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Tuesday, July 30, 2002
The New York Subway system is experimenting with a way to capture the energy created by braking trains using flywheel technology to store the energy. I think the same principle is used by some of the newer hybrid cars as well. If only I could figure out a way to do the same with heat generated by the refrigerator and air conditioner. It was another 95+ degree, code orange kind of day. Spent some time drawing from an old, anonymous photo of a mine entrance. It's a very mysterious photo that I found in the trash. There's a dark shadow of a figure in the lower half that adds another layer of intrigue. (0) comments Sunday, July 28, 2002
The Post contains a review of 4 instrumental CDs, including my favorite, "Things Shaped in Passing" by a group from Chicago, Six Parts Seven. A sample can be heard the old fashioned way, by dialing 202-334-9000, x8181. There's also a good article on Phillip K. Dick, author of Minority Report and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, on which the movie Blade Runner was based. (0) comments
It's about time someone invented a pedal-powered computer. The Jhai PC was invented to allow remote villages access to computers. Speaking of pedal-powered, Phil Liggett is a proud owner of a Bike Friday. I've paid for mine by saving from $100 to $150 each time I fly, to places such as Iceland, St. Louis, MO, Jackonsville, FL, Burlington, VT, Denver, and Las Vegas. (0) comments Thursday, July 25, 2002
Just discovered the Encyclopedia Britannica site. I was searching for info on Eugene, Orgeon. The search engine for Britannica articles is good, but the full articles require payment. It was under the other results, "The Web's Best Sites" and "Magazines" where I found some good articles on the area. I'm adding it to my Links page, my online bookmarks. (0) comments
Rereading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was a great discovery, albeit rather late in life. My 9th grade teacher, after seeing the trash that I was reading at the time, suggested I check it out. My Texas middle school education was somewhat lacking in the provision of quality reading material. It was good to discover that this classic is now online at the above link. (0) comments Wednesday, July 24, 2002
It's always good to discover a writer whose work looks interesting. LAND'S END A Walk Through Provincetown By Michael Cunningham got a good review in the Washington Post this week. (0) comments
Lance rode another great race today, with the help of one of the best teams I've ever seen. To see George Hincapie still with the lead group on the climbs the last two days has been quite a sight. With a 5 minute lead, Lance should have no trouble the next couple of days. It did look like he might have an upper respiratory problem, with a cough and having to spit occasionally. Hope it doesn't keep him from a good ride tomorrow, which contains several tough climbs. (0) comments Monday, July 22, 2002
We escaped the polluted DC Metro air for the somewhat less dirty air over Shenandoah National Park over the weekend. Starting from Thornton Gap we rode a mostly uphill 16 miles to the top of Mt. Marshall. It was a good workout, a training ride for an upcoming trip to the mountains of the West Coast. A large black bear was spotted next to the road, rooting through the brush, occasionally lifting its head to sniff the air. Later there was a huge rattlesnake beside the road. Unfortunately it was when several cars were passing so we didn't get a good look, but it was big, about 4 inches in diameter and maybe 2 feet long. Lance rode a great race yesterday, countering Beloki's attack on the summit of Mont Ventoux by dancing by him and finishing 2 minutes ahead. He wasn't able to catch Virenque but that really didn't matter. It would have been nice to win the historic Mont Ventoux stage, but it was good to see a great climber like Virenque take it. (0) comments Saturday, July 20, 2002
It's been great watching Lance and the boys on OLN TV every morning, especially during the mountain stages on Thurs. and Friday. It's a shame that there won't be any live coverage tomorrow when they climb Mont Ventoux. I might just skip the network coverage at 3:00 p.m. and watch the recap on OLN later that night. Finally, after I've sent several letters to The Washington Post, they are listing the OLN coverage in their daily Sports page highlights. I was beginning to think there was a conspiracy against cyclists. (0) comments
Bought some cute little bar-end extenders for my new mustache handlebars on the mtn/hybrid. I've been rotating the bars, which have about a 5" rise on them, to get just the right body position. The small, 2" bar-end extenders fit my hand just well enough that I can use the for extra hand positions, and when climbing. It's a butt-ugly machine but rides great. (0) comments Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Scan/read Secret Knowledge by David Hockney, subtitled "Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters". It was a huge disappointment. About the only technique that Hockney claims to have rediscovered is the use of the camera lucida by some of the old masters. His argument is mostly based on his assumption that early artists couldn't have been able to draw portraits in such a lifelike manner. There is also some speculation about the use of the camera lucida based on some paintings having more than one vanishing point. It seemed that Hockney was in a way trying to justify his use of projectors or other copying techniques, claiming that "See, even the old masters did it." I did learn that one can project an image onto a wall or piece of paper using a curved mirror. Am anxious to try it. Finally bought "Parachutes" by Coldplay. I was familiary with, and liked very much, many of the songs on the disc, not knowing that they were by Coldplay. I had heard good things about the CD and bought it without really knowing much about it. Read about the group The Stokes on Megnut's site, and based on a short clip, may check it out. (0) comments Tuesday, July 16, 2002
I didn't miss the Tour time trail after all. Since today is a rest day, OLN showed a replay of yesterday's event. Had another run-in with an irate motorist today. I seem to bring out the worst in drivers, especially with my aggressive crosswalking. "It's a crosswalk, you're supposed to stop." "F--- you." (0) comments
Staying home this morning to watch the Tour on OLN TV, even though it isn't a mountain stage. Felt deprived yesterday by not being able to watch any of the coverage. (0) comments
Enjoyed the WNBA All Star game last night at the MCI Center in DC. There were some great plays as well as some really sloppy play in the first half. It took the East team a while to learn from each other, but in the end they lost again to the West. Before the game, stopped by the Library of Congress to view a show of drawings from the 1920's, American Beauties. The show includes some good drawings and designs, used mostly for magazine covers and advertisements. I'm very fond of artwork from the 20's, that included bold, simple designs. (0) comments Sunday, July 14, 2002
The CBS coverage of the Tour was OK, especially if you have been out of touch for the past week. The coverage of today's race was so short that I missed it, thinking that Phil and Paul would come on at any moment to give their daily commentary. It's too bad that those who can't watch the OLN coverage don't get a chance to see the major part of a race rather than just snippets from each day's stage. The coverage tonight was much better, showing the final hour+ of the stage. There was a breakaway of 7 riders for the last 100+ Km, with Karsten Kroon of Rabobank winning the sprint. (0) comments
It just wasn't the same this morning not being able to watch the Tour on OLN. I can almost guarantee that the network coverage this afternoon will suck. (0) comments Friday, July 12, 2002
Gotta get outside on a rare, low humidity, mild summer day. Been spending all day getting caught up with a long list of tasks. That is, after watching the Tour on OLN. Eric Zabel finally won a stage, winning the pack sprint by inches. He wasn't too happy with the cameramen afterwards, sticking his hand on their lenses and pushing them out of the way. So much for his nice guy image. (0) comments Thursday, July 11, 2002
After several attempts and a few bucks, finally figured out the problem I was having with my mtn/hybrid bike. The drivetrain would spin randomly, usually when not putting much pressure on the pedals. It wasn't a freewheel/chain problem, a front chainring problem, a bottom bracket problem or a loose rear axle. The freehub holder had developed a problem that allowed it to disengage periodically, causing me to free-spin. Even popped my foot out of the clip a couple of times. A new rear wheel solved the problem, and now the mtn/hybrid is nearly a new bike with all the new parts. Beats buying a new bike for twice the price. (0) comments Wednesday, July 10, 2002
Picked up what was formerly my mountain bike and is now a hybrid from the local bike shop. Had them check for a strange skipping in the gears. It was not related to an old chain or worn cogs, as those were replaced not long ago. While doing that work I decided to have them replace the handlebars. Since I can't raise the stem, I had them put on a bar with about a 5" rise, which makes it look like some strange kids bike. I also put on a skinny, 1.5" tire on the front. Can't wait to test it out later today. (0) comments Monday, July 08, 2002
The Washington Post recently published two good articles about alternatives to driving in the DC area, the development of communities adjacent to Metro stations, where people can live their lives without using a car, and people who walk to work, in some cases walking several miles. This area is going to have to do something drastic, like encouraging people to walk or bike or take transit to work, now that the attempt to delay implementation of stricter ozone controls in the DC area was thrown out in court. The Post is on a roll with good articles on why the air is so polluted in DC, with this article on subsidized parking for those commuters who insist on driving alone to work. The Federal government is one of the biggest culprits, paying as much as $1,200 per parking spot per year. (0) comments
Lance won the Prologue, the 7 km opening time trial, by 2 seconds and wore the yellow jersey for a day. Yesterday Rubens Bertogliati took a gamble in the final kilometer and outsprinted the sprinters to win Stage 2. He knew that the sprinters were waiting for the final 200-300 meters for the mass sprint. Near real time commentary for each stage is posted on OLT TV's Tour de France site. (0) comments
It looks like the Oqo pocket computer running Windows XP may not be out until the end of this year. I had hoped for it to be released sometime this quarter. (0) comments Saturday, July 06, 2002
OLN TV will once again cover the Tour de France live each day of the race. They have a good website devoted to the Tour. See also the Offical Tour de France website. For some reason the Washington Post refuses to acknowledge that OLN will be covering the race. They list events on ESPN, ESPN2 and other sports channels but not OLN. Time for the annual letter of complaint to the editor. (0) comments Friday, July 05, 2002
"The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man." (0) comments
Rode into DC to check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year's theme is The Silk Road, and the place looked like an anchient bazaar, with dusty streets lined with tents in which people were demonstration traditional crafts; the smell of curry and other exotic food was in the air; and middle eastern music provided the background sound. I heard that Yo Yo Ma was one of the featured entertainers ealier in the week. The festival is held each year and is one of the reasons I still live here. (0) comments Thursday, July 04, 2002
Spent a day in the cool basement trying to get it organized. Managed to get one of two rooms in good shape. Built a pegboard wall for storing bike tools. It would be nice for once to have an organized workbench. It was too hot outdoors to do much of anything else. Working my way through a great birthday gift, Barnet's Manual, the best bike repair manual available. (0) comments
Many of us are so addicted to Google as our collective memory that it probably won't be long before there is a small fee for it's use, that we'll gladly pay. (0) comments Tuesday, July 02, 2002
 Enjoyed touring the Biltmore Estate in Asheville despite the high entry fee ($34. per person). Once you get over the fact that it's an obscene display of personal wealth, it's a beautiful place. The print collection alone was almost worth the price of admission, especially the numerous Dürer prints. It was the first time I had ever seen a copy of the print Rhinoceros by DürerAt a great used bookstore,The Book Rack in Boone, NC, found two Bruce Chatwin books that I've wanted to read, Utz and The Viceroy of Ouidah. Am anxious to return to this area when we have more time. We spent much of our time indoors in museums, galleries and bookstores instead of out hiking and cycling. It's a good feeling to leave a place and feel like there is a lot more to discover the next time around. (0) comments
Being in the clear air of SW Virginia and the mountains of North Carolina was a pleasant relief from the ozone-polluted air in the DC area. It's sad that we've polluted our nest like we have here and in so many other places. I think I could live with most if not all of the problems associated with dense urbanization except for the polluted air. It's hard not to breathe, especially when cycling to work daily. (0) comments |