#GVRAT 1000K: The Curse of ASMS

I’ve attended the annual conference of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 12 or 13 times over the last 25 years and every time I sustain an injury within 48 hours of arrival (drink and/or drugs may have been involved).

I once awoke next to a swimming pool the morning I was speaking in a polymer mass spec session wearing only my outer shirt, one sock, and some underwear; the security personnel demanding to know if I was resident at that hotel were nudging the swollen and quite broken toe on the unclad foot.

Eventually, they escorted me to the room I was sharing with my PhD adviser asking him, “do you know this man?”  “Yes,” he replied tiredly with the, “unfortunately,” implied but not uttered.  He never bothered to ask for details having seen worse the previous 3 years.

So, this year ASMS conference is online due to COVID-19.  What’s the worst that could happen?  Day 2 also happened to be Jackie’s birthday and all she wanted was tacos and margaritas.

D’oh.  Tequila…the broken toe incident also involved tequila.  I awoke this morning with a 3 inch gash on the opposite side of my forehead from the ones I just de-sutured (which I sustained, from the online receipt, the day I signed up for this virtual conference).  This new decoration came after J had already gone to bed and I was shifting some plants out in the garden from a usually sunny spot to one a little more protected from foul weather ahead.  My back seized and my knee collapsed and the tequila balance defined my trajectory toward a stack of paving stones.  Olé!

Before the fiesta, we jogged to the far side of Oldbury and back during my work-from-home lunch break.  The resulting GVRAT mileage now stands at 268.8 and my virtual position is here in the shadow of a “See Rock City” sign:

2020 Commute 37 of 52 (To): Lockdown Stats and #GVRAT Update

I am meant to understand that Lockdown is lifted and we are in something called “Phase 1” (ahead, I am also convinced, of Lock Back Down).

The aqueduct high over Aston Webb Blvd

The pubs are still closed.

The rail bridge between Selly Oak and University stations

Running during Lock Down: managed 63 out of the 72 days clocking up 458 miles.  Not including today (14.5 miles today on the canals with an additional Selly Oak stretch plus another 2.1 around West Brom after returning home) but starting with the one during which the Lockdown was announced, there were 19 of these done as commutes.

A utility bridge as you approach Sainsbury’s

Started a run project during The Lockdown based on canals and their accoutrements.  Several hundred canal features have been logged so far.

A new footbridge near the new student housing next to Sainsbury’s

Today’s new segment is between University and Selly Oak rail stations on the Brum & Worcs Canal (area map link for today’s bits here).  There was also a repeating Conspiracy Stencil between (at least) central Birmingham and Selly Oak:

The campus is not yet open but there were actually security personnel manning the otherwise closed entrances (so instead of jumping over, crawling under, or pushing past barricades I got to show my ID like a civilised person).

Bristol Road Bridge where my canal segments ended for the day

The Great Virtual Run/Race Across Tennessee continues on.  As of today, I have racked up 261.7 miles putting me near Flintville:

The virtual location is not covered by Google StreetView, so I have today’s location looked back at from the next intersection a few hundred feet away:

 

2020 Commute 34 of 52 (From): The Overclass’ Canal & #GVRAT update

Today I finally ran the loop (on my commute home) that encompasses the island formed by a branch of the canal down near the Sea Life Centre.  More on that in a moment, but in the meantime I racked up 12.5 more miles today toward the Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee.

I’m now sitting on 155.5 miles after the day’s commute and shopping hike are factored in.  From the GVRAT map, I reckon I’ve been in a Wildlife Management Area since leaving Savannah.  It is probably lovely in person, but StreetView leaves a lot to ask for:

My first bridge on the ACTUAL run was Symphony Court Bridge where I was forced across the canal:

Then, the way was gated at the Sheepcote Street Bridge:

I headed back toward the main canal but on my way spotted this footbridge off to my left:

From there, I got a good shot of the access bridge to some moorings:

And, I was able to get back canalside and pass under the footbridge at King Edward’s Wharf (seen at the top of this post.

It was another warm, sunny day so I stuck to the left (shadier) side of the canal up to nearly The Hawthorns, then cut overland to the tramline trail in search of a refreshing beverage.

2020 Commute 33 of 52 (To): Hated But Rated and #GVRAT update (Git’er Done)

The constant, painful throbbing in my forehead subsided last night and I haven’t used pain meds (other than bourbon) in more than 24 hours.  I opted to do my normal commute run in but shaved a mile off by entering the canal path a bit farther downstream than normal.  That was probably a good idea, as were the frequent stops for water (in and out) and sightseeing.  I’ve spotted the Hated But Rated mural before (it turned up a few months ago) but that’s today’s picture, not far from where The Incident occurred last Thursday.  (Note…I misread the graffito that day as “40 Words” when the actual note was “How many words,” but both were apropos.)

The commute along with the walk downtown after my duties put my GVRAT mileage at 126.1, landing me just short of “Git’er Done Equipment Rentals.”  The name refers to a catchphrase a college educated, middle-class, northerner made famous doing a white-trash comic caricature that Southerners really embrace and most of whom think is authentic.  I despair for my people (just not enough to ever spend any time with or on them).

 

2020 Commute 32 of 52 (From): 40 Words (including #GVRAT) along the canals

I’m clumsy and fell despite the wife’s admonition, “no more head injuries.” Others say, “be careful,” but we have a history.

Today’s mileage puts my GVRAT location near Dot’s Country Kitchen:

Now bandaged, I look forward to better days.

2020 Commute 31 of 52 (To): “Be Kind” and #GVRAT Symbiosis Past Somerville

Bloody cold this morning for the run into work.  The strong breeze didn’t help, either.  10.1 miles along canals … the graffiti portraits are nearly to the Birmingham City Centre with the caption, “Be Kind,” just out of frame.  After work, I got in a hike worth another 2.0 miles down to Selly Oak to hit the Korean supermarket then up the hill to decide not to queue for either the Sainsbury or the Homebase and back along the canal to the University rail station.

This mileage, transcribed to the GVRAT effort, brings me to a point just past Somerville Tennessee up by the buildings on the left in the StreetView capture, above.  The choice to view it from here springs from the funeral home on the right sitting directly across from a “caring for the elderly” business just out of view to the left.  Opportunity — and the effort to make the most of it — is what makes America so great.

2020 Commute 30 of 52 (From): #GVRAT1000K Day 4 from Downfall to Memphis Suburbs

Tomorrow is a rare Friday Bank Holiday, for what that’s worth during lockdown…too bad, too, as it promised to be grand considering it is the 75th anniversary of VE Day.  The photo is a rare selfie, this time from the bunker that my workspace has become whilst all but we essential workers are allowed on campus; you will forgive the absence of yet another not-so-rare Downfall overdub meme, especially as this is VED-Eve but there you have it.

Today was a bog-standard Thursday with the public transport ride in for checking on instrumentation, loading a few proteomics samples onto a column, and then run commuting home along the canals … 10.6 miles with a side trip down another canal. My GVRAT mileage, however, is reported as 12.7 since I get to include walkies (did a 2.1 mile West Brom walking loop to stretch and grocery shop post-shower).

The GVRAT segment started at the western extremes of Memphis TN out on Highway 61 and eventually stopped outside East Memphis on an old rails-to-trails path called the Greenline in the Shelby Farms Park and Garden.  My Day 4 stopping point actually looks like the kind of place I would want to run:

#GVRAT1000K Day 3: Run and a Walk, Finally “Reaching Tennessee”

Oh, Howard just pointed with his gun
And said, “That way, down Highway 61”

Another Work-From-Home day, so the run was early to get me back online and present (although except for a meeting at 3 I really only had lectures to attend).  Got in 5.1 miles by chasing down some bridges I’ve missed in the Canal Furniture project (segments that were between already-reported-ones).  At lunchtime, Jackie fancied getting out for a bit of a hike and I joined her for the break and fresh air.  Thus, the total for the GVRAT effort (which includes walks if intended for health and sanity purposes) came in at 8.6 miles for the day, finally getting across the Mississippi and into Memphis as far as the corner of Florida Ave and Highway 61:

The canal structures (on the non-virtual run) were on two different waterways.  Crossing Greets Green to pick up Phoenix Street, the Balls Hill Branch was accessible by that bridge:

Two former wharfs still have the towpath bridges even while having no water to bridge.  The first was along the industrial park:

And the second at a metals recycling yard in the bend:

In the doldrums of the dried cattails, a fridge floated around.  It was mesmerising and a little macabre for its resemblance to a coffin (I have been obsessed with death of late):

The last straggler on this branch was the New Gas Street Bridge (more of a culvert than anything):

There was a lone leftover on the Tame Valley Canal so I followed the tram line until the footpath petered out in Hilltop and dashed the rest of the way down Holloway Bank to the waters.  It is still a cheap thrill to add a new segment to the books, even a short one; so, I savoured the flat tow path up to the quite nice footbridge over into the unremarkable (but still new) buurt before heading home for some breakfast.

 

#GVRAT Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee — 1000K by 31 August

With two virtual races already done, Brownie’s Blog tipped me off to another one to stay focused through the weird summer ahead.

It’s the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee, brought to you by the folks that put together the Barkley Marathons.  The starting gun went off the 1st of May and the race ends at 1000 km logged or 31st August, whichever comes first.  I got in 9.6 miles today (my 1st-3rd May mileage doesn’t count since I only signed up today).  611.9 miles (984.6 km) to go.  See you in Memphis (or, Bristol TN … not sure which way the virtual route is going).

Daily (or as frequently as I add mileage) reports at this link.

Commute 29 of 52 (To): Giraffes!

A lot has been said about the way Nature has reclaimed dominion over the Earth during The Lockdown.  Still, I was surprised to see the herd of giraffes as I joined the canal for the morning commute (9.6 miles).

Note: it was humid so I didn’t have my glasses on.

This was also my first mileage in the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee which I signed up for today.  GVRAT sounds sort of like “giraffe.”