Finally a real post

Bird eat bird world

A train roared overhead
Legs dead
As a crow picked over a pigeon
It looked at me with a bloody beak
Arms weak
As my feet stopped spinning
Wheel clicking
Coasting and wondering
If crows are frowned upon
For almost-cannibalism
Societal schism
As my back tightens up
With the end of descent
Last uphill battle
Before turning home

Poem:
Pretty much what it sounds like, yesterday I was biking in from my morning ride and saw a crow eating a dead pigeon under the railroad bridge. And because I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with interesting ideas for poetry, I thought I'd just write about that image and try some stuff with sound and form

Observation:
I haven't had a computer for the last couple of weeks, and to be honest, I've missed it less than I thought I would. With my phone and iPad, all I haven't really been able to do is waste time, which I haven't had much time for anyway. This isn't to say I haven't missed it at all, but now that I can put everything I really want on my iPad, other computers really only serve as a base station to store things I don't have room for. I think this is probably going to be where computing goes. People will have ultra-portable computers (phones, tablets, thin laptops) to carry with them, and a base station of large storage capacity linked to the Internet so they can access whatever they want. I'd be doing this already, but remote desktop stuff requires a steadier Internet connection than what I have currently. It's getting to the point that I actually prefer having my movies on my iPad than on a television. The portability is fantastic, and the size difference doesn't matter because if you hold an eight inch screen. a foot away from your head, it's remarkably similar to staring at a large screen across the room. And my iPad goes in every room, which is way better than thinking about which room you want as your tv room. It used to be a sign of luxury if you had a tv in lots of rooms. Well, with my iPad, I can watch all that stuff not only in every room in the house, but outside, on campus, and wherever else I can find wireless. With my phone, it's literally anywhere, though that screen is much less ideal. So there's no need for multiple tv's, no need for bulky laptops, and much less need for desktops. All we need is storage and good Internet.

Exercise:
In 500 words or less, write about "a plate of sunshine."

It reflected almost perfectly, the blue sky brought to earth on the polished silver surface. It couldn't help but stand out from its surroundings. The dish gleamed on the table, a brilliant skyscape amid tarnished teacups and dull cutlery. When a small child picked it up, the shifting colors of clouds, played across his face, forcing a squint and a smile before it was snatched from his hands. He knew "we look with our eyes, not with our hands," but stayed within reach, unable to divert his attention from that silver-sheened chunk of sky. His mother moved to a different table, less interested in dishware than self-help books and the occasional romance novel. She occasionally bought pieces of furniture, proclaiming them all antiques before coming to her senses and selling them (but only for a small loss).
She thumbed a book open, forgetting completely about the child still enthralled by the finely worked silver. He broke his gaze just long enough to ascertain the whereabouts of all relevant adults before approaching once more. He resisted picking it up, extending one finger to trace the etched rim. He applied pressure to the edge, just enough to shift the balance and alter the picture of the sky. Clouds spilled from the center to the far side, as though defying gravity, flowing uphill and threatening to spill onto the table. He took his finger away, and they pooled again in the middle, no longer in danger of flowing out into the teacups and silverware. He backed up until the horizon shown in the mirrored surface, the sky contained on one side by etched rim and on the other by rooftops. He stood there until his mother came and grabbed his hand with the one not full of pink-covered books, pulling him behind to the car. And as they drove away he looked out the rear window, one last flash of sunlight emanating out from the worthless pieces surrounding it.

Me:
I left off my last post before talking about my handball tournament, which was disappointing, but not too bad really. On Friday I played against jonathon hingey, a very talented guy from Missouri. I lost, but hit some good shots and got into some good rallies, and since it was in the open division, I wasn't heartbroken by the loss, which dropped my into the "a" category. Also on Friday I played an easy game of doubles with a random guy from Kansas city, which was kind of a routine victory. Saturday I played an easy singles match against a guy I knew from Des Moines, which gave me the chance to watch Jon hingey play against Dave chapman, the best player in the world. He came close to winning the first game, which made me think I might not have done too badly the day before. Then my doubles partner and I played against a really good team, losing the first game 21-1. I got a bit more into the rhythm of things the next game, and hit some good shots to make things less embarrassing as we lost 21-10 or so. After the game, Tommy little (the second seeded open player) told me I hit some good shots, which was nice.
I played again in the a division later that day, and took the first game before my opponent started hitting some really good serves. So I lost 21-2 in the second and was down 10-0 in the eleven point tie-breaker. And then I came back to win 11-10, which was fantastic for me.
Then I lost in the finals to take second. I would say more, but I'm still a bit sore about not playing my best. I can't decide whether to keep practicing or start focusing even more on biking.
Speaking of biking, I did a race right after that match on Sunday. It had the most brutal hill of the year on it, which I would have loved any other day. But not after an entire weekend of handball. I did what I could, and apparently just barely hung on for fourth place, getting my entry back. It turned into a time trial, really, since drafting doesn't really matter when the only thing that makes a difference is how fast you can climb a hill 18 times. So I survived, and then rode almost forty miles on Monday instead of taking it as easy as I should have. Which brings us to yesterday. In the morning I did hill repeats, and then my parents and I drove to cedar rapids to race at a half-mile car track. I hung in there with the fast guys, and felt good, even attacking hard enough to drop some cat 2 riders. I ran out of gas in the last race, but I felt justified since I had done the workout that morning. All in all, a fun time.
And I think that's it as far as major events. It should be less daunting to update now. My schedule looks like I'll have time to write Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so hopefully updates will appear by Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. If nothing else interesting happens, I will try to write more about the races yesterday, but I've been typing for three hours now, so I'm gong to call it quits.