creative eclipses

HIVE DESTRUCTION

2006-12-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

... or rather, relocation? Not sure yet. I havnen't had the most inspiring bloggerish (that's blogger/rubbish hybrid) time, let alone much of an exciting semester. But fear not, I'm just posting in the corner and will be comin' out swingin' soon, probably after this semester is over, and both my bikes are up on their feet as well. Er, wheels I mean. Yes, wheels.

Meanwhile, I did a Google image search based on the words "breaktime" and here is one that best fits the state of this virtual outpost:

If you check back here periodically (chances are no one is reading this), I'll be back with some savory tidbits very soon. In fact, even better. This blog actually sucks!

Basso Signs Two-Season Contract with Discovery Channel Team

2006-11-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

It's official, and the rumors floating around have been confirmed. As of yesterday Ivan Basso, former team captain for Team CSC, is on the Discovery Channel cycling team, for realsies. Although I'd rather seen him donning the red/black/white of CSC and being towed by Jens Voigt, Sastre and Mr. Z, I'm excited to see what next season has to offer... and probably some great coverage on the Discovery Channel. I should get cable sometime soon. Hmmmmm...
Levi Leipheimmer, formerly Team Captain (?) for Gerolsteiner is also on board for Discovery daring new line-up. Leipheimmer, Basso, Hincapie and Popyvich: Powerhouse?

I still think the CSC gear is still by far better than the Discovery fits. Trek vs. Cervelo? Eh, whatever.
More reading at Cycling News

Ivan and CSC Team Manager Bjarne Riis.

New Yawk Messenguzzz...

2006-10-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

NBC's Wide World of Sports spotlights Squid and NYC messengers hitting the 'drome. I love hearing this dude talks. Man, too good.

Ivan Basso Cleared of Doping Charges

2006-10-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

Good news this week, '06 Giro di Italia champ and all-around cool guy Ivan Basso was officially cleared by the Italian anti-coping commitee this past week and allowed to race professionally again. As you may know, Basso was allegedly linked to the controversial Fuentes Spanish doping ring, named after hemotologists Eufemiano Fuentes and José Luis Merino. Many other pro riders were busted for connections to this doping operation, including T-Mobile team captain and 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich and were barred from riding this past Tour de France.

Ivan came in at a close second place after Lance Armstrong in last year's Tour (2005) and was the hopeful to rise and take the crown this year. Due to the droping allegations, that dream was deferred.

Now he's back, talking with CSC Team manager Bjarne Riis about his future on the team. I've heard things back and forth, whether or not he'll continue riding for CSC, but nonetheless it's good to see this ripper back on the bike. Speaking of team news, Levi Leipheimer, leader of Team Gerolsteiner will be back on the Discovery Channel team, now that Viatcheslav "Eki" Ekimov retired from the rider team (dude, he's 40 and riding Tours. What?!) and will be in the team cars strategizing.

Andiamo!

In Lieu Of That Awful Rumself Picture That Was Up For a Month...

2006-10-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics I've come across via lurking the images on the internerd to keep eyes re-freshed:

Lurking Flickr is like a more productive Myspace for me. These pictures, care of some dude who can take good photos, Thomas Hawk, are pretty good. A little dated I suppose, but well shot. Street shots of a couple of hotshots. Above is Aubrey, below is Michele. They're awesome.

A few more hotshots, care of Matthew during this passed Sunday's annual Quake City Rumble:

Above, Chris Stevens in orange jersey took 3rd place. In the Godspeed jersey is Josh who's recently gotten on some serious cycling program apparently (he blazed in the Giro di San Francisco last month) took 4th or 5th place. I'm lurking in the background like a total dumbass with Eric from Sacramento.

To the left here is hotshot James who is a total sav and took 1st place, ousting Nice Tim by a hair. He also won the race the last weekend. Step to James and you may well be served.

Dudes, No Updates in "Hella" Long...

2006-10-03T00:17:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been gettin' shit left and right about the complete absence of new updates and general lack of effort put into this blog. Sorry for those who've seen that picture of Donnie Rumsfeld going that fugly face (below) everytime you check the blog. Dudes, SORRY!

Alright, I'm going to try to be steadfast in my blogging from now on... or at least until I again lose steam and go on another month-long hiatus.

Meanwhile, if I ever do, you can also keep track of the adventures the following blogs I've recently been enjoying:

Darren McElroy, former (perhaps again soon?!) ripper for Zoom messenger has been blogging it up during his motorbike trip to Chile. Read about his mis-adventures and possible sooner-than-planned trip back to Cali. Darren, you're a fucking rockstar who is missed at 200 Folsom.
SouthBoundBoogie

Speedvegan is a blog by a Floridian vegan cyclist that includes cycling and travel journalings as well as killer vegan recipes. Check it out.
Speedvegan

Paul, co-owner/messenger extraordinaire at TMS has a little ol' blog that he updates every so often. Check out the audio survey he did downtown asking passersby what came to mind regarding "bike messengers." Whimsical, and sometimes revealing. Hmmm....

CraftZine is a cute little online zine that helps you, uh, get crafty. Get crafty muthafuckas!
CraftZine

Alright, there are a lot more blog I check out but that labored topic can be deferred for later. For now I should have some ramblings and thoughts and discovies and hopefully pictures soon.
Yes, it was race bike vs. digital SLR camera, and race bike definitely won. I'll be taking film photos with Amanda's old 35mm camera from now on. I'll scan and keep you updated on how it goes. I wish I could say I can develop my own shit in a darkroom, but alas, I cannot... yet. Watch out, dodging and burning here I come!

Meanwhile, this should be arriving tomorrow. Don't know if I'll keep 'em or invest in some decent Mavic Kysrium ES's:

Anti-Iraq War = Nazi!!!

2006-08-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

From the Crooks and Liars RSS feed:
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday the world faces “a new type of fascism'’ and likened critics of the Bush administration’s war strategy to those who tried to appease the Nazis in the 1930s. In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration’s critics as suffering from “moral or intellectual confusion'’ about what threatens the nation’s security.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that “no one has misread history more than'’ Rumsfeld. `It’s a political rant to cover up his incompetence,'’ said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld’s handling of the war.

Video can be viewed here.

Doping Scandal Much?

2006-08-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Our man Floyd holdin' it down at a JD partay. If you look closely you can see vials of EPO hidden in that girl's cleavage.

This is exactly how our homie T.Ham got busted for blood doping. Dude, it's those ragers you go to to "unwind," where you get that hot girl with the killer boobs mixing and handing you drinks! I know your vision is "hella" hazy because you're "swerved," but did you notice that creepy old Euro-looking dude in the corner, that doesn't look like he should be at a dope-ass party, watching and rubbing his hands together, smiling excitedly as you pound that (EPO) cocktail before Stage 17?
And to think ol' Ty had to blame his vanishing twin for the foreign traces of blood in his organism. Ha, go figure. Just blame it on those parties, bro. When they tell you it'll be poppin', they aren't talking about the DJ.

But then again when you're shitfaced and you've got a hot girl in a tight black dress holding a tube to your mouth attached to a funnel and some "weird pills" in her hand, can you really say no?

Oh yeah, info on these party drugs at How Stuff Works.

2 Chinese Journalists Silenced by iPod Manufacturer

2006-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

I easily and often forgot how I don't want to support anything made in China. Ever since I was a kid, boycotting the Chinese government was a common practice that I knew was encouraged, because their treatment of Chinese Christian believers. On Christian radio stations my parents often listened to many would speak against the cruelty the government would put upon Christians and other religious groups, such as the Falun Gong movement. Many groups have assembled to renounce the Chinese government's oppression of these belivers, such as The Friends of Falun Gong.

Now onto the two Chinese journalist who did investigated the Apple iPod manufacturing factories...
A British newspaperMail on Sunday published a report that stated the iPod factories in China were guilty of sweatshop labor violations, alleging that workers at the factory were paid as little as $50 a month and forced to work 15-hour shifts.

Although it turns out these labor violations weren't nearly as flagrant as the intial report, there still existed some abuses such overcrowding and exceeding weekly work limits. More importantly, the manufacturer doesn't allow workers to organize unions.

Moreover, the manufacturer is seeking a $3.75 million defamation suit against the two reporters, Wang You and Weng Bao. Although the suit was inacted to silence and intimidate Chinese journalists, amazingly it has sparked journalists to write more and work together against censorship and corporate and government intimidation.

Read more here.

Damn, I miss having an iPod...

The Joys of Driving

2006-08-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

Finally having to learn to drive a manual transmission car, aka stick-shift, uh, kind of sucks at 26 years old. But, I guess it's not that hard.

So things at TMS are shifting around a little and everyone is going to have a driving day. Yeah, non-bikeage and more car-age. I learned to drive in an old 80's Nissan Maxima (see picture above) and since then, several mini-vans later (fuckin' love mini-vans) I've only driven automatic shifting cars. Fast forward nearly a decade later, my aversion to "shifter cars," as Vincent Gallo's character refers to it in Buffalo 66, has finally come to a head. I mean, c'mon, I'm from the future. Shifter cars don't exist where I'm from dude!

This passed Tuesday I faced my fear of learning stick and attempted to tame a ravenous 90's Toyota Tercel. Michelle, patient and always lovely as she is, had to endure my stalls and sudden peel-outs in the glorious Bayview/Hunter's Point neighborhood. After what seemed to be dozens of stalls and having to wave people behind us around while I'd frantically try to re-start and get the car to move forwards, I eventually got the feel of it... for the most part. Driving stick definitely takes some thinking, early on at least, and the timing between clutch and gas, plus releasing the brake and having to drive with both feet is, um, a pain in the ass. I'll never take for granted the magic of non-shifter cars, aka automatic transmissions.

Shifter cars are interesting though. It's really a lot like (geared) bikes and a lot about ratio. Sometimes I forget how rad the website How Stuff Works is, but I looked up manual transmissions and the website had a fantastic page fully and easily explaining it. Alright, so I have to admit I mostly skimmed through it, and reading some parts more than other parts, but for the most part yeah dude, I get it. There are even animated graphics that show what each "gear" shift does internally, under the hood.

Oh yeah, should I mention squirrels? Yeah, muthafuckin' squirrels.

Don't be fooled by it's innocuous, often lackadaisical demeanor, that son-of-a-bitch above will fuck you up. Michelle and I were practicing driving stick along a long road surrounding Monster Park (which is a godawful looking stadium) when we hit a stretch of road that had a bit of roadkill marinating on it. It was a gutted squirrel, fresh and smashed and split down the middle, yet fur still fluffy and intact aside from the sections turned inside out. Upon driving closer we noticed two of it's asshole squirrel friends fully chomping at the dead squirrel carcass. Yeah man, teeth in full chomp and pulling on the flesh enough where the carcass was being pulled back and forth. AAAAHHHHH!!! I nearly swerved off the road from being freaked out, and pulling my feet off the pedals which would've sent the car into a stall and probably rolled to a slow stop right on top of dead squirrel.

Maybe the squirrels were merely pulling their dead homie off of the road? It could be, since we drove by again several times and the unsightly carcass was gone... but were they pulling the carcass to cannibalistically feast on their dead friend's remains within the safety of a tree's hollow? We may never now. All I know is that Michelle and I will never see squirrels the same way again.

Squirrels are asshole cannibals.

Big Oil's No On Prop. 87 Campaign: Retarded

2006-08-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

With the important November 2006 elections coming ever closer, the Oil Companies are spending exorbitant dollar amounts on television and other media advertisments against Proposition 87 on the voter bill. A YES on Prop 87 will establish taxes on oil producers in CA, which will fund a program to reduce oil and gas usage by 25% and advance alternative fuels research and development.

Turn on the TV and it won't be long before you see a commercial of a woman, in front of her car pumping gas, sarcastially talking about Prop 87 and how bad it'll be for drivers that gas prices will stay well above $3. In my opinion, higher gas prices have been making people think twice about unecessary driving, which is great. What most people wouldn't notice however, is that towards the end of the commercials, in nearly invisible tiny clear/white font, the ads are funded by Chevron and other giant oil companies. Big surprise there! But of course, 95% of viewers will probably overlook that fact.

Watch these ads here.

More info at yeson87.org.

East Bay Fixed-Gear Vitriol

2006-08-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

As you're probably already aware, I love lurking Craigslist for all things bike-related. I read fixie-hating in San Francisco all the time, in the rants and raves section but only recently have started to notice hate percolating from the Oakland/Berkeley area.

I'd say by far San Francisco has an exponentially bigger fixie-fanatic, trend-scene than anywhere else in the Bay Area. I'd say SF probably rivals New York City in track bike obsessiveness (I've never been to NY, or the east coast for that matter. I know, everyone but me...) and I've heard from more than a few people that SF even beats NYC in the 'bling' department. No doubt, I can believe it. SF probably has a market share in the track bike searches on eBay. In NYC it seems that there are great track bikes, and "hipsters" riding them, but it's still the northeast... it's still NYC. Kid's are a lot gnarlier there (harsher conditions?), unlike here you'll see some pristine kits rolling around that are in mint condition. Do I even want to get into the NJS obsession here? It's now common for a kit's set-up value to run around the $2000 range.

Anyway, we're talking East Bay Craigslist now. I notice fixies here and there in the east bay, and they're mostly in the stage that SF was in maybe four or five years ago (possibly more), i.e. suicide hubs, sloppy conversions, chopped and flipped bars that look like bum-rides, Bianchi Pistas post-'04 and other stock fixie frames, etc. But as is human nature, observation and awareness breeds competition.

What's the deal with all the fixed-gear dorks in Temescal? You know the type--they ride with their hands really close together on the handlebars, they wear tight black rocker jeans and have messenger bags. I was a messenger in SF for 5 years in the early 90's, and I don't remember seeing these types of dorks back then. They subscribe to that point of view (as do most "cool" people) where there are two types of people in the world--the uncool ones who look, and the cool ones that are "looked at." So here's their strategy: When you see them riding slow down College Ave or Telegraph, they never look around, only straight ahead. (Hence, they must be the cool ones that we all "look at"). I guess they fancy themselves artists and musicians, or "underground". They live around Temescal, which allows them to feel like they're "livin in the city" or in a dangerous neigborhood or something, while at the same time despising the "yuppies" towards Elmwood. They like to talk about the shooting that happened on their block, or about the guy they knew who killed himself or O.D.'d on heroin, since this gives them some authenticity (Again, "livin on the edge" or whatever). Here's a message for you dorks: if you were a real rocker, you wouldn't need all that attitude-bullshit to back it up. Music talks, not your clothes, and believe it or not, there are tons of people around (even among those Elmwood "yuppies" you despise) who'd be able to pick out your band's music as diminutive trash, even if you think you're influenced by the Melvins or black metal or whatever else. You think you're artsy, but you're just wearing a uniform, subscribing to a set of codes dictated by some purported "subculture," and part of that delusion is convincing yourself of the two following facts: 1) the non-rockers around you (the Elmwood yuppies) are predictable and not deep people, and 2) you are deep and subversive. Fuck off, I hope you get hit by a bus--you'll look cool then.

Want more fixie hate from San Franciscans in the SF Weekly? Ask "Ephraim" in Ask A Track Bike.
"Hi everyone! My name's Ephraim and I'm a track bike..."

Doping Scandal Brings Down Team Phonak

2006-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.
Due in large part to Floyd's scandal, Team Phonak, for whom Floyd was team captain as well as Tyler Hamilton's former team before succumbing to a doping scandal himself, can't pull a new sponsor and in effect must break up. Barclay's iShares, who sponsored the Tour de San Francisco, was in talks to take over the current team, but has pulled out due to the scandal.

Ouch, things aren't looking good for cycling at the moment. I hope this is only the darkness before the dawn.
Read more here at the NY Times.

Bicycle Tech Bits: Campy's Ultra-Torque Crankset and S&S Couplers

2006-08-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Track bike shredder and Pelican/Night Owl Courier, Justin pointed me towards this new innovation coming from the Campagnolo camp: The Ultra-Torque Crankset, featuring Campy's patented integrated bottom-bracket and crankset. It's one of those, "man, why didn't I think of that" innovations, and the Italians came through this time.

Click on the picture(s) below for a link to their press release:

"The road bike market has been waiting for a response from Campagnolo on cranksets for some time and Campagnolo had reiterated that it would not resort to systems already in existence as they do not meet its desired standards. The times are now mature and the result is truly remarkable."

Also I've seen frames with this interesting lugwork around, but didn't really figure out what it was until some months ago, coming across Bicycle Torque Coupling.

Ever wished you could pack your bike into a smaller carry-on size bag? I've heard of Freight coming out with bike travel bags that save you the expense of pro-packing your bike on airplane trips, but this seems insanely easier. No need to disassemble your fork from frame with S&S Coupling.

Check out their site here for more info.

Danny Way Does It Again

2006-08-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

Danny Way, always raising the bar, does it again in this year's X-Games VII with a rocket-air backflip over the mega ramp gap into a huge christ air over vert. And we thought he'd outdone himself dropping in off of the Hard Rock guitar in Las Vegas, or jumping the Great Wall of China or the switch nosegrind over that huge gap in the desert (yeah, that one), but nope, he's got a huge bag of tricks. Amazing.

Don't miss Bob Burnquist's switch 180 over the mega ramp gap. Dropping in on it is insane... but doing it switch? Crazyness!

Click below for extended coverage by some dudes, or above for the single clip.

Geraldo Rivera and Bill O'Reilly Attack Colbert and Stewart...

2006-08-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Oh, just watch the video from Crooks and Liars. It's pretty damn hilarious.

Click on the picture above, or here.

Indian Pizza

2006-08-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've seen a few Indian Food + Pizza places here and there, but I'd never considered the possibilities of an India Pizza. I love Indian food, and hardly ever turn down an outing to Naan N' Curry (especially the new 24hr. Naan N' Curry in Union Square) and enjoy great vegan pizza but having both at the same time? Mind blowing.

Enter Zante Pizza and Indian Cuisine in the Mission. Haven't been to the actual restaurant yet, but Amanda and I ordered delivery of their vegan Indian pizza and it's amazing. Toppings are Spinach, Egg Plant, Cauliflower, Ginger, Garlic, Green Onions, Cilantro and baked perfectly. They also feature online ordering too. How nice is that?

Try it sometime you're in the area, or within their to-go ordering vicinity.

Damn, I'm Lagging On This Blog!

2006-08-11T19:59:00.002-07:00

It's been, what, a week since my last blog post? Man, I'm starting to miss not working so much. Hmm... Oh yeah, I've been wanting to write about the Floyd Landis doping issue.

So I've been trying to keep up with the news on the doping allegations, which at this point seems like a certainty, that Floyd was aided by something other than "his organism." Is it just me or does the his use of the word "organism" sound a little off? Floyd said that the high(er) testosterone levels were “natural and produced by my own organism.” Sounds a little awkward to me. But anyway...

So it's nothing new, Floyd's 'B' sample also tested positive for a high epitestosterone/testosterone ratio. His lawyers will vigorously contest the findings, alhough Phonak has fired Floyd from the team (although Phonak was going to pull out of sponsoring a cycling team soon after the 2006 Tour anyway) and many of his sponsors are also distancing themselves from it.

I was planning on making stickers that said "I Believe Floyd" but now I'm reconsidering.
Supposedly there was a synthetic testosterone also found, but he denies it, saying that the testing isn't as accurate as it should be to claim it synthetic for certain.
He and his wife made an appearance on Good Morning America , the first televised interview since the second 'B' test result and Floyd continues to deny doping. He's been known lack PR savvy, which he admits to when the news first blew up about doping. I'll give that to him, since he's definitely not the public figure Lance Armstrong is and that what a lot of people admired about him. He was just a regular guy and not a superstar.

The NY Times did an article on his GMA interview which can be seen here.

It is likely though that Spain's Oscar Pereiro will take the win by default, assuming Floyd loses his title, which could take months to defend in trials. In response, Pereiro says "I have a bittersweet feeling because it is bad news for cycling. I would prefer to remain second and that they don't confirm the positive."

Did Floyd knowingly use an illegal boost after his lackluster performance as he wore the yellow jersey he won the day before? When someone is placed in that position, even the unthinkable can cross your mind. Athletes so focused on winning can enter an entirely new state of mind and justify cheating here and there. Or could it be that someone out there doesn't want another American holding the Tour title for the 8th straight year, or is Floyd in denial?

I'm too hope that he's cleared of the scandal and keeps the title. I was really rooting for him the entire way to the top.
Or am I too in denial?

More articles from the NY Times:
A Reluctant Pereiro Now Looks Like the Winner
Landis Rekindles Attack on Doping Accusations
Does Testosterone Build a Better Athlete?

You Got Served

2006-08-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

I had to serve a couple restraining orders on somone directly today at work, for the first time. I've always heard the horror stories: People getting angry, arguing with the server, or physically aggressive. People take it really personally (for obvious reasons) and associate us, the messenger, with the restraining order itself. All we do is make sure the legal documents get to you, so don't get crazy.

Anyway, I was ready for the worst. The guy I was serving had just gotten out of a short term stay at prison for whatever reason, and had two different women ordering restraint against him. Didn't sound like someone I would be excited to announce, "Hey, here you go. Stop harassing these people, asshole."

I get to his apartment building in the TL and asked the front desk person what he looked like, so I knew who I was giving it to in case he denies who he is or tries to run away. He was an older Italian man, probably in his late 50's or early 60's. I knocked on his apartment door, keeping a close eye at his door's peephole to see if anyone comes to the door and pretends to not be home. The door opens and he stands there, appearing tired and harmless. He stood in a pair of shorts, barefoot, maybe 5'5 and stout, with grey hair and a big mustache that looked like Mario or Luigi's, or the Pringle's man.

I remain monotone in my delivery, not sounding to imposing but also not too empathetic. He was confused.
Sadly, he seemed the type of guy who has a drinking problem for a good part of his life and probably turns into a monster. I told him what they were and he asked if he needed to sign anything, but then told me he couldn't really anyway because his worn hands made it difficult to write, in his strained, old voice.

I left the building and got on my bike, thinking how many individuals somehow, someway found themselves living such a sad, miserable and lonely life. His apartment was a mere 7x7 room from what I could tell. Outside were people smoking crack, talking to themselves or yelling at the world, moving through existence as a they were the living dead, looking and smelling like they just dug themselves up from the grave.

I notice a lot of urban hipster kids glorifying the deathly, decrepit state of the Tenderloin, as if it's harshness was a point of inspiration and edgyness. If anything, I hope it serves as a reminder that the choices we make really drive where we are in our lives. Moreoever I also hope it pushes us to consider how our society values healthcare - physical, mental and emotional wellness.

All of these faces, the zombies that lay on the hot and cold concrete, were once kids who were full of life, innocence and possibilites. Then life happened. I wonder if their families even know where they are and how they're doing. The other day I also had to deliver several eviction notices. The apartment buildings I entered were more dungeons than they were a places of rest. Everyone who moved in and out of the front door smelled of urine and looked gnarly. These places were in close proximity to affluent eateries and luxury car dealerships.

The able and the unable, the privelaged and unprivelaged live shoulder to shoulder of each other here in San Francisco. Somehow little interaction seems to occur between the two worlds, but it's there.

I have no idea how to close this blog entry, because I really don't know what my point is. It was just my experience today.

Use Summertime Heat: HERBS!

2006-08-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sourced today from a Lifehacker reader submission. Amanda, if you're reading this, we may never see basil from Trader Joe's go bad again!

>>>

Reader Stacey suggests we take advantage of the recent heat waves sweeping the country by doing some good old-fashioned herb drying.

It occurred to me yesterday as I was driving around in my un-airconditioned car that this weather is perfect for drying herbs. To do so, fold herbs flat in paper towel, stuff into a brown paper bag, close and throw in the back window of your car. The searing heat and sunshine will dry your herbs to perfection in no time. For people like me who spend $3 on a little container of fresh basil and see most of it rot because I only needed a few leaves, this is the perfect way to make use of the leftovers.
Sounds like smart thinking to me. If you've got any other great ideas for taking advantage of the ungodly heat, send us an email at tips at lifehacker.com. — Adam Pash

Onward Christian Soldiers: Fighting In Iraq for Jesus

2006-08-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

Not shocking to me, since I grew up raised to accept this as "truth" and thought it made complete sense, but here's more news on the right-wing fundamentalist, Christian conservative "political" powerhouse Focus on the Family. I grew up hearing their radio programs, hosted by founder James Dobson, every day at least once a day, and my parent's often donated and subscribed to their monthly magazine. Actually, now that I think of it I too had a subscription to the "teen male" monthly magazine they published. Scary.

More news on the battlefront, sourced from Crooks and Liars XML feed. Click on the colored hyperlinks within the body of the post for more info:
>>>
Of all the reasons to fight the war in Iraq…
By: Steve on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 at 12:08 PM - PDT
James Dobson’s Focus on the Family hosted a forum this week for candidates in Colorado’s 5th congressional district, home to the Focus empire. There was plenty of the usual palaver, but the Republicans’ perspective on the war was particularly troubling.

Bentley Rayburn spoke of opening Iraq to the word of Jesus…. Rayburn, a retired Air Force major general, framed several answers in terms of what "we as Christians" would do. As he has throughout the campaign, he described the war in Iraq as a battle against radical Islam and said establishing a democracy in Iraq would send a message.

"That will open up hope within these countries for the gospel of Jesus Christ to change hearts," he said.

I suppose there are reasonable arguments to support the president’s open-ended commitment in Iraq — I can’t think of any, but it’s possible — but creating an environment in the Middle East that’s hospitable to Christianity isn’t a persuasive selling point. It may fit in with Bush’s talk of a " crusade ," but it’s probably not helpful, diplomatically.

–Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report
>>>

And more on James Dobson and his other recent remarks on "morality and ethics," here's a great website and article I found when searching for the above photo:
Media Matters: Fighting Against Conservative Misinformation

iPod Headwear?

2006-08-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Er, maybe I should say "headware"? Sorry, that was lame. But perhaps not as lame as iSoundcap.

Read more about it at engadget.

Gimme the Cash... And Them Vans, or I'll Shoot You!

2006-08-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, as a few of you out there may know, this passed Monday afternoon my friend and co-worker Liz and I experienced a robbery at gunpoint at Bows and Arrows. Okay, maybe not just experienced it, more like the victims of one.

To keep the story brief, I'll attempt to give an overview of the incident for all you curious kids out there.
Liz and I are both working (I work at B+A, a "shoe boutique" two days a week) Monday, and we received a sizeable shipment of both Saucony and New Balances shoes. I was busy for most of the morning and early afternoon shifting inventory in the backroom, organizing and making room for the new shipment. Liz mostly worked the sales floor the whole time. I come out a couple times and notice a few customers, but it wasn't too busy or anything out of the usual. Liz then comes back to the backroom to grab four pairs of Vans for a customer. It wasn't uncommon, most of our customers are pain-in-the-ass retards (oops, sorry it's true), so I come out to check if it was getting busy.

I came around and saw a couple customers and the four pairs of Vans shoeboxes stacked on the seating area, and the customer was outside on the sidewalk, looking around and talking on a cellphone. "This guy better not leave. I just got all those shoes for him," Liz says to me. I shrugged it off as a typical asshole customer.

A few minutes later I come around the corner and the guy is at the register and Liz is bagging up the shoes. I was in the middle of eating a banana, and I looked at the guy and tried to make the typical customer service small talk, along the lines of "oh cool, you found everything okay?" The guy looks at me with huge eyes and talks through his teeth, something I couldn't understand. I lean forward a little confused and tell him I didn't hear what he's saying. He asks me "Why are you so fucking calm? Did you call the police?" What the fuck is going on? I look down and he's pointing a gun at me and Liz at about hip-level (mind you, there were customers still in the store) and Liz is throwing all of the cash from the register into our store bag. At that point I wasn't completely certain if this was actually happening, because it seemed like a really weird joke. He proceeds to poke me with his handgun and told me to stand next to Liz. I stayed calm and didn't show him any fear and cooperated. He ran out of the store with the bags of cash and Vans.

I called Jerry immediately on his cellphone. "You'd better get your ass over here, we just got robbed." What?!?!" The police came pretty quickly and there were some witnesses, a customer who was in the store and a guy who worked at Amoeba records who says he'd seen the guy before, and that he saw the guy jump into a car around the corner. We all gave our testimonies to the cops, and the lady cop who was helping me acted so indifferent. Surprise.

Oh yeah, the guy who robbed us and poked me with a gun looked just like Master P, but darker.

Later that day some annoying shithead bums were making a scene in front of the store, one of which was holding a bible and talking crazy-talk and threatened to stab Jerry in front of the cops. He "didn't give a fuck." He later was arrested and upon search had a butcher knife in his pocked. Sweet.

Man, what's the deal with... everything? Robbing a shoe store in the middle of the day with a gun for a few hundred dollars and some Vans? Did we become victims of all this "hyphy" "Vans song" bullshit? I'm growing more and more cynical and jaded and frustrated with all the bullshit here. I'll officially say all this "hyphy" Bay Area bullshit is annoying and nope, I don't give a fuck. Why should I be proud of one of the most retarded, annoying pop-culture trends right now? Wearing clothes that make you look like a giant infant and bright 80's color combinations with your huge baseball cap? Fuck that shit. I'm over it. Oakland has surpassed it's homicide record of 2005 in July. That's right, we're barely halfway through 2006 and more people have been violently killed that all of 2005.
Still feelin' all that Bay Area pride?

Zombie Terrorists and Killer Clowns

2006-07-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Some kids dressed as zombies were arrested in downtown Minneapolis this past week, under the suspicion they were carrying weapons of mass destruction in the backpacks.
Apparently Minneapolis hosts some pretty popular zombie-themed bar crawls and public dance parties. Sounds fun. Oh yeah, and the police are on high alert because there has been a string of robberies by creeps wearing clown costumes.

Read more on these zombies.

Coulter on Clinton and Gore: "Gay" and "Fag"

2006-07-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Anne Coulter, right-wing conservative shitmouth, has again decided to open her mouth in the hopes of getting some media attention this week by calling ex-prez Bill Clinton a "latent homosexual,"Al Gore a "fag," and "there is something narcissistic about homosexuality. Right? Because you’re in love with someone who looks like you. I’m not breaking new territory here."

Click on the pictures below for permalinks and video from Crooks and Liars.

Umm... so why hasn't she gotten the pie-in-the-face yet? Oh wait, I just realized people have tried before at the University of Arizona. Unfortunately they missed, but according to this article on FOX News (of course) she loves all those attention, whether it be good or bad responses. I'm thinking more bad that good. People like this make my skin crawl. Individuals who love to stir things up, mostly for to get a rise out of people just kill me. But as insulting as people like Coulter are, getting a emotionally-charged reaction from people that oppose her neo-con trash talk unfortunately only become fodder for her attitude that liberals are unintelligible, devoid of any coherent moral foundations.
I love to see liberals try to thrash their way to a coherent argument. And actually, I think it's fun to debate."

Here's my small plea to all progressives, "liberals," democrats or anyone else who believes in equality, liberty, justice and a move forward from oppressive right wing ideology: There's clearly a war being waged and the right-wing conservatives, Republicans and Christian fundamentalists are arming themselves heavily and taking their "righteous indignation," echoing the destructive ideology behind Manifest Destiny, to every level of society. We've got to stay vigilant and one step ahead. We not only need to arm ourselves with information and education, but also should be examples that defy their expectations and stereotypes (which are immoral, valueless, angry and incoherent idiots). How we individually accomplish this depends on each person, but keep in mind they thrive on those who "bash Bush" or for "________ rights" but don't know how to back it up.

To get a taste of this right-wing fundamentalist movment (if you haven't noticed in society already), read this article I'd read in a issue of Newsweek not too long ago.
Cut, Thrust and Christ:
Why evangelicals are mastering the art of college debate.

There is a war, and you are the weapon.

And on that note, The Late Show with David Letterman put together this skit in response to Coulter's remarks:

Need A Massage?

2006-07-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I neglected to post this great idea for getting a massage on the cheap weeks ago, sourced from an article at Sound Money Tips.
>>>
Massages: what a great luxury to indulge yourself in every once in awhile! Yet they can be very expensive. Here's a tip for an cheaper alternative:

Massage schools offer lowered rates, around $25 an hour, for massages from their students. This is great savings compared to the approximate $100 an hour from a full-fledged professional. To find a massage school near you, check your preferred online yellow pages or Natural Healers for a nationwide listing of massage schools.

Oooh yeah, right there... ha ha ha.

Landis Denies Doping At Press Conference

2006-07-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

It's difficult for me to watch a grown man cry.

I woke early enough this morning to watch Floyd Landis' first post-Tour, post-doping allegation press conference on the news shows, live from Spain. Landis made a very emotional plea for the public not to see this as a doping case, and that he deserves to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. I myself am hoping for the best, and of course hoping he's cleared of the accusations.

Floyd's reps quickly cancelled his first scheduled TV appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and his website went down due to an overload of hits since the accusation.

I suppose it is possible for his body to generate unusual amounts of testosterone during his aggressive attack up the mountainside during Stage 17, but the coincidence of his lower placing then suddenly surging to win the stage the next day is dramatic, if not shocking. I've read that his cortisone shots that he's allowed to take, in accordance with the UCI, and oral itake of hyperthyroid medication may play a factor in his increased testosterone. Landis also joked about how he and his Phonak teammates hit the bottle the night before and that may have kicked up his testosterone.
It's pretty rad he can admit to a little drinky-drinky during the Tour. What a dude. He should stop listening to Kid Rock though. That's a (very) guilty pleasure that
should be left unsaid.

Below is picture of Floyd's mom, amongst his Mennonite surroundings where he grew up.

Recent articles, as well as fan commentaries here:
BBC news
ABC news
Jackson Star Tribune

Bike Craiglist-ings of the Day

2006-07-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

On the theme of bike-related postings on Craigslist, I forgot to throw this out there. Too funny:

>>>
you on pink fixedgear bike on valencia who t-boned into a car - m4m (mission district)

Reply to: pers-186733581@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-26, 6:44PM PDT

this happened a few weeks ago. you were riding on valencia, and some asshole decided to make a sudden u-turn and you t-boned into the car, but you were fine.

that was some hyphy shit.
>>>

Oh yeah, and this one. This sounds like a joke though. Lame.

>>>
white knight on shining bomber - w4m - 18 (USF / panhandle)

Reply to: pers-186979663@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-27, 11:32AM PDT

dude. i am prolly too young 4 u but u are so hawt on your white bomber bike. i see u ride by all the time and am just like in total awe. your beard is hawt too. if u want to get illegal with me sometime, lemme know. i can send pics. xoxo candy
>>>

Re: Where is my Paramount Princess?

Reply to: pers-186993714@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-27, 2:15PM PDT

Why would any woman in her right mind want to have anything to do with someone who almost killed her?

Re: Where is my Paramount Princess? - m4w - 35
Ok, I know I'm a douchebag. I totally cut off this hot babe on her silver bike while riding to work the other morning. It was one of those kind with only one gear like those skanky, stanky, stunnah shade-wearing messenger guys ride. I have to admit that I cut her off in the hopes of getting a chance to talk to her, but now I realize I probably almost killed her in the process. Hit me up if you want to go do some yoga on Ocean Beach.
>>>

Colbert Hilarious Response to Talk Show's Mockery

2006-07-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Man, sometimes I really wish I had cable television. Comedy Central and Food Network, maybe Discovery Channel and a couple other channels and I'm set.

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for featuring this tidbit from the Colbert Report, striking back after some morning news show's comments on his show.
Click here for the permalink to this article.

X Straightedge Is Big Again? X

2006-07-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Marvic and I "broke edge" after 8 years, 1994-2002.

Here's an article I read, found through the aNYthing Glob on the resurgence of the StraightEdge movement, primarily in Utah. Of course it has to be SLC, the pinnacle of sXe violence during the mid to late 90's.

Pretty entertaining article, most of it going over the same blah-blah we've all read before in mainstream articles on straightedge. I guess I have noticed a sudden resurgence of sXe in the past few years, especially more traditional "old-school" hardcore, which is en vogue and seems to surpass the whole metalcore trend. But, then again I feel completely out of touch with hardcore anyway, which is one of the reasons why I "broke edge"... whatever. The shit's a social thing dudes, wake up. Nothing more and nothing less. You can still not drink or smoke and not be a part of straightedge. It's a hardcore scene thing.

And what I find interesting is recent straightedge devotees don't seem to relate animal rights or human rights, or even environmental causes to the mix. Or at least thats my impression. The attitude I get from straightedge hardcore now is far more social that it is political or activism-based. Bums me out for sure.
I thought sXe and vegetarianism and politics kind of went hand-in-hand, but seems like it mostly involves wearing throwback Straightedge gear and matching it to your limited edition Nike footwear collection.

On that note, I don't remember straightedge having such a defined fashion edict. The website How's Your Edge, which I remember being some kind of posting board to expose "edge breakers" and "sellouts" amongst the hardcore scene, even has a section devoted to sneaker tips. Of course it's Nike Dunks, and not vegetarian. I don't really know why a lot of vegetarian straightedgers are even vegetarian. Don't they know about the irony of vegetarians wearing leather shoes taboo? Go figure. Oh yeah, it's a social and fashion thing, not a sensical lifestyle. Shit, am I beating up on it too much? I do know some pretty awesome straightedge kids, but I guess I'm just a sellout who "dropped out of the scene" (what a fucking joke) so what do I know.

Hmmmm.... times are a changin'. Although the Denver Post article does still make that connection to animal rights and political activism. Well, thats cool, I guess. Oh, and straightedge is against "jock culture?" Man... how x ironic x.

And Other Cycling News, Landis Doping Scandal?

2006-07-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Our guy Floyd seems to have come under some scrutiny following a drug test after his win on Stage 17. He did fall back into 11th(?) place on Stage 16, but made up for it with a stunning performance the next day. Hopefully it was determination that got him through and not something else.

Click here for the NY Times article.

Keep in mind, there's only been one result and there must be a second to confirm it. Plus, almost every doping accusation has been fought and won by the cyclist. Cross your fingers.

Bikeage on Craigslist

2006-07-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

How much do I enjoy lurking on Craigslist reading all things bicycle related? A lot. Not so much the For Sale bike section, but more so within the personals realm. Missed connections, rants and raves, casual encounters, etc.

A few things I've noticed were the amount of 'missed connections' for cyclists in the Mission district, which I'm sure is the most highly trafficked bike riding part of town, and the constant back an forth between reactionary cyclists and angry, life-and-safety threatening car drivers.

Probably the most talked about topic regarding bikes is Critical Mass. My personal attitude towards Critical Mass is, okay, it's a supposed to get people (particularly car drivers) to realize that bike riding is an enjoyable, healthy means of transportation and a direct way to help the quality of the environment, and ease congestion. And of course there's the angle that it's a form of subversive expression, a shake-up and take over of mundane (car-centered) pop-culture.

Whatever riders' motives are, I've participated in a few Critical Masses and I've officially retired myself out of it. I don't necessarily oppose Mass and it's advocates, but for now I've decided that I just don't feel right about being a part of it. The vibe I get doesn't seem so much peaceful and pro-bike, but aggressive and anti-car. I'd advocate the former, versus the latter. I feel getting people out of their cars and on a bike takes more than creating traffic and punishing those for driving.
Yes, I've seen a lot of people supporting the Mass while stuck in their cars, but most people don't understand. Why? I think because it's a pretty radical idea, and dare I say almost too radical for a general audience who are forced to be a part of this act. I think it's pretty safe to say most bike commuters in SF are "progressive"-types, but those outside of that can't begin to understand radical forms of expression. It reminds me of a scene from Easy Rider, where Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper's characters were having a discussion (sourced from IMDB):

George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.
Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or somethin'. They're scared, man.
George Hanson: They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.
Billy: Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.
George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.
Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.
George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.
Billy: Well, it don't make 'em runnin' scared.
George Hanson: No, it makes 'em dangerous.

What's the solution? I don't know. Informational flyers and leaflets given out during CM? Maybe. I think positive, living examples might be better, although slower. But I think winning over a mind, or heart, is a difficult and often slow process. Maybe not one that can be taught through beating on someone's car hood or taunting as they're stuck in traffic. Either way, there are hundreds and thousands who will continue to ride Critical Mass, but that's just my feeling about it. I just don't want to add more fuel to assholes who constantly threaten bike riders with fists, thumbtacks, BB guns and car doors and bumpers.

Here's a few choice listings on Craigslist for this coming Critial Mass:
>>>
Reply to: pers-185843367@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-24, 4:41PM PDT
Wouldn't it be horrible if everyone in a car carried pepper spray on Critical Mass days and used it on the obnoxious riders who pound on peoples' cars?

It would be terrible, just terrible.....
>>>
I WANT TO PUNCH A CRITICAL MASSER IN THE FACE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: pers-185796645@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-24, 2:47PM PDT
During this Friday's Critical Mass, I will be there waiting to jump a critical mass participant during the proposed ride.
I cannot wait. This is going to be great.
Who knows, I might even go after that dickhead who totes that fucked up trailer with the ghetto blaster. He's the ideal target.
>>>
reverse critical mass
Reply to: pers-186640974@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-26, 2:27PM PDT
How about the day before critical mass day we all drive our cars in the bike lane to show 'em what it's like.
>>>
Re Reverse Critical Mass-I love it! (downtown / civic / van ness)
Reply to: pers-186720316@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-26, 6:04PM PDT
Thats a great idea! It will be like the movie 'death race 2000'. Hippies will recieve the highest points, next will be bull-dykes, then Flamers, followed by Hipsters, then anyone who has loops in their ears.
>>>

... and my response that I posted:
RE: reverse critical mass
Reply to: pers-186770181@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-27, 11:07AM PDT

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of (the results and common reaction) Critical Mass, but this post makes no sense.

I'd like to preface this by saying I ride a bike often (actually, I ride a bike for a living) and find cars and traffic pretty hectic, many times frustrating. Even other commuter bike-riders frustrate me (attn bicycle commuters: NEVER PASS ON THE RIGHT, EVER! OR MAKE A SUDDEN, SWEEPING LEFT TURN FROM THE RIGHT OF ANOTHER CYCLIST W/O SIGNALING! You're just asking to get wrecked!).
That said, I still don't find the need to shake my bike-riding, clean-air-loving finger at some pissed off driver's face on a Friday evening commute. It's true bike riders, a lot of people don't have much of a choice but to drive places (ding!) and not everyone is a lazy asshole behind the wheel. Although I can't say the same for most SUV drivers...

Okay, in regards to the "reverse critical mass," sorry buddy, it makes no sense. Your "reverse critical mass" is uh, EVERY FUCKING DAY!

"How about the day before critical mass day we all drive our cars in the bike lane to show 'em what it's like? "

Thats what retard drivers do every single minute in this city. I pass a car illegally parked in the bike lane every block, at least. No hazard signals, just parked there with "I don't give a shit" written all over their bumper.
Worse, most drivers don't signal and turn without bothering to look over their shoulder, or even their mirrors. Isn't that a basic rule of driving?
And of course you never bother to notice (probably becasuse you're talking on your cellphone as soon as you start your car) that drivers constantly trail into the bike lane and just ride there for blocks at a time. Why? Because "REVERSE CRITICAL MASS" IS EVERY FUCKING DAY.

I don't participate or directly support Critical Mass because every time I'd been a part it's been more negative than positive, but god forbid these folks take over the streets and stop traffic for a five minutes for you ONCE A MONTH. Buddy, you're not going anywhere. It only slows you down about five minutes before you get on the freeway where you'll rot in your car for nearly an hour. Boo-fuckin'-hoo.

Try riding your bike once or twice this week in SF. Trust me, you'll see what it's like and plus, it makes you a way better, safer car driver
>>>

If you want more info on Critical Mass or a documentary on Critical Mass entitled Still We Ride (which I've yet to see), click on the word hyperlinks.

(DVD) Movie of the Week: The New World

2006-07-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just received this from Netflix earlier this weekend and really appreciated this latest work from Terrence Malick. Starring Colin Farrell, Q'Orianka Kilcher, and Christian Bale it's a cinematic and sublime narrative delivery of the (or "a") story of John Smith and Pocahahontas and the beginning of the English settling of Virginia.

As with Malick's prior feature, The Thin Red Line(1999), Malick takes a quiet, epic and pictorial approach to storytelling, juxotoposing nature shots and action with counterpointing narration whispered as if hearing someone's internal thoughts and emotions. It took me a while to absorb this sort of storytelling, but as it sunk in the more I really began to appreciate Malick's style and approach to drawing the audience into the character's heads and hearts and allowing the story to wash over you in a way that avoid being beaten over the head.
I'll definitely draw from his style and try to incorporate it into my own way of storytelling and compostion.

Malick's collaboration with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (ASC, AMC) used little stylized lighting and lots of backlighting and natural light. Other than fitting into the natural tone of the story, both historically and geographically, it was really beautiful to watch.
Very inspirational. I'd love to do a short piece along the lines of Malick's quiet, flowing style that feels like a cool breeze on celluloid. It's powerful. And the story, which perhaps has been exponentially mytholigized (sp?), is really engaging and I feel does justice in portraying the encroaching Western World upon the native peoples of America.

Click on the above picture-link for the movie webpage.

Oh Man, It's Been A While!

2006-07-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Haven't written much in over a week, much to my own disappointment. I'm coming out of a very warm, warm weekend, which included my 26th birthday and experiencing the heatwave that's lingering throughout California and the rest of the US for that matter. Probably the hottest it got was 109-114 degrees Fahrenheit. I had dinner with my family in Oakland Friday night after work in Berkeley, then drove out to Sacramento with Amanda for her sister Emily's going away party with family and friends. She'll be studying abroad in the Netherlands at an extension of UC Berkeley.
The heat was gnarly. Walking outdoors from an air-conditioned house was like stepping into a giant oven immediately and being enveloped in a jello-like consistency of heat and humidity. Harsh. That type of weather doesn't seem appropriate for humans.

I had cable television access fortunately and got to see some Tour de France coverage. Of course, as everyone knows, Floyd Landis took the crown for this year's Tour. I'm pretty stoked about it. Following his story and performance was really exciting, and I wish I came out to this past Tour de California, which Landis won (click on the word-link, where the Tour de CA is featuring Landis).

Maybe he'll be riding again in this next year's Tour de California. In the meantime, he should be going under the knife and getting that new hip he's been avoiding having to get.

I'm thinking of doing the Tour de Peninsula going on this coming August 6th. Anyone out there thinking of doing it? Josh or Bryan, are you reading this? Are you going to be around? Ha ha ha...

Anyway, I'll try to write a little more this week. Things were slow today at TMS and I had the opportunity to leave early this afternoon. Discovery Channel has been filming Chris for some new show along the lines of Dirty Jobs. I thought they were just doing some sort of "day in the life" format, but the feature is of the host of the show working as a bike messenger, buying a bike and bag and actually doing tags, or some sort of "messenger work." From how Chris and Michelle have been describing it a lot of it seems completely staged, so we'll see how it actually goes. I was hoping to get some actual camera face-time, but ah, it was slow and I'd rather leave early. Maybe tomorrow I'll try lurking around their shooting schedule. Or at least get some shop-talk going with the camera crew just to be a dork.

Alright, I'm outta here!

Lack of UPDATES!

2006-07-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I guess it was bound to happen, but I've slacked on updating and posting. Not that anyone reads this (ha ha... ha?) but the past weekend and this week overall has been quite action-packed.

It's been crucially hot, er, warm here in SF, and I can't imagine how insanely hot it is inland if it's this hot here. At least we have some fog cover, and cool sea breezes. There's been so many brush fires around too, and I heard historicPioneer Town was swallowed in a wildfire. Too bad because Amanda's dad was supposed to play a show their with one of his bands, and Neko Case was supposed to a play a show their later this summer. I wonder if it's completely burned to the ground? A man lost his life in a what appears to be a fire-related death.

This past week has seen an explosion of world-wide events, from the events in India where a terrorist bomb killed nearly 200 commuters and wounded about 600 others, to the Tour de France, to the discontinuing of the US Army's multi-billion dollar contract (or rather, expoitation of war) with Halliburton/KBR and of course the conflicts in Israel and Lebanon.

The world is getting more and more tumultuous. Is there anything we can do? It's hard even to keep up with what's going on, and more so even trying to understand everything. I've been wanting to keep up with the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict, but I feel I should at least do some research before forming any opinion on it. Although I tend to lean against Israel's actions, I'd like to at least figure out what's going on.

Also I'd like to bring something up about some articles I've read about Ford Motor Co.'s going green under the new Ford in office, and Wal-Mart talking to Al Gore about going more "green" for a more environmentally-conscious future.

Oh yeah, I'm very excited about getting the position I've been stressing out about at Theresa's Messenger Service. I'll be working part-time and everyone that works there rocks. I'm totally excited to be out on the road again, and news is that the Discovery Channel is going to do a profile on us in some upcoming new show along the lines of Dirty Jobs. Man, how weird.

That's all for now. The summer has been quite interesting, and thanks for reading this, whoever you are.

I'll be back with more thoughts, ideas, and wordzzzz.

- m

Landis Takes the Yellow Jersey in Epic Pyrenees Climb

2006-07-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

On Stage 11 of Tour de France American and team leader of Team Phonak(Swiz)takes the yellow jersey, finishing third behind Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner)just beating France's Cyril Dessel by a mere eight seconds.
Read more at VeloNews

In Team Discovery channel news, team boss pretty much accepts this year's Tour isn't going to Team Discovery's. Read article here

Video of the Day 2

2006-07-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Oh man, this is just fucked. One of life's harsh lessons in the "don't count your chickens until they're hatched" catagory.

Nice...

2006-07-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

This commercial is pretty funny... and direct.

This was sent to Amanda by her mom. How cool is her mom.

San Francisco Closer to City-Wide Healthcare Plan

2006-07-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

``Rather than lamenting the fact that we live in a country with 45.8 million who don't have health insurance, San Francisco is doing something about it,'' Newsom said. ``San Francisco is not waiting around'' for state or federal fixes.''

When I got slammed by a pick-up truck (shit, ironically since I just wrote about it below) I had about $10,000 in hospital and general medical bills. I thought I'd have to pay it all off, but turns out as I'm a low-income resident the City of San Francisco paid for about 1/3 of the medical costs. That was a huge relief.

I'm definitely a supporter of universal healthcare, like Canada has, and I firmly believe that healthier and well-informed citizens make for a better society. How often do we see people who are sick and still showing up to work because there aren't any healthcare provisions provided for those of us who can't afford insurance? Pretty often I'd say, especially since I've worked a lot of retail jobs and thats just how it goes. No calling in sick, and you couldn't anyway because you were poor anyway and need the money to pay the rent. Surly, grumpy service industry workers are a common sight, and no one benefits from employees who are in pain or discomfort. But, everyone benefits if everyone had a means to healthcare!

Sounds good so far, and I hope it won't be a huge burden on small businesses. But overall, I think it's worth every penny.

Under the plan, employers with more than 100 workers would be required to kick in $1.60 for each hour a non-management employee worked, or provide at least the equivalent in premium contribution to a private plan for that employee. It drops to $1.06 if the workforce is between 20 and 100 employees.

Read more here.

Top Bay Area Cyclist Dies Before Competing in US Championship

2006-07-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

Albany cyclist Patrick Caurant, 28, died after a fatal crash with a pick-up truck while on a weekly ride in Contra Costa County. Caurant, who was also a math and science teacher at St. Joseph School in Pinole, was training for the US Cycling Championships in PA this week and planned on retiring from competitive cycling soon after.

"It was always exciting," said former student Garette Schultz, 16, who is now going into 11th grade and says that Caurant was his favorite teacher of all time. "It was the class you would be waiting for all day."

Student Nicole Zelnik, 11, who was in Caurant's classes this year, said Caurant, who bicycled to work, told the students that one person could make a difference and urged them to bicycle to school to conserve oil.

Read full article here.

Yet Another Legislative Crackdown on Public Networks Websites

2006-07-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, LiveJournal users may soon encounter new security measures after the US Legislature accused said websites for neglecting the safety of minors.

So... no big deal right? Well, for the most part it's a minor pain the ass, but one of the bigger repercussions is that casual internet users and those in the public not in-the-know will get the impression that the internet is place where pervs and predators lurk to steal their children.

I was reading an article in last week's issue of Newsweek written by Steven Levy commenting on the inaccurate messages people are getting of the internet and particularly online meeting places.
Dateline NBC ran a series entitled "To Catch a Predator" where creepy older guys would be lured in from internet chat rooms by an investigating team posing as minors. The adult would be invited to a residence where a sexual encounter would be expected, but upon arriving is greeted by a camera crew and the host of the series Chris Hansen. Pretty interesting reality-ish TV, but some points were misleading.

Hansen reported that someone's estimate that any given moment, 50,000 potential child molesters were prowling the internet. No reliable statistics were presented, and when critics questioned their report Dateline simply stopped referring to it, instead of rebutting or correcting themselves. According to Levy's Newsweek article, the most reliable metric is a 2001 Justice Dept. survey of regular 'Net users between ages 10-17. Among those surveyed, only 1 in 5 reported an approach, and only 5% total receiving "distressing sexual solicitation," and about half of those were from other minors.
Moreover, the vast majority of sex crimes involving minors are commited by someone the child knows, whether it be a parent or guardian.

The public are being scared away from their computers, instead of seeing it as a useful tool for information and networking. In a bid for ratings, many reporters are painting the internet and networking sites (yes, even Blogger which you're looking at now) will come under scrutiny from the government.

As the internet being one of the few remaining environs where democracy and free speech exists, will more and more govenment intrusion corrupt it? Huge corporations are already limiting the freedom of (file) sharing and ease of getting on the internet... what should we expect next?

Read more here.

But on other internet news, I think I just heard there's been a solid bid agreed to by Mayor Gavin Newsom to secure free Wi-Fi internet for all of San Francisco. Perhaps Google?

Whiz Burger - A Great Place In the Mission District

2006-07-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Whiz Burger looks like an aging relic of 50's Americana on the corner of 18th St. and South Van Ness. I found this picture at KQED and immediately recognized it. I've had a veggie/tofu burger there with fries, and I asked and according to them the patty was completely vegetarian. I hope they're right, because I had one and it was pretty good. It looks like a classic drive-in and there is only outdoor seating, with wooden picnic tables out front.

It's a great spot to stop off at on a bike ride, or on a date. There's a parking lot with plenty of spaces, if you're feeling hungry after driving and want something other than In-N-Out to satiate that craving for semi-greasy fast food.

Panavision's Genesis HD Camera

2006-07-11T13:59:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to post his earlier, since I was totally lurking on the web trying to read about Panavision's new and much talked about Genesis HD Cam.

It was used in Superman Returns and looked great in IMAX (although I thought the "3D experience" was more distracting that it should've been). I was sitting there the whole time trying to notice any digital differences, but whatevs, it looked beautiful!

Click here to see cinematographer Newton T. Sigel talk about the Genesis system on Bryan Singer's video blog. If you have time check out all the video blogs. I spent an entire late night going through and watching each in chronological order. Bryan Singer is very... flamboyant.

The Sword and Saviours This Week

2006-07-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Sword and Saviours(ex-a light in the attic/yaphet kotto) are playing this week at Slim's.

I posted about the show earlier. Should be fun. Anyone else going?

I found some YouTube video of The Sword but the sound quality is terrible.
Here's some pretty good footy of Saviours (Oakland) live:

How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

2006-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

From blogger Strobist, and featured on Lifehacker , a completely practical, cheap and easy build to create a little photo studio at home.

I did something like this recently to post a few eBay listings for a friend of mine, taking pictures of the items against some white bounce boards (actually they're just huge poster boards) and just using sunlight as the light source. They turned out okay, but I'm thinking this set-up is a lot better...

read more

VH1 Spoofs "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" Ads

2006-07-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hilarious spoof ads devsed by those Apple commercials where PCs and Macs are embodied by two actors (John Hodgman as a PC and Justin Long as a Mac).

If you're having trouble connecting from the picture link above, it's also host on YouTube here .

From engadget :
We all had a little chuckle at Apple's "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" ads when they came out, but as the weeks wear on, the backlash against the ads has really set in. Slate billed them as "mean spirited," and it turns out more people identify with the lovable John Hodgman's PC than they seem to with the (not so) subtly smug demeanor donned by Justin Long's Mac. VH1's Best Week Ever more or less sums it up with Christian Finnegan and Nick Kroll's spoof of the ad campaign; as card carrying expensive jeans-wearing Gnarles Barkley-listening nerds...

More Bikes Banned From Tour de France

2006-07-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

More on the banned bicycle techonology on Le Tour de France.

More bikes here .

In other Tour news, US/Team Phonak(Swiss) rider Floyd Landis (featured in my blog below) is only one minute behind overall leader Serhiy Honchar(Ukraine). Yesterday they had a day to rest, and today facing the brutal ascent in the Pyrenees mountainsides.

This past Sundays' 112-mile eighth stage was won by France's Sylvain Calzati of the AG2R Team in roughly 4 hours. Insane.
When I was a kid I did a bike tour with my church's Northern California denominational group to raise money for missionaries. Yeah, something I wouldn't exactly support now, but it was pretty fun then. We did about 40-50miles a day for five days, riding from... actually, I don't remember now. We ended up in Scott's Valley/Santa Cruz area by the end.
112 miles in 4 hours with gnarly terrain? We did 40 miles over the course of something like 10 hours probably. Damn!

Hacker Sentenced to Nine Year Prison Term

2006-07-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

The longest-ever sentence in the US for a convicted computer hacker was sentenced today for Brian Salcedo , now 23, for hacking into the Lowe's, a home-improvement chain store, Wi-Fi network and collecting several credit card numbers before being busted by the Feds.

The methods by which Salcedo and partner-in-crime, 22-year-old Adam Botbyl, succeeded in breeching in Lowe's unsecure network is pretty impressive, and straight out of some techy teen caper movie.

Read more here .

The conversation is that they were busted before the two hackers even used the credit cards retrieved through their hack, but the sentencing was based on the potential damage they could have wrought. What do you think?

Microsoft To Release MP3 Player Rivaling Apple's iPOD.

2006-07-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

I was watching "Rob Black and Your Money" in the background getting dressed this morning and heard that Microsoft is developing an MP3 player in the hopes of cutting into Apple's iPod market and maybe showcasing more features that the current iPod.

It's called the ARGO (for right now that is, while it's under development), and is Wi-Fi enabled and features a LED screen bigger than the iPod's current screen (4:3 aspect ratio).

More on the ARGO, here at C-Net's website .

More info also here at engadget , and from a tip-off on their site from a reader, this touted "iPod Killer" has already begun marketing campaigns, with a commerical being shot (click for article and pictures) in nearby Santa Cruz, CA outside of Saturn Cafe, a killer 24hr. all vegetarian diner. How cool would it be, enjoying an all-vegan breakfast plate(tofu scramble, veggie sausages, hashed browns... mmmm) or veggie thai dish and watching them shoot the commercial.
The photos, taken by the reader on what appears to be a camera phone, looks like screen-shots of the monitor of the camera the Argo commercial was being shot on.

As some of you already know though, Apple has already started developing a "true" full-screen video iPod , also with a bigger screen and more notably, maybe even touch-screen capabilities versus the click-wheel control.

More Apple insider(he he he) info and more here at Think Secret and also here at engadget on the next iPod project.

Hot Dog Eating Contest Controversy!

2006-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

In a comment I received from a fellow blogger Dave from PA, who was at the recent Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, there's apparently a small controversy erupting from a piece of video, and a few eyewitnesses, on Koby's competitive eating performance.

Was this world record of 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes by Kobayashi accomplished along IFOCE guidelines?

Read more about it on Dave's blog, Mega Munch . Thanks Dave!

Tips For Getting Better Mileage On Your Car

2006-07-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

Lifted from the ever-useful Lifehacker, a link to some tips for getting more mileage on that car of yours. Drive less, bike more, but when you've gotta run on fossil fuels, better to get the most out of it.

How to get better gas mileage this summer; five tips for improving your car's fuel economy

Movie Pick of the... Week?

2006-07-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to cram as many movies as I can this summer, and being that I just enjoyed Woody Allen's most recent(?) release, I should talk about it.

For those unfamiliar, Match Point debuted in theatres late last year and stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. Woody Allen wrote and directed the piece, as another take on the tumultuous realm of love, relationships, fate and chance... with a twist. And thankfully, minus Allen's neurotic characters.

The characters and dialogue were intially a little too stuffy for my liking, and I lost interest watching it as a background movie. Later I sat down and committed to actually watching it beginning to end, and from the second act on the storyline begins to gain momentum and characters are drawn into situations that many of us can identify with on some level. As soon as things seem to only slowly culminate, the third act unexpectedly comes crashing and you're stuck.

Put it in your Netflix Queue.

"there are no little secrets"

Cody's Books on Telegraph Closes After 43 Years

2006-07-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Cody's Books on Telegraph(Berkeley) succumbs to the growing popularity of online booksellers like Amazon.com and corporate chain booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and Borders Books.

Cody's was a landmark on Telegraph, four blocks away from the UCB campus and was a vocal supporter of freedom of speech ,independent books and authors and fought censorship.

Growing up in the east bay and coming to Telegraph I've dropped into Cody's regularly, buying zines and magazines, and their table-top offerings of popular new titles were always on point. I'd spend hours looking through magazines there, and every time I cut class in high school I'd grab the latest issue of Breakout or Muddle(ha!) and hang out on the UC campus.

Cody's still has two other locations open, on Fourth Street in Berkeley(?) and their new San Francisco location near Union Square. In recent years though I've heard the new owner of Cody's is steering it more towards an upscale market, which could partly explain what's going on. But either way, it's sad to see such a landmark of Berkeley's reputation for free-thinking literature bite the dust.

Click here to read the article at SF Gate

How Vinyl Records Are Made

2006-07-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Maggie found this interesting video on YouTube showing the process of making vinyl records and printing the groovy (yes, pun intended) tunes you listen to.
A 2-part journey on YouTube:
Part 1
Part 2

Le Tour Is NOT a Showcase of Top Cycling Technology

2006-07-09T23:05:00.000-07:00

Article from Wired News on cycling technology and why you won't neccessarily see the best bikes on the road for Tour de France.
Read article.

Tour de France Rider Tearing It Up on a Busted Hip.

2006-07-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Damn, I've been sports blogging way more than I thought I would. What a week(end)!

Great article on American Tour de France and Team Phonak rider (ex-US Postal) Floyd Landis tearing up the French countrysides and mountain roads with a right hip afflicted with osteonecrosis, or bone death, and requiring a hip replacement. He's literally smashing, his hip that is, up those mountain roads.

May not be as life-threatening as Lance's prostate cancer, but pretty sketchy nonetheless. And on that note, at one point Lance Armstrong and Landis were close friends on the US Postal team, but soon had some beef with each other when Landis jumped off the US Postal ship and into Team Phonak (Phonak paid almost double US Postal offered).

‘‘There aren’t many guys in the peloton’’ — the main pack of riders in a road bicycle race — ‘‘who are willing to tell Lance to go screw himself,’’ says David Zabriskie, a top American who rides for the Danish CSC team. ‘‘Floyd just didn’t care.’’

The Tour de France’s status as the world’s most physiologically demanding event is largely unquestioned. The riders cover 2,272 miles at an average speed of 25 miles per hour, roughly the equivalent of running a marathon almost every day for almost three weeks. In the Pyrenees and the Alps, they climb a vertical distance equal to three Mount Everests. They take in up to 10,000 calories per day, the equivalent of 17 Big Macs, elevating their metabolic rates to a level that, according to a Dutch study, is exceeded by only four species on earth. All of which transforms Landis into the embodiment of an intriguing question: Is it possible for someone with a ruined hip to win the Tour de France?

Read more...

In Other Sporting News... Federer Wins 4th Wimbeldon

2006-07-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't get around to watching any of the Wimbeldon matches, but I should've at least check in. Probably some sick game play on the ol' grass courts. I used to take tennis lessons growing up during the summers between the school year.
Anyway, Switzerland's Roger Federer wins his fourth Wimbeldon title, besting Rafael Nadal.

I should brush up on my backhand this summer. An old tennis court around the corner from my apartment where some friends and I would play on our bikes and someone set up a flatbar to skate just got re-done and theres a brand new tennis court and net there. How convenient.

Italy 2006 FIFA World Cup Champs!

2006-07-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

There it is, Italy wins the World Cup and SF went off. Wished I had the day off, because there was a huge LED screen set up at Dolores Park and of course, North Beach was the spot to be at for Italy's win.

Here are some pictures of the Dolores Park World Cup fans basking in the warm SF sun I wrangled from SF Gate and a couple Flickr members .

Great little bit of info is that the public World Cup gathering and LED screen with satellite transmission was all brought to us San Franciscans by a lone German resident, who thought SF deserved the World Cup be broadcast for all in a outdoor, public setting. Read the article .

More SF words and photos at SF Gate (Chronicle) website.

And of course the infamous headbutt delivered by Zidane:

random of the day... the fastest way to tie your shoes!

2006-07-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Lifted this link from Lifehacker this afternoon. It's apparently "the fastest way to tie your shoes laces," according the Ian's Shoe Lace site.
It took me a while to get a hang of, but it's actually a lot easier that it looks.
Challenge your brain for a few minutes, and maybe save half a second of day utilizing it. Try it... it's wacky!

tomb raider... for real?

2006-07-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

from the aNYthing glob:

sounded believable in the begining, but towards the end... wait, is it for real or a joke?!

Conservative candidate wins Mexico's Presidential race

2006-07-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Reminiscent of 2000's US Presidential race between W. and Al Gore, Mexico recent Presidential election had the cloud of corruption hovering over it, with votes needing to be re-counted and a near 1% lead of conservative candidate Felipe Calderon , apparently taking the Presidential win. Former mayor of Mexico City Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist candidate, is currently seeking a full investigation, alleging foul play.

With Calderon succeeding Vicente Fox , we're supposed to expect little change and things in Mexico staying it's current course...
but perhaps not?
He's already taking a firm stance against US proposals to build a US/Mexico border wall and plans on improving Mexico's economy, as one solution to the immigration crisis.

Sounds pretty good to me so far, if he sticks with it.

So you're pretty hot for Track bikes huh?

2006-07-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

As a young urbanite (ugh, that word just irks me) in San Francisco, a while back I picked up on this ubiquitous trend in urban transportion: fixed gear bike riding . 'Wow, this is so cool," I thought, "it's like bike riding but more fun and (felt like) a lot faster and I can do tricks on them."
Fast-foward a few years later and I'm not feeling so excited any more. The novelty of it wore off quickly in the past year and I feel like every asshole and metro-undercover-jock got the memo "In order to keep up with being 'cool' and 'rebellious,' or just plain 'interesting' you need to ride a fixed-gear bike." Walk down Valencia St. or Market St. and you'll probably see at least three fixed geared bikes riding by, whether it be a beat-up road conversion or a full on, pimped out track bike . Everyone and their mother has a track bike here. Is it that prevelent in other major cities? And yes, I have a track bike. I've gone through five since settling on my current, and hopefully final set up.

I personally think it's fantastic that more kids are out riding bikes and super stoked about it, but damn, it's starting to get seriously diluted by image and attitude rather than fun. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm finding it rare to meet someone who's all about street Track riding and modest or nice about it. Personally, I don't like talking about it because frankly, it's fucking whatever. Okay, you ride a track bike on the street and I ride a track bike on the street... who isn't riding one? Unless you're honestly wanting to talk shop for the sheer fact of curiousity about quality, don't try to one-up me because I don't have a single NJS stamp on my kit or your Campy record cranks are way sicker than my GPM's.

It was really weird the other day, downtown on the corner of Geary and Stockton, beneath Neiman Marcus. This total metro dude, like straight got off work at Armani Exchange, was getting on his yellow
KHS Flite . That sort of caught my attention already, but behind me is this (I'm assuming) older tourist group and one fellow says, "Honey, thats a track bike he's riding. It doesn't have brakes!" I whip around and smile at the guy, and just proceed to shake my head. It's officially blown up. It's a fashion accessory.

Another thing I'm find way annoying is that riding fixed attracts the most obnoxious human beings on earth. Why do 90% of kids who ride track bikes have the hugest need to identify as some outlaw on a bike. It's great to be self-propelled and getting out of our pollution-producing cars is awesome, but people who ride cars aren't the enemy. Surprise, suprise, get your head out of your fucking ass. I drive a car occasionally and so do other people who ride bikes, recycle and care about the environment. I'm aware that most don't and overall humans are the devil, but trying to convince people to get out of their cars and on a bike by intimidation or threats is, uh, maybe not the right way to go about things?

Here's one more clown that makes me want to ride my road bike more. He rides with, uh, "no brakes of course." How embarrassing...

Yeah, you have huge balls, brahhh, but get it out of everyone's face. Not everyone is you and you're not helping relations between cyclists and auto-drivers, or the rest of society. Plus, from his version of the story it sounded like it wasn't any one person's fault and it totally could've been avoided, but instead he took the macho route and, well, just hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

I've gotten in plenty of altercations too, mostly escalated by me and my sometimes explosive testosterone-fueled road rage, but I've made a point of toning that back drastically. The last few times I've gotten into some shit with bad driving I've chased dudes down in the middle of busy roads for blocks trying to get them to pull over so I could fight them. Okay, the last time I did that wasn't so much road rage but mostly a perv who was harassing girls. He happened to hop into an SUV so I proceeded to ride alongside him with my NY chain. Of course, he's in an SUV and every other nosy prick on the road is assuming I'm the bad guy because "bike riders hate SUV's." With due cause since I've been hit by a couple SUV, but whatever.

Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, road rage. I've also got into it with asshole peds too that think I'm in their way. Yeah dude, the cross walk is 15ft. wide, sorry you have to maybe change direction half a step to go around me. Fuck off.
Whoops, that was a bad attitude there.

Basically what I'm saying is we've all got to just chill and get along. If you can avoid an argument, go that avenue. I have to remind myself that every time I get on the saddle. California is notorious for bad driving, which makes it even harder.

The last time I had a near incident was the intersection on Divis and Haight, when I was riding with a wheel strapped to my bag. I was coming to a pretty tight squeeze between, ironically, a parked SUV and a SUV at a stop. I bumped his rear-view mirror with the edge of the wheel (it's hard to remember how wide you are with that cargo), no damage, but bumped nonetheless. I tried to stop but I was coming down a hill (oh a road bike WITH brakes mind you) and there was another cyclist behind me riding my ass.
I stopped at the stoplight and looked back to make eye-contact with the SUV driver. He pulled up next to me when the light turned green and proceeded to yell at me. "You need to stop when you hit a car!!!" So in the calmest voice I could muster (since being yelled at automatically makes me want to yell in response) I told him, "Hey buddy, I stopped at the light. I couldn't stop right there with someone coming down the hill right behind me." Then I proceeded to explain, "Y'know, if I was trying to run away from you I'd have been gone, trust me." I could've just turned the corner and flew down the hill on Haight St. while he was stuck in traffic. I basically talked it through, instead of getting into some fight. Who knows, he may be one of those weekend bike riders, but either way we both needed a dialogue. We both came away laughing it off. No sweat.

And how this relates to track bikes is how it seems to me and my personal experiences, track riders often times are the breed of person who gets way too caught up in getting their point across that cars need to share the road. Dudes, we need to mellow it out.
I think I started mellowing out almost as soon as I started messengering. For the first few weeks I was just smashing from one pick up to the drop. Then I realized I wasn't really getting any more gravy that way, and none of our clients are expecting, or paying, that fast of service. I started riding slower, and slower. Eventually I would do a pick-up, go sit at 1 Post, check my email, get a Vietnamese sandwich, then roll out and drop. It's nice to ride mellow (fixed or not). You see more things you don't usually notice when mashing by, and it just feels nice.

Shit, this blog entry is getting long. I should get on my track bike now.

But girls on bikes, fixed or not, are fantastic. Here is a picure someone snapped of Frankie I found lurking on the internerd.

Art on the Daily!

2006-07-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you're a big fan of Mac OSX's widgets feature.
Via Lifehacker.com I've come across this fantastic widget-based download from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
It allows you to utilize your Mac's dashboard widgets (F9 key on most keyboards) to display a new painting every day on your desktop, and on the flipside have info on the art and artist and a link to even more information.

Available for both Mac and Windows PC, I should mention.

Check it:
Rijkswidget

Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest

2006-07-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Not exactly the most "vegan" subject for me to write about, but the annual Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, who's tradition began way back in 1916 went off this past weekend at Coney Island. For the 6th straight year Japan's Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi won without contest, and beating his past record and establishing a new world record of 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

Crazyness. Below is a video of ESPN's full coverage of the event. Approx. uh, 12 minutes. ha ha.

Sometimes Senators say the darndest things

2006-07-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Senator Joe Biden(D) on Delaware's growing Indian population:

Is this guy joking? Oh wait, he says he's not...

ride the lighting!

2006-07-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

so i just got a phone call from Jerry about a cousin of his mowing his front lawn outside of his Denver, CO home being struck by lightning, ironically while listening to Metallica on his iPod!

read

think globally - act locally

2006-07-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

finally got around to seeing the documentary on Al Gore's traveling lecture on global warming and the human impact on the environment. very eye-opening and informative, but early on the the piece i realized that the only people paying to see this movie probably don't need their minds changed.

the majority of the audience, i assume, are those of us who are already conscious of the decline in the our environment, and are working to some capacity to alleviate it (i hope!). perhaps i'm just being pessimistic, and i really hope i'm wrong. either way, if you're reading this and haven't gone out to see the documentary, make a point to check it out. moreover, if you could take someone you know that wouldn't go otherwise, that'd be a rad plan!

i wouldn't expect my parents to even consider going to see this movie (or going out to see a movie at a theatre even) but making it a part of family outing would probably be way to "grease the wheels" perhaps. the thing is though is, like my parents who are staunch Republicans (for "moral" reasons aka conservative christians) i think it would come in one ear and go out there other.

it frustrates me when an 'inconvenient truth' is presented, often times those who've made up thier minds already will not budge. they'll dismiss it as "liberal, tree-hugging propaganda, or even take it as fas as an offense to thier religious beliefs. growing up i'd often hear from both my family as well as my church that attempts to "save the planet" was futile and worthless, since "hey, we're all going to die and go to heaven, or jesus is coming back and leaving all the non-christians here to anyway" is the common attitude. human interests supercedes those of any other non-human forms, even though the basis of human existance depends on the very things they neglect. but i guess i shouldn't lump all christians into that catagory, but it seems to be the overwhelming demographic of "believers." perhaps it's the result of the capitalist construct... or maybe even bigger than that, human nature.

alright, i'm going off a little. starting to sound more and more like myself as a much more idealistic 19yr old. eh, whatever, my ideals and beliefs haven't changed much since then, but i've definitely become more cynical, yet optimistic about my approach to changing people's minds about things. i'm sure i'll talk about that more in the future of this blog. in the meantime, here's are more stills from the documentary, since everyone's eyes seem to get that glaze when all they see are paragraphs in a row and no pictures. i think thats why a lot of people tend to enjoy photo blogs, like my buddy bryan's photo blog format.

patagonia 75yrs ago:

patagonia today:

An Inconvenient Truth is definitely a powerful tool for opening people's hearts and minds to the issue of environmental degradation and global warming, and presents it in a way that's easy to understand. Al Gore's delivery has vastly improved from his reputation as being stiff and robotic. director Davis Guggenheim did a superb job inter-cutting between the lecture and Gore's personal life and experiences. just as my attention began to drift, Guggenheim presented Gore's stories from his life and career, his family and his upbrining on a cattle farm. the information at some points came a little too fast, but all the study findings came easy to follow.

we've all got to do our part, individually and to our fullest extent, examine our lifestyle and behaviors and re-align it with a more compassionate and, dare i say, human path.

An Inconvenient Truth's website

the tigers have spoken

2006-07-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

i can't say enough good things about singer/songwriter Neko Case. i saw her perform one of the four nights she played at Bimbo's in North Beach and i was blown away. she sounds amazing recorded, but her live sound was exponentially more amazing. she played with a really polished band behind her including back up vocals from Kelly Hogan and Jon Rauhouse on banjo and steel guitar.

if you aren't familiar with her (solo) work, it's been described as "alt-country" often, but i feel it doesn't really do her justice. definitely some classic country and folk elements, but i personally would avoid hemming her music into one or two genres. she just plays really beautiful music.
her voice has a mesmerizing, ghostly sound that reverberates and resounds at full volume, fitting the noir-ish tendencies of her lyrics' subject matter. in hindsight i should've gone back for the fourth night, but i'll just retreat to the recorded gems. her new album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" is on repeat. if you're going to download it, download the album in it's entirety.

i took a few pictures but the low-light condition didn't really agree with my little point-and-shoot. i really need to scam my way into getting a serious digital camera.

in other news, i think the Sword is playing Slims a week from now July 12th with Saviours(ex-a light in the attic/yaphet kotto). lots of High On Fire, Mastodon-type, classically influenced "stoner" metal type bands are comin' up these days. i personally am diggin' that a lot. it's refreshing to return to some of the basic elements of metal's Sabbath/Maiden/Priest-era rock n' roll. definitely more exciting than all of this metalcore-emo bullshit. nothing annoys me more in music than hearing a few heavy, catchy riffs then all of a sudden the emo singing starts in and an acoustic interlude comes out of nowhere and then leads to some generic breakdown. hardcore got really bad, really fast.
hopefully this return to classic metal will help 'save' itself...
Saviours (Oakland) live:

an experiment

2006-07-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

alright, so i'm certain that the first few weeks of blogging will be the learning and getting-acquainted stage. it'll be pretty random for a while on here i'm sure, and i'm still forumlating my method, style and language of communicating on the internerd. communicating on AIM and writing emails is one thing, but so far this feels like i'm talking to myself, or thinking out loud (which i guess is the whole point). it's a little foreign feeling.

amanda's mom got here a gas-grill for her 24th birthday. it's fantastic. we're going to grill asparagus and maybe marinated tofu. we'll probably grill anything at least once and see how it cooks.

surface to air

2006-07-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

i've officially launched into the blogosphere! i have a pretty vague idea where i want to take this, but nonetheless i'd like to impart my experiences, ideas and discoveries (whether they be positive or negative) for public consumption.
i've been enjoying so many blogs and random websites recently that i felt inspired to continue to disseminate onward and outwards functioning as a fluid conduit, like a superconductor.

"superconductor" was my initial idea to name the blog, but unforunately it was already taken, and annoyingly the person who took the name only posted one entry and not since 2004. weak.

"creative eclipses" though is just as close a description to what i'm going for. other it being Cave In's acoustic album, to me it signifies the sharing and collaboration of ideas and information. that and it sounds pretty and easy to remember.

alright, i'm done being overly cheesy. let's get this party started!