Christmas Ride Report

Our Christmas Century was most epic!  We started out with our new Panniers in Glendale and ended up in Newport Beach.  Through the city, we enjoyed riding the bike lanes on Verdugo, Colorado, Eagle Rock, and York Blvd.

1) water stop at Jack-in-the-Box on York Blvd. (7 miles)

Through South Pasadena (Monterey Rd), Alhambra (Chapel Ave), and Rosemead (Hellman Ave) we rode along broad residential streets. We climbed an overpass to cross the I-10 on Jackson Ave and followed fellow cyclists along Garvey Ave to enter the Rio Hondo Bike Path.

2) water stop at 7-11 on Hellman and San Gabriel Blvd (15 miles)

We went under the 60 freeway and crossed the 19 (Rosemead Blvd) where a guy was selling flowers and candied apples. Rio Hondo was super-scenic and colorful with leaves and a variety of plants at this time of year.  From there it was easy to follow the signs for the San Gabriel River Trail.  There were plenty of parks to stop and use the facilities and refill our water bottles.

3) water stop at Santa Fe Springs Park (27 miles) **restrooms closed until after New Year's Day!

We met a fellow cyclist who was a total inspiration.  He had lost possibly more than 100 pounds after being bit by a mosquito and experiencing a year of paralysis.  He told himself that if he ever became mobile again he would change his lifestyle.  And we saw him that day riding from Pico Rivera to Seal Beach and back in one day.  Way to go!

4) lunch at Liberty Park (33 miles)

When we got to the terminus of the San Gabriel River trail at Seal Beach we took a few minutes to eat and take photos.

5) water stop at Alamitos Bay (42 miles)

One of my favorite parts of the route was crossing through the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.  We were definitely saddle sore at this point and all the biodiversity really cheered us onward.  There were also plenty of restrooms and water fountains along this part of the route.

6) water stop at PCH and Goldenwest (50 miles)

I loved the Huntington Beach portion of the ride, especially the dog-beach.  It was super fun to see all the dogs frolicking in the waves while we were suffering through the last decade of miles.  I definitely got to use all kinds of layers.  I was rocking the UCR cycling kit (Champion System), which I call the Cadillac of chamois and dear husband was sporting the Sugoi.  We both had bib-style shorts and tight-fitting jerseys.  I also had Pearl Izumi long-sleeved outerwear which came in mighty handy as the ocean breeze picked up and the sun began to set.

7) arrival in Newport Beach (54 miles)

I was feeling really beat-down just before I saw the sign welcoming us to Newport Beach.  Luckily I was traveling with a native (dear husband) and he knew a shortcut to get to our hotel (North Bayside Drive and Back Bay Drive).  It was really fun seeing all the fishermen and riding over a bridge to avoid the big climb at the intersection of the PCH and Jamboree.  We checked into the Hyatt Regency and got a room with a sliding glass door so we could roll our bikes up and into our room.  We stayed two nights and had a great walk around Balboa Island on Christmas day for some cross-training.  We made it a priority to book a hotel with a jacuzzi which we used at the turnaround point for our trip, soaking with massaging jets for 20 minutes.  I also did a cold-treatment by standing in the pool for 15 minutes, followed by a return to the hot tub without jets on for 10 minutes.

We packed plenty of nutrition for our trip.  Sliced apples, oranges and pears were our fresh fruit for hydration, sugars and electrolytes.  We used Quaker oatmeal bars (chocolate chip) and Gu shots.  Clif shot bloks and PowerBar performance energy bars, Hammer gels, and Jelly Belly Sport Beans.  Pretty much anything and everything to get us through the ride.  On the way there we also had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which we didn't have on the way back...

8) water stop at Huntington Surf & Sport / Mobil gas station (72 miles)

We rode along PCH rather than close to the water to get home faster.  It was weird that there were very few pedestrian crosswalks, but it was pretty to see the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve from the inland side rather than the ocean side.  I bought a Huntington Beach sticker at the Surf & Sport.

9) snack stop at Out*Spoke*N (74 miles)

We stopped at a bike shop to get some Gu.  It was a good place to have a chat with other cyclists but we were on the move and didn't stay long.  I'm sure if we had timed it better we could have spent more time here and less time at the gas station.  It was kind of hilarous though to stop at a gas station and not fill up our gas tanks, just breeze on through fueled by carbohydrates and water!

10) water stop at Liberty Park (84 miles)

Some of the ride I was sans-jersey and styling my sports bra and bibs.  It was cool and refreshing.  There was a bit of wind on the ride home, a hot dry wind that left us encrusted with salt.  Interestingly, we didn't have any electrolyte beverage, but I think that's why the sports chews and bars were so important.  We tried to eat every 45 minutes.  Also tried to drink every 15 minutes, but it was probably more like 20.  I wish my Garmin watch would beep when it was time to eat or drink.  At least it keeps track of pace and time (and date).  I only wore sunscreen on my face and I ended up with a gnarly cyclist's shorts tan and a farmer tan on my upper arms.

11) lunch at Wilderness Park (90 miles)

This stop was idyllic with crane, swans, pelicans, ducks and a cute puppy frolicking among the families enjoying the outdoors there.  The restrooms and drinking fountains were welcoming features of the park.  I never knew much about Downey, CA but now I can say that I've been there.  We also never knew there were so many horses along the way.  It was interesting to be riding along in a turn-of-the century mobile (a bicycle) flanked by 1800's style transportation (men on horseback) and modern day machines (cars stuck in traffic on the 605 freeway).

12) water stop at 7-11 on Hellman and San Gabriel Blvd (103 miles)

By the time we hit the 7-11 again, all the fight had been knocked out of us.  We could bearly make complete sentences, let alone argue about whether or not a video should be recorded.  At Huntington Dr and N Atlantic Blvd we had a brief stop to put on our lights since the sun was setting and we had to hustle the remainder of the journey in the growing darkness.  Each half of the trip burned 6000 calories and took us about 7 hours.  Shoutouts to Dan Slater and the Riverside Bicycle Club for giving us the knowledge and confidence to undertake this epic Christmas ride.

When we got home, we ate the last of our carb loading meal.  It was great to have a home-cooked Christmas.  We also got a free dessert at the restaraunt Shor consisting of a pumpkin crème brûlée and two sugar cookies.  Guilt free!

blurred lines

When I go crazy, it's because I've lost perspective.  Things are going great, my dear husband and I are running in parallel lines.  We've been exercising together (not in series, or on a tandem) but parallel.  Also we've been riding the train and I just love the image of two rails extending indefinitely parallel.

Just because my husband is an electrical journeyman, I'll throw in the idea of resistance.  When two resistors (people who procrastinate) are in series, their resistance sums together.  When instead two resistors are in parallel, the resistance is a product divided by the sum.  For two resistors of R = 5, the series resistance is 10 while parallel decreases by a factor of 4 to R =2.5.  Surely this is why we are getting our house in order.

I've been thinking about divine shapes lately.  What is DNA other than two parallel phosphate backbones?  Amazing to recall my college humanities class and I remember talking a lot about the divine (perfect) circle.  Also been thinking about the triangle, without which I could not have won a set of Blocks & Marbles (thanks Grandpa).  It's trinity, symmetry and stability fascinate me!

I had a particularly great time recently constructing the unit cells and teaching students coordination number, packing efficiency, and radius ratio.  Without Pythagorean's theorem and the equation for the volume of a sphere, we wouldn't have been able to calculate our way out of a cube!


Before the semester started, I drew a Zinnia using the Fibonacci sequence and it made me happy.  Some idea that flowers cause a dopamine release was stuck in my head but it turns out that study was funded by the floral industry.  I miss my garden.  It's pretty grim looking at the moment, but these winter rains are starting to bring out the early spring greenery.  The wildflower box is already perking back up.  I haven't tended it since school started.

So, yeah, we've been taking the train this semester.  It's been a good change of pace.  I downloaded a bunch of 20 minute guided meditations for my mp3 player and listen to them on the way to school or on the way home.  It's a good way to avoid the rush-rush feeling that goes with commuting by automobile and taking advantage of the ability to close my eyes and focus on breathing.  Deeply.

Also had a great time frosting winter cookies.  Baked the Moravian Spice Cookies on Thanksgiving and frosted them with Royal Icing with the members of the Chem Club.  It was hexagon-tastic!

Thanksgiving Ride Report

This Thanksgiving was like none other!  We rode over the river and through the woods with dinner on our bike rack.  We prepared fruits and veggies from the garden using a Swiss Army Knife and a Microwave.  Regardless of the warnings about free radicals generated when heating plastic, we steamed the vegetables in Ziploc bags and added the butter after.  We had Eggplant steaks, Parslied potatoes & carrots with sliced garlic, Swiss chard with mushrooms, Spiced baked squash, Sweet onion and whole garlic cloves, and Snitzbrot.  We used only the finest paper plates and plastic cutlery.  We drank tap water with gusto.

It was really amazing because we stayed at the Doubletree on the 10th floor and from our hotel we could look at downtown LA and just barely see Griffith park.  It was daunting to consider the ride home because the day after Thanksgiving we got rained on nearly the entire ride home.  It was super fun riding by the Beverly Center and through Beverly Hills.  Also Fountain Ave bike route was extremely enjoyable.  Loved the Ballona Creek Bicycle Path and the bike lane along Venice Blvd.  It was thanks to CicLAvia that we felt comfortable riding through various parts of LA and for the first time I started to feel like "this is my city."

Mission Inn Run ~ Race Report

The 2013 Mission Inn Run (10k) course was a blast!  I got to cross the finish line with family, which is definitely the highlight of this race.  The water stops were plentiful and it was amazing running through the best parts of downtown Riverside on such a nice day.

I definitely wish I would have treated myself to some new running shoes because I'm having a keepsake of the race that is a sharp pain in my foot.  Finishers were awarded medals that were color-coded according to which course the runner (or walker) completed.  That was a nice touch.  You could tell which course the athlete was traversing by the color of his or her bib.  The kids (short courses) were white, 5 k was blue, 10 k was orange, and half-marathon was green (I think).

We had a super-weekend because we rode our bicycles to the train station in Glendale and took the train to LA.  From LA we boarded the San Bernardino line and disembarked at Rialto.  We took a sweet bike ride down hill to the SART which got us to Market street.  We rode by the health expo and on to our destination, the home of our family members (18 miles total).  We picked up our bibs & T-shirts Saturday night, via car.  We took a car to and from the race, but immediately after the race we dined at the Crest Cafe.  After that we got back on our bikes and rode to downtown Riverside station to take the train back to LA, then from LA to Glendale via train, and finally rode our bikes home (7 miles).  So it wasn't a totally car-free weekend but ALMOST!

I really loved running along the SART, through Fairmount Park, along Redwood Dr.  Saw the new Ryan Bonaminio Park, which was gorgeous.  I placed 673rd out of 749 participants.  Only 3 women in my age division (76 women) finished after me.  For some reason I feel good about this.  At least I showed up and I ran my own race (albeit with my family members).  I felt really good in mile 1 and mile 4 and in between I felt pretty dismal.  I definitely didn't walk or run the entire time and had no discipline about when to run or walk.  With no training, it's no surprise that my foot is still throbbing, but I believe it will heal itself.

I'm already looking forward to the years to come...

Faculty Development

October was a cool month to be a faculty member at CSUN.  We celebrated mole day by a service learning project, my CHEM 101 students took their second midterm, and the Center for Innovative & Engaged Learning Opportunities (CIELO) offered a series of Faculty Development workshops.

I didn't get the chance to attend all the workshops but I got the notes from two of them.  October 17th roundtable was led by Prof. James Sefton (Department of History) who speaks from 40+ years of teaching experience.  I wish I could have been there, but what I got via email was a student end-of-semester self-evaluation for students to reflect on their own participation in the course assignments including reading the textbook, attending lecture, notetaking during lecture, participation in discussion, coming late to class, attending (even on Fridays!), working practice problems, attending office hours, retrieving graded work (midterm, quizzes, etc), and taking advice from Professor.  This was extremely comforting to me as a teacher.  It puts some of the awareness and onus on the students to get where they want to go (basically make an "A" in the class).  I've been feeling the pressure from students who want good grades but simply don't know how to get them.

Also, Prof. Sefton provided links to a report and supporting data regarding grade inflation at CSUN between the years 1990-2005.  The report touches on faculty concerns such as "observed deterioration in core university-level skills of reading, writing, critical reasoning, and analytical thinking."  Maybe we remember our own college experiences with rose-colored glasses, as we professors think back to our own experience in the lecture halls.  Maybe we think we (at age 17-22) were performing at a higher level than the current students.  I can't say that my life experience is common for all college students, in fact my own experience must have been unique and quite different from the experience of CSUN students.

Another two concerns raised in the report are the perception that " 'scantron exam' is common student vernacular for 'easy,' " and that "part-time faculty [should be] fully but supportively supervised, fully cognizant of academic expectations, and fully assisted in distinguishing their teaching at CSUN from their teaching at other institutions."  I am torn between assessing student progress via work-out exam (rather than multiple-choice scantron exams) and trying to find my feet in this new academic environment as a part-time faculty who has teaching experience at a wide variety of different institutions.

Offered as a possible cause of grade inflation is "Increased use of scantron exams (the usage here being the campus vernacular for 'easy') particularly in large classes, thus emphasizing memorization rather than critical thinking and writing."  This is one of my concerns also and as such, I have been doing work out tests so far this semester.  It has been grueling from the standpoint of writing and distributing the exams, carrying the large stack of papers, writing thoughtful commentary on each student's exam, and justifying the allocation of points when students argue and compare their exams with other students.

Another possible cause of grade inflation is "use of course evaluation forms in RTP actions, leading to concern by junior tenure-track faculty and lecturers about the effect of low grades on student ratings, and therefore on continued employment" which does concern me but not much.  I believe that if I do not provide a rigorous experience for my students, then I am failing them and myself, my profession and the University, robbing them of an authentic college (growth) experience and leaving them ill-prepared for life after college.  I hope (or would like to think) that I can find something to occupy my time, but my talents are best put to use in the classroom and I will be able to find another job elsewhere if things don't work out here at CSUN.  But I have heard other faculty express concerns like this and it does affect their demeanor in the classroom (the idea that their employment is not secure unless they are evaluated positively by students).

I know this post is getting lengthy, but I haven't even begun to discuss the second workshop I actually attended in person! This one was led by Geography Professor Ron Davidson about "How to get Students to Read," October 30th.  First I have to say that the Whitsett Room (Sierra Hall 451) was a challenge to locate, but worth the search.  It's on top of a pretty tall building overlooking sweeping mountain views (nearly 360 degrees) AND there was coffee brewing (and snacks) when I arrived, breathless after having run from Eucalyptus hall to arrive in the nick of time.

A graphic I made summarizing the main ideas of our roundtable is shown here!  It's somewhat cross-stitch, somewhat a woven tapestry, and somewhat a crossword puzzle.  What's always been puzzling to me is how difficult it is to get students to do work outside of class (even inside of class/discussion!).  I have always valued educational experiences/opportunities, maybe because my dad is a career teacher.  When I get the chance to listen to a leading expert in their field, I try to get as much out of the experience as possible.  I realize I slept through my fair share of classes and seminars, we're all human and time management skills take practice to acquire.

I'm thinking about the "speak softly but carry a big stick" ~Theodore Roosevelt (1901)  Also "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" ~ English Proverb (12th century).  As Mr. Wiggles says "I can't make you love dancing but I can make you better at it."  What I learned from the HOW TO GET STUDENTS TO READ faculty development workshop is that it takes both carrots and sticks to get students to read.  It's important to let students in on the process of choosing reading assignments, to select only the best reading material, to tie the assignments to real-world experiences (drawing, photography, folk-tales, poetry, essays), to allow time/space for collaboration, to be a role-model for good reading/writing behavior, and to allow room for debate.  "If you're not reading, you're just children!" ~Ron Davidson (2013)

Wonderfully, this roundtable discussion gave me the idea of letting student use their own drawings and concept maps on exams.  Also to point out features of the textbook that might be helpful to students on Day 1 to foster the student-textbook relationship.  To cite more depressing statistics....the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released a "Vital Skills" test to assess the readiness of the workforce to address 21st century challenges.  I'm thinking a great deal about formative assessments rather than summative.  There's so much more to say and explore but I've got to run to the classroom!

free range

I've got so much on my mind this morning, I'm going to start out with a stream of conscienceness and then perhaps organize it later -- or not.  Just returned from the American Chemical Society Western Regional Meeting, which was AWESOME!  It was great to get together with a handful of other dedicated chemistry enthusiasts and talk the talk we love.  There was a great exchange of ideas and I'm really glad I carved out some time to participate.

On the drive up there, I had a moment of panic that perhaps I had forgotten to post a blog in September.  This semester is FLYING by.  I saw the coolest formation of birds flying (south for the winter I suppose) and while sitting on campus the other day, I literally watched leaves FALL to the ground and realized that summer is officially over.  Looking forward to the spooky parties and pumpkin carving.  I heard Nebraska had snow this weekend, that really blows my mind.

The theme for National Chemistry Week 2013 is "Energy: Now and Forever!" which is kind of ironic at the moment with the government shut-down.  Who's going to do the research and create the policy legislation that will enforce restrictions on "dirty energy" and catalyze the shift to renewables if the government isn't in charge?  I went to an entire session at the ACS meeting on Biodiesel and the analytical methods currently being used to characterize their properties.  I guess we'll have to rely on market forces.


I heard of National Plug In day, and I swear it was on that day or sometime before or after it that we saw an electric Smart car parked in the garage at CSUN.  It's crazy because I'm teaching thermodynamics right now and I usually ramble on about calories in = calories out and Weight Watchers.  Sometimes I talk about various sources of energy: coal, natural gas, geothermal, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc.  It's really hard to get through to people about energy if they don't consider the First Law of Thermodynamics.

Driving through California's Central Valley is like taking a trip to outer space if you're normally trapped in an urban environment like Glendale or Northridge or LA or the Bay Area.  There's tons of space (FREE RANGE) and it's amazing to think of the amount of food produced there.  I do try to teach my students that plants are our transducers for converting solar energy into carbohydrates, but it's hard to convey.  There were also talks at the meeting and research being presented at the poster session about advances in solar energy conversion, but we need much more work in that area to begin to compete with land plants.  Why is everyone so focused on algae?  Because our land is toxic?

I also went to a session planned by the Women Chemists Committee, which was a breath of fresh air.  Like reading a women's magazine where they interview "Women at any age" about what type of moisturizer they use and whether or not they wear Spanx, this panel had representatives from all types of chemical industry and acadame as well as a variety of "years of experience."  It was a roomful of SUPERWOMEN and I felt reassured by being in their presence.  The can-do spirit of these women combated my own fear and doubt.

Another great theme of my experience at this meeting was conversations about chemistry education, one of my big passions.  The implementation of high expectations and plenty of student support seemed to be a general recommendation.  The importance of "out-of-classroom" experiences such as field trips and research experiences also were supported by data to show that they correlated positively with retention of under-represented minorities in STEM majors.  I am motivated to plan "brown bag" lunches and "tea parties" for the chemistry club.  Another cool idea is a "battle of the chem clubs" on knowledge or skills or demo shows.  I wonder who we could challenge?

And another CicLAvia is going on today.  After the excitement of the ACS meeting I'm skipping this one in favor of catching up on home/work tasks.  Heard a rumor that CicLAvia might become a monthly event.  Soooooooo hoping this is true.  OK so 3 in 2013, 4 in 2014 (including 1 in the San Fernando Valley!), and 5 or 6 in 2015.  That's not monthly, but it's better than annually.  Better get back to grading midterms and washing the laundry.  Wife-bot 2.1.5 out.

impatient scientist

There are times of the month when a woman curses scientists for not solving the problems of the human (female) condition.  I keep track of my monthly cycles just to make sure when I'm acting crazy, it's just hormones and I'm not actually going crazy.  This works for the most part until a hormonal sneak attack takes place.  Last night, I was dropped to my knees in agony with a migraine headache.  It was one of the worst in my life.  They sometimes occur on a monthly basis, but I suppose sometimes not.

I've never had good luck with the drug sumatriptan, but it's been the only thing prescribed to me for treatment of migraines.  Today, I'm scared to do much work because I don't want to suffer another headache.  Normal headaches I can stand, usually I just need to drink more water or rest, but the headache I had last night made me think I was going to vomit and kept me awake but immobilized.  Every time I tried to think about something, it caused me to feel like a railroad spike was being driven into the front of my skull.

Trying to understand how my monthly cycle might have affected or been the cause of this pain.  Now I am in day 5, which constitutes a high level of FSH.  Usually I get the migraine before the menstruation phase, but this month it came after.

What I've read about migraines is that they can last 3 hours to 3 days.  No wonder I'm scared it will come back.  The sumatriptan clinical trial data suggests it can alleviate symptoms within 2-4 hours in about three-quarters of patients, based on a majority caucasian majority 40 year old majority female test group.  Basically, I'm trying to decide what to do today since I still feel a bit of nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia.  I don't want to get on the freeway and try to drive somewhere if it makes the pain return.

It appears sumatriptan is a member of the class of drugs that are selective serotonin receptor agonists.  The agonist mimics the native ligand, as opposed to the SSRI drugs I have discussed in a previous post, which are inhibitors.  What I'm impatient about is a full understanding of these issues.  I wish I could order up a foolproof solution to this pain and the pain of monthly menstrual cramps.

Normally I rely on some of the above substances to get me through the pain of being a woman.  The compound pamabrom is a synthetic molecule in some medicines like Pamprin.  Theobromine is found naturally in chocolate and Yerba Mate.  Interestingly, while caffeine is a stimulant, I read that adenosine induces sleepyness.  I wish I could rest all day today.  I feel frustrated that I'm no closer to understanding these issues than last night when I was cursing my bad luck and circumstance.

For Further Reading

http://www.mrothery.co.uk/module8/notes/A2%20Option%20Module%208%20notes.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estradiol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progesterone

http://www.glowm.com/resources/glowm/cd/pages/v5/v5c005.html

http://maptest.rutgers.edu/drupal/?q=node/260