed the test of time.
Perhaps the old adage of bend but don't break would be a better pun, these homes are definitely leaning in and maybe that was the reason the roof was slanted in on the top.
I asked Abby if she knew what the numbers meant and she astutely answered, is it the address. When I told her it was the year the house was built she exclaimed Whoa!

Amsterdam Trams

2011-06-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

You can't spell Amsterdam without T R A M S. Okay, not exactly in the right order but you get my drift.
It seems you can't be anywhere in the central city without being a few blocks away from one of the white and blue rail cars. They are fairly ubiquitous throughout the first and second ring of canals. This was not a new thing for the girls although negotiating them with bags was something we don't do much in Portland! Our hotel is two blocks from a stop and that made it easy to get from the Centraal station where our overnight train dropped us off with just one transit connection to make. Luckily, we only brought one rollerbag per person and Abby could carry her bag. It was tough for Amelia who had a roller bag backpack, but couldn't quite manage to lift it over things much, especially when she was TIRED!
We did fine though, we just had to keep in mind to take it easy and luckily when you miss one tram in Amsterdam, the next one is bound to be on its heels in a minute or two.

Vondelpark Highlights

2011-06-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

We are staying near the Riksmuseum area of Amsterdam which gave us easy access to Vondel Park. It is one of those urban areas that makes you feel like you're in the 'burbs. There are carfree paths that are primarily for bikes (some high speed ones at that) and it was also an area where parents were teaching their kids to ride, so there were a few close calls. Walking in Amsterdam is an experience. One thing that Portland does extremely well is focus on the pedestrian experience... in Amsterdam, not so much.
The park was one such example. But this is a discussion for the "Transportation blog".

This play structure was a little daunting to me, but Abby didn't seem to mind. She scampered up the three (perhaps four?) story structure of ropes in the A frame and across the wire mesh tunnel to the slide portion. Amelia was a little slower, but still made it. It left me a little tense when Amelia felt like she couldn't make it but was being very stubborn and I had visions of a trip to the emergency in a foreign country. Yikes! All in all, a nice day to walk in the park to and a nice start to the stay in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam Centraal

2011-06-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't know it from this picture that the family had travelled in the Night Train from Odense. We arrived about two hours late. Luckily, they made some of the folks heading to Cologne (Koln) transfer at Hannover.
We were fortunate that we didn't need to and were on the train until the end, yet the extra two hours on the train wore thin on everyone and maybe that's part of the reason everyone is smiling in this picture.

Ever felt like this guy?

2011-06-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Tough day for travelling on the night train. I think having kids in that small of space with limited food was a difficult combination. Perhaps the kids are just tired of being away from home, I don't know but it seemed like one of those days where all of us could make a mountain out of a mole hill and feel like we were carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Svendborg Beach

2011-06-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our trip west from Copenhagen to Svendborg for two nights. It was a nice break from the City and as a coastal town commonly does, we got to visit the beach.

We borrowed some bikes and hit the streets. It was a short ride to the beach and as luck would have it, it was one of the warmest days they have had in awhile, so we weren't the only ones with the idea.
So when we arrived it felt a little more crowded than I expected and got busier as the day went on. The beach was very nice and the sand reminded me a bit of Oregon. There was no terrain to speak of and it is fairly far inland, so no waves to speak of except when a ship rolls by and creates them for us. It didn't seem like the ships had to be that significant either,

Geske and Lau joined us a little later and enjoyed some lunch with us. The Danish love their ice cream (so do Oregonians) and hot dogs and it seems like in every snack bar that combination is bound to be present in some form. I think it is in the U.S. as well, but perhaps it is just that we're choosing to eat them here more than I would have expected.

Geske was the star of the show when she helped Abby catch a crab. We had a lot of un with the jellyfish as well, but the crab resulted in some major squeals and excitement.

Our ride back from the beach was nice although after a few hours of soaking in the rays, I was ready for a shower and some time in the shade.

Egeskov Castle

2011-06-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

National Museum by Guest Blogger Abby Koonce

2011-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

First, we went to the museum. The museum had a alot of nice exhibits. We went to one separate Children's Museum within the National Museum.
At the National Museum we saw a lot of old fashioned things. When we went in the exhibit on Danish history, we saw a sailboat that was really detailed.
Then, we went into a room that was full of doll houses. The doll houses were old fashioned and very big. The pictures show the outside of the house and the inside. You had to go around the back and there was a window on the other side that let you see the inside. (The doll houses are historically significant because they were first made for the elite and royalty and over time become commonplace. They gave girls a chance to learn about their place in the home - direct translation - yikes!)

Finally, in the Children's Museum there was a big horse that you could sit on and pretend to ride.
My favorite part of the Children's Museum was the Viking ship. I got to dress up as a girl Viking and so did Amelia. There was a plastic fish tied to a piece of wood, so you could fish while on the boat. (When we got there I told the girls to go and pillage, but I think that was lost on them).

Being in the ship made me feel like a viking.

Then, we went to the midieval area and tried on some chain mail armor. The helmet was HEAVY!
(and now for a leading question:)

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip, because it gave me a chance to explore, pretend, and touch.

Copenhagen: #12 Most Expensive City in the World

2011-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

... and I believe it. There was a lot of grumbling about prices as we visited Copenhagen. The US $ was near 5.2 Krone which is as low as it has been since 2007 and lower than the nearly 6 that it was last year when I was in country. It makes an expensive city even less affordable. The McDonalds Cheeseburger index even seemed askew, with the cost of one of Mickey D's finest hovering just under $2 US. Come on Danes, haven't you heard of the $1 Value meal?

Perhaps more importantly was a 12 oz. beer at the local convenience store was 11.95 Kroner, which is $2.27. We're not talking microbrews now, it's Carlsberg, which is local but is clearly a microbrewed Pilsner. I am not one to say it wasn't tasty after a long day of walking through the streets of CPH, but it does make one pause when purchasing a tasty beverage. A latte at the local kiosk was $4.77.

What's more is that Danes love to drink. I am not just talking about alcohol either. Really, anything. For the wedding, we started out with a latte, a beer, champange, white wine, red wine, cognac, baileys and coffee, and sparkling water.

Bloomberg reports the following....
No. 12 Most Expensive City: Copenhagen

Quick lunch: $38.40 Beer at a bar: $8.95
Kilogram of rice: $5.90 Dozen eggs: $7.30
Movie theater ticket: $16.20 Transit ride: $2.67

Copenhagen, Denmark's capital and largest city, fell to No. 12, from No. 8, in ECA International's 2010 ranking. Denmark's economy, hit by a real estate slump and growing unemployment, contracted slightly in 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011 as public and private consumption fell and the country entered recession, reported Bloomberg News.

I added the transit ride category to the information that they provided there. I was going to add a Starbucks coffee, but there isn't a single one that I have found. Seems a bit surprising to me, but there aren't that many McDonalds or other fast food joints either, which is nice.

So, after my trip to Tokyo and Copenhagen, I can say I have experienced some of the most expensive big cities in the world.

Another article about this was found here.

Solstice Celebration in Copenhagen

2011-06-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

In Denmark, the solstice celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St. John's Eve"). In accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.
It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. In Christianhavn, the bonfires is on the beach, and there is a community event with a band and beer tent. The celebration was complete with the tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth on the bonfire to recall the witch burnings from the 16th Century.

The bonfire on the beach was impressive.

Amelia napped on the way to dinner.

Little Mermaid

2011-06-24T01:36:00.000-07:00

Identified as one of the most visited tourist attractions in Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid statue is a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen's work.
I found the statue this trip as opposed to last year when the statue was temporarily relocated, rock perch and all for the World's Fair.

The kids enjoyed the mermaid, although Abby indicated that the tail wasn't as she anticipated and we had to discuss the pros and cons of a more substantial tail in detail.

Gefion Fountain

2011-06-23T23:41:00.000-07:00

I am struck by the size of this monument and could not help but blog about it. This statue is showing oxen being driven by the legendary Norse goddess, Gefjun. I can't help but think of Portlandia when I look at this, so I guess it is an ode to my roots. This also makes me think about the noble nature of money these days. Today, you hear more about donations to college football programs as compared to bequests for art installations such as this.

Wikipedia describes this as a donation to the City from the Carlsberg family.

Amalienborg Square

2011-06-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Royal Guard were busy with a changing of the post when we arrived in Amalienborg Square.
We arrived just before the tour bus, which seemed like they were a little late in arriving as the Guard had just finished a few of the changes and were making the rounds to collect all of their members to complete the transition from one crew to another.
Having just woken up from a little nap on our backs, Amelia was a little shy and didn't want to get too close to the Guards. I think their bear skin caps were concerning to her. They sort of make me think of the nutcracker and make them look like toys if you ask me. I guess the guns are real.

Marmorkirken (Marble Church) or Frederikskirken (Frederik's Church)

2011-06-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

In a country not known for their religion, they have a wonderful place of worship in this church inspired by St. Paul's Cathedral (London).
Frederik V order construction of the church in 1749, only to be completed in 1894. Abby said she didn't like that she had to be silent in it, because she "likes to talk". I think this was the continued marching through the strets of Copenhagen talking, at this point Amelia was falling asleep and we barely made it through lunch and onto the Little Mermaid, which was our ultimate destination on the second day here in Copenhagen.
The interior of the chruch was beautiful. We found it very peaceful and a nice break in our trek across the city from west to east. The design was very clean and seemed to reflect the

In general, however, Danes are not very religious, and church attendance is generally low. According to a 2005 study, Denmark has the third-highest proportion of atheists and agnostics in the world.

There is a tour of the tower on the weekends, which would be fun to check out if we have time, so much to see in this wonderful city.

Rosenborg Slot (Castle)

2011-06-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

The previous post was a few pictures from the Botanical Gardens, which I may add text to later (if time allows).
The starting point for the second day was the Norreport Station which is slightly southwest of the Botanical Gardens and the King's Gardens which is home to the Rosenborg Slot. The grounds are the oldest public park in Copenhagen covering almost 30 acres. The grounds are a beautiful spread of lawn, well manicured bushes, trees, and flowers. It is particularly beautiful in the summer with most of the roses and flowers in bloom.
The history of the castle can be found here. The castle is guarded by two noble lions which the girls enjoyed. They frame the entrance to the magnificent structure which dates to the 1600s. The history of the Castle goes back to 1606-1607, when the King in a newly laid out park, “The King's Garden” (“Kongens Have”), had a “summerhouse” built. The original was a mere two stories, but was quickly added on to.

It is guarded with less ceremony than Amalienborg Plads (Square), which is where the Danish royal family takes residence when they are home. Rosenborg was used as a Royal residence until around 1710, when Christian IV's great grandson, Frederik IV, gave it up in favour of other, more up-to-date, summer residences. Rosenborg Castle instead became the setting for the Royal collections. That is the reason for the many well preserved interiors which are quite unique.

Botanic Gardens

2011-06-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Danish Royal Guard on Foot Patrol

2011-06-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

We went to the Kings Garden today and while the kids and Susan were visiting the Roseborg Castle, I was out the grounds surveying the scene. I visited the castle last year, so I wasn't inclined to use my weak US $ to visit it again.
The upside of being a cheap skate was catching the Royal Guard on their march from the barracks there near the castle to Amalienborg to the west. They leave the Gardens and march down Gothersgade right in the lane of traffic. It is an impressive display of traffic calming as they curise down the middle of the street. I am surprised that they don't take up the bicycle lane and fortunately for the folks in autos, there is room to bypass the parade of soldiers on the left as you can see from the second photo from this series. I like the combination of the Royal Guard, the blue bike paint, and the yielding traffic.

Any time you have a group of a dozen or so soldiers in black bear hats and major artillery on their shoulders, you end up with well behaved traffic, i.e. no honking, abrupt passing, or generate road rage. Just people in their cars, buses, and trucks moving orderly past the Royal Guard on a 5 km per hour pace with knees held high. It is an impressive display of coordination.
The Royal Guard is part of the detail at the Amalienborg palace. There main function is to protect the queen and the other members of the Danish Royal familyRead more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Denmark/Koebenhavns_Kommune/Copenhagen-162183/Things_To_Do-Copenhagen-Royal_Guard-BR-1.html#ixzz1Q8kQQR8

More pictures of the changing of the guard can be found here.

Copenhagen Day 1

2011-06-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen is a beautiful City. When we arrived, Abigail hadn't slept a wink during the entire trip, so it was important to keep her up for the next few hours to make sure we got back to a more reasonable sleep schedule.
Our plan was to do a little site seeing for the first part of the afternoon, taking in some of the sites nearby the apartment. Our first stop was the church in the neighborhood. The views from the top of the tower were breath taking. The stairway continues up to the top and ends as it gets narrower and you reach the upper spire.

BLIND PILOT at Crystal Ballroom

2011-06-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

A quick reminder for going to a live show. Something old people don't do very much.

Buy tickets for MFNW Presents: BLIND PILOT, All Ages at McMenamins Crystal Ballroom

DC Area Advertising

2011-06-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am always intrigued by the advertising in DC.
This one in particular caught my eye because of the focus on Jobs, which clearly is key to the communication in this economy. The phrase "in this economy" may be one of the most overused these days, but does ground one to think about their particular point, yet it's also misused and leaves to what I would guess is an overstated claim. Essentially lobbying that you don't seen any many other cities, these pieces are usually put together by some major player on Capitol Hill. I wonder if this was a part of a social media marketing program as well?

Condon to Heppner By Bike

2011-05-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

On our Memorial Day weekend we joined the Schultz family out in Condon. We got out on Sunday morning for a bike ride and got most of the Cycle Oregon III ride from Day Two.

Day Two: Heppner to Fossil, 62 miles

A 57-mile day will take us through Condon, a center for birds, deer and elk in the autumn. We then begin entering the Fossil Beds National Monument, where you can actually witness Oregon’s geological history.Everyone will camp at Fossil, where you will find fossil exhibits of saber-toothed tigers, giant pigs and three-toed horses. Fossil will also host a homestay program as an alternative to camping.

Bike Snob Book Review: Use Lights

2011-05-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading Bike Snob and I have been surprised with how well reasoned some of the chapters are. I am finding I can actually apply some of the ideas he has and it is pretty funny at the same time. I haven't laughed out loud while reading for awhile.

His characterizations of the different types of cyclists was spot on. In the chapter, Velo-Taxonomy: The Various Subjects of Cyclists, he describes The Roadie, The Mountain Biker, The Loan Wolf, The Messenger, and so on. The Chapter on "Why is Everybody Trying to Kill Me" features how to survive on a bike and discusses his approach to embracing conflict on the road. My experience has been limited since I am on the Springwater Trail, but the chapter is helpful to think about the responses of a cyclist when a motorist doesn't see a cyclist. Rather than get angry, he suggests saying "Do you know you almost killed me back there?", hoping that the driver will than be conciliatory as opposed to escalating the argument.
He gives tips on Riding in Traffic

Be Confident
Don't Ride Next to Cars at Intersections
Watch Out for Doors
Use Lights

The Use Lights bullet reminded me of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's clever video encouraging people that lights are an important part of the bike. He also makes a good point on the bicycle industry's failure to put lights on bikes, comparing this to the only other fast moving objects that don't use lights include missiles, bullets, and bombs.

There is some clever marketing around his book and how he released it.

Abby's 8th Birthday

2011-05-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Abigail got a big present for her 8th birthday. She wanted this bike when we went and saw it a few weeks ago at Sellwood Cycle Repair and the very next day Susan picked it up and they held onto it while it cleared its "background" check.

The guys at Sellwood Cycle Repair modified to fit her perfectly and even helped us with the delivery by letting us tie a bow on it and hang it in the shop.

Amelia Rides a Bike

2011-05-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Very proud father of a 5 year old riding her own bike.

Rotterdam's World Database of Happiness and other fun sites

2011-05-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

We're planning for our trip to Europe and I was listening to one of the old audiobooks that I enjoyed awhile back titled the The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World. The author highlights the World Database of Happiness, which is in Rotterdam at Erasmus University. http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

Since we're going to Delft I wonder if we could break away for a day and go visit.

Another place I came across on the internet in Rotterdam is the following housing which ranks 22nd on the World's Strangest Buildings.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

2011-05-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

The White House is reporting that U.S. officials raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan tonight and killed Osama Bin Laden. It's a big news story. Susan was sitting at the computer and there were several posts on my facebook account sharing the news. We turned the TV on to watch. I am not sure what to think about the event in our history. President Obama gave a speech to describe the occurrences. The speech gave me confidence that it was the right thing to do. A friend on FB mentioned that it doesn't make her feel safer. I get that.

Just some idle thoughts as time passes on.

I am sure it will improve Obama's approval rating, which could use some help.

I was looking at Abbottabad on Google Maps and on Wikipedia and it looks like a nice place with a Hockey stadium (field) and a Cricket team.

I am not sure this summarizes it well, but it is notable.
‎"I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." – Mark Twain

Switching between CNN and Fox News, the Fox interviewee (Bush's former Chief of Staff Andy Card) credits Bush for setting up Obama to find Bin Laden.

Lastly, thanking God for someone else's death makes me cringe. I think of the news clips (maybe from Al Jazeera) or videos I have seen when people in (insert country of choice) are praising (insert diety of those countrymen) have shot down a helicopter or killed a U.S. soldier.

Amazing that they could keep the 8 month effort quiet long enough to carry the effort out. A NY Times post is a sign of the times http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/how-the-osama-announcement-leaked-out/.

The crowds at the White House and Ground Zero look pretty big. CNN describing how transportation security will be stepped up tomorrow.

Interesting to see friends posting to facebook based on the news website they are referring to. Academics tend to prefer NY Times, conservatives definitely Fox, and lefties are MSNBC or NPR.

I am hoping that this will translate into prosperity for the country. It would be nice if this could bring the world together, but I am uncertain we'll see that. May the world become a more peaceful place.

After a few hours of news coverage, it's time to turn it off.

Breakfast on the Bridges

2011-05-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

A great way to start a Friday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=je4hzlw5K8g , VERY Portland!

I attended this month's and the camera crew must have gotten there after I left. I didn't get a late to work slip.

Ronde PDX - http://www.rondepdx.com/

2011-04-18T17:23:00.001-07:00

I did the Ronde PDX ride yesterday. Was nervous getting ready. Left Sellwood about 9:15AM after a quick stop at the Ugly Mug. Caught up with the Sellwood Club and was ready to ride at 10 AM at NW 31st/Industrial. After >7,000 feet of climbing and nearly as many calories on a 5+ hour ride, we made it to Council Crest.

I went out like a lion and finished like a lamb with about 7 miles to go. I was surprised they took us over trails and some that didn't seem like a very good idea on my carbon fiber skinny tire steed.

Couldn't make the SW College hill climb, but did manage to finish the one with 23% grades. I don't even remember the name of the street because I don't ever want to go back there. Okay it was Brynwood. As Drew said, we should go back and slay the dragon which was SW College... he didn't make it either.

In my defense (for being called a whiner) and not obeying Rule 5 (harden up), I did spread barkdust and was really sore.

Funny post on the ride from Old Nevermore

Here's a video of the ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cbvQqssD_jI

The Rules of Cycling with the Guys

2011-03-27T20:10:00.001-07:00

Started biking with a group in Sellwood and there was a fun post on the email list about the Rules.

Here they are! http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

Bike Ride for March 19th

2011-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

I went out with the Rapha charity ride for a bit and found NW Newberry Road off of Highway 30. It was a bear, but ended up with a nice long trip on NW Skyline. Here's the map link.

Amazing to think about what mother nature can do.

Map link was too large, so here's the google map I created.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=4637+N+Albina+Ave,+Portland,+OR+97217&daddr=45.56991,-122.67684+to:45.6155027,-122.8148647+to:NW+Skyline+and+Northwest+Germantown+Road,+Portland,+OR+to:NW+SKyline+and+Fairview,+portland+to:SW+Salmon+St+to:45.5166518,-122.6781131+to:W+4th+%26+Burnside+to:45.52286,-122.65159+to:45.52215,-122.63929+to:45.52498,-122.620811+to:45.53512,-122.62128+to:ne+42nd+%26+Sandy+blvd+to:600+se+morrison,+portland,+or+to:913+SE+Lexington+St,+Portland,+OR+97202&geocode=FRoktwIdDyCw-CkbQzAkE6eVVDF3USLPwRDYCw%3BFXZXtwIdmBmw-ClrycMiCKeVVDG1j3okJkF2Yg%3BFY4JuAIdcP6t-CnVrz9JdAeVVDEvpfT1KkSH2Q%3BFX6KtwIdpzqu-Cm7d-e02geVVDFXXww05SbEBg%3BFdGAtgIdlFSv-Ck_OrAJgQmVVDHq7tIOi62nnw%3BFTCRtgIdUvCv-A%3BFWuHtgIdnxSw-Cl9ABb2DwqVVDFqj6kmtkOwzw%3BFVmgtgIdMSOw-Cn1tWDVBgqVVDEcVbiojAgNTA%3BFayftgIdOnyw-ClZDw7WpKCVVDF40tOOi8NyEg%3BFeactgIdRqyw-Cl9Nz-YvqCVVDFDwOTXU_14MA%3BFfSntgIddfSw-CkXcbiIwqCVVDFPbkluyNlr8Q%3BFZDPtgIdoPKw-ClnytNX16CVVDFOUTT4d0bNaA%3BFXnTtgId-Pew-ClZaw1v16CVVDHAlAi_Lyrxqw%3BFZaJtgIdd1yw-Ck1FCnMoKCVVDEmkxYHM4-bWA%3BFUTGtQId-2iw-Cmz01jz3AqVVDHA3O7mEVCd7Q&hl=en&mra=ls&via=1,2,6,8,9,10,11&dirflg=b&sll=45.462298,-122.670937&sspn=0.133884,0.308647&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=11&lci=bike

Earthquake off of Japanese Coast

2011-03-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

My thoughts are tied to people of Japan who are dealing with the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake. Apparently, all of the trains throughout the country were shut down so people ended up walking home as opposed to taking their normal subway or commuter train home. One friend's family member in Tokyo had a 12 hour trip to get home last night and the night time temperatures were below 40 degrees, so not the best time of year to have to walk home.

Sellwood Cycling Club Group Ride - March 6th, 2011

2011-03-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here's the ride tracking for the ride today. Nice work everybody!

Untitled by pkoonce99 at Garmin Connect - Details

Oregon is no Wisconsin

2011-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

As a public employee now, I am finding the debates on public employee benefits are hitting close to home. Yet, as someone new to the ranks, I don't have this huge expectation, somewhat like Social Security. I will be interested to see how my views on this change as I continue on in my career and my stay with the City or government for that matter increases. Having experience in the private sector has taught me a lot of things and it's a good perspective to have.

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/03/john_kitzhaber_makes_lean_unio.html

Peter's Commute Home

2011-02-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Now that the Winter Solstice has come and gone the days are getting longer. Yet, you wouldn't know it by my work schedule which has been keeping me at work late and leaves me riding home in the dark. It's a nice thing I am on the Springwater Path and my interactions with vehicles are minimal for most of my commute. It makes it hard not to bike in to work becuase there's not much of an excuse if you've got lights that are bright and good gear. Someone the other day talked about that ("I don't have rain pants") and then was off to the gym to attend a spin class. Earl Blumenauer has a fun rant about this where he says folks are sitting in traffic on their way to the gym to ride a stationary bicycle. He (and I) would prefer to see folks on their bikes.

Tram with Amelia

2011-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

It was a rainy day in Portland and Susan was off with Abby at a birthday party, so what better time to spend with Mia than at the Tram. I hadn't ridden the tram for awhile and Amelia has never ridden without being in a child carrier. I also had a free tram ticket that I got from 2007, so figured might be time to use it. The tram is quite a marvel of engineering. Upon arrival at the top at OHSU, walking over the pedestrian bridge the Veteran's Hospital adds another nice stop on the trip. The pedestrian bridge was built in 1992 and connects OHSU Hospital and the VA Medical Center in what is the longest suspended pedestrian skybridge in North America, with a length of 660 feet.

Reading List: Brew to Bikes

2011-01-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

Sheila got me a great book for Christmas and I am over half way through it. The book is Brew to Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy by Charles Heying. It's written by a Portland State University professor and nearly 15 colleagues that go in depth on how the City has benefited from the growth of industries associated with handmade or carefully crafted products. The chapters include coffee, food, beer, bikes, zines, among others and I have enjoyed it thus far. The author describes Fordism and Post-Fordism which highlights the contrast of mass produced versus more handmade goods.

Way to go Beavs!...

2011-01-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have posted to the Family Blog and thought it might be fun to try connecting facebook to the blog. We'll see how it goes. I imagine there is some other way to do this that I just haven't explored, but here goes nothing! Way to go Beavs!...

Gingerbread House 2010

2010-12-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

A good start to the winter break for the girls as we wrapped up a trip to Peacock Lane, a visit to Aunt Katie's house, and a sleepover with the Farleys! In order to make sure the kids got to bed on time we tried to wear them out by taking ours to the park (the Farleys went rock climbing) and we settled for Gingerbread House decorating in the evening with the hope that all of the girls will sack out come 9 PM. The beverage on the table is Susan's really.

The girls made quick work of the gingerbread house and some of the candy even made it on as decorations.The Christmas music was playing and the kids debated their favorite song. The consensus was Jingle Bells and we were treated to a rousing rendition when they could remember the words. The four of them did a good job of putting it all together and it was fun for us to take a listen. Maybe some caroling later in the week is in order.
The girls really took pride in the decoration of the 2010 edition, but perhaps it was just the sugar rush that was helping with the smiles on their faces. Abby's favorite part of decorating was "eating the icing" Katie liked the candy best and Lucy liked the roof. Amelia enjoyed the extra halloween candy that we broke out to supplement the provided provisions. There was Dots and Smarties that were from October but does sugar really ever go bad? Lucy really got into the action and it was fun to capture them all into such a project. I don't think it took them more than 15 minutes.

Grace's Birthday and Cyclocross Nationals 2010 in Bend

2010-12-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

We went to Bend for Grace's Birthday and it was the same weekend as the Cyclocross Nationals.
It was a wet weekend in Bend (pretty rare) and windy which made for tough conditions for the cyclists and good conditions to watch the race. A lot of mud puddles and slippery conditions.
We had a great time checking out the activity at the race grounds near the Old Mill. Abby was dressed warmly and was very curious about the bikes and the competition having been in the Kiddy Cross a few months earlier. She also had a good time running around the various sand mounds that the City uses for keeping the streets passable during the winter months. Amelia had a good time at the start until she did a face plant into a puddle and got muddy.
We got to the start of the race and managed to catch a huge pile up. Yes, those are bike tires in the air. Someone in the front of the pack took a spill and it caused chaos throughout the pack. The rider with the wheels in the air, tried to pick up some ground by sending his bike aerial and getting past some of the competition instead of having the problem of the bike getting caught up.
The conditions were very difficult and there was some pretty significant ponding that resulted in changes to the course throughout the week. I had a hard time believing that there puddles would be a good line, but many of the racers seemed to embrace it to avoid getting tangled up in the fencing, which we saw later in the action. It was a bit daunting to consider the course as we saw it, but I think it would be fun to try next year at the start of the season.

2010 Civil War

2010-12-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

Football in December had to mean Civil War! The 2010 edition featured the Beavers fighting to get to .500 on the year and the U of 0 trying to punch their ticket to the National Championship game. We were happy to have kept our tickets although I would be lying if I hadn't thought about selling out to a friendly Duck Fan or two. If the shoes were on the other feet, I would want to be in Eugene to see the Beavs extend their record to 12-0.
The start of our trip to Reser was to hit the Crowbar downtown and eat our pregame salad.
We paused to take photos outside Reser. The scene on the street was great, there were a ton of tailgaters and many that came fror the party without tickets.
Kurt and Monica were excited about the game and ready. Susan and I had to scramble a bit for help with the kids, so we were relieved to be there.
The pregame had started a long time before we got there as the Ducks record attracted the ESPN GameDay crew with Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, and Kirk Herbstreit. The pregame started at 6 AM, so there was a lot of fun to be had early on in Corvallis. Seeing the action from home, the Memorial Union Quad was packed and they had separated Duck fans from Beavers, which was probably a pretty good idea.

This was Susan's second game this year with the first being against the Washington State Cougars, where the Beavs mailed in a pretty bad performance. We were hoping for the best, but expecting the worst given that the Ducks were the #1 team in the nation. Yet, as true Beaver Believers you have to be happy that we do as well as we do and that we are competitive and have hope for the future.
So, into the stadium we go with just a bit of business to finish before we jump in to the vat of Potato Salad.

DC Prepares for Christmas

2010-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

I travelled back to Washington DC for a FHWA workshop.
The travel took me back to the scene of one of the most exciting moments of my life (which I would prefer not to repeat). Walking past the GWU Hospital made me think back to the people that helped me during a time of need. I felt very small walking next to the Metro station and thankful that I wasn't taking another mode today.
If that wasn't enough to make one think deep thoughts, I walked past the White House on World Aids Day, with the red ribbon dorning the Obama residence on Pennsylvania Avenue.
A challenge of epic proportions which we can look across the globe and recognize that as far as we can go, there's a need to work together to meet our common foes.
My last stop in DC that was blogworthy was Union Station. I am always happy to spend a little time in this great monument to transportation and appreciative of the great things that we have done in this country that have made our world a better place.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

A very nice letter from Mayor Sam Adams Giving Thanks. I hope he doesn't mind me poaching the graphic. It's so nice I thought it was worth posting.

I am thankful for family, friends, and our collective health. I am really grateful for so many things and hopeful to demonstrate my gratitude in my actions. I have been very busy but as the Mayor suggests, need to get into the spirit of giving. I believe it's really important to instill that in the kids and hoping to do that this season.

Off to Estacada to visit with family.

Snowmageddon 2010?

2010-11-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

It's the week of Thanksgiving and we're getting ready for a Portland snow storm. I characterize it as a Portland storm because we're not anything like the east coast cities where you get a foot or two and then the City is a winter wonderland and there are enough snow plows that go about their business.
The City is rapidly preparing and I am on the Incident Command System for the City.

The Mayor has had two press conferences and is getting the word out to the public. Clearly, we're talking about it at the City and getting staff aware of the potential situation. We'll see how it unfolds. We may not have all of the facilities to deal with a major arctic blast like two years ago, but if we can do the best with what we have, I would hope that would be good enough with the citizens of our fair City.
You have to wonder if the expectations are high for such an event? Last year we had a sneaky snow event after Christmas that resulted in a bad evening commute. It is just one day and how much do you invest in equipment when it's just one day. Well, with global warming (weirding) maybe you have to use the old Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared!

The kids are very excited about the potential for the weather.
Abby says: "I really really like it because it is very cold and we get to be very warm. It's fun to slip and slide on the ice. Two years ago, I found an ice chair in our yard."

Sellwood Moreland Traffic Signals

2010-11-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

Monster March was held on Halloween day this year and it's always a great event. One of the most interesting parts of it is that we repurpose the streets for the mass of people. This year, the number of people marching continued to grow and some folks indicated that the parade was nearly 30 minutes long. The Llewellyn Foundation had some discussion on tying some of the business activity to the event. It would be great to have a street festival as a part of the day closing the street for a longer period.
The kids always have a great time and enjoy getting candy from the local vendors.

Muddy Buddy - McIver Park

2010-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Susan and I decided to do the Muddy Buddy a bike-run relay race out at McIver Park.
McIver is out in Estacada, so we stayed the night at the Kishpaughs and then headed over for the EARLY morning start. It was on a Sunday and we had to be there by 7 AM.
We got information on the event from Groupon and it looked like fun when we watched the Youtube videos, so we thought it would be good to try it out and to expose the kids to such an event. Both the kids were interested in the idea and the registration for them was cheap, so why not!
The race was a 5.7 mile course that had the team split up into a runner and a cyclist. There was on bike, so if you weren't running, you were on the bike. There were five legs and obstacles in there as well. The final obstacle was the mud pit! A cold, wet, pond/swamp like creation that had flags that made it like a low clearance wading pool. This is Susan and I before the mud pit.
Sheila brought the kids down at a more reasonable hour to capture these photos.
Here we are after the mud pit. It was a cold morning, so it was a little bit of a shock to get in the water. With temperatures probably about 40 degrees, we were fortunate that we were so warm from the exercise that we could endure the watery mud.
In the mud pit, you definitely had to keep moving. Once when I stopped for a photo opportunity, I felt the mud sucking me in a little which actually gave me reason to pause when I really thought about my next move in the pit. Crawling through we were definitely mud soaked to our elbows and midsections and it was saturated because the pit wasn't particularly short. It was a great end of the course, we felt really fortunate they did not spring that on us earlier.
Abby was a little smarter when she did the course, she decided to walk through and pick up the flags and put it over her head as opposed to getting down on all fours. Picture of her forthcoming.

Muddy Buddy - McIver Park

2010-10-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

Abby emerges victorious from the mud pit. Her approach to walking through as opposed to crawling through left her slightly less muddy at the finish line. She still had her share of rocks in her shoes and was looking pretty cold at the finish line. Nothing a little sports drink and a cold shower couldn't fix.

Susan and I entering the mud pit. Part of the haze was from the heat exchange between the people that had just come off the course and the serious cold they were getting into as a part of the mud pit. It was quite a shock putting your first hand down in the water. You can see Susan with an open mouth in that picture.... yeah, that's not really a good idea when your partner is splashing mud next to you!

We both sort of slowed down through the pit to appreciate the experience. I think also they stopped your time prior to entry into the pit based on a beep that we heard when you're jumping through the path into the mud pit area.

It's important to take a moment to celebrate the mud, so we did and showed the kids it wasn't so bad.
All of our cajoling didn't persuade Amelia. She chose not to do the Mini Muddy Buddy with her sister. That was okay with us since we would have had to get back into it following freezing cold visit to the "shower" area. And by shower area I mean twenty hoses connected to one spigot at two separate locations. They actually ran out of water (from the truck) and had a delay of 15 minutes until the next one showed up. Lucky for us we were just going back to Susan's parents' house.

Another after shot from the mud pit. They gave you sport drinks as you emerged which resulted in some more mud ingestion.

All said, we were 11th in our age group out of 45 co-ed teams, so we felt like we didn't fair too poorly until we learned that we were 104th overall. I am not sure how many teams that was. It took us 50:29 to complete the course, the winning team which included an Ironman Triathaloner was 40:25. Guess we need to work on that running training!

Bike + Walk Day at Llewellyn School

2010-10-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Abby's school had a fantastic Bike + Walk Day with more than 75% of the students walking, biking, or taking the bus to school that day. It was a great event as clearly evident by the bicycle racks where every one of them was full and double parked.
The City had recently installed 14 additional racks and even those were full. There were about 20 bikes locked up to trees, the fence, and elsewhere around the grounds in imagery that reminded me of train stations in Amsterdam. The scene outside of Abby's classroom (last year's) were crowded and it made for a challenging trip into the school because the kids were clanging into each other looking for spots to lock up. It's probably debateable of whether they need to lock up, yet it is a good habit for the kids to get in and with Abby it has made her a little more responsible and I think she likes the feeling of responsibility associated with this everyday task. Her dutch bike has the built in lock, so when she's ready to ride that beauty it will be great for her.

Saturday in Tokyo

2010-10-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

A few more photos I thought would be fun to add to the blog included me in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. 45 stories up is where the observation deck is.
Did I mention it was Saturday? That's right sports fans, Beaver Game Day. I wasn't able to be in Corvallis with my beloved Orange and Black clad friends, so I was proud to wear my Beaver Believer T-Shirt around Tokyo. I think I caught some folks off guard with a bright orange shirt. It brought good luck, becuase OSU was victorious in their Pac-10 opener.
I was wearing headphones because I was looking for some sort of stimulation other than street noise as I walked through the City. I walked about 8 miles a day by my estimation, which was something I enjoyed.

These additional pictures were from various spots around the town. The first picture I enjoy becasue it has multiple levels of transit and traffic and the variable message sign that is displaying real time traffic information based on the sensors that they have deployed all throughout the City. More on that at my geeky Transportation blog.

This picture is particularly fun because you have folks fishing right next to the highway. Again, similar to the Willamette in Portland, but at a much larger scale of roadway and development surrounding this little body of water.

2010-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Outside of the Tokyo Metropolitian Government Building is the Shinjuku Chuokoen park. There was a tremendous waterfall that greets you upon entering the park that was a nice backdrop for the bazaar of yard sale vendors that were carefully organized throughout the square. This makes sense because the Tokyoites don't have garages or yard with which to have sales, so why not all gather in one place and try to dump old clothes, or sell things that you have picked up along the way. There was a wide variety of things for sale and I picked up a few toys for the girls for a fraction of the price of something at a store. The TMG was fairly desserted, save the tour groups that were travelling up to the 45th floor to catch a bird's eye view of the bazaar in the square.

The selection of goods at the bazaar ranged from someone's personal belongings that were just extras to folks that looked like they were involved in estate sales. It was an interesting mix and not much different than what you would see in the U.S., yet again, this is much more organized becuase of the limited space that you have available in the big City.
Here's a few shots from the ground and then one from the tower.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

2010-10-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Tokyo Metropolitan government has gotten into the skyscraper building excitement as they have their offices in a 50-some story building in Shinjuku area of the City.
The observation deck was free and came highly recommended by the Lonely Planet Guidebook that was my companion on this trip. The new Tokyo Tower is being built further off into the distance as seen in this picture. That building is supposed to be the tallest in Japan when it is completed.
The picture shows it's clearly dwarfing the other major buildings throughout the landscape. After 9/11, I am not sure I would want to be in the tallest building in the world on a daily basis. I am quite content with the third or fourth place one. There's the flip side to that which would suggest we need to build these...

The TMG as it is described on the sign out front has two towers. you can see the other on the left in this picture and the model in the next photo. The architecture of the building was unique with lots of different building facades that made it look like a computer chip of sorts (per Loneley Planet).

I'd like to know how much these buildings cost to construct as opposed to two smaller ones that would hold the same space. It seems like there's an environmental aspect to these buildings that at some height they become significantly harder to construct, but I am not an architect.

Tokyo Tower

2010-10-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

A mentioned the Tokyo Tower in a previous post, so this is mostly just for the pictures.
The structure of the building is impressive and probably more small members than the Eiffel Tower.
My host Mr. Tamoto and I took a cab from the Tokyo Traffic Management Center to turn quickly from business trip to tourist very quickly. It was a transition that I wasn't anticipating but Shigeshi suggested it as we were nearby and he thought it would be a good thing to visit. He said he has been two times before and I thought: why not!
An observation I will make about Japan is that there seems to be an inordinate amount of people in uniforms. It could be that I started my trip near the government sector of the City, but the Tokyo Tower had some snazzy uniforms for their guides in the Tower.

The Tower has a goofy looking mascot that I caught leaving the top of the Tower. I am not sure why the mascot is pink as opposed to the orange on the building.

Zojojoi Temple adjacent to Tokyo Tower

2010-10-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

I visited a very nice temple after my tour of the Tokyo Traffic Management Center and the Tokyo Tower.
I needed some solace after the Tokyo Tower and paying 820 Yen ($10US) for a visit to the observatory of the Eiffel Tower replica. It was built shortly after World War II as a part of the reconstruction efforts. It was built a few meters higher than the original, but it doesn't seem to hold a candle to its inspiration. Sequels are never better, are they? The inside of the shrine was beautiful and very calming. I really enjoyed my time there and sat for awhile reflecting on my activities of the past few weeks, the trip to Japan, and priorities in life. It was a nice moment that I will keep with me for a few days.
There was a lot more to see, so I was back out in the grounds of the Temple.
Adjacent to the Temple is a cemetary that has a great view of the Tokyo Tower. Not sure if I would be all that keen of that sort of structure in the backyard, but meh!
The tombstones are tightly packed in and they grounds were meticulously maintained. There were quite a few flowers placed throughout the area and it was another nice way to reflect on the day.
This particular shrine has one of the largest old bells in Japan.

Tokyo Chains at Rippongi

2010-10-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Japanese are a fun and interesting bunch. There are several english translations that come across as very corny and I am sure that we have the same issue. This sign in particular is for the market called "Every Life, Every Fun". The quote below: " We hope that the goods and services will make your day a better and a brighter one."
How very nice.
The Rippongi Hills area was always a little seedy (as the guidebook describes it), but I didn't really see that when I was there on Friday night.
There is something that seems consistent with the culture when the lights of the neon are near the street like on this one.
The major skyscrapers don't have this same sort of feel. I haven't been in a car much so I am somewhat curious how the access to the skyscrapers is arranged, throughout the smaller collection of buildings and more human scale neighborhoods there are several parking structures that offer robotic parking that rotate your car and automate the parking process, taking the car into the structure and organizing based on how long you're going to be away.
The streets near Rippongi Hills have been remade and seem to be a very unique mix of pedestrian focused smaller streets that orient you towards the major skyscraper that is the center of this new district.
The other store that I enjoyed in addition to the classic high end stores that I walked by Tiffany, Armani, etc. was Double Standard Clothing. I am assuming they are suggesting that they have a higher standard, but that doesn't come across. My initial thought was these are clothes that are eco friendly but then are made of materials that are horrible for the environment and borne of sweatshops.

Tsujiki Fish Market

2010-10-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I woke up early as usual and headed off to the Fish Market where family businesses have been bringing in all matter of things from the sea and selling them to the sushi vendors and restaurants throughout Tokyo and perhaps the world.
The building looks like a parking structure but operates like one large loading dock. This may be one of the craziest places I have been with motorcycles, motorbikes, bikes, scooters, fork lift like wheelbarrows, semitrucks, vans, and all sorts of pedestrians. I almost got hit several times, it was hard to take pictures in some cases because the folks working in these spaces knew that the visitors weren't contributing to their bottom line. The entire place was bustling with activity.
Most of the specimens were in sytrofoam containers and sea water like these fish. I saw things in this format that I had no idea what they were including what looked to be sea anemone and they were bright red. There were several fish that were frozen in their largest form and were next to the jigsaw so that they could be cut into more manageable pieces.

Tokyo Dance Trooper in Shibuya

2010-10-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am a little disappointed I didn't get a chance to see this guy at the Shibuya crossing. This would have been way too cool.

Why I went to the Tokyo McDonalds and other thoughts on the value of a $

2010-10-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

I won't step into McDonalds in the U.S. unless someone is dragging me, but I have to admit that I have been there twice on the trip so far. Last night it was for french fries. The service is very well structured and organized and there is an eerie consistency to the stores that I haven't noticed at other locations. The service is very specific and the attendants at the cash registers know just how to handle my kind. The first step is to flip over the menu to the English side. The menu is directly in front of you as you step up to them. They are so quick and efficient they don't give you a chance to struggle with your English. Just point and order.
So why did I go to Mickey D's. First, it was cheap. The yen is at a 15-year high against the greenback and that $4.50 cup of Starbucks hits the wallet pretty hard. Second, it was something I didn't have to guess at. I know what french fries are. Lastly, it was there. I have been walking a ton and it was nice to stop and get what I was going to get. With so much to see, it has been tough to clearly focus on eating and when you're alone, I tend to not want to sit by myself and take in the limited scenery of a restaurant.
All this being said, the pice of a small latte is $2.50, really terrible chicken strips (fatty, lots of breading, and greasy) are $1.25 a piece and french fries are also over $3. I haven't followed the Yen (I defintely remember the South African Rand was 11 to 1 when we were there, it traditionally is about 7), but it's one of the things that makes travelling interesting. Just like the stock market, there's no timing these things. The first trip to Europe was on the expensive side, the second was a little less difficult and perhaps this visit is just karma from the South African trip.

From City Hall to Tokyo

2010-09-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

I am off tomorrow to Tokyo. I found myself in City Hall today talking to traffic engineers and policy makers from Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Chicago about creating a bicycle infrastructure that attracts the next segment of population of cyclists. I found this old photo of me taken by Jonathon Maus of BikePortland.org standing outside City Hall contemplating the future of people on bicycles and my career in making our transportation system more sustainable. My carfree conference shirt was as close as I get to being a radical.
So today, City Hall, tomorrow Tokyo! It came as a shock as I was reviewing my ticket that my flight there is 11 hours, but I lose 16 and on the way back I leave on Tuesday at 3:30 PM and get back at 8:15 AM the same day! I had to go check the Delta website to verify. I consider myself pretty good at math, but that logic defied my brain at this stage of the night. I am really looking forward to the trip as a way to learn about Japanese culture and experience a City on the world's scale. Much like NYC, Mexico City, London, and Paris... Tokyo is one of those that I think you can consider yourself worldly if you've been to a few of these. More posts from the land of the rising sun.

2010 Family Portraits

2010-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

In what's becoming a family tradition, we had portraits taken by John Lemkuhl. This year we went over to Washington Park to enjoy the scenes of the City. It was a beautiful Sunday evening and the weather was perfect for taking photos.
John does a great job and it's been nice to work with him the past few years. He takes the photos as a benefit for Llewellyn Elementary, so it is a great thing that we really appreciate. The photos have turned out great and we're glad that we can share them with friends and family. This will be the first year blogging about the photos, so there's a new thing.

BC example of Garbage

2010-09-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Vancouver BC, I saw this ad on the Skytrain. The point is that you had a large share of garbage.... certainly makes you think about our contribution to landfills, etc. I can't believe I am anywhwere near this, but it is hard to visualize my contribution outside of our home. There are so many externalities that exist in personal waste. Yikes! Very effective.

Lexington Street Block Party

2010-08-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Why on earth didn't we do this the first year we were here! We finally got around to having a Block Party. We had a great time with our keg, the band, and games for the kids that we didn't play because they were too busy enjoying having full range of the street. It was such a great way to spend the Saturday.

Peter's First Century

2010-08-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

Yes, 100 miles by bike. I was pretty excited for the challenge and didn't take my camera, but luckily this person did.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=775635&code=69503206a037f2de8a5d29c2e10a8c82

Koonces invade Moscow

2010-08-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

No, not that Moscow, the one in Idaho. The Transportation Research Board Signal Systems Committee was meeting in Moscow, Idaho, home to the University of Idaho and Susan and I took the girls on the trip to the Palouse.

We had a wonderful time and the hospitality at the University was very good. The Sunday night tour was not of some technical signal system like is custom, but rather was of the aboretum just south of campus. They had all sorts of plants from across the globe and Abby enjoyed the walk and taking pictures with my camera.

We rode the Vandal Trolley from the evening events back to the hotel. The kids enjoyed the feel of the old time trolley and especially when the driver clanged the horn for them when they got off the vehicle.

Goodbye from the Pickathon

2010-08-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

One more photo from Pickathon that caught my attention!

Abby's Career as a Circus Clown

2010-08-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Abby was definitely inspried at the Pickathon to take part. Here's she's trying out stilts and doing quite well with Susan's help. Whatever it was, she had a great attitude about the new activities which is great.

Pickathon 2010

2010-08-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

A friend suggested we join their family in heading out to Pickathon, a folk music festival out in the "country", southeast of Portland. The festival was held on the 80 acre Pendarvis Farm, which was a nice venue for a concert.

The bands were undiscovered (not sure that's the right term, but for an old guy like me, I guess that will do) and mostly very good and the festival has grown because of the quality of the acts. It is also growing because it seems to distinguish itself in being very environmentally friendly. This year's innovation was using Stainless Steel pint glasses as opposed to plastic cups for beer and water. The festival claimed to eliminate all plastic cups and water bottles for the four day affair. Based on our three days, it seemed that they were successful and it also was a nice marketing piece for Kleen Kanteen, since folks were constantly reminded how they were the partner in bringing the festival to us.

One of the fun things of the camping was that we didn't cook. Instead of schlepping food in and cleaning (wasting valuable time where fun could be had), we ate at the food carts which were similarly envrionmentally friendly and very good food. The vendors included some local organic farms, which overed very tasty eats. Food carts are amazing and they continue to grow in popularity out in P town.

I had to chuckle several times at the hippy culture that surrounded the festival. It was definitely good for the kids to experience the music festival and we were surprised how many kid friendly events they had, which included everything from the Cardboard Songsters doing their take on Saturday morning cartoons to Cascadia Circus doing shows and teaching the kids skills. Great stuff!

Intersection Superhero for Sunday Parkways

2010-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great day today, yet it started off somewhat ominously with Abby being sick shortly after 4 AM. We ended up downstairs just to make sure we could get through the night. It has been hot and we're not sure if that's caught up with her. She felt well enough to head to Sunday Parkways. I was there volunteering and had a great time at SE 21st & Taylor, which was a turn in the route and there was some human traffic barrier feats for me to provide. It was a good experience and I enjoyed helping out. The girls joined me later in the day and we biked up to Mia Birk's Book Launch Party. Abby wasn't feeling great at that point, so we headed back to the car. All in all, a great day punctuated by a fun volunteer stint for the City.

Cycling through Delft

2010-07-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Delft was a beautiful town with a central square (Markt) that was really quaint and large for as small a city as it is. This particular shop is where we picked up a few pieces of Delftware for the grandparents as a thank you for watching the kids.
We had a nice day cycling through Delft with the Northeastern University class that was spending a month in the Netherlands completing a college course. I was speaking to the class about traffic signals in Portland and how we were learning from European practice.
The cycling through the countryside was fantastic. We were getting a lot of nice information from one of the local regional planners from the area as a part of the first classroom lecture.

This picture of Susan is not even behind the biggest landmarks in the square, but I enjoy it anyway because it provides perspective on the cafes, the shops, and the chruches in the background.
We came across this gentleman in the community just crusing through. I had a chuckle becuase we were in the man's way and the group stopped him on his everyday trip to the store.

I loved all of the train station bike parking areas. The number of bicycles at these locations was beyond consideration and seemed like every possible rack was full to the point where it was futile to add more racks because additional bikes would be added. Amsterdam and The Hague have structures for bikes both three stories high, which is quite an expense for infrastructure.

Tour de France, Delft Sunset, World Cup... is this in the Top 10 days of all time?

2010-07-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

On the ride back to the hotel (from Rotterdam) after the prologue, we had a nice ride back with the sunset greeting us as we entered the city. It was a lovely end to a great day. Finished off by watching the World Cup and seeing a great goal by David Villa of Spain to advance. This day might have cracked the top 10 days of all time, which got me thinking. So you have to have the wedding day, the birth of your kids, graduation from college (especially for Dad), probably an OSU Civil War victory in there (when we beat Joey Harrington at home), visit to South Africa has to be in there, and then there's this (what a great day). It would have been better with the kids and more friends & family to enjoy it with, no doubt.

at Tour de France

2010-07-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

So much fun at the Prologue and looking forward to Stage 1 tomorrow. Got a nice photo of Chris Horner that seems worth sharing.

Susan and Peter at Tour Start

2010-07-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, this is where the prologue begins. The riders shoot out of the Festina launch pad (right on time of course)! Mr. Festina himself counts down with his fingers, which is kind of funny when you think about it.

Tomorrow's Night Train

2010-06-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

As I was preparing for today's travels, I found this 8 Best Night Trains article on Lonely Planet. I hope it's true as that's where I am heading. When they mention AMS to CPH, does that also include the reverse? The picture has nothing to do with this, other than it was taken at night.

Rosenborg Slot

2010-06-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I am planning to use my remaining 36 hours in Copenhagen wisely by planning out and reviewing some of the major sites. The Rosenborg Slot (picture to the right) dates from 1604-34 offers "an informal, intimate glimpse of Danish royal life over the centuries". That doesn't make it sound like a lot of fun, but I haven't been to a museum yet and while that's not critical to seeing a City it's something that I think also helps round out a trip. So off to the castle and perahps the Amalienborg Museum.

World Cup Viewing Party

2010-06-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have really taken to the World Cup. It's partly due to the fact that it is played on the world stage. It's also a sport that is growing on me as it seems like a lot of skill and some luck and I don't have any idea what is going to happen. There's a certain simplicity to a 1-0 game that I can appreciate. Denmark's national sport is supposed to be handball, but if football isn't it, I would love to see what they do when a Handball game is happening! This was the Argentina-Mexico game and the square was packed and the crowds were a lot more civil then when the Danes were playing. I could actually get into the square to see the screen. This was a Sunday night.

Vor Frelsers Kirke - Church of Our Saviour

2010-06-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of the most beautiful sites in all of the City, this Church is right in the neighborhood where I am staying. I haven't yet climbed the 400 steps to the top, but will before the end of my stay. The church offers a 360 degree view of the City due to the spiral staircase that wraps the outside of the spire. I am looking forward to this as much as anything in the next two days!

Skype with the Kids from the Ebeltoft to Odden Ferry

2010-06-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

With Free internet on the ferry, I was able to Skype with the family. It was nice to connect and enjoy a little time with them when I was travelling. Such a civilized way to travel.

Fur Brewery on Jutland

2010-06-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

We took a long bike ride from the house near Hvalpsund to Fur and hit the Fur Breyhus (brew house). The brewery was a little off the beaten (paved) path for bikes, but we managed just fine.

Storebaeltsforbindelsen - Great Belt Fixed Link

2010-06-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

Storebaeltsforbindelsen is the longest bridge in Denmark (11 miles) and connects the islands of Funen and Zealand. Before the bridge, there was ferry service which required approximately 60 minutes of travel. The bridge makes this trip a 10-minute car ride, which resulted in an increase of traffic by nearly 300% once construction was complete. This suggests some lessons for the Columbia River Crossing perhaps.

Combined with the Oresund Bridge which connects Denmark and Sweden, one can travel by car from Sweden to Germany. The bridge was pretty impressive.

More Copenhagen Day 2

2010-06-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen's bicycle facilities have made a difference in bicycle use, if there's any doubt these pictures should help. The blue bike lanes are at intersections with a high conflict volume. A significant variation on the Dutch Bike Box, I haven't completely analyzed the advantages of the cycle track. One thing is for certain here though is that since they are everywhere, there's less chance of confusion.

Copenhagen This Week, Next Week TDF Prologue & Stage 1

2010-06-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

There is so much in Copenhagen to see, I find my mind wandering to the bike boxes, the Copenhagen left turns, the neighborhood bollards, the cycletracks, it's all so interesting and different to what we're used to back in the states. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that there are more bikes than cars at most intersections. Amazing!

But the Tour de France is calling right around the corner and I got a message about the Tour preview guide from Bicycling Magazine, so had to steal the route maps and post them here for fun. It is a bit odd that we'll be watching the Tour de France from the Netherlands, but alas, just another reason to come back to visit in the future.

Copenhagen Day 2

2010-06-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Carlsberg Brewery, Velo-City Global Conference Bike Parade, and watching Danes with the Danes in World Cup Soccer. What a day!
The Carlsberg Brewery was a good tour, especially considering the two freshly poured Carlsberg beers we enjoyed in beautiful weather. The brewery tour was very informative and had a fair amount of information that we couldn't cram into the short time that we had, since we had to get back for the Velocities Bike Parade.

At the parade, we met up with Peter Furth, who I will see again when we are in Delft, but we caught up with him and had a nice talk throughout the parade and enjoyed the sites of Copenhagen as we rolled slowly through the streets. Even with corked intersections, there were a lot of delays. Some of the largest delays appeared to be where we conflicted with other bike flows on the street. We were in the street more often than not and when we would turn right, we'd have to cross the cycle track traffic. Streetsfilms was along for the ride, so I defintitely will try to link back to the story they put out that pieces the amazing elements of the conference to this part of the event.