Day 313 – (AD 743) – 21.9 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Gasparilla on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Yes it is Gasparilla Day in Tampa. This is the 100th annual celebration where we throw beads and celebrate the raping, plundering, and pillaging of the fair populace of Tampa by the supposed character pirate of José Gaspar. So drink, be merry, catch the beads, and end up in hoosegow.

This morning I pedaled another 21.9 miles on my Schwinn 170. I burned 606 calories. I continue to burn an average 616 calories each time I cycle.

My daily targets on my Schwinn Fitness cycle are just over 20.0 miles and 600 calories in about 70 +/- minutes. These are my real goals.

Meanwhile in Australia I am located, on my virtual Trek, somewhere on Lasseter Highway. I think that there was something wrong with the Google Maps July 2008 camera.

Well I made breakfast, dessert for supper Challah French Toast.

And surprise, surprise, surprise… My blood sugar dropped by 7 points to 104. Strawberries in Orange sauce on Banana Grand Marnier Challah French Toast. Yes I will be posting my ingredients and a few images at Jim’s Gotta Eat. (Hopefully by tonight.)

A new quilt is underway.  This one is TBAJ.

This is my 791st Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,827 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 312 – (AD 742) – 22.3 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Split Screen on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 22.3 miles on my Schwinn 170... Yes I am consistent. My total today – 15,355.2 miles; 24,711.9 kilometers.

I am headed west on my virtual Trek and I am located on Lasseter Highway in the Northern Territory in Australia. Even though the Google image appears to be a split image you can definitely see that it is dry…and red.

And I continue pedaling.

Picture this… actually listen to this. Land-line telephone rings. It rings twice. ID faceplate shows “Private Number”.

 I answer. “Hello”. There is a background “office-type” commotion in the background. I repeat. “Hello”.

“Can I speak to James Smith?” Definitely not an English accent, asked in English. Leaning more towards either Filipino or Indian.

I quickly reply and ask. “What are you calling about?”

The response. “I am calling about your computer.”

“Sorry you have reached the wrong James Smith.” I hang up.

Obviously a scam. Good article by Ollie Garkey to read on Daily Kos – “If you get a call about your computer, it’s a scam.”

(Photo: Elly Stewart/Kresge Foundation)

I am a kid, and I feel like a kid when I read about Ruth Adler Schnee. She signed a 20-year contract with the design firm Knoll International. Ms. Schnee is 91-years-old. Touché.

Read Micheal H. Hodges January 30th article in The Detroit News – "Textile designer picker as Kresge’e 2015 Eminent Artist."

I have an issue with Ancestry.com. In November I applied for a free trial with Archive.com which of course I had to enter an account number for the advertised "Free Trial". I obviously missed the "fine print" and Archive.com started billing me on a regular basis. I called when I noticed a third month charge.

They, at Archive.com, tried to say that it was my fault. Anyway long story short they reversed the three months of charges. And this was only after that I asked the question of why should I be paying more to a subsidiary of Ancestry when I had just renewed my annual international subscription to Ancestry which I have had an ongoing account for over 10 years.

Their response was almost immediate. I have already received the email notification of cancellation.

FYI Ancestry.com owns Genealogy.com, Fold3.com, Rootsweb.com, Newspaper.com and Footnote.com.  And once you start adding up the annual subscriptions costs the total is in the vicinty of $500.00 a year.

Many people are unaware of this and it is Ancestry.com's way of "dinging" for subscription dues from unsuspecting genealogy researchers.

This is my 790th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,764 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 311 – (AD 741) – 22.5 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Erldunda My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

When I woke up this morning I did not have the gumption to get on my cycle...and it was not the guilt but the fact that I have-to-just-do-it took supplanted the thought. Guess I am hooked.

This morning I cycled 22.5 miles on my Schwinn 170. My grand total is now 15,332.9 miles; 24,676.0 kilometers.

At Erldunda I turned an immediate right onto Lasseter Highway/State Route 4. Erldunda is a tiny town in the Red Centre of the Northern Territory. The village describes itself as a superior roadhouse. Erldunda has a population of just 50 people. (From Wikitravel.)

Finally got around to seeing "The Book of Mormon".


I laughed in places, and I enjoyed myself. At the Straz Center, it was a performance for a large audience. I always find that there is a loss of intimacy at a venue of this size. But I did exit the theater trying to think of what the playwrights really was trying to say.

Steve Bornfeld, Vegas Seven, sort of touches my feelings and thoughts in his article "Earning a Prophet: The Book of Mormon Is Outrageous, But Not As Ballsy As You Thought" - 

"Profound philosophical questions are posed in dialogue such as, “Can bullshit feed a hungry soul?” and, “Does it matter if the gospel is true?” While the characters are sweetly likable, what informs their lives—in essence, who they are—is savaged."


I think I will just read The Book of Arnold.

This is my 789th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,701 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 310 – (AD 740) – 21.8 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Cold on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 21.8 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals – 15,310.4 miles; 24,639.8 kilometers.

I am still, yes still, headed south on National Highway 87 in the Northern Territory.

But I do see a change in route coming up shortly.

And today is my 310th day cycling in Australia, and I have now completed 63.78% of my overall intended Trek in Part III. I haven’t as yet started to think about Part IV.

I have been looking at and exploring Brazilian and Finnish recipes. Hell, did I ever say that I love to eat?

Okay I am not a gambling person and I haven’t got any clue how to read the chart…but the games (no pun intended), have begun. And it seems that according to the Broward Palm Beach New Times a couple of Florida aspirants, (I just like the sound of this word), are heading to the front of the pack.

But aren’t the bookies missing FSIA (the frozen star of the incoherent articulation)?

This is my 788th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,644 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 309 – (AD 739) – 22.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Sherlock on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

And Bella just keeps watching.


Today I cycled 22.0 miles on my Schwinn 170. Total mileage – 15,288.6; kilometers – 24,604.7.

I am now located just a bit south of Five Mile Creek on Stuart Highway. And yes I am still, virtually, in the Northern Territory.

A friend asked me how I have continued to keep my commitment to pedaling this whole time, 739 days on a stationary bicycle. Apart from the real, perceived, and expected health benefits, the main factor of keeping me from getting bored is the choice of a video companion. For me it is the choice of watching a movie or a video series while I pedal. This practice allows me to concentrate on something other than a “lackluster” hour plus of cycling in one place. The movie or show helps me to escape and it allows me not to forget about the clock.

This definitely works for me. And I make sure that there are no shows about cooking or television with commercials. That’s a give as it appears that a good percentage of commercials are about food and/or eating. Also a fast-paced movie or TV series unquestionably helps me to pedal at a quicker clip.

Oh yeah my blood sugar count dropped by 6 points this morning.

My latest viewing companion is 2010 series Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Graves.

And there are some days that I just feel that I would like to “beam out” of here. Well I just found the perfect way to assist with my virtual Trek… I do not intend that there be any allusion, but I can just think of the steam-up as I transport myself to somewhere out there, out where I may be able to explore.

No play on any word intended but I want my Trek curtain.

Liked this photo. Thanks Curtis.

Which country?

This is my 787th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,608 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 308 – (AD 738) – 21.8 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Hugh River on My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled 21.8 miles on my Schwinn 170. In 738 days I have now pedaled 15,266.6 miles, the equivalent of 24,569.3 kilometers.

I am located at the crossing of the Stuart Highway at Hugh River, and headed in a southwesterly direction. I’m looking for the water. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a 24 Hour Rainfalls for this area today of “>0.2 to 9 mm”. I could be wrong; they could be reporting at least 0.0 mm.

The question is whether I am going to lose the battle against my rising blood sugar numbers. The fall-out of the last of the Christmas treats, Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake, is now finished. (Delicious, but now gone.) My early morning blood sugar count is up another 5 points. I am still not on any diabetes medications, and now, January 26th begins the assault to bring my numbers back into line.

Supper last night was a dish of Thai Chicken Curry – Chicken, Zucchini, Onion, Thai Curry Paste, Coconut Milk, Miso Broth, Straw Mushrooms, and Cilantro on Jasmine Rice.

I do like food…but…when I cannot pronounce the majority of the chemical ingredients I sort of steer clear.  I wonder if the saying "You are what you eat" is true?

And something really strange just happened while I was watching a quick video from The San Francisco Globe on “How To Make A Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich” on my PC.  (I obsess about food.)

Out of nowhere, actually not no-where but just on my desk, my iPad started talking out loud. Yep, that’s right. Right out loud my iPad started to have a conversation about grilled cheese sandwiches with the guy in the video discussing the perfect method. I think I am a little bit freaked out…

But this has to be a sign. And you know what? I am going to try to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

And is it media spin or did he really say that? “Now, Scott says, we can pay or rent, buy a car, help keep our economy growing, maybe even start a business.” This is supposedly his comment following that he is “trying to get us a whole $43 a year in tax cuts for our cellphones, land lines and TV services”. (Orlando Sentinel, January 21, 2015)

My question - Is that for each for each individual service? Or per household? Or per account number?

Today we start with the workings of the designs for three new quilts – Moon Over Bayshore, Reflection, and TBA.  Follow us at Quilts SB.

This is my 786th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,535 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 307 – (AD 737) – 21.6 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Is It A Resolution on My Schwinn 170?

Good Day,

Today is Tampa’s 4th week of winter, not consecutive of course. Right now it is 57° F; the predicted high is 63°. And we’re 20-feels-like-degrees warmer than Wilmington, Delaware. But we are 20° F cooler than my virtual location in the Northern Territory, Australia.


This morning I pedaled 21.6 miles on my Schwinn 170. My total miles are now at 15,244.8 and 24,534.2 kilometers.

I now located at a point on Stuart Highway that is sort of headed in a southwesterly direction.

Wondering why my blood sugar count went up 7 points this morning. Supper last night was a homemade Hot and Sour Soup/Stew… Jalapeño Sausage, Broccoli, Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Bean Sprouts, Carrots, Corn, Mushrooms, Ancho Pepper, Chicken Broth, Black Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Soya Sauce, Mirin, Black Pepper. Could have been the Chocolate Gelato I had for dessert or the late snack of Crackers and Peanut Butter?

Maybe I should try today’s conversion of St. Paul’s recipes – Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup or Saints Peter and Paul Cupcakes.

Maybe I should make a resolution?

Let’s make a deal, Governor Scott. Is it behind Door #1, #2, or the service entrance?

"But while reporters talked to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, Gov. Rick Scott left the meeting room at the Double Tree hotel in Tallahassee earlier than anticipated and through a back exit." (Sunburn, Jan. 23, 2015)

Say what? From the January 24th Washington Post – “Palin says she’s ‘seriously interested’ in 2016 campaign.” Please pardon my naiveté. For the Iditarod?


All borders have been attached. Our Chopsticks quilt sandwich has been pinned together. Check for updates at Quilts SB.

This is my 785th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,502 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 306 – (AD 736) – 21.5 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – 12th Destination and Goal On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I pedaled 21.5 miles on my Schwinn 170. I have now cycled 15,223.2 miles; 24,499.4 kilometers.

Check out my virtual journey as mapped out.

At 6.9 miles this morning I reached my 12th destination and goal point on my virtual journey through Australia – Alice Springs. This means that I have cycled a total of 6,591.5 miles; 10,608.0 kilometers as a part of my Trek III. I have completed 62.81% of my Australian journey.

Alice Springs is the 3rd largest town in the Northern Territory. The population is about 28,700, and this is about 12.2% of the total population of the Territory. And whatever you can think about doing in the desert is available to do in Alice Springs.

I am now headed southwest on Stuart Highway. My next and 13th destination and goal point is 273 miles away from my present location.

This is my 784th Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,452 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 305 – (AD 735) – 22.3 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Believe It I Am Still On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

Today I pedaled another 22.3 miles on my Schwinn 170. My totals are: 15,201.7 miles; 24,464.8 kilometers.

Yes, it does look like I am trekking in the desert. Something must be coming up soon as I am located on the National Highway 87. I am exactly 6.9 miles from my next destination and goal point. Oh and by the way I am still in the Northern Territory in Australia.

Today’s gonna be a quiet day.

This is my 783rd Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,406 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 304 – (AD 734) – 21.8 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Continuing On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I pedaled another 21.8 miles on my Schwinn 170. I have now cycled 6,562.3 miles; 10,561.0 on my Jim’s Trek III. Grand totals are – 15,179.4 miles; 24,428.9 kilometers.

And the virtual Trek continues on the National Highway 87. (I haven’t got a clue what the white band is on the Google Maps image, or where from where it came. I guess it is just something to make this part of the virtual Trek a bit more interesting.

Last night supper - Kimchee and Spicy Sausage Stew on Brown Jasmine Rice. Different taste, good and spicy. Blood sugar dropped 12 points.

I think I'm confused. And I thought I understood dramatic license. Is it only in the backwoods Florida politics that the FL politicians sit on both sides of the fence/aisle ONLY when it suits their next "planned" path to their next penultimate office?

Es tu, Bondi? Our Florida cracker rendition of Shakespeare's RicarduS Caesar...

(And yes, I know it should be “Et tu…”)

And yes I worked on and added 5 inches to our Afghan #7.

This is my 782nd Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,355 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.  And if you want to follow my weird and crazy journey you can always link to the URL address at http://jimstrek.com/.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim

Day 303 – (AD 733) – 22.0 Miles – Jim's Trek Part III – Almost On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,


Max and Tinker are waiting.  And waiting... and waiting.  (Hell if I know for what?)


Today I cycled 22.0 miles on my Schwinn 170. Totals – 15,157.6 miles; 24,393.9 kilometers.

I am still on Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory in Australia and I’m headed in a southeasterly direction.

I will soon reach my 52nd overall pedaling, albeit virtual, goal in just 51.0 miles.

And yes, as a follow up, pigging out at an Indian all-you-can-eat buffet line does add blood sugar count points in a negative direction. My early morning blood sugar count this morning jumped up to 115. I suppose 6 plates can do that to this “young” and “svelte” body of mine.

Did I ever mention that I love to eat? Oh and by the way I only put one 1 pound.

Well I don’t really watch much news television, but this morning just before I got on my fitness cycle I was tuned into the NBC Today Show. The three anchors were discussing a current NFL inquiry and something about Tom Brady and something about footballs. In the course of the “live” discussion Tamron Hall (I think that's her name) succinctly chimed in, without any hesitation, that the concern was about “Tom Brady’s deflated balls.”

Incomplete interception…or faux pas. Oh dear.

One of the largest school districts in the nation, right here in Hillsborough County, Florida, and a golden parachute of $1.1 million, Superintendent Mary Ellen Elia is out.

“Along with Valdes, board members April Griffin, Sally Harris and Cindy Stuart voted to end Elia’s contract, with members Doretha Edgecomb, Carol Kurdell and Melissa Snively opposed.” (TBO The Tampa Tribune, Jan. 21, 2015)

Our newly completed NT Celebration quilt has gone to its new home in Florida.

This is my 781st Jim’s Trek post. According to Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this morning, 59,298 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek.

Be healthy and enjoy your day.

Jim