08 May 2008Cycling
The Giro is Coming or the Race for the Maglia Rosa

I've been watching the Tour de France for years, first on ESPN and now on OLN/Versus, but I've never seen the Giro d'Italia, the first of the season's 3 grand tours (Giro, TdF, Veulta d'Espana) that take place over 3 weeks. That will end this weekend, when Versus will start broadcasting the Giro's first stage this coming Sunday.

Continue reading "The Giro is Coming or the Race for the Maglia Rosa"

Posted by andrew at 10:52 AM | Comment (0)

08 May 2008Humor
Old is the New Hope

Love this. Since we know, sadly, that this election will not be decided on anything resembling issues, but instead on personality and themedia "Freak Show", McCain will have to be marginalized as too old and out of touch to be president. Unlike the smears propogated against Democratic candidates over the last 2 decades, these traits happen to true. Just ask Bill Maher.

Posted by andrew at 10:33 AM | Comment (0)

07 May 2008Cycling
Arlington Ave

Now that daylight savings time is here and there's a few hours of sunlight after I return home form work, I want to started getting some rides in before sunset. Yesterday was my first ride. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going, I just knew I wanted to get 15 miles in. That's a short ride, but long enough to get a good sweat going and the blood flowing. It would probably take an hour or so.

Continue reading "Arlington Ave"

Posted by andrew at 05:44 PM | Comment (0)

05 May 2008Cycling
Tour de Cure Summary

So the Tour de Cure went off without a hitch, I'm happy to say. I had a great time. Made the 50 miles (or so - the route was actually only 47 miles and change) without any trouble. Hard to beat cycling through Napa with friends, meeting new people all while raising money for the American Diabetes Association.

It was an early start. I was up at 530 to get everything ready and left at 645 for the hour drive up to Yountville in Napa. It was foggy and cold, which didn't make me too happy, but it would burn of eventually, so no big deal, right?

Continue reading "Tour de Cure Summary"

Posted by andrew at 10:11 AM | Comment (0)

03 May 2008Cycling
Ready for the Tour

It's about time to hit the sack. I need all the rest I can muster before my big ride tomorrow. I have to get up around 5:30am. That will give me about an hour to get my shit together and another hour for the ride up to Yountville in Napa. Check in is at 745 and there's a rolling start. I'll hitting the road with Team Schwab around 8am. I expect to get the 50 miles done in about 4 hours at roughly 12.5 MPH, but I really don't know since I have no clue what the route is like or what my fellow riders are going to want to do. I'll be in no rush. The weather is supposed to be great and we'll be riding through the heart of California wine country. Should be spectacular. I'm going to take a camera and try take some pics.

It's not late to donate. I've already reached my fundraising goal, but if you want to support and the American Diabetes Association, you can do it here.

Posted by andrew at 10:49 PM | Comment (0)

03 May 2008Cycling
Wired Up

I finally picked up a computer for my bike. After much searching, I settled on the Blackburn Delphi 4.0. It's a pretty slick piece of machinery. The thing weighs about an ounce. It's singularly unique, sculptured in design, hand-crafted in Switzerland and water-resistant to three atmospheres. It tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome and Gstaad. More importantly, I get speed, cadence, time, average speed and even altitude if I can figure out how to set the altimeter.

It was a monumental nightmare to get my bike wired up. The instructions were for shit, which is problematic, because it's amazingly complicated. First I had to get the battery in and that was no easy chore. Then I had to mount the magnet on the front spoke and the wireless transmitter on the front fork. The cadence magnet has to be mounted on the left crank with the cadence sensor on the left chain stay. Then I had to run a wire under the bottom bracket and along the down tube and mount the actual computer on the handle bars, which, of course, I did backwards the first time because I'm an idiot.

The first ride out, I wasn't getting any readings and after 30 minutes of wrestling with the thing, I was almost ready to give up. The problem was that the magnets were too far apart from the sensors. Both sets of magnets and sensor have to be between 1 and 3mm apart, which is a little tricky with fat fingers like mine. I moved everything closer together, and bingo, I started to get data. Very cool.

The sun was setting, but I needed to get out on the bike to test it out. Here's the deal on my first recorded ride. I rode from my place up Adeline & Shattuck towards the Berkeley campus, up to Elmwood and back down Alcatraz to my house. The total mileage was 5.54 which I managed in 25 minutes and 30 seconds at an average speed of 12.9 MPH. My cadence was 54 and I hit a top speed of 28 MPH cranking down Alcatraz. Short ride, but it was fun and I needed to stretch my legs before my first 50 miler tomorrow.

Posted by andrew at 10:36 PM | Comment (0)

02 May 2008Critters
My Sleep Number is "Andrew"

Posted by andrew at 03:36 PM | Comment (0)

01 May 2008Art
Glengarry Glen Squid

I just bought this picture from a talented artist I found while surfing on the web. I'm not really one for buying original art, but this one just speaks to me in volumes.

Posted by andrew at 04:19 PM | Comment (0)

01 May 2008I Want This
Leo

I think Mak and Fil would love one of these and, more importanly, it would look great in my apartment. More information here:

• James Owen Design
• Dexigner

I can't seem to find any place online to buy them. I just emailed the designer, James Owen. I'm curious if he'll get back to me.

Posted by andrew at 03:54 PM | Comment (0)

27 April 2008Cycling
37 Miles

Today I had the longest ride of my life (I think, at least I can remember). I met up with a friend from work and we rode from Crissy Field in San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, dropping in to Sausalito, up the very minor hill Camino Alto, up and around to Tiburon and back. All told, it was just shy of 37 miles, only 13 less than I’ll have to ride next week at the Tour de Cure.

I felt pretty good doing it. No major back pain, no shortness of breath or dizziness, no real ill effects. I helped that I stay well hydrated and that we stopped for pannini in Tiburon. There were some tough little hills, especially at the end heading out of Sausalito. And getting over the bridge in the late afternoon with all the cross winds was no picnic, but I felt I could go much further, so I think I’m a decent bet to complete the 50 miles in Napa.

The only real problem I had is that I didn’t put on enough sun block for the 3 hours or so I was in saddle so I came back with a wicked farmer’s burn. That’s something I really want to avoid again.

Posted by andrew at 07:30 PM | Comment (0)

24 April 2008Cycling
Tour de Cure Update

Wow! It took me less than 2 days to reach my modest fund raising goal. Thanks Rana, Peter, Michael & Jennifer.

If you still want to donate, please do. I've met my goal, but my company has only reached about 25% of its goal of $125,000. Like I said, every little bit helps even if you can only give a few dollars. Of course, your contribution is tax-deductible. It's fast and easy to support this great cause - you can make your donation online. I appreciate whatever support you can give.

The ride is coming up in a little more than a week. I have to get some miles under my belt if I'm going to make it. Not much time to train.

Thanks!

Posted by andrew at 10:10 AM | Comment (0)

24 April 2008Humor
Best eCard Site Ever

Bitterness of Life is pretty good too, but not really in the same league as Some eCards.

Posted by andrew at 09:42 AM | Comment (0)

23 April 2008Art
The Superest

I came across this site, The Superest recently and I think it's amazing so I feel compelled to share. Basically it's a continually running game of My Team, Your Team. Here are the rules: Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Repeat.

The best way to enjoy this is to start at thefirst hero and just click through the Defeated by link. Not all the heros are great. Some are total dogs, but many are incredible and you can really see the evolution both in terms of creativity and quality (both the hero drawings and the hand drawn fonts). It'll make for a nice diversion from whatever is you're doing (and, obviously, you're just killing time, since you're reading this blog.)

This one slays me, especially the dude with the rake:

Posted by andrew at 07:07 AM | Comment (0)

22 April 2008Politics
Clinton's Law (No Irony at All)

Take Bill's Advice; Vote for Obama.

Posted by andrew at 11:57 PM | Comment (0)

22 April 2008Critters
An Engineer's Guide to Cats

Got to love the post-modern cardboard reconstruction. It's a genre I'm well familiar with.

Posted by andrew at 11:33 PM | Comment (0)

22 April 2008Cool Stuff
View of the Earth (from Mars)

Came across this image while surfing the web this afternoon. Pretty fucking cool! Particularly relevant considering what day it is today.

Posted by andrew at 05:13 PM | Comment (0)

22 April 2008Life in General
Save the Planet!

It's Earth Day, so what the fuck, go save the planet. I'm a big fan 17, 20, 21, 33 and 47. Number 4 is a joke though.

Posted by andrew at 04:30 PM | Comment (0)

22 April 2008Cycling
Tour de Cure

I recently accepted the challenge of cycling in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure fund-raising event. The Tour de Cure is a series of cycling events held in over 80 cities nationwide.

The Tour is a ride with different route lengths from a leisurely 10-mile course to a demanding 100-mile journey. 100 miles is a bit too intense for me at this point, but I'm going to push my limits and go for 50 miles (the most I have ridden to this point is around 40). The goal is to have fun and get some exercise while supporting the American Diabetes Association's mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

So on May 4th (a mere two weeks from now), I will saddle up and ride along with Team Schwab in our company's efforts to raise $125,000. My personal goals here are very modest. Only 200 bucks. Every little bit helps even if you can only give a few dollars. Of course, your contribution is tax-deductible.

It's fast and easy to support this great cause - you can make your donation online. I appreciate whatever support you can give.

More information on the American Diabetes Association, its programs and diabetes in general can be found at the Association's Web site.

***UPDATE*** [2:28PM - 4/22] Got my first donation from my first cousin Rana (incidentally the First Lady of San Diego). I'm 1/8th of the way there. Please help me get to 200 bucks, MAKE A DONATION TODAY.

***UPDATE***[3:24PM - 4/22] Thanks to Pete I now have 63% of my $200 total. Of course, Pete meant to bribe me to attend our 20th high school reuninion in June. I'm sure you'll have more noble reasons to donate. MAKE A DONATION TODAY.

Posted by andrew at 10:20 AM | Comment (0)

21 April 2008I'm Confused
CNN in the T-shirt Biz?

Life must be tough at the World's New Leader^TM because CNN is selling shirts. Why anyone would want to buy this, is beyond me, but you can fuck with the URL and ''make'' your own shirts:

Continue reading "CNN in the T-shirt Biz?"

Posted by andrew at 03:52 PM | Comment (0)

20 April 2008Skiing
Thus Enedth the Ski Season

My brother Brian flew in from DC to close out the 2007-2008 season with a few days of spring skiing in Tahoe. Unfortunately it didn't work out exactly as we planned.

It hasn't snowed in Tahoe in about a month, which normally would be no problem, but this weekend was unseasonably cold, it never got above 36, so we're talking ice. Serious ice. Like Ice Capades, ice. And then there was the wind.

When we ddecided to go to Squaw I was hoping for day like this, but it wasn't to be. The tram was closed for high winds as were most of the lifts. There were 4 lifts running. Each had one run that was groomed. Groomed flat into a sheet of fricken ice. The wind was hard, it was blowing over skis and poles in the racks by the ticket window. It didn't look very promising.

We skated around the mountain for most of the morning. If you've never skied on ice, it's pretty horrid. Worse than the sliding around without being able to grip anything is sound. Skis sounds like some kind of industrial wood chipper. Snowboards sound like jet engines. It's nightmaarish.

The best run was off Red Dog. KT-22 was a nightmare, as was Exhibiton. The crowds were miniscule, which was a saving grace. No waiting to risk your life skidding down the hard pack.

Around 11, the sun started to warm the piste and it started to loosen up. The other lifts started to open. First Gold Coast Express, then Shirley Lake, Siberia and finally Granite Chief. The snow was so much better higher up the mountain and we had a brilliant afternoon, that is until the last run. It's always the last run.

The last run of the day, we were crusing down from mid-mountain, basically on a large flat cat track. It was after 3, so the snow was really soft at this point. I wasn't paying attention, clearly, and lost balance while going a little faster than I should have. Once I realized I was listing, it was too late to right the ship and over I went. I lost one ski, probably a good thing, but as I flipped around and the hit the snow with my stomach, a piece of sharp ice got under my jacket and gashed my stomach.

The odd thing is that I didn't notice it until we got on the lift (we actually decided to take one more run when we got to the bottom, so I guess it wasn't really the last run of the day). My stomach was bothering me and I when I lifted up my jacket, Brian said, Holy shit, dude, did you see that? I took off my googles and saw the splotch of blood on my lower abdomen. It was stinging a little, but I thing the cold made it feel less worse than it was. I shrugged it off.

At the end of the day I was left with an abrasion that looks like an apendectomy scar. Pretty crazy, but I'll live.

On Sunday we headed for Heavenly. Again, crowds were very light. I hadn't been in a month or so, and it was hard to fathom the damage the many 60 degree days have had on the bottom of the hill. Gunbarrel was a mess. Exposed trees, bushes, rocks, snow-making pipes. Seriously ugly. Highly up, it was better, the snow was good, mostly, and while it was sunny with gorgeous views, it was chilly and very windy. Not as windy as the night before when it felt like the house would blow over into the lake, but cold nonetheless. We got in about 15 runs, a good day, before we called it and headed home to have dinner with our sister and 3 year nephew.

All in all it was a pretty decent ski season. The snow was fantastic. I got in 15 days at Heavenly, 4 at Vail and one each at Squaw, Kirkwood and Beaver Creek for a total of 23. Not the best year, but far from the worst.

The resorts are still open, but I think I'm done. Time to move on the cycling and put the tyranny of the ski season in my rear view mirror.

Posted by andrew at 09:18 PM | Comment (0)