cascadian telegrams

indoor skiing at mini-mountain

kids growing up in the PacNW should be exposed to skiing and winter sports, so to warm Malcolm up to this idea I took him to MiniMountain, an indoor ski-training facility across the lake in Bellevue.  Physically, he’s a cautious and somewhat awkward kid, so I wanted to give him a gentle introduction to being on skis – something he’s not done before today – in a relaxed environment, so that the first time I take him to the slopes he’s not too freaked out by snow/cold/kids/speed/steep hills/falling/etc. to the point where he doesn’t enjoy it.

The “mountains” at minimountain are just continuous-rolling giant carpet sheets, really, that can be accelerated or stopped by the teenage instructors there that work with the kids.  Traditional skis and snowboards seem to work rather well on them though.  We watched kids for a while so that he could see other kids near his age mastering the skis and having fun with the instructors.

As expected, he was super-awkward and nervous at first.  He clung to the arms and sweatshirt of the teenage girl who instructed him and was petrified of falling.  But she was very good in going slowly and gently with him, letting him build up confidence little by little, to the point where he could stand by himself on the skis while moving, and then very slowly adding more “tricks” to his repertoire until they were playing games like ‘tag’ and ‘red light/green light’ on the slope.

They also have a nice trick there where they tie a string through holes in the front of the skis to keep their toes pointed in, a good idea for beginners.  That definitely makes it a bit easier for them.

I wish I had a camera to capture his face:  the petrified look of fear when he started, and the absolute glee when he made it down the hill on his own for the first time.  He just beamed this huge smile.  It was adorable. 

The lessons are supposed to be 20 minutes long but we stayed for sixty and let him build up confidence, learning how to fall (he finally did fall after 40 mins) and get up again, etc.  It was hard work for my somewhat geeky little boy.  I want him to know the joy of physical things, and to conquer fears, and this was a good start for the season.  Small steps first.

amory lovins for energy secretary

(I just posted this over at daily kos, x-posting here for posterity…)

The web is now chockablock with "Open Letters to President-Elect Obama" where the world feels compelled to climb on our collective soapbox in the hope that he, like Santa, will read each letter and put something nice in the Christmas sack.

But this post isn't addressed directly to Obama... it is for you, netizens.  It is a plea to help push the idea of Amory Lovins for Energy Czar in an Obama administration (an idea that has been pushed by Chris McGowan and others).

In our current situation -- a listing auto industry, tanking economy and soaring energy prices -- I can think of no more important position than Energy Secretary, and no better place to affect change. 

The auto industry is asking for a huge bailout.  Many jobs will likely depend on the outcome.  But the big three automakers have dug their own, deep hole by building vehicles that are inefficient and that fewer and fewer people are willing to buy.  They have also resisted attempts to increase fuel efficiency standards and they haven't seriously invested in LEV/ZEV research such as Toyota or Honda have. 

So clearly, we are at an inflection point.  A targeted bailout with requirements to invest in building LEV/ZEVs is an opportunity to affect our auto industry, our energy future, our economy and the environment with a single stroke.  It is also an opportunity for an Obama administration to demonstrate leadership and boldness. 

But who to lead such an effort?  The names that have been floated around the 'net thus far -- Schwarzenegger, Sibelius etc. -- are not the names of people with the vision or background to enact such a game-changing gesture.

But Amory Lovins is such a peson.   He's a scientist, entrepeneur,  environmentalist, MacArthur Fellowship recipient and inventor of the hypercar, a 100 mpg design prototype.  He's an expert in energy efficiency and author of 29 books including "Winning the Energy Endgame".  He received a Time Magazine "Hero of the Planet" award in 2007 and has advised the pentagon and over a dozen countries on energy and security issues.

Drafting Lovins for Energy Czar and striking a forward-looking bailout deal with the big three would be game-changing moves by the Obama adminstration.  It would signal to Detroit and the world that we in the United States are serious about energy efficiency and transportation, and that we're willing to compete to build the cars and infrastructure for the future.  Cars that US workers would build.  Cars that we could once again export to the world.

[Update:  Well that went over like a lead balloon… but I feel better for trying!]

"look what we did..."

halloween

a fun Halloween this year with Malcolm as Batman and Jacki the Valkyrie, above

the annual Halloween party at the seattle aquarium, complete with underwater pumpkin carving and spooky stuff

and a Halloween party with the first grade class, followed by trick-or-treating in our neighborhood on Halloween night.

boring mum and dad didn't dress up this year.  I dunno, we were knackered, next year for sure.  But Malcolm had fun.  Snaps are here.