LUNA-TICS TEAM ROOM: Year-round "Looney" fun.

[Kona2]

Congrats to al the fellow reindeer in the bunch. Debbie will hit a lifetime 1,000,000 with her next row.
I couldn't resist sharing this new article from newser:

AP) – You can say "lunatic" all you want, but you probably won't have the government's blessing. The word "lunatic" will be stricken from federal law under legislation that passed the House today and is headed to President Obama for his signature. "The term `lunatic' holds a place in antiquity and should no longer have a prominent place in our US code," said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., shortly before the 398-1 vote in the House. The word is derived from the Latin word from moon and ancient beliefs that people could become "moonstruck" by lunar movements.

The legislation cites one instance in banking regulation that refers to the authority of a bank to act as "committee of estates of lunatics" on guardianship issues. The lone "no" vote was cast by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who said in a statement that "not only should we not eliminate the word `lunatic' from federal law when the most pressing issue of the day is saving our country from bankruptcy, we should use the word to describe the people who want to continue with business as usual in Washington."

Thanks for sharing ! We'll look forward to celebrating Debbie's million meters!

[Kona2]

Comet (aka Danno) is living up to his name...

Congratulations, Danno, on rowing over 300,000 m in the Holiday Challenge thus far....and earning $10.06 in Concept2 donation $$$. With those antler lights and that flashy red harness, should help light the way well for the upcoming sleigh rides...

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Teammate Greg H is one who shares that he is a star watcher. Winter is a great time for stargazing! Longer hours of darkness, and more transparent air. Recent Denver Post article quoted: " As the temperature drops, the humidity in the air freezes into ice crystals, so instead of a fog of water vapor, you have ice crystals, which makes the air more transparent,” said Mike Hotka, a Broomfield amateur astronomer. The stars are more crisp. The winter is by far the best time to observe.” So...what to see in the night sky? The Orion Nebula....the Andromeda Galaxy....and, of course, the moon ! Full moon is December 28th this year, so our squadrons of reindeer should get a little help from the night sky...

Congratulations, Greg H, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Stargazer !

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

A bunny trail appeared ... and, of course, it was pursued. Pretty sure that teammate Ian works with green projects involving innovation, energy and sustainability. But wait...there's more !! He also shares a poem he wrote with us in his team profile (check it out!). Started thinking about the different poet laureates that the US and the UK (among others) have had. Poet laureates are chosen to be the "public poet" from October to May. The current poet laureate for the US is Natasha Trethewey, whose poems often blend personal memory with historical research to bring to life the experiences of previously unknown people from the past. She received the Pulitzer Prize for her book Native Guard, which tells of the Louisiana Native Guard, the first official regiment of black and Creole soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War, who were stationed at Fort Massachusetts on the Ship Island (across from Gulfport) to guard Confederate prisoners of war. Prior to a chance conversation, she had never heard of the Louisiana Native Guard, and it occurred to her that "there were all kinds of historical erasure like that—things that get left out of the record and are equally important in the history of us as Americans." Dare say that historical erasure happens all over the globe, but it wasn't a phrase I'd heard of.

But I digress. Again. Robert Frost was one of our US Poet Laureates, and Frost is a good reindeer name for a teammate who shares his poetry work with us.

Congratulations, Ian, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Frost !

[Kona2]

Woohoo and hooyah! First ONE million meters ..... that's a special milestone for any rower! Congratulations, Debbie V, on achieving ONE million lifetime meters! We wish you many, MANY more!!

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Teammate Teresa R lives in Olympia, WA. This capital city gets its name from the Olympic Mountains, the highest of which is Mount Olympus. In mythology, seems like Mt Olympus was supposed to be so high that mere mortals couldn't see the top....but I'll bet our reindeer will be able to see Mt Olympus as they fly by....

Congratulations, Teresa, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Olympus !

[Kona2]

Woohoo! Dasher (aka Da Do Ron Ron) has earned his antler lights ...

Nightfall may be here but there are some new points of light....multi-colored light it is, too. Another rower has earned antler lights for a reindeer....and that means that the 200K milestone has been met, and the Holiday pin is on order! Whoop! Whoop! Congratulations, Da Do Ron Ron, on a fine return to rowing form....and on earning a Concept2 donation of $6.08 (at this time). Here I thought that it was Blazing Barb's four million meter celebration that was generating all that wattage....

Wowzer, mates....reindeer hooves flying fast and furious overhead as Flight School is in session. Was trying to count up all the reindeer this AM (if they would just stay in one spot for a few minutes!), and realized that I had incorrectly identified Dasher as Ron (who is really Dancer!)....when, of course, it's Michelle...the first reindeer. Apologies! Tough to keep all 35 on the radar screen....Dancer is Ron, and Michelle is getting close to attaining those antler lights!

[bg]

Woohoo and hooyah! First ONE million meters ..... that's a special milestone for any rower! Congratulations, Debbie V, on achieving ONE million lifetime meters! We wish you many, MANY more!!

woooo hoooo and congrats debbie v :} and, while i'm here, also a huge thanks to k2 and aj.....love this challenge

[Kona2]

Day 15 or 16 of 33 ....

Concept2 donation $$$ earned by the entire Rowing Universe = $4,971.56 (about an 8 percent increase over same time last year!)

Concept2 donation $$$ earned by our team = $ 135.47

Welcome to new teammate Jan Meijs of NLD! Jan says his wife always asks him where he's rowing to when he's on the erg....to the moon, of course! Glad to have you join us!

Meanwhile, there's sure a whole lot of rowing going on in this team! We've still got 40 percent of the rowing season left to enjoy (and multiple challenges!)! Lots of opportunities to still meet this Challenge, too. Half the Challenge still to go....get your meters uploaded !

Season meters as of 218/365 = 93,941,954 m

Total meters on the day = 669,228 m

Oars in space (participation) = 35 percent !

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

4.85 MM Ron
4.1 MM Jay
4.05 MM bg
3.15 MM Cathie
2.95 MM Michelle
2.65 MM Danno
2.3 MM David A
1.9 MM Jane
1.6 MM Brian M
1.6 MM Marie
1.5 MM Matt
1.45 MM Sam
1.2 MM Ted
1.1 MM Tim G
900 K Peter H
900 K Marty
600 K Pat S
250 K Greg H
150 K Teresa
100 K Laurie
100 K Ian


Be on the lookout....teammates rowing past some significant milestones practically every hour !!

Yesterday's numbers (had to choose between rowing and posting....rowing won):

Steven D 1,000 m
Roger 3,000 m
Tammy 3,000 m
Nataliya m
Zander m reads the same right to left and left to right
Harold 4,000 m
Brian C 5,000 m
Paul S 5,000 m
Rachel 5,000 m
Pat S 5,255 m
Anita 5,321 m
Ross a double double
Jeff P 6,498 m
Tom M 6,500 m
Karyn 6,558 m
Tony m
Kristine 7,000 m
Marie 7,000 m
Chip 7,029 m
Mike C 7,500 m
Sam 7,508 m
Ian 8,298 m
Dana 8,716 m
Michelle 8,975 m
Baz 10,000 m
Mike M 10,000 m
Peter H 10,000 m
Rebecca 10,000 m
Tim K 10,000 m
Brian M 10,244 m
Dan W 10,728 m
Ronnie m
Teresa m
Cathie 11,212 m
Jay R 11,233 m ...almost a Fibonacci there...
Andre 11,622 m
Jane 12,250 m
Marty 12,565 m
Dennis 13,500 m
Laurie 14,049 m
David A 14,550 m
Ron J 14,863 m
James G 16,308 m
Tim G 17,500 m
Jay 21,097 m
Danno 23,098 m
bg 26,311 m
Ron 28,097 m

Today's numbers:

Steven D 1,000 m
Jim 3,000 m
Sam m ... it's the Christmas Day countdown...
Nataliya 4,408 m
Marty m .. and Marty's in count up mode...keep adding to those Concept2 donation $$$ !
K2 5,000 m
Rebecca 5,000 m
Fritz 5,255 m
Rosi m
David T 6,000 m
Steve J 6,000 m
Debbie V 6,005 m
Karyn 6,286 m
Tony 6,675 m ...odd for a guy who has been rowing 6,666 ...until you see that this puts him at for the Challenge...
Harold m ... a double double!
Kristine 7,000 m
Anita 7,500 m
Zander 7,531 m
Marie 8,000 m
Paul S 8,000 m
Ian 8,176 m
Ron J 8,717 m
Baz 10,000 m
Mike C 10,000 m
Tim K 10,000 m
Ronnie 10,008 m
Laurie 10,012 m
Cathie 10,055 m
Teresa 10,788 m
Brian M 12,000 m
Greg H 12,505 m
Pat S 13,000 m
Dennis 13,500 m
Jane 13,517 m
Chuck B 14,214 m
Michelle 15,000 m
Peter H 15,000 m
Danno 16,000 m
David A 17,037 m
Tim G 17,500 m
Ted 18,000 m
Jay 1 m
Matt F 20,000 m
Stephen W 21,544 m
Ron 26,097 m
bg 26,112 m
Jan M 176,667 m

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Tony's been rowing some great number sequences (and outwitting this Astrogator more than once) for several years. One of his early sequences was that of Pi...and some of the sequences that follow the 3.14....Seems fitting that the name of his reindeer is Pi...(not to be confused with the book and movie The Life of Pi).

Congratulations, Tony, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Pi ! And thanks for all the number fun !

[Restless]

Woohoo and hooyah! First ONE million meters ..... that's a special milestone for any rower! Congratulations, Debbie V, on achieving ONE million lifetime meters! We wish you many, MANY more!!

Huge congrats from me as well, Debbie V. on your first one million lifetime meters!

Also congrats to all the new reindeer being released, it's hard to keep up with! Thanks so much Kona2 for the excellent job you've done with this, has made the challenge an extra fun one

-Rebecca

[Kristine Strasburger]

Doing great, Lunies! Congrats to all the new reindeer racing around these past few days. Love the name game, K2. Thanks for the extra time you are putting in to make this particular challenge extra fun. Way to row, Everyone!

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Captain Kristine lives in an idyllic part of the Northwest - lots of trees and fiercely independent people there in Spirit Lake, and definitely some good fishing (see teammate Keith S's photo). There were several things that sent me down bunny trails about Spirit Lake...one was the legend of Spirit Lake, another was the factoid that Spirit Lake is one of two lakes in the world that has a sealed bottom (?!), and a third was the story of the city springing into existence in a short period of 8 months with the arrival of logging. That bit about the lake having a sealed bottom, curiouser and curiouser. Turn back time to the Ice Age, and the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. Lobes of this ice sheet formed dams of the Columbia River and the Clark River - some parts of the dam reached up to 2000 ft high. When this ice dam failed, it sent a gazillion tons of rock, gravel, sand and water into many parts of Idaho (and probably some of Washington State). When the thumps and bangs of the boulders, etc., smashing down ceased, there was a debris pile that now sat on Brickell Creek. The silt in the receding flood waters solidified into a concrete-like material in the scoured out bowl of Spirit Lake that was behind this new dam. Time passed (I always liked that part of skipping through a few centuries...time travel during a bunny trail !), and native tribes migrated to the area. Thanks especially to Keith Spencer's article in The Spokeman's Review, Oct 11 2007 for the info.

One of the tribes that was mentioned as living near Spirit Lake was the Kootenai, or water people. One legend of the naming of Spirit Lake says that the Good Chieftain of the Kootenai had a daughter named Fearless Running Water who wished to marry a young brave named Shining Eagle. Meanwhile, though, an evil warring tribe leader named Yellow Serpent, who was reputed to be about as old as the glaciers, sent a message to Good Chieftain saying he was going to create mayhem if he couldn't marry Fearless. Good Chieftain caved in, and said he would permit this. The two young lovers instead decided to jump off a cliff into the lake...and were never found. When the ice is moving about in the lake, haunting sounds are heard of their spirits calling out.

So...lots of opportunities for reindeer names here (other than Yellow Serpent which we would never consider). I was truly tempted by the name Fearless, especially since I am a Rocky and Bullwinkle fan. Still, the native name seems to be a good one: Kootenai.

Congratulations, Kristine, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Kootenai !

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Woohoo, Laurie ! Laurie is a nomad, having moved about a few times to wherever her work takes her. She's currently in Herndon VA, a locale that's named for an outstanding US Navy explorer, William Herndon, who led a US expedition to the Valley of the Amazon. Herndon went down with his ship during a hurricane, helping get many passengers to safety. His daughter became first lady (married to Pres Chester Arthur). Arthur became President following the assassination of President Garfield. Herndon also has a rail trail, a project that makes a bikeway out of an abandoned rail lines. It's part of the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Trail - a sweet 45 mile trail that goes from Falls Church, Vienna, Herndon, Reston and Leesburg. For those who like horseback riding, there's 32 miles of bridle trail alongside. This trail goes through both residential and wooded areas. Wowzer, what a great resource!

Back to the naming. I am CERTAIN that there are Holly trees in the area...and Holly is a great seasonal name.

Washington-Old Dominion Rail Trail

Congratulations, Laurie, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Holly !

[Kona2]

Another rower meets the Concept2 donation milestone... and frees a reindeer!

Now our 40th reindeer belongs to Dan W., a teammate who is also fond of writing some fun verse to go with his team profile. I particularly like the "I spy something lunar from aboard me schooner." The family name of Wickwar sure suggested some English roots, though....and there was this small group of brain cells that said Wickwar Brewing Company. Sure enough, Wickwar Brewing Company is one of the mainstays of Wickwar Village, South Gloucestershire, England. This brewery makes cask ales. Instead of stainless steel tanks, pumps, pipes and filters, this brew is allowed to reach its fermentation in the cask and then is served at its cool temperature. It's unfiltered and unpasteurized, and once the cask is opened....it's a two to four day time clock. There's no downtube in these kegs or casks - the brew has to be pumped up by the bartender, and it requires quite a bit of training to get it right. This is because there's no carbon dioxide or nitrogen introduced into the cask. The beer literally sits on the yeast and continues to ferment until it's served up. Has a bit more alcohol than our mass produced offerings. (I know...too much info...but really...I had to get my brewing certificate in another life, and I had to know these things.)

In stopping by the Wickwar Brewery site, I saw that its seasonal offering is a product called "Christmas Crackers." Christmas Crackers, the brew, is named for Christmas crackers, the holiday item. Christmas crackers aren't all that well known here in the US, but I'd be willing to bet that we have a few teammates who know all about these. These crackers are cardboard tubes filled with candies, paper hats or crowns and some type of trinket, then wrapped with brightly colored paper. The paper has a small amount of chemical adhesive that with friction causes a snap! They are placed next at the table setting, and then pulled apart by two people somewhat like the wishbone. One person is going to end up with the goodies, and the other gets left holding the wrapper. Such is the fate of many a Christmas gathering. Going to add this to my list of things for the holiday table!

So, in honor of Christmas Crackers, the brew of Wickwar Brewing Company (and maybe related to Dan W of the same name), Dan's reindeer is Christmas !

Congratulations, Dan W, on earning the Concept2 donation and freeing your reindeer, Christmas !