Training Log Archive: barb

bridge ckt

On the topic of spelling:

I always spelled it "praying mantis." Then we found our mantis and in surfing the web I saw it referred to a couple places as "preying mantis" and I thought I even read something about how that was really its correct name. And this was at a stage where we were marveling about how EVIL and SCARY and predatory and unmerciful this bug is. So "Preying" really seemed to fit, and religious behavior seemed to have nothing to do with it.

But today I did a little more surfing, and it does appear that praying is correct and preying just isn't. I did learn a cool word, from Wikipedia: eggcorn.

C • I think there have been man... 2

C • eggcorn 2

Busy day, no training.
Took the kids to Quincy for an all-day (first of three!) workshop on what it means to be human, or, living powerfully, or, self-expression, or something like that. Taking them there and picking them up used 4 hours of my day. Then the evening was packed with homework from the workshop (list complaints you have, and how having those complaints benefits and costs you), and school (grasshopper report - did you know that grasshoppers mate for 20-24 hours??). Some excitement with the preying mantis as well: Dave brought her some big crickets and she caught one and then immediately another, so she was chowing down on two at once, prolonging the agony for both of them.



Click on this one for closeup to see mouth parts in action:






Recommended Site of the Day: http://whatsthatbug.com

C • Dragonfly Ripple 2

to work, to Long Wharf, to home. Biking in Boston: yikes! (in the rain!)

Biked in the dark rush hour rain to Hammond Pond, but got there 18 min late and I guess everyone was out in the woods already, which is good - no weather to be hanging around waiting in. Hope Brendan had a great birthday.

Kind of prickly on the way back, quick to get annoyed at drivers. Cried a little; feeling bad about my parenting. It's hard work.

The preying mantis Waldo laid a bunch of eggs! In an egg case up high in the cage, hanging from the screen on top. She looks thinner and is suddenly more active. Her ovipositor still has remnants of white egg froth. I guess she can't really reach it to clean it off.

I'm on a ROLL! I ran TWICE in TWO DAYS! Watch OUT! Here I COME!

After running in the morning, home from Radcliffe, where I'd left the bike yesterday. To work, home from work.

Evening. 4 min to corner stores for cookie ingredients; 16 min to work and back. Today was a lego club meeting; we started at school and the kids toured the building to learn about its energy consumption. Came home and did homework, and reviewed our tournament performance.

bridge loop. lower back twinge-y. Stopped to stretch a few times.

stretching

home to work, work to school

Pretty low key, but something. Took David to Reid's house and then walked with Isabel to work, with some subway in the middle.

I'm having trouble working in this exercising I'm supposed to be doing now. The homework support and other such things are feeling all-consuming...

early morning ride to the Fells - ice rink parking lot.

Walked around Boojum with Liz McNerney and Kelty.