Halloween Party is Back

The Halloween party is back from vacation and scheduled for Saturday Oct. 31st. My plan is to have "Rock Band" set up in the garage for folks to play with instead of having a live band. I need to either rent a system, borrow one, or go buy a Wii, but I'll figure it out. I'm going to try to keep it small this time around, but the invitation list is already pretty big.

To Florence and Back

I rode my bike to Florence and back over the weekend with Kat's dad, Gary. The total mileage was about 136 miles in two days. This is something I've been wanting to accomplish for about a year since the last time Kat and I drove out to the coast. It's hard to believe that I actually did it. Gary was a big catalyst for getting it done, with his infectious enthusiasm, experience, and detailed planning.

My biggest concern with the trip was having the stamina and endurance to do the trip one day and then turn around the next day and do it again. We started doing shorter rides over the months leading up to this one. We did 30, 40, and 50 mile rides in preparation. Saturday we rode 62 miles there and then Sunday we did 74 miles back. It was intense, but I survived with minimal injury. My knees and ass are still a bit sore, but not as bad as some of the previous rides.

We had a great time together, chatting during the ride, talking to random locals in the small towns we passed through, and wandering around old town Florence. I'd love to do something like that again, but not right away. I'll need some time to rest up.

Comcastic Rate Hikes

Looks like Comcast is at it again. It seems like only yesterday that they raised their rates for high speed cable internet $2 and now their going to raise their rental fees as well. Read more here.

I'm glad I decided to purchase my own D-Link router and modem a couple months ago, so I won't be feeling the sting this time. I just hope they don't change their service so much that I'll need to "upgrade" again.