PDX Ultimate Examined

I've been playing a little thing called Ultimate Frisbee* for a number for years. Back in college, it was a serious affair with practice daily, jerseys, and tournaments. Since college, it has been with friends in the park once a week. In that time, our group has developed its own nuances, rules, etc. Within the bubble that is Anacortes Ultimate, I've somewhat lost touch with how our skill level compares, common styles of play, etc. One of my big goals for my time here in Portland is to get a few games in. While my first attempt was thwarted by an improperly updated website, I got one in this evening. The whole time I kept noticing differences about the games here compared to the games up there. And for your viewing convenience, I offer you this chart.   Portland Anacortes Advantage Location 6 miles to playfields 6 blocks to the playfields Anacortes Frequency 6-8 games a week 1 game a week Portland Numbers 7s with subs 5s, maybe 6s if we're lucky Portland Force 1x: "Force home!" 6x: "OK" 1x: "Force home!" 1x: "OK" 2x: "What's a force?" Todd: "Which way is home again?" Portland Punctuality Starts over an hour late Starts more or less on time (except for Sherlock and Russ, of course) Anacortes Skill level Really good Pretty good Portland Group of folks Inconsistent strangers with a few regulars Fairly consistant regulars (except Herff, of course) with the occasional new comer Anacortes Otter Pops Nothing yet There was that one time... Anacortes It looks like it is too close to call. Higher level of play, but without the comforts of playing with friends using well adapted rules*. I had a great time and hope to get at least one more game in before I leave town, but I will be anxious for Tuesday night when I get home.

Thursday July 19 2007

File under: Anacortes, events

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on Fri 20th Jul, 2007 04:54 am PDT Chris said: Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not a professional or anything but I just about had to kill a few commanding officers when I organized a game with my old office for our PT one day! You want organized rules though, play with security forces-no one questions rulings and it's an immeadiate drop and fifteen pushups if a thrower touches you with the 'bee. ************************ on Fri 20th Jul, 2007 05:23 pm PDT Go! Turtle said: Last Tuesday was great, about 15 minutes of 3v3, then a half-hour of 2v2. *Sigh* I wish we had some better turnouts... ************************ on Fri 20th Jul, 2007 11:03 pm PDT Sweet Julie said: Oh Wrenny! You always do find fun things to do! I really admire that about you! I rode my by the Vons recycling center yesterday and thought of you! ************************ on Sat 21st Jul, 2007 09:51 pm PDT Wilbur said: I knew you'd find a way to make a tie out of it. haha...yea please come back...tuesday was terrible. ************************ on Mon 23rd Jul, 2007 12:56 pm PDT mandy said: i would attribute the differences to: population portland 562,690 vs population anacortes 16,300. no advantage or disadvantage, just different. ************************

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Game Night - Laughs, Fun, and Extremely Poor Drawings

In honor of the McCool troop (no pun intended) being in town, we all got together for another edition of the world famous game night. We had many of the usual players in attendence as well as some first timers. Many thanks to all who made it, some on very short notice. Highlights included [baby] Max, plates of spectacular food (thanks Keith!), mozzarella cheese (thanks Tyler!), a house full of laughs and smiles (thanks everyone!), Chantiel Krav, and an artistic rendering of Katy (thanks Sean!) (Note: artistic rendering not posted by request) A little on-the-fly javascripting (courtesy of moi) and you can check out some of the drawings from the draw your friends game! Also, here are some examples of pictionary telephone done well and, well, interesting.

Sunday February 11 2007

File under: games, events

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on Sun 11th Feb, 2007 08:23 pm UTC Andrew said: first. ************************ on Mon 12th Feb, 2007 02:51 am UTC amanda said: so glad the mozzarella didn't go to waste! loved the singing, wait, screaming snail of the Great Salt Lake. i still cry when i laugh about it. had fun, except for the Take Two introduction/tragedy that almost traumatized me forever. and was that one pic, amanda, erik's ex girlfriend? are you sure? by the way, i hope you sent a digital camera with your mom on her trip! ************************ on Mon 12th Feb, 2007 11:37 pm UTC Amanda said: you read my blog! i've been keeping up with yours... i have been in the city too long. today i imagined myself at adrift with nothing to do but drink asian pear wine. sigh. ************************ on Tue 13th Feb, 2007 02:43 am UTC Baby Max said: I want to see the drawing of Auntie Katy! ************************ on Tue 13th Feb, 2007 03:28 pm UTC Chris said: Hmmmm, I don't know if I approve of the infinity symbol being used in pictionary, it's only a matter of time before you start allowing people to just spell words out. ************************

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ACFL Pulling Party

One of the big assets Anacortes and Fidalgo Island have going for it is the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. There are enough trails too keep even a long time resident exploring. These days, I find myself out on hikes in the forest lands at least 4 times a week. I'm so grateful for the commitment to preservation of these lands for everyone to enjoy. Since I spend so much time out enjoying the forests, it is only fair that I pitch in a little. I've known about the monthly work parties for some time, but until now, I haven't been able to find time to go join in. Today's work party happened to coincide with the most beautiful winter day (although it almost feels like spring). About 8-10 people showed up at Little Cranberry lake to pull non-native invasive plants. After a little lesson in which are keepers and which need to get the kibosh, it was off into the forest. I spent an hour pulling english ivy and an hour pulling daphne. While my own feeling regarding non-native plants are not strong, it was great to learn how to identify them and a little about their history around this area. The next work party is on March 10th at Whistle Lake at 10:00am. I had so much fun this time, I hope to make it to the next one as well.

Saturday February 10 2007

File under: events

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on Sun 11th Feb, 2007 05:54 pm UTC Emily said: Down with the english ivy!!! If you see Denise Crow at the next event -local leader in Env. Educator- holler out a great big HI from me. ************************ on Mon 12th Feb, 2007 02:44 am UTC amanda said: i love hiking Little Cranberry. thanks for helping to maintain her! next time i hike though, i think i'm taking a chainsaw with me... ************************ on Tue 13th Feb, 2007 01:10 am UTC cardboard said: Oi strong work wren, that daphne spurge is super fullfilling to pull as its easy and you get the tap root everytime and its super terrible plant. Theres nothing quiet like grabbing ivy seedlings tho, the real bain is holy tho as its hard to kill without using some juice and birds eat its fruit which makes for large dispersal area. Noxious weeds rock my world. ************************

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Word Racer Wrap Up

Alert ESPN. Someone call Will Shortz. The results are in from BdWs first officially sponsored event, the Word Racer Meet Up. The results are: FUN! Four states from 3 time zones were represented by the full house in social lounge 6, including the trifecta from Jamaica Plain, MA. It was fast paced action with great performances by all. Highlights included "quieter", "sunset", "molten", and "emoted" from the Great Finds category. For Comical Inclusion, "shat", "booty", and "hooty" all deserve a mention. "Veg", "hoy", "wen", and "cole" top the list of Words I Didn't Know Were Words. As for the I Could've Sworn Those Were Words category, we'll leave those for insiders only. A big thanks to all those who participated! Keep an eye out for WRMU II soon!

Tuesday January 30 2007

File under: events

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on Tue 30th Jan, 2007 07:52 am UTC Horge said: Too bad I missed out. If y'all could just have it a bit later (after 1am) or quite a bit earlier, say 9am) then I'd be down for joining. You'd have a 4th time zone in the mix. And then you could claim transatlantic championshipness. I played a few times online and found I'm not so good. I prefer boggle. But also fun is Yahoo Grafitti. It's practically like Pictionary/Win-Lose-Or-Draw. But different. How different, you ask? Why, it's different cause it's online. Plus you can use differently colored crayons to help get your point across. ************************ on Wed 31st Jan, 2007 12:14 am UTC Jenn said: Sadly, those look to be in order of score (me being at the bottom, as in last). I would love to participate in WRMU II, and I hope to have a better showing. We all really enjoyed the game, thanks for setting it up! ************************ on Wed 31st Jan, 2007 03:08 am UTC Chris said: Yes, as for the "Could've sworn they were words", I think Dictionary.com and I are going to have to have a little chat before WRMUII. ************************ on Wed 31st Jan, 2007 07:21 am UTC Saxtor said: Chris, websites don't have kneecaps, so to save yourself embarassment I recommend changing your intended tactic. ************************ on Wed 31st Jan, 2007 08:25 pm UTC said: jenn- i promise that when i show up, you'll have a MUCH better showing. ************************ on Wed 31st Jan, 2007 08:37 pm UTC Wren said: For those people that love word games (or need practice for WRMUII), check out this game. It is boggle meets tetris. ************************ on Sat 03rd Feb, 2007 11:01 pm UTC nathan said: doh! missed it! i'll try to make the next one ************************

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The greatest show on earth!

Last night, I saw Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Baily circus at the Everett Convention Center. I'm not going to lie to you: I didn't have high expectations. I've grown accustomed to fancy circuses like Cirque d Soliel and Teatro Zinzani. I was expecting some elephants rolling on large balls, and a bunch of clowns. Boy was I wrong. Yes, there were elephants and clowns, but there was a bunch more. Hat juggling, acrobatics, trained house cats (which, we agreed, was right up among the top acts), a strong man, pyrotechnics, and 7 motocycles in the globe of death: it was great. I highly recommend going. The seats were cheap, and it was totally worth it. What made the experience even better is that a buddy of mine from college is a clown with the show. Afterwards, he took us backstage where we saw the clown dressing room (and got a couple autographs), and then to the train. The train, when compiled, is almost a mile long. We saw where the stars of the show live and travel. All along the way, Dan told anecdotes and details from his two years traveling with the circus. All in all, it was a late night, but so worth it. It was really something to see what it is like to be in a circus. I don't see myself running off to join one anytime soon, but it is nice to know that if I do, I'll know what is awaiting me.

Friday September 8 2006

File under: events, juggling

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on Fri 08th Sep, 2006 2:48 pm Saxtor said: HELL YES! The circus kicked ass! And I definitely owe it to you, Wren, for facilitating the making of it that much better. ************************ on Fri 08th Sep, 2006 2:20 pm Jule said: Why are clowns so scary? ************************ on Fri 08th Sep, 2006 2:26 pm jule said: wait! that sounded bad, as your friend is a circus clown, In fact, I have always enjoyed clowns and I think they have a bad rap, and they are multitalented people that brind joy to many people... but I sorta want to know what they are like in real life...scary? ************************ on Sat 09th Sep, 2006 2:43 am Trista said: I told you house cats could be trained. Now that you've seen it for yourself... "hah! I told you so!" i think is in order....or maybe you just didn't believe that I trained my quite accomplished and highly dexterous Lucy. This breed of talented kitties are out there, and with just the right encouragement and discipline, they can be given the opportunity to become something great. ************************

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Lasqueti Island Juggling Festival 2006

Lasqueti Island is a world away from everything. Last weekend, Nora and I biked up the east side of Vancouver Island (75 miles, round trip: We were proud of ourselves at least) to catch the little foot pasenger ferry over to Lasqueti. The juggling festival was a good time, but seeing the island and the culture there took the cake for me. The food for our meals were grown right on the property and cooked on the open fire. I slept in the middle of the garden under the stars. I pooped in a bucket. It was awesome. On Saturday night, we put on a show at the community center. Not too many people showed up, but what can you expect on a little island. Highlights of the show included fire juggling, 6 year olds hula hooping, a mud boot dance, and zucchini juggling. Biking with gear in my little old milk crate Luke only paid half price to bring his uni on the ferry A little juggling action from the public show Passing fire with Johnny

Tuesday August 29 2006

File under: events, pics

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on Mon 04th Sep, 2006 2:04 pm Sean said: We want to see pictures of the bucket! ************************ on Mon 18th Sep, 2006 06:59 am UTC Horge said: Pooping in a bucket? I bet that brings back the ol' memories, eh? Good ol' Guatemalan cups. Or wherever that was... ************************

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Silent Movies are a riot!

So last night I went to see Sparrows (1926) at the The Paramount as part of their Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays. It was a grand old time and I recommend it to everyone. The Mighty Wurlitzer was played to perfection. The crowd got into it hissing at the bad guys and cheering the good ones. And there were even prizes given away. It gave some idea of what the movie experience would have been like back in the day.

Tuesday August 22 2006

File under: events, movies

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A celebration of local foods

For my birthday this year, I decided to start a tradition of hosting a party that celebrated the local foods of the area. The experience turned out to be amazing, both the party itself, and all the knowledge and experience gained in the prepartion. The main reasons behind the party were: *the environment (minimize resources that are used in transporation of food *economics (by supporting local agriculture and food production, we help support our communities) *health (eating foods grown in the area mesh better with your innards) *history (to learn how things were before you could get Italian olive oil at the local supermarket) *fun (working within strict guidelines presents a challenge that was fun to overcome. *taste (fresh just tastes better) For me, the highlights were twofold. Firstly, all the preparation was great fun. We made our own butter from cream that we skimmed from local raw milk. Churning butter isn't nearly as hard as I thought. Figuring out a way to get salt was another fun challenge. I ended up getting some seawater from Fidalgo Bay and evaporating it in the sun. I was really suprised at how much salt is in salt water. Flour is something that I have always taken for granted. Yes, I see wheat fields around, but there is a large gap between that, and the flour that I use in my pizza doughs. Well, thanks to Keith, I now know the process start to finish. He gathered some rye from his neighbor's yard and threshed it for me. I ground the rye seeds(?) to flour using my coffee grinder. Then Jule and I baked bread with the flour. Gretchen also used some of it for a kick ass crust on her crisp. The second highlight for me was seeing people's reaction. Explaining to people where every ingredient in what they are eating came from led to a lot of wide eyes combined with a new appreciation for the food. The general support, excitement, and delight from all the participants just furthered my joy at the idea. So for those of you that couldn't make it, I've put together a menu of most of the things we had. Last minute additions unforuntately didn't make it to the list. So a big thanks to everyone that came and participated. Special thanks to Andrew and Per for taking some pictures. The kitchen was abuzz with great smells and great helpers Todd and Marieke look questioningly at the mushroom pate Joey and Per share a romantic glass of honey wine What party is complete without a fire juggling show?

Saturday August 19 2006

File under: events, pics

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on Thu 31st Aug, 2006 2:06 am per said: why does Snoop Dog always go outside equipped with an umbrella? ************************ on Thu 31st Aug, 2006 2:58 am Wren said: You know what's in Snoop Dogg's woodworking tool box, right? Four chizzles. ************************ on Thu 31st Aug, 2006 2:06 pm Saxtor said: .........okay, that one is good and not played out yet, so therefore I laughed. ************************ on Fri 22nd Sep, 2006 02:42 am UTC Trista said: so i taught it in my class ya know... and here are a few notes i took: what is it? a thank you letter about food writers birthday party tell us about how making local foods who wrote it? why? a woman who had a birthday/ because she cooks a man/ according to my feeling a boy a woman 30 yrs old/ wrote about cooking housewife/ woman What is Jule? the writers girlfriend Titles: Exciting Birthday My Super Party To My Friends Wide Eyes They really enjoyed it. And they were really surprised i knew the writer and even attended the party, which they didn't know till the end. So, thanks for the suggestion and the writing! ************************

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