We received a 6-0 beatdown last night from perennial powerhouse and frequent league winner Lions last night. We actually had some stretches where we played pretty well, but we still had some lapses. I received more compliments than you'd expect for a goaltender who gave up six goals, although I did have a couple good plays to keep the score somewhat in check. Now that we have played our two toughest opponents, I expect we'll turn around the W/L record in the next few weeks.

In our second game of the season, our co-ed soccer team was victorious once again! We gave up an early goal due to some defensive miscommunication, but rallied back with five unanswered goals for the victory. Even though the opponent was named "Last Place Team", it was heartening to see us playing well.

This weekend might have been our best backpacking adventure yet. We started a little north of Lynchburg, VA and hiked 17 miles over three days towards the James River. In previous backpacking trips, I'd complained to Elise that we didn't have any spectacular scenery. On this trip, that was not the case at all -- we had great views from start to finish. We saw a lot of the Blue Ridge mountains and valleys, and enjoyed the hike down to the James River bed. We stayed in two very nice shelter areas also.

The trip was with "friends of the Girl Scouts". It was supposed to be a Girl Scouts hike, but not enough Scouts wanted to go, so it was instead friends and families of the Scouts. There were about 12 people in our group and we had a great time with all of them. Scout was not happy to see so many boys (they're so scary!), but all in all the dogs did a fantastic job. They were thoroughly tired after we finished. They didn't even get up in the middle of the night on our second night (they did at 3am on the first night!). We were all glad to get back to our real beds last night :-)

I was sleepwalking a bit today, so I thought that maybe I was just imagining things when I got into the car after work and it felt lower. As I pulled out of my parking space, I heard an unfamiliar loud rub. D'oh! It took a little wrestling, but I managed to replace the tire without problem. It's clearly not a good time to be my Camry though!

Sandwich art!

There's a large collection of prediction tools compiled by Ian Ayres of Yale, including how long you'll live, your child's due date, and many more.

We had our first men's soccer game of the 2007 season last night. There were several key players missing from last years team, but we brought in some great guys to replace them. Combining our lack of chemistry with an upper-tier opponent, we lost 4-1. It looks like we'll be able to do better once we get to know each other better (and get into playing shape!)

I was driving to work yesterday when another car failed to look both ways. I swerved but they still managed to hit my rear bumper and make me skid for a bit. Fortunately everyone was OK and the only damage was on the bumper. The lady who hit me was very nice and apologetic about it too.

"You are actually 16 times more likely to get killed in a car accident on the way to purchase your lottery ticket than you are to actually win with the lottery ticket you buy there!" From Matthew Paulson

We went backpacking this weekend in southwestern Virginia. Once again, we had a great time! We arrived Saturday just before noon and hiked 4.5 miles to a shelter. After breaking camp in the morning, we hiked another 7 miles.

All of the new camping gear worked great! It was a good thing we had the new tent because it's smaller size made it easier to find a spot at the rocky campground. The new food bowl did not transfer all the heat from the chicken stew to my hands. The camping pillow made it tolerable to sleep in a tent. Good stuff all around!

The dogs were backpacking champions also. They struggled a bit with heat while we walked through some open fields, but once we hit the woods, they hit their stride. Hank had a few moments where he needed water but wouldn't drink it, so Elise added some chicken bouillon to the water and he was suddenly thirsty! They were only a minor annoyance in the tent (read: another 1am bathroom break). When we finally got back to the car, they slept all afternoon. Aside from Scout's random decision to run a few laps up and down the stairs in the evening, they slept most of the evening and still looked pooped before I left for work today.

This week, I'm getting excited about going to Myrtle Beach with my parents and my sister's family. Elise pointed out to me that including this trip and her work, her weekends are booked until Thanksgiving! So we're going to be plenty busy over the next few months!