I put off sending in a check to AJM's Medical Recovery Fund/Raffle until now, and the drawing is on Labor Day--so if you haven't sent in a twenty for a ticket, do so now. Darn good prizes available. Heck, I even like the bowl.
I wrote the check last night just before going to bed and wanted to mail it on the way in to work this morning--while bike commuting. The mail slot at the apartment complex into which I just moved is behind a funny gate thing, not bike-convenient, so I thought I'd just drop it in a USPS blue box on the way to work. Stuffed the envelope in my jersey pocket and away I went.
And rode, and looked for a postbox.
And rode some more.
And got to work without seeing a single blue box.
It's either (a) I'm still blind despite laser eye surgery or (b) they're all gone, be it because they're too troublesome for the post office to maintain, or they're too easy to hide bombs in during these days of fear and wonder.
So I'll drop the envelope off at work, but after riding with it in my jersey pocket for 45 minutes, I'm afraid the envelope and check may have absorbed some, uh, cycling funk. Sweat, to be sure. Do letter carriers wear protective gloves? Do the JMs?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
spotted during downtime at work
Oh, the irony.
From www.sfgate.com:
"(08-28) 11:27 PDT BLACK ROCK DESERT, NEV. - A San Francisco man was arrested on felony arson charges today after the 40-foot-tall "Man" statue whose torching is the annual highlight of the Burning Man festival in Nevada went up in flames four days early, authorities said."
Talk about premature immolation...
From www.sfgate.com:
"(08-28) 11:27 PDT BLACK ROCK DESERT, NEV. - A San Francisco man was arrested on felony arson charges today after the 40-foot-tall "Man" statue whose torching is the annual highlight of the Burning Man festival in Nevada went up in flames four days early, authorities said."
Talk about premature immolation...
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Too long
Not a post inspired by any great happenings, merely by the lack of posting.
Got back from Boston yesterday evening, having attended another gathering of 10,000+ chemists. As time goes on, I'm noticing that the motivation to attend these things doesn't come so much from presenting new research findings (the few I have) or listening to other people's research findings (the few they have) but rather from seeing familiar faces. I guess networking can happen after all, even for us quiet types.
Boston's transit system ("the T") works well--always refreshing to note when travelling outside of California.
Boston's convention center, like most, looks to have been built over decrepit land and/or buildings as an urban renewal project. However, it is still close enough to civilization that we could walk out of it and have a remarkably good lunch for not more if not less than what the convention center's typically mediocre food court was charging. This is in contrast to the Chicago convention center, which is truly surrounded by urban wasteland.
The weather in Boston was probably even better than it was in California. I brought a sweater and felt silly for it.
Watching environmental-cataclysm movies on the plane while flying back to California probably wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Still, to watch "The Day After Tomorrow" and then look out the window to see the scars from miles-thick ice etched into the colossal granites of the west, to see it tinted orange by the sunshine filtering through smoke, to see a forgotten wildfire burning lazily across the acres and miles of sagebrush...felt curiously profound.
That fire north of Santa Barbara has burned an area larger than Rhode Island.
Got back from Boston yesterday evening, having attended another gathering of 10,000+ chemists. As time goes on, I'm noticing that the motivation to attend these things doesn't come so much from presenting new research findings (the few I have) or listening to other people's research findings (the few they have) but rather from seeing familiar faces. I guess networking can happen after all, even for us quiet types.
Boston's transit system ("the T") works well--always refreshing to note when travelling outside of California.
Boston's convention center, like most, looks to have been built over decrepit land and/or buildings as an urban renewal project. However, it is still close enough to civilization that we could walk out of it and have a remarkably good lunch for not more if not less than what the convention center's typically mediocre food court was charging. This is in contrast to the Chicago convention center, which is truly surrounded by urban wasteland.
The weather in Boston was probably even better than it was in California. I brought a sweater and felt silly for it.
Watching environmental-cataclysm movies on the plane while flying back to California probably wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Still, to watch "The Day After Tomorrow" and then look out the window to see the scars from miles-thick ice etched into the colossal granites of the west, to see it tinted orange by the sunshine filtering through smoke, to see a forgotten wildfire burning lazily across the acres and miles of sagebrush...felt curiously profound.
That fire north of Santa Barbara has burned an area larger than Rhode Island.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Dangnabbit
Back to bike geekdom.
I bought a single-speed 'cross bike this spring, pretty much the cheapest complete SSCC bike available, just to get a machine under me. I figured that since I've given everybody else a 20-year head start on this "training" thing that I've got to do some catchup. And, if I'm going to drive 50 miles to do a 30-40 minute race, I should do another one while I'm there. Since there are separate single-speed cross categories, one geared bike plus one single-speed equals two races equals twice as much racing/training.
I was also looking forward to racing in the B's this year so as to not have any 8.30-9am start times. I need my beauty sleep on weekends. And weekdays, for that matter.
So Pilarcitos and CCCX have now posted their start times. Pilarcitos: SS at 12pm for 1 h, B's at 1.10pm for 45 min. Am I insane enough to even try? It's just gonna hurt...so maybe it's the C's for me there again this year (it's not like I broke the top 20 in their C's last year). CCCX: B's and single-speed B's, both at 10am for 45 min; single-speed A's at 1pm for 1 h. Well, B's + SSA's is sorta doable...just gotta stay outta the way of the big boys.
---
I need a job, else I get deported in January.
Anybody need a cyclochemist? Er, chemocrosser?
---
Outside water faucet has broken a gasket and is leaking all over. This house is losing any faint semblance of charm quickly.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Confessions of gargantuan geekdom
I played Dungeons and Dragons as a youth.
When my parents moved, the box of D&D books was uncovered in the bottom of my closet, after all these years. I think...there were moments of weakness as I considered whether or not I might want to try playing again, after all these years.
I remember the rules, I remember the dice, I remember how much damage a long sword does, I remember that extra-healing potions were ounce-for-ounce a better deal than regular healing potions. Gold pieces, gnomes, efreeti, search for traps, fireball (level 3 magic-user spell), save against dragon breath...but I never got to fight a beholder.
Thirty pounds of books.
Unsurprisingly enough, there is an online community of enthusiasts who propagate the original ("1st edition") AD&D rules from the mid-'80s (the publishers are now on edition 3.5, which only used 20-sided dice; no more d4, d6, d8, d10, or d12, let alone figuring out what to roll for "45-75"). A quick forum post, and within 24 hours people from all across the land descended like cyberwolves to tear the collection apart. It all got mailed away today, to Iowa, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Movin' on...
When my parents moved, the box of D&D books was uncovered in the bottom of my closet, after all these years. I think...there were moments of weakness as I considered whether or not I might want to try playing again, after all these years.
I remember the rules, I remember the dice, I remember how much damage a long sword does, I remember that extra-healing potions were ounce-for-ounce a better deal than regular healing potions. Gold pieces, gnomes, efreeti, search for traps, fireball (level 3 magic-user spell), save against dragon breath...but I never got to fight a beholder.
Thirty pounds of books.
Unsurprisingly enough, there is an online community of enthusiasts who propagate the original ("1st edition") AD&D rules from the mid-'80s (the publishers are now on edition 3.5, which only used 20-sided dice; no more d4, d6, d8, d10, or d12, let alone figuring out what to roll for "45-75"). A quick forum post, and within 24 hours people from all across the land descended like cyberwolves to tear the collection apart. It all got mailed away today, to Iowa, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Movin' on...
Deblackled for greater readability
Scientific rationale for black-on-white being easier to read than white-on-black:
The average brightness of the screen will determine whether the pupil is dilated (open) or contracted (closed). Photographers can tell you that the depth of field (minimum and maximum distances between which all is in focus) increases as the aperture size decreases.
If the screen is white (with only a small amount of black print), the pupil will contract, decreasing the aperture size and increasing the depth of field. The lens then has to do less fine adjustment in order to keep the screen in focus as our head wobbles around. Ergo, a more relaxing read.
Wobble, wobble, wobble...
The average brightness of the screen will determine whether the pupil is dilated (open) or contracted (closed). Photographers can tell you that the depth of field (minimum and maximum distances between which all is in focus) increases as the aperture size decreases.
If the screen is white (with only a small amount of black print), the pupil will contract, decreasing the aperture size and increasing the depth of field. The lens then has to do less fine adjustment in order to keep the screen in focus as our head wobbles around. Ergo, a more relaxing read.
Wobble, wobble, wobble...
Friday, August 10, 2007
Yes, this blog has been blackled
Points to xbunny for calling me on it.
Do I get credit for being first to use "blackle" as a verb?
Do I get credit for being first to use "blackle" as a verb?
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Go pick on someone your own size
After a slightly inappropriate debut in the C's back in June, I signed in to ride with the B's (cat 4/5) at the twilight training crit last night. I was slacking in July--would I make it in August?
I circulated, moved around. Sometime in lap 4-5 I was on the front. Thereafter tried to "float" to the back. Overfloated and practiced sprinting to catch onto the back again, yo-yoed for a couple laps. Recovered enough to take a little dig on the 3rd-to-last lap, got space with one other guy...and couldn't hold it. Subsequently got dropped on the last lap and did not contest the finish, but easily guessed the winner of the bunch sprint.
List of things to improve:
--cornering at speed without going waaaay wide
--maintaining speed through corners
--strength
--endurance
...y'know, little things.
--
Rode into work this morning, single-speeding a 42/17. At first I thought I was going sooo fast 'cuz I was spinning out so easily. Then realized the legs were too tired to spin. Oh...
I circulated, moved around. Sometime in lap 4-5 I was on the front. Thereafter tried to "float" to the back. Overfloated and practiced sprinting to catch onto the back again, yo-yoed for a couple laps. Recovered enough to take a little dig on the 3rd-to-last lap, got space with one other guy...and couldn't hold it. Subsequently got dropped on the last lap and did not contest the finish, but easily guessed the winner of the bunch sprint.
List of things to improve:
--cornering at speed without going waaaay wide
--maintaining speed through corners
--strength
--endurance
...y'know, little things.
--
Rode into work this morning, single-speeding a 42/17. At first I thought I was going sooo fast 'cuz I was spinning out so easily. Then realized the legs were too tired to spin. Oh...
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The doctors should stick those needles up their a$$es
This started as a reply to a comment on this blog before taking on a life of its own, in response to an editorial in the science journal Nature posing the possibility of doping-legal sports.
One counter-argument to the idea that sports could or should progress towards allowing "enhancements" as a modernization is that allowing "enhancements" might turn the sport into a contest of doctors rather than a contest of athletes.
Cynics have pointed out that the best-funded teams also seem to have the largest medical staffs. A friend's brother is a Euro pro and he was busted for using EPO due to high hematocrit: he couldn't microdose because he didn't have anyone to smuggle it over the border for him, let alone set up a dosing regime, so he had to use a large injection before a stage race and before the end his hematocrit had spiked. Others with more staff had help and could manage their hematocrit to be consistently in the high 40's.
(The suspension didn't do wonders for his career: his team (who had been "helpful", shall we say) canned him and he found himself persona non grata for a while. I believe he's still racing, cleanly I hope--I think he found a level he could compete at without "enhancement", but he ain't gonna be playing with the Protour boys much ever.)
Anyway, back to the doctors thing: if the biggest teams are paying for the best "medical assistance", they're not getting their money's worth: T-Mobile, Astana, and Saunier Duval have pretty big budgets (Cofidis less so) and they're the ones getting busted. Perhaps the lower expectations laid upon, say, AG2R or Francaise des Jeux or Gerolsteiner are enough to allow them to run clean(er) programs.
Is it simply a romantic notion that cycling (or any other sport) should be drug-free? I think a major difference between cycling and other professional sports is the intermingling of professional and amateur athletes: how many amateur racers have participated in a Pro/1/2(.../3... maybe /4...) race? Well, thousands. If doping is to be legal, I guess it would be legal for amateurs too, or else those Pro/1/2+ races would be silly. But that raises an even uglier spectre than the commonly held view of the present situation that there are amateur idiots already doping on the sly. Can you imagine bike conversations held post-legalization? Rather than "how often are you doing interval workouts? How hard?"*, would you want to discuss "how many injections are you doing? What dose?" Bike geek conversations are geeky enough without being medically geeky too.
Other sports, in my view, do far more to isolate their professional ranks from the amateurs--I'm not aware of too many guys playing full-contact football after college. Drug tests for any of the "Big 4" sports are a non-issue, not that I think any of them are clean (and American football, both college and pro, gets the biggest raised eyebrows from me). At first glance, I wouldn't be worried if football, or baseball, or basketball, decided that "enhacement" wasn't a problem--they're businesses, and bigger bangs, faster plays, etc. are what they're need to supply. The inevitable fallout would be the knock-on effects as the pressure to dope at the college and high school levels would be too great.
So, as romantic and impractical and backward-looking an opinion as it may be, I do not think that "enhancements" should be legalized for athletes at any level. Medicine should not concern itself with improvement of human stock; its mission is to address need, not want. I'm sure Doctors Without Borders would appreciate the donation of $50,000 that an athlete or team has paid in order to get someone across a line half a second faster and do far more to "enhance" the quality of life of many individuals. If or when doctors follow the demands of the free market and pursue "enhancement", my view is that they are no longer practicing medicine and their peers should expel them.
*haven't done an interval workout yet; clearly, not working on them very hard
One counter-argument to the idea that sports could or should progress towards allowing "enhancements" as a modernization is that allowing "enhancements" might turn the sport into a contest of doctors rather than a contest of athletes.
Cynics have pointed out that the best-funded teams also seem to have the largest medical staffs. A friend's brother is a Euro pro and he was busted for using EPO due to high hematocrit: he couldn't microdose because he didn't have anyone to smuggle it over the border for him, let alone set up a dosing regime, so he had to use a large injection before a stage race and before the end his hematocrit had spiked. Others with more staff had help and could manage their hematocrit to be consistently in the high 40's.
(The suspension didn't do wonders for his career: his team (who had been "helpful", shall we say) canned him and he found himself persona non grata for a while. I believe he's still racing, cleanly I hope--I think he found a level he could compete at without "enhancement", but he ain't gonna be playing with the Protour boys much ever.)
Anyway, back to the doctors thing: if the biggest teams are paying for the best "medical assistance", they're not getting their money's worth: T-Mobile, Astana, and Saunier Duval have pretty big budgets (Cofidis less so) and they're the ones getting busted. Perhaps the lower expectations laid upon, say, AG2R or Francaise des Jeux or Gerolsteiner are enough to allow them to run clean(er) programs.
Is it simply a romantic notion that cycling (or any other sport) should be drug-free? I think a major difference between cycling and other professional sports is the intermingling of professional and amateur athletes: how many amateur racers have participated in a Pro/1/2(.../3... maybe /4...) race? Well, thousands. If doping is to be legal, I guess it would be legal for amateurs too, or else those Pro/1/2+ races would be silly. But that raises an even uglier spectre than the commonly held view of the present situation that there are amateur idiots already doping on the sly. Can you imagine bike conversations held post-legalization? Rather than "how often are you doing interval workouts? How hard?"*, would you want to discuss "how many injections are you doing? What dose?" Bike geek conversations are geeky enough without being medically geeky too.
Other sports, in my view, do far more to isolate their professional ranks from the amateurs--I'm not aware of too many guys playing full-contact football after college. Drug tests for any of the "Big 4" sports are a non-issue, not that I think any of them are clean (and American football, both college and pro, gets the biggest raised eyebrows from me). At first glance, I wouldn't be worried if football, or baseball, or basketball, decided that "enhacement" wasn't a problem--they're businesses, and bigger bangs, faster plays, etc. are what they're need to supply. The inevitable fallout would be the knock-on effects as the pressure to dope at the college and high school levels would be too great.
So, as romantic and impractical and backward-looking an opinion as it may be, I do not think that "enhancements" should be legalized for athletes at any level. Medicine should not concern itself with improvement of human stock; its mission is to address need, not want. I'm sure Doctors Without Borders would appreciate the donation of $50,000 that an athlete or team has paid in order to get someone across a line half a second faster and do far more to "enhance" the quality of life of many individuals. If or when doctors follow the demands of the free market and pursue "enhancement", my view is that they are no longer practicing medicine and their peers should expel them.
*haven't done an interval workout yet; clearly, not working on them very hard
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