Pi R sqaure? No, pi r round. Cornbread R square.

Today is 'Pi Approximation Day' being close to the North American date equivalent of Pi. You know Pi = ~ 3.14; 3/14 = March 14th? And you thought you were only supposed to beware just of the Ides of March! If you're interested in the world of Pi, then check out a few links; http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/history_of_pi/index.html or http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Pi-Day.

Kayaker Philosophy: I didn't roll, therefore I swam

A busy weekend for sure. On Sunday, after dragging several people out of bed through multiple phone calls after Saturday's TBH3 Green Dress pub crawl in Temple Terrace, we headed out to Caladesi Island for some kayaking. Most of us that went will be hitting the Everglades in a couple of weeks for the end of season camping and paddling trip before the weather gets too warm and the bugs too numerous.

The weather was a bit blustery, so I elected to keep the camera in the dry bag the entire time so to not chance getting salt inside. It was not too rough that it wasn't fun, though we didn't get the chance to see dolphins this time around. We paddled a little bit further than the last trip there and beached for a short lunch of subs. We portaged the kayaks across a small isthmus on the way back so we could relax on the leeward side of the island. We were fortunate to have a high side since the last time I attempted this I had to spend a good bit of time dragging the kayak over numerous sandbars. The next couple of weeks will be slow in terms of activities as I attempt to catch up on home projects and deal with issues at the office. I seriously need to start planning my summer and Australia trips and hope to find time to really start the necessary research sometime this week.

When there is no peril in the fight, there is no glory in the triumph.

I was lucky enough to score a pass for a pre-screening of the upcoming movie '300: The Battle of Thermopylae '. I have not been looking forward to see a movie in the theater in a very long time as I usually would just wait for the DVD release, however I have been really excited about this for some time; having watched the trailers multiple times. I was quite impressed overall and had a great time watching it and hope to get a chance to take a look at it in an IMAX theater once the crowds die down in a few weeks. In the general story, a bunch of Spartans swear they’d rather die than surrender or retreat, and then they do just that. Like Sin City, the images of 300 have been heavily post-processed to closer resemble Frank Miller’s comic book, and when there isn’t a slow-motion battle going on, the camera lingers over tableaux of warriors on a mountainside, trees hung with corpses, a fleet tossed about in inclement weather, and sweaty nymphs doing double-duty as corrupt oracles.

It’s all about as glorious as a half hour of the Battle of Helm’s Deep, without the rest of The Lord of the Rings to support, y’know, the characters. Instead, there are lots of speeches; about how freedom isn’t free, about how the only glorious death for a soldier is on the battlefield, and about how, yes, Spartans never surrender. In waves resembling nothing so much as the levels of a video game, the good Spartan king Leonidas (Gerard Butler) has to fight the villains at the Battle of Thermopylae while he is being stabbed in the back by treacherous politicians who refuse to support the troops and send reinforcements.

The movie seems to borrow liberally from John Boorman’s 'Excalibur' one of my favorite movies, ending of 'Braveheart', along with visuals and phantasmal aspects from 'Sin City'. In the world of 300, there is no room for art, negotiation, or weakness; there is only room for the strong. At the screening, outright murder brought great applause, and I would not have have been surprised to find an Army recruiting station outside the theater. Huah!

Overall it is definitely worth the effort to check out and is well done, so if you get an opportunity, go see it, especially if you can do so at an IMAX theater.

I've spent 90% of my life on fast bikes, chasing girls and partying. The other 10% was wasted.

This weekend was spent at the annual Bike Week event in Daytona Beach. A few friends and I took off Friday afternoon, after spending a half day at work, and headed over. I've been for the previous two years and have always had a good time. Our trip up there was interesting enough with the scenic detours and short cuts (not always the same thing) so we were glad to arrive at the hotel. after registering at the hotel we set up our stuff and went to the lobby to hang out. I don't know way, but I was fairly stoic Friday evening. We hit a couple of bars throughout the evening, but with the chilly temperature, I just was a bit tired from the prior emotionally heavy week. I did still enjoy talking with people that I had not seen in quite a while and running into old friends. though the room was a bit backed with 6 of us packed in the room, I was extremely comfortable and warm on the air mattress and slept well. Saturday brought in rain and more of the chill throughout the day. We started the annual run down main street (where the police shut down the traffic for 5-10 minutes so the group can do their run) and then hopped to several other locations throughout the day. I was looking forward to some shopping and bike viewing but the rain just kind of kept everyone inside. The evening room crawl was fun as we went from floor to floor partying with a different theme in each room.

Sunday was an entirely new day. the weather was bright, and clear and I felt great. After a run down the beach, we packed up and headed to one of the local bars for the end of weekend ceremonies. I don't know what the difference was, but I felt so much better and had the best time of the weekend. Though Bike Week tends to be expensive due to hotel costs, it still is a great time as it gets a lot of folks from all over the country to attend. Though I'm not sure if I'll be going next year due to the proximity of the Australia trip, I wouldn't mind making it an annual event.

Gambling is a method of getting nothing for something.

I had a few errands to run in the late afternoon and had just enough time to run by the Hard Rock Casino before heading off for the evening kayaking. Normally I am not one to gamble with anything but my sanity or life, especially not money, but I figured I'd give to a go. I had seen an ad in the newspaper that had everyone signing up for their free 'Player's Club' would get $100 in gambling credit certificates. I don't have a problem spending other people's money, so I went to sign up and got the promotional certificates.

After about 20 minutes of playing, I was able to walk out with ~$55 in cash. The key was to cash out every time anything was won, so I had a large stack of small denomination tickets but a few that were worth 4-6 dollars. I find walking into places like that quite depressing . The sad part are the people that just sit there staring at the screen pushing a button. It is like the old rat experiments where they are trained to preform a task and sometimes get enough of a reward in pellets (food for the rats, credits for the gamblers) to encourage them to keep going. I've always thought that gambling is just a state tax on people who are bad at math. The disgusting part is just the acrid smoke that blankets the place. Even for the short time I was there I feel that I now have to go burn my clothes in a backyard pyre. My roommate was lucky enough to walk out with just over $100 so I made her buy dinner after we were finished kayaking.

Since it had been a while, we decided to do a little more paddling in preparation for the everglades trip in a couple of weeks. We met at 'Rick's On The River' at 7 and were in the water in short order for the usual paddle around Harbour Island past the downtown area. It was a leisurely 3 hour paddle and good exercise and a good way to spend the evening.

Story about Christine.

Nurse With Passion For Kickball Killed Near Bar In Hit-And-Run

Posted Feb 28, 2007 by The Tampa Tribune

By VALERIE KALFRIN and MARI ROBYN JONES
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - Twice a week, Christine Hodill met with friends at MacDinton’s Irish Pub & Restaurant after the kickball games she helped organize.

Those who knew her reeled Wednesday upon hearing a car had struck and killed her about 2:30 that morning near the bar and her apartment. Police are searching for the driver.

“Everybody is still in shock,” said Barry O’Connor, general manager of MacDinton’s. “She was very outgoing, very personable. There’s nothing bad I can say about her.”

Police said a four-door Nissan Altima or Maxima hit Hodill, 28, as she crossed West Cleveland Street at South Moody Avenue. The car has metallic paint, possibly dark green or black. It has a large spoiler on the rear and dark, tinted windows. The car is missing the left side-view mirror and will have damage to the left front headlight and windshield.

Investigators ask anyone with information about the car to call (813) 231-6130.

Hodill, of 104 S. Armenia Ave., worked as a nurse, O’Connor said. Her off-duty passion was kickball. A local agent for the World Adult Kickball Association, she organized games every Tuesday and Thursday and hung out at MacDinton’s, a co-sponsor, afterward.
Through word of mouth, she had signed up as many as 400 players, O’Connor said. “It was all for the fun of it, you know?”

She also organized charity fundraisers. Last weekend, she put together a “pub crawl,” in which people paid $10 to bar hop in south Tampa. The event raised about $2,000, O’Connor said.
He hopes to hold an event at MacDinton’s to honor Hodill. “Hopefully, we can get the person who did this,” O’Connor said.

Kickball Tragedy.

There is no humorous subject line for this post. Christine Hodill, the main organizer for the local kickball league and related events was killed last night around 2:30AM in a hit and run accident. Many of us have met or had spoken to her recently regarding kickball or even at the pub crawl this weekend. Even after the game last night we were talking to her at MacDinton's and I spoke with her for a short time after she had expressed interest in checking out our running group after she had met several of our members this weekend.

Christine was instrumental in handling the organization logistics and did a LOT of work putting together everything for the charity pub crawl this weekend and was mentioning last night that they raised more than ever before and how the PAL charity would be able to use the money for new equipment.

***************************

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/newswire/story/woman-dead-in-hit-run/

By CHRIS CHMURA
cchmura@tbo.com

TAMPA - Police officers are scrutinizing Nissan Maximas and Altimas
today, following an early morning hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian.
The victim’s acquaintances, meanwhile, are publicly mourning their
friend’s senseless death.

Christine Hodill, 28, of Tampa, was struck around 2:30 a.m. at West
Cleveland Street and East Moody Avenue, one block south of Kennedy
Boulevard.

Hodill may have been trying to cross Cleveland Street, officers said.

A police statement says the vehicle failed to stop, struck Hodill, and
then fled the scene. Hodill died at the scene.

The Nissan was dark in color, possibly green or black, according to
investigators. “It had a spoiler, rear view mirror missing and front end
damage,” said police spokesperson Lisa Parashis.

Anyone who spots such a vehicle is urged to call the Tampa Police
Department or 911.

Hodill’s friends are publicly expressing their feelings in comments that have been posted online.

“Christine was a good friend. Always in a good mood, fun to be around,”
wrote Matt Johnston on TBO.com. Johnson said Hodill was passionate about
kickball and was a local representative for the World Adult Kickball
Association.

“We will miss you in the kickball community,” he said.

http://www.myspace.com/christinewtf

A post by Brian Hummel reads, “Christine I’ve cherished the moments
we’ve had together and I know God is with you, you will be forever missed!”

The Joy of Sax - Life is like Jazz, it should be improvised.

I was set to hare the trail for TBH3 and had it arranged so that we'd meet early and close enough to be able to make it to the Pub Crawl that was sponsored by WAKA, the kickball league with which we have a team that plays Tuesday evenings. I had intended to scout a bit earlier, but I had so much to do this morning, and of course yesterday was obviously unproductive, that I didn't have a chance to do anything. I hared from that general location previously, so I knew my way around. The entire trail was live and I was the only hare. After giving 'caulk talk' to a couple of virgins that showed up, I took off. trail was fun and I was able to keep it fairly interesting by running the pack through a couple of bars, a house under construction (taking them through the back door and out the front window), and down the street through an art show in Old Hyde Park that I had not know was there. I looped them back to the start for a beer stop and then on toward Howard, through McDinton's pub (where we would start our pub crawl) and then through a few apartment complexes on the way to the end. Though there were only a couple of runners, the pack enjoyed the trail and we finished in enough time to get to the pub.

The pub crawl was fun for the portion I attended. I had to leave early since I want to the Harry Connick Jr concert at the invitation of my friend Heather, whom was able to join the start of the pub crawl. after a scenic tour to Ruth Eckerd Hall, we arrived just in time. The show was enjoyable, however I was surprised as to how much talking he was doing instead of music playing. He related a lot of stories that were humorous and interesting, so at least it was entertaining. I really enjoyed listening to the music and recognized a few songs, including a rendention of 'Hello Dolly'. Afterwards we went back to see if anyone was still around, but most had gone home. I was able to hang out with Michelle and her out-of-town friends until the bars closed down for the evening and had an overall great time.

She's Gone.

I slept on the floor with her last night and she died in my arms this morning. My home will be so much more empty without her to ever greet me again. I miss her so much already.

Kinda

The plural of "musical instrument" is "orchestra"

This evening I decided to go to the Florida Orchestra concert at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg to listen to them play music from the score of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. I have been a LOTR fan for a while and was always moved by the music that was composed by Howard Shore and felt it made the movies so much more moving and potent. I wanted to get to the theater early, but I had an issue at the office with which I had to deal, so I left really late and was in a rush to get there. I didn't pre-purchase any tickets due to online 'convenience' fees and such and figured I'd just chance it and hope for the best. This strategy has worked out in the past such as the recent concert I attended at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater last month. I was then able to get great seats in the orchestra section through someone selling from Craig's list for less than the cheapest seats in the house. I do tend to believe in karma a bit in terms that if one is willing to help others, then they may be helped as well.

I arrived less than 10 minutes before curtain, so most people had gone inside already and I figured my only chance was to get something from the box office. Unfortunately someone was just ahead of me, so I had to wait a bit. Just as I was starting to get antsy, someone came up and asked if I needed tickets. I inquired a bit more and apparently the guy had some extras and was just willing to sell them for about $20. Since even the cheapest tickets advertised were at least $25 (I later found out that all those were sold out and the only available seats were $45), I decided to go for it. I was dismayed to find that I only had 2 one dollar bills, a ten dollar bill, and an hundred dollar bill (just got paid for a job) that I was going to use at the ticket counter. The guy was very kind and accepted the $10 since the seats were right next to him anyway. After he went inside, I tried to get chance for the large bill, but was told that she didn't have enough. I went inside and when I looked at the ticket I was surprised that it was for the orchestra section, in the seventh row!!

I explained to the guy about the change thing and tried to give him my address and phone number so I could later send more money, however he politely declined any additional money other than the last two dollar bills that I had thrust into his hand. Apparently he did web design for the orchestra and instead of getting paid, they gave him tickets to events. sine they were nearly free, this person could have just as easily not even taken the time to offer them to someone standing in line, especially when the concert was minutes away from starting. Though they left during intermission, I did try to extend my appreciation and get a chance to chat for a few minutes.

The performance itself was phenomenal! With some minor variations, it was very nearly like the soundtrack, only better. Besides just the instruments being played, there was a 170+ person chorus consisting of the USF Chamber Singers, Florida Boychoir, and the Clearwater Christian College Chorale. Almost all of the major pieces from the soundtrack were played with splendor, including soloist vocals by Kaitlyn Lusk. I have no problem admitting that parts of it were as stirring this evening as they were when I first heard them in the theater. In all they played a little over two hours and I am very glad to have had a chance to experience this and am encouraged to attend more events when I have the time or money available. In the warmer weather there will be some free concerts in the park that I'll have to add to my calendar of events.