Friday, July 30, 2004
Uh, time for a bigger TiVo
On a whim, I decided to look up the olympics television schedule. I guess I felt mentally prepared to learn how little of the sports I really like would be covered this year.
And then I just had to exclaim to myself, "holy fuckin' crap!" when I saw this.
"Featuring action from every sport contested at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece, the unprecedented 24-hours-per-day broadcast of the Summer Games will consist of 1,210 hours of coverage -- nearly three-times the 441.5 hours from Sydney in 2000 and more than seven-times the 171.5 hours from Atlanta in 1996."
Seriously, how the hell am I going to watch all of it?! Keeping current with the Tour was difficult enough, and that was only about 3 hours a day. This is about twenty times that. I'd have to watch TV for 24 hours a day for 50 days.
Nobody talk to me about what happens in the Olympics until 2006, ok?
And then I just had to exclaim to myself, "holy fuckin' crap!" when I saw this.
"Featuring action from every sport contested at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece, the unprecedented 24-hours-per-day broadcast of the Summer Games will consist of 1,210 hours of coverage -- nearly three-times the 441.5 hours from Sydney in 2000 and more than seven-times the 171.5 hours from Atlanta in 1996."
Seriously, how the hell am I going to watch all of it?! Keeping current with the Tour was difficult enough, and that was only about 3 hours a day. This is about twenty times that. I'd have to watch TV for 24 hours a day for 50 days.
Nobody talk to me about what happens in the Olympics until 2006, ok?
On Being a Republican in 2004
This came my way this week. Enjoy!
It is very tough to be a Republican in 2004, because you have to believe concurrently that:
1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highestnational priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.
3. Standing Tall for America means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.
4. A woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all humankindwithout regulation.
5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans benefits and combat pay.
7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.
8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, but then demand their cooperation and money.
10. HMOs and insurance companies make huge profits and have the interest of the public at heart.
11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing healthcare to all Americans is socialism.
12. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
13. It is okay that the Bush family's Carlisle Group has done millions in business with the Bin Laden family.
14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the War President.
15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachableoffense. A president lying about WMD existence to enlist support for an unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands soldiers andcivilians die, is solid defense policy in a War againstTerrorism.
16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which should include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy's library and is none of our business.
18. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital national interest but what Bush did in the 80's is irrelevant.
19. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
20. Affirmative Action is wrong, but it is OK for your Daddy and his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, to bail out your companies (Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers), to get the Governorship of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.
21. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay, while at the same time refunding as much tax money as possible to rich people who do not need it.
It is very tough to be a Republican in 2004, because you have to believe concurrently that:
1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highestnational priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.
3. Standing Tall for America means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.
4. A woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all humankindwithout regulation.
5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans benefits and combat pay.
7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.
8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, but then demand their cooperation and money.
10. HMOs and insurance companies make huge profits and have the interest of the public at heart.
11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing healthcare to all Americans is socialism.
12. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
13. It is okay that the Bush family's Carlisle Group has done millions in business with the Bin Laden family.
14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the War President.
15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachableoffense. A president lying about WMD existence to enlist support for an unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands soldiers andcivilians die, is solid defense policy in a War againstTerrorism.
16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which should include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy's library and is none of our business.
18. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital national interest but what Bush did in the 80's is irrelevant.
19. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
20. Affirmative Action is wrong, but it is OK for your Daddy and his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, to bail out your companies (Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers), to get the Governorship of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.
21. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay, while at the same time refunding as much tax money as possible to rich people who do not need it.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Happy Anniversary!
For our third, we decided to stay home and catch up on all the tour stages we were behind (7-10). Not the most romantic thing to do, I guess, but we opened some of our French wine and set up camp in front of the TiVo... before passing out a little bit into stage 8. Not to worry, though, since we have two anniversaries, we just finished watching them the next day. We are caught up!
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Montana
We took Friday off to head for my family's reunion in the Kalispell/Whitefish area of NW Montana. As I told Naomi, it's like Colorado with fewer people.
Colleen picked us up and took us to the airport (thanks, hon!). Our flight was full of teenage basketball playing girls, so it was entertaining. I remember travelling for running in high school, and it was always a lot of fun. Nothing compares to travelling in a group for competing/performing!
During our trip, we were informed that we would not have our own room to stay in, unless we did a lot of shifting around during our stay. Not great news, but still, I figured we'd survive. It was an Adventure, so, you know, go with the flow. We arrived and were picked up by my parents at the small (but surprisingly not too small) Glacier National Park International Airport. (So what if the "international" refers to Canada, about 40 miles to the north? It's still impressive.)
We were staying in a complex of pre-fab log cabins, paved roads connecting them, lawns in front, all the amenities on the inside. We were a little sluggy from the travel so we went running to clear the cobwebs. We got back in time for the last of dinner and to gradually re-greet and visit with a number of our relatives. Some of my closest relatives, cousins, were not able to make it, which was somewhat disappointing.
We spent the evening talking and catching up, really just hanging around and having a few beers, which was ok by me. Naomi enjoyed the company of one cousin's pet rat. It was all fine until it ended up peeing on her only pair of jeans she brought. Then it crapped on someone else, so she figured it was safe, but it subsequently crapped on her, too. So, add 'laundromat' to our vacation agenda! See, love of rodents comes at a price-- a price that I personally am not inclined to pay.
On Saturday, we woke up too late for the sourdough pancakes, but I had some eggs and sausage. For some reason, I was really sleepy the whole trip. Maybe from sleeping on a pull-out bed? I don't know. My mom's cousin Dave makes sourdough panacakes at every gathering, using a sourdough 'starter' that has been passed down for 3 generations in his family.
After breakfast, we went on a hike to Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park. Length of the hike is reported between 2 and 3 miles, but I think it's pretty close to 3. There were 10 of us-- me and Naomi, Michael K., Chris and g/f Caroline, Luke, Robin, Thede, and Sasha and b/f Michael. The hike was gradually uphill over a little ridge and down to the lake. We went at a pretty good clip, and I was pretty winded trying to maintain it. I might be specializing too much in cycling! The scenery was gorgeous, and the company was good.
On the way back I was really happy to get to hike with Caroline and get to know her a little bit. We talked cycling most of the way, as we are both avid cyclists and follow pro racing. Naomi and Chris walked ahead discussing more serious matters! And I found out later that he told her my ex- is now engaged. Well, good for her! No, really.
We got back in time to get ready for our traditional big reunion family dinner. I still felt pretty logey, though and wasn't very talkative. After dinner was karaoke, and I sat shyly off to the side for most of the night as my relatives went up and let loose. It got pretty fun toward the end when my cousin Sasha did an inspired "I Will Survive". Naomi encouraged her to do "Sweet Dreams" (Eurythmics) later, and then ended up joining her with Catherine and it was very well done! I capitulated and sort-of rapped Baby Got Back with the two Michaels and Thede, while the girls shook-it like they just did't care. Which was good, because that meant attention wasn't on me! Fortunately, both Michaels knew the words and they were on either side of me, and it kept me on track a little bit. Finally, Thede sang "Dead or Alive" (Bon Jovi) and was mobbed by girls afterwards. The night closed with most of my aunts (+ mom) doing YMCA. We were running out of steam, so we went to bed fairly soon after the joint closed down.
Sunday we were late for breakfast again, though I did get a few pancakes this time. Yum! We set off on another hike, with Thede this time, to Trout Lake. It was 3.7 mi according to a book we scoped out at the gift shop, and climbed 2100 feet before dropping down to the lake. It was really beautiful, and even more deserted than the day before. We had great conversations about a wide variety of topics, which is the norm with people like Thede and Naomi. The pace was vigorous, and again I was working pretty hard to maintain it.
The rain stayed away for the most part, and by the end we were exhausted and hungry, so we went for the first food we saw, a diner in the Apgar center. When you worked out that hard, everything tastes good!
The night was pretty mellow as a lot of people got ready to leave. We considered the hot tub, but we were turned off from it when the phrase "scum of skin cells" came up. Thanks, Mark, I guess. It was a stream of good-byes for the rest of the night, as we hit the hay to get ready for our 4:30 wake-up to catch a 6:20am flight back.
The trip was pretty fun, although I ended up pretty tired. There were two infants there, Jennifer and Shawn's girl Simone, and my David and Lauren's boy Jack. Because of that, we were asked, both subtly and non-, about when we were going to give my parents some grandchildren (fortunately most of this happened when Naomi wasn't around). It's kind of funny that you catch a lot of grief for not having kids, but then they don't give you your own room to stay in. :)
Colleen picked us up and took us to the airport (thanks, hon!). Our flight was full of teenage basketball playing girls, so it was entertaining. I remember travelling for running in high school, and it was always a lot of fun. Nothing compares to travelling in a group for competing/performing!
During our trip, we were informed that we would not have our own room to stay in, unless we did a lot of shifting around during our stay. Not great news, but still, I figured we'd survive. It was an Adventure, so, you know, go with the flow. We arrived and were picked up by my parents at the small (but surprisingly not too small) Glacier National Park International Airport. (So what if the "international" refers to Canada, about 40 miles to the north? It's still impressive.)
We were staying in a complex of pre-fab log cabins, paved roads connecting them, lawns in front, all the amenities on the inside. We were a little sluggy from the travel so we went running to clear the cobwebs. We got back in time for the last of dinner and to gradually re-greet and visit with a number of our relatives. Some of my closest relatives, cousins, were not able to make it, which was somewhat disappointing.
We spent the evening talking and catching up, really just hanging around and having a few beers, which was ok by me. Naomi enjoyed the company of one cousin's pet rat. It was all fine until it ended up peeing on her only pair of jeans she brought. Then it crapped on someone else, so she figured it was safe, but it subsequently crapped on her, too. So, add 'laundromat' to our vacation agenda! See, love of rodents comes at a price-- a price that I personally am not inclined to pay.
On Saturday, we woke up too late for the sourdough pancakes, but I had some eggs and sausage. For some reason, I was really sleepy the whole trip. Maybe from sleeping on a pull-out bed? I don't know. My mom's cousin Dave makes sourdough panacakes at every gathering, using a sourdough 'starter' that has been passed down for 3 generations in his family.
After breakfast, we went on a hike to Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park. Length of the hike is reported between 2 and 3 miles, but I think it's pretty close to 3. There were 10 of us-- me and Naomi, Michael K., Chris and g/f Caroline, Luke, Robin, Thede, and Sasha and b/f Michael. The hike was gradually uphill over a little ridge and down to the lake. We went at a pretty good clip, and I was pretty winded trying to maintain it. I might be specializing too much in cycling! The scenery was gorgeous, and the company was good.
On the way back I was really happy to get to hike with Caroline and get to know her a little bit. We talked cycling most of the way, as we are both avid cyclists and follow pro racing. Naomi and Chris walked ahead discussing more serious matters! And I found out later that he told her my ex- is now engaged. Well, good for her! No, really.
We got back in time to get ready for our traditional big reunion family dinner. I still felt pretty logey, though and wasn't very talkative. After dinner was karaoke, and I sat shyly off to the side for most of the night as my relatives went up and let loose. It got pretty fun toward the end when my cousin Sasha did an inspired "I Will Survive". Naomi encouraged her to do "Sweet Dreams" (Eurythmics) later, and then ended up joining her with Catherine and it was very well done! I capitulated and sort-of rapped Baby Got Back with the two Michaels and Thede, while the girls shook-it like they just did't care. Which was good, because that meant attention wasn't on me! Fortunately, both Michaels knew the words and they were on either side of me, and it kept me on track a little bit. Finally, Thede sang "Dead or Alive" (Bon Jovi) and was mobbed by girls afterwards. The night closed with most of my aunts (+ mom) doing YMCA. We were running out of steam, so we went to bed fairly soon after the joint closed down.
Sunday we were late for breakfast again, though I did get a few pancakes this time. Yum! We set off on another hike, with Thede this time, to Trout Lake. It was 3.7 mi according to a book we scoped out at the gift shop, and climbed 2100 feet before dropping down to the lake. It was really beautiful, and even more deserted than the day before. We had great conversations about a wide variety of topics, which is the norm with people like Thede and Naomi. The pace was vigorous, and again I was working pretty hard to maintain it.
The rain stayed away for the most part, and by the end we were exhausted and hungry, so we went for the first food we saw, a diner in the Apgar center. When you worked out that hard, everything tastes good!
The night was pretty mellow as a lot of people got ready to leave. We considered the hot tub, but we were turned off from it when the phrase "scum of skin cells" came up. Thanks, Mark, I guess. It was a stream of good-byes for the rest of the night, as we hit the hay to get ready for our 4:30 wake-up to catch a 6:20am flight back.
The trip was pretty fun, although I ended up pretty tired. There were two infants there, Jennifer and Shawn's girl Simone, and my David and Lauren's boy Jack. Because of that, we were asked, both subtly and non-, about when we were going to give my parents some grandchildren (fortunately most of this happened when Naomi wasn't around). It's kind of funny that you catch a lot of grief for not having kids, but then they don't give you your own room to stay in. :)
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Three Day Weekend
Ah, how nice to have a three day weekend with very little planned! I found myself thinking about all the different bike rides we could do, and Naomi reminded me "this weekend is not all about cycling!" However, with the Tour starting, and a ride every day, it was a pretty good cycling weekend.
Saturday I went to my group ride, and we hammered more than usual. I covered 61+ miles in just over 3 hours, and that includes my casual pace over to the start. On Saturday we had planned to go see Farenheit 9/11, but our fried Ed had gotten a late start on his century that day, so we decided to reschedule. So, we had a mellow relaxing rest of the day and evening. Watched the tour prologue, made a home depot run, and didn't do much else. It was nice to relax for a change.
Sunday we got up really, really late for some reason, so half the day was gone! But we still got in a 34-mile ride, out to Naomi's friend Marc's to tend to his cat, and back. In the afternoon we went to a Squirrelfriends BBQ at Shann & Guy's, and Ed came along, and managed to talk us into...
...Mt. Hamilton by moonlight! We were planning on doing this ride anyway, but Ed convinced us to get up at 3:30 so we could start ascending under the mostly full (waning gibbous) moon. It was plenty of light, and no traffic, and really pretty nice. At one point, about halfway up, i toyed with the idea of riding the rest of the way out of the saddle, but quickly got bored of that. Then Ed challenged me to see which of us two could ride the longest out of the saddle. Of course, we both made it all the way to the top, but it made the climb even tougher! It was very hot at the top, and it's a good thing we didn't wait until later in the day, or we'd have baked.
Afterwards we went to Stacks' in Campbell. There was a wait of almost an hour, but at that point we were too tired and hungry to locomote to anywhere else, so we hung out there. Ed fell asleep against a tree.
After brunch and a nap, we went over to see the newly arrived Ethan Hunter Sparks, and then went out to dinner at Krung Thai with Susan and Dan.
So, we didn't: clean the garage, the office, or the backyard, although we made inroads on the latter two. We did: have a nice low-stress weekend, and I got three rides in. Now we get a three-day work week, then Montana for the weekend.
Saturday I went to my group ride, and we hammered more than usual. I covered 61+ miles in just over 3 hours, and that includes my casual pace over to the start. On Saturday we had planned to go see Farenheit 9/11, but our fried Ed had gotten a late start on his century that day, so we decided to reschedule. So, we had a mellow relaxing rest of the day and evening. Watched the tour prologue, made a home depot run, and didn't do much else. It was nice to relax for a change.
Sunday we got up really, really late for some reason, so half the day was gone! But we still got in a 34-mile ride, out to Naomi's friend Marc's to tend to his cat, and back. In the afternoon we went to a Squirrelfriends BBQ at Shann & Guy's, and Ed came along, and managed to talk us into...
...Mt. Hamilton by moonlight! We were planning on doing this ride anyway, but Ed convinced us to get up at 3:30 so we could start ascending under the mostly full (waning gibbous) moon. It was plenty of light, and no traffic, and really pretty nice. At one point, about halfway up, i toyed with the idea of riding the rest of the way out of the saddle, but quickly got bored of that. Then Ed challenged me to see which of us two could ride the longest out of the saddle. Of course, we both made it all the way to the top, but it made the climb even tougher! It was very hot at the top, and it's a good thing we didn't wait until later in the day, or we'd have baked.
Afterwards we went to Stacks' in Campbell. There was a wait of almost an hour, but at that point we were too tired and hungry to locomote to anywhere else, so we hung out there. Ed fell asleep against a tree.
After brunch and a nap, we went over to see the newly arrived Ethan Hunter Sparks, and then went out to dinner at Krung Thai with Susan and Dan.
So, we didn't: clean the garage, the office, or the backyard, although we made inroads on the latter two. We did: have a nice low-stress weekend, and I got three rides in. Now we get a three-day work week, then Montana for the weekend.
