tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53931494066009213572024-02-07T22:49:39.992-05:00...a placeholderMusings? Is that the word I'm looking for?
Improving people's lives through synergistic innovation and continued improvements for a better tomorrow.
That's more like it.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-46577927987744762742010-04-12T22:12:00.006-04:002010-04-18T20:31:25.317-04:00Your floating jukebox stuck on "I'll get you" So lost at sea, yeah, so lost at seaI'm sorry everyone, due to forces outside my control (though mostly due to forces entirely in my control) I've totally flaked on updating for a month.<br /><br />It's not for lack of content, though. Since the last update I've done plenty of stuff with a high blogability quotient.<br /><br />The King of Burlingame mountain bike time trial began auspiciously enough, with a quick drive (with Danna Montana at the wheel)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4763.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 156px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4763.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> and the most brutal race number everbut it pretty much went downhill from there. On the first warm-up run of the course, I got a front flat. There were some guys from a nearby shop that were both on 29ers as well, so one of them was nice enough to give me a tube and a pump (I was unprepared from calamity, and too busy being aero in my skinsuit to think of it). About 10 minutes into the race run, my chain decided it really didn't want to stay where I put it, so sharp accelerations were out, but it's all good. Those great big wheels aren't about accelerations, they're about bombing over/through all that is ahead. Got a nice rhythm going, passed some guys, and then I heard the unique hiss of a slow leak. I made it to the first disembarking point, checked my tire and it seemed like it had enough air still in it to finish the race. I spun down the road, turned left back <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4769.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 349px; height: 261px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4769.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>onto the trail and started.....KABLAMMO....pedaling. Proper flat now. Time to run. Good thing I did all that cyclo-cross, running in bike shoes kinda sucks. I get a good ways downon foot (let's say a mile or so, I have no sense of distance running), and get passed by a number of other racers (most of whom appreciate my number at least). Then, as a testament to how awesome the atmosphere is at MTB races, the other guy from the shop on a 29er chucks me his Camelbak with a pump and tube inside. <a href="http://dlsportsphoto.zenfolio.com/p627149960/h22c55ebc#h22c55ebc">(not my Camelbak)</a>. Massive karma points for that guy. So I fix the flat, lope to the end on my muddy, injured big wheel bike, and cross the line. I give the guy his Camelbak and head back to Dan's car for the ride back. He said it may just be what happens the first time one does this race, as the year before, a winning time was taken away from Dan by a shattering carbon seatpost. On the plus side, I did feel fast before everything were pear-shaped. I'll be back, Burlingame. Please be gentle.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs391.snc3/23856_580383944255_49410081_33691787_6867331_n.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 217px;" src="http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs391.snc3/23856_580383944255_49410081_33691787_6867331_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I went back to Dan M's pump track, which I'm getting closer and closer to doing right (gotta get used to the little wheel bikes, and the not pedaling). It's very spiritual, this pump track business, it really has to flow through you. Dan and Karl are both quite magical on the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4822.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 237px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4822.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> thing, <a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs371.snc3/23856_580383395355_49410081_33691740_757561_n.jpg">Bryan </a>was there too. I could certainly see myself becoming a much better bike-handler in general if I can get the hang of it. Hucker Joe would probably be really good on it too, which is why he should come out here...<br /><br />Even <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/jesseskyline.gif">Jesse </a>came to visit from California.<br /><br />The IBC Newton Summer 2008 gang was in partial effect, as it was Jesse, Arjun, and I in the Hyundai going to the Chris Hinds Criterium at Ninigret in Charlestown, RI. The weather was pretty excellent at the course, which is one I always enjoy when I'm out there (it's a purpose built crit course, how cool is that?).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs461.snc3/25340_676779191927_1611735_39271328_2415472_n.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 414px; height: 276px;" src="http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs461.snc3/25340_676779191927_1611735_39271328_2415472_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It went pretty well for everyone, I only ended up with 14th, but I felt like it was more a result of getting boxed in than anything else. My couple of laps of the front were captured by Jesse (on Arjun's DSLR) and I swear, there were a whole bunch of them. They just unfortuantely happened too early. Or too late.<br /><br />At Wells the next day I got 4th by being out of the mess of the corner sooner, so there could be something there.<br /><br />In non-bikeness, I saw How to Train your Dragon with Jason in 3D, and I have to say, the use of 3D space has really improved, even since 3 years ago. It doesn't seem like an afterthought as it sometimes has. It's really spectacular, especially in the mesmerizing POV flight sequences and gorgeous vistas. The movie was pretty good on the whole too, certainly better than Monsters v. Aliens, though I still may have liked Kung Fu Panda more. Overall a very good effort from Dreamworks. Recommended.<br /><br />I won the B-race at Wells Ave most recently, which is probably just a way for the gods to force a new blogpost. I went for a break at like 8 laps to go (right after a prime), and nobody came with me except one of the guys from the prime, who soon dropped off. I figured I'm out there to train so I TTed the remaining 6 laps on my own and won. I didn't realize I was so stealthy, quite a few people didn't know I was off the front. Oh well, there goes the element of surprise....or does it...<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://www.sccoaching.com/">Scott Cole Coaching</a> for the speed involved in this blogpost's shenanigans.<br /><br />Also, the Bontric Carbolus is the fastest wheel ever. That is all.<br /><br />For this week's video, I was between a few, but I ended up choosing this, sorry about the ad, and the not being able to seek.<br /><object width="480" height="270"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://media.avclub.com/assets/flash/video/widescreen_player/bin-release/widescreen_player.swf?image_url=http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/38868/fruit-bats_undercover_jpg_594x334_crop_upscale_q85.jpg&videoid=38868&onsite=false&title=The%2520Fruit%2520Bats%2520cover%2520Hall%2520And%2520Oates'%2520%2522One%2520On%2520One%2522"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://media.avclub.com/assets/flash/video/widescreen_player/bin-release/widescreen_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" flashvars="image_url=http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/38868/fruit-bats_undercover_jpg_594x334_crop_upscale_q85.jpg&videoid=38868&title=The%2520Fruit%2520Bats%2520cover%2520Hall%2520And%2520Oates'%2520%2522One%2520On%2520One%2522&onsite=false" width="480" height="270"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-8178164585001470782010-02-21T22:55:00.004-05:002010-02-23T23:58:45.063-05:00Lord, See that cat, Yeah I do mean you<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4642.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 470px; height: 352px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4642.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Delays are all sparkles and sunshine, but I couldn't let a whole month go by without a single post, So here's February. Certainly once racing starts again, I'll have more motivation to write.<br /><br />Which is to say, it sort of just did. I did an indoor TT on Sunday, and I do like me some TTs, indoor or otherwise.<br /><br />I got there quite early so I warmed up for about an hour, rather than the intended 40ish minutes, but then it was time to get up on the Computrainer. there were two groups of 8 trainers and I was in the back right. Coach Scott said to keep it in control around 300 watts for the first half of the 10k, but in all the frenzy of bringing my wheel up to speed I was floating around 400w and in second place in my group. Dan Barry and Jeff Bramhall were there cheering me on and there was no looking back so I spent some quality time in the pain cave and won my group, coming in 3rd in the heat. It was a good time and my thanks go out to all those involved in putting it on.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bikesbelong.org/node/212487">Richard Fries</a> said I was probably making considerably more power than appeared on the screen but more went to twisting my bike every which way then cranking the pedals (a big engine with no mounts). Certainly I've never been a model of grace on a bike (more of a blunt instrument), but he gave me a couple of solid tips I'll try to put into action.<br /><br />Whole bunch of new bike/bike stuff news too.<br /><br />I am giving Bontrager's new <a href="http://bontrager.com/products/components/saddles">saddles </a>my full honest placeholder endorsement. I've got them on both road bikes and the Africabike now, and they're sup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4658.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 165px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4658.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>er comfy. Bonus points for apparant durability, it takes a crash for them not to look brand new.<br />I now have a 29er, an ex-demo baby blue Gary Fisher Paragon, which should be nice and fast, and because the HKEK's drivetrain was in dysfunctionland, I've turned that into a single-speed, which means I've joined two MTB cults in one week.<br /><br />On the road front, the magic wheel I mentioned in the last post is done, so I can divulge more about it. It's a DT/<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4657.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 141px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4657.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bontrager hub (as used in the Aeolus) laced to a mk1 Mavic Cosmic Carbone rim with 14 DT Aerolite spokes and two double butted spokes (<a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/new-fulcrum-racing-3-road-wheels-coming-21718">Fulcrum style</a>). It shall be known henceforth as the <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4652.jpg">Philbrook</a>-Meyer-Leas Bontric Carbolus, or Pheystricolus for short. Expect to see it on the road soon. Jesse has some Cosmic <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4667.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4667.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Carbones which he really likes, and these should ride like Cosmics, just with the awesome raised to 12 (it's one more than 11, which is one more than 10). I'm sorry that Jesse isn't a link, I honestly couldn't think of one in time. Next time.<br /><br />I also got an amazing new hat and an equally amazing new <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4671.jpg">bobblehead </a>(Thanks Jason).<br /><br />For this week's video, it's the Alaska Nanooks intro video, and no words could suffice. Brace yourselves:<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K9cYcRotufU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K9cYcRotufU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-81088762179119941422010-01-11T00:29:00.003-05:002010-01-11T23:36:03.040-05:00It's always showtime here at the edge of the stage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs072.snc3/13959_569591771855_49410081_33381179_3983392_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs072.snc3/13959_569591771855_49410081_33381179_3983392_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I know, it's been a long time, but I'm listening, I'm here for you, and ...a placeholder continues to hold places in 2010, bigger, badder, and chewier than ever.<br /><br />For the most delayed Ice Weasels related blog update on the whole of the internet I'll keep it brief, as lots has been said and it's not fresh on anyone's mind. It was super excellent, snowy, and fun. But cold. I got to park next to the porta-johns. My race was won by a guy on a <a href="http://surlybikes.com/frames/pugsley_frame/">Surly Pugsley</a>. HUPcakes are delicious.<br /><br />In a sad follow up to the last post, it would appear <a href="http://jalopnik.com/5429575/saab-officially-borked">I'll never end up driving that killer looking new Saab 9-5</a>. I'm supposed to get some literature about it in the mail but I imagine they ultimately didn't sent it. Rumor has it the car will live on as a Buick (it's sensible not to discard a fully cooked product before it's released) and despite <a href="http://jalopnik.com/5441716/buick-regal-gs-show-car-awd-255hp-and-still-a-four+banger">evidence of a corking new lineup</a> in the wings, it's GM and I have full faith they'll screw it up. Prove me wrong, GM, prove me wrong.<br /><br />Winter is the time for side projects, and it certainly is the winter. Cross season is over, the city (and <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4641.jpg">Africabike</a>) are covered in salt.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4640.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 490px; height: 368px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4640.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A whole bunch of the side projects are bikey in nature. The Bianchi is now properly winterized with full fenders and lights. <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4126.jpg">Dan M</a> and I repacked the BB and now it's good to go. This week is set to get back over 30° so maybe I'll ride outside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4577.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 355px; height: 267px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4577.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>For the other prong of my two-pronged training solution, I am set to the gills with all sorts of awesome <a href="http://cycleops.com/">Cycle-Ops</a> equipment. The key bit is my awesome new rear wheel, which is laced up to a Powertap SL+. It's super cool to get wattage, (rear-wheel) speed, cadence, and time without any kloogy sensors or wires. It's the bee's knees.<br /><br />To know what I'm supposed to do, Coach Scott Cole (who really needs a website) puts all the goodness on <a href="http://home.trainingpeaks.com/">Trainingpeaks</a>. Even if you're not getting coached, it's an easy way to keep track of your training and the version with ads is free.<br /><br />The last bike project I'll mention, this one still in the works, is my dreamy new front road wheel. Without divulging too much, I'll just say it's a theoretically excellent Franco-Swiss synergy, and you know I love good synergy. It's 16.3% more excellent than you think. More about that later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4579.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 233px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4579.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I did finally get a new subwoofer for my receiver and so far, the tidy cubbyhole it's living in doesn't have any annoying resonances going on. Sadly, I no longer have the cable station that shows Die Hard on loop so I'll have to find something else to properly assess the boom-boom.<br /><br />Also, I bought an iPod Touch from Seth. I'm not generally an Apple guy but the price was right and this is a slick little device. I might have to abandon my curmudgeonly ways and start using Apple products like everyone else now.<br /><br /><a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3180.jpg">Bryan</a>, I'm sorry this took so long. It's <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/jessetakecomp.gif">Jesse's fault</a>.<br /><br />Some music videos are timeless and always feel like they could have been made this year. Some are not.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5KP1EOrJEY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5KP1EOrJEY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-50747000241505627772009-12-12T21:55:00.006-05:002009-12-13T22:50:40.777-05:00Special Edition Autoshow Post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4223.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 589px; height: 441px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4223.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A couple of posts worth of post here, as it seems this blog has gone from weekly to bi-weekly to monthly. I'll do my best to turn that trend around. This blog-post is all coverage from the New England Internation Auto Show, as promised. The standard format will be back next week.<br /><br />I take back what I said about more marques being here than at the majors. Among the no-shows were:<br /><br /><ul><li>Porsche-who always gives out a cool poster.</li><li>Mercedes-Benz -who I don't remember much about, though I would like to sit in the new E-class.</li><li>Mitsubishi -I still don't know what the Lancer-mouthed Outlander is like in person. I mean, who drives a Mitsubishi?</li><li>Suzuki -They're going in the right direction with the Kizashi, just bring over more JDM and less KDM.</li><li>Jaguar -I've seen the XF, and the new XJ appears to have lots of the same visual cues. To my eyes, so does the Civic.</li><li>Land Rover-Cool interiors, which I suppose could be said for Jag too.<br /></li><li>Volvo-presumably they got distracted on the way and drove over a curb somewhere.</li></ul>Who does that leave then? Still enough that we'll hit the highlights here.<br /><br />First, some awards:<br /><br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">best seats</span> at the show were those of the Lexus IS-F, with great support, prominent but not overdone bolsters, and flawless finish work. As unimaginative as Lexus can be, they're consistently beyond reproach on the details. The Saab 9-3 also had excellent seats, as Saabs always do, but not quite as excellent as those in the Lexus.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4232.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 364px; height: 272px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4232.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">best interiors</span> overall were definitely from Audi as a brand, with the same excellent finish as the Lexus but tidy ergonomics and pleasing visual presentation to boot. Jewel like details that never seem contrived abound and they are just all around slick environments. A nice place to spend time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Display</span> was Saab, hands down, who built an entire room including an LED wall and assorted Saab (and generally Swedish) trinkets in the floor. They also had the delightful new 9-5 on display, let's hope Saab survives long enough to actually make it. Nissan did have a room too, but Saab's was way cooler.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4337.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 534px; height: 400px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4337.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">most disappointing</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">brand </span>was Acura, which is pains me somewhat to say. It's not the ungainly new family face or ungainly "unrelated shapes everywhere" design language. It's the fact that despite the premium price, they simply don't feel special. I suppose it could be construed as a testament to just how good today's Hondas are, but sitting the $50k Acura RL, it really doesn't feel particularly different that a $30k Accord. They're lovely cars, no doubt, just a bit irrelevant.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4238.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 282px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4238.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">most disappointing car</span> was the Ford Taurus, a car I really wanted to like. They're getting so much right these days (bringing the Fiesta and Transit Connect over come to mind) but the Taurus was a parade of cheap feeling materials, inconsistent panel gaps and flawed ergonomics. The seats in one of the Tauruses (Tauri?) on display already showed considerable wear, and some interior trim panels were <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4282.jpg">already broken</a>. It's a shame.<br /><br />There was almost a tie for <span style="font-weight: bold;">worst car</span>, both from Detroit and both analogous of their respective parentage.<br /><br />One consideration was the Chevrolet Cobalt XFE, which in addition to positively milquetoast styling inside and out (augmented by Pep-Boys spec chrome hubcaps and <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/ergonomics.jpg">questionable ergonomics</a>) felt like an overall half baked effort designed only to be better than the Cavalier, a task also achievable with a tennis ball. Or a flan. High hopes for the Cruze. So why not the worst?<br /><br />As Jason pointed out, the Cobalt makes some sense given its intended purpose, a hard wearing fleet appliance, or basic transport for those who haven't yet heard about Japan or Korea. Plus it is cheap.<br /><br />No, the award must go to something cataclysmically horrible, something that shouldn't ever have gotten past stage one, or at least should have been fixed (or mercifully offed) since then. The award then goes to the Jeep Patriot.<br /><br />Tangibly awful in a way I didn't think still possible, everything about this soft-roader feels approximate. Its design, construction, materials, all half-assed. Assuming it cost $15k, I thought it was overpriced. Then I found out it was $28k and it was a lock. I'll let Jason express his feelings on it here.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sjHHzzL_Tuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sjHHzzL_Tuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Best in show was more difficult to determine, with an Audi R8 (which I luv), the Nissan GT-R (which Jason luvs) and the a Corvette ZR1 (which we both luv) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4308.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 373px; height: 279px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4308.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>present, but given the rule that we need to sit in the car to call it best in show (and locked doors on those two), we had to pick more sensible choices.<br /><br />My pick then is the Hyundai Genesis sedan. Even if its not particularly sporting, It has a winning mix of attributes that would make it a treat to own. It's comfortable, quiet, and seems well built.<br /><br />My alternate pick is the Corvette Z06. Because its interior is so awful. Because it's so brash. Huzzah.<br /><br />Other highlights:<br /><br />Jason and I both gave big thumbs up to the clever and spunky Transit Connect. It's about time this segment of van came here.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4280.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 240px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4280.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The new venue is decidedly less decrepit than the old one.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4298.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 263px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4298.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The brakes of the Kia Soul won't come out through the wheels.<br /><br />Next update will be back to the normal mix of content, including Ice Weasels. Night all.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-50258729170758727552009-11-16T21:23:00.003-05:002009-11-21T00:00:37.756-05:00And the trees have turned black And they're full of insane birds who can't remember any of their songs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 445px; height: 333px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4013.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Lots of time since last post (sorry, again) and some more racing, most notably Northampton, which had to have the fastest cross course I've done yet. There were some big names there too, including <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4037.jpg">Jeremy Powers</a> and Adam Craig, who had a pair of super trick <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4039.jpg">Giant cross bikes</a>, including a Di2 equipped carbon prototype (sorry no pic).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3979.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 229px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3979.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The whole race was pretty photogenic too, especially at a sickhucktastic chute down from the top of the course to a covered railroad crossing. I definitely didn't get the best pictures of this, I think <a href="http://doublehop.blogspot.com/2009/11/noho-2009-day-2.html">this guy did</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 277px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4027.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This cross season has been pretty Western Mass heavy, which is cool, as I know people out there and have places to stay (for free, thanks guys). I'll be out there on Sunday for the <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=8837">Spooky race</a> in Easthampton.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 402px; height: 301px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_4028.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Some people are bringing bikes in for tune-ups, which given the springtime rush would seem to make more sense, though <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3179.jpg">Bryan </a>was acting all blurry again.<br /><br />I realized after the fact that I forgot to put a video in last week's post, so this week I'll put in two. As for the Jesses, they're unfortunately surprisingly labor intensive and if this post is going to get published before Easthampton, I'll have to make up for that at a later date too.. Stay tuned<br /><br />First is a VW ad starring Danny Macaskill, gee whiz!<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O4fs8gS7ANA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O4fs8gS7ANA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />#2 is a song that was stuck in my head. Hit play and it will be stuck in your head too. It's cheesetastic.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KkMuXhHd4ak&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KkMuXhHd4ak&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Programming note: ...a placeholder will be at the New England International Auto Show with special guest Jason G on December 2, a coverage extravaganza (possibly the best coverage this dealer supported regional show will get anywhere) is planned. Grand irony, with its lower profile, there may be <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/24/nissan-pulls-out-of-detroit-and-chicago-auto-shows/">more brands here than at the majors</a>.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-40707131756474936082009-10-31T20:16:00.008-04:002009-11-05T23:23:58.728-05:00Can someone tell me What is it that we're doing under the lights Can someone tell me Why once again we're food for vampires tonight<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3675.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 592px; height: 443px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3675.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Longpost to make up for longtime no update.<br /><br />Did a couple of races, one decidedly more eventful than the others.<br /><br />Last week, I intended to go to New Gloucester, ME to race out there, but the other people that were going to go ended up bailing because of a little rain, and then so did I, but for totally way tougher reasons (more rain).<br /><br />I already had a reservation at the Super 8 Motel out there, and when I tried to cancel it, they said I couldn't because I had made on online reservation, and referred me to the head office. Then the head office said it was the branch's call and I should call them. I did and I was told the manager had "gone into town to get breakfast for tomorrow." Thanks, Maine.<br /><br />I went out to Western Mass and hung out with the UMBRC people, drank too much, tried a balance board, good time had by all.....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3650.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 244px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3650.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Saturday was indeed rainy, so Jelie and I went to <a href="http://www.sylvestersrestaurant.com/sylvesters.html">Sylvester's</a> for brunch, and then stopped by the bikereg home office, which is around the corner. I assumed it would look like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIqoy96FTv8&feature=related">Lorenzo Lamas's workstation in Megashark vs. Giant Octopus</a>, but it really looked more like an office. I'm guessing I wasn't shown the secret underground layer where the magic happens, presumably accessed by pulling on a candlestick somewhere.<br /><br />I ended up ra<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3696.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 178px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3696.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>cing on Sunday in the Saratoga Spa race in New York. Overheard at the gas station: "drink too much Roy?" "Ohhh Yeah." I registered for the 4 and 3/4 races, on principle..more on that later, and I missed the start of the 4 race, so I had to jump on and chase through the women's and kids races, making me think I had just jumped into the wrong race. I made decent headway and then I crashed into a divot (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgWplpxXVOI">this very one</a>, though that's not me) and cracked my fork (though I don't know if I did it there or it had happened earlier). The race promoter said that usually there's no refunds on entry fees, but a broken fork counts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3709.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 145px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3709.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> as extenuating circumstances, and he gave me my $10 back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3681.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 154px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3681.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>, which I appreciate. I ended up at 18th place of 31 finishers, which is pretty frustrating, as it means I probably would have been in the top 10 were it not for the aforementioned snafus. Some good news too though, as Jeff Elie won the 3/4 race in dominant fashion and Jeff Cronin got 2nd in the 4 race.<br /><br />On Halloween there was the Canton cross race, which is especially nice because it's about 35 minutes from my apartment, and about 20 minutes from the shop, which came in handy<br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hraznOMeF1w/Suz_irUXL4I/AAAAAAAAWMg/jFD9RloQTBo/s912/IMG_4040.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 160px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hraznOMeF1w/Suz_irUXL4I/AAAAAAAAWMg/jFD9RloQTBo/s912/IMG_4040.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo credit: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/beastgp">Geoff</a><br /></span></div><br />Because it was so close, I was there on time, and as a rule, if I'm there on time, I'll forget something. This time it was shoes, so rather than warm-up on my trainer (which I've only done at one race this season), I ran around asking everyone if they had any extra shoes. There were some Geekhouse and Wheelworks guys who were nice enough to offer some platform pedals, which is almost what I ended up using, and I suppose platform pedals and Asics count as a Halloween costume, but luckily, team IBC's own John Fennel had some shoes and pedals he wouldn't need until the 3/4 race, so I threw them on the bike with 2 minutes to go before the start of the race, and spun over the line, squeezing into the 2nd row. There were 110 finishers, which means there were more than 110 starters, which is insane. It was a super fast course, with a few slick, slimy tarmac sections, though they weren't as slippery as all the warnings made them out to be. I ended up at 37th of 110.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaVoXV88n6p2XAaEEiWXWJHS_RGP2W0CpVOoQKoq6YRyLG5NNsuUV2Q1rqEZsUfvou7Fb9Du_ucS-7EimsQAv85KUF8uViXkiGYvnHKHCvTvJw1zb0ZvbXBhdmTmnDxEZs3qPYRJMMf0/s1600-h/ethos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaVoXV88n6p2XAaEEiWXWJHS_RGP2W0CpVOoQKoq6YRyLG5NNsuUV2Q1rqEZsUfvou7Fb9Du_ucS-7EimsQAv85KUF8uViXkiGYvnHKHCvTvJw1zb0ZvbXBhdmTmnDxEZs3qPYRJMMf0/s200/ethos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400838687731625282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo credit <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom P.</a></span><br /></div><br />Shortly after the 4 race, I sped back to the shop to grab my B shoes, a pair of Diadora Ethos Ice Techs (or as Jeff Cronin calls them, "Bike Jordans"). They're totally as awesome as the name would make them seem.<br /><br />It became clear in the first race why CX is generally done in the 50s (temps, not decade) or lower, but I did the second race anyways, out of principle, as it was only $10 more to do the 2nd race, even though I knew I would not do well and <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/?n=racers&sn=r&rID=28294">my crossresults points</a> would take a hit.<br /><br />It was faster the second time through, though with about two laps to go, I could taste ammonia and see spots, but I finished the race, and not even in last place (by 7!).<br /><br />I wonder if Jesse is doing any CX out west.<br /><br />The fatigue of the day meant that I fell asleep around 8 pm, and woke up at a daylight savings adjusted 6:50am, Sunday morning, which works out as I didn't have a costume (though as per normal, I thought of a great one around 6pm on Halloween), and is also why I'm writing this (or at least starting this) on Sunday morning before work.<br /><br />No Jesse this week due to technical frustrations. I hope <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3941.jpg">Bryan's</a> not too upset.<br /><br />Oh well. 'Till next update.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-47962230036629870632009-10-17T20:42:00.000-04:002009-10-17T21:04:29.163-04:00Unit three thousand twenty one is warning Makes a humming sound - when its circuits Duplicate emotions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xH9fh26eAh05074ED_9xU5Mc2b3GxF0yR6v_7U8omMQ8dQHz4cE4LYCYdDpZEjea6Yt7yYcA8bla2TuV7Ponh8bMEU9qxs5iXr0J51LVFI2s_5Ir23BcTq666TDrexL7thcTBG1JAIA/s1600-h/IMG_3191.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 458px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xH9fh26eAh05074ED_9xU5Mc2b3GxF0yR6v_7U8omMQ8dQHz4cE4LYCYdDpZEjea6Yt7yYcA8bla2TuV7Ponh8bMEU9qxs5iXr0J51LVFI2s_5Ir23BcTq666TDrexL7thcTBG1JAIA/s200/IMG_3191.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393737612488874978" border="0" /></a><br />Sorry about the lack of blogupdate, I suck. I'll try to stay more on top of it, but more riding+more work=more tired.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLIIFPeL3TpI7IFwSo_XRL_z4bmccMxQ8rI2JrHZS08uUa_-aUEOg9Haxnkb0uO2l58ITAn6-T-nC5mRT2GLzUQRBNtsaiQ_YIA0pJ_Ny_bEi0vhzq7G0VTZPlpmWlzhrxTyEeOoeKcE/s800/IMG_3395.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLIIFPeL3TpI7IFwSo_XRL_z4bmccMxQ8rI2JrHZS08uUa_-aUEOg9Haxnkb0uO2l58ITAn6-T-nC5mRT2GLzUQRBNtsaiQ_YIA0pJ_Ny_bEi0vhzq7G0VTZPlpmWlzhrxTyEeOoeKcE/s800/IMG_3395.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>I haven't updated since Gloucester, but I did take a whole bunch of pictures there. That full album can be found <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/nubetre/Gloucester02#">here</a>. (<a href="http://squirtgunshow.blogspot.com/">Kevin Sweeney</a> pictured here)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3214.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 206px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3214.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A couple more cross races have reminded me why I like that the inside of my car is all plastic, and Dan the mechanic has fixed the Spooky (undoing my screw-ups), so it's running like a champ. Today's race, which was pretty rutted and dry proved to me that I still don't totally know what tire pressure I should be running.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jVvr-Xb1z7evsviJdV5Su0z6B8lVl5bkefuGiZFcfhFUiF2RLcghyphenhyphenvyHs11WmPG2gvMH0Dqfq4o7kSa9ojRTyiXRWRhdbc_93fjVzqHWyfVzctTrOylFoYE51Kx9vrYR3jppkUM1Zdc/s1600-h/IMG_3612.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jVvr-Xb1z7evsviJdV5Su0z6B8lVl5bkefuGiZFcfhFUiF2RLcghyphenhyphenvyHs11WmPG2gvMH0Dqfq4o7kSa9ojRTyiXRWRhdbc_93fjVzqHWyfVzctTrOylFoYE51Kx9vrYR3jppkUM1Zdc/s200/IMG_3612.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393738007412572322" border="0" /></a>A bunch of people went out to get sushi with <a href="http://www.todddowns.com">Todd</a>. He's going to TX. I ate a boat. Have fun Todd.<br /><br />I unfortunately don't have the video to back it up (still don't have <a href="http://www.martelelectronics.com/MVP.htm">one of these</a>) but it seems as though the cars of Newton are unable to completely stop. They roll into intersections, streets, rotaries, and mailboxes to a comical extent, theory being that the opponent (traffic with the right of way) has no choice but to stop. The instigator then stops in the way of both perpendicular traffic and those behind, letting everyone absorb the absurdity of it all, Hand gestures are undertaken and the dance is complete.<br /><br />On the topic of Newton driving, Volvo has brought to market <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DBf8GBVmME">the logical conclusion of the trend toward eliminating driver involvement</a>. While in a general sense I would consider this a bad thing, given the <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/2009/01/random-thoughts.html">type of driver that tends to gravitate toward Volvo (specifically Volvo SUV) ownership</a>, I prefer robotic involvement.<br /><br />Jesse's out in Cali, but I haven't heard from him, so <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/jessetackle.gif">I assume</a>...<br /><br />I had some<a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3183.jpg"> fun with long exposure shots</a>.<br /><br />I saw another <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3627.jpg">cool application</a> of VW/Audi/Porsche's compatible <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_sizing#Bolt_circle">BCDs</a><br /><br />I learned about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgsnYj0BeSA">one more of Bryan's talents</a>.<br /><br />This week's video is a collection of outtakes from a Saturn commercial Jim Gaffigan did way back in the 90s.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dks1cqQZnqg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dks1cqQZnqg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-8628827811448083712009-09-21T23:01:00.005-04:002009-09-28T18:27:08.984-04:00I left my street I'm a guillotine Pulling away In my machine, Where have I been, now?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3087.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 612px; height: 459px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3087.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Two weekends ago, I did my first cross race, Sucker Brook Cross in New Hampshire. It probably wasn't ideal to make the first ride on my new cross bike and my first cross <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3093.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 160px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3093.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>race the same thing, but I'd say it worked out. Jeff Elie was there too, and we both lined about as far back as possible (in a sport where the hole shot is crucial), so we had to move up the crowd. In a group of 82, Jeff got 32nd (with no rear shifting for the second half) and I got 58th.<br /><br />My only fo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 134px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3100.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>od prior to the race was a melted/frozen Balance bar (back-seat find), so after the race I needed food and coffee. Also, my car needed gas. On the way back, I took a random exit and found a gas station that charged me $2.79/gallon and sold me a sandwich comprised of ham blocks and the sort of cheese that tasted like it should be spelled with a z. About a mile later, I found a strip of restaurants and gas stations selling $2.56/gallon gas as far as the eye can see. Welcome to New Hampshire<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3101.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 190px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3101.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3117.jpg">Bryan </a>trued my wheels, and the <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3099.jpg">Spooky </a>was ready to go again..<br /><br />This past weekend, I did the cat 4 and cat 3/4 races at Blunt Park. It was cold and wet for the first race, though being the first race of the day, the course wasn't too sloppy yet. I managed to start in the third row, though from the gun, my tire did more spinning in place than going forward, and I again found myself near the back of the group. It was a tough course, and while it was mostly rideable, there were some technical sections, most notable a log across a straight in the woods. I rode it once, and it made a sickening crunch (and I still don't know on what), so I ran it every other time. I got 24th out of 42 finishers, which while proportionately close to the week before, certainly felt faster. Congrats to Jeremy Durrin on the win (on Sean K.'s bike, in his first cross race ever...asshole), and Jeff Cronin on his 16th place (also first cross race).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3122.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 424px; height: 317px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3122.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In the 3/4 race was an absolute mudfest, and against faster guys, but I was in it for the experience. This time I managed to line up in the first row, and right after the start, someone overcooked the first corner (a hairpin on tarmac) and went down, stalling most of the field. It was a very different course than the first time around, in fact feeling sloppier with each lap. On the second to last lap, I successfully recreated my landmine crash (still no pictures, I'm afraid) over the aforementioned log, but I limped back to not last place (just), with blood, dirt and lumps to show for it. Inadvertent mega-sandbagger Jeremy Durrin got 2nd place (on Sean K.'s bike, in his second cross race ever...asshole), and Sean K. got 5th. Jeff did it too, and got 17th.<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/">Crossresults </a>for the fast results listings.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3120.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 412px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3120.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I stayed with Umass people this weekend, which was fun, and I went into heavy food/race coma on Sunday, so I stayed an extra day, which was extra fun.<br /><br />I lost a few letters from my front wheel (presumably because of all the mud), though the result is kind of neat.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3124.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 241px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3124.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The other side only lost the a from Bontrager.<br /><br /><a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/cigjesse.gif">Jesse </a>had more Good News for us.<br /><br />Continuing the "...a placeholder" tradition, of capturing Newton's finest parking, here's a couple more, in the interest of science of course.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 149px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3084.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />First, this Lexus which would be taking two spaces, were it in actual parking places to begin with. I suppose this sort of thing happens when as soon as the driver in in the car, they make the presumption that the length of the car in in fact the width, and the width is actually the length. I suppose it could be because the owner wants to protect the car from dings (though someone could park between the Lexus and the Subaru), and realistically, in this case, the body of the car serves to protect the engine, which IMHO is the part worth protecting in this case.<br /><br />Case #2 is another Lexus (which based on empirical data, is no coincidence), and in this case the owner of the vehicle has decided that the obvious solution to a full parking lot is not to go to the other (empty) parking lot and walk around the building, but to simply park directly <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3114-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 204px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3114-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>behind another car in the lot. I would have trouble saying this isn't the result of garden-variety laziness, given that I saw the owner stand a few feet behind the car, hit a button on his key chain, and wait for the vehicle to open its own trunk. After loading his bicycle, he hit another button to make the hatch close itself. No doubt in this span of time I could have walked to my car, opened and closed its trunk several times, and walked back inside, but I was too distracted by the slowly enlarging crevice of trunk access.<br /><br />For this week's video, there's some Talking Heads from the Old Grey Whistle Test. All the video I've seen from this show has been excellent (especially <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4KmbUCwkyE">this Ry Cooder session</a>). Shame it went away in 1987.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l5zFsy9VIdM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l5zFsy9VIdM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-18158227514593140332009-09-14T19:37:00.004-04:002009-09-19T22:21:43.199-04:00There was something about a love that didn't treat him right, and he'd wake from troubled sleep and cry her name at night<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 591px; height: 442px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3054.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I still miss the "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iEfZvkbDg0">Good Ole Tom</a>" adverts which are endemic of western mass TV. but I sadly couldn't make it out to Umass's race at Mt. Snow (though I heard it went very well, despite the rain). <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2846.jpg">Bryan </a>had just tuned my bike, so it was shifting again, which is neat, and I figured I really should race it.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3070.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 207px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3070.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />IBC's own "Good Ole Thom" convinced me to do the Landmine classic at Wompatuck State Pa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3059.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 159px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3059.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>rk on Sunday. It was muddy (apparently the park is colloquially known as "swampatuck") and wet, but it just made it feel more intense in that Under-Armor ad kind of way. At 25 miles, it was the longest MTB race I have ever done, so I found it easier to think in a road riding context bubble, which was popped when Thom told me how long he expected <span style="font-style: italic;">his </span>(50 mile) race to take, and I realized it would be a long race.<br /><br />I made my goal finishing ahead of last place in my age group, though after a full speed dive off the bike into a puddle (with the bike going into a tree), finishing became objective one. Ultimately I achieved my goal managing 16th out of 22, though I got nicely banged up in the process..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/wounds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 564px; height: 110px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/wounds.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In the end I was in a world of pain, and covered in mud, but I'd still do it again, it was a certain kind of fun on the whole.<br /><br /><a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/lakejesse.gif">Jesse </a>is continuing his grand trek across the country and seems to be having a fun time.<br /><br />For this week, we've got some advice from Dr. Steve Brule.<br /><br /><style>div#main{overflow:visible;}</style><div style="overflow: visible; background-color: rgb(213, 48, 0); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 425px; z-index: 500;"><a href="http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html" style="display: block;"><img src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/embeded_header.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="30" width="425" /></a><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html" height="350" width="425"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html"><param name="FlashVars" value="id=8a2505951bc80ed4011c571f1f0d06d9"><embed src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="id=8a2505951bc80ed4011c571f1f0d06d9" allowfullscreen="true" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></div>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-2477232294646125272009-09-09T00:36:00.006-04:002009-09-09T01:53:50.090-04:00Let's all meet up in the year 2000, won't it be strange when we're all fully grown<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 598px; height: 448px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3038.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's been pretty excellent riding weather for over a week now, though not without the sort of autumnal chilled waves of air which seem to confirm that the properly hot days of 2009 are behind us, which is always a bit depressing. Air-conditioners are no longer whirring outside my window, and the insect orchestra is down to a loan cricket. I am psyching myself up for cross season though.<br /><br />Jesse is headed out west for <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/twbbjesse.gif">some adventures</a> (he's a bicycle man, I think you'll agree.) and I <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 219px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3027.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>hope all those guys have a fun trip.<br /><br />My TV stand, which <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/08/with-head-like-vulture-and-heart-full.html">had been bowing into itself</a> is now doing less of that thanks to a section of birch, some foam pads, and a saw from Home Depot. I feel like a handyman now.<br /><br />The cross bike's still hanging over <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2934.jpg">Bryan's</a> stand.<br /><br />The parkers of Newton <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3006-1.jpg">have </a>reaffirmed my previous assertions.<br /><br />For the rest of W. Mass's pi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3043.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 182px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3043.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ctures:<br /><br />One of the <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3037.jpg">most euro things</a> I've seen at Wal-Mart, as well as <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3040.jpg">a pretty euro thing at Norm's</a>.<br /><br />Pictured left is the Crapshack's apparent birth name, which only now, when nobody is living there, do I know. Perhaps the name only appears when it's vacant. There's a plot in there somewhere.<br /><br />A <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3040.jpg">trailer made of half a Chevy</a>.<br /><br />This upcoming weekend, I'll be helping out <a href="http://umbrc.wordpress.com/">UMBRC </a>at <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9255">their ECCC race</a> at Mt. Snow, and soundly getting my ass handed to me if I do any racing. Head on down for fun party time bike racing excellence!<br /><br />This week's video has a very fun visual flavor, getting quite a bit done without too much ever actually on screen. I suppose there are some technological limitations there.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/N5TO40iG3Vc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/N5TO40iG3Vc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-89622246168531480892009-09-02T11:07:00.000-04:002009-09-03T00:31:56.860-04:00They paint the moon today, some brand new future colorIt's hard to believe it's already September, but last weekend, a visit to <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-western-front.html">the crapshack</a> was in order, as the (sort of) lease<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 221px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3036.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> was about to (sort of) run out. It was fun to see the place again, and being there on a weekend when it wasn't particularly hot or cold didn't make its (countless) faults easily apparent. It made it seem more quirky and fun than it actually was.<br /><br />I went on a fun (and quite high-intensity) road ride with none other than <a href="http://umbrc.wordpress.com/photo/current-members/hucker-joes-photo-album/">HUCKR JOE</a>, and then we split a party pizza from Bruno's.<br /><br />Finally, me and Dan went to a Chinese food place in Amherst where the service was not very good, but I did get a fortune cookie with 5 fortunes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 380px; height: 284px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3044.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I accidentally ate the fifth one. More western mass stuff next week.<br /><br />The cross bike is still almost done, though now that it's got cable and housing on, it's not only looking more like a bike, it's almost kinda-sorta rideable. I just need <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3022.jpg">Bryan </a>to get it shifting when I ask it to (and not when I don't). SRAM confuses me.<br /><br />Jesse and <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3023.jpg">Mitch </a>had their last day at the shop. Mitch is going back to Umass for another semester, but Jesse's going all the way out to California. <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/jesseFR.gif">Presumably to do more freeriding</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 216px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3019.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />On another note, I read about some slick looking cargo bikes from Madsen, and while not fully in the spirit of Africabike (and likely somewhat safer for it), I'll give them a plug: <a href="http://www.madsencycles.com/?src=lcs09">MADSEN Cargo Bikes</a><br /><br />This super-sweet Trans-Am was spotted outside the store last week, and it needed to make it here. I shouldn't need to explain why. The best part of all has to be <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3020.jpg">the inside</a>.<br /><br />I feel like we've not visited the 80's in too long, so in the spirit of that T/A above (more or less), this week's video is totally synthed-out<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Njh6paP3eyk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Njh6paP3eyk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />An offer that cannot be ignored indeed.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-3259572423389869662009-08-18T22:58:00.006-04:002009-08-19T23:49:20.884-04:00With a head like a vulture and heart full of hornets<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2933.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 525px; height: 393px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2933.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Some decent bike progress this week, with <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-am-with-photo-taking-ability.html">BBSTPS MkIII Evo</a> becoming BBSTPS MkIII Evo <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/GS.jpg">Gran Sport</a> with its new wheel (thank you <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3016.jpg">Bryan</a>), though it is a bit more involved than it should be. The Spooky is also getting ever closer to being a bicycle.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 491px; height: 378px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3017.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Jesse also did <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3005.jpg">some Ultimate Stunting</a><br /><br />I got <a href="http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=567576">my new receiver</a>, and while it technically fits in my TV stand, it's a squeeze in, and given the heat generated by its operation, it would likely <a href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2008/12/BurningScirocco-804px.jpg">self-imolate</a>, which despite the flames and music involved, would not count as a rock and roll way to go.<br /><br />Making matters worse, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-CT-34WX50-HD-Ready-PureFlat-Screen/dp/B00005BIDG">my TV</a> (which weighs 160 lbs) is causing <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10153158">the stand</a> (rated to 143 lbs) to bow slightly, which doesn't seem a safety issue, though it does disrupt the minimalist flow with its adopted ornamental curvature. Sigh.<br /><br />As though to prove last week's assertion that Newton has the worst drivers in the world, a few more examples presented themselves to be documented since then, though sadly the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E65/E66">Bangle-butt 7</a> parked on the sidewalk across the street was gone by the time I was back with my camera. First, There was an <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3006.jpg">Infiniti G35 in the perpendicular non-spot</a> in front of the store.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 329px; height: 247px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_3012.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In something of a deranged dueling banjos response, this Mazda was parked perpendicular to the building about half a store away from the front door. Presuming the inconvenience of two doors and three spots rendered useless had to have a reason, the owner of this car must have meant for this to be a dadaist effort, disrupting the established order of commercial parking lots. Lines will not hold them back.<br /><br />This week's video is one of two women on a bicycle. I wonder if this is UCI sanctioned.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b36Yi-Pb1wM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b36Yi-Pb1wM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Now I know what people do when they have their bars set up like that.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-29611978081419394172009-08-12T22:53:00.001-04:002009-08-13T01:18:02.131-04:00It was infinitely late at night<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2891.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 625px; height: 468px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2891.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I don't need to tell you, dear reader, that I have been delinquent in my blogging. As much of a cop out as it is, I'll again use the excuse that I've been very busy.<br /><br />Lots has happened since the last post. <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2859.jpg">Bryan and I</a> went down to the Pan Mass <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2857.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 172px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2857.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Challenge to help out, and we were greeted by great sheets of rain and tasty free food, which is a peachy mix when you're in a building. There was a wood paneled Jeep Liberty on the way, which was heartwarming in its own way.<br /><br />The next two days were very nice weather wise, and my brother and his wife and kids came out to town, which meant the whole family got to hang out together for the first time in a while.<br /><br />As you can imagine given the amount of time that has passed since my last update, I have a considerable backlog of "fun stuff I seen™," some of which I'll cover here.<br /><br />There was a <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2911.jpg">flawless E28 BMW M5</a> in for inspection at the gas station nextdoor. Very cool (though <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaNBrYLvFg&feature=fvw">Ronin did make the E34 M5 cooler</a>).<br /><br />We installed a <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2921.jpg">$700 computer on a $700 bike</a> (a hybrid to boot).<br /><br />A <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2997.jpg">Volvo with a Devo sticker</a>, which I hope is referring to <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/devo+satisfaction/video/x398k_devo-satisfaction_music">this</a>, and not the school.<br /><br />I saw what appears to be <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2920.jpg">a warning about Gene Kelly in pictograms</a>.<br /><br />A <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2916.jpg">bike by a the company that makes James Bond's gun</a> (I assume).<br /><br />Finally, an English bloke brought a fascinating English bike in to the shop for service at <a href="http://internationalbike.com/">the shop</a>. I presume this bike came out of the following equation. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/equation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 646px; height: 143px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/equation.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It is sadly neither as pleasant to ride as a Ridley, or presumably as pleasant to drink as a Fribble, but the Ribble is something special, a uniquely European take on generic bikesdirect style low-end road bikes. Check out the low end Campy and the steel steerer tube ITM fork.<br /><br />Now that I'm back in Newton most days, I have the opportunity to witness some of the worst driving in the world. Here are some examples, which I assure you, are not doctored or set-up, people really park like this<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2853.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 263px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2853.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This Saab is actually accomplishing a couple of tasks at once. While it's remarkably common for people to effectively barricade the stairs leading to the front door with their cars (note the red Prius), this Saab is blocking both the stairs <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>the handicapped ramp.<br /><br />The stairblock maneuver is remarkably common on days when there are plentiful empty actual parking spots, I'm guessing DSM-IV has something to say on the matter.<br /><br />Not pictured here is the 90° shuffle, in which the car is parked perpendicular <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2936-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 187px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2936-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>to the actual spaces. When combined with the above maneuver (a degree of douchebagery usually reserved for BMW and Lexus SUVs), the stairs, the ramp, and additional spaces are rendered useless.<br /><br />A less common practice is the "Lost at sea" where the vehicle is parked out of the way of everything, but to so great an extent that it's basically parked in the middle of traffic. I imagine it's something like a personal bubble, but relative in scale to a car.<br /><br />For this week's video, it's some Tim and Eric (Awesome Show, Great Job), because not enough people watch this excellent show.<br /><br /><br /><style>div#main{overflow:visible;}</style><div style="background-color: #d53000; text-align:center;vertical-align: middle;width:425px;z-index:500;overflow:visible"><a href="http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html" style="display:block;"><img src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/embeded_header.jpg" alt="" width="425" height="30" border="0"></a><object width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html"/><param name="FlashVars" value="id=8a25c3921764a82d0117650e592e0038" /><embed src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=8a25c3921764a82d0117650e592e0038" allowFullScreen="true" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></div>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-38763991920147867542009-07-27T23:14:00.003-04:002009-07-28T00:17:53.416-04:00murder ballads and orangina<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2829.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 623px; height: 467px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2829.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Good amount of riding in this week, which I'm happy about. The humidity is brutal though. It's looking like I'll try being competitive for cross season. Most of my Spooky is together now (as in, it's in the same place), I just need to dig up bar/stem/post/saddle/tires. I've got time. I will update this very post with pictures soon.<br /><br />In other bikey news, Africabike broke another axle, but <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2841.jpg">Bryan </a>told me about a great option from Woodman Components in the <a href="http://www.woodmancomponents.com/catalog/categorie.php?cat=hub&lang=en&art=hub7">Bill Extrem RSN hub</a>. It's got a super burly 12 mm axle with the ends machined to fit through normal dropouts. To match this monster, I found an old <a href="http://mkbikeonline.com/sklep/images/mavic%20d521.jpg">Mavic D521</a> at the shop, (with ceramic coating no less). This 36 spoke beast will finally be a wheel worthy of my steed, and likely the heaviest wheel around by a good measure. Fab.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2844.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 143px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2844.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Last week, Chris, Dan B. and I went to <a href="http://www.beerworks.net/home/index.html">Boston Beer Works</a>, where I had never been before. I was quite tired, but I ordered a sandwich I didn't really want anyways. The sandwich was lunch the next day. This is only notable because I got a very special, very rare onion ring sombrero, which was even given a <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2843.jpg">special celebratory box</a>! I was quite honored.<br /><br />For this week's video, an example of why everyone should watch every Extras (there's only 13 episodes), starring Sir Ian McKellan<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/43sbtkQM6zc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/43sbtkQM6zc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />See also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_cwI1Xj4M">Patrick Stewart's appearance</a>.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-71785011163069823722009-07-13T19:52:00.008-04:002009-07-17T00:29:33.027-04:00Twist away the gates of steel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h5CoO1FAnmHEYrtiTyY4ze_6godt2OIuYZKiKp4NxOlKAVbd_FRQOh6y97GvEYNfR5oPMhzA3QsktG7JIQYuxVnQ2_MDuIWcVo28ouzvC89MU-61Qgl21CVqGxVn8Kcq3Cs8dEAv_MI/s1600-h/IMG_2789.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 605px; height: 452px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h5CoO1FAnmHEYrtiTyY4ze_6godt2OIuYZKiKp4NxOlKAVbd_FRQOh6y97GvEYNfR5oPMhzA3QsktG7JIQYuxVnQ2_MDuIWcVo28ouzvC89MU-61Qgl21CVqGxVn8Kcq3Cs8dEAv_MI/s400/IMG_2789.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359281362763642082" border="0" /></a>Last weekend, <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom P</a>. got married! The wedding was fun, and lots of people were there. Even <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2tFKr90gBI">Bryan</a>! Congratulations to Thom and Miriam! Exclaimation points!<br /><br />Some sad news on the <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/06/when-it-comes-youll-feel-weight-of-it.html">Africabike Evo</a>, it seems the 1" disc tab equipped rigid fork was a typo, and nobody makes a cheap fork to that spec. If anyone has/knows of such a thing, please let me know, but until then, that project is being shelved. I know <a href="http://ifbikes.com/">IF</a> or <a href="http://www.iglebike.com/">Igleheart </a>could do it, but going custom would<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.excelcycle.com/images/D/sram-rival-rder-det.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 178px;" src="http://www.excelcycle.com/images/D/sram-rival-rder-det.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> be against the spirit of the AB, not to mention I have to pay for other stuff now...<br /><br />New cross bike! I'm getting a <a href="http://www.spookybikes.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SUPERTOUCH">Spooky Supertouch</a>, which I decided to get as soon as I rode <a href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs090.snc1/4932_552240429085_49410081_32698106_8170506_n.jpg">Marcus</a>'s and it was miraculous. This will also be my first <a href="http://www.willyoumaketheleap.com/">SRAM </a>bike, as I rather liked how the Rival stuff on Marcus's bike worked. I'll keep posting progress on the build.<br /><br />This Sunday I'm going to the <a href="http://www.mitflea.com/">MIT Flea market</a>, and who knows what I'll come back with. Last time I got this monkey wrench from the 1940s, and there's all manner of awesome <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSdjv_PLTXn4Aj2w-RIbwMZl2itc9a3-90ZgmFKjPT2S9ZvGSWBXY8P8UMMEpuXcqOgNnFeDSjJrHzxUJ3NZmhceTv5gFIX5amjiOVqG8Up0AYeKWtb7SxJJmSryyO6dDUm3hGqRTh5k/s1600-h/IMG_2828.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSdjv_PLTXn4Aj2w-RIbwMZl2itc9a3-90ZgmFKjPT2S9ZvGSWBXY8P8UMMEpuXcqOgNnFeDSjJrHzxUJ3NZmhceTv5gFIX5amjiOVqG8Up0AYeKWtb7SxJJmSryyO6dDUm3hGqRTh5k/s200/IMG_2828.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359280870669067090" border="0" /></a>obsolete tech there from Newtons to Wizards. It happens every 3rd Sunday from 9 to 2, and it's totally worth checking out.<br /><br />This week's video is a return to music, with Blur's Clockwork Orange inspired "The Universal", one of several excellent videos from the group.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Papa_qi7evU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Papa_qi7evU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-80795828854449440002009-07-08T22:05:00.000-04:002009-07-09T00:04:02.911-04:00Now my door has swollen from the rain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553303164355_49410081_32749540_8157551_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553303164355_49410081_32749540_8157551_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This year's 4th of July was in many ways a repeat of last year's, with a bunch of people from Glenville getting together, though this year there were more people and more food, hanging at the esplanade, and watching the fireworks. It was best 4th I ever remember having. I wonder <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553302700285_49410081_32749447_4384596_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 174px;" src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553302700285_49410081_32749447_4384596_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>how <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2575.jpg">Bryan's</a> 4th was.<br /><br />So it was my birthday on the 7th, and now I'm 23. Doesn't really feel any different.<br /><br />Versus (née OLN) is on all day at the shop now, for their tourxtravaganzafest coverage of the TDF, and while granted, there is lots of bike racing between the bullriding, fishing, and cagefighting, I'm struck by the strange choices (and resultant implicit viewer demographics) by advertisers during the tour. Cadillac I get, as the <a href="http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/model/landing.jsp?model=ctsPort">CTS </a>is meant to be the europhile's Caddy (and it seems they're actually making the wagon which is cool..though I'd still sooner a <a href="http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2006/2006-BMW-3-Series-Sports-Wagon-SA-Harbor-1600x1200.jpg">3 wagon</a>), and the bike company ads are logical, but some of the others paint an unfortunate picture. Between<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553303309065_49410081_32749569_3294287_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 163px;" src="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6496_553303309065_49410081_32749569_3294287_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> solicitations for "natural male enhancement", hair loss serums, debt consolidation and credit checks, impotence cures, and the occasional visits from Billy Mays from beyond the grave thanks to the magic of <a href="https://www.mightyputty.com/flare/next">Mighty Putty</a>, it seems the expected viewership is largely comprised of broke, bald, impotent men that have sprung leaks. These men also have the money for a $40,000 car and a fancy carbon bike. I suppose that's where the debt came from. All that's missing are the VH1 Classic/Comedy Central staple ads for the unfortunately named vocational school <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTI">UTI</a>.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/SnowBoardMag/Press%20Release%20Photos/block_stpr08_action4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 146px;" src="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/SnowBoardMag/Press%20Release%20Photos/block_stpr08_action4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />TopGear has started their new season, and so far, it's been up to form, with one particularly tremendous segment involving Ken Block, Ricky Carmichael, James May, one Subaru and one Suzuki in some beautifully composed all terrain gymnastics. You can see it <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/06/video-ken-block-works-it-out-on-i-top-gear-i-with-captain-slow-in-t/">here</a>.<br /><br />This week's video goes out to Chicagoland people, all of whom are apparently familiar with this ad.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_-vjD3ih2dk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_-vjD3ih2dk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-1683115413043294512009-07-06T00:06:00.003-04:002009-07-06T00:06:42.279-04:00DelaySorry, this week's post will be a bit delayed. Shame, I had such a streak goingUrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-2325227728790042022009-06-28T14:26:00.003-04:002009-06-28T16:24:47.198-04:00It's eighties life, But it all looks good on you<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2437-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 744px; height: 211px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2437-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Thursday I went on my first longish road ride in a while, and while it was threatening rain the whole time, it never materialized, and it just stayed muggy and humid. It was a nice ride though, about 60 miles, most of which was just the same route I always used when I was living in Brookline.<br /><br />On Friday I was given a ticket to see a show at <a href="http://www.clubpassim.org/">Club Passim</a> in Cambridge. I had never been there, but I had nothing else to do between 8 and 10, so I went. There, I saw <a href="http://robbiefulks.com/">Robbie Fulks</a>, who I had previously not been familiar with, and he put on a great show of excellent <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imagined-community.com/blogimages/clubpassim.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 156px;" src="http://imagined-community.com/blogimages/clubpassim.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>twangy music. He even did a special rendition of Billie Jean.<br /><br /><a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom</a>'s getting married, so Greg "The Leg" Montello organized a pub crawl on bicycle all over Cambridge and Boston. We started at <a href="http://www.redbones.com/">Redbones</a>, where I had a great big messy pulled chicken s<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2552.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 158px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2552.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>andwich. It was quite good, especially after I was urged to close the open faced sandwich by someone who had noticed my confusion with the arragement. After that, we rode to all manners of watering hole and, had all manner of refreshment on the way, including a cocktail whos name escapes me and something that tasted just like <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2554.jpg">Fresca</a>. We finished the night at the <a href="http://southstreetdiner.com/">Blue Diner</a>, where we had breakfast food at 3am. It was a lot of fun, lots of people rode on the back of the Africabike (pictures were taken, but I'm not sure by who exactly), and even <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2555.jpg">Bryan </a>was there!<br /><br />I know it's been covered, but I'm still taken aback by the number of celebrities that have <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/280496/Michael+Jackson.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 180px;" src="http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/280496/Michael+Jackson.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>been dying all over the place. Especially in the cases of Michael Jackson and Billy Mays, who strangely enough were both 50 when they went, their presences seemed like they should have just continued forever in one way or another. Arguably, given that MJ's significant work came about over 15 years ago, the full extent of his influence and significance was already out there, and his demise marks just one of the possible endings to his "whatever happened to..." story, but what of Billy Mays, who seemed like he was just hitting the prime of his career?<br /><br />In honor of those simpler times, here's an ad for L.A. Gear, starring Mr. Jackson.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VvARh-LQ2Bs&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VvARh-LQ2Bs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Given the company's affinity for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIkUTZHvHgY">almost surreally 80's ads</a>, is it any wonder they collapsed in the 90s?Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-81328954860677335702009-06-21T23:32:00.007-04:002009-06-25T01:04:46.195-04:00When it comes, you'll feel the weight of it<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2525.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 666px; height: 499px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2525.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Sorry about the lateness of this update, but I've not had enough time of late to give y'alls a proper update, and after last time's somewhat half-assed effort, I wanted to give more smiles per mile this week.<br /><br />Earlier this week I ordered the parts that will go into the next evolution of Africabike (see <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-am-with-photo-taking-ability.html">this post</a> for the last evolution), and to start, it will include one of <a href="http://sram.com/en/avid/mechanicaldiscbrakes/bb7road.php">these</a>, a new fork, and hopefully, room for a big honkin 2.5" slick. With luck, the thing will float around the 50lb mark, and will therefore be capable of splitting or crushing any road hazard it may come across. <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2536.jpg">Bryan</a> suggested a snare for errant marmots off the barend-mirrors. Progress updates coming soon.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2548.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 206px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2548.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Also, a big reason I have been short on time, I've finally finished moving into my new apartment, and everything's all wired up. I'm very proud of how well i've been <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2546.jpg">able to hide speaker wire</a>, and the rear channels themselves are neatly <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2545.jpg">integrated into some BENNOs</a>, with <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2548.jpg">two comfy POÄNGs and a LACK</a>. Skål!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 189px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2529.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Since last time, I also got a chance to represent the shop at a bicycle advocacy event at WGBH's studios. It was nice enough, though I was up against <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2530.jpg">stacks of Solo cups</a>, and suffice to say, I lost that battle.<br /><br />Recently, I've been engaged in another battle, with AT&T and Sony Ericsson. Which is to say, apart from making unreliable devices (which, I'll say it again, makes it sexier for the same reason as an Italian car), S-E has been quite good, apart from their expectation for me to be ok without phone for 10 days (no go). AT&T just sends me through many loops and from call center to call center. Tomorrow, I'm going to one of their "authorized handset exchange and repair centers" near the Pru, and supposedly, they'll be able to tell me whether or not I should send in my phone for warranty replacement. This is important, as in the AT&T universe, the way one finds out about a denial of warranty replacement is an automated charge for a new device. Not at subsidized value, or even market value, but new replacement value, which means I would pay $160+ for my Z750a, which can be found new on eBay for south of $50. Sigh.<br /><br />I saw a midnight showing of the new Transformers movie with some people from work, and I was severely disappointed with how quickly my beloved R8 was split in half (not a spoiler, it's in the ads). Otherwise, an appropriately absurd Michael Bay explosionfest. Not very much plot, some excellent robot battles, bittersweet product placement, and as much "so bad it's good" acting as one would expect from Shia the Beef, Meghan Fox, and most glaring<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://jalopnik.com/assets/images/gallery/12/2009/02/medium_3245221032_5f05089969_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 365px; height: 152px;" src="http://jalopnik.com/assets/images/gallery/12/2009/02/medium_3245221032_5f05089969_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ly, Tyrese. John Turturro was good though. He's up there with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Steve Buscemi and Harry Dean Stanton in an ability to make most roles work.<br /><br />Also, apologies for the non-sequitur, but I just saw a Blockbuster ad on TV. Granted it's at 00:45, but really? Blockbuster? I thought they were dead.<br /><br />The weather's been miserable of late, but tomorrow, which is my day off, is finally expected to be dry, so hopefully I can get a nice long ride in between other whatnots I have to get done.<br /><br />For this week's video, some remarkably familiar scenes, courtesy of Nintendo of America<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WYjgHLFZMa0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WYjgHLFZMa0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-46623879321450333022009-06-09T20:38:00.005-04:002009-06-09T22:42:33.525-04:00Good morning lethargy (drink Pepsi, good for energy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2507.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 376px; height: 283px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2507.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Not a whole lot to talk about this week, but I am past due for an update.<br /><br />I'm pretty much moved into the new place, though I still haven't solved my speaker wire routing issue.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2521.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 267px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2521.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There's also some sort of surge and hiss being created when I connect my laptop's port replicator to my receiver, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface">DVI</a>-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi">HDMI </a>connection is scaling all wrong, so there's still fettling to be done. On the plus side, I didn't realize how well the silver <a href="http://www.audiusa.com/audi/us/en2/new_cars/Audi_R8.html">R8</a> from my desk fits in with all the Panasonic silver. Sadly in all this setup time, I didn't get to take any new pictures of <a href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs009.snc1/4183_101548921662_51772966662_2618512_2949414_n.jpg">Bryan</a> (so I'm using one of Jason's).<br /><br />I had some pain from my lower right abdomen a few mornings ago, so I decided to go on an XC ride on my full-rigid singlespeed. It did not go well. I went to the hospital the next day and they did a whole bunch of tests, though the findings were somewhat inconclusive. I'll keep people posted...<br /><br />As something of a follow-up to last week's late-night TV talk, I've been very impressed with The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (which still feels weird to say). As a taste of that (and my first Hulu embed-yay!), today's video is a bit from the show, where Conan goes to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_artist">Foley</a> stage at Universal Studios. Thanks to Jason for pointing me toward this one.<br /><br /><object height="296" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/2ZhJCgHiIlJLifNhQ-dlhw"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/2ZhJCgHiIlJLifNhQ-dlhw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="296" width="512"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="296" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/wn4BGhnY4eNrTVUAv6_MDw"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/wn4BGhnY4eNrTVUAv6_MDw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="296" width="512"></embed></object><br /><br />Sorry about the short post, my head hurts.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-87825152628031127572009-05-30T01:57:00.005-04:002009-05-31T15:46:09.413-04:00A Thousand Years AwayI saw <a href="http://www.pixar.com/featurefilms/up/">UP </a>on its opening night with Jason, and it was brilliant, I've got no other way to put it. The visuals, characters, story, timing, and pretty much everything else was phenomenal. I saw it in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Digital_3-D">Digital 3D</a>, and as in most recent cases, this tech really works well, and it really is a vast improvement over the old approaches. I heard and read a number of <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/pete-docter,28465/?utm_source=homepage_recent_features">interviews</a> with Pete Docter where it sounded like the 3D here was an afterthought, and while the use of it here was much more subtle than, say Monsters v. Aliens, it was used where appropriate, and in some scenes, really added to the aesthetic considerably. The important thing is that, this being Pixar, the 3D is not a crutch, it really is just icing on the cake. I'm not sure the same could be said of the most recent Dreamworks offering. Check out some development art on <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/upfinal17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 163px;" src="http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/upfinal17.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Lou Romano's blog (on the blogroll) and if you want to see more, I highly recommend the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Up-Pixar-Animation/dp/0811866025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243798958&sr=8-1">Art of Up book</a>, as well as the rest of the development art books if you're so inclined.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia1FPSxXY_CtWNU2djwNxRbGiU3wD98HCE781">It's a box-office success</a>, but I still think it will be a merchandising nightmare. That said, I'll just say that there is definitely<a href="http://secure.aintitcool.com/node/40341"> at least one character that could prove me wrong.</a><br /><br />I was let down that Pete Sohn's short "Partly Cloudy" was not shown at my screening but I hear that's been a common issue, and I'm definitely seeing at again, hopefully with the short attached next time.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/collection/articlepics/grapeimac/imacdvparade.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 113px;" src="http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/collection/articlepics/grapeimac/imacdvparade.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In other fun news, I found a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G3">1st generation (slot-loading) iMac</a> on the side of the road, in grape, I think. It's got OS X on it, but otherwise seems totally stock, with no new files on it of any kind. I'll find a use for it somewhere.<br /><br />As will tend to happen in the respite between finishing school and starting work again, I've grown reacquainted with late night lineups. The TV I'm using at this point is not connected to cable, and doesn't have a DTV converter, so I'm limited to terrestrial analog OTA channels (which <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/12/17/fox_outlet_may_be_forced_to_drop_analog_early/">doesn't include Fox</a>). Given that WLVI (CW, formerly WB) and WSBK (38, formerly UPN) are formulaic sitcom graveyards late at night (and arguably during most of the day as well), I'm left with the classic ABC, CBS, and NBC. It's like 1949 all over again.<br /><br />I've always relied on NBC for my late night TV (after 12:30), but the NBCUni higher ups have thrown their strength out the window. While I am all for Brookliner <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_O_Brien">Conan O'Brien</a> taking Jay Leno's former 11:35-12:30 slot and making NBC entertaining again in that timeslot, everything thereafter is pretty dismal. Backing up Carson Daly's monumental mediocrity (at best), Conan's slot has been taken by Jimmy Fallon, posterboy for SNL degrading into what it is now. His interview style is extremely awkward, his bits generally aren't funny, and he doesn't have the charisma to get away with the show's failings. Maybe it's the early teething troubles, but I don't remember any other host being this bad at the gig (yet still get garner such high ratings).<br /><br />I <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.fayobserver.com/faytoz/files/2008/10/craig-ferguson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 184px;" src="http://blogs.fayobserver.com/faytoz/files/2008/10/craig-ferguson.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>wandered around a bit which leads to this week's pleasant surprise, <a href="http://www.cbs.com/late_late_show/">the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson</a>. Craig's show works on many levels, with funny bits, good interviews (with interesting guests), new perspectives, and a very nice atmosphere. Honestly, it's as good as the best of Conan, which is really saying something. I'm sorry <a href="http://uhalevi.blogspot.com/2009/05/late-update.html">I said you're just for old people</a>, CBS.<br /><br />I spent 6 hours at IKEA yesterday, and tomorrow I'm moving into the new place, so that will probably be on the next post.<br /><br />Also, <a href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs009.snc1/4183_101549461662_51772966662_2618515_4933709_n.jpg">Bryan </a>was sick this week, probably with the swine flu. Don't die, Bryan!<br /><br />For this week's video, we have the video for Tel Aviv native <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oren_Lavie">Oren Lavie's</a> song "Her Morning Elegance." I totally missed the boat on this one, but it's still very impressive stop-motion magic.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XiLulP9EErc&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XiLulP9EErc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br />Thanks to Winson for showing me it for the first time.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-23832648048841028672009-05-26T23:17:00.003-04:002009-05-27T00:21:46.276-04:00what's UP this week?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32551120_5054089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32551120_5054089.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've managed to hold off till now, but at this point, there's only 3 days until <a href="http://disney.go.com/index">UP </a>comes up and I have proof that the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pixar-Touch-Vintage-David-Price/dp/0307278298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243394393&sr=8-1">Pixar Touch</a> has not faded post merger (though the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aintitcool.com/images2007/DisneyUp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 185px;" src="http://www.aintitcool.com/images2007/DisneyUp.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> impending <a href="http://pixarplanet.com/blog/breaking-pixar-film-slate-announced">sequel-fest</a> doesn't thrill me). I've done a pretty good job of avoiding spoilers, so it will be pretty fresh to me. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Up-Pixar-Animation/dp/0811866025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243394782&sr=8-1">Art of UP book</a> came in the mail today, but I've left it in the shipping box, just to have fresh eyes on Friday. Super-excited.<br /><br />In a seismic shift from work all the time to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LX16zia2k">party all the time</a> (not really,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32551124_2337266.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 192px;" src="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32551124_2337266.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> just wanted to put that in there), I caught up on my sleep, and got some good riding in. I went on a last ride up Mt. Holyoke, which was fun, and proved to me my earlier hypothesis that I'm faster on heavier, more-aero wheels, even uphill. I should get some <a href="http://www.mavic.com/road/products/cosmic-carbone-sl.995533.1.aspx">Cosmic Carbones</a>. This week I finally cleaned up drivetrains, and thanks again to <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_2372.jpg">Bryan </a>for answering all my stupid questions.<br /><br />Due to the big time gap since the last post (sorry), a bunch of stuff has happened that hasn't been covered. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32556607_565383.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 192px;" src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32556607_565383.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Mike B had his birthday party at the crapshack, and it was lots of fun. It was a sort of sendoff too, as a bunch of people were graduating and Mike is studying abroad next semester. I think it's best summed up by this picture.<br /><br />I also graduated on Saturday, and the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs038.snc1/4342_549927599015_49410081_32582419_1709707_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 194px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs038.snc1/4342_549927599015_49410081_32582419_1709707_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ceremony was shorter than I expected, given the sea of people there. All of the speeches mentioned the poor state of the economy in some diplomatic way, and wished us the best of luck, kind of a strange parting shot.<br /><br />Over the course of last week, I did the Boston-Amherst/Amherst-Boston drive no less than 6 times, moving stuff back and forth from the shack to my parents house for temporary storage. That means a lot of road time, and in that time, I devised a cool handsfree phone setup, which involved connecting the phone to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Ericsson-Portable-Handsfree-HPM-70/dp/B000BPR2SW">one of these</a>, and connecting it to the head unit's aux-in port. I expected a killer feedback loop, but it actually hasn't been a problem. Another little victory.<br /><br />Finally, I'm moving into my new place in Brighton next week. I'll say more about that then.<br /><br />For this week's video, it's one Seth showed me on <a href="http://brodeosandtparties.blogspot.com/">his buddy's blog</a> and I think it speaks for itself.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tBb4cjjj1gI&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tBb4cjjj1gI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Happy birthday <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom P.</a>!Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-9143447330733927102009-05-24T01:27:00.003-04:002009-05-24T01:27:48.044-04:00update comingSorry about the late post again, I will get to updating in the next few days...much to discuss...Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-63085917568330354942009-05-13T13:27:00.006-04:002009-05-13T15:46:51.494-04:00Didn't they teach you anything, except how to be cruel, in that charm school?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544863_7146771.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544863_7146771.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />First, anyone who knows what song this week's title comes from wins something, don't know what yet.<br /><br />I was just looking for a song with "school" in it, and that's the first one that comes to mind, because on Tuesday, I finished school (mostly. Still have an exam on Thursday). I'll try to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544958_4336795.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 180px;" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544958_4336795.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>avoid getting too schmaltzy or predictable, but it still feels weird to be a real world person.<br /><br />This past weekend UMBRC organized the Orchard Assault XC race. The weatherman was way off for much of the day, as the climate was downright schizophrenic.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544896_3812789.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 189px;" src="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544896_3812789.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> Kim brought her <a href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545072_6018500.jpg">dogs</a>, which were christened Hank and Robert.<br /><br />It was misting all morning, followed by rain, followed by big humidity, then big heat, then nice, then thunderstorms. It made for a slippery course, and my <a href="http://www.hutchinsontires.com/us/catalogue-vtt.php?fiche=python-end-marathon.php&univers=5&pid=85">rear tire</a>, which is designed for the dry, didn't hook up very well. This meant a pretty low placing for me (this being my second MTB ride of the season didn't help either) but it was fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544883_3395853.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 185px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544883_3395853.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Tim Durrin (Cap'n Jeremy's brother) won the 3 race, his first MTB race ever, and <a href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544880_8340844.jpg">Jeff Cronin</a> took 2nd.<br /><br />Our own Sean Kennedy won the 2 race in very convincing fashion,<a href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545082_3450387.jpg"> arms aloft</a> across the line.<br /><br /><a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom Parsons</a>, <a href="http://bartlettbike.blogspot.com/">Mike Bartlett</a>, Jeff Elie, <a href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544994_300487.jpg">Tom Sampson</a>, and a w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544961_1631953.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 170px;" src="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544961_1631953.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>hole slew of other superstars brought the fire to the 1 and Pro races.<br />Good times were had by all, and the turnout was pretty impressive, especially given the weather. Thanks to everyone who came out.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545001_5142383.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 159px;" src="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545001_5142383.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> While we were all out XCin, <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/bryan-1.gif">Bryan did a sweet backflip</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545009_3972004.jpg">Seth </a>finally came out to see the house (a week before I move out, natch), but it was good timing, because he had came just in time for the UMBRC after party. It was a fun night of music, can/bottle towers, chips, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYc875zkDxg">a-a-aaa-aaa-alcohol</a>. The next day I worked in the library from 11 am to midnight, which makes it the weekend I figure I should ha<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544997_2628884.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 143px;" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32544997_2628884.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ve been having every week at Umass. Oh well.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545088_7111147.jpg">Jesse </a>and the UVM/Mt. Holyoke kids couldn't make it, so it was a largely Umass affair, but we had laughs nonetheless. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545108_4468405.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.bikereg.com/">Bikeregger</a><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 145px;" src="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545108_4468405.jpg" alt="" border="0" /> Jeff Elie and Jenna came over, as well as alums AW and Duggan, and even bike-coopers <a href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3867/70/55/49410081/n49410081_32545017_6279915.jpg">Brian, Marisa and Miguel</a> popped in for a bit.<br /><br />Some other stuff happened this week. There was a showing of the animation classes' work, which was fun, and I got to meet one of the people working on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.jetsetzero.tv/">Jet Set Zero</a> which is a great concept with super stylish production. Check it out.<br /><br />Finally, I saw the most unimaginable thing in a parking lot near the ROTC building....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla5X7AFSx7JZX9irvMUUQxgn2Gmwa2GMc261bxDRJmy2eI6AldBI_IGf7HzOsu6vUG4BuiiyjpQHii9-7pvcwvl8O6-kRpFVlvb88t_xzj6KJFfyecRSPtxpvMcKHwO9Uz2qsd6xSr4g/s1600-h/IMG_2058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla5X7AFSx7JZX9irvMUUQxgn2Gmwa2GMc261bxDRJmy2eI6AldBI_IGf7HzOsu6vUG4BuiiyjpQHii9-7pvcwvl8O6-kRpFVlvb88t_xzj6KJFfyecRSPtxpvMcKHwO9Uz2qsd6xSr4g/s400/IMG_2058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335363964145732050" border="0" /></a>It's Duster! An honest to god Plymouth Duster, in period correct cocaine white, no less. I have to assume it appeared there because of last week's blogpost, I didn't know I held such power...<br /><br />Mindful of that, this week's video is Top Gear's Audi R8 review.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/54rQJd7cPQo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/54rQJd7cPQo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />There. Maybe now it will appear.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393149406600921357.post-83262877626306433182009-05-05T19:20:00.004-04:002009-05-05T22:02:41.323-04:00late update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_1947.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 433px; height: 323px;" src="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_1947.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Sorry this update is stupid late, but I'm stupid busy.<br /><br />Only about a week of classes left through, so regular posting will resume in the near term.<br /><br />The ECCC road season ended this weekend at Penn State, but like I said in the last post, UMBRC was not representing, as we couldn't get vans, so to cover what happened a week before at MIT's race.<br /><br />It was in Westminster, which is near Jeremy's house in Fitchburg, so that's where we stayed. It was fun to see his hometown, which is very hilly, and has a mall.<br /><br />Because we keep getting the same van with the same broken tape deck, I brought along my <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/IMG_1945.jpg">magic speaker</a>, which we rocked out to all weekend. Especially to Tone-Loc.<br /><br />We went to the pizza place that is a pre-race tradition for the Jeremy, Brad, and Jeff L. and it was pretty tasty.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs012.snc1/2917_547793954855_49410081_32496312_5085699_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 226px;" src="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs012.snc1/2917_547793954855_49410081_32496312_5085699_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next morning, Jeremy went to race at Turtle Pond, and took the van keys with him. He was long gone by the time we got up to do our race, so we were at his house with a van we couldn't use.<br /><br />Jeff Cronin's parents very graciously offered to drive us to the race, thanks again to them for that. The Ford Freestyle (like a tall Taurus wagon), feels a lot bigger when it doesn't have 5 people and three bikes in it, but we made it there just in time.<br /><br />It was <a href="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs012.snc1/2917_547794528705_49410081_32496385_3803907_n.jpg">insanely hot</a>, but I felt better than I expected to. It was a hilly race, but I stayed around the pack for most of it. Unfortunately, there was the kind of slow-motion crash that's all too common in C-races on the steepest part of the climb, I got caught up in it, dropped my chain, and had to hoof it up to the top, costing any chance of regaining pack contact. For the second week in a row, I basically TTed to the end.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs012.snc1/2917_547794593575_49410081_32496398_6751890_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 169px;" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs012.snc1/2917_547794593575_49410081_32496398_6751890_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Looking at the results, it's clear that the heat made this race something of a war of attrition, with 19 dnfs of 75 riders. I got 29th place, which again, is better than I expected. Tom unfortunately broke his chain, but we've not heard the last from him...<br /><br />In the D race, Josh got 2nd and Jeff got 5th. Nice job you sandbaggers.<br /><br />The next day's crit was just as hot, if not hotter, but unlike the day before, I did not feel very good at all. I stayed with the pack for 3 or 4 laps, but I just wasn't feeling it at all, and I dropped out. Certainly that's not how I wanted to finish my last collegiate race ever, but what are you gonna do. Tom avenged me by winning in spectacular fashion, breaking away with 3 laps to go<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy-635ntNGJPSPQmcHFzEyP0mPR3k0XKjChG_RZCs9iOGTM3wPuYgfpHlmzAoUClKy04tU5CJ_BFtRJY3kEXYhQ2Fhc8ac78ZVYdCBwJHf9HXQVySTa5R0ypJPrF7zsEXgnKkfJZU12Y/s1600-h/tomwin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy-635ntNGJPSPQmcHFzEyP0mPR3k0XKjChG_RZCs9iOGTM3wPuYgfpHlmzAoUClKy04tU5CJ_BFtRJY3kEXYhQ2Fhc8ac78ZVYdCBwJHf9HXQVySTa5R0ypJPrF7zsEXgnKkfJZU12Y/s200/tomwin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332504804864200210" border="0" /></a>, and holding off everyone else enough to sit up, zip up his jersey, and raise his arms across the line. Good show.<br /><br />In the D crit Jeff and Josh got 11th and 9th respectively, so a mixed but overall good weekend for UMBRC.<br /><br />Like I told Joe Kopena, I think collegiate cycling the best part of being at school, and I'm sad to see it end.<br /><br />In a final bit of racing news, this weekend is the ORCHARD ASSAULT MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE! It will be super fun, and everyone should come do it. Even world famous big wheel bicycle racer man <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Thom Parsons </a>will be there! Sadly <a href="http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee167/nubetre/Bryan-case-study-7.jpg">Bryan </a>has to work, so he won't be there.<br /><br />Even if you've never raced a bike, try it here! After-party at the crapshack too, so fun will be had by all.<br /><br />A few unrelated notes:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://larryfire.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/postermountaincopyhv1.jpg?w=424&h=600"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 249px;" src="http://larryfire.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/postermountaincopyhv1.jpg?w=424&h=600" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I am trying to avoid <a href="http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/">UP </a>news and clips as much as I can, so the element of surprise is there when I see it, but based everything I <span style="font-style: italic;">have </span>seen, it will be another Pixar masterpiece. I have similarly high hopes for the attached short "Partly Cloudy" directed by Peter Sohn (voice of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille_%28film%29#Main_characters">Emile </a>too).<br /><br />I'm also psyched about a bunch of stuff happening in business news.<br /><br />Fiat is taking over Chrysler (in a very favorable deal for Fiat), and if their acquisition of GM Europe (or at least Opel/Vauxhall) is completed, it could bode very well for the US automotive landscape.<br /><br />Imagine being able to get <a href="http://www.fiat.com/cgi-bin/pbrand.dll/FIAT_COM/showroom/showroom.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1139144309.1241574183@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgadeheigdhjjcefecejgdfkhdfjh.0&modelKey=198">Fiat Bravos</a> and <a href="http://www.fiat.com/cgi-bin/pbrand.dll/FIAT_COM/showroom/showroom.jsp">Grande Puntos</a>, not to mention <a href="http://www.alfaromeo.com/cgi-bin/pbrand.dll/NEWALFA_COM/controller/home.aspx?language=1">Alfas </a>and <a href="http://www.opel-europe.com/insignia/">Opel Insignias</a>, in the US. It would make traffic so much prettier. They'll also get rid of the awful current Chryslers, which is good.<br /><br />Another cool event of the last two weeks is the <a href="http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/9963">agreement met </a>between Disney and <a href="http://www.hulu.com/">Hulu</a>, which is a significant step forward in the seismic paradigm shift that is Hulu. One of the only biggies still holding out from a unified big media internet video channel is CBS, but it's ok, because CBS is for old people anyways. HULU TEH FUTURE!<br /><br />For this week's video, we keep the '80s love going and watch an ad from 1985 that either explains why Chrysler's bankrupt, or would be a step in the right direction. You decide.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1ZGwGFpjFxI&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1ZGwGFpjFxI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Hope to see everyone at the Orchard Assault.Urihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371687903484838814noreply@blogger.com2