Author: Alex Nonnemacher

Yesterday’s 5k Row is a Personal Record

Between the weekend getaway and a toy show I promised to take the boys to, a 10k wasn’t in the works for me this Sunday. I did manage to squeeze in a 5k and set a PR by a hair. Behold:

5k-rowing-workout-December-10-2023

Nothing terribly exciting, although I will point out that I was able to pull with more power at a lower stroke rate;. If you look at the third split, most relevantly, today I pulled at 198 watts at a stroke rate of 25 strokes per minute, while I pulled 198 watts on my previous PR in November on the third split… at 31 strokes per minute. It’s a small bit of data but it’s exactly what I”m trying to do: row with greater power, but more slowly.

Sunday Serial for December 10, 2023

This week’s list of things to check out:

  1. Yoink: This is a digital note shelf application I’ve written about before in my Essential Software series. You drag files and screenshots into the sidebar on your Mac, and then drag it out into the document or other project you’re working on. I use it for screenshots a lot, and it’s one of the things I miss when I use Windows. I do, however, find the omission of Yoink-like shelf apps on Windows moot because of how Windows handles screenshots–Windows copies them to the clipboard. Hence my next tip.

  2. Screenshot: Introduced in Mojave (and passed completely over my head) is a built-in utility that allows you to more specifically control what happens to screenshots in macOS. You can change the default behavior to send screenshots directly to your clipboard, for example, emulating Windows’ behavior and obviating the need for something like Yoink (Yoink is still incredibly useful for shunting files around in emails and moving files from, say, Finder to Google Drive).

  3. Bleu Cheese stuffed olives: I had my first martini with stuffed olives Friday night at the excellent bar at the Ebbitt Room. Color me impressed. Remember when I wrote about having opinions? Sometimes you’re wrong about things. Bleu cheese-stuffed olives are one of them.

Yoink
Yoink

Screenshot on macOS
Screenshot

Bombay Martini with Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives
Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives

On the Way to Cape May

I’ve never been to Cape May for more than a day trip, so I was excited to experience this historic and quaint town, on the munificence of my parents (thanks!)

As is the case with most of my trips, things centered around food and drink, so that’s mostly what I’ll write about.

We stayed at the historic Virginia hotel, which is beautiful and emblematic of a different time’s design. Victorian I guess? We had a nice room, with a giant walk-in shower. I would very much like such a shower in my home one day.

The Ebbitt Room in the Virginia Hotel

Our Room at the Virginia Hotel in Cape May, NJ

We nipped out after check in for a cocktail (dinner was at seven) and tried Finn’s on a recommendation, but the bar was packed and it didn’t really comport with our notion of a cocktail bar (it looks like Tom Cruise should be bruising some gin in a shaker). We slunk back to the Ebbitt Room’s bar in the Virginia, which I spied on checking in and did happen to see two open seats upon alighting for our misadventure to Finn’s. The Preprandial Gods must have designed this, as the Ebbitt Room was exactly our speed. We each enjoyed the house Eighty Nine Manhattan (redemption rye, amaro averna, amaro nonino), and a cheese plate. The not-fishbowl-sized drinks left us room for two Martinis (Bombay gin, bleu cheese stuffed olives).

The 89 Manhattan at the Ebbitt Room in the Virginia Hotel

Bomay Gin Martini with Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives at the Ebbitt Room at the Virginia Motel in Cape May, NJ

I’ve never been one for stuffed olives in a drink, as I always felt it blurred the line between snack and drink too much for my liking. But these were excellent! Color me enlightened.

Cheese Plate at the Bar at the Ebbitt Room in the Virginia Hotel in Cape May NJ

We retired briefly to the room to find the dining room jumping. It was really noisy, in fact. But we settled in for a glass of Prosecco to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, which paired nicely with some Sweet Amalia oysters. We ordered a bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Noir to go with my duck breast and Rhonda’s braised lamb shank. The restaurant comped us a glass of champagne, no less.

Duck Breast at the Ebbitt Room in the Virginia Hotel in Cape May, NJ

Benton Lane Pinto Noir at the Ebbitt Room

The Ebbitt Room at the Virginia

Breakfast is a limited menu but comes with the room, and you can have it delivered to your door. La Colombe coffee no less!

We strolled around the Washington Mall, which is a mix of odd and tony shops, and then rolled over to Willow Creek Winery for their Sip and Shop event. We waited in a long line then strategized to find a seat to enjoy some wine and a cheese plate (which was excellent and generous). We shared the Winemaker’s Choice flight and a glass of the Malvasia Blanca. (All supplemented with rest of the previous evening’s Pinto Noir because I wasn’t getting back in that line).

Washington Mall in Cape May, NJ

Rose at Willow Creek Winery in Cape May, NJ

Wilde Cock Combo Board at Willow Creek Winery in Cape May, NJ

Mugging

Yesterday’s 10k Row

Yesterday’s 10k row was not a personal record, but I would like to direct your attention to my stroke rate:

December 3 2023's 10k Row

While I was not as fast some previous efforts, I did keep my stroke rate pegged at 28 strokes per minute. Compare that to last Sunday’s:

Last Week's 10k Row

  • Last week: 10k at 30 s/m, 186 watts
  • This week: 10k at 28 s/m, 184 watts

My goal, besides rowing a 10k in 40 minutes, is to cap my stroke rate below 30 s/m, so that will mean keeping power up more consistently. Fewer, but harder, pulls. Feasible? Dunno. But I think the slower rate will preserve my aerobic capacity.

Quick note: Rhonda joined me again this Sunday, but instead of her usual 10-minute Apple Fitness+ workout, she opted for a 20-minute row. I did the 20 minute alongside her, pulling around 28 s/m with good power for the “hard” sections and ramping up the stroke rate to 33-38 s/m for the “all out” efforts. This means my warmup led to me having 5k in the bank before I even sat for the 10k. With a light warmup and cooldown, that’s 00:27:50 and 279 calories burned before the 00:41:17 and 640-calorie burn during the 10k.

Them’s some meters!

Sunday Serial for December 3, 2023: Freshies, Charlesworth, and Reframe

This week’s list of things to check out:

  1. Freshies: Freshies is Tonewood’s American India Pale Ale. It’s lower in alcohol than other IPAs, and correspondingly less malty. A nice break from their excellent Fuego, Glasstown’s 609, and Bonesaw’s juicy Swoosh.
  2. Charlesworth Hotel: This restaurant is in a remote corner of southern New Jersey, the otherwise forgotten Fortescue. The four of us and my rents celebrated my 49th birthday there, and my curiosity about the place was replaced by shock and awe at the excellent food. It’s otherwise quirky and remote, but the food was memorable. I can’t wait to go back. Fried oysters, a pork chop, and even key lime pie (on the house, no less) rounded out one of the best meals I can remember. They even sang happy birthday to me. My Yelp review is here.
  3. Reframe: Reframe is an app that will help you cut back on your alcohol consumption. I used it to quickly cut my martini and wine habit down to something healthy and manageable, and helped someone I love cut out drinks altogether. Affordable, feature-rich, and effective with varied levels of support.

Tonewood Freshies American IPA

Charlesworth Hotel's Pork Chop

Bailey

Bailey was a senior Cavalier King Charles who came to spend his golden years with us. He was a dear friend. This pic popped up as a Facebook memory.

Bailey

Annata Wine Bar

Back in the spring of 2023, I received an email that I was nominated to be a Yelp Elite reviewer. I don’t know exactly how that happens or what that means, but I’m kinda proud of it.

Rhonda and I went to Annata Wine Bar tonight, and I wrote it up.

Manhattan

Calamari

Pork Tenderloin

Annata Wine Bar

Make Bad Art

Unstick yourself by making “bad art”:

Often the problem is that they’re too tied to the outcome — too concerned with getting it right, being amazing at what they do, making pots of money or even impressing others with their achievements.
All of that keeps them stuck.
But the way forward is surprisingly — terrifyingly — simple. That’s to commit to just one thing: Make bad art.

This article rang true for me, with my TikTok adventure and even here on Uncorrected. Hell, it’s why I called it “Uncorrected” in the first place: Here’s some stuff I’m thinking about, reading, or interested in. I’m not creating anything polished, just creating. Nobody gets hurt, I have some fun, and hopefully you, dear reader, get a twinkle, however ephemeral, in your eye.

Beat Your Procrastination with One Terrifyingly Simple Commitment

Yesterday’s 10k Row

10k-row-Sunday-Nov-26

Nothing basement-shattering today; I managed to shave a fraction of a second off last week’s effort. Progress is progress I guess. I was carping for air at the end after losing focus for a few meters.

On a related note, someone asked me recently if I watched TV while I rowed. I categorically do not watch anything other than the Erg app or the PRM screen when I’m rowing, because it’s the only way to keep from drifing off into less effort. Rowing is a cruel mistress.

But I love her.

Happy Birthday to Me: Thoughts on Turning 49

I’ve got one more year before the big half-century. Some things I’ve learned:

  1. Say What You Think: Do this tactfully, but be true to yourself in dealing with others. I don’t mean the “I say what I think” coarseness of someone with a childhood wound; I mean be upfront about what you think, not in the interests of being right, but in the service of number two.
  2. Prefer your own opinion to the opinions of others: This is from Ryan Holiday/Daily Stoic; trust what you think. You don’t have to be right all the time (you won’t be). But we’re all dealing with situations that don’t have “right” answers (sure, hindsight is twenty-twenty). Corollary: honor your ambivalence. Don’t get taken in by pressure. Sometimes not making a choice is making a choice. Another corollary: choice is protective, in most cases. When you can, make a choice. Don’t let things happen to you.
  3. Don’t doubt your capacity for change: The things you think aren’t ever positions you’d back or activities you would enjoy might very well be entirely within your capacity or interest. Ride the wave sometimes. Corollary: try things when you get the chance. Don’t be a picky eater, in food and experiences. But when you find something? Commit to it. Don’t be inflexible; change it up when you’re wrong. Did I mention that I lost 70 pounds? That’s an example of something I didn’t think I could do. But here I am.
  4. Stop worrying about being wrong. It doesn’t mean you’re an awful person. Nobody’s perfect.

Sunday Serial: Raycast, Raindrop.io, and Inktank Printers

This week’s list of things to check out:

  1. Raycast: Raycast is an app launcher for macOS. It competes with apps like Launchbar (an old favorite of mine), Alfred, and even Apple’s own Spotlight. I once read that Launchbar is essentially an alternative interface for your Mac; I can’t argue with that, and Raycast is as well. It’s great for launching applications and finding files, but the real magic is in integrating with apps using their APIs. For example, I can add a to-do item to Todoist without leaving my current application using Raycast, reposition windows, and move files. All very cool. I would love to support the project with a license or subscription, as I do Launchbar (and many other applications), but their only support tier is pricey at $100 USD a year.

    2. Raycast-serial-sunday

  2. Raindrop.io: Raindrop.io is a bookmark manager. Sure, you can use your browser, but any nerd worth his salt runs a couple of browsers. Raindrop allows you to quickly bookmark and organize your bookmarks, and there’s a version for every OS, mobile and otherwise. I helped a colleague set up a Raindrop install for social bookmarking.

    3. Raindrop.io

  3. Inktank printers: Remember ink cartidges? Sure you do. These newfangled printers have bottles of ink that are easy to refill. Best of all, they don’t dry out after sitting for a bit, requiring the rubber-chicken-waving of cleaning print cartridges. Sure, a color laser would be the best way to go, but these printers are a nice intermediate step. Ours is an HP 7300.

    4. HP-Ink