Driving a stick

I learned how to drive a manual transmission (a 60's VW bug and an early 50's Chevy?) when I was 16. Most of the cars I have owned over the years have had manual transmissions. There is something very enjoyable about manually shifting up and down the gears when driving.

About two years ago I was doing some serious used car shopping for a charity case with a disadvantaged family in our ward. I scoured craigslist for economical cars and test drove quite a few. I got a pretty good feel for value and market conditions, and when I came upon a particular '94 Altima I saw a bargain. But it had a manual transmission and wasn't suitable for this family, so I bought it myself (see photo).

I paid a friend to do some needed front axle work, then fixed a few things myself (trunk water leak, power antenna, tachometer, front brake pads). I found some great barely used winter tires on alloy rims on craigslist. I washed, waxed, and cleaned it all up. I changed the oil and put in synthetic Mobil-1. There is immense satisfaction to be had in fixing and improving something yourself.

Steven was learning to drive so I taught him how to drive a stick with the "new" Altima. We started in the church parking lot, moved on to Oak Hills neighborhood, then an industrial park to practice with the clutch on hills (oh, the burning clutch smells!), and finally loops around Springville/185th/Germantown/Kaiser. So many engine stalls along the way. There is a nasty steep uphill terminating at a stop sign (185th/Germantown). With a car coming up behind I believe once I told Steven to just continue a right turn without stopping. Another time I had him stop and I jumped out quickly to continue the drive uphill with a car behind us.

What a great vanishing skill it is to be able to drive a stick. I was so proud of Steven's acquired competence, and even more so when he took his driving test using the Altima with a manual transmission. What instructor wouldn't be amazed and impressed with such a feat!

Riding in the dark

I have been a bicycling enthusiast for many years, going back to when I was a child. I got really serious about 20 years ago, doing centuries and week long tours. I was in the best shape of my life. For a number of years there I also ran for conditioning, but a few years ago I grew weary of all the aches, pains, and nagging injuries that running seemed to provoke. So I decided to step up my cycling again (to replace running), and included a regimen of commuting to work.

After joining Intel almost five years ago my commute distance increased to eight miles each way. Though long, the route was very conducive to cycling (I love Portland, reputedly the most bicycling friendly city in the USA!) so I set a goal to commute by bike at least 50% of the time. I exceeded that goal through the summer and fall, but with darkness setting in for November commutes home I balked. I had never ridden at night, but did some research and bought lights, fenders, and reflective clothing, and just kept on commuting. It was a big success! And I love how it makes me feel.

Well, with the loss of DST, this week is the start of my night riding season. I put fresh batteries in my lights, dusted off my reflective vest, bought some reflective decals at the bike shop, and cleaned my clear lensed eyewear. I often feel I am more visible to cars with my flashing lights than I am in daylight. Yesterday was such an enjoyable night ride home. No wind, pleasant low 50’s temperature. There is something magical about riding at night. For one thing you feel like you are going so fast! (I noticed the same sensation running at night vs. day.)

I included a picture of my commute bike with lights on and fenders.

Fall at Intel

Here is the view looking west from my building at work. Gorgeous autumn day with reds, oranges, yellows, and shades of green.

All the above was sent from my iPhone, which I used to take the photo. For some reason the photo didn't transfer so I had to edit it and add using my desktop PC. If I can get this method to work then I have a convenient way to add a "cheap" blog post on a day when I'm too busy. :-)

Never fear, though. Since I'm new to blogging I have lots of pent up topics I can post on. Maybe I'll write them all up in advance and serialize them with posts each day.

First blog post

I'm inspired by the blogs of my daughters, so I'm accepting the challenge of writing a blog post each day in November.

By the way, I spent maybe 30 milliseconds deciding on a title for my blog, and it isn't "A. Craig Walker's Blog". It is "A Craig Walker's Blog", a significant difference. In other words, it isn't "The Craig Walker's Blog" just "A Craig Walker's Blog".

Today was stake conference for the Cedar Mill Oregon Stake. Our ward was assigned the 10AM session at the stake center. The high point of the conference for me was sitting together with my youngest son. I won't dwell on the reason for us sitting together at the back, namely that he was slow getting up and dealing with a sore toe so I remained behind to go with him (Suzanne and "on time" Daniel left without us). We arrived quite late. In fact, so late the parking lot was full so we parked up the street at Five Oaks School. It was a nice, sunny day, so other than being late it was a pleasant little walk. Anyway, I didn't let any of that bother me, but enjoyed the conference and counted my blessings as I contemplated the fundamental goodness of each of my children, and was pleased to be sitting with Steven (http://steven-walker.blogspot.com).