Fat Head

Started early, anxious to transfer my restless overnight thoughts to email before they dissolved in the day's affairs.  Checked the UK East Anglia weather forecast.  Then the swine flu forecast, to learn if travel restrictions might disrupt plans for an international meeting here tomorrow or my trip to the US at the weekend.  Not here, but in many other locations I would also check the air quality forecast, thinking about exercise plans for the day.

The image to the left shows a DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan of me.  This scan occurred as part of a very complete physiological and biochemical analysis that I had a few weeks ago.  The tests, designed to look at diet, exercise, and metabolic influences on weight and diabetes, occurred as part of a large Fenlands (east England lowlands) study, but also at a perfect time for me as a check on my overall fitness and recovery from my bike injury last August.  I had a stress test, all kinds of blood tests, and all kinds of weight, body mass, and body fat tests - part of the study seeks to define the most reliable and least invasive indicators of obesity for most people.  I wore a combination accelerometer (to record my activity level) and heart rate monitor for several days.  Overall, and no surprise whatsoever, the data show me as extremely fit for my age but also overweight.  

Of course I started fiddling with the data.  Since they had to estimate my fitness from my VO2 max, and had to estimate that from my max heart rate, what if they had my max heart rate, calculated from my age, too low compared to my real max heart rate which I reach during intense exercise once or twice in some months?  What if they had my height too low, how would that affect my body mass index?  I did not do any long or intense exercise during the time I wore their activity sensor - how did that affect my ratio of activity metabolic rate to resting metabolic rate?  Just like a scientist, I want to fuss with the data rather than confronting the main problem, too much weight.  The DEXA scan shows my fat head.

I did get my Arctic text done for the Senate hearing, in about 6 hours on Sunday.  I had a brief message from the Committee staff on Friday, but nothing since on time, length, other invitations.  Travel restrictions due to swine flu now seem unlikely, at least to the US.  Unless things change substantially, I plan to fly on Saturday.

Today a long run east on this side of the Cam, back on the other side, almost 12 km.  Very pretty and fragrant run this time of year, down river to Baits Bite Lock, about 80% on grass or soil.  But I agree with Mary Lou - the ground has dried out and we need some rain.  As they often, for mysterious reasons, do, the two most recent rain systems crossing England avoided East Anglia.    

All in a day

We heard that the daughter of local friends, along with classmates, went to Paris for the day.  By train and ferry, apparently.  That sounded fun to me.  I have occasionally invited my sister Barbara to come to Cambridge for a visit, primarily so that we could do what the students did - go to Paris for lunch.  I went from Cambridge to Vienna for the day, albeit a quite long day 4a to 11p.  I travelled by airplane, not my preferred form of travel in Europe but necessary in this case.  

I attended the final day of the annual meeting of the European Geophysical Union, to deliver an invited talk to open a session entitled 'The Cryosphere - How Much Longer'.  Evidently that title caught people's attention.  We had 150 people or more in the room, remarkable for the afternoon of the final day of a week-long conference.  After me, international experts spoke on glaciers, permafrost, and Arctic ice shelves; I had used Arctic sea ice as one of my examples of prediction challenges.  All of us made an identical point - that components of the cryosphere have changed (disappeared) beyond historical precedent.  I gave a new talk on my current most-used theme - the need to quickly convert our IPY discoveries into predictive skill.  I used Arctic sea ice, an Arctic marine ecosystem, and Arctic vegetation as examples, showing innovative (in my view) modeling efforts in each case, drawing the conclusion that we have many components of an integrated prediction skill if we can only put them together.  Given that I composed the talk the day before, finished it in the airport before the flight, and polished and practiced it on the flight, I thought it went rather well.  As conveners and speakers gathered for a post-session coffee (or beer, Vienna after all), prediction and predictability dominated our discussion.

Mary Lou doubted that I would get up this morning for an early bike ride.  She didn't know that I had planned my workouts over the past week toward this ride or that I anticipated it during last night's travel back to England and Cambridge, particularly as the limo used the same route into Cambridge that I would take.  I did start early, 6:15, and had a great ride, one of my best (fastest).  Perhaps not as fast for a similar distance (30 kilometers here, 20 miles there) as I used to do in Boulder.  But that route had straight roads with wide bicycle lanes, four corners (two of which favored full-speed turns), and only one stop sign.  This route has narrow rough roads with no shoulders, 6 villages with speed-calming (reducing) impediments at entry and exit, 9 round-about intersections, and 3 km on Cambridge streets at start and finish.  Today's route also has ten stoplights.  I had green lights for most of them and went cautiously through the others; I never clicked out of my pedals.   

Tired now, writing this blog when I should work on my text for the Senate hearings, probably due Monday.  If weather allows I hope to do a long ride, at a relaxed pace, tomorrow morning.  

Rolling Recovery

I still have not quite 'returned' to this time zone; I gain about an hour each day.  Supposedly, exercise, especially late afternoon, helps one reset one's biological clock due to exposure to a setting sun.   Having cycled at a very high (for me) level of effort on Sunday, and having taken a long albeit easy run yesterday along the Cam, and hoping for the end-of-the-day time zone re-calibration effect, I made a very easy ride home from work late this afternoon.  Why does an easy ride get mentioned in my blog?  Because I never ride easy!  I always chase or push or climb - anything to feel the effort and sense the speed.  So I had to 'work' at keeping today's ride easy - 22 km, 55 minutes, only 2 minutes in my lowest heart rate target zone - perfect.  What the professional bicyclists call a 'rolling recovery'.  

I have a GP (General Practitioner) appointment tomorrow, to review the array of fitness tests I had a couple weeks ago.  I had complete blood analyses, of sugars, enzymes and lipids.  I had three or four different kinds of body fat / body mass measurements, an electrocardiogram, and a treadmill stress test.   Also a glucose response test.  And several others, I don't remember - a full morning's worth.  I already know the blood pressure numbers looked very good, that the electrocardiogram had the usual occasional arrhythmia, and that I passed the stress test with flying colours.  I suspect the GP will talk about weight and cholesterol tomorrow, familiar topics.  

I work on a presentation for the European Geophysical Union meeting, for a time slot on Friday.  Before I get too far into the graphics, I should remind myself what I wrote in the abstract.  I also work on text for a US Senate hearing scheduled for the first week of May.  I anticipate that they will want written text of the testimony beforehand, as soon as next week.   Written testimony without graphics! - a first for me, at least during my time with IPY.  Just to keep my graphic skills sharp, I did a nice little video for ICSU for their Executive Board meeting next week - edited down from a longer version I produced a few months ago.  Fun.

Back to Cambridge

I arrived early yesterday at Heathrow to a very gray damp morning - even British travelers remarked at the dismal weather.  I used the coach (bus) service to Cambridge because I had a normal suitcase plus my bike case - too hard to handle two cases on the Tube and train.  The coach had too much heat, which the driver could not reduce, and didn't work properly in reverse. In our experience British coaches often have transmission or heater problems.  My luck to get one with both problems simultaneously.  Mary Lou met me at the coach stop and we dragged the cases home (two blocks).  

After a nap, and as the weather improved, I unpacked, cleaned and re-assembled my bike.  I made a short test ride, then parked the bike and went for a short run.  By 8 pm I had fallen asleep - I had not slept during the overnight flight and for only a few minutes on the coach.  Mary Lou, out and about on Saturday errands, left me a note and a periwinkle flower this morning.  The 'Good Morning' greeting of the note almost expired, and the flower had wilted, by the time I woke - I slept most of 14 hours.

I attended to various computer update and backup tasks and finished work on my bike, then headed out for a moderate (length and speed) ride.  First the dilemma of how to get out of Cambridge - which route will involve the fewest pedestrians, dogs, prams, cows (summer on the Cambridge commons), construction, traffic?  In any direction it takes about 20 minutes to escape.  Once out, though, one has green hedges, many trees and shrubs in blossom, bright tulips and bedraggled daffodils along the roadside, and green (or bright yellow - rapeseed) fields.  Despite vehicle traffic and very rough pavement in many places, I enjoyed this English countryside ride after never really getting out of the city during two weeks of riding in Washington DC.  Of course, with rarely more than 3 or 4 km between villages in this part of England, and various constrictions, impediments, and barriers in the villages, I maintain a continual search for undeveloped stretches suited to longer and harder efforts.  And hills?  Forget it in East Anglia.  

But now, with sounds and smell of dinner (including fresh local asparagus) in preparation, and unlimited daily first-hand reportage on horse health and performance, I feel very glad to have returned home.  I noticed that Mary Lou had one of the DVD cases from the 'Lord of the Rings' out.  I knew she viewed DVDs during her break, but I thought she must have felt pretty bored to have watched 'Lord of the Rings'.  In fact, one of her equestrian friends knows a person who owned one of the horses used in the movie - we will have to view it again but with an equine focus.  

Cold and wet but warm and friendly

Busy all day yesterday at the Antarctic Treaty meeting in Baltimore.  This time I found the commuter train, direct to a station immediately next to the Convention Center so I avoided the taxi ride from the Amtrak station.  But did I get on a historical train run for rail enthusiasts, or a commuter train? Not sure.  Only a few passengers northbound at approximately 715a, and fewer coming back at 330p.  Three cars, they really only needed 20% of one.  I thought about the Cambridge to Kings X 0715 train, one of the busiest in England we read, 8 cars with 150% passenger load to seating capacity.  I found today's train convenient, inexpensive, and pleasant, even if old, slow and under-used.  On return to Washington I had a working dinner with a colleague here, then finally returned to our apartment.  Gus had explored westward from here, farther into Virginia, on my bike for a couple hours - another good reason to have brought it. Pack it up tomorrow.

Today we braved the rain to visit several museums.  We used Dave's personal preference route, starting at the Renwick then to the Freer and finishing at the Sackler.  I do this route to view works made by artists who work with their hands.  Not in painting and sculpture, but in wood-working, weaving, glass and ceramic making, calligraphy.  I know each of these museums has pieces that I enjoy for their appearance and their craft in their permanent collections and I know that I have a good chance of seeing fresh (to me) works of the same type.  I explained my reasoning to Gus and we set out.

We had excellent luck today.  In the Renwick we found a special exhibit of drawings, furniture, and decorative pieces by Greene & Greene, early 20th century US architects whose work I greatly admire (many books in my design library and strong influences on several of my own furniture pieces).  I should say also that I particularly admire their Swedish builders - whose work got very nice acknowledgement in this exhibition!  In the chronology of the exhibit we could see the Greene brothers' work develop from primary influence of Morris and Stickley, with their own gentling touches, through the incorporation of Japanese decorative features, to the almost abstract design of their final products.  Gus and I enjoyed this chronology and had a close look and thorough discussion of many of the furniture pieces: what they had added, how they had built (the Swedes, actually), similar features and techniques that we could recognize from my own work.   We also enjoyed a quick glimpse of the Renwick's massive collection and display of Catlin paintings of the high plains Native Americans.  

In the Freer we found a very nice special exhibit of Japanese use of gold and sliver leaf, inlay and paint in screens, boxes, and paintings.  We felt amazed at the quality of work and of the luminous effects, and we identified distinct design features that clearly influenced the Greene's work.  We also saw amazing and beautiful glass work and calligraphy and enjoyed the large Japanese screens on display.  We walked underground (out of the rain) to the Sackler and, tired by this time, sought out only the display of contemporary Japanese ceramics.   But what a find, in the bottom-most gallery, eight pieces of the most amazing hues, patterns and designs. Awesome, unbelievable what these artists have achieved.  Hand work and artistry of the highest order, just what we wanted to see and a nice completion to our visits.  I felt that the museum staff welcomed us everywhere we stopped.  

We entered the National Gallery, but only to walk to the below-ground restaurant for late lunch. We didn't find anything particularly interesting in the East Building (although we stared for a while at the Calder drifting above us), at least within our focus on hand-made work, so we walked up to the metro and came back to the hotel.  An hour or so later, my sister Barb came out to join us for the evening - she had meetings (on health care, of course) yesterday and today. We went again to the local roast chicken restaurant around the corner, even warmer and friendlier tonight with the dining room full of families getting out of the cold rain.  We came back here to talk and look at videos and pictures and then Gus and I walked Barb back to the metro station.  We might have bought an ice cream or two, and a few Clif Bars for our airplane journeys tomorrow. 

With Gus

Gus did arrive, approximately on time.  I met him with no problems.  He said the delay involved a change from a larger to smaller aircraft, with re-assignment of seats.  We feel lucky that, flying stand-by, he still got a seat.  

After a quick dinner, we took the Metro train into the District and walked down to the west end of the the Mall.  Nice evening, clear, wind had dropped.  We encountered many other visitors, particularly kids as part of organized tours.  

We visited the two hallowed places, in my opinion, in the city: the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Monument.  We talked about our understanding of the history and impacts of those times and events.  

Today we went back to Dulles, by Metro and bus, to visit the Air and Space Museum housed in an enormous hangar out there.  We spent several pleasant hours wandering through the exhibits of more than 100 aircraft - gliders, fighters, jets, pedal-powered, commercial, military, experimental, including a full-sized space shuttle.  Our knowledge of aircraft (especially mine) and our knowledge of history both improved.

We traveled back into the District for some father-son shopping.  We realized that I have probably bought Gus a new pair of shoes almost every time I have seen him over the past 3 or 4 years, approximately every 9 to 12 months.  Not often enough, from the condition of his current shoes!  He buys model airplane parts in preference to footwear - who could disagree with that?  We also visited a bookstore and a bakery.  A little further out, into Maryland in fact, on the Metro and we reached an REI store, where we bought him a new tent for his summer hiking and bicycling.  Another Dad to Gus treat.  

Tired, we traveled back through DC to Arlington.  We ate at a family roast chicken restaurant around the corner from this hotel, with hundreds of chickens rotating over charcoal fires in several big ovens.   We had smelled their product from our balcony.  We enjoyed very good very friendly food in a very popular local establishment - long lines of customers came for take away as we ate.   Fun.  

I will travel again to Baltimore tomorrow for a day of meetings, followed by a dinner meeting once I get back to Washington.  Gus plans to visit the White House and perhaps, if it doesn't rain (but it probably will) ride my bike.   

A Bright Day

A bright day, cool and windy, in Washington DC.  I cycled early, but for just a short ride because I felt quite cold.  I rode to the bottom of the local hill, turned and rode up the entire hill at a brisk warming pace, then finished with an easy ride downhill and downwind.  With a clear night, temperatures dropped below 5C, and I don't have clothes with me for those temperatures.  I did not want to wait until later, for warmer conditions, for two reasons.  First, on a nice weekend day the bikeways will get quite crowded during the mid-day.  Second, I did not know Gus' schedule other than that, coming from Denver, he would not arrive early morning.

He will arrive late afternoon, in fact, if his plane ever takes off (I watch its departure time slip by 10 minutes and then additional 10s of minutes as I write this).  I think he flew successfully from Gunnison to Denver.  As an airline employee, he gets a certain amount of 'free' stand-by travel, but I think he didn't know his overall schedule until he checked in for his first flight this morning.

If we have time this evening, we may take the metro toward the Washington mall and then walk to the Vietnam Memorial.  Gus has never seen it, and wondered what kind of memorial could properly represent that time and that event.  I told him he will understand when he sees it.  I read about a concert today, free, at the Lincoln monument, to commemorate the open-air performance that Marion Anderson gave there on easter sunday 1939 after the DAR refused to let her perform for an integrated audience in their Constitution Hall.  Unfortunately, the concert today will end before Gus and I could get down there.   

We will have Monday and Wednesday for exploring.  I will go back to Baltimore for Antarctic Treaty meetings on Tuesday, and both of us leave on Thursday.   I see that Gus' plane has left the gate!