For those of you who like pictures of the Alps, but have not yet joined facebook...

...this link is for you.

Ya-gotta-regatta

Head of the Rock
2008

Jaymie and me, Mixed Master's Double

Kristi and me, with our bronze women's open double medals

Jaymie and me with our gold medals

Yet another reason why I dislike unions, and believe that part of what has made America great is equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

Thanks, Ed, for pointing this article out to me about the rise and fall of Escalante's calculus program in California.

In 2004, UCLA economists calculated that FDR's policies prolonged the Great Depression by 7 years.

You would think that someone currently serving in Congress might have read about their report. Apparently not.

"The fact that the Depression dragged on for years convinced generations of economists and policy-makers that capitalism could not be trusted to recover from depressions and that significant government intervention was required to achieve good outcomes," said Harold L. Cole, UCLA professor of economics. "Ironically, our work shows that the recovery would have been very rapid had the government not intervened."

Please don't hold an intervention. My addiction is only ice cream.

Good thing: Last night after a rowing class, I went out and had a DQ blizzard. Mmm. Pumpkin pie blizzard = bliss. (Read::My new favorite.)

Bad thing: Wearing wet shorts and shirt, while sitting outside in the cold while eating the pumpkin pie blizzard.

Good thing: The friend who is also eating a DQ pumpkin pie blizzard next to you is suffering through the same state of wet attire, but like you, is enjoying every bite of it.

Good thing: Hot shower to warm up after freezing outside with a blizzard.

Bad thing: I swear I am colder sitting in my office today than I was last night sitting in the cold wearing wet clothes with a frozen object in my hands.

Other than the car...

...my life sounds about as exciting as Amanda's right now. Rowing. Work. Sewing. (OK, I really only just cut stuff out last night at the MBC Sweatshop. Or usually instead of sewing, knitting. Although having a sewing machine humming last evening in said Sweatshop did inspire me to get out some old projects and my sewing machine, which I haven't used for more than repairs in the last couple of years. But it was really nice to have Amanda do the fitting - that's always the hard part when you're sewing things for yourself and have no Matilda.) Also, I don't curl (unless it's up in a ball on my couch. But the fact that I now have friends who do attempt to curl is just hilarious). But I have started on my fall Bible study, so that's good. I'm a bit behind after missing the first couple weeks due to my vacation. And the whole orchestra thing, too. It's nice to stretch out my fingers and re-build those callouses and play on a more regular basis.

A little shooting this afternoon.

(As usual, no real phone; just the camera phone)

My dad and I went to our friends' farm south of the Twin Cities to get in a little target practice this afternoon. I'm proud to say I was able to hit the Mountain Dew can (even though my dad couldn't in the same number of shots - I'm sure I just had a better angle with the sun light...or something). However, the can apparently wasn't hot enough or shaken enough, because it really didn't erupt into the geyser as I'd been promised. I've decided I really don't like sights on rifles, especially when they glance off one's forehead during the recoil (I was shooting from a different position than normal, and it did not go well; after that, I went back to a more normal shooting form, which was much better). All in all, fun was had by all (especially when the friend let my dad and me take a ride in the combine through a bean field, which was, in essence, like letting my father relive his childhood).

HOTDM = Yes, it was very hot in Des Moines on Saturday.

But really, HOTDM means Head of the Des Moines. As in rowing regatta. (What else?) It's a 5K course along the winding Des Moines River.

My friend Kim and I are officially insane. Three days after coming back from Europe, we raced in the HOTDM. The following is a picture of how well we did. (Although I do not recommend this to anyone, nor will I ever race like this three days after getting back from a three-week trip through Europe, ever, ever again. Well, probably not.)

Kim: 3 silvers
Me: 1 gold, 1 silver
(And I unfortunately couldn't race my third event because my second and third races were too close together, and I was still racing the second one when the third one was called.)

Swiss Cowbells.

A taste of hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Mont Blanc's Hair (the glacier)
Chamonix, France

The view from my hotel balcony, Courmayeur, Italy

I'm back.

22 days, 5 countries, a mountain, a large Bavarian festival, countless museums and galleries, and hundreds of thousands of calories later, I'm home. And I have no idea where to start with on all the pictures I took.

My trip was amazing, but it's always good to be home.

Bon Voyage!

Dear Readers,

I'm going on vacation now, and don't plan on blogging too much while I'm over there. See you in a while!