LilBiker

Boulder Farmer’s Market

Jason — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 05:44:12 +0000

I love the farmer’s market. In the years since we moved to Boulder it has become one of my favorite things. In April it shows up letting me know that we are that much closer to summer.

Multicolored Beets

Baskets O Plenty

Throughout the summer we try to grab dinner at the Wednesday night market and hang out in the park. It’s a good way to break up the week and relax with the kids.

Bundles of Carrots

Jar of Cherry Tomatoes

Eventually berries turn to peaches and then to squash and then it’s October and the farmer’s market is no more and I wait through the winter for it to return.

Veins Of Green

Red and Green Tomatoes

Are zombies compostable?

Jason — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:16:52 +0000

When I was a kid part of saving the earth was this crazy idea called recycling. While it didn’t start in the 80′s it became part of the educational system to teach it in the 80′s as curb-side pickup of glass, cans, and newspaper (news-what?) became more prevalent. 13 episodes of Captain Planet and 20 years later my kids are in school and are being taught not only about recycling but composting, the next old-is-new thing that will save our planet. I love recycling and composting but sometimes the kids can get a bit overzealous about it and when I saw one of my twitter friends talking about what her daughter had to say on the subject I couldn’t resist. For your reading and watching pleasure, here is what transpired:

Ignore the image change, I was playing

At this point the conversation stepped up to posting videos:

Are Zombies Compostable? from Jason Janelle on Vimeo.

Which prompted this reply.

I love the internet.

Boulder’s Newest Event: Cause To Rock

Jason — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:26:01 +0000

Next Tuesday Boulder’s newest event and the first event I’ve ever tried to organize, Cause To Rock, will finally see the light of day. Cause To Rock is a battle of the bands event using the video game Rock Band instead of a traditional band. Each audience member buys a ticket and the procedes go to the winning band’s charity of choice. My friend, Jared Kohlmann [T] [F], and I thought up and have been working on making it happen for the last two months and as the final days before it fly by I am excited and terrified all at the same time. As of today 5 “bands” have signed up, many tickets have sold and, thanks to my friend Ef, we had an article written about the event in the Colorado Daily. Band signups are open for a couple more days and there are still tickets available for the event so if you would like to come we would love to have you.

Ignite 13: So You Want To Be Fabulous

Jason — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:39:07 +0000

Many of you asked and now here it is. This is me, in drag, speaking at Boulder Ignite 13. Enjoy.

Now it’s your turn! Ignite Boulder 14 speaker submissions for March 3 have just opened up. Take your brilliance and let it shine by signing up.

Speaking at Ignite Boulder 13

Jason — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:56:07 +0000

Ever since the first time I saw Ignite I have wanted to speak at it but have been absolutely terrified to do so and through this terror have always found a reason why I couldn’t speak. I could always convince myself that I was too busy or had nothing useful to contribute. After last night, as my still pink nails strike the keys, I can’t find a reason not to. What started as a joke among friends spun way out of control and ended with me standing in front of 850 people, dressed as a woman and giving a presentation.

It all started a few years ago when one of my best friends started to talk about getting married and we joked that I would be one of her bridesmaids and that I would wear a dress. Fast forward a couple of years and my friend is getting married and actually does want me as one of her bridesmaids and even though we decided not to ruin her wedding, me dressing up in a dress would not die. Through a calamity of events it morphed from Jason in a dress to Jason in full drag (Lady Janelle) and we went out in Crested Butte and had a great time. While I was gone, Ignite Boulder 12 happened and was fresh on everyone’s mind when I got back. Because of that it was really no surprise that conversations with my friends turned to me presenting at the next Ignite Boulder as Lady Janelle. Once again what started as a joke became very serious when I got the email that I was one of the presenters for Ignite Boulder 13 with my topic So You Want To Be Fabulous.

Now there could be no excuses and the fear could only be conquered by facing this head on. I think everyone prepares their presentation in a different way but I felt that the best presentation I could create would start with writing a solid speech and then building the deck to support it. While this worked fairly well there were parts of my deck that didn’t quite line up so if I did it again I think that I might try a more parallel process. One of the other presenters, Aimee (@greeblemonkey), gave me probably the best advice for preparing: She told me to record my practice sessions and listen to them. Not only do you get a feel for where you have unnatural pauses but listening to it reenforces your memory of what you are going to talk about. I actually listened to my latest practice mere minutes before I had to go on but I was still very nervous.

In the end it was the audience that saved me. Hours of practice ( many, many hours ) did not prepare me for the awesome energy that the audience of Ignite is more than happy to give you. All of that energy knocked the fear right out of me and I had an amazing five minutes that I will never forget. Thank you Ignite Boulder.

November Greeblepix

Jason — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:35:49 +0000

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Fall Foliage Photo Roadtrip By The Numbers

Jason — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:39:26 +0000

Road Trip

1 Vehicle
3 People
62 hours
850+ Miles
7 Mountain Passes
4 Stops for Gas
~60 Gallons of Gas
1 sunset
0 sunrises

1 Hostel
1 Hotel
3 Baby Raccoons
1 Mama Raccoon
~10 Mule Deer
2 bats
1 angry squirrel
1 Amazing red tail hawk flyover
5 fake animals
3 Gun Shots
4 Closed on a Sunday morning coffee shops.
13 shots of espresso
12 peaches
186 Shutter Actuations ( for me )
0 knock-my-socks-off aspen stands
5-10 aspen stands worth shooting
7 photos I’m keeping.

“You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit”

Heather’s Macaroni and Cheese

Jason — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:36:05 +0000

It’s fall in Colorado again. The days are getting shorter and taking my precious sunlight with them. The aspens all over have been turning for the last month or so and while I’ve got photos of them I still haven’t processed them. So in lieu of that here is another food post.

With the temperature coming down we stop grilling so much and I start craving some good old comfort food. One of my favorites is Heather’s Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients

Besides being yummy this is super easy to make. Basically, after cooking up the noodles, you just mix everything together and bake it for half an hour. The way we make it is pretty basic because then not only we eat it but the kids will eat it too but when the kids were not around we made it with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced and it added a nice kick.

Family Dinner

Heather’s Macaroni and Cheese:
2 ½ cups Elbow Macaroni, slightly undercooked
1 Egg lightly beaten
2 cups (16 oz.) Cottage Cheese
1 cup (8 oz.) Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
1 tsp. dried Oregano
1 tsp. dried Basil
¼ tsp. Celery Seed
¼ tsp. Onion Granuals
¼ tsp. Garlic Granuals
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 cups shredded Cheese divided (Cheddar + any of the following to make a total of 4 cups: Monterey Jack, Swiss, Mozzerella, and Parmesean)
Paprika and dried Parsley for garnish

Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, herbs, and spices along with half of the shredded cheese. Add cooked macaroni and mix well. Poor into a greesed 9×13” pan top with remaining shredded cheese then sprinkle with paprika and parsley. At this point you can either freeze the casserole or bake in a 350º oven for 45 minutes. (When baking a frozen casserole do not preheat oven, cover with foil, then remove foil for an additional 15 minutes to the baking time.)

Tasty additions: 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced.

Where the alligator roam, part 2.

Jason — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:30:59 +0000

This is the second part in the two part series, where the alligator roam, about two trips I took to western Florida this summer. In the first part I talked about my trip in March and visiting Myakka State Park. The second trip I took was in September, just a couple of weeks ago. The primary purpose of this trip was to help my parents with some much needed tech support so between that and the oppressive heat I didn’t do much outdoors. I did spend one day geocaching with my dad, a first for him, and another day we all went to the Florida Aquarium.

While we may not have enjoyed the end of summer heat, the spiders seemed to love it. The Golden Orb-Web spider was busy putting up webs that were between 4-8 feet in diameter. The female of the species would hang out in the center of these webs and was as big as my fist.

Looking At You

Golden Glow

Towards the end of my trip we took a drive into Tampa and visited the Florida Aquarium. What is unique about this aquarium is that it devotes a significant amount of it’s space to showing off and explaining the local ecology.

Alligator Friendship

Many people feel strongly about photographing animals in captivity. I understand both sides if the argument and really only have a problem with people misrepresenting where they took the photograph. I really like when you can find a way to include the enclosure into a good photograph. This was my take on a classic example of this.

Tank Silhouette

Eel Watching

After a week it was finally time for me to head back home. Every time I visit Florida I am amazed ( and a bit saddened ) at how people took a swamp and jungle and turned it into a state with the fourth highest population. If you take the time to venture out there are some very unique things to find.

Where the alligator roam, part 1.

Jason — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 07:00:44 +0000

In the past 4 months I have had the unique opportunity to visit Florida, specifically the areas around Tampa and Sarasota, twice. The first time was in May when Florida is just creeping out of it’s winter and the second was just a week ago where the September heat was brutally oppressive. Where I stayed was inland where the city has given way to farmers and ranchers and the swamp is always just about to take over. The absolute night and day that Florida is to Colorado fascinates me and so I never go down there without my camera. Let’s be honest, I rarely go anywhere without it.

Looking At You

In May I was able to get up early two mornings in a row and go to Myakka River State Park and go to a site my dad showed me to photograph alligators and other wildlife. The alligators did not disappoint and I was able to photograph them as well as some blue herons.

Dinosaurs and Dragonflies

Ripple on the Throat

The next day my dad came with me and he showed me another place in Myakka River State Park to shoot where I was able to get the sunrise photo that I opened this post with. While the alligators were not so cooperative on this morning, the birds were more than happy to pose.

Morning Break On The Dam

Blocking The Light

Myakka River State Park was a really neat place to see a lot of the wildlife and habitat that is native in a state that is more well known for their large cities and voting faux pas. Our family also visited Busch Gardens on that trip but I left the camera home that day, choosing instead to enjoy the thrill of the roller coasters. Heather and I had a blast riding Sheikra with it’s 2 90 degree drops. ( Video not shot by me, contains cussing, jump to 1:00 to start the ride. )

In the next post I’ll talk about the photos I was able to take in September.