Omaha's hellraiser

Stick it to the man, Ernie!

How to write (according to Dan)

1. If a character puts a gun on the table in Act I, it's gotta go off in Act III.
   

update...

So I've been away for a while... a few things have happened...

1. I'm dating a certain someone. She's an astronomer and pretty cool to boot! This makes me happy.



2. The bike pump and saddle bag I always kept on Gertie got stolen. This pisses me off. Seriously, unless you've got a roadie as well, when in the world would you ever need the following items:
   
   
   
   1. Bike pump for a presta valve
   
   
   2. Spare road bike tire with a presta valve
   
   
   3. Road bike tire levers
   
   
   4. Metric Hex wrench
   
   
   5. CO2 cartridge with adapter for filling up tires with presta valves
   
   
   
   Notice how I kept emphasizing presta valves? 90% of the bikes out there (mostly mountain bikes) have schrader valves. Really, there's no conceivable use for these items unless you're riding a road bike. Most bums and college-age budding thieves that I know aren't really into the road-biking scene. Hell, you can't even sell this crap on the black market, that I'm aware of. But still, all that "crap" probably cost me ~$60. Whoever it is, I certainly hope you got some use out of it rather than just tossing it in the nearest dumpster once you realized what it was. Bastard.
   



3. Said girlfriend's brother is coming to town in a few days... I'm supposed to take him mountain biking. I have a feeling he's going to show me up.

That's all for now...

The Black Crowes

Amanda and I went to go see the Black Crowes tonight. I've now seen the Black Crowes three times. I now have ticket stubs for each of my 3 album cases!

It was at the Backyard, which if you've never been, I highly recommend. It's a pretty sweet outdoor venue. A bit pricey, but it allows you a pretty good, close-up view of the stage w/o getting too crowded. I was much closer this time than either of the other times I've seen them (once at Jazzfest, and once at ACL) The "lawn" where everyone was standing was kinda sloped down toward the stage. Not too steep, but enough of a slope where you could easily see over the people in front of you. Also a plus.

The show itself was pretty good. I own 3 CDs (a not-insignificant portion of their discography) but they played a lot of songs I did not know. They were good songs, I just didn't know them. Maybe I need to buy a new album... They did play a few crowd pleasers too, which was nice.

Overall, a good show. Glad I went.

.500 here we come!!

Wooo!! The Rangers won last night against the Royals! They're 9 for their past 11, which is amazing to me. What is even better, is that they are closer than they've been for a long while to .500. Yes folks, the number of games below .500 that they are is now in the single digits (9). Now, I know I'm just setting myself up for failure, but I'd really like to see them finish above .500 for the season.

Padilla had a pretty good start. Not sure why he's been so flaky this season. I hope he gets things straightened out for next year. I'm excited about next year.

Bucephalus

Bucephalus is the latest addition to my menagerie of bikes. I bought him about a year ago at the UT bike auction. The UT bike auction is basically where the University tries to unload all the sundry bikes it has picked up in the past year. These bikes have been abandoned, impounded after being chained to a stairwell railing, or been recovered as stolen bikes by UPD.

My original motive for buying yet another bike was influenced by some of my domino friends earlier that year. A few of them are hard-core, dyed in the wool, paddlers. Their idea of a good time is a 3 man canoe, a few beers in the water jugs, and a good swift current. As the weather was fairly nice that summer, they had invited many of us domino people out to Town Lake and even to the San Marcos river to paddle with them. Paddling trips were quite a hit with the club, and spots in the canoe filled up rapidly each time the paddling call went out. After a while, I got a crazy idea into my head that I might be able to chaperone weekly or monthly mountain biking trips, much in the same way. The only problem was, if someone didn't have a bike, (s)he couldn't go. So, I decided that I needed to purchase a new bike for such a purpose.

Truthfully, I think I just wanted a new bike. Ever since my original Raleigh was stolen from my balcony, I'd been missing a real, quality mountain bike. Sure, Bruno is a beast and can take a beating, but his frame is just too heavy. He's not really a mountain bike. I think he could be, but it would require a frame transplant. I think once I get Bucephalus up and running, he'll be my primary mountain bike, and Bruno will play the Sammy Sosa to his Jason Botts.

Anyway, I bought Bucephalus at the Bike Auction for $70. He was originally just half a bike. Missing a rear wheel and needing a new chain, deraileur, grips, and possibly even brakes, he wasn't much. However, he had potential. The Trek frame was more than enough to keep me interested. Bidding started at $5, I think. There was a dude who was hovering like a buzzard and kept overbidding everyone who placed a bid. I watched the bids climb from $5 to $20, and eventually to $55. Finally, with 5 minutes left in the bidding, I calmly walked over, and placed my bid of $75, and walked away. $75 was all I was willing to bid, and if the other guy wanted it that bad, he could have it.

Once the dust settled, it became apparent that I'd gone over the buzzard's price limit. I kinda felt bad about it, because he mentioned in passing to another guy that this was the only one that would fit him. I kinda doubt that, b/c he was a really big guy, and the frame isn't ALL that big. I took the bike downstairs and paid for it, $75 poorer and one bike richer. Well, half a bike richer.

In the year that I've had him, I've yet to actually ride him. Well, that's not true anymore. Last weekend, I made one of my projects to tune him up. I replaced the chain, added a rear wheel (which Mom gave me for Christmas), replaced the handlebar grips, replaced the rear deraileur, added a seatpost, and even a seat. Even so, the chain is too long, and I still don't have brakes, but at least he can roll. I took a "spin" on him after tightening everything down. By a spin, I mean I took him out the front door and coasted down the slight incline to the bottom of the cul-de-sac, using my sandaled foot on the rear wheel as a brake.

I'm taking him to Yellowbike soon to get a professional opinion as to how to fix the chain. Amanda's brother comes into town in a week or so, and I promised to take him mountain biking, so I guess I've got a timeline now...

I'm back!!

after a really long time, I've decided to start posting here again. Not for your benefit, dear reader, mine. See, I suck at writing. So much so, that I'm desperate for any practice I can get. So, I'll be posting something here (hopefully) quasi regularly.

Don't expect anything uber-interesting, ok? This is just to get me practice.

Louis CK 911 video #2

oh man... I nearly lost it at the end...

BIBLE GAMES - review by the Angry Video Game Nerd

this guys is pretty funny...

Weird Dream

I had the oddest dream last night...

I think it was insprired by this news story... I dreamt that I had inadvertently(?) killed someone, and needed to run away. I don't exactly remember a lot about it, but I think I broke into someone's house trying to get through it, but every room I went into didn't have a window I could break through to the outside. The lady who owned the house was just looking at me in this sad, disapproving way. I think she recognized me from the news reports, but she didn't do anything... maybe she called the cops after I left...

If this recollection of my dream seems to be sparse on the details, I'm sorry. I usually don't even remember my dreams...

Back in Austin tomorrow!

Observing Trip, Part II

So, I'm officially on a night schedule. It's 5:45 am, and I'm not dog tired. I spent my night and a half observing HRC 270, a young star in the Ophiuchus star forming cloud. Hopefully, I'll be able to use the high resolution spectroscopy to measure the surface gravity and hence the age of the star.

Last night, Jeremy, Scott, and I observed the M57, the ring nebula in 3 bands, (V)isible, (R)ed, and (I)nfrared. I spent today and most of tonight reducing the data, and these images are the fruits of my labor.







If you look hard enough in the second one, you can see a galaxy. I did some research, and the galaxy is named IC 1296. If you want to see a better picture than the one we made, go to APoD.

If we have extra time tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can grab a shot of either Saturn, Jupiter, or Mars.

West Texas is beautiful. There's been an unusual amount of rainfall lately, so looking out of the TQ (Transient's Quarters), it's hard not to think I'm in Ireland.



We've had so-so luck with weather. We lost about a night to storms and clouds. I managed to take some fun pictures of lightining and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope.



Next post, I'll put up some pics of me using the telescope.

Back in Austin on Tuesday. I'll be glad to get back...

Observing Trip - Part I

I'm observing at McDonald Observatory in west Texas right now... it's really freakin' beautiful. Probably b/c they've been getting lots and lots of rain, which means it's been slim pickin's for Astronomy. Seriously, if you look out the window to the valleys below, you'd think you were in Ireland, not the normally-desert-like west Texas.

I hitched a ride with Jeremy. Since his truck doesn't like going faster than 75, and since the other students were riding in a van that did 80, we kinda got left in the dust. So, we took our merry time and enjoyed the trip. Once we got to Balmorea, we decided to take a dip in a natural swimming pool. Jeremy's truck doesn't have A/C, so the dip in the water was well worth it. Of course, it's been "modernized" with diving boards and ladders and what-not, but all the water is spring fed, and there's tons of fish and even a few turtles. The water was so clear, it was amazing. I hate to say it, but it beats the hell outta Barton Springs.

happiness

:-)

crit racing...

So originally, the plan for today involved going kayaking on Town Lake with Miranda, Mike, and Polaris. So, I hopped on Gertie and headed downtown to meet them at the Rowing Dock. About halfway there, I called Athena at a red light telling her that I might be a few minutes late. However, she informed me that the threat of thunderstorms had effectively canceled kayaking. Since I was already out and about, I decided to take Gertie for a little spin. Luckily, my route wandered through downtown, and I stumbled upon the 2007 Downtown Austin Crit. The course is a short (~1 km) track, usually on blocked-off city streets. There's some strategy involved, like drafting and pacing yourself. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about Crit racing. Crit racing is kinda like NASCAR, but for road bikes. As much as I dislike NASCAR, after watching a few crit races, I can see how it could be kinda cool. But still... you're just driving! Sitting on your ass and making a left turn every once in a while with a bunch of guys who, to borrow a line from a Will Ferrell movie "just wanna go fast!" is not a sport. I guess the saving grace for crit racing is that the strategy actually depends on your endurance and ability to handle a bike, not how well you can manage your pit stops. Now if I'm offending you because you like NASCAR, I'm sorry, but it's just not for me.

Anyway, a few highlights:

- In the first race I watched, there were two riders who broke off from the peleton and tried to make a break for it. They led for ~20 minutes, but then the peleton caught up to them. Right as the peleton caught up to the leaders, one dude turned on the afterburners and rocketed out to an impressive lead. At one point, he was 20 seconds ahead of the pack. The peleton let him go for a while, but eventually a few people broke off and caught up to him. One of the riders who caught up to him was from his team, so they were able to fend off the other guy and sprint the last lap for the win.

- The last race was the men's professional race. It was pretty intense... For the first half of the race, no one was able to get a very commanding breakaway, as the peleton was moving at a pretty blistering pace. After half-way, three guys broke away and opened up a 15 second lead, and maintained it pretty much the rest of the race. However, the peleton was able to stay close enough for the sprinters to reel them in at the end. During the last lap, one sprinter was able to make up the 15 seconds and leave them in the dust. I think they were just too worn out from keeping out in front of the peleton.

I definitely enjoyed watching the races. Who knows... maybe it'll be something else I can get into.

Bike Messengers Are on Crack

These guys are crazy... but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little impressed and/or jealous...

English is f'ed up

Check it.

funny... yet kidna true...

Scientists Discover Third Cindy Crawford Facial Expression

I think you should read this

Great story from the Alaskan ultra-biker. Doesn't really have anything to do with cycling, but it's still a good read.

fortran sucks balls

there, I said it. What?

So funny!

Test-Driving The New Smartphones

The article is funny in itself, but the last sentence is stupdendous

I almost die again

Kristen convinced me to skip out of work early and meet her at Barton Springs. I'm glad I did. Austin in May is beautiful weather. I left work at ~3:30 once I realized that both Doug and Dan were out of town until friday.

Since my car is broken, I rode Gertie downtown and across the Congress bridge. I hopped on Barton Springs Road and headed toward Zilker. I was pretty proud of myself, doing ~27 mph on flat ground, almost keeping up with traffic. After passing Lamar, I hopped into the bike lane that goes towards Zilker. I drove down restaurant row, and had almost made it to zilker when I almost became a victim of the Right Hook


Luckily, I was able to slam on my brakes in time, yelling "WATCH OUT!!" I don't think she heard me, but I think I startled some college kids waiting out in front of a sno-cone stand. After recovering from the terror that is a fish-tail, I followed her into the parking lot and waited behind her car until she got out. I don't think it dawned on her until a couple of seconds, and then she realized I was the guy on the bike that was riding in the bike lane. At that point the conversation went something like this....

me (suprisingly calmly): You nearly killed me.
Girl Driving Car: Oh my god. I didn't see you
me: I know it's easy to do, but you've got to pay attention.
GDC: I usually pay close attention to bikers! (I think tears started welling up
me: Please be more careful next time.

All in all, it was a pretty anti-climactic confrontation. I can sympathise. Drivers aren't used to looking out for two-wheeled vehicles. I didn't want to chew her out for something she obviously didn't do on purpose, but I did want to let her know just how easy it is to let you mind wander and end up killing someone. Hopefully I didn't shake her up too much, but hopefully she'll be a little more wary in the future.

I guess it was a good wake-up call for me too... I'm always pretty vigilant out there. I assume cars can't see me, and so far, that's worked out pretty well for me. I guess riding in traffic requires a bit more vigilance. Even in a bike lane.

Still, biking is one of the safest sports/modes-of-transportation out there.

One statistic that jumps to my mind is this: For every 1 year your life is shortened through an accident, you gain 17 years on your life due the exercise improving your fitness level.

If you're a cyclist take this survey!

Debate between Sam Harris and Reza Aslan

Now for something thought provoking...

Paris is goin' to the Big House!

Beautiful. There is justice in this world.

Woo!!!

It's over!!!

Katelyn sucks

Hmph.

I have to admit, it was a pretty good prank. Dammit, I wish I weren't so gullible.

Glamour shots

I've been meaning to put these pictures of Gertie up for a while, but I just never got a round tuit.

I'm back!!!

I'm finally done with my second year project!! The culmination of 1.5+ years of research, the second year project involves a public talk and a closed door session. The public talk is supposed to explain what the hell you've been doing for the past two years, hopefully showing some meaningful results. The closed door session is hell. Your committee keeps asking you questions until you have to say "I don't know."

My mother came down from Dallas to hear my talk, and I managed to stumble through it alright. All in all, I don't feel like I should have passed, but my committee passed me. Apparently, no one feels like they should have passed, so I guess I'm about average.

So anyway, I kept my playoff beard for my defense. Thanks to those of you who voted. Just so you know, here's approximately what I looked like.



As soon as I got home, I immediately shaved it. Now I look 12 years old. Mike D didn't even recognize me when he walked in the door.



Anyway, domino people and Caroline and company came over and we played guitar hero and dominoes until the wee hours of the morning. At least that's what people tell me. I remember most of the night, but things get real fuzzy after Mike D handed me the first of what was apparently many double shots of tequila. Needless to say, I don't remember how I got to bed that night.

Saturday was uneventful. Unfortunately, the tequila also erased my memory of my plan to steal Caroline's ticket to go see Marci's football game on saturday evening. Oops. Instead, I stayed home and re-lubed Bruno's chain, as it was kinda rusty.

Sunday, I was looking forward to for a long time. Jarrett picked me and Bruno up around 4:00ish, and we headed out to pay Emma Long a visit. (We went mountain biking, for all you people who don't live in Austin). Emma Long was where I f-ed up my knee the last time I was there, so this was my first real time back in the saddle since my accident. I was a little nervous, but all in all, it was good fun. I got lost for a little bit, but I eventually found my way. No crashes.

It's nice to rejoin the land of the living.

playoff beard?

If you don't live in Austin, or haven't seen me in a very long time, I've got something of a beard growing on my face right now. It's not just a beard... it's a BEARD. Seriously... Think of a mountain man, or of Walt Whitman. Well, maybe not walt whitmann... definitely Paul Bunyan though.

I've been growing it since about November, and I haven't trimmed it since the beginning of march.

The rationale was, everyone would get used to me with my big bushy beard, and the day before my 2nd year defense, I'd shave it off, throwing everyone for a loop, and giving me that oh-so-slight extra edge.

However, I'm beginning to re-think my strategy. I've essentially got what amounts to a playoff beard. You don't shave a playoff beard the night before the stanley cup finals! Even more, I think it might actually distract me more than my committee members. I think Dan's the only one who ever sees me on a regular basis.

What do you think? Should keep my bear-hunting beard until after my defense?

Brian Posehn - Metal By Numbers

ahahaha!!! so funny!

back in Austin

So, after a weekend of galvanting around in our nation's capitol, I returned to Austin. Monday night, I partook in the 4th bi-annual Crown vs. Ginny's Bone to Own tournament. I only played one game, which I won, but us crownies didn't seem to need much help. We stomped the Ginny-atrics 11-3. We didn't even need to play the last round. That's how completely we destroyed them. We rule.

Then again, at the level we're playing, 70% of the outcome is dependent on the bones you draw.

In other news, I think I've decided to toss my hat in the ring for the Texas Water Safari this June. It's a badass 260 mile canoe race. That is, if Ginger will paddle with me. She holds the record for oldest female to finish the race solo. She's a bit of a bad-ass herself. And an amazing canoe driver.

We'll have to see if my 2nd year defense preparation will throw a monkey wrench in the gears. I'd really love to put this feather in my cap though...

visiting the colombian... and julie

So, I went to Virginia over the weekend to visit Nathalia.

all in all, it was a fun trip. Expensive, but fun.

Friday, I got up at the ass-crack of dawn and had Vince take me to the airport. As payment, I bought him Mi Madre's. I

Chicago was f-ing cold.

Upon arriving at Dulles, I waited for Nathalia, since my flight was ~30 minutes early. Then, when she arrived, we went to go pick up my rental car. When I rented the car, I almost couldn't believe the price. $30 for 2 days. Not too shabby, I thought... However, I forgot about insurance. That raised the price to ~$100 + gas. Oh well... it was nice to have a car.

As southwest is not famous for their extravagant in-flight meals, I was famished. She navigated me to "Tyson's Corner", a ginormous mall. Seriously... this was an industrial size/strength mall. I grabbed a burrito in the food court, and we made small talk.

After lunch, we went bowling. I don't see how she bowled with her long nails, but she did very well.

After bowling, we went back to her host-family's house. Oh my... they have a monstrosity of a castle. There's 3 stories. Each floor is comprable in square footage to the size of the house I grew up in. AND they're adding on. A new "wing", if you will. They have a walk-in wine cellar. It looked a bit like the potion room in Shrek 2.

After lounging around the house for a little bit, we got ready and went salsa dancing. Some business professionals association was sponsoring salsa lessons, so there was a $15 cover, which was a bit steep, I thought. I did learn a bit of salsa though :-)

My knee, while healed enough for hard-core mountain biking, is still a little tender when it comes to salsa dancing. It was fun though. She's a pretty good salsa dancer, and she humored me. After the lesson, there was a live salsa band. They were pretty good. The lead singer could speak spanish faster than even Nathalia could understand it.

We dipped out of Cecilia's (the salsa joint) around 1:30 and headed home. Driving with someone whose first language is not yours can be interesting... Apparently, in Spanish, derrecho means "go straight", while derrecha means "turn right". A single vowel separates two fundamentally different directions. Kinda like the well-known exchange in english:

"so I turn left here?"
"Right"
"What? Right left or right right?"

*crash*

Saturday, we went to visit Julie in Fairfax. We ate lunch at a Thai restraunt which was, suprise, expensive! Julie paid for it, so she's awesome. Then we went to go see Pan's Labyrinth. Probably not the greatest choice for a movie, but hey, it was in spanish.

In the evening, we rode into DC with Julie and her roommate on the metro. We ended up at Club Citron, where we spent the rest of the evening.

I can do clubbing in small amounts. Especially when they are not overcrowded. However, when people are packed so close around you it would make a nazi train mashall start to wonder if they'd overloaded the trains, I start to get a little claustrophobic. I really hate it when someone (usually drunk) thinks it is perfectly alright, nay encouraged, to throw his/her shoulder/hip/purse into me with all their weight repeatedly. I can deal with the occasional bump and unintentional grind, but people, there's something called personal space!

Other than that, it was fun. I got to meet one of Nathalia's friend, Flor. She's from Peru, so they spent a lot of time gabbing in spanish, and I tried my best to keep up, but they speak so damned fast, I could only catch every fifth/sixth word.

Overall, it was a good trip. It's amazing what can happen from a chance encounter on an airplane... It's a shame we don't live closer to each other.


On the flight back, I actually got a fair amount of work done. I wrote an SED plotting program, which I think will turn out to be very useful.

Some observations...

Virginia is EXPENSIVE!!! 2 glasses of red wine + 2 beers + tax + tip = $30!!!! 2 beers + 1 crappy tom collins + 1 mojito = $27!!!

1987 - Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad

oh my... this is hilarious

don't be a dodo

So, Dr. Tron and I went with a few other astro geeks to go see a showing of Flock of Dodos. Apparently, Caroline was there too, but we didn't run into each other.

It was a good documentary, in that it treated the "debate" fairly even-handedly. I say fairly because the director was, before becoming a film-maker, an evolutionary biologist. He does give the ID'ers their fair due, and goes so far as to concede that most of them are not complete nut-jobs, and do believe that the earth is indeed 4 billion years old.

The main message of the movie is that the Scientific Community has done a crappy job of communicating with the public, while the ID movement has appealed more to the layperson. Because of this disconnect between scientists and the public, people are more prone to accept explainations aimed at their level.

The film is sprinkled throughout with various evolutionary scientists, and while they do make some very coherent arguments, they also come across as pompus and asinine. A perfect example is way some scientists have categorically refused to debate ID. While this gut-reaction feels rather satisfying for most scientists, to someone on the fence, it comes across as quite condescending. We scientists should never be afraid to discuss our science. In fact, if we never communicate our results with the general public, our pursuits become pointless and meaningless. By sharing our results with the world, in some small way, we hopefully will help contribuite to a more educated populace. There's no way in the world that can be a bad thing.

Outreach is quasi-important here in the Astronomy department. I say quasi-important, because we have quite a large outreach program (Stardate, for one), but it's almost an afterthought. People are so focused on the cutting edge, the general consensus is to look down upon people who spend part of their time doing outreach. Sort of a "those who can't do, teach" mentality. It shouldn't be that way.

on the trail again....

Jarrett and I went mountain biking again today. This was the first time I've hit the trail since my accident. We didn't go to Emma Long, as I'm still a little leery of that place. Instead, we went to the Barton Creek Greenbelt. I biked over to Jarrett's place, and then we biked down the shoal creek trail until we ran into town lake, bike across the 1st avenue bridge, and then around the lake to the trail. It's not, by any stretch of the imagination, a hardcore mountain biking trail, but it is fun. You're able to build up some pretty good speed in a few places, which is nice.

My knee felt pretty good the entire trip. I think commuting with Gertie has built up some muscles in my legs, as well as some endurance, because Jarrett got winded on the way coming back, and I felt just fine. It felt really good to kick his ass in something. In every other way, he's a much better mountain biker than I am.

I'm still on the exercise high... all the dopamine is still giving me that after-glow. Now to the store to buy some ground turkey for spaghetti

whoop!

I went to the PCL library today (t.u.'s version of Evans Library). Many times I've come across many t-sips who decry the fact that aggies call their University t.u. instead of UT.

ALL the books in the main stacks of PCL are stamped "TxU", not UTx. I rest my case.

WHOOP!

guitar hero

I don't care what Caroline's friend says. Guitar Hero is awesome.

dinner and a joke

Vince made hamburgers today for dinner. They were amazing. He sauteed some mushrooms marinated in red wine.

I think I'll cook on saturday. Any suggestions?

That reminds me of a corny joke my advisor told us in class on wednesday:

Q: Why is a hamburger an unexcited meal?
A: Because it's in the GROUND state

yuk yuk yuk

Update:
--------------------
Instead of saturday, I think I will be cooking on sunday. Feel like eating spagetti? gimme a call

grinding sounds while you're not shifting are generally a bad sign

So, a few weeks ago, I gave Gertie a bath. Basically, I took her rear wheel off, took the rear dérailleur off, degreased everything, put it all back together, and lubed her back up. She seemed to respond well to the attention, and she was shifting a lot more smoothly.

Last night as I was coming home, I noticed that her chain was grinding, as if the shifter was mis-aligned. It was late, so when I got home, I grumbled at her, and put her in the garage and went to sleep. Today, she was still growling at me while I was riding into work. When I got to work, I took her upstairs and parked her in the computer room. As I was gathering my things to go into my office, I noticed that her rear dérailleur was missing a cogwheel. Yes, folks, that's right. She hobbled back and forth to campus on one cogwheel. Apparently, I didn't tighten down the bolt which holds this particular cogwheel in, so after riding for a few miles, it decided to pop out.

Needless to say, Vince gave me a ride home. We stopped at a bike store and I bought a new dérailleur set for $30. It sucks that I'm going to have to junk the one that's already on there. On second thought, I could just grab the missing cogwheel from the new one and replace it. That way, in the not-too-likely-but-still-possible event that I find the cogwheel (I think I've got a pretty good idea where it popped out) I can use the new dérailleur for Bucephalus.

Speaking of Bucephalus, I bought a rear tire for his rear wheel. Now all I need is a chain, an inner tube, a seat, and some new cabling, and he'll be ready to go.

rare political post

Ok, I don't do this very often, and I try to stay un-noticed in political debates, but I'm just going to post some observations I came up with in the shower...

Hugo Chavez has done something unforgivable. He's gotten his democratically elected congress/parliament/what-have-you to cede power to him for 18 months.

I say "democratically" elected, because the members were "elected", but every single member belongs to Chavez's party. The opposition boycotted the elections. Pretty stupid move on their part, if you ask me.

Now, Chavez claims that he'll use his newfound power to transform Venezuela into a socialist paradise. I'm not questioning his motives (although they do reek of power-lust, given that he tried to lead a military coup in 1992), but this is a BAD move.

He's essentially become a dictator, and once the state becomes unquestionable and single-sided, you by definition, alienate the people who aren't being represented. Now, in Venezuela's case, it's the rich people, so he's winning by sheer numbers. However, by alienating the opposition, he's immediately sowing the seeds of discontent. Maybe not now, maybe not next year, but sometime in the future, these seeds will sprout into dissent. Now that he's gotten a taste for power, he will probably try to quash the dissent (be it through censorship or military force), which will further fan the flames, creating a resistance movement. I'll say it right now: If I were a betting man (which I may be, I'm not sure), I'd bet that in 10 years, Venezuela will be embroiled in a civil war. The members of the parliament will be Venezuela's version of the communist party: elite corrupt fat-cats who are riding the coattails of the ruling party.

One more little observation. Hugo Chavez and George W. Bush are two different sides of the same coin. GW's enemy of the state (1984 anyone?) is al Qaida. Chavez's enemy of the state is Bush. Now, I'm no expert, but it seems to me that they both resort to the same tactics in maintaining popular support: blaming their problems on someone external to the country, claiming "if you're not with me, you're with _fill in the blank_".

Thankfully, GW doesn't have a dictatorship. I'm glad our system still kinda works. Now, if they could just reign in the administration a little on things like wiretapping and the Geneva convention.

Ok, rant over. Comment if you like. I'm interested in seeing your thoughts...

I dub thee....

I've finally figured out what I want to name my franken-bike...

Bucephalus

Now I just have to go ahead and buy a rear tire, chain, seatpost, seat, and grips.

untitled

Today, I there was a guy in the elevator standing next to me... He had on headphones and was bobbing his head along with the music, which is not altogether unusual on a college campus. What was odd, however, was the music he was listening to. Bach... A Brandenburg Concerto, I think. He was really into it.

I agree this is a good idea, but I can't help thinking it's a bit humorous. Does it come with whips and child-size shackles? :-P

Thanks to Caroline, I have a new hot biker girl to obsess over. This summer I'd love to go on a biking bender (maybe with Jarrett) and go biking across some US state. Probably up in the pacific northwest. Some place coolish and scenic. Thanks!

I bought some new stamps today. Sugar Ray Robinson. Oh yeah.

cursed evening...

The recent weeks have seen some interesting happenings at the Palace at 2110 Maldon.

Number of Parties: 2

Number of frat-tool-douche-bags encountered at my own party : > 3.

Number of said frat-tool-douche-bags known beforehand: 0.

Hours wasted playing Guitar Hero: > 5.

Number of cars chipped out of ice-coffins: 2.

Bob Dylan Albums acquired: 1.

---

yeah... I'm getting tired of thinking of clever ways to put things in here, so I'll cut to the chase.

It seems as if we're going to have to move soon (i.e. before the end of the summer). Our landlords are moving out of state, and want to sell the house. This sucks b/c they are trying to sell it for ~$30,000 more than the house is appraised for. Not that I think they'll get it all of it, but whoever buys it will probably want to raise the rent more than we'd like pay. I really don't want to move.

So, in an act of desperation, I'm attempting to purchase the house. Probably won't be able to swing a loan for the entire amount. If I can, It'll be freakin' sweet. If not, we'll probably end up moving. dammit.

---

On a happier note, I played some dominoes tonight. It's the consolation tournament for all us poor saps which didn't make it into the playoffs. First prize is a crushed can of Lone Star nailed to a plaque. I partnered with Kristen, and we managed to beat the pants of everyone we played. Where was this luck during the season?

---

After I left Ginny's, I biked home. On the way, I got a call from Mike. He and Vince were up on the top of the parking garage. His tire finally went flat, and he'd been trying to change it for a half-hour with no luck. Apparently, the lugnuts were stuck, so he couldn't get the spare on. The only other option was to re-inflate the tire (it's a slow leak), but he had no tire pump with him. I swung by campus and borrowed Vince's keys so I could go back to the house to return with Vince's car and my bicycle pump (hey, it's the only thing we had).

So, after 15 minutes, I arrive home, put up Gertie, and grab the pump and head out to Vince's car, only to realize that the ignition key was conspicuously missing from Vince's keys. The alarm/keyless entry thing was there, but no ignition key. I call Vince, and find out that Vince had thrown the keys from the top of the 5-story garage to Mike on the ground floor. Mike didn't catch them, and the plastic casing for the key must have broken off from the keyring when they hit the ground. So, with no other way to get back to campus, I haul Gertie out again and head back, bicycle pump in tow.

I finally get back to campus and take the elevator to the top level. It takes us 10 minutes to pump up the tire with the bicycle pump. I'll bet the rent-a-cops watching the security cameras were having a blast watching us. In case you're ever stuck in a similar situation, yes, it does work. It just takes a while.

At this point, Vince and Mike have been hanging out on top of the garage for an hour and a half. We decide we need a beer and food. So, we go to the crown. However, it's after midnight, and after midnight, the kitchen is closed.

That was pretty much how the night went.

---

After going to wendys and HEB, I came back home and watched On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando. He's a pretty good actor, I have to say.





Update: It seems we are down to 1 working car. Vince's car didn't start this morning. :-(

bad drivers

Ok, so this is a pretty wierd story... that's still kinda on-going.

I was woken up this morning at 6:00 by a frantic pounding on our front door. I look out the door and see a red SUV spinning its tires in our front lawn. I was just in REM sleep, so I don't really realize that this is a problem quite yet. It takes me a minute to associate the pounding on the door with the fact that I should probably go answer it. I stumble to the door in nothing but my boxers (*blush*) It's one of our neighbors, and she's pretty excited. It doesn't take me long to realize why.

Anyway, the idiot behind the wheel manages to extricate his vehicle from the front lawn, narrowly missing Vince's car and the fire hydrant. This guys is probably drunk and/or high. After some more wheel spinning, he manages to remove his vehicle from the scene of the crime, wobbling off down the road on a flat tire.

Anyway, my neighbor saw the whole thing, and managed to get his license plate number, Apparently, before he plowed into our lawan, he clipped a car parked on the side of the road, smashing the right headlamp into smithereens, and also doing some damage to the side panel.

So, I go back inside and put some clothes on, and we write down the license plate number on a piece of paper and slip it underneath the windshield wiper of the damaged car. Hopefully they catch the bastard.

is a few high trumps, the 5-5 and no crappy offs too much to ask?

Seriously...

I've been having the worst run of luck with dominoes lately. I can't manage to get a decent hand. Tonight was a perfect example. I won't bore you with the mundane details, but suffice it to say that I could not draw a decent hand of dominoes to save my life. The only decent hand I got, my partner overbid me, and decided to call trumps something which made my hand absolute crap.

This game is equal parts skill, luck, and lunacy. You can't be a good player without a little bit of all three. You can be the best player in the world, but if you can't get decent dominoes, there's only so far your skill can take you. Conversely, if you're not a very good player, and you get the best hand in the world, you can still F it up quite easily.

Normally, you can bid on mediocre hands by remembering that your partner has 7 dominoes too. However, the hands I've been getting are so bad, there's no clear trump suit. So, even if my partner has some dominoes to help me, the chances of him ALSO having the rest of the trump suit are not good. Alternatively, you can play a supportive role with a mediocre hand and feed points to your partner or catch tricks with your doubles. However, if you have no points or doubles, this is hard. The last thing you can do with an un-biddable hand, is to try to set the other team, should they get the bid. Now, I'm not the world's best 42 player, but I've played long enough to learn how to be a decent set player. However, in order to be able to set the other team, you've also got to have some points or doubles.

Now, I understand that almost half of this game is sheer luck of the dominoes you draw, and that it's inevitable that you'll occasionally run into a streak of bad luck. The flip side of this coin, you expect dry spells to come to an end, and you should start to get some better luck. I've experienced this ebb and flow a few times since I've started playing with the Austin 42 club.

This time, however, the tide has not turned!!!

I've been on a 6-7 week streak of bad luck. At least 6 weeks of BAD DOMINOES! Not mediocre dominoes, BAD ONES!!

Sorry, I'm just a little bitter. I'm sure my luck will change. 6 weeks of bad luck is frustrating though.

procrastination - sorta

Lyrics from the song "Why does the Sun Shine?" by They Might Be Giants
---------------------------------
The Sun is a mass
of incandescent gas
a gigantic nuclear furnace.
Where Hydrogen is built into Helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees.

Yo-Ho it's hot,
The sun is not
A place where we could live

But here on Earth,
there'd be no life
without the light it gives

We need its light
We need its heat
We need its energy

Without the sun,
Without a doubt
There'd be no you and me.

The Sun is a mass
of incandescent gas
a gigantic nuclear furnace
Where Hydrogen is built into Helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees.

The sun is hot - (It is so hot that everything on it is a gas: Iron, copper, aluminum, and many others!)
The sun is large - (If the sun were hollow, a million earths could fit inside; and yet the sun is only a middle sized star!)
The sun is far away - (About 93 million miles away! and that's why it looks so small!)

And even when it's out of sight,
the sun shines night and day.

The sun gives heat,
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see.

The sunlight comes
from our own Sun's
Atomic Energy

(Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom smashing machine! The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Helium)

The Sun is a mass
of incandescent gas
a gigantic nuclear furnace
Where Hydrogen is built into Helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees.
---------------------------
Gotta love these guys...