Monkey got you down? Don't let the monkey fool you. The monkey doesn't know what you know. And you know? The monkey doesn't care.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Ah Frazz
Of course that race is much more fun to say than, oh, Ruta del Sol. And Paris-Nice starts Sunday. With actual coverage. Hopefully not with Bob Roll, though. No offense to the guy, but listening to his predictions and comments throughout the Tour of California was about all I could take. And that was only for an hour a day.
The Specialized Angel was fun. Though, to be honest, I think the Grim Reaper running alongside of the rider in the break away (was it Sebastian Lang?) on the final big climb of the race was the best. Man, I would have punched the guy. He was just at the right spot too. Heh.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
No One is Safe
So if you're trying to contact me, I'll be away from email most of the day. Focusing on work and getting everyone where they need to be while force-feeding 7-Up to my wife and begging her not to give me the details of her illness.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Blork
I scraped myself off the floor long enough to go to parent/teacher conferences at school. Gert showed us this thing they play with in Early Childhood that they call a tornado. Essentially it turns a person into a human top.
This morning Gert got really thoughtful. "Dad, I think Ms. Christine really figured out why I was vomiting." Yes, she said vomiting. "It's because I rode the tornado like fifteen times! No wonder my tummy hurt."
Mine hurts just thinking about it.
This week was a big breakthrough week for her. She's been taking a ballet/tap class at the local community center where she has to wear a pink little outfit and dance like a prima ballerina. She's been complaining about not wanting to go because she "wasn't in the mood". I finally figured out why this week. Her teacher is a boy.
In her world, teachers are all women. Only Junie B. Jones has a boy teacher and his name is Mr. Scary. We talked about it for a while and she admitted she felt weird about having a man teacher.
Mr. Jim is the type of teacher who really makes all the little girls feel like they really are princesses. He fawns over their frilly dresses, talks about how fabulous their shoes are, AND teaches them to dance. Flattery and knowledge are dangerous combinations.
We got over the roadblock by letting her know that Mr. Jim will let her bring a CD and they can use that to dance during ballet time. Her face lit up and she decided to bring her Sleeping Beauty CD (the ballet, not Disney). I was surprised that she went all hoity toity on me, but that's okay. She put the CD in her bag with her tap shoes and presented it to Mr. Jim.
When she came out of class she was happier than ever. And, she was chatting and joking with Mr. Jim. Suddenly he was, I don't know, human or something.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Some Good News, At Least
It's going to be an important year. With no Lance, some of these races (mainly the Tour) will be real battles. And, like I said, the Giro looks brutal, almost as if they are trying to stop Savoldelli from repeating his win.
More importantly, more Americans are doing well in Europe than ever before. Five placed in the top 20 of the Tour last year.
As the cycling season gets underway, viewers can turn to OLN for race-to-race updates on training efforts, race results, and Discovery Channel Team news, as well as coverage of the National Championship Series, a U.S.-based cycling series in which the top domestic cyclist is crowned at the end of each season. The Sunday race schedule for spring cycling on OLN follows (same-day unless indicated; subject to change):
March 5 & 12 - Paris-Nice (France) - 5 p.m. ET
March 19 - Milan San Remo/Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy) - 5 p.m. ET
March 26 - Criterium International (France) - 5 p.m. ET
April 9 - Paris-Roubaix (France) - 5 p.m. ET
April 23 - Liege-Bastogne-Liege/La Fleche Wallone (Belgium) - 5 p.m. ET
May 7 & 14 - Giro D'Italia (Italy) - 5 p.m. ET
May 21 & 28 - Giro D'Italia (Italy) - 4 p.m. ET
July 1 Â? 23 - Tour De France - TBA
In addition, OLN will offer an exclusive option to view streaming, live world feed of Monday through Saturday stages of the Giro D'Italia on its Web site, OLNTV.com. Access and pricing information will be released as details become available.
The streaming thing sounds good. I'll pay to watch stages of the Giro, if I can swing it. I mean, I'm usually using the computer. Someday either IPTV will prevalent or sat providers will give us a package like they do baseball and other sports. Seriously, I'd pay for a package that gives me international coverage of cycling events.
Of course, it all depends who is calling it. There's one guy, I don't now his name, but he called some of the lesser races on OLN and I've heard his voice on cycling.tv and, well, he stinks.
But I'd pay a couple of hundred for the coverage. Hell, it's the only sport I actually watch and I can't afford to go to Europe to watch any of the races. So, you take what you can get.
My Mood Swings
If you've sent me an email within the last seven days, I probably haven't answered. Sadly, most likely I haven't read it. I'll get to it someday. Maybe?
Anyway, I made a new Radio SFT playlist. Enjoy it. All two of you that listen.
Too bad. In the two years I've been posting these things, I've put up a lot of great music that you would enjoy. Alas, it goes unheard. That's okay. The art is in crafting the mix.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
As If That Weren't Fun Enough
I just had half the neighborhood kids playing cops and robbers. I was the bad guy, they were the good guys. They chased me up and down the street for half an hour.
And see, that's what makes the bike so damn cool. Yeah, earlier I was using it to challenge myself physically. But just now? I had fun. Good old fun. Like when I was a kid. And the kids had a blast trying to catch me. Things got worrisome when they started setting up roadblocks. But when they were riding, they were having a great time. They weren't riding anywhere, or for any reason. Just riding. And, for them, that's the whole point.
If they only knew that they rode for 3.6 miles while doing it. But they can never know that. Because then it's not fun, it's exercise.
Ow. My Lungs
Anyway, despite that high point, the morning sucked. People pissed me off. And now I'm angry at them. So, you know how it goes. Let's just say I spent the day being thrown under the bus.
So, after lunch and correcting the problems from this morning, I hopped on my bike and decided to train on some hills. It's the next stage of my training. I need to learn how to breathe. I know, sounds stupid, but I'm not breathing efficiently, get winded and screw myself on the climb. Which is a shame because my legs feel great. So, it's just another set of muscles to train.
Anyway, my point is this. I feel great. The hills hurt like hell and my speed was embarrassing, but damn I feel like I worked out that aggression. Even better, that residual feeling of glorious fatigue is lingering. Ahhh.
Oh, and happy valentine's day and stuff.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
I Meme What I Say
Four Jobs I’ve Had
Camp Counselor
Daycare worker
Bagger
Movies Content Editor for a website (and I actually got paid before they went bankrupt!)
Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
Wings of Desire
Wild at Heart
Touch of Evil
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (music yummy!)
Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
Six Feet Under
Gilmore Girls (a.k.a. The Lauren Graham’s Pretty Show)
Mythbusters
The Daily Show
Four Places I’ve Been on Vacation
Florida
Chicago
Cape Cod
The Ozarks
Four Favorite Dishes
My braised ribs with my home made rub
Anything in a cheese sauce
Anything in a hot sauce
My homemade chili right at the beginning of spring when I’ve perfected the flavor. With a good beer, of course.
Four Websites I Visit Daily
Boing Boing
Stereogum
eMusic
INTERCOT
Four Places I’d Rather Be
Disney World (doing a beer tour of Epcot . . . Care to join me Ed?)
A secluded mountain cabin
Somewhere warm, riding my bike
In bed
Four (no Three because I'm lazy) Bloggers I am Tagging
Wife
John
Deborah
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Help Today, Meme Tomorrow
Today I need help from music geeks and parents. I'll start with the least important:
1. I'm trying to identify this song. It has shades of Perez Prado, but as filtered through the guys who played the Munsters theme. Just listen to the chunky guitar. It's a mystery. It was on a mix and I've been able to identify all the other songs, but this one eludes me. I suspect it came from a soundtrack. Could I ask the person who gave me the mix? Yes. But what fun is that?
2. Gert. She can't sleep. Well, to be exact, she sleeps until 12:20. At 12:20 she starts to moan, then I can hear her thrashing then she either yelps or starts yelling for mommy. If you go in there she isn't exactly awake. Last night I stroked her forehead and she went back to sleep. But it doesn't last. Within 20 minutes she's awake, at the side of our bed, crying.
There are various reasons. She's scared. She needs us. There's a monster. The thing is, she is genuinely frightened. Sometimes to the point of shaking. Night terrors perhaps? Then she tries, really tries to get to sleep. She can't settle. She starts to get frantic.
Shut up. I know it sounds just like her father. In this case the apple not only didn't fall far from the tree, it appears to have fallen in it.
No matter what it is, she cannot get back to sleep and it's a night long battle. We soothe, we comfort, we cuddle, we take the hard road, we send her back to bed. Last night we finally relented, possibly out of our own exhaustion, and let her sleep with us. Yes, it was a weak moment, but all three of us slept.
Now, we're not used to this. Matilda used to have problems falling asleep, but never like this. And now she'd sleep through the Rapture. She literally sleeps like the dead. Believe me. On vacation I've actually stepped on her and she didn't wake up.
One friend's kids have the same problem and her doctor suggested melatonin. She swears by it. We're calling the doctor to find out if that helps. And we're also looking for other suggestions. The way I figure it, the more ammo we have going in, the more likely we are to actually get some sleep.
All of us need it. We're tired, crabby and irrational.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Good Times Never Seemed So Good
Yes, all Caroline all the time. Frightening. And be happy, because I have so many more versions of "Caroline, No". Acapella, backing track, live, different vocal speed, Brian solo, Brian live (twice!). . .
Monday, February 06, 2006
Mmmmm Smoky
So, while I've established that it was pretty, one of the things I think has sold me on visiting some time is this minor fact:
There is a road, albeit short, through a National Park that is closed to motorized vehicles from sunrise to 10 a.m. two days a week. What does this mean? Well, that I could ride my bike through a National Park, dummy! My little bike would be welcome at any other time, but I'd have to share it with minivans. Which would be fine, but morning in a national park? Come on.
Not convinced it's a good idea? Look at this. That's begging for a ride. Plus, there are apparently two sections that have some good climbs. And I'd love to ride on some real hills. I'm practicing. My legs are fine. I just have to learn how to breathe properly on a climb. Have to train those better . . .
Anyway, it's only 11 miles and I'd like to do more riding in the area. Anyone know anything about it? I've found some vague references to some other areas that are good for riding, specifically for small, lesser-traveled roads. But, the directions for those were a little complicated and since I don't know the area (and might be on a new bike) I don't want to mess too much with directions or unfamiliar roads (I'm a terrible wimp when it comes to cars).
No matter what, if we ever visit in the future, I'm riding through the park at 7 a.m. How could I not? I'd ride a tricycle through there.
Friday, February 03, 2006
I've Found the Solution
I've given this a lot of thought. I've dedicated at least, two to three minutes a day on this and I've floated a lot of ideas to myself, all roundly rejected for a variety of reasons. For example:
Idea: Bike Trails
Pro: Human power, safer than roads, people wouldn't throw bottles at me.
Con: Most cities are too stupid to build them. Mine, in fact, cited the possible rise in crime from having bike trails. Seriously. The specter of roving bicycle gangs frightened them. Have you ever seen someone carrying a plasma TV on a Schwinn? No. But, apparently, the riverboat casino that isn't actually a boat, nor is it actually on a river causes no concern.
Idea: Fuel cells.
Pro: Efficient.
Con: No one knows what the hell a fuel cell is and, for that matter, would probably still try to fill it with gas.
Idea: Hydrogen fuel.
Pro: Clean, efficient. Exhaust is water.
Con: Water can be a pollutant, and cause damage to an ecosystem when introduced through non-natural means.
So, I was beginning to think we were stuck with oil until the skies turned black and the ground dried up, leaving us all stranded at work with no way to get home.
Then it occurred to me. Something safe. Something efficient. Something apparently abundant. Something that has caused wars, sure, but has never resulted in the loss of human life (at least, not that they've let us know about).
What is it? Energon.
Yes, Energon should be safe to us. Plus, there are machines who are happy to harvest it:
Ignore the fact that the Energon Cubes appear to have the ability to pass through matter (in this case, those hoses). That minor detail is balanced out by the fact that it has no odor.
Yes, two warring factions of robots fight over it. That's true. But, they usually kill each other and not humans. Sure, they threaten, but it's all empty. They run like little babies when you bring magnets and water near them.
And it's safe for them to carry and touch:
Look how happy they are. They live to serve us. So, let's stop our energy dependence on the Middle East and put it in the hands of giant machines who, surely, would always do our bidding and never hurt us.
The only downside that I've come across is that there is no way to produce Energon Jelly.
Remember: Energon: Power Extreme!
I'm available for consultation.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
New Neko Case
Neko Case - Star Witness
It's Neko Caserific! I still say Lucinda Williams would sound this good if she sobered up long enough to realize that she's taken the whole barfly persona beyond smokey and drunken to confessional at the weekly meeting at the Y.
Obligatory "Neko Case is Hot" photo.
Smile When You're Down and Out
"I just felt slump, slump, slump," she said, as she demonstrated her slump. At 2 a.m. she woke up as Fire Baby again, generating enough heat to actually melt her lamp.
Now she's asleep in our bed, refusing to eat, take medicine or do anything but sleep. I'm reluctant to go too far because her cough is so loose she gags. So, the kitchen is ruled out, one bathroom is off limits and if anyone comes to the door I'll be calling them through the window.
She's just so pathetic laying there. It's heart breaking.
That is, unless she's hallucinating or otherwise acting strange. For example, last night I went to tuck her back in bed.
"I can't get my fluffy blanket on me," She said.
"Okay, I'll float it down on you."
"Good, because I'm trying to sleep here!"
Later, when she was feeling so bad that she needed to sleep with us, she ripped off all her clothes because she was too hot, crawled under the covers and said:
"Mom, why do dogs leave messages to each other when they pee?"
No more Discovery Channel for her.