Monday, July 31, 2006

Pootini!

Life must be rough patroling on some poor backwater planet, chasing after heat crazy jawas, rousting Sandpeople who've hit the firewater a little too hard, and keeping the usual suspects stuck in their den of scum and villainy.  But don't take my word on it, ask these guys:

 

 

Special thanks to the guys at The Jawa Report.  I don't know why I find guys in faceless helmets funny, nodding their heads to look like they're talking, but I do.

Moment of Truth for Landis

Sometime today, or maybe tomorrow, Floyd Landis will find out the results on his B sample to determine if there was any artificial testosterone in his system.  Again, I will repeat the same points that the rest of the endurance athletics world has been stressing: steroids would have no effect on performance in one day.  Even if the results are positive, I won't believe that Landis knowingly ingested testosterone.  Again, here are some points made in many other places: he'd been tested many times before and during the tour, in competition and out, with no positive hits for the T/E ratio; the motivation to dope during this particular Tour de France would have been sorely mitigated by the intense scrutiny due to the Operacion Puerto scandal which dismissed an entire team, nine other riders, and disqualified another team because they did not have enough riders to start.  Incidently, those five riders on Astana-Wurth have been cleared of any wrongdoing.  Lance Armstrong has some choice words about the lab that did the testing on Landis' A sample:

[...] I can’t help but be aware the lab that found this suspicious reading is the same one that was at the center of the ’L’Equipe affair.  When an independent investigator contacted the lab, they wouldn’t answer the simplest of questions, wouldn’t go into their testing ethics, who did the tests, etc., etc.  [...] I don’t personally have a ton of faith in that lab.  I think they should lose their authorization and the report pretty much supports that.

Others are offering more medical theories on other things that could affect the T/E ratio (Thanks to DrunkCyclist for the link).  According to Dr Simon Davis, "It has been reported that ethanol consumption can increase urinary T/E ratios by 30% - 277% in healthy individuals.  Observed changes in plasma T/E ratios can occur with the consumption of less than 2 pints of lager."  So, it really was the beer!  And we still don't know which brand name it was either.  I really do hope Floyd Landis is cleared, because if we can't trust the cyclists, or even the doping controls, these circumstances just make all of endurance sports pointless.

 

Update: Floyd Landis' legal team officially requested testing of the B sample after reviewing the full report on the results of the A sample.  No official word on the scheduling of the testing.  Team Landis expects the results of the B sample to be exactly the same as the A sample, because, they argue, that Landis' body chemistry was the origin of the high T/E ratio.

 

Update 2: Please check here for the latest thoughts on this developing situation.

 

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Lebanese Protesters Declare UN The Enemy

The UN's supposed moral neutrality and superiority are now gone, at least in the eyes of the Lebanese islamists.  Does anyone remember the Iraqi Information Minister's increasingly bizarre press conferences as he assured reporters that Coalition Forces could not even come close to the heart of Baghdad, even as bombs, missiles, and even tanks took out buildings behind him?  I wonder why I'm thinking of that right now:

We appreciate the intervention of the highest Lebanese authorities to provide protection for the U.N. headquarters in Beirut and Lebanon's need for the United Nations and ESCWA," said Tallawy, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Uh, yes, looks like their doing a real bang-up job there, with conclusive proof on the competence of those Lebanese security forces against those poor Hezbollah sympathisers:

 

Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Issam Kobeissi
Wait, where are the Israeli bombs "deliberately" targeting this outpost?

 

The usual noises are now being made.  A UN spokesman tried to tie this "demonstration" to Israel's latest attack: "We understand the feeling of the Lebanese people after many civilian victims fell in the bombardment of Qana ... which reminds us of the tragedy that befell the people of the village in 1996," said Mervat Tallawy, U.N. under-secretary-general.  But he leaves out the details that the protesters attacked the UN flag first and ripped it to shreds.  Of course, Reuters doesn't have a picture of that, but they do have a great staged photo of Lebanese stomping an American flag.

 

Lebanese stomp American Flag in staged photo
...you put your left foot out, you do the hokey-pokey...

 

Who brought the flag? It definitely would not have been hanging anywhere near the UN building.  This story's got all the elements of a usual Middle East riot story, except it happened to the UN. But the story cannot be linked to usual "frustration" with Middle East violence, because the crowd was chanting the "Death to America" stuff along with Hezbollah slogans.  This was a Hezbollah crowd attacking the UN.  Where is their moral neutrality now? Hezbollah's attacks are against the West, and the UN is actually one of the largest symbols of western civilization, not just America.  The United States just has not been willing to be used as a dupe or a tool for the destruction of Israel.  Is this a turning point?  Not yet, at least by the under-secretary's reaction.  But now, Israel and Hezbollah have attacked UN positions.  The UN should ask itself, which attack was "deliberate?"

Update: Demonstrators in Gaza have ransacked UN offices there.  Two people were wounded.  UN officials escaped before being harmed.  Looks like the turning point has been reached on Hezbollah's and Hamas' side.  UN is still tying this to the Israeli attack on Qana.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Good Idea: Recycling and Saving Costs

The AP wires are carrying a cool story that talks about recycling, saving municipal costs, protecting trees, and is good on your joints.  Wow, what can do all that?  Two words: rubber sidewalks.  Yeah, sounds kinda boring, but if you read through the story, the sidewalks are made out of recycled car tires, last seven years without cracking from exposure, accomodate tree roots longer without breaking, and are easier on joints from walking and falling.  Converting the old tires into the sidewalk squares is more expensive, but over time, the savings to municipal services in replacing sidewalks at the current rate of every three years, spending less on tree maintenance, and saving healthcare costs on degenerative joint pain and emergency care could add up to a lot.

More Landis Opinion and Speculation

I'm not the only one asking about the stupidity of using testosterone to enhance performance for a single stage.  Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of WADA, whose psychotic boss Dick Pound apparently never got over being picked on by jocks in high school, offered the same objections on the validity of the positive result on the A sample.  Here's the money quote:

One-time use of steroids could result in an abnormal test, but it would have no effect on performance and could not account for Landis’ astounding feat Thursday, “so something’s missing here,” Wadler said. “It just doesn’t add up.”

According to Landis, in his press conference from Spain this morning, he was tested out of competition four times, and six times before stage 17, with no positive results.  Of course, the testers are confident in their lab results.  Dick (how appropriate) Pound, against WADA regulations, crowed about the positive test:

"When is this going to end? What is the UCI going to do about it?" he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's always disappointing when you see something like this. If there is a positive test, what have you got? The guys who came second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth at last year's event have been busted in the (Spanish investigation), and now the winner of this year's event is busted in the race itself. ... You build up and create a new hero, and he gets slapped down. It's a serious blow."

Sounds like Dick was only disappointed in not busting number one, Lance Armstrong.  Some things have come out during all the speculation: cortisone shots would not have affected the testosterone levels; alcohol would not have affected the test; some athletes have naturally high levels of testosterone, but it takes months of subsequent testing of endocrine levels to fight the allegations.  On that last point, Santiago Botero successfully fought a high T/E result in 1999.  This is all far from over. 

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Drool....

New computer in the house... check later for updates... wipe slobber later...

 

Update: Wireless network set up, browsing while watching HDTV (wipe)... still setting up all the defaults (dribble).

 

Another Update: Pictures!

Image Image
Fresh out of the box!Wait, KITT's not blue...

 

Not Again! Say It Ain't So!

The anti-doping testers have found another target in Floyd Landis.  His sample taken right after the Stage 17 victory tested positive for a hit on testosterone.  We have to await the results on the B sample to confirm positive result.  All I can do is roll my eyes.  An American gets tagged for doping, after what happened even before the Tour started.  This American virtually climbed his way back into overall victory by winning the stage, something so audacious, and all winners get tested right afterwards.  And this American tests positive for steroids?  How stupid do you think Landis, Team Phonak, and the public are?  Testosterone cannot give you strength in one day to beat everyone else by over 5 minutes.  Why not a whole bunch of stimulant, or adrenaline, or some overcooked blood you collected in the Rockies while training?  But an anabolic steroid?  And the test is different than last year too.  The positive was for the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, which should be 1:1 for naturally occurring testosterone in the body.  The threshold last year was 6:1, but it was lowered to 4:1.  So, that was the hit.  Man, did someone spike Floyd's beer with man juice?  Look, I know that cycling is one of the dirtiest sports out there, but we have someone here who has never tested positive for anything in his life.  And this is an endurance sport, a whole bunch of muscle is not going to help you in the mountains.  This is ridiculous.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Red vs. Blue - Halo Style

Back when the Xbox game console first came out, the game that came with it, in my opinion, was what sold millions of the thing: Halo.  My work buddies and I ended up buying Xboxes so that we could all play this game together, and shoot each other's brains out, in a nice controlled manner.  You know, get the tension out of the office.  Around that time, a small production company called Rooster Teeth, started making films, just using Halo's game engine, and some funny dialog.  4 seasons later, and a Halo sequel too, they've released over 70 episodes and compiled the episodes on DVD's.  Since the episodes showed up on DVD, you can now go on over to DivX and search for uploaded episodes there.  So, here's the very first episode, touching on existence, intelligent life, and who's in charge.

 

 

You Drunken Pigs!

Have you ever had a friend who liked to pour beer for his dog and watch the little guy stumble around?  I've seen drunken women but I've never seen a drunk bitch, the dogs usually boys, named Cody or Sam, wearing a bandana around its neck.  (I went to college in the 90's, that's what they did to dogs back then.)  Well, can you make a living out of that?  This bar in Tasmania seems to be doing very well, but instead of dogs, they've got a pair of pigs, who look forward to their daily bottles.  Of course, the animal cruelty people have to come around to make sure Priscilla and PB are being treated well.   The owners have figured out their tolerance, so they're never drunk, which would qualify for the cruelty:

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals often investigates complaints about the pigs' drinking but have found the porkers unharmed.

"Whilst it is a difficult pill to swallow ... it's certainly not cruelty, unfortunately," [said] RSPCA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] state chief executive Rick Butler.

I like the "unfortunately" part.  It's okay for people to ingest whatever we want, but we must protect the poor animals from these dangerous chemicals.  Be careful, don't get the SPCA started on smoking monkeys.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

No Point Really, You Just Have to See It

A while back, I posted my response to a story about a Pakastani prisoner who lost that spare lightbulb of his.  So, with that in mind... oh, just look at the picture.

 

Image
I'm hypnotized, it's like a trainwreck... I hope it wasn't loaded...

 

Thanks to April Winchel, Drs. David B. Busch and James R. Starling, and El Serracho.

New Fashions in the Iran

Even though the Iran, he is busy these days, you know, with the building of the nuclear bomb, and the supplying of the arms to the Hezbollah, he still has the time to show the wear of the fashion by the women.  The Manola he covers the new looks in the unique way that is his.  But where are the brothers of these women, for they should not be doing the walking of the aloneness?  Maybe the brothers, they were taking the pictures.  Good!  Protecting the virtues of the sisters, for not to make the mullahs to have the madness and the fatwas and the honor killings.

Big News For Discovery Channel Team

Knowing that Discovery's woes during the Tour de France this year was the lack of focus on supporting an overall leader, the team has made some strong moves with signing Levi Leipheimer.  Another rumor running around is that Jan Ullrich may be coming over too.  Levi had a disappointing tour, especially after the top 5 guys from last year were all gone after the doping scandal, and he still finished out of the top ten.  He was the leader of Gerolsteiner, but his team was not able to support and protect him over the three week race.  Levi did very well earlier this year, winning on the French Alps in the Dauphine Libere, but could not repeat that kind of performance after two weeks of hard riding.  Discovery Channel's team roster did not change that much from last year, so we know they can handle supporting a leader and can show great teamwork during a team time trial.  But if Discovery gets its wish with Ullrich, or even Floyd Landis, where would that leave Levi?  Well, outside of the Armstrong Era, we know now that the Tour can become very dramatic.  Let's see what happens next season.

More Sports Head Butting!

A jockey was caught on TV headbutting his horse after it threw him.  No word yet on whether the horse insulted the jockey's mother or both his mother and sister.  Check out the video.  It doesn't look much to me.  At the very least, it proves the horse isn't Italian since it didn't immediately crumple to the ground looking for a red card.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Errant Missile Strikes New York Highway

Well, that should have been the headline in the New York Times, but instead, Reuters reports it this way: Missile falls off truck onto New York highway.  Honestly, sex it up, make people think something horrendous happened, because we know you guys need to sell your subscriptions.  What with the newspapers' circulation numbers way down, you've got to help your clients out.  Sadly, no pictures.  I would have loved to see an empty Tomahawk cruise missile crumpled on the side of the highway.

Politechnical >> Peace Movements- War in Reverse?

Politechnical has an interesting post on the difference between pacifists and anti-war activists.  He makes a very good point that true pacifists are against all war, with no equivocations.  Meanwhile anti-war activists have an agenda and proclaiming their anti-war position is only a means to bolster or further that agenda.  Here's the money quote:

The acid test is this: a true pacifist, or true anti-war believer is against all war acts, not just those of one side or another.  Rather than a ‘yes, the terrorists are bad, BUT,”, there’s a ‘yes, the terrorists are bad, AND I don’t agree with …’  True pacifists rely on their religious faith or deep philosophical conviction for their beliefs and decisions.  There’s no equivocating- true pacifists act and speak as the genuine article, because they are.

The argument works the other way too, in the current Middle East dustup: "yes Israel is bad, BUT the palestinians..." versus "yes Israel is bad, AND Hamas..."  This is why I respect the Vatican's position on all the conflagrations in the world.  What usually gets buried in the wire reports is their admonition of the violence on the part of the instigator, but they have always been consistent on their views.  I can't agree with their condemnation of Israel's actions against Hezbollah, but I respect it.

Read the whole post.  Alan relates a story on the most highly decorated conscientious objector.

(h/t to The World According to Nick and The Jawa Report)

Frame That Speeding Ticket!

A man was arrested in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago for endangering traffic, on in-line skates.  Was he obstructing traffic by skating in the middle of a highway?  Yes, but not in the way you would think.  According to the story, the guy was going about 56 miles an hour, by hanging on to the back of a car.  He wasn't speeding, but to my mind he was cheating.  It's a common joke among my cycling buddies that if we're ever pulled over by a cop while we're riding our bikes, it should be for speeding.  Then we would show up at traffic court, not to contest the charge, but to brag!  "Yeah, I was going 55 miles an hour down that mountain road, but the speed limit was 50.  It took a while for the motorcycle cop to get up to me since he couldn't follow me around the curves."  It's not that far-fetched: Floyd Landis was clocked at over 90 km/h on the descent towards the finish line on his epic stage 17 victory.  That's 56 miles an hour.  The cameras had to follow him with a helicopter because the curves were too dangerous for the motorcycle cameras.  Of course, that could never happen to me, I'm too light.  The wind resistance knocks me around like falling leaf, but a man can dream...

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Tidbits du Tour de France

The finale of the Tour de France saw an eighth year with an American in the maillot jaune.  A new tradition has started with letting the winner address the crowd, and Floyd Landis gave his thanks to his team, his family, and the team owner.  Robbie McEwan tried to make  good on his promise to get on the podium twice as the stage winner, but Thor Hushovd had the better legs on the longer sprint.  It also looked like kids' day on the Champs-Elysees, with McEwan's son Ewan in his own green jersey, but Michael Rassmussen's new baby was the cutest in polka dots from head to toe.  Andreas Kloeden better get started on bringing his children to the tour too, since he looked out of place without some munchkin holding his hand.

Image Image Image

 

For some mirth, and confirmation from the peloton, that Dave Zabriskie really is one strange, funny dude from Utah, check out his collection of podcasts from the tour.  His funniest stuff is in his Tour de France Update - Stage 9.  Good to know, do not room with DZ while on a Grand Tour, because his guts turn into a "furnace."  Now we know why Carlos Sastre may have faded towards the end of the tour.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 22, 2006

Landis did not win the time trial stage like he wanted to, but did what he had to get back the yellow jersey, 59 seconds over Oscar Pereiro.  Andreas Kloeden finally showed some strong legs in the trial and jumped over Carlos Sastre to finish 3rd overall in the General Classification.  Before today, two of the other jerseys were sewn up, the King of the Mountains polka dot, and the Sprinters green.  Michael Rasmussen took all the points on the Tour's hardest stage with his stage victory and only Landis would have come close the day after with his special effort.  Robbie McEwan had all the points he needed to win after Tom Boonen and Oscar Freire both withdrew, so all he needs to do is finish tomorrow and it'll be his third maillot vert.  But Robbie likes winning, so don't expect him to ride conservatively:

It's strange because I normally have to fight like anything to win or lose it.  It is just starting to sink in now. But I am still concentrating on the stage. I want to get on the podium twice.

Sprinters really are a strange breed, where all they want to do is get over the line first.  When asked if the media can call him the best sprinter at the moment, Robbie smiled, "You can do that.  I don't mind."

Friday, July 21, 2006

You Better Have a Cup of Coffee

Marie McCullough over at the Philadelphia Inquirer aggregates this year's top stories on the benefits of the daily grind.  She mentions two of the stories that I've already written about, cutting the risk of diabetes, and offsetting the risk of liver damage.  But her introduction to her story sets the appropriate jittery, nervous laughter invoking tone to the subject of drinking brown water strained through the guts of burned seeds.

Over the centuries, coffee has been cursed for making soldiers undependable, women infertile, peasants rebellious, and worse.

In England in 1674, for example, the anonymous authors of the Women's Petition Against Coffee complained that they were suffering in the bedroom because men were constantly in coffeehouses, slurping that "nauseous Puddle-water":

"That Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE... has... Eunucht our Husbands... that they are become as Impotent as Age."

Yummy, gimme another cup!

Trial Lawyers Know We Know They're Scum... Huh?

While reading through the Fox News commentary sections (yes, it can be argued that all of Fox News is commentary, now go on back to the New York Times commentary... oh, right, you've got to pay for that now, so sorry!) I found this item on the Association of Trial Lawyers of America changing their name.  They now want to be called American Association for Justice, apparently admitting that people don't want to be reminded of what they do for a living: suing people for money, introducing "scientific evidence" to juries, and winning loads of money in torts and class action suits where their fees are usually 50 percent of the judgments.

A while back, some class action suit junk mailed me about a suit against a bank for sending out pre-approved credit cards while I was an undergraduate student.  I destroyed the card and thought nothing of it for ten years.  Then this piece of mail arrived and I was reminded of all the credit cards that were sent to me long ago.  So, I signed my name to the petition, thinking my odds of getting some money were better than the lottery.  About a year later, I did get a check, for $1.29.  Starbucks here I come!  If you want to get your dander up about civil action suits and tort reform, but don't want to get eye glaze from lawyer speech, crack open John Grisham's King of Torts.  I'm shuddering from the memory of the greasy portrayals right now.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 21, 2006

Today was a flat stage before the big "ride of truth," as they call the individual time trial, and poor Levi Leipheimer missed out on another stage win.  But everyone at the tour is still buzzing about Landis' Launch yesterday.  Speaking of buzzing, I was talking to my brother last night, and he related to me that after Floyd got into the yellow jersey the second time, he traded away one of his signed yellow jerseys to a tourist for a six pack of beer.  No word on the brand, because you should never drink it again!  On the next day, he promptly lost eight minutes on the climb up to La Toussuire.  Obviously, training has been hard on Floyd, and beer has been on his mind.  Beer has also been on the mind of Patrick O'Grady from Velonews, who asks the important questions, but gets no answers.  O'Grady wants to ask the very crucial follow-up:

Asked why he kept calling for water, more water, alternately drinking it and pouring it over his head, Landis quipped: "It was very hot. Maybe that was the explanation, or maybe it was the beer I had last night." No follow-up question. Good Lord, what the hell are they teaching in journalism schools these days? Stenography? Sobriety? The man has discovered the elixir of the gods in some anonymous French taproom and the sporting press just stands there like so many badly dressed mannequins, pondering their next hoary cliche.

For the record, according to Robbie Ventura, Floyd's personal coach, Landis consumed (drank, doused, and emptied) 71 water bottles on the road.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 20, 2006

The media and other riders are calling Stage 17 Landis' Launch.  There's Floyd checking out who's coming with him.

 

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Anyone... anyone... Bueller?

 

Which brings us to today's tidbit.  After yesterday's almost Tour ending results (This Tour is loco!), Landis did not immediately make himself available for interviews.  After an hour of feeling badly for himself, he held an improptu press conference, and here's what he had to say about answering questions about his worst day on the bike:

Well, ignoring it doesn't change anything, so I thought I'd come out and at least smile for you all.

Floyd has genuine reasons for smiling after today's amazing win, his first ever at the Tour de France.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Ayyy, the Pageant of the Miss Universe

Click on over to Manolo's Shoe Blog right now!  The Manolo he has the great pictures of the Misses Universe in the clothing of the native dress.  The Joeschmo he very much appreciates the spirit of the Miss France!

 

Image Miss France, Alexandra Rosenfeld, she shows the great shape of her fitness!

The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall

It seems that in every paleologic era, at least since the chordates evolved, huge animal species have evolved, found a relatively comfortable niche in a stable environment, and then WHAM!  Some ecological disaster happens, there's a mass extinction, and then the little guys fill the empty niches, lather, rinse, repeat.  Bjorn Carey, in a Livescience article, takes a look at some of the reasons why the big guys are predisposed to extinction during a climate impact.  The usual reasons are covered: anatomy is too specific to its niche causing large initial dying off; not able to breed and adapt as quickly as the smaller species (large animals usually have longer gestation, weaning, and maturation periods; and specific environments may have been impacted, for example land vs. ocean in the Cretaceous, allowing water or coastal species to evolve and fill empty niches further inland.

But the new thing reported in this story is the idea that mutations may arise in a population, much larger than average, in which the median species cannot compete for resources, causing a boom-bust cycle in an ecosystem that we see in modern times.  The well-document cases of boom-bust were caused by humans killing predators for harassing livestock, causing a huge boom in their usual prey, and then a massive die-off when the prey's food supply is exhausted.  In those cases, humans were the initial cause of the boom-bust, but in times past, an original large animal mutation precipitated the boom-bust cycle.

So, these days, humans are the Super Predators, which is nothing new in our planet's history, but the difference is that we are now aware of our impact on ecosystems and can figure out our proper role in balancing our needs and preserving a certain habitat, or whether we should even care about an ecosystem's development into one of our choosing.  Extreme preservation wants to leave no human footprints at all, preserving all species and environments as if humans were never there.  Extreme economic development posits that the land is under human ownership and all of its resources are to be managed with profit in mind.  The balance comes in whether the species in a specific habitat are worth saving, and resource management with conservation in mind.

That sounds extremely arrogant and pragmatic.  Shouldn't we be saving all endangered species?  The answer is, simply, no.  What if a species were going extinct without any influence from humans?  Should we interfere?  Or should we let Nature tend to its business?  A good example of humans mucking up the environment after trying to "save" it was the change in forest fire policy in the National Parks.  Before the 1990's, forest fires caused by lightning were regarded as natural events and allowed to run their course, while directing fire fighting to preserving key structures.  But after the Yellowstone Forest Fires of 1988, policy changed to stop all fires in National Parks.  This was based on economics (tourism) and short-sighted environmental policy (save endangered animal species).  But all forests consisting of large pine species (redwoods and sequoias) rely on forest fires for survival.  The fires clear out smaller tree and plant species, allowing for less competition for resources with the larger trees, and the large pines evolved so that fire is the only thing that can eat through their protective bark and release their seeds.  Smaller pine species developed cones, relying on small mammals to release and distribute their seeds, but the big guys did not.

Now, we have more fires, more fuel (brush), and we spend more resources fighting these fires because they get so large, they threaten private housing developments.  The large pines' life cycles are so long, 20 years of human interference are likely not going to affect their continued existence, but after 100 years, we may have to worry.  What if a new administration comes in and decides we spend too much on clearing brush and we should let logging companies come in and build roads and do that for us.  Oh, wait, that already happened.  So, because we wanted to save the trees in 1988, we may end up losing all of them, to competition with brush, not reproducing, and having them all cut down without proper regulation for renewal.

Ecological examples tend to be have a lot of details, which only makes sense since ecosystems really are all tied together, until they get to a desert, or ocean, or a big ass mountain.  My opinion is that Environmental Impact Reports have become too adversarial, instead of taking the balanced view that humans and our projects are also part of nature.

(note: I'll be applying the links to all the examples a little later.  As I said, ecological examples have a lot of details, and it takes time to apply all the evidence.)

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 19, 2006

The Big News today that Floyd Landis cracked and lost ten minutes to Pereiro and showed that his gamble lost.  Geez, giving 20 minutes, even 25 minutes, to a breakaway would have been fine, but 30 minutes was too much.  And looking at Landis on the final climb, it was clear that he bonked, and had no food with him.  His back pockets were empty.  Speaking of empty, that's exactly what anyone's predictions about who will win this tour is, with even just 4 stages to go.  Oscar Pereiro, the probable winner, if he doesn't crack tomorrow and lose 5 minutes in the time trial, had the best analysis of the Tour so far:

This Tour has been loco.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Why You Should Get Drunk Tonight

Far be it from me to tell people not to drink, but over at Modern Drunkard Magazine they've got an article listing the top 40 reasons to get drunk TONIGHT.  Here's a few of my favorites:

  • 15. Your friends can’t have a good time without you.
  • 16. Your friends might have a good time without you.
  • 31.  You did your goddamn monkey dance for the Man and now you get your monkey treat.
  • 38. When your coworkers ask “What did you get up to last night?” you can smile all cool like and say “Maaaaaan, you don’t wanna know,” instead of chirping “I alphabetized my DVD collection and found out I have two copies of The Truth About Cats and Dogs! Two!”

Read the whole thing.

(via Gorillamask)

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 18, 2006

The big news for today is Floyd Landis back in yellow, presumably not "loaning" it to anyone else until the final time trial.  The stage into l'Alpe d'Huez is always exciting, today moreso because because two team mates who are not known for their climbing abilities paced the eventual winner, Frank Schleck, into great position.  Seriously, what are Dave Zabriskie and Jens Voigt doing in a breakaway up l' Alpe d'Huez?  It actually helps me out because it sets up a great leadout for the German Quote Machine's own doping controls:

And all I do is train very hard, I know what I'm doing, and my wife Steffi would knock my head off if I did that kind of shit.  [...] My wife is worried every day when she brings the kids to school, that somebody is going to say something dumb to her.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Church Sign Smackdown!

You know how those Church signs always have to have something new or topical put up every week? Well, what if those signs had their own personality, and a little scuffle broke out between rival signs? Wuzzadem, the same guy that brought you Gore being dissed by Earth, the Moon, and Mars, has a little conversation happening between the Baptists and the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, the Catholic sign is a little defensive about some recent history. The second best thing is how the Lutherans end up in the middle of the argument. The best part is how the Baptist sign celebrates winning the argument.

Diabetes Treatments May Help Alzheimer's

Reuters reports today that some diabetes drugs decrease the risk of developing dementia.  There were two studies done, one on veterans in VA hospitals and the other team on elderly patients in Oakland.  The reason for the studies were to find the effects on dementia by certain brands of diabetes drugs, but the conclusions of both reports included the finding that blood sugar control was the key correlate for preventing any type of dementia.  But drugs alone are not the best way to regulate blood sugar levels.   Here's the money quote:

"Physical activity is probably the single best way to regulate your blood sugar levels," according to William Thies, vice president of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimer's Association.

So, it's not enough just to take your drugs, you got to run around a little bit too.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 17, 2006

Since it's a rest day, there's nothing to report for today, but here's a great picture of Jens Voigt after he won the longest stage of this year's Tour de France:

 

Image
The Boeing has landed after a successful takeoff and flight.

 

Look at those eyes!  Let's see if someone else can come up with a funnier caption than the boring one I put up there.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 16, 2006

Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx was interviewed at the Tour during Stage 14.  He is picking Floyd Landis to win, but he is a little biased, since his son Axel is riding for Landis' team Phonak.  When asked what the other contenders had to do to beat Landis, The Cannibal offered this very technical advice:

Go faster...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 15, 2006

In today's stage, the Tour judges had to extend the time limit, which on flat stages is 9 percent, to 10 percent, otherwise the entire peloton would have been disqualified.  Which leads us to today's tidbit:

Lanterne Rouge - French for red lantern, as in what hangs off the back of a train - the rider lowest on general classification.

The Lanterne Rouge after today's stage is Sebastian Joly (FDJeux) at 1:50:37 (hh:mm:ss) behind overall leader Oscar Pereiro.  Notable Lanterne Rouge during his pro cycling days is Paul Sherwen doing color commentary alongside Phil Ligget. 

Friday, July 14, 2006

Chocolate That Tarzan Can Eat

Continuing on with our (apparent) chocolate themed Friday, Nigerian scientists have found a way to sell more chocolate in their country: stop it from melting.  According to the article, chocolate melts anywhere from 77 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit.  The Nigerians have found a formula to push that all the way up to 122 degrees.  Here's a fun fact on how Hershey tried to help our soldiers during Operation Desert Storm:

During Operation Desert Storm, Hershey's Chocolate tested a high-temperature chocolate capable of withstanding 140-degree temperatures. It was dubbed the "Desert Bar," but troop reactions to its taste were mixed.

Because the chocolate doesn't melt in your mouth (it's not hot enough) you've got to chew it, which probably accounts for the less sweet taste.  I wonder if M&M's will be looking into this new concoction.

Why Hasn't This Been Done Before?

Sometimes, ideas come around that are so simple, yet so inspired, that all we can do is admire the audacity.  The chocolate bar that helps balance out of whack hormones brought on by PMS.  Of course, from a junk science point of view, this candy bar is another herbal scam, but it's an herbal scam with legs!  Here's the money quote from  David Segal:

If your wife or your girlfriend is on her fifth bar of the day and gobbling her way to a couple saddlebags' worth of extra poundage, she can say, "Honey, I'm doing this for you. Either I eat another Wonder Bar or I berate you irrationally and then burst into tears. Take your pick."

Checkmate! A man will have no choice but to sit back and gawk in horror as the little missus turns into a Greyhound bus.

Segal writes this article with just the right amount of snarkiness too.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 14, 2006

Yesterday was the toughest stage in the Pyrenees because of all the climbing.  Usually, a mountain stage in a Grand Tour is a stage of two races: who is first over the mountain passes and who is last before the time limit, which is usually about 10 percent of the finishing time, but it varies.  Which leads us to today's tidbit:

Gruppetto - A group of riders that form at the back of the field on mountain stages, who ride at a pace that allows them to finish just inside the time limit.  Usually the gruppetto is comprised of sprinters and other riders that are not climbing specialists or race leaders. Gruppetto is Italian for "a small group."

The last man to finish yesterday's stage was Frenchman Christophe Mengin, from the Francaise des Jeux team, at 46:13 (mm:ss) behind Denis Menchov, the Russian from Team Rabobank.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

World Cup Head Buttery

According to Scott Adams, Zidane's exit from the World Cup really was ordained, with a little help from an angel named Jose whispering in Materazzi's ear.  I really have to remember that line: two dollar donkey whore!

Short People Got No Reason...

As if I needed another reason to hate being short, besides never finding shoes in my size, long sleeve shirts that don't fit, and always having new pants tailored by my dry cleaner, I found another potential reason to raise a fig to my short sticks.  Short legs and adult-onset diabetes have a correlation.  Now, according to the article, it was leg length to height ratio that mattered, but they don't say how they measured the leg.  Inseam?  Hip?  Femur length?  I need to know!  The abstract says this:

RESULTS—Shorter height and leg length, and lower leg length–to–height ratio, were associated with higher percent body fat, especially in women. Lower leg length–to–height ratio was associated with greater insulin resistance estimated by HOMA-IR. In multinomial regression models adjusting for potential confounders, including percent body fat, the relative prevalence of type 2 diabetes per 1-SD lower values in height, leg length, and leg length–to–height ratio were 1.10 (95% CI 0.94–0.29), 1.17 (0.98–1.39), and 1.19 (1.02–1.39), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS—Our study supports the hypothesis that adult markers of prepubertal growth, especially leg length–to–height ratio, are associated with adiposity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes in the general U.S. population.

If I want to read the whole thing, I have to PAY $12.00!  Right now, I don't know for sure if my leg length to height ration is low, high, average, or nice legs yowza!  My dad already developed diabetes, but he had a period of rapid weight gain after he retired, which increased his risk dramatically.  So I only have one risk factor in the positive right now.  Geez, another thing to weigh us short people down.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 13, 2006

A major theme for this year's Tour seems to be spectators cutting riders so deep they need stitches.  Back in Stage 1, a cardboard hand, ironically from the Sprint Jersey's major sponsor, cut Thor Hushovd on his arm 20 meters before the finish.  It was a dramatic scene to see the yellow jersey on the ground with blood gushing everywhere.  Then, just after Stage 11, the toughest stage in the Pyrénées, Paolo Savoldelli, riding back to the hotel from the finish line, was struck by a spectator, requiring 15 stitches above his eyebrow.  The hotel was downhill from the line, so I'm sure Il Falco was just living up to his reputation has the best descender on the Tour.

Image And it has been said that one of the great things about cycling is the personal interaction between the fans and the athletes.  Right.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Crop Circle Season in Britain

It's an inside joke among my family, that I consider the British to be barbarians and that Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.  The first point (only slightly serious) comes from my experiences living in Oxfordshire for 4 months in college.  The second point (totally hilarious) is stolen from Mike Meyers in So I Married an Axe Murderer.  But I really want to talk about the barbarian thing.  The regular people in Britain are about as simple as regular people in America: they love their tabloids, they love their celebrities, and they love aliens.  Now, the first two things, they actually hate a little bit, otherwise, they wouldn't spend so much money on newspapers and other tabloids that treat the celebrities and competing tabloids so shoddily.  But, they also have half-naked Page 3 girls, so I'm not complaining too hard.  The culture of the ancient people we call barbarians were animistic: spirits and deities were everywhere and their influence explained everything.  The Norman and Saxon predilection for unexplained phenomena still has vestiges in Germanic peoples, so we love our Sasquatch, Aliens, and Nessie.

In Britain, the first Crop Circle of the summer was sighted and it was a doozy.  Ooh, it looks 3 dimensional!  Of course, alien visitation having anything to do with crop circles has been debunked long ago, but that doesn't stop the Brits from having their summer of fun.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 12, 2006

Jens Voigt, the German quote machine, riding for Team CSC, remarking on the team's injuries in the Tour so far:

What else can you do? You just need to soldier on and hope for the best. Either you laugh or you cry. So, we just try to laugh, of course.

Team CSC was already a man short because of the Operacion Puerto Doping Scandal, but then Stuart O' Grady broke his 4th Lumbar Vertebra in a crash, Bobby Julich crashed out with a broken wrist, and Frank Schleck is sore from a slow crash in the peloton during a flat stage.  I agree with Jens: "Give CSC a break."  But, hopefully, no more broken bones.  Incidently, Jens' nickname is Boeing.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Fire on CTA Blue Line train forces evacuations

Here's a story in Chicago that my brother James got caught up in.  A train derailed, causing a sooty fire, and some people had to be treated for smoke inhalation.   The incident happened a little bit after 5 PM, local time, right in the middle of commuter hours.   James, who has to take the Blue Line to get home from his office, got to his station about 6 PM, saw the digital signs flashing "DELAY" for about half an hour, before an official announcement told the waiting commuters that there would be no more trains coming into the station and that there were shuttle buses taking people to their stops along the way, or to transfer stations.   James just took the bus that goes to North Halsted, since he was going that way for dinner anyway.   He didn't know anything was going on until someone waiting for the bus with him got a cell phone call and was telling a worried relative that he was fine and that he had no idea the derailment had happened.   If James had his cell phone turned on, he probably would have had dueling conversations with the other commuter.   We found out about in California when it happened because my mom was watching local afternoon news.

Why something 2000 miles away needs to be covered here in local news coverage can only be explained by the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.  From initial reports, the derailment in Chicago does not appear to have any elements of foul play, other than perhaps shoddy government contracting, like what happened in Boston.

Tour Tidbit du Jour July 11, 2006

According to Christian Vande Velde, riding for Team CSC, his team mate David Zabriskie's nickname is the The Green Hornet.  There's gotta be a story behind that somewhere.  Maybe all will be revealed by the end of the tour.

Man finds light bulb where sun doesn’t shine

Okay, so MSNBC beat me to the punchline: Prisoner has surgery for removal; unknown how many it took to screw it in.  Here's the money quote:

The doctor treating Mohammad said he'd never encountered anything like it before, and doubted the felon's story that someone had drugged him and inserted the bulb while he was comatose.

Photo courtesy of Asim Tanveer -  ReutersThe picture really says it all.  Next time, tie a string around the thing, then the lightbulb glass won't break in your ass.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Rainbow Hypocrites

I've said it before, but I always love saying it again, Green Environmental Activists are the most hypocritical when it comes to the relationship of how they live and the message they convey.  Earth Day gatherings always leave the most litter on the ground, and the gathering's ecological footprint takes days or weeks of restoration.  Here's a case in point, from Routt National Forest in Colorado:

Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Ottaviano said aerial photography of the countercultural campers' 4-square-mile settlement in the Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District of Routt National Forest revealed "40 to 50 miles" of newly improvised trails requiring restoration in the visitors' wake.

"It's shocking," Ottaviano said. "Now there's just this enormous trail system" in a previously pristine area.

Trail restoration is one of the most important jobs of the Forest Service, because, without proper trail maintenance, erosion happens much quicker.  Erosion leads to soil depletion, habitat changes, and the balance of the plant and animal species change too.  These new trails are the direct effect of man's interference with nature, caused by the very people who supposedly worship Nature.  Not only that but they also leave hazardous waste and introduce new species because "a number of broken-down or stolen vehicles will be left behind, and [...] that 20 to 30 lost or abandoned dogs have been rounded up."  Yeah, big ups to Mama Nature.

Mac vs. PC - The Lost Ads

For those who find those Mac commercials with the "cool" geeky guy from Ed and the Jeepers Creepers movies and the poor befuddled office middle manager so annoying, Best Week Ever on VH1 has their own, more realistic versions of the commercials.  Check them out here and below.  The best PC product ever: U-Shut!

 

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Updates for July 9, 2006

Hey All!

If you've been checking this space for any changes, sorry about the delay.  I've been traveling all week, and, unlike most of my geeky breed, I can go without being online for a week, a month, whatever.  Did I do anything interesting?  Well... I'm sure the slogan "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," will apply to me.  My brother, I hope, will never talk.

 

Image What?  I never promised anything!  And why do I always get the ones with accents and you get the drunk ones?  What's up with that?

 

Uh... Anyway, I'm back from my little trip, but there will be some more traveling scheduled for later this month.  You guys will just have to bear with me and my absences.

Oh, if you see a lot of redundant coverage of the Tour de France here, just grit your teeth and wade through it.  I am suffering from Tourmania and seeking treatment.  I do believe there is an ointment, I just don't know where you're supposed to rub it yet.  I have an idea, but I don't want to admit it.

Tour Quote of the Day - Jens Voigt: "What da hell were you tinking?  Why take blood here and put blood dere?  What da hell is dat?  It's only biking!  Now all the faces of our sport are gone.  Look, I've got four kids, and you tink I'm going to let dem get into cycling?"

Saturday, July 01, 2006

MoonFest Training Take 2

Today, on the hottest day of riding, so far, this year, we crazy band of cyclists started out from San Dimas, not known for its mild climate.  We did a modest loop around the area, from Thompson Creek down to Bonelli Park, arriving back in San Dimas before 11 AM.  It was already 100 degrees by the time we stopped.

 

Image Here comes Jeff and Cathy rounding the corner of Padua and Mt. Baldy Road at the top of climb.  Of course, I was there first to take the picture, hee!
Image Here's a few of us enjoying the air conditioning at 42nd Steet Bagel & Cafe in Claremont.

 

We chatted for a bit at Adrian and Jayne's shop, enjoying cold sodas and cold canned beer, before taking off for a cool shower and a nice nap.