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Sunday, March 30, 2003
Marco Pantani finished second in today's stage of Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali bike race. Maybe he'll stage a comeback this year. (0) comments
Wish I had been able to view the Leonardo da Vinci show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. This was the final weekend of the show. I've heard the lines were very long. (0) comments
Got the end-of-winter blues. The snowstorm today didn't help, although it's mostly gone now. Anxious for some warm weather. Also anxious for the end of this war that I fear will be neverending. Enjoying reading Kerry's cross-country trip report. He's a school teacher living nearby. He contacted me a while ago about my 1999 trip following the same route. We had thought about riding together before he left but the constant snow and very cold weather got in the way. Kerry's somewhere in Texas. (0) comments Thursday, March 27, 2003
It's good to hear that Lance is looking strong in the Setmana Catalana, which is being held near his home in Spain. (0) comments
Enjoying the book Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I don't think I would ever want to tackle such a restoration project, epsecially in a foreign country, but enjoy reading about the process. (0) comments Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Picked up a couple of good, cheap travel books at a used bookstore in Warrenton, VA: Bill Bryson's “Notes from a Small Island” and Mary McCarthy's “The Stones of Florence”. Also picked up some good used CD's at McKay Used Books in Centreville, VA: The Strokes, Joni Mitchell's Mingus tribute, and Pink Floyd's “The Wall”. (0) comments
Trying not to watch too much war coverage on tv. The networks are treating the war like some kind of ultimate reality tv show. (0) comments Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Back from a trip to Florida, riding Bike Florida, and trying to get caught up with email and work. Stopped in Savannah, Georgia and Raleigh, North Carolina along the way. Will write up a trip report in the next week or so. (0) comments Monday, March 10, 2003
The Post had two good articles in Sunday's edition about Bush's inability to communicate: George Bush and the Words of War and It's Too Bad Bush Can't Talk the Talk. His performance at the latest press conference was particularly inept. He spoke excruciatingly slow, so that he could take up as much time as possible away from reporters wanting to ask tough questions. And his answers were not convincing. As I demonstrate on a regular basis here, I'm the last person to criticize someone's use of the English language, but I'm not President. Shouldn't the leader of the free world be able to speak coherently? (0) comments
We were finally able to ride a few miles over the weekend on our new Barcroft Columbia tandem recumbent. It took a while to get it properly adjusted. Once it was adjusted it took a while to figure out how best to communicate" "Stop pedaling so I can get my foot into the toe clip". Both days were great for riding, although the ride Saturday on the Mt. Vernon Trail wasn't much fun. The trail is very narrow and there were a lot of people out. It was good practice for maneuvering the tandem, but I felt lucky to complete the ride with no injuries. One of these days the snow on the W&OD Trail will melt so we can get some miles in close to home. (0) comments Friday, March 07, 2003
Haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, what with Wed and Fri art classes and some regular work thrown in. Checked out the Gerhard Richter retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. He's an amazing painter and one feels a little disoriented after viewing the entire show of slightly out of focus paintings. I found my self wondering of someone could plan a painting career so that this effect would occur after viewing his body of work. I plan to return. (0) comments Tuesday, March 04, 2003
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Steven Johnson mentions the "chimney" effect in Africa's population. The name comes from the graphic of the population pyramid showing Africa's population with and without the onset of AIDS. The continent will be devastated by the disease, with very few people betweent he ages of 20 and 50 in the future. Came across a very good article about the importance of dissent in America's push for war by Umberto Eco, “Love America and march for peace”. (0) comments Monday, March 03, 2003
It gets a little frustrating fighting for decent facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, especially this time of year. Snow is piled high on the trails and sidewalks, expecially at major road intersections, making it nearly impossible to walk or ride. Single-passenger SUVs dominate the roads, barely hesitating for people forced to walk in the street, belching more toxic fumes into the air. You begin to think that it's not worth the effort, that people deserve the conditions they create, and that it may be time to find a better, more people-oriented place to live. Maybe it's just time for an attitude-changing bike ride to burn off some of the pent-up tension created from being cooped up inside for too long. (0) comments |