Ren-Kathy

More Bamboo Frame Building

2011-08-15T12:10:00.004-06:00

I spent another afternoon at the Bamboo Bike Studio a couple of days ago finishing the bamboo bike frame. This turned out to be much more fun that I expected and I'm very interested in building another much more custom bike for Kathy (559x1.0+12.5"STL)

The nearly finished net shape of the head tube. The carbon fibers and epoxy are now a solid mass that can be filed and sanded.Finishing the seat cluster with 3 feet of 80 grit Emory cloth. Black carbon dust sure makes a mess. Make sure you don't get any in your espresso.

Garden update

2011-07-28T15:19:00.003-06:00

The garden is rocking along producing tons of tomatos, beans and squash. The Basil is booming, squeezing out the Japanese Eggplant and some of the peppers. We're buying lots of fresh motz to compliment the tomatoes and basil. Roasted squash is also popular on the menu now. I don't know about the corn. Some of the ears look ok but over all it looks pretty spindly and thin. Pumpkins are coming along nicely with 3-4 already ripe.

I don't think we added enough fertilizer to the soil at planting time which prevented some of the plants from really thriving. I've recently started to add nitrogen and have seen a big response. We have been composting our yard clippings for 6 months and have a good supply of amendment now so things should be better when we replant this winter.

Jens crashed (twice) today in the Tour

2011-07-16T12:49:00.002-06:00

But it's Ok, the mountain wasn't badly hurt and is expected to fully recover.

fsck and Time Machine

2011-07-16T12:34:00.002-06:00

If you use Apple's Time Machine to back-up your Mac and you notice fsck running (and you will notice because it uses up about 50% of available CPU when it runs) don't kill it. Even if it runs for 24+ hours, crippling your machines performance the whole time, don't kill it. Even if you have a SSD based drive that manages file-system integrity at a lower level, and aren't completely sure it's needed, don't kill it.

If you do get impatient, for example watching an exciting finish of a tour stage and the video re-buffers constantly, and you stupidly kill it, you will immediately get a message say your time machine backup agent explaining that all the existing backups are now inconsistent and you will need to start a completely new 100+ Gb backup set from scratch. Lesson Learned.

Bamboo Framebuilding

2011-07-15T14:53:00.010-06:00

Thanks to a friend I recently had the opportunity to take a bamboo bicycle frame-building workshop at the Bamboo Bike Studio in San Francisco.

Bamboo on Wheels is a video
from Jan Sturmann on Vimeo
that describes why bamboo
makes good bicycles.

Here are some of the tubes used to build the frames. Tubes are selected according to rider weight and the ride characteristics desired.

The jig is setup with balsa wood blocks to anchor the main tubes and steel dropouts to anchor the stays. The ends of the tubes are roughed up to increase the grip of the epoxy and carbon used to join the tubes later.

File and saw remove everything this isn't a bicycle.It sure is a lot easier to file than a traditional steel frame.

Filing the non-structural balsa wood to make a smooth shape around the steel head-tube. Glad I had clean fingernails here.

Here is the frame ready to wrap with carbon thread.

The carbon is a thread made of many thousand strands of super-fine fiber that must each be coated with epoxy for maximum strength and stiffness.

The finished joint is wrapped in tape to compress the epoxy deep into the fibers. In 12 hours the epoxy has cured and is hard enough to sand smooth.

Stage 4

2011-07-05T09:23:00.002-06:00

Great work by Thor to stay in Yellow today. He's a giant - 6' and 180 Lbs - for a pro cyclist, so staying with the lead climbers for that uphill finish shows was an amazing performance. It takes a great rider to wear the yellow jersey but the jersey makes them greater. Thor & Co. will wear it all week.

Cycling's Phil Mickelson, Cadel Evans, finally kept his head out of his saddle to win a much-deserved first stage. It's great he's found a place where he is happy and I look forward to seeing how well he can do now.

Day 1

2011-07-02T15:38:00.002-06:00

I like that the Tour started without the traditional prolog, kinda like jumping right into the deep end of the pool. Contador's lost minute is gonna make things interesting. After his Giro performance he needs the handicap. The finish fit Gilbert like a glove and he crushed it, destroying Cancallara in the process. Mark Cavendish says it better than I could...

MarkCavendish
Just saw todays last kilometre. Gilbert humbled everyone with the equivalence of pulling down his pants to reveal a 13incher. #YIKES

Le Tour

2011-07-01T07:19:00.006-06:00

That big bike race in France starts tomorrow and after the brutal appetizer that was this year's Giro, it should be quite a show. Seems unlikely anyone can even get close to Contador this year. He was a monster in the Giro. Two years ago I was a huge fan having watched him as a junior rider, but after close call of Puerto and the Clenbuterol train-wreck, he seem to be just another pro doper now.

There is one rider I have followed for years, since his spectacular performance on Stage 15 of the 2004 tour, and look forward to his antics this year especially. He'll never challenge for the Yellow, but he's always there to drive the break and steal the odd win. My man is Jens Voigt. With 15 seasons in the saddle, he's nearly my age yet he yet he races with the abandon of a junior and the power of a machine.

Reflecting on the twilight of his career, he recently wrote: "Every time I race, I will race so fiercely my legs cry, and when I can’t do that anymore, that’s when I will know it’s time for myself to shut up and leave."

There is a word used in climbing, cycling, even in the military to describe that rare individual who never even thinks to quit, never shirks, never even thinks about the pain. That word is "Hardman". I only personally know a few guys who I would call "Hardman" - most were Marines -- but Jens defines the word. When I'm climbing on the bike or run out on a steep pitch and feel that first flicker of doubt, I think of Jens and and say "Shut-up legs" and push on knowing that whatever I'm doing, Jens is doing more.

My Chicken Salad

2011-06-22T11:47:00.006-06:00

I like lots of different flavors and textures in my chicken salad. Celery, shallots, apple and cucumber for body, pecans and walnuts for crunch and the sweetness of rasins and apples balanced with a little vinegar.

I usually stuff it into a some Pita bread so I tend to chop everything pretty coarse -- think 1/2" chop -- to maximize how it fills the sandwich. If I were serving as a salad I'd chop closer to 1/4" for a more refined texture. I also don't use much mayonaise -- It's not good for me and I think it masks too many of the other flavors -- but you may want to add more to make it richer. Makes 6-8 pita sandwiches

1 whole roasted chicken - meat removed, chopped and cooled

1 cup mayonaise

2 ribs of celery (chop)

1/2 Granny Smith apple (dice)

1 English cucumber (dice)

1 medium shallot (dice)

1/2 cup toasted pecans (coarse chop)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (coarse chop

1/2 cup currants or rasins

1 Tbs tarragon (chopped)

1 Tbs apple vinegar

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix gently. It's always better the next day.

Garden Update

2011-06-21T10:19:00.005-06:00

The backyard garden is rolling along nicely. We have already enjoyed a couple of English Cucumbers and used some of the cilantro and basil in salsa and salads. There are a couple of zucchini that are ready to pick now too. The tomatos, now taller than their 5' cages, dominate their half herb garden. A few of the Cascade cherry tomatoes are showing enough color that they'll be ready to pick by Friday. There are a couple of zucchini that are ready to pick too. Some of the other squash plants have been a little slow to start and the peppers are still a little small although most of them are showing fruit.

The corn is 4' now with many plants showing tassels and a couple showing their first ears. The runner beans are also growing rapidly and a couple of plants have already reached the top of the 7' trellis.

Above is a picture of the garden the day we planted and below is a pic I took this morning. Looking good for 2 months. Back in Denver we would have planted just last weekend - Fathers Day is the traditional date to absolutely avoid a freeze.

PR - Hunters Point Climb

2011-06-21T10:00:00.002-06:00

I set a new personal record (59Min 22Sec) this morning climbing to Hunters Point in the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve.

I have become a little worried about the lack of diversity in my training regimin. I've been logging long hours on the bike and feeling the benefits, but I want to maintain a high level of "whole body" fitness so I cut way back on the cycling milage and instead focused on strength work for three weeks. I like the CrossFit WOD concept so I do them nearly every day now. I built Kathy a 10' slosh-tube which is also a great work-out aid. The last three weeks have been 90% anaerobic with lots of sets to failure.

Two things happened...

I lost 10 lbs.

I PR'd the first time back on the bike.

Probably a combination of newly developed strength and a health appetite for riding after a couple of weeks off.

Dear Lance,

2011-05-23T06:13:00.003-06:00

"I never took drugs" and "I've never tested positive" do not mean the same thing.

Summit and Skyline

2011-05-15T19:12:00.000-06:00

On Saturday I drown my track-day sorrow on the bike with a visit to Lexington Reservoir, Summit Road, Skyline Blvd and Stevens Canyon. I was still a little sore, dehydrated and undernourished from Friday so I should not have been surprised by my poor performance. It wasn't a hard bonk, I just felt weak the while time. 58 miles and 5k ft in 5.5 hours. I crashed lightly trying to avoid poison-oak while descending the canyon. Next time, hit the plant.

Summit and Skyline

Tough track days

2011-05-15T18:35:00.003-06:00

I've clearly committed some terrible deed and have offended the all-powerfull god of head-gaskets (GoHG). He first smote me two years ago but striking down my M3 at Pikes Peaks. Then a year later GoHG struck again at Pueblo. This spring I lost the third one in my car -- this time at Buttonwillow. Then last month GoHG struck the LTW during the Buttonwillow enduro costing us a likely podium. So it wasn't entirely unexpected that he struck yet again on Friday, this time striking the mighty S-14 powering the E30 M3 I was driving. The head-gasket failure probably happened the last time the car was on track and just showed up at this session but the result is the same -- a weekend at the track yielded just three laps. On the plus side I remembered at least some of the Thunderhill track even though it's been something like 10 years since I had lapped there. Also the E30 M3 fits me like a glove. I raced one for many years and find them to be among the most fun cars on the track.

Price Controls Suck

2011-05-11T07:40:00.002-06:00

As you get older you begin to really understand the power of advertising and how it pervades, controls and to some extend undermines society. I have also spend most of my career in an industry that is largely driven by ad revenue so I watch the issue closely.

A couple of weeks ago I got an ad in my inbox from one of the many on-line bicycle retailers with which I've done business. It advertised a site-wide cycling shoe sale. Given the tatty condition my current shoes it was a timely arrival. I went to this site already dreaming about shiny new shoes. I added a pair of Dominator 5's in size 45 to the cart and applied the 20% off code and... wait, where's the discount? The discount code won't apply. Then I noticed the fine print in the as the said the the discounts don't apply to any Sidi products. In fact there were over 20 brands on the list.

I was lured into this trap again this morning, when the big pedal sale started. I got to thinking, hey, I actually have a nearly new pair of Sidis at home, but they are drilled for road pedals which are incompatible with the Egg Beater pedals I use. They have been i a box for over a year, but with a new set of pedals, I could use them again.

Then the disappointment that the pedals I wanted (Speedplay or Look) couldn't use the code either, and again the fine-print says that Speedplay, Look and many others were not eligible for discount. Instead that brands that are on sale are the off-brands or the house-brands.

Disappointment turns to anger as I realize these ads are just a waste of time, luring me in with misleading words and phrases and then not providing the expected value. Not a good customer experience. I'm not sure who I blame here, the vendor or the manufacturer but either way I be wasting no more time reading their ads.

BTW, the real irony here is that due to the vagaries of the value of the doller you can now buy things in europe and have them shipped here for very competitive prices. I recently orded a new Brooks Saddle from the UK for about $25 less than US prices.

The Giro on TV

2011-05-08T08:59:00.004-06:00

The 94th Giro d'italia started yesterday with a Prolog TTT. It's a month-long suffer fest for pro cyclists that covers some pretty spectacular scenery and offers some epic racing. Eddy Merckx won five times (as did Binda and Coppi) and American rider Andy Hampsten won it in 1988, the only time an American has ever won. 1988 was my second season racing bikes so I watched Andy's achievement in awe

Obviously I'm pretty excited about the race, but since we are cable cord-cutters and don't pay for TV the chances of seeing these events are pretty slim without some sort of on-line access. You can imagine my surprise to learn that NBC/U is showing most of the race on their Universal Sports channel which is free over-the-air here in the Bay-Area as Channel 12.3.

The commentary isn't up to the standards of Paul, Phil and Bobke on Versus, but at least they pronounce the names right most of the time. Petacci just nipped Cav for the Stage-2 sprint. The Italian looked a little wobbly there and Cav is pissed but I think the results will stand. Petacci looks good, he's lost some weight from last year, but I'll bet Cav crushes him in the next sprint.

Ridin' update and saddle fit thoughts

2011-05-04T09:25:00.008-06:00

In April I rode 631 miles -- It's been a long time since I have ridden that kind of distance in a month - especially this early in the season. But, this achievement is not without cost as I've been dealing with a saddle fit problem for a couple of weeks that is annoying but not a show-stopper.

I originally installed a honey-colored Brooks B17 on the Black Mountain Monstercross bike -- you can see it in the pictures I posted a couple of days ago -- and put about 500 miles on the rig. The B17 a bit wider than the Team Pro model I've had on my other long distance bike, but I didn't think it was a big difference. After a couple of long rides, I began to notice some recurring pain on my sit bones. It took a couple more rides and swapping saddles a few times, but I realized the the B17 is just too wide for me. I think I've also determined that the Brooks Swallow is a little too narrow for me. So like Goldilock's last bowl of porridge, the Team Pro is just right. Brooks also makes a B17 Narrow that may also work but I've not ridden one.

The B17 is a good alternative as it uses a thinner leather than the Team Pro and typically breaks in faster. Even though I weight nearly 200 lbs., I'll admit that I had to resort the Lon Haldeman technique to soften up the thick hide on my Team Pro. I put over 1800 miles on the damn thing, but it looked and felt as stiff and unyielding as a brand new saddle. I followed Lon's suggestion pretty much as written and now the thing fits like a glove. I had to soak it twice, the first time I soaked it for about 5 min but it failed to soften it enough so I did it again the next day and it was just right.

The outcome is that I now have 5 Brooks B17s for sale -- I'm going to keep my vintage 1977 version. I tend to lean my bikes agains things using the corner of the saddle so all these have very minor wear (typically just loss of color) on the rear corners. All are broken in and have been treated with Proofhide top and bottom once or twice a year since new.

Age and pain

2011-05-02T11:37:00.002-06:00

Getting old sucks! Everyone knows this, but for me it coming home to roost now. For the last few months I've been writing extensively at work, churning out dozens of specifications, plans, diagrams, presentations and schedules. During the same time my lower back has started to ache so badly I was having a hard time sleeping through the night.

My doctor diagnosed it a age-related lower back pain and suggested that I live with the pain and accept that my back is aging and I need to take it easy. Yeah, that not gonna work for me. While looking for a new doctor, I researched some of the causes and treatments for chronic lower back pain. A number of papers sugest that people who sit for long periods or ride bicycles extensively can develop a chronic condition that maintains the spine in flexion. This is caused as the quadriceps shorten from prolonged sitting. The shortened quads (and other associated muscles) prevent the pelvis from tilting naturally and causes the lower back muscles to bear the weight of the upper body instead of the lower spine.

The treatment is pretty straightforward and involves stretching the lower back and hip flexors so they will allow the pelvis to tilt naturally. I've been stretching 3 times a day for 4 weeks and I'm seeing real relief now. I do 4 different stretches for the back and 3 more for hip flexors and they leaves me really sore after a session but the results are worth it. I've probably doubled the flexibility of my lower back by 50% or more and about a weeks ago crossed some threshold so I can now stand normally and tilt my pelvis enough to transfer the strain from muscle to spine.

More than anything the whole experience reminds me how important it is to stay physically fit as we age. For me physically fit means more than being able to ride a 20+ mph century or complete a 200k brevet. It means also maintaining the flexibility and core strength needed for off-bike activities. I'm renewing my commitment to stretch every day and adding a couple of new stretches just for this.

Schwalbe Tires

2011-04-18T12:16:00.004-06:00

I have to admit I'm a little smitten with Schwalbe tires. I've had a pair of 35mm Maraton XRs on the IndyFab for a couple of years and just installed a new pair of 40mm Marathon Extremes on the MonsterCrosser last week and the love affair continues. I build the MonsterCrosser with a pair of big 29er knobbies and now that I've logged a few hundred miles on them I have come to love the traction and comfort they provide. But they are a really tight fit in the frame and occasionally rub on the fork legs or on the front derailer in granny gear. So while the big tires are cool and work great on rides that are 75+% dirt, the Marathon Extreme model is a better fit for the frame and with a less agressive tread pattern provide a significant reduction in rolling resistance. Their smaller size dramatically changes how the bike handles. With the big knobbies it rides just fine, but doesn't provide particularly sharp feedback to the pilot. With the Marathon's it feels more like a road bike with crisp feedback and reduced steering effort.

BMC MonsterCross with 40mm Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tires

Last Saturday I rode a 70 miler with about 25 miles of dirt. The large size (700cx40) of the Marathon Extreme still provides great traction and comfort but being slightly narrower and a lot smoother. They have a little more agressive tread than the Marathon XRs but seem to roll about the same.

BMC Monstercross with 29x2.0 Kenda Kharma Tires

I just checked and my Garmin says I have ridden 2734 miles on the Xrs on the IndyFab but I've had the bike a year longer than the Garmin so I suspect the true mileage is more like 3500. There is no visible wear on the front tire at all and the rear has developed a little wear in the center of the tread but I'd estimate that wear is in the 10-20% range. Based on the wear I'm seeing on the IndyFab I expect to see over 7000 miles from the Maraton XRs which is more than three times the milage I get from the Michelin Pro Race III tires I use on my lightweight road bike. Based on a discussion with a Schwalbe product guy at the Sea Otter event, the Extreme's have the same rubber compound as the XRs so I expect comparable wear from them.

Final shot showing the beautiful Nitto lugged stem and bar tape detailed with a little orange electrical tape. Too bad the stem is totally hidden under my Garmin GPS when it's installed.

LiveStrong.com

2011-04-18T11:34:00.002-06:00

I've been wearing a bright yellow Livestrong bracelet since I was diagnosed with skin cancer 4 years ago. I have worn it with pride, both for my support of Lance and his incredible performance as a cancer survivor and to support what the organization stands for.

I feel gutted after visiting the site last night in search for information on ischial tuberosities and bicycle saddle fit. I was stoked to see the site had a large number of articles on the topic. I mean it's organized by one of the greatest cyclists of al time so they must take cycling topics pretty seriously. As I began reading the site I realized that all the articles were almost the same and actually provided no information about the topic. I saw that there were many articles on bicycle saddle fit. but when I read them, that were all the same article with just a few words changed. They seemed to be just like the useless articles on ehow.com. Then, on a hunch I went to eHow and found the same articles there.

Then I googled "Livestrong.com" and "Content Farm" and there it was. The brand I had so identified with, and was so proud to support is in fact just a greedy business making money on ad placement and not at all focused on the things I thought it was.

That why after wearing-out 5 different bracelets over 4 years, I took mine off for good today. Goodbye Live Strong. I'll be making my donation to another organization from now on.

Zyclara Treatment

2011-04-13T12:13:00.002-06:00

Having recently experienced another recurrence of skin cancer, my Dermatologist suggested I try the new anti-skin cancer drug Zyclara. Zyclara causes the auto-immune system to attack pre-cancerous lesions under the skin and may reduce or future outbreaks. It's a topical cream that is applied to the skin for 14 days, then a 14 day break and then another 14 day treatment. Sounds easy enough.

Many new drugs have some crazy side-effects, Zyclara has some side effects, but what you really need to respect are the direct effects. The primary direct effect is the eruption of itchy, scratchy, inflamed, puss-filled sores. It got so bad at the end of the first week I started to worry that I was allergic to it -- the symptoms of allergy ARE "swelling, redness and rash". I Googled "Zyclara" and after looked at the images I realized that my experience was pretty typical. At the end of the first treatment I had over a dozen scabs and sores on my face, under my eyebrows and along my hairline. I was a mess.

The sores healed quickly after the first treatment and after the 2-week break I only had a couple of light pink patches to remind me of the worst sores.

The second 14-day treatment was a little easier but I still broke out pretty bad. This time the sores were on my cheeks and jaw line and were generally smaller and less agressive that the first session.

My second session ended 2 days ago and my face is now starting to heal. I had planned to add pictures of my face taken during treatment but after uploading them I've decided they are a little too gross and deleted them.

New Garden

2011-04-12T23:46:00.000-06:00

One of the things we enjoy most about being back in California is the consistently beautiful weather. While we miss the snow of Colorado a bit, the temperate weather here provides a long growing season to grow a healthy vegetable garden.

We built a couple of small raised beds in the back yard and installed a simple irrigation system controlled by a battery powered timer. Last night we planted tomatos, cukes, zuks, peppers, basils, cilantro and Garbanzo beans.

BMC on the Bayshore

2011-04-10T17:51:00.002-06:00

I've got about 400 miles on my new Black Mountain Cycles Cyclocross bike including a couple of rides over 50 miles. What an awesome machine. Thanks to Mike at BMC for an excellent frame design and meticulous assembly.

It's configured for long, comfortable, all day epics on multiple terrain types. It has large, lightweight 29er knobby tires and wide 52/42/28t front and 11-36t 9-speed rear drivetrain.

I'm currently running a hybrid brake system with a TRP Mini V-Brake on the front and Avid Ultimate cantilevers in the rear. I chose the Mini-V in the front to reduce the front brake shudder that plagues many cyclocross bikes. The shudder happens as the front fork flexes and the brake cable tightens/slacks.

I've done a couple of white-knuckle decents and I'm really happy with the results so far.

Check out the killer Timbuk2 seat-bag in orange and brown! A score from the bargain-bin at the local REI. The spare 29er tube is so large it needs the large-size seat bag. Since these pictures were taken I swapped in an old Nitto lugged seat-post which has a huge amount of set-back to match the Brooks saddle and and fits much better than the 5mm setback one shown.

My what big tires you have...

One of the biggest reasons I picked this bike is the tire clearance. During the build I installed Kenda Karma 29x1.95 (50mmx700c) tires. These are massive tires for a cyclocross bike and just fit -- they had to be carefully massaged to properly fit. I love those big 29ers but they are best when used on long dirt-centric rides. For more road-centric (but still multi-terrain) rides I'm looking for a slightly narrower and smother-rolling tire as an alternative to extend the range to 75 miles and beyond.

I've been riding a pair of Schwalbe Marathon XRs on the IndyFab and LOVE them. They may be the best tires I've ever owned. They are incredibly durable, have a stiff carcass that prevents pinch-flats and some magical belt under the tread to prevent punctures. The tread is smooth rolling but offers enough traction to handle anything including hardpack and mud.

As for reasons beyond understanding, Schwalbe only made them for a a year and stopped a couple of years ago. I have the last two I own on the IndyFab and don't know what I will do then they are worn out.

So if you know of any light-weight, large-volume, fast-rolling, thorn-proof cyclocross tires in 38-45mm, drop me a note.

MonsterCross

2011-02-07T17:30:00.002-07:00

Since we returned to California, we have been adjusting to living an a much smaller space. I'm not sure it's any more "green" than out LEED certified house in Colorado, it sure is smaller. As such, that last thing I need is another bike and yet I find with the warmer weather a man's thoughts turn to new bicycles. I've been riding my custom Land Shark cyclocross bike since the early 90s. In it's current configuration I can just shoe-horn a set of 38mm knobbies on it but unfortunately Tom Ritchey stopped making the 38mm MountCross tires about 10 years ago and my last set are worn down to the threads. There are few tires in that size that offer an agressive off-road tread; most seem to be made for hybrids and tracking bikes and have compromise treads best suited for road and gravel. Since it is a custom frame, I specified a lightweight racing bike but it's been 7 years since I raced cross, and I find that I use it as a replacement mountain bike more that a competitive cross racer.

With that I mind I've been looking at frames that are built to use a larger tire. I want something that that can handle extended off-road use but not climb like a pig; not quite as big as a full-size 29er which can get as big as 2.5", but larger than the the 38s I'm limited to on the Land Shark. Panaracer makes a very nice looking tire in 700X45c that seems to be about perfect for my application.

With all this in mind, I'm really excited about the cyclocross built by Mike Varley at Black Mountain Cycles in Pt. Reyes Station, CA. It fits the Panaracer 45s and even larger 29x1.9"tires and has a lot of the same measurements as the Land Shark. It would be easy to swap parts from one to the other pretty easily. Is it time to retire the Land Shark?

Learning about bikes

2011-01-30T11:14:00.002-07:00

I've been riding a custom fillet-brazed Landshark Cyclocross bike for ~15 years. It's had three different drivetrains, 4 different wheel-sets, and a dozen seats. I love it but yesterday I realized that it may be time to replace it. Last weekend I rode a friend's carbon Ibis Hakkalugi on the Montebello/Steven's Canyon loop. Yesterday we did the same ride again only this time I rode the Land Shark and it scared the hell out of me. I was slower up and down and found the flexibility of the frame was a little scary, and the shudder of the fork under braking was terrifying. I really missed the solid feel of the Hakka' and the confidence inspiring front disk-brake. The Hakka also has almost 2cm more top-tube witch makes it fit better than the shorter Land Shark.

Maybe it's time to retire the Landshark...

RuBo

2011-01-06T11:28:00.002-07:00

Will Ruth Bourdain become more popular than either Ruth Reichl or Tony Bourdain?

Find out here or here or get a semi-regular fix via @ruthbourdain

Predictable fitness behavior

2010-12-28T14:32:00.003-07:00

Interesting demonstration of the lemming (and sloth) like behavior of americans. this chart shows a regular and predictable spike in Google searches for the word gym in the last few days of the year. It also shows how quickly interest (of should we say commitment) declines thereafter. Gym operators better be allocating their ad budgets appropriately. The Gizmodo source

Working a new machine

2010-12-21T10:19:00.003-07:00

I've been doing a little consulting work recently and one of the side benefits is the place has a very nice semi-pro espresso machine and proper grinder, so I've been able to practice my espresso kung-fu on something new. It literally took me a year to learn how to use my Expobar well so I'm quite proud that with a fresh bag of Intelligentsia Black Cat I was able to produce acceptable shots almost immediately and great shots within a couple of days.

The machine is a double boiler Vibiemme and since it's in an office environment it gets much more use then my Brewtus and was filthy. Has no one hear of the portafilter-wiggle? I spent a little time each morning cleaning the machine and the Mazzer grinder to rid them both of the burnt Starbucks crap they've been eating for years. Now on a steady diet of Black Cat the pair are clean and happy and producing very good espresso. Now if I can just get people to replace the portafilter after they use it instead of leaving it on the tray.

Cyber war? Hah!

2010-12-16T17:11:00.003-07:00

The DDoS attack on Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and the Ex-half-term Governor of Alaska in support of WikiLeaks is a drive-by shooting compared to this stealth missile (or maybe the better analogy is a Predator drone, but I digress).

Stuxnet is a spectacular demonstration of what is possible with enough skill, time and money. It represents an unprecedented level of self control, subtlety and effectiveness never seen before by any malware. Three, count em, three individual zero-day exploits, controlled replication and a self destruct timer?

..and speaking of DDoS, didn't the whole "Jillian Assange is a criminal" thing get decided in the early 70s when the supreme court ruled the NY Times could publish the Pentagon Papers?

Oh yeah, did you hear that the FBI is now accused of planting multiple backdoors into the crypto libraries of OpenBSD. If true, this one's gonna leave a mark as the code in question is ~10 years old now. @HowdTheyMissThatOne

New Passport

2010-12-03T22:59:00.002-07:00

For some crazy reason I thought passports expired on your birthday. I learned on Wednesday that I was wrong and my passport has actually been expired since June.

Not any more. Thanks to these guys, I have a shiny new passport with all maner of anti-counterfeiting tech. What a spectacular service they provide, I got a call from my personal advisor immediately after filling out the web based forms and received regular updates the whole way. My new booklet arrived this morning, just in time for a trip on Sunday.

Good advice from a great movie

2010-11-30T12:09:00.002-07:00

"We must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of evil that we must fear most, that is the indifference of good men."

Can anyone name the movie?

Danny MacAskill -- Madman

2010-11-23T10:28:00.002-07:00

Back on the bike

2010-11-22T22:45:00.005-07:00

After almost a month off the bike I rode Stevens Creek Canyon and the Grizzly Flat trails last week with V. Since he's waiting for his new cross bike to arrive, he rode my Land Shark CX bike and I took the Indy Fab. It's pretty convient have a pair of cross bikes.

He shot this with his iPhone just as the light was fading. I kind like it.

See ya, iPhone

2010-11-22T17:44:00.003-07:00

Dear Apple,

I see that you finally made the "Find my iPhone" app free as part of iOS 4.2. Sadly you chose to only make it available to iPhone 4 owners. As an iPhone 3GS owner I find this a little disappointing.

You choice in this matter has caused me to reconsider my choice of phone. I'm up for a new contract this month and I had planned to get an iPhone 4 if/when it launches on Verizon's network next year. But now, I realize that if I chose the iPhone I would be subject to your marketing whims for another two years.

Sorry guys, I just can't do it. I love your laptops and think the new Macbook Air is spectacular but my next phone will be an Android. Now where are the Android phone comparison sites...

The Internet is a powerful thing

2010-11-17T09:34:00.002-07:00

An excellent read on the power of the internet, copyright law and bad judgment (and no this has nothing to do with illegal music downloading). Now, where's my copy of "Cooks Source"

The Myth of American Exceptionalism

2010-11-02T07:30:00.001-06:00

I don't often agree with Michael Kinsley but in this case I sure do....

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44500.html

What is the most dangerous game animal in the US?

2010-10-26T14:30:00.003-06:00

Sure, you were probably going to say some kind of bear. That a good guess, as a combined group including Black, Brown, Grizzly and Polar bears have killed as many as 10 people in a single year. However that's not even close to the 150 people killed each year by the lowly White Tail Deer.

Read more about it here

The first rule of Facetime is...

2010-10-22T11:29:00.004-06:00

Hold your phone at eye level or above. Nobody likes to look up your nose.

Say it aint so... uh, Alberto

2010-09-30T06:44:00.002-06:00

Bummer.

Hatred, stupidity, ignorance, anger and fear

2010-09-28T20:08:00.003-06:00

Any time I read the comments section of any current news story, I feel sad for America.

AppleTV

2010-09-27T08:01:00.000-06:00

Our new AppleTV shipped yesterday and is currently in Hong Kong making it's way to San Jose. Apparently the rumors about a 3 week delay were exaggerated.

100 Rides

2010-09-25T09:58:00.003-06:00

Yesterday's commute to work was my 100th ride recorded on the Garmin 705. I missed a couple of rides, but this is a pretty good record of the last 9 months. I got it for Christmas and the first ride was January 16th.

Total Rides: 100
Total Distance: 2623.52
Average Speed: 16.1 Mph
Total Duration: 162.95 Hours
Total Climbing: 123,643 Ft
Number of Bikes Ridden: 9
- Independent Fabrications Independence: 33 rides
- Ibis Silk SL: 20
- Land Shark Dirt Shark: 14
- Intense Tracer: 12
- Ibis Scorcher (Fixed):9
- Surly Pugsley:4
- Fat Chance, Wicked Fat: 4
- DeRosa SLX:2
- Bontrager Race (Single Speed):2

I'm quite proud of these numbers given the first 5 months were in Denver were we got 30+ inches of snow. My 8.2 mile commute is lowering the average distance per ride. Last year my average was a little over 33 miles/ride vs 26.2 this year.

The climbing numbers are also dropping now that every ride doesn't end with a 900 foot climb up get back to the house. My commute used to include 2700 ft of climbing now it's about 12 feet but it's still all on the way home.

Blackburn Flea rechargable lights

2010-09-24T08:38:00.000-06:00

When Kathy and I did the San Jose Bike Party ride last month we wanted to add a little supplemental lighting to both our bikes so we are easier to see in the dark.

I used this as an excuse for a trip to my bike shop where I found a nice Night Rider combo package including both front and rear lights for Kathy's bike. Typical of Night Rider these are solid well-designed lights with an excellent mounting system. I've owned a number of NR lights and really like them.

I was going to get a second set for myself when my trusted mechanic ambled up and suggested instead the Blackburn Design Flea lights. Fleas are tiny -- smaller than a matchbox -- USB rechargeable Li-Ion powered LED lights available in front or rear configurations. They looked too small to be really bright, but I only needed them for the Bike Party ride so I took his advice and got a set for myself.

Wow, what a great product. They are tiny, extremely bright, easy to mount, and last a long time on a charge.

I even use them on my IndyFab which has one of the most expensive bicycle lighting systems available - A Schmidt Dynohub connected via a custom harness to a pair of Schmidt E6 lights. This system, designed for commuters and long-distance cyclists, is great for seeing the road ahead but does little (and if you stop, nothing) to be seen by other traffic.

The front Flea is astonishingly bright, almost blinding if you look directly at the 4 LEDs. It mounts to the bike using a very nice rubberized Velcro strap. The rear is almost as bright and actually appears to be brighter than my much-larger and currently in need of yet another set of batteries -- Planet Bike light I have permanently affixed to the IndyFab's seat post. The rear light has a very strong wire based belt clip and another Velcro strap like the front. I attached the rear light to the back of my helmet a month ago and have used it on every ride since. It's so small and light (17g) that it is easy to forget it's there -- until you turn it on.

I was a little skeptical about the USB charging method. It seemed like a gimmick for a cycling light, but after a month the system has proven both convenient and quick. The included USB adapter attaches to the lights with a little magnet. It's a really nice system.

My only complaint -- and it's a minor one -- is this. In order to charge the lights you must remove them from the bike and remove the Velcro mounting straps from the light. That a lot of on-off and my straps are already showing some wear. Since two straps are included, I do have a spare.

Rarely dose a product so completely exceed my expectations as these little lights have.

HDCP really is broken

2010-09-18T05:07:00.003-06:00

Intel confirmed that the High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection (HDCP) master keys posted lst week on pastebin.com are authentic portending the end of the Consumer Electronics industry's most-favored copy protection method. Unlike CSS and Macrovision HDCP is a link encryption protocol. It is used to protect content as it is moved from one device or system to another. The most common use today is to encrypt the HDMI signal from your set top box or Blu-Ray player to your TV set. This leak will inspire new (illegal) hardware and software products that will allow users to record HD programming directly from these devices.

Many in the press this week have attempted to downplay the impact of this leak claiming that most consumers want to do the right thing and wont make use of the tools based on this leak. That may or may not be true, but what this will surely impact is Hollywood's (a generic term to describe all Movie and TV content producers) continued reluctance to make their products available via the internet.

From their perspective, this is further proof that anything they put on the internet will simply be stolen. I'm sure the music (and publishing) company executives had these same thoughts as their industries withered and died.

What happens when the internet kills the current model before a new model can stand up?

Interesting Reading

2010-09-16T16:27:00.004-06:00

Why humans regularly appear to be a dumb as fenceposts -- because they only trust "Scientists" who agree with them.

I have frequently failed to recognize the absolute power that Cultural Cognition has over ones interaction with the world. I have friends and even relatives who are so totally dependent on their assumptions about the world that they literally cease functioning when those assumptions are challenged.

If you are not actively, aggressively engaged in expanding your social, cultural, and spiritual horizons and challenge your own Cultural Cognition, you will become a victim of your own echo-chamber where your own Cultural Cognition becomes the only lens through which to view the world and that is a sad dark place.

Sad fact of the day

2010-09-14T19:48:00.002-06:00

Only 28% of Americans have a passport
- Outside Mag 10/10

Oats

2010-09-08T10:10:00.007-06:00

For a food that has been around for 1000s of years there sure is a lot of confusion about Oatmeal, Quick Oats, Rolled Oats, Steel Cut Oats and Whole Oats.

I listened to some moron at the local "healthy" store attempt to explain the difference to me. He prattled on about how This is better than That and These have a better "mouth-feel" than Those and then realized after his second contradictory statement that this guy really had no idea what he was talking about.

5 minutes with an iPhone, Google and Wikipedia proved that nearly everything the guy told me was flat-out wrong. He must have just been making shit up.

Read about it here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel-cut_oats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolled_oats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groats

Follow Up: Steel Cut Oats Rule! Had a batch of McCanns this morning and they beat both rolled oats and my regular 7-grain blend from Sprouts hands down.

Bohlman, On Orbit, Montavina, Black Rd and Highway 9

2010-09-01T08:46:00.004-06:00

The ride over Bohlman Road and On Orbit Lane is a candidate for the steepest climb in the Bay Area for good reason. It rockets up 2500 ft in just over 4 miles and offers the discerning climber sustained grades between 15 and 20%, and a number of shorter sections that approach 25%. This isn't a test of aerobic fitness, grinding out the steepest sections is way more heavy weight-lifting session than spin-class.

I've been up it a couple of time before so I knew that standard road-bike gearing is pretty stiff, I opted for a 24f/27r granny gear and a couple of times even wanted a little more. I threw a Mt Bike crankset on the Plastic Bike and adjusted the front derailleur to match.

So if you are looking for a South Bay test of your late-season climbing legs, look no further that the Village of Saratoga and Bohlman Road and On Orbit Lane.

Espresso Porn

2010-08-20T11:05:00.007-06:00

I still haven't gotten the wiring at the house upgraded so we can use the big espresso machine, so I'm in the middle of a serious case of espresso machine jones. Sure, I have a Nespresso at the office or I could turn to a pro. But none of those satisfy the urge. I find myself ont on the net lusting after all manner of machines.

This morning I found a picture of this sexy number waiting in my inbox. The espresso pimps at WLL sent it over.

I've only used a lever machine once but I will admit to more than a passing interest in really working with one.

The fully manual lever machine offers the skilled barista an additional method of control by subtly varying the pressure during the shot by varying pressure on the handle. Since stability-of-pressure is one of the hallmarks of any good espresso, a manual lever that wildly varies the pressure can obviously be a little dangerous. But used correctly it can be used to extract a specific flavor by altering pressure at specific times during the shot.

redesign

2010-08-20T08:17:00.001-06:00

After 3+ years with the original template I finally updated the layout and color.

Commuting by bike

2010-08-19T15:11:00.003-06:00

My commute home yesterday (by car) took 37 minutes. It's the second time it has taken over 35 minutes to get home. This is noteworthy because my slowest commute by bicycle is 35 minutes. There is no more miserable feeling that realizing that not only would commuting by bike be better for me and better for the planet - and faster.

So of course I took the bike this morning -- and paid for it with a flat tire. This is self inflicted because I was riding the a carbon wonderbike with handmade $60 tires instead of my steel commuter bike with it's bulletproof wheels and tires. I'll be back on the steel bike tomorrow.

Coffee Duck for Nespresso

2010-08-17T11:06:00.004-06:00

If you own a Nespresso brand espresso machine there is a new part available to allow you use your own coffee. It is a reusable capsule that is form and fit compatible with the small plastic Nespresso capsules.

It's available on Ebay and for less from a number of web sites in Europe like this one.

I also noticed that Nespresso coffee capsules are now available on Ebay although at a significantly higher price thatn direct from Nespresso.

Castle Rock - The other one

2010-08-16T13:58:00.002-06:00

The Fitness Woman and I tasted some of the Great Outdoors this weekend by hiking and pretending to climb rocks at Castle Rock State Park.

I managed to complete the trip without getting lost or bleeding so it was a great success. I almost got lost, but through sheer luck ended up where we were headed. Maybe next time.

Note the genuine Colorado style boots. Critical while hiking in the cold and snowy Rockies but a little overkill for California's Coastal Range and useless for bouldering. I'll be going back to the trail-running shoes I have long preferred for this kind of hiking.

Personal Best

2010-08-16T12:37:00.003-06:00

I set a new personal best time coming to work this morning. 23:57 or 18.6 MPH trimming almost 20 seconds off the previous time. I sustained 24 Mph for over 5 miles. I think that taking three days off the bike really paid off.

How an idea becomes a company...

2010-08-05T18:36:00.000-06:00

The Silicon Valley buzzes with an entrepreneurial energy unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I’ve been back in the valley for 6 weeks now and its still shocking.

I left an executive level position with a Fortune 50 sized service provider to join a 4-person start up and want to document some of the thing I learn and share some of the experiences. Few people witness the birth of a company so I wanted to share some of my experiences during this exciting time.

How we got our start.

In our case, one of my co-founders was actually hired by a Venture Capital (VC) company specifically to identify a new business opportunity and create a business to address it. This role is commonly called an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).

The VC provides the EIR with office space, a modest salary and access to industry contact to conduct their research. VCs also designates a General Partner (one of the senior leaders at the VC) to mentor the EIR during the development of their plans. This process can take months and some EIR’s finish their time without ever finding the right opportunity.

When an EIR does identify a business opportunity, they must develop a plan to address it; what is the exact problem, how can it be solved and how much money can be made solving it. When the EIR is satisfied that they understand the problem, can create a viable solution and understand the micro- and macro-economic impacts they present their plan to their mentor. It can take a number of attempts to convince them that the idea is sound.

Once your partner is satisfied, they typically have to recruit another General Partner to co-sponsor the investment. Once the sponsor designates the Second the EIR pitches the detailed idea to the entire partnership of the VC. This is a key make-or-break event for all start-ups. By this point the pitch has been vetted pretty thoroughly, and stand a good chance, but all it takes is a one partner to kill it.

In our case, we initially asked for “seed capital” to conduct the additional research necessary to confirm that the solution we propose to use can deliver the performance we need to work. To do this we need to develop a prototype and measure it’s performance. A Seed typically takes the form of a loan that will be rolled into the first formal round of funding. Seed rounds range from a few thousand dollars to over a million depending on the amount of technical research needed.

The seed round is expected to lead to a Series A investment by the VC, as long as the solution proves viable, but not all of them do. Many times the idea simply doesn’t works or doesn’t deliver the expected performance and value. Sometimes the cost of the solution is more then expected or requires new methods that are unlikely to develop.

Seed rounds are expected to provide enough funding to complete the planning. Running out of seed capitol before answering the questions doesn’t bode well for someone trying to borrow money to build and bring it to market within an agreed upon time and an agreed upon cost basis.

We need to achieve a couple of key goals before we can approach our VC for a Series-A investment. First we need to complete the prototype of our device and confirm it can achieve the required performance and second we need to get confirmation from a few key prospective customers that our solution is something they would deploy assuming it delivers the features we are promising. The next few months should be interesting as we build and test the prototype and meet with industry leaders to validate our plan.

Bay area espresso

2010-08-04T11:46:00.003-06:00

Since the house needs a little electrical upgrade before we can use our machine I have been sampling a number of local shops to find good espresso. Today was a notable success as I sampled a spectacular shot at Caffe del Doge in Palo Alto.

Prepared in the classic Italian style, the results were pure Rome; a light tan crema over smokey chocolate syrup that smells of fresh straw and licorice. Not my favorite style but very well done and a real treat after weeks of mediocre attempts by my regular barrista.

toothbrushes

2010-08-04T08:18:00.003-06:00

I balked at paying $6.95 for a pair of name-brand toothbrushes at the store yesterday. All the ones with stiff bristles are only available as a pair. Instead I chose a single $2.25 replica brand. I just used it for the first time. I shoulda spent the $7. Lesson learned.

Groceries

2010-08-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

A strange thing has happened since our return to California. After years of reliably shopping at traditional grocery stores, we have started shopping for groceries at a small ethnic food store near our house called Oakmont Produce. This is strange because this small store has proven to be a complete replacement for our full-size Nob Hill and Safeway stores.

Oakmont offers better quality food at better prices. While they lack the broad selection of a larger store, they have a very complete selection of the simple ethnic foods that we are now eating. And their selection of local fruit and vegetables is much better than the traditional stores.

It's hard to imagine that a small store in a strip-mall could so easily a major grocery store, but for us it certainly has.

Prospect, Fremont Older, Montebello, Redwood Gulch, 9

2010-07-08T15:22:00.003-06:00

I rode the above loop on Sunday. It's a really nice cross ride from the house. Prospect has a wide bike path the entire distance. Each time I climb Montebello Road I'm always surprised at the number of cyclists I see descending on mountain bikes because compared with the Stevens Canyon descent, the Montebello side descent is really boring. The climb is just like I remember, maybe a little longer, but mostly the same. The final tally is 4 Hrs, 33 Miles, 4k Feet of vertical.

Benighted

2010-07-08T14:36:00.002-06:00

Typical of many start-ups, yesterday's afternoon meeting became dinner at the local place. We finished around 9pm so I cycled home in the dark for the first time. What an interesting experience, a real emotional roller-coaster; a confident start, the moment when the cold reality of of 60 Mph traffic inches away in the dark really sinks in, followed by a serene acceptance for the final miles.

I was on the IndyFab which has a pair of huge headlights powered by a generator built into the front hub. I had forgotten how well they work but I can say they provide more that enough light for even the darkest roads. I'm strangely looking forward to the next chance to do it again.

24 Hours and counting

2010-07-02T11:38:00.003-06:00

In honor of the big bike race in France starting tomorrow I turned in a personal best time this morning. 26:57 for an average speed of 17.5 Mph. I went out a little too fast and paid for it over the last 3 miles.

I'll be watching the tour entirely on line this year using the Versus Tour Tracker -- it will be interesting to see how this compares with the televised experience.

and home

2010-07-01T19:41:00.002-06:00

The commute home takes a little longer as it climbs a little under 200 feet in 8 miles. I did a wind-aided 33:14 trip home this afternoon -- about 3 minutes longer than the ride to work.

Commute 2

2010-07-01T10:42:00.002-06:00

30:34 this morning on the Dirt Shark cross bike. A little slower than the Scorcher but I spent the entire ride chatting with a guy I met at a stoplight about the current trends in venture capital. Only in the valley.

Dirt: Kennedy, Priest Rock and St. Joes

2010-06-28T10:18:00.002-06:00

I rode the epic Kennedy - Priest Rock - Saint Joseph's loop from the house yesterday. Here are the details:

Distance: 27.5 Miles
Vertical: 2748 Feet
Time: 3:43
Average: 7.4 Mph

I rode the Tracer but it can certainly be done on a cross bike. Man, the Kennedy climb is a stiffy. I got an early start, leaving the house at 6:30 but it still wasn't early enough for what turned out to be a 90+ degree day.

First Commute by Bike

2010-06-25T10:13:00.001-06:00

I rode the Scorcher today and clocked a personal best of 30min9sec to cover 7.88 miles yielding an average speed of 15.7 Mph. Not bad for a 53:23 fixed gear bike with a top speed of 19 Mph.

Cable Free -- Week 3

2010-06-21T10:28:00.002-06:00

It's been a couple of weeks since we canceled our cable service and we seem to be over some of the withdrawal symptoms now. Part of the reason for cutting the cord was our move from Denver to San Jose. Now that it's complete we can settle down and see if this really will work.

We just had AT&T Uverse installed taking only the internet product and skipping the TV and Voice offerings. It took the guy over three hours to complete the install. That has got to be expensive for AT&T. I elected to get the 18Mb/s service for about $50/Month. Adding the TV service (with HD and a DVR) would add at least another $50/month to my bill.

On the programming side there has been a minor set-back. We had a great live morning news from CW2 in Denver but now that we are in the bay area I can't find the equivalent.

The biggest change has been from simply watching less TV. I'm staying in a hotel room for the first time since we cut the cord and I realized that I haven't turned on the TV in the room yet. I don't think this is a bad thing.

Cutting the cord

2010-06-08T06:12:00.002-06:00

After leaving my position in the TV industry last month I actually had to start paying for TV service for the first time in many years. I had subscriptions to all the major services and had taken that access for granted. I took a look at my bill and realized how expensive these services have become, I had one bill that was $216 per month for only TV and Broadband service.

After analyzing our viewing patterns I realized that we really only watch a small handful of channels -- History, Science, and Discovery and our local broadcast channels and of course, SpeedTV.

We looked at Comcast, DISH, DirecTV and AT&T and came away really frustrated. Because I already had service with many of these providers, no promotional discounts are available and everything is full price. Because DISH and DirecTV don't offer broadband service and the associated bundle discount, their prices are higher when combined with a broadband only product from another provider.

The real frustration is with the channel packages, We were happy the most basic packages from most providers, typically in the $25-$35 range -- if you ignored SpeedTV. Moving to the package the has SpeedTV doubled or tripled the cost every time. I realized that just watching SpeedTV would add $30+/Mo. Weighed against their ever increasing NASCAR focus and there many weeks dealyed coverage of Grand-Am and SCCA World Challenge and Bob Varsha's inane F1 commentary, I realized that I don't need them anymore.

So I "cut the cord" and ended my pay TV subscriptions.

I'm now using a Mac Mini - in the living room, and a old MacBook Pro -- in the bedroom, as STBs. Ironically the largest challenge hasn't been getting content. It's getting the PCs to play video quietly. Both the Mini and the MBP tend to overheat during long periods of decoding video, forcing the fans to run at full speed. This becomes the loudest thing in the bedroom after 20-30 minutes.

I was using an AppleTV (which seem really quiet all the time) but found the fact that it costs $$$ to watch just about anything really frustrating. I find a PC and sites like Hulu and Netflix to be more useful for me.

While all this has been interesting, the service providers are likely going to put an end to this by moving to usage based pricing for broadband access. Just this morning an executive with TimeWarner Cable indicated that much like AT&T, cable broadband providers will have to move to a usage based billing model soon.

Garmin 705

2010-05-17T15:01:00.004-06:00

I've now had my fancy new Garmin Edge 705 super-deluxe cycling GPS for a few months and have discovered most if it strengths and weaknesses. Overall it rates 8/10. It does everything you could want. It does so many things that the UI is a little complicated and that is its weakness.

It is too easy to forget to start the timer after turning the unit on. Why not have it start automatically? I occasionally forget to reset it before starting a ride so that two rides run together. Minor annoyances sure, but either one renders the current ride's data inaccurate.

I found a pretty good site for creating maps and loading them into the unit. Bike Route Toaster is free and had worked really well so far.

I use RubiTrack as download data and track rides and mileage.

A couple of notes about setting up the Edge 705.

* Menu | Settings | Data Recording | Zero averaging : should be set OFF for cadence to average correctly.

* It's easy to forget the start the timer. If the 705 doesn't display the current grade - the timer isn't running.

Pugsley : Done

2010-02-25T12:21:00.004-07:00

So just over two months later, the Pugsley is complete. I had a little trouble with the front hub -- I selected a Paul Whub that isn't compatible with the Pugsley fork. How big could the market be for a 135mm front hub that doesn't fit the only production bike in the world that uses a 135mm front hub?

Anyway, the bike rides quite well. The 100mm bottom bracket takes a little "getting used to" but seems OK. The tires a spectacular -- They float on snow unlike anything I've ever ridden.

The finish turned out pretty well. It;s all white with a very suble fade to light gray on the bottom. The effect is nearly invisible unless the bike is in the snow. The pure white of the snow makes the gray color really pop. The cranks, bashguard and rims are actually gray and the bars are all white. Ther are still a couple of things to do: find a better saddle, install white cable housing and figure out the final stem height so I can cut-down the steerer tube.

I almost got Kathy out for a snow ride last sunday but we were thwarted by a sticky shifter on her mountain bike. This is a common failure in really cold weather. I soaked it in solvent and lubed it up and it seems much better now. Maybe we can try again this weekend as there is an early forecast of snow on Sunday.

Rims!

2009-12-29T16:18:00.005-07:00

Just over two months after ordering, the genuine Alaskan snow-bike rims have arrived. They look great. These are single wall rims with large lightening holes. Each rim weighs 855g and a rim/tube/tire is 2500g. That is 200-300g lighter than the Large Marge rims from Surly.

These things are massive, almost cartoonish. I love 'em. I'm waiting on a Spot 94mm 32T chain-ring guard and everyting will go to Spectrum for Powder coat.

Parts arriving

2009-12-01T23:39:00.006-07:00

Loads of Pugsley parts are arriving. Still waiting on the rims to arrive before we can go to powder coat.

The forecast is for 3 days of snow. I'm really looking forward to getting this put together.

Pugsley Build Kit

2009-11-20T13:24:00.005-07:00

Now that I have cut off the cantilever studs there is no going back.

I’ve ordered everything I need for the build now using a variety of sources including on-line vendors, my local bike shop, Craigslist and E-Bay.

I wanted to keep the cost under control so I chose a mix of Shimano XT and STX drive train components matched with a pretty unique shifting system that is well suited for the Pugsley. I’m using just the lever from a 9-speed Dura Ace bar-end installed on a Paul "Thumbie" mount that works just like an old school thumb shifter. Unlike Shimano’s complex rapid-fire shifters, which are prone to locking up or refusing to shift in cold weather, thumb shifters are quite reliable in sub-zero temperatures. In case a derailleur is damaged this setup also provides a friction mode that is missing on other Shimano shifters.

I chose the Speedway Cycles rim in a 70mm width. They cost the same as a Large Marge, are a bit wider and quite a bit lighter as the have a 1” hole between each spoke. I’m using a XT rear hub on one wheel and a Surly single speed hub rear hub on the other. Cuz’ Pugsleys don’t have front wheels.

For brakes I’m going to use Avid BB-7 disks with the smallest rotors – 160mm. I originally planned to get the massive 203mm downhill version because the price difference is only $20. But after riding one with smaller brakes the some snow recently and talking to the guy who owns it I think the there is plenty of power and what is really needed in the “limited-traction” environment is more feedback and better control so I got the smallest ones.

I using a Jones H-Bar for this – they seem to be the bar of choice for a Pugsley and work really well with the thumb shifter set up. I’ve got a 120mm Thomson stem and a set of XTR V-brake levers from another bike

I’m still thinking about the finish – I’ve got another few days before all the parts going to powercoat arrive so I have plenty of time. I’ve looked at a lot of white bikes, a lot of camouflage and really haven’t found what I am looking for.

I’ll be working with Spectrum Powercoating in Colorado Springs, CO. They have already done a white/como bike. I looked at it and found the pattern to be a little too organic. I envisioned something more geometric -- like the camo on WW2 ships. I found some of the current USA/USMC digital desert camouflage has a really cool pattern that might be able to translate to a white/silver palette well.

Also on Spectrum’s site is the “Other White Moots” which I really like. The nearly monochromatic effect of silver on white is exactly contrast I am looking for.

So I think I want a three color “digital” pattern using a white base, and light silver and medium silver pattern. The effect should be pretty subtle and only applied to the bottom third of the frame – the fork tips, BB cluster, chain-stays and rear drop-outs.

Pugsley Frame Modifications

2009-11-16T09:42:00.010-07:00

Since I'm going to build this bike with disk brakes it really doesn't need the mounts for cantilever brakes -- so I cut them off. I'm going to have the frame powder coated another color anyway so removing the mounts is pretty easy. I started with a 4.5" angle grinder with a thin cutting wheel. then a put in a 80 grit grinding wheel and removed almost all of the old mount. I then uses a small air powered angle-headed die-grinder to remove the last bits. I then used a 12" file the length of the tube to smooth everything out. I finished it with 80 grit Emory cloth. It will take a tiny bit of filler to smooth everything out (that die grinder is a little more aggressive than I thought) but after powder coating everything should be invisible.

Pugsley!

2009-11-12T20:07:00.006-07:00

A weekend at Pueblo Motorsports Park

2009-07-17T09:34:00.003-06:00

Kathy joined me at the NASA-RM event last weekend -- her first time in the new car. She rode along during three sessions including a practice rolling start and had a pretty good time.

Yes, Its true

2009-06-23T12:23:00.000-06:00

The movie "The Hangover" is a funny as everyone says.

Espresso Beans

2009-06-18T11:17:00.003-06:00

I buy my Espresso here:

Inteligentsiacoffee.com — Black Cat Espresso, Old Faithful
Stumptowncoffee.com — Hairbender Espresso, My current favorite

Other famous roasters

Vivace — I use both their espressos, this is super traditional Ialian, not my fave.
Blue Bottle — Excellent new roaster, I’ll try them when I get tired of Stumptown.

Local Denver Roasters

Kaladi Brothers, University Blvd. -- Best Local beans
Crowfoot Valley, Castle Rock — Even localer for me.

Super-Z

2009-06-15T07:18:00.002-06:00

One of our cats, Zoe a.k.a. Super-Z, is sick. She has a pretty good sized lump on her side. She is going in for surgery this morning to have the lump removed and biopsied.

Good Luck, Z.

Ugghh, Starbucks

2009-05-27T07:36:00.002-06:00

This morning, out of desperation, I again gave Starbucks a chance and once again I was disappointed by piss-poor espresso. What I got was a watery, crema-free, and burnt tasting and pretty typical of Starbucks.

I literally can't remember the the last time I had even a tolerable espresso for those jokers. In fact I wonder if I have ever had a tolerable espresso from any Starbucks.

So my quest for good espresso in Philadelphia continues....

Strike Three

2009-05-21T07:51:00.002-06:00

I have tried to find good Espresso in Philly since I started coming here two years ago. I thought I finally found pay dirt in Caffe del Academia. They certainly talk a good story and the shop looks promising, but sadly the Baristas are simply too inconsistent. I've had good espresso there a few times but the number of times I've had bad (and often really bad) espresso in likely higher.

This morning was a prime example. The barista pulled for over 40 seconds because she was getting a pastry for another customer durring the pull. I though maybe she knew what she was doing but suspected otherwise. Of course, the espresso was watery and sour. Classic overextraction.

Why is it that there are at least a dozen great espresso shops and there seem to be none here?

Button and a haircut

2009-04-29T17:52:00.005-06:00

I pulled a button off my favorite black sport coat getting on or off some airplane in some city recently and took time at lunch today to get it sewn back on. It also gave me a chance to spend time in my new favorite place in Philly-- the underground mall beneath One Comcast Center and Two Penn Center -- I think it's call the South Suburban Station. It's is a major rail station and support a whole crazy ecosystem of small businesses struggling to lure in the harried traveler in the two seconds they look up from their Blackberries and iPhones.

The place is a maze of open halls, light wells, corridors, escalators and hallway leading off to distant buildings. The ceilings are low and the lighting a yellowy fluorescent cloud. However it is reasonably clean, well patrolled, and a great place to people watch. There are coffee shops, bars, restaurants, sushi, doughnuts, florists, even an Asian vegetable market.

At the end of the longest corridor, in the far back corner is a small Beauty Salon and a Dry Cleaners/Alterations While You Wait/Shoe Repair/Key-Making place operated by a rather stern looking Asian woman. I pass it each day walking from City Hall to One Comcast and have shirts laundered there a couple of times.

While the Stern Woman sewed my button back on ($2 thank very much) I went next door for a hair cut. The woman who cut my hair -- Christine I think -- said she had been cutting hair in that dark basement for 35 years. The shop had been in another location, across the corridor before moving to its current location. She gave me a great haircut and told me in no uncertain terms that her cable bill was too high and that I should shave the goatee off immediately. Properly shorn and well buttoned, I headed back to One Comcast but detoured into a small Italian men's shop.

As a frequent traveler, I must say that my black sport coat is an absolute workhorse, it works with anything, goes perfectly with everything. I wear it once a week at home and more when I travel. It gets stuffed into roll-aboard, packed in overhead bins and occasionally kicked under airline seats. It is an absolutely indispensable item and mine is starting to show a bit of wear.

The shop was crowded with shirts, shoes, jackets and ties, all unmistakably authentic Italian. I glanced at the overstuffed racks of sport coats, most in pretty garish colors and asked the proprietor if he had anything in simple black -- maybe like the coat I was wearing.

He smiled and pulled from the rack the single most spectacular garment I have ever seen. It was contemporary Italian-cut sport coat in soft, muted black with a very subtle fine herringbone pattern. It was woven of fine grade cashmere and felt spectacular to the hand. The lining was black silk with small pearl sized polka dots. It was neat and sophisticated and reeked of quality. It was a 44L and the fit was like a glove -- I could have worn it home.

Except for one thing -- the yellow tag on the sleeve said "4495" -- it took a moment to realize that it does not mean $44.95. I had to read it twice.

I learned that my Comcast would get me half price -- only $2,495. I have to admit I never considered that there were sport coats that cost that much. I mean I have a couple of pretty expensive ones -- nearly $1000. But $5000 is insane. Hell, $2500 is insane. Yet there I stood transfixed by this beautiful thing -- wondering which card I could use.

This is an emotion is usually reserved for cars and watches. However that jacket was a truly spectacular thing. I managed to resist, escape the store, wallet intact, but even now I hear the siren song calling.

New vacation ideas

2009-03-05T05:36:00.003-07:00

This morning I watched a brief story about a British cruise ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. These attacks have been going on for over a year, and based on previous successes their number is increasing. Watching this I had an idea for a new vacation concept.

Gun boat cruises. Take a large cruise ship, put a few dozen .50 cal machine guns along the deck and give passengers a change to get their own confirmed kill. Talk about family fun -- and making the world safe for democracy.

I think I could also work in a whole guns/bikinis angle -- which seems to be popular with many preospective customers. Maybe hire a couple of bikini models and have them strut around between attacks.

So, if anyone knows where to pick up low-cost criuse ships, used .50 cal machine guns or discounts on .50 cal ammunition let me know.

New York City Espresso

2009-01-21T13:41:00.004-07:00

What a spectacular place. I made the mile-plus cross town walk from the hotel to Everyman Espresso. The windchill made it feel like all of 15 and I considered buying earmuffs at each sidewalk vendor until I realized I'd have to stop walking and risk instant hypothermia to do so.

The espresso made every frigid step worth it. Oh glory, what a shot. I had two and wanted 10. This is a shot that grabs you by the balls and twists -- hard. A good amount of Ethiopian lends the signature dirty flavor that is perfectly balanced with nice residual sweetness. When it was over I positively floated back to the hotel -- I don't even remember it being cold.

I'm beginning to suspect there is a unidirectional correlation between Tattoos and Good Espresso. That is: Every good barrista seems to have visible tattoos, but not every barrista with tattoos is good. The guy at Everyman is good (and tattooed).

Everyman Espresso
136 East 13th Street (Union Square)

iTunes Managment

2009-01-07T07:37:00.002-07:00

Here are a couple of very hard earned tips when managing large iTunes libraries:

NEVER, EVER, Under any circumstances, start iTunes without the music library mounted. This can cause many hours of work to re-connect iTunes to the missing files.
The only way to merge libraries is at the file system level, dragging whole libraries into iTunes causes more trouble than it's worth.
External NAS-based iTunes servers suck. I have a 2TB ReadyNAS NV+ from NetGear and it's a piece of shit. Performance is poor, the UI sucks, and it takes 20 minutes to start-up.
Anything over 25k songs really hurts iTunes performance.
Lots of people talk about managing large libraries. Lots of people think that 10 Gigs is a large library. Things that work with 10 Gigs, struggle at 100 and fail at 250GB. Make sure you research any new technique.
Over USB2, 250GB (50k+ files) take 6-8 hours to copy. Try not to do it twice.
I could not have gotten everything under control without a number of scripts from Doug

Celebration Ale

2008-12-20T15:57:00.003-07:00

Today, while shopping for same basic beer for Kathy's anual cookie party this evening, I found a real gem hidden among the more pedestrian beverages -- thre six-packs of Sierra Nevada Brewing's Celebration Ale.

A relatively light carmel-colored beer, with a hop aroma that is like rubbing your face in a pine tree. A mix of Challenger and Centennial hops contribute as much flavor as aroma so the taste is a green as the smell.

I once drove 150 miles to the Sierra Nevada brewery to buy this beer, so finding it was a real surprise. Chico is a long way from Denver.

Rae - Philly

2008-12-15T14:34:00.002-07:00

Rae, Dan Stern's restaurant in Philly and one of my favorite places to eat here is moving. They are still open for lunch but don't do dinner there anymore. I guess I now have an excuse to go to his other restaurant, Gayle, which I have wanted to get to for quite some time.

Time Warp the TV show

2008-12-10T18:35:00.005-07:00

Just did a segment on tattoo machines. Time Warp is a show that uses a super-high speed video camera to capture everyday events and then plays them back in super slow motion.

It's really cool to see a tattoo machine captured at 2500 or 5000 frames/second played back at 30 frames/second.

Skin looks just like water, with tiny little concentric ripples every time the needle punches into the skin. It looks just like dropping a stone into still water. Cool.

The End

2008-12-10T12:10:00.003-07:00

Tattoo Session #23
December 6, 2008

So, it’s over. My 16-month odyssey into pain, suffering, and tattoo shop culture has run its course. Only a single touch-up session remains, and that won’t happen until spring so that the ink has really settled into the skin properly.

The end itself was a little anti-climactic. I expected at least one more session, but Joel just laid down the tattoo machine and said: ”That’s it, we’re done.” “Done, done?” I asked. “Done, done.” he answered.

These sessions have become fully integrated into the rhythm of my life. Every 3-4 weeks, usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon we had a convenient excuse to drive up to Boulder. They have also become part of Kathy’s life as she came to every single session. So, after 23 appointments, and almost 55 hours of needle time, we need to find a new reason to go to Boulder.

One upside of the experience is that my ability to meditate has radically improved. I could never reach nothingness during a tattoo session but I was readily able to detach physically for 20-30 minutes at a time. Now I find traditional meditation much easier.

I write this as though someone has died and in some way it's how I feel. But at the same time I know that this really isn’t the end. Does something like this really end? Does anything ever really end? Or, like the great cosmic continuum, is the beginning of the next thing? The start of the start? I like to think if it this way more that it just being over.

Maybe it’s still too soon to write about this; the lessons will only begin appear with time. I’ll keep you posted. In the mean time I will celebrate the fact that I can now choose, or choose not, to get more work done.

Tattoo FAQ:

Does it hurt?
A: Yes, of course it hurts.

How much dies it hurt?
A: More than a really bad sunburn, less than a 25 M.P.H. bicycle crash. (These are the only relevant points of reference I can give.)

Why did you do it?
A: Because I wanted a big tattoo.

How much did it cost?
A: Labor and tip total a little more than $6k.

Did you pick the design?
A: No, I picked a general theme – Initially just the Dragon, and later the Japanese Myth of the Koi and the Dragon. I also picked the color of some of the larger things – the Blue Dragon, the Black/Yellow and White/Blue Koi. Beyond that it was really the artist’s call although he frequently asked if a particular color was OK.

How could you trust him so much?
A: I did my research; I looked for the right artist for well over a year before finding Joel. I was prepared to fly to either Miami or Austin to get this level of quality. I was lucky enough to find someone locally who had the chops to do the work I wanted.

The second best use for a barf bag

2008-12-05T13:25:00.001-07:00

@engadget

The "C" Word

2008-12-01T20:44:00.002-07:00

I got a call from my dermatologist this morning to tell me the the pencil-eraser-sized bump I had removed from my forehead last week is -- as expected -- skin cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma to be specific. Seems pretty common and is readily curable -- although not without a little cut and some digging in my skin.

So tomorrow afternoon, with little fan-fair, I'm going to have a little cancer surgery. I guess that will make me a cancer survivor, in my own little pencil-eraser sized way.

Tattoo Update

2008-11-13T19:35:00.010-07:00

Joel is featured in an extensive article in the current issue (#13) of Tattoo Artist Magazine. The article include a picture of my dragon sleeve along with a very complete catalog of his work.

My Koi sleeve is done except for coloring the Koi themselves. All the background and all the maple leaves are done and really look good. I've been doing three-hour sessions recently which speeds things up considerably. I've only got a couple of sessions left and I'm done. It's weird to think it's coming to an end so quickly. The end has always been some intangable, far-away thing. Now I'm probably done by Christmas.

Here are photos from the last few sessions.

French Macarons - Week #Trois

2008-11-09T16:52:00.003-07:00

Okay, so, aged egg whites and a bigger piping bag tip were the 2 biggest changes we made in making this week's batch. The dough was drier this time, which made it a tad bit harder to pipe. We didn't make any filling this week.

Instead of using a food processor to mix the dry ingredients, we're sifting by hand. We've reduced the baking temperature and shortened the cooking time from 20 to 18 minutes.

Ren is flying out tonight to Philly for work. If he has some spare time he'll stop by Miel Patsierrie to pick up professionally made macarons and bring them home so that we can compare. The last batch of macarons Ren brought home from Miel were pretty tasty.

I can't wait to perfect this recipe and starting baking with flavors and coloring!!

French Macarons - Part Deux

2008-11-02T20:12:00.004-07:00

Macarons or Macaroons...WHATever! We're not talking about the coconut cookie.
Tonight, Batch #2!
We're getting better about the piping size. A bigger tip for the piping bag is needed. When we incorporated the almond flour with the egg whites, we were careful not to deflate the whites this time. We baked them for 17 minutes instead of 20. This batch - less chewy than last week's batch
Bye-bye buttercream filling...Hello, chocolate ganache.
According to Lauduree, you should let the macarons sit in the fridge for 24 hours before eating...patience, patience!

French Macarons

2008-10-30T19:50:00.002-06:00

Ren and I made our first batch of French Macaron cookies...my favorite. How did they turn out? Well, not so good. A bit gummy, chewy. We followed a recipe in Cooks Illustrated. It will probably take a few more batches until we get it right. Oh well, it will be fun trying!!

80s Party

2008-09-20T19:48:00.004-06:00

My gym friends, Susan and Dan threw an 80s Party on Saturday, August 23rd. The 80s, ohhhh what fond memories! This picture is of me and my friends, Sheila and Janet. We dressed up as the Robert Palmer Girls.

Frasca Food and Wine ...and Kathy's 1st official blog post...finally!

2008-08-24T10:11:00.028-06:00

Frasca in Boulder is absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in the *Denver* area.

Our recent visit on Friday night, was a last-minute thing, due to a "need" to buy a black tank racer-back dress for an "80s Party"....any guesses on what I dressed up as? The answer and pictures to be posted later.

Any *excuse* to go to Boulder....I'll come up with it and gladly make the drive!! And, Ren was such a sport for wanting to go...especially today. Just a couple of hours before we drove to Boulder, he had just arrived back from a business trip to Virginia.

We did not have reservations - but knew that walking in shortly after they opened at 5:30pm, our chances of getting a table were pretty good. We were offered seats at the Salumi Bar or a table outside. The weather was so nice, we chose the outside table.

"I really, really love this restaurant", I said several times to Ren during our dinner.
"I know", replied Ren, with a big smile, several times.

Why do I love Frasca? The food, wine, service - exceptional. They support local farmers which is obvious once you've tasted their food. The wine...Master Sommeliers Bobby Stuckey
and Jesse Becker..need I say more? The service/staff...very friendly, unpretentious. A few months ago I worked with Cristin, their Event Manager on planning a birthday dinner for my friend Ben. The entire experience from beginning-to-end was unforgettable.

This recent dining experience...I do have a complaint....kidding...well, sort of....it's more of a bummer, not a complaint. They no longer serve Fiore di Zucca (squash blossoms).
I was so looking forward to this when I saw it on the menu earlier in the day.
Fiore di Zucca, a glass of Scarpetta and a little dessert.....Kathy's a HAPPY girl!!
But, they just changed the menu (as they always do seasonally....a sign of a great restaurant) the day of our visit. I'm NOT complaining because I truly understand why. I'm just purely BUMMED. There were chopped up fiore di zucca in my Primi, the summer squash custard. So, hey, better than none.

What's the big deal about squash blossoms? Well, I love them. And they are only available for a very short time every year. It brings back memories of home...California. Every Sunday in the summer, I would go to the Mountain View Farmer's Market for these delicate, flavorful blossoms. How did I prepare them? Lightly fried and/or stuffed with goat cheese...yum!!

Okay, back to dinner... What did we eat and drink?

Started off with a glass of Scarpetta 2007 Pinot Grigio, Friuli Italy.

Ren's Quattro Piatti
Antipasti
Maine Lobster Fritta
Nectarine, Tarragon Aioli and House-Made Mortadella

Primi
House-Made Russet Potato Gnocchi
Munson Farm Sweet Corn, Spinach and "Ricotta Affumicata"
(Wine: Ronco del Gnemiz Sauvignon Blanc)

Secondi
Grilled Boneless Beef Short Rib
Roasted Toohey Farm Beets,
Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese and Pickled Horseradish
(Wine: Enrico Santini Poggio al Moro)

Dolci
Sour Cherry and Chocolate Tart
Almond Crumble and Vanilla Bean Gelato
(Digestivo: Nonino Grappa di Monovitigno, Merlot...
Yep, Kathy drove home...hahaha)

Kathy's QP
Antipasti
Red Wagon Farm Summer Squash Custard
Grilled Pancetta and Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Primi
Riso Vialone Nano
Cure Farm Tomatoes and Red Wagon Farm Basil
(Wine: Ronco del Gnemiz Sauvignon Blanc)

Secondi
Shaved Long Family Farm Pork Leg
Fingerling Potatoes, Palisade Peach and Bacon-Rosemary Vinaigrette
(Wine: Zilliken 2006 Riesling Kabinett "Saarburger Rasch", Saar, Germany)

Dolci
Gelati and Sorbetti
Valrhona Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Blood Orange
(Beverage: Espresso)

And for later....(wrapped up a little clear to-go bag, tied w/ribbon)
Tasting of House-Made Chocolates - Valrhona 70% Bittersweet, Coconut, Espresso, Passionfruit-Caramel, Hazelnut, Chocolate Macadamia, Valrhona Crispy Chocolate Pearls, White chocolate w/chocolate drizzle.

As always, we're looking forward to our next visit at Frasca.

Les Halls, Washington DC

2008-08-20T11:09:00.002-06:00

Last night we had dinner at Les Halles on Pennsylvania Ave. The restaurant is one of three (NYC, DC, Miami) owned the Author and TV personality Tony Bourdain. I've been to the NYC location a couple of times and really like it. It serves classic French bistro food, quick, simple and delicious.

One of the highlights was a blind tasing of Chimay Belgan Ales (Red, White, and Blue). I've done this once before and same as last time, much prefered the Blue variety.

Inerestingly the Bar snack was fried Potato peels. Very Tony B, a simple and effiecient use of something that is normally thrown out.

As always Les Halles is highly recommended.

NASA @ Hastings

2008-08-16T15:04:00.004-06:00

Today is Saturday and I'm working. In Connecticut. Tomorrow I'm flying home. I'm flying back to the East Coast (Wahington, DC) on Monday. I'll be there until Friday. Did I mention that I'm working next Saturday too?

This is a pretty brutal couple of weeks. The only thing sustaining me during these trying times are memories of the excellent track event last weekend at Motorsports Park Hastings (MPH) in Hastings, Nebraska. I made the 6 hour drive to Hastings with Scott Friday afternoon. Saturday was a mixed bag, the downside is that it rained the whole day, the upside is that I really like driving in the rain. In fact I LOVE driving in the rain. It essentially make all cars equal. Traction is so limited that no one can put any power down. This means that even a relatively stock car like mine can be the among the fastest cars on track. During one session I lapped nearly the entire Group-4 field. Only a Porsche C4S was faster.

Unfortunately Sunday was rain free so I resumed my place well down the order. With a little more negative camber I wasn't as far down as usual.

I still struggled with the HeroCam. It's hard to get it to start reliably. In one case I missed capturing a big, bad Shelby Cobra spinning just in front of me and Scott. Instead I got 435 consecutive .jpg images of the session, including one just before and one just after the spin.

Here is some friendly advice for all new driving school attendees. If it's your first time at a track consider starting somewhere other than NASA Group-4. If you miss the first session, don't grid up first for the second session. But, if you insist on gridding first, don't start lapping at 35 MPH in an attempt to learn the entire track during the warm-up lap. Finally, and this one is key, don't then spin the car on the first hot lap. None of these things will win the hearts and minds of your fellow drivers, (especially when done in combination) it will only make them bitch about you to the NASA Officials during the post session download meeting.

One thing I found at Hastings was my missing horsepower. Hasting is ~1800ft so I gained back much of power I lose at high-altitude tracks like Miller and Pueblo.

Here is a dry shot from Sunday showing my M3 and Scott's very fast Pontiac, at least I think it's a Pontiac -- I could be wrong.

..about my new iPhone

2008-08-06T20:52:00.002-06:00

Last week, about a day before releasing iTunes 7.7.1 and fixing my Outlook syncronization problem, the touchscreen on my 14 Month old 2.5G phone broke. Following the Apple protocol, I made an appointment with a “Genius” at the Apple “Genius Bar”. The "Genius" looked at it, restored it as a new phone, but couldn’t make it work -- not much of a Genius. Since I’m out of warranty Apple offered a refurbished 2.5G for $199. That's the same as the subsidized price for a 3G 8Gb. After confirming via AT&T that I was indeed eligible for a “hardware upgrade” I could buy any 3G phone at the subsidized price. Except that they were completely out of 3G phones.

My “Genius” went behind the curtain and returned with news that if I were to come back the following morning at about 7am I’d have my choice of 3G phones.

I thought about it all evening and finally set the alarm for 6:30.

I arrived at the mall at about 7 and ended up about 10th in line at the store (this was three weeks after launch). At about 7:30 the Apple staff arrived and started the pre-qualification process. This weeded out about half the people in line. I met all the pre-qual criteria and received my golden-ticket for a black 16Gb model.

Activation and signing new 2-year contract took about 10 minutes and I was out of the store by 8:15.

So, about the phone,

It’s exactly like the 2.5G phone except:

1. It’s a little bigger.
2. It has GPS
3. 3G is much faster then 2.5G
4. Its black

That’s about it.

So I took a Dremel to my 2.5G dock so it now fits the 3G. I also had to get a new larger screen protector.

Oh, and I got AppleCare so this won’t happen again.

Hamden, CT Food

2008-07-29T18:57:00.002-06:00

Tonight I had dinner at Mickey's in Hamden, CT. Hamden is a pretty small township in southern CT. It was a bit of a suprise as I was expecting Burger King or Micky D's to be among the fine dining choices in Hamden. the hotel desk clerk recommended Mickeys. I went with the Alaskan Sea Bass fishsticks with Yucca fries and Chimichurri.

Not too bad, especially given the location. the fish was pretty good and the fries were quite good. I was a little short on chimmichuri, but all in all, paired with a Conundrum white, it was pretty good.

So, if you're in Hamden, CT, I can highly reccoment Mickeys on the corner of Whitney and Dixwell.