Urine My Space

This is probably the only men's room post on the entire internet written this week that is in no way connected to Senator Larry Craig.

On my floor there are two men's rooms. One has three urinals and one stall, the other has five urinals and two stalls. For a quick leak, I go to the smaller (closer) men's room. When it's time for, um, a sit down, I go to the two-stall bathroom which is farther down the hall.

I have long thought the rules of engagement when faced with a bank of urinals is universally understood.

I am wrong.

Two days in a row, I have been first in, chose Urinal #3 (farthest one) and have been followed in by a student who faced with the choice of #1 or #2. Here's the scenario:

| 1 | 2 | 3 |
. . . . . . x

And they each chose #2—directly adjacent to me! WTF? This wouldn't be the first time moron students here have drawn my ire in the can.

Think you know The Rules? Take the test.

For those of you who missed Art History 101, the picture is of this.

In related news, at the library today, I used one of the crazy new waterless urinals. Saves 40,000 gallons of water a year. Per public urinal. Pretty good. Put that in the commercial building code, please.

00:25:29

Today was the first day of commuting by bike. It took me 25 minutes to get to work, and since I left way more time than that, I actually got to work far earlier than normal (I'm a 9:05 kinda guy).

I was like a kid on Christmas Eve last night getting everything ready to go for the morning ride. While I'm not looking as forward to the more uphill ride home in 90-degree heat, riding in definitely works—not too sweated-up, etc (change of clothes in the office), and I seem to be more energetic this morning. When I arrive home, I can always just tumble into Kid Furious' pool to cool down.

"On a Steel Horse I Ride"

Well, Alpha Hydroformed Aluminum anyway. There she folks, my new mofo commuter bike. My ticket to fitness and freedom from fossil fuel dependancy. Er, three days a week, weather permitting.

I've been trying to take Ruby (aka Kid Furious) on bikeseat-rides this summer and my old DiamondBack mountain bike had seen better days. Brought it in for a tune-up and it needed new tires, brakes, and various other things and it was going to run me like $160. I wandered around a bit in the store and started thinking about just moving to a new rig instead.

A week of test rides at lunch and obsessive online research later I made my choice—the Trek 7.3FX. Part of their "fitness" line. Sort of a hybrid, but more on the road side of things, without the drop bars and lower riding position. Much faster and lighter than my old bike, and I am confident it will serve me well as a commuter bike and dragging the kids around.

Over the last month, with smarter eating and modest treadmillin' I've lost about seven pounds, and am poised to re-enter the 170s. My target is the 160s—territory I probably haven't seen in over a decade. Hoping the new bike regimen will get me there quicker and will get me the cardio I so desperately need now that I'm pushing 40.

I just dug out my old bike threads and threw them in the washer. What're the odds they will actually still fit me? Probably should've tried 'em on first...

Mr. Furious Heartily Endorses…

Ecover dishwashing powder. Freaking fantastic stuff. I am in charge of the dishes in the Furious household, and I've used just about every kind of dishwashing product both for washing in the sink and using the dishwasher*. In most cases, using the ecologically-sound product involves a compromise of some measure. Not with this stuff. Not only is it the best "green" dishwashing product I've used, it's the best dishwashing product period. Better than anything else I've tried.

Seventh Generation diapers. Just about as good as Huggies (and for the record, Huggies kick ass on Pampers). We still wrap Charlotte's butt in a Huggies for the overnight, [UPDATE: We were just using up the Huggies, it's now all-7th Gen all the time.] but for all-day use? Go with the unbleached, earth-friendlier Seventh Generation diapers.

Triple Delicious Pie Finest dessert ever created. Made for me annually by Mrs. Furious in lieu of a birthday cake. Luckily, my birthday (this past Monday) coincides with the rhubarb season. Topped with vanilla ice cream, accompanied by a cold glass of milk…this pie might be the food event of the year for me. I savor it all week.

Coming soon: Headphone recommendations. My birthday items (one a gift, one a purchase) include a pair of upgrade headphones for use with the iPod, and a pair of wireless headphones for watching tv on the treadmill—which after this week's pie-fest, will come in handy. I am in the midst of auditioning contenders for the coveted spots in the Furious musical and television-viewing empire.

* What Mr. Furious does NOT endorse is the ridiculous "AnyWare™" silverware basket in his otherwise-excellent Whirlpool. A nice idea on paper, the best place to put it is hanging precariously on the front of the main rack, waiting to get ripped off by anyone but me who opens the washer. And it's convenient opening side is much too loose and tends to release my clean silverware on the floor on it's way to the drawer...