Wednesday, January 28, 2009

State of affairs?

Call me naive - but what is it about people today that popularity of services like these (Ashley Madison, Discreet Adventures, Affairs 4 U, Taken & Looking, etc) even exist let alone seem to be flourishing?

I am one for what goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults is fine by me, and should be nobodies beeswax. As cheating has been going on ever since Eve (or Adam for that matter) had competition. I was under the impression that affairs kinda just occurred by happenstance - not by design. You know the flirt by the water cooler, or business trip away from home, or with your basic White House intern and a tryst happened that may or may not then develop into an elicit longer lasting relationship. Kinda exciting, very hypocritical, and then the awkward what now??

Now you can just plunk down your credit card get a password and browse for your affair-mate online. No work or emotions - all the "fun" and mystery peeled away with just a click of the mouse.

I guess you gotta like the entrepreneurial spirit that somebody has taken advantage of the demand - I think they used to call these folks pimps?

I blame it on our soap opera society that takes no responsibility for their deceitful actions; probably the same kind of self-righteous folks who passed Prop 8 in CA. All these morally weak men & women should be so lucky as to end up being made a mockery of on the Jerry Springer show - some public shame and ridicule (let alone a cat fight or 2) would do them a world of good.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Obama factor

OK so whatever's going on - I like the trend.

The very first words from the last 3 people to put my life at risk while out riding my bike (2 diving into parking spots, and 1 trying to door me) offered up immediate apologies instead of stupid excuses (the standard being - "Oh, I didn't see you").

All 3 folks were of the fairer sex; though in the past these were equal opportunity excuse givers too.

And while it doesn't justify their bad driving behavior it does allow me to offer up a chance to calmly discuss and educate them so hopefully their children (all 3 ladies had kids) will be extra vigilant for drivers like just like them. And I anticipate that these ladies behavior may change for the better as well.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Truth-O-Meter

"I want you to hold our government accountable. I want you to hold me accountable" - Barack Obama.

The St. Petersburg Times (FL) has their Obameter up and running to check how our new President is keeping up on all his unprecedented number of campaign promises. At least in the first couple of days he's off to a good start.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

It never rains in CA...

and it didn't pour either.

A mostly cloudy morning in Ontario, CA with only a brief shower, but with temps in the low 60's I rode through it, with only a fleeting thought of turning back to the hotel to get my rain gear on. I'm glad I didn't as the rest of the day was very nice indeed.

I did lube up with Elite Ozone Energy Oil as a precaution for any wet mess that may occur, and it did a nice job warming up the legs and shedding the road spray.

Pre-ride I discovered that I had run out of chamois cream so I stopped off at Coates Cyclery and bought a small tub of AsMaster. I've never heard off their product before but(t) with a name like that how could I resist. Seem to work well for my initial 3+ hour test ride.

So I'm glad the forecasters were off on their predictions of rain all day - though I'm sure I'll meet up with it another day (like perhaps next Monday in SFO).

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Metabolism up

Rode to work in the fog this morning and had no idea how chilly it really was. Only had on a long sleeve undershirt and my Gore rain jacket plus tights and booties. When I passed a bank thermometer showing 33F - geez I've been chillier with temps 20 degrees higher and working harder to try and stay warm.

And no I'm not sporting any more layers of fat since my surgery & the holidays. So long road to passable fitness is back in full swing. May not be race ready by Mason Lake #1, but we'll see.

Oh goodie - rain tomorrow in Ontario for my long ride.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lame pilot joke

What is the flight call sign for the outgoing president for his final trip home (to Crawford)?

Air Force None!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Good riddance tour


Great ride out in the San Fran area today - headed out to the coast by Half Moon Bay and up over the Santa Cruz Mtns. Was out for about 3 hours on yet another spectacular day (albeit quite windy off the water) - motivated by the fact that this is the last full day GWB can do any more damage to our great country.

Ran into a group of riders from Rapha who are on day 2 of riding the ToC route, they dropped me on the climb south of Pacifica up to Devil's Slide.

BTW - I managed to practice what I preached earlier - stuffing my jersey pockets (several times) full of discarded material by the side of the road, which I emptied at the next available dumpster or trash can - the world (or at least a portion of the Santa Cruz Mtns) is a slightly cleaner and healthier place.

Day On!

If you have today off from work for the MLK Jr holiday (I do not) make it a day on - get out and do something good for yourself, your family, your neighborhood, and your community.

Say Hi to a stranger, donate stuff to the Goodwill or thrift store, write a check to your favorite charity, give food or your time to your local food bank, pick up some unsightly trash - whatever it is you decide to do, GO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Screwing with Tyler again

While Rock-around-the-clock appears to have filed the appropriate amount in trust securing their commitment as a UCI Continental team - Operation Puerto is rearing its ugly head again just in time for ToC folks to exclude those under continued investigation. Great fun?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Unintended Glider

Today's actual ditching in the Hudson River by a US Airways A320 is very unique. The apparent circumstances in which caused the ditching are not.

Bird strikes on aircraft are quite common. All portions of the aircraft are subject to the inadvertent strike - whether it be the cockpit windshield (which I can personally attest is very loud) or a leading edge of the aircraft (nose, wing, tail) - some sort of damage is likely (usually minor). And jet engine manufactures must pass an ingestion test as part of the certification process.

Airports, many by their very location along various waterfronts (lakes, oceans, rivers), are prone to birds in their vicinity with high frequency. Most, if not all, airports have an ongoing bird mitigation program utilizing various techniques to control the bird population and migration patterns around the runway environment. These range from the standard pop gun (makes noise), to introducing predators (raptors, cats, etc.), to paving grassy areas, and actually making some other areas near the outlaying portions of the airport more attractive for birds to populate - whatever it takes to keep them away from the arrival and departure paths.

Not everything is guaranteed to completely control the problem. And many times the problem is solved by just waiting for the known flock of birds to move on by; or maneuvering the aircraft to avoid.

Birds have downed jet airplanes before - most notably a KC135 tanker departing Elmendorf AFB near Anchorage - when they ingested a flock of geese after departure and all 4 engines were unable to sustain power. The problem being not that they just disrupt the initial airflow and clog the intake, but they also bend or break the vital blades that the engine relies on to compress and smooth the flow of air through the engine to do its work.

Unfortunately the airplane is most vulnerable when taking off as it is low, slow and usually heavy (loaded with lots of gas for it's trip). And these occurrences generally happen at a low altitude where such an encounter does not lend a lot of options. And the bigger and more numerous the bird(s) the worse the problem for the aircraft they collide with.

It looks like in this case back in NY, the pilot indicated that he was initially going to try to glide to a general aviation airport (Teterboro) just west in NJ; but quickly had to reevaluate and make the tough decision to ditch in the river. Not a lot of practice goes into ditching, and this one looks as if it'll write the textbook on how to do it perfectly.

And unlike a lot of doom & gloom in the media - the jet airplane does not drop like a rock when the engines quit - it does glide quite well (approx. 2 miles per 1000' of altitude); which time-wise will be eaten up at low altitude very quickly. With seconds ticking by you may not be able to go where you want but given the quick thinking (and the wherewith all to amend your initial thoughts) a survivable crash landing is not only possible, but very probable.

Great work to all the crew members on that jet - before, during, and after the ditching. Let the second guessing begin. Though I believe the investigation will reveal these guys as true hero's.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Back in the saddle again

In San Jose today - with temp's in the mid-60's I finally got my ass out for the first ride outside in over a month and a half. May have over-done it at 4+ hours, but it was at a Zone 1/2 pace; so I'll see how the legs feel tomorrow.

So for your listening pleasure:

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Holy lardass Fatman!

A study by the National Center for Health Statistics announced that over two-thirds of Americans between 20 & 72 are fat, with MORE than half of those being in the obese category.

I thought that shows such as NBC's "The Biggest Loser" were showing freaks and what they can accomplish given proper nutritional guidance and exercise motivation. But it's apparent that they are the freaks after losing all that weight - the norm is being heavy, and being overly heavy! Yikes.

The good news though from the CDC is that 1 in 200 (or one-half of one percent) of kids in America is a vegetarian; a growing trend that may help reverse the above. Let's hope.

back 2 work

Flying for the first time in 48 days - hope I remember how? I think my passengers & crew hope so too.

I was supposed to do a trip on Sunday but had to continue my sick leave to allow a for another couple of days to clear the crud. Last thing I need is my flying partner to be looking at me sideways while I'm still hacking up a lung or snigling out some green gunk and passing the crud to him.

I'm looking forward to some decent weather in San Jose tomorrow as I'd love to see a little warmer temps for my first scheduled ride of the year; though wouldn't you know it temps at home supposed to be hitting the low-to-mid 50's (almost summer!).

Monday, January 12, 2009

Longest run ever...

...OK, maybe for the new year.

After a 45 minute spin I cruised a mile (9 laps) on the indoor track the Y - 8 minutes. Not too bad on the new knee and not having any meaningful exercise in the last 7 weeks. Room for improvement (speed and endurance) but everything felt really good - especially happy with my breathing (and lack of the hack).

Now I just need to splash around in the pool & not drown and I'll call myself a tri-geek again.

In tune...

with the weather. As the temps rise & the clouds start to clear out today so too has my sinuses, nearing the end of a 2-week hack & snittle-fest. Whatever that was - good riddance!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

So simple only a child could do it!

















If only it was a career field - some of these kids might have a future in painting jets for a living?

Monday, January 5, 2009

Caution shameless promotion ahead - Maui rentals available

Need to get away from our dreary NW winter? We have a good deal for you if you find yourself heading to Maui in the future.

Our 1 & 2-bedroom condo's are located at the Grand Champions Villa's in the Wailea area.

Contact me directly if interested.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Crud

Well better to get it over and done with now (especially while still recovering from my knee surgery) - my bi-annual bout with a sinus infection. It's making it way through the kids; though my wife, so far, has been spared.

Friday, January 2, 2009

2008 bike in review

Total miles - I think that would be a negative number

Total days on/off - is there a number greater than 366 for days off the bike?

Month with most mileage - probably OCT or NOV (trying to gain the most fitness leading up to knee surgery)

Month with least mileage - December (post op recovery from knee surgery - what's up fitness anyway?).

The only year that I really tried to keep track of all that stuff was when I took the year 2000 off to do Odyssey 2000 (a year-long round-the-world bike trip) and I still wasn't focused enough to do it all.

Order of bike usage (most to least) - Pocket Rocket (collapsible travel bike), Cervelo (race/training), Rush Hour (fixie - commute/training), Cannondale (training/commute/tow kids trailer+), Klein (mtn bike), Raleigh (touring, stored in Maui), Softride (TT/Triathlon).

No wins (or placings for that matter - WTF?). No TT's. No ITT's. No double centuries. No tandem fun. No off-roading adventures (intentionally anyway!). No triathlons.

Several run-in's with knuckheaded motorists and at least 1 lame cop.

Will resume outdoor activity when my stuffy-nose allows, brain is ready, legs want some fresh (albeit cold and moist) air; get me out of the Y (and the New Year resolutionairies).

I will continue my no-pollute commute on Sunday JAN 11th watch out!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

200.5K

My employer wants to freeze our traditional defined benefit plan (A Plan in which they make 100% contributions and a payout at retirement based on years of service and salary) to only a defined contribution plan (B Plan or 401K plan with a high percentage employee contribution plus a low employer contribution whose investment choices are then controlled by the employee). Currently we enjoy both.

If they watched this show they'd realize why it is stupid to get rid of the defined benefit plan.

The employee may feel empowered to have control of their defined contribution plan, but most (if any) are not professional financial planners. My B plan lost almost 44% of its value in 2008, and many of my co-workers faced with mandatory retirement must continue to work (elsewhere) to make ends meet.

The balance is in a solid A Plan and a good B Plan, they compliment each other.

2 wheels/2 feet

Make a resolution you can live with - the 1-mile solution