Hanser blog

2011

2011-12-24T22:53:00.001-06:00

Here's a slideshow. More on Flickr. Happy Holidays!

Holiday photo dump

2009-01-01T16:41:00.002-06:00

A good few weeks captured, in part, by the camera...

35 words

2008-12-30T00:40:00.002-06:00

Body is starting to feel older but still 9 years old in spirit.

Aspirations and experiences dwarf regrets.

I love my children.

Wife is a greater partner than I appreciate.

I'm not old yet.

Go!

So satisfying

2008-11-30T23:26:00.002-06:00

A week away does wonders.

Amos Lee in Des Moines

2008-11-12T07:09:00.004-06:00

Amos Lee show last night at People's (first club show since I don't know when for Heather and me) was short but good.

He had an urgency in the performance that pushed solidly into the rock, blues and (especially) soul flavors that are in all of his material; it was not a 'folk' show. We missed Priscilla Ahn's opener, but her contribution to Black River was magical. I'm convinced that Iowans have a connection to river songs... the crowd actually went silent and soaked up that tune.

Anyway, thumbs up for Amos Lee -- a guy we found while Googling our son's name.

Staying centered

2008-10-27T22:36:00.002-05:00

Trip to Howell's was nice; perfect weather. And a perfect escape from vocation, avocation, electoral nation and all of it.

Amos and Parker

Palin is driving us to drink!

2008-09-30T21:05:00.006-05:00

Drinking games seem juvenile, eh?

Whatever.

With help from friends, here is a list of the things Palin could say Thursday evening that should trigger drinking during the debate:

"Alaska"
"hockey mom"
"verbiage"
"maritime border"
"field dress"
"thanks, but no thanks"
"maverick"
"reform"
"it is my understanding"
"as Senator McCain has said"
"Joe Six Pack"

And... If any of those phrases are used in the same sentence, drink twice. (“As an Alaskan hockey mom, I feel that field dressing a moose is just like maritime border reform, so thanks but no thanks.”) Thanks, Sara ;)

Cheers!

Toddler Talk #2

2008-08-13T22:17:00.002-05:00

I've been in the office on evenings and weekends a bit lately, and Parker has occasionally accompanied as my assistant.

So, when we're hanging out at home the other day he strikes up a conversation about the office...

"Dada works in an office."

I do, I affirm.

"Dada makes money."

Some, yes.

"Dada pushes buttons."

Yes, I do.

"Yeah. Dada pushes buttons at the office."

Is that all I do at work?

"Yeah."

Summer vacation?

2008-08-13T22:14:00.002-05:00

We went to the beach.

Taking it easy...

2008-07-09T21:27:00.002-05:00

Things are kinda stable around here; about to get busy again though...

Drinking up the weekends

2008-06-25T08:39:00.002-05:00

So nice...

There is no quality time, only quantity time.

We really needed to get away

2008-06-16T22:59:00.002-05:00

We went to Omaha for the weekend and really enjoyed our time at the zoo.

Of course, there are details... Ask next time you see us. Crazy stuff.

The photos tell some of the story.

Good times.

Another reason to eat your lawn...

2008-06-10T10:41:00.003-05:00

We're growing four tomato plants -- should have ripe heirlooms in July.

Meanwhile, know your farmer.

Fridays make it all go away...

2008-05-23T15:35:00.002-05:00

So many odd and horrible things happened this week that I've been in a really poor frame of mind until this morning when I realized the week is over(!) and the weather will hold for trailwork tomorrow(!) and I'm out of the office for three days(!) and, really, everything's cool anyway.

Right.

So, cheers!

Bike to Work Week 2008: Day 5

2008-05-16T23:11:00.003-05:00

Great weather. Lots of people on bicycles. All good.

Made the effort to get downtown to rub elbows at El Bait Shop tonight; wish I'd had more time...

Anyway, a good week full of great sensory experiences.

Gonna plant garden tomorrow and be on the radio Sunday, too.

Bike to Work Week 2008: Day 2

2008-05-13T22:54:00.003-05:00

My direct route takes 10 minutes at a very easy pace.

See for yourself.

Note the guy in the SUV at the end who nearly kills me.

Bike to Work Week 2008: Day 1

2008-05-12T22:18:00.006-05:00

At the request of a Friend, I'm doing my best to be a dirty commuter.

Took "the scenic route" to visit the electeds and others who rolled down Grand to kickoff the week.

Early morning in the woods, I was struck by how quickly you can be insulated from the hum of traffic... It has been too long since I rode to work.

And flowers are everywhere right now... Lilac and crab apple and tulip trees... Breathe deep.

Toddler talk

2008-04-08T16:17:00.003-05:00

Parker likes to pick his nose. And he's not shy about it at all.

So, this weekend as I'm changing his diaper (a task he soon won't require any longer) he sticks his finger in my nose. And gives it a wiggle.

And then he says:

"Dada has grass in nose."

Grass, I say?

"Yeah. Savannah."

I have a savannah in my nose?

"Yeah. Elephants live there."

"Three-sided" for 1:1000

2008-03-30T21:10:00.005-05:00

Crazy-awful trip to DC nets these...

The gang is all in and accounted for... punctual. Me? Not so much...

"Numbers" for 1:1000

2008-03-15T13:58:00.007-05:00

Photo group is off the ground; a fun excuse to shoot and post. No time for either, so these will probably be more about concept than execution.

Anyway... Ed has the rules at his House; join us this week, eh?

Other work at Hoffsomers Happening and The Great Detox.

Raising Sand

2008-03-07T21:48:00.003-06:00

Friday feels better under the influence of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

"God's given us years of happiness here..." Amen.

Forgot to mention...

2008-03-02T10:57:00.002-06:00

That last post's title comes from the chorus of Parker's favorite owl video on Youtube -- from a collection of garage-punk animal songs.

Yes, YouTube is the best tube on the internets.

Oh me, oh my

2008-03-01T22:18:00.005-06:00

Things are humming along here again (and like never before).

Snow is melting fast; spring's around the corner.

Spent three hours cleaning out the garage today (jealous?), due mainly to the discovery that the bag of grass seed I was hoping to plant this spring was the best cache for wintering mice in the history of suburban vermin.

After removing an unimaginable amount of seed and, um, waste, I hauled a box with a half-open top to the drive with not a little bit of suspicion. When it hit ground I found myself locking with the glossy black eyes of a field mouse.

Taking no chances, I kicked the box over, sending at least six mice scurring everywhere in my driveway... finding cover under the wheels of the car or the deck, only to decide seconds later that these locations were inadequate compared to the mouth-shredded saxophone etudes that had kept them warm and dry for months.

Mice running everywhere.

This went on for some time.

I just stood at the maw of my garage, hands out like a madman, trying to prevent them from going back inside.

I'm sure they're in the garage now.

But I kept them out until they had all disappeared around the house. And I finished cleaning up the garage without a visit.

Anyway... Time to go watch Wilco on SNL.

Back to work

2008-02-10T22:42:00.000-06:00

Today was a nice finish to our start -- nothing special, more of the same simple living but still good. It helps that Parker is into laundry now (and brings along his friends, too).

Two weeks at home felt right.

Now things will get interesting. No more full-time 'domestique' action. It's time again for, as Parker says, "dada make money" on top of caring for the clan.

As an aside... during our stay at Methodist two weeks ago, we were still considering a handful of names for our second son.

Perhaps this is commonplace now, but I found myself Googling (bless the hospital wi-fi) the 'short list' to see what additional associations could be made among our contenders.

One of the best discoveries was a singer/songwriter named Amos Lee. Hadn't heard of him until two weeks ago. But he's in heavy rotation around our house now.

Amos is early, but oh so good

2008-02-03T21:01:00.000-06:00

Amos is here -- more than three weeks early... But he is healthy (6.5 lbs and growing) and doing well.

We've enjoyed so much support from family and friends in the past week that we'll soon overcome the premature delivery's destruction of our 'well laid plans'... But, for now, it's subsistence living at our house... Meals, laundry, diapers, toddler management, more laundry. We're actually getting a bit of sleep at night (in three-hour increments). Typical new-parent-with-toddler stuff, I guess...

Much more to say, but not much time to say it.

Enjoy the photos, and leave a comment, won't you?

2008-01-18T13:34:00.000-06:00

After a busy holiday (photos pending), we've dug in on baby preparation... I'm in the middle of a month-long stretch of spending every night on home improvement. Here are some photos of the basement work to date.

2007-12-07T00:40:00.000-06:00

8 days left to burn.

I'm going to take a lot time off in December. Holidays done right, if you ask me...

Vacation is good.

2007-10-19T22:44:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot was life was like before the freaky deluge this week.

Full of good times, according to my camera.

No doubt trails bring people together. Cheers to the trail fiends!

2007-08-24T15:19:00.000-05:00

Where did summer go?

Oh yeah... my house -- roofing, painting, gardening. Ugh. Still painting a bit, but mostly done.

Oh, and the boy. He's big now. Says a lot, when he's not screaming like only a toddler can scream... There are photos, but I'm still rebuilding capacity with the Mac... unorganized back-up data and a new little camera.

Oh, and the *next* baby. Heather's due mid-February; this has been a much rougher pregancy for her (us)... We do the 'gender inspection' ultrasound on Thursday. Stay tuned...

I'm running more than I'm riding... Guess I'm thinking about the du, and Living History Farms and the Sycamore (Maffit) 8. Fall is good.

Blogging is good, too; I really need to do more. With photos (1,000 words each!). The ambient intimacy is healthy, though no match for drinking beers by the river while speckled in mud. No match at all.

Level!

2007-05-29T21:34:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by ryanhanser

The boy was a big help getting the garden going... I'll post some more photos in this set once the rain stops; lots of good stuff coming out of the ground now.

2007-04-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

There is much to be happy about:

A baby "from the little hollow" of Austin, TX, is among us.

The longest recorded gestation for trail signage finally reaching its conclusion.

And of course there's other stuff I won't deliver now...

Oh, except I piloted all of my bicycles last week. And managed to get poison ivy and two very large bruises.

And there is independent radio in town.

And the boy turns one on Sunday.

2007-04-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

...For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away...

2007-03-25T16:31:00.000-05:00

When Heather and I were living on Des Moines' east side, we were amused at how fast our discarded stuff would disappear from the curb -- 27 minutes for a washer and dryer set, for example -- via a stranger's pickup, van, etc. And we thought such a put-n-take culture was unique to that neck of the woods.

But we were wrong.

At our suburban curb today, a mower lasted less than five minutes. And a bench didn't last two minutes. Both were wisked away in the backs of trucks teeming with other neighbors' large "items" due for retrieval by Artistic Waste this week.

The best "find" I saw rolling past today was a cherry step-through cruiser, propped upright atop a heap of lawn furniture like a queen on her thrown. Not sure what the 300-pound guy driving the truck had planned for it...

Anyway, my yard work is done (for now). And people love free stuff. That's all I got for Sunday...

Off to Dallas for a few days of work. Cheers!

Potential...

2007-03-18T20:03:00.001-05:00

P1010072.JPG
Originally uploaded by ryanhanser.

The first trailwork day of the year was completed as planned, despite foul weather. Lots of good help. Can't wait for dry dirt; too bad it will be awhile...

2007-01-24T22:42:00.000-06:00

Word to Herb!

Spin class at the Y... that's what I'm down to now... No rides, runs or much of anything else. I really need a kick in the ass, because I'm certain I could make time for more regular sweat early in the morning.

Seriously, anyone wanna join me for some running early on weekday mornings?

Anyway, Herb leads 90 minutes of pain on Sunday afternoons. The class is always full with other instructors, etc. Jim and Sally Logan are regulars, too. So, word to Herb.

And word to New Belgium, who told me today they will begin shipping product to Iowa in 2007. Then we won't have to drive to neighboring states when we want to throw down...

2007-01-05T14:55:00.001-06:00

The holiday hangover persists... Two weeks of vacation has not worn off yet. Good times...

Rob Houlihan racing at Center Trails?

2006-11-07T06:41:00.000-06:00

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I had no idea what I was getting into when Sam Lopez and I went to the Capital Striders board last spring and said "let's host a duathlon together"... But, now that it's done, I'm overjoyed with the outcome. The positive reaction from everyone that showed up and the money we raised for Center Trails far exceeded my expectations.

People kept thanking me for putting on the race, but I was just one of so many people who made it possible... First and foremost Dave Mable and Brian Palmer, who had passion for the idea and plenty of experience hosting races; they deserve most of the credit. Second, the board and membership of CITA and Striders, who just sort of "appeared" on race day and plugged in as needed to accomodate the much-larger-than-I-expected turnout. Third, Donny Quixote, who was a resource during planning and helped keep things jumping on race day. Fourth, Richard Brown with the City of Des Moines, who has been supportive of our efforts to create sustainable singletrack in Greenwood and Ashworth Parks. Fifth, Rasmussen bike shop, Oakley, Baratta's and others who donated prizes. Sixth, my patient and supportive wife for allowing me to "follow my folly." And, finally, all of the racers and spectators who turned out in droves on a beautiful day...

It was one of the most startling examples of "community" I've experienced.

And then there's Rob Houlihan -- a guy from Cedar Falls that I used to ride with in college. Incidently, I was riding his old Trek 8700 (that I bought from him used in 1995 and have since converted to a singlespeed) around on race day. Somehow, seeing Rob on Sunday brought my involvement with trails into focus -- a 12-year love affair with dirt that just gets stronger every year.

I'm stoked with what this event has already done and can do for Center Trails and CITA and Striders. And, yes, I'm ready to do it again next year.

Fall is here...

2006-09-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

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And we welcomed it with a weekend in and around Decorah with family... Good times.

Caffeine is my friend

2006-05-22T13:22:00.000-05:00

P5200071.JPG

I trust Liz Garst enough to know that this coffee container is friendly; what's particularly sharp-witted about this stunt is that caffeine is, itself, an insectide... Anyway, this pot offered my morning jolt for the IMBA Trailbuilding School near Coon Rapids on Saturday. Leaving wife and child is not something I like to do right now, but this was a well-attended event that should have lasting benefits for Whiterock Conservancy.

Are you here for the feeding?

2006-05-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

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I went on a Flickr bing today... 157 photos, folks.

Enjoy!

2006-05-03T23:43:00.000-05:00

Parker Christian Hanser is here...

Transformative, this kid-having stuff... Is anyone ever ready to take on responsibility for another human life?

More photos, video, etc. to come...

2006-04-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

I rode my bicycle to work today, and it felt good...

When I'm not "nesting" I'm working on trail stuff... especially the lay out of the Banner Lakes trail system. Check out the green action in this photo... Springy.

2006-03-31T20:38:00.000-06:00

Heather is slowing down... I'm predicting she'll go early, but we'll see. Oh, and this is a photo from January (i know i'm a poor blogger); she's much bigger now.

2006-01-08T12:59:00.000-06:00

How about a recap of our holiday -- in moving pictures with stereo sound? Very 2006, don't you think?

The video is small (9mb MOV) for your downloading ease; get it here.

Cheers!

2006-01-02T09:57:00.000-06:00

It's a new year, but I feel just as sick as I did yesterday.

The flu came over from my aunt (happy holidays) and punched me in the chest last week. It's been laying on top of me slapping me in the forehead ever since. Doctor says I'll need a week to recover. That means I won't feel better until about Wednesday, and the couch is already an enemy.

With me sick and Heather pregnant, we ended up toasting the new year with ginger ale. So cool...

Moreover, the flu knocked out my beautiful cycling window -- 5 days with few commitments and temps above freezing. My last ride -- a simple urban spin on my birthday -- hurt a lot; I knew I was feeling bad then...

But when I'm feeling good enough to Google, I have my new fascination to keep me busy: daddy blogs, daddy blogs and more daddy blogs.

2005-12-18T14:01:00.000-06:00

Hello World