BRRRRRRR!

Well, winter does seem to be here in the DC area! Cold, but alas no real snow. Flurries, mostly, aside from a tiny snowfall last week, that ended up crusted in ice by a bout of freezing rain. Not uncommon around here, but just kind of icky. I'd much rather have just plain snow, but it seems that freezing rain or sleet almost always ends up in the mix here these days.

The back is healing well now. Still don't quite know what I did to myself, but resting and reading a lot has helped. I've been continuing with Bill Bryson's Thunderbolt Kid, as well as Alex Kershaw's The Few, about the American fighter pilots who flew for the British Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. I've only gotten through the first part, where they make their way to Britain, but it's been fascinating so far.

On a semi-related note, I just saw Clint Eastwood's film Letters from Iwo Jima, and it was really, really good. It does a very good job of portraying the brutality and insanity of war, and some of the acting and the characters are just beautifully drawn. You see the whole range of human nature there... from the poor baker who was drafted and now just doesn't want to die, to the fanatically suicidal soldiers to whom death is the ultimate glory... and a lot in between. Very well done... see it if you haven't yet.

In the bike world, nothing terribly new and exciting. I'm still trying to decide if the Miyata with Albatross bars is going to work for me, of if I should switch to moustache bars. Today is the big swap meet up in Westminster, Maryland, which I wanted to attend. Alas, due to some scheduling issues, I have to work instead today. Just as well, I suppose, as I would probably have bought things I didn't really need. Ah well. Such is life.