So the first Tour of California finished up the other day, with American Floyd Landis taking the win. I remember Floyd from his mountain-biking days, when he could never seem to get a decent sponsor. Then he was on that Fuji/Mercury team. Now racing for Phonak, a swiss company, sponsored by a swiss bike company BMC, which makes really cool bikes. Anywho, good for him.
Another former mountain biker, Australia's Cadel Evans, finished in 7th. I remember him racing in the first olympic mountain bike race when he was a teenager, then he rode for Telekom, now he's racing for Davitamon-Lotto, as is American Chris Horner, who I remember racing for a Colorado Cyclist/Nutra Fig pro team years ago, when he had a ponytail...
Anywho, hopefully this is going to spark more interest in cycling here in the US. I think things are looking up for the cycling community in fact. Seems like bikes are actually becoming more accepted.
Here's some links to a couple cool pictures on cyclingnews.com
Style.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/feb06/california06/?id=california067/JDtcastg501
Holy crap.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/feb06/california06/?id=california067/JDtcastg520
Nice.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/feb06/california06/?id=california067/JDtcastg511
Monday, February 27
Thursday, February 23
On a lighter note...
Here's some funny pictures I came across recently in internet-land.
Lord of the Rings humor...
Another version of that.
More Lord of the Rings humor...
A little motivation for you guys.
How I feel most days.
Ain't that the truth. :)
There's supposedly 9 people in this picture.
In the words of my recently relieved (defended his thesis successfully yesterday) office-mate, Kevin Toepke, "Smile, it makes people wonder what you've been up to."
Lord of the Rings humor...
Another version of that.
More Lord of the Rings humor...
A little motivation for you guys.
How I feel most days.
Ain't that the truth. :)
There's supposedly 9 people in this picture.
In the words of my recently relieved (defended his thesis successfully yesterday) office-mate, Kevin Toepke, "Smile, it makes people wonder what you've been up to."
Tuesday, February 21
Anniversary
It's odd how three years have seemed like such a long time yet it still seems recent at the same time. I've long since learned how to deal with the loss, though I couldn't put into words what I do. I miss her, I always will. But I guess I've resigned myself to knowning that I'm not going to see her for a while. It still makes me cry when I think about it. I don't know if it would have worked out with us or not, but I'd sure like to think it would have.
They say everything happens for a reason. I disagree. No good reason for this has shown up yet, and I doubt it ever will. Surely it changed the course of my life, but for better or worse, I don't know. I'm pretty happy with my life now, but I can't help but wonder how things would be if she were still alive.
I feel selfish talking about it like this, since I'm certainly not the only one who hurts. But I can only speak for myself. She was an incredible person, and I'm not the only one who noticed. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, I hope she's having a good time. Until I see her again, I'll try to smile and remember the good times we had, since I know she wouldn't want me to be sad about it. But when I remember that phone call the morning after... mom crying as she told me what happened... denial... the Kinseys... California... the service... Ocean Point. It just hurts. I'll always love her, and I'll be looking forward to seeing her again.
They say everything happens for a reason. I disagree. No good reason for this has shown up yet, and I doubt it ever will. Surely it changed the course of my life, but for better or worse, I don't know. I'm pretty happy with my life now, but I can't help but wonder how things would be if she were still alive.
I feel selfish talking about it like this, since I'm certainly not the only one who hurts. But I can only speak for myself. She was an incredible person, and I'm not the only one who noticed. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, I hope she's having a good time. Until I see her again, I'll try to smile and remember the good times we had, since I know she wouldn't want me to be sad about it. But when I remember that phone call the morning after... mom crying as she told me what happened... denial... the Kinseys... California... the service... Ocean Point. It just hurts. I'll always love her, and I'll be looking forward to seeing her again.
Monday, February 20
Birthday, Weather, etc...
Well my birthday went well. I can't believe that I'm 24 now. Man, where did all the time go? I'm only 6 years from being 30! Not as close as Teal though, heh heh. Got a card from Kristen's grandparents, Kristen, Athena, and Mama D & Freddy. Erik (Mylroie) made me a cake and Joan (Mylroie) and the other grad students sang happy birthday to me. It was nice but of course I was embarassed. I hate being the center of attention...
Athena got me a garlic press, since I had recently been bitching about having to chop up cloves of garlic and fresh garlic is just better than garlic powder. Kristen gave me a "coupon" for a digital camera, so I ordered one of those yesterday. I got one that is touted as being waterproof. They even advertise it in a bag with a goldfish and in a martini glass. The last camera I bought (a Sony) crapped out because of a humid summer, and it may have gotten a bit damp from kayaking too. This one is a Pentax Optio WPi or something. Little, light, point-and-shoot, 6-megapixel, and waterproof! That last one is key! I'm excited about that, especially since I can actually almost afford it since I sold the trials bike. So expect more pictures to be coming along.
I also wanted to mention the weather. Man it's been all over the place. Last Monday (or was it Saturday?) it snowed a bit, then by Friday it was up to 72, then it got cold and rained over the weekend, and this morning we have freezing rain! What's going on around here? Not that I'm complaining. I think a little variety is nice. I'm not as bummed out as I usually am this time of year, after 7 or so months of winter...
Kristen made it through her crazy week. She had 6 tests last week. She also had one the Friday before, and one tomorrow, so that's 8 tests in less than 2 weeks. Hard-working, crazy kid. I've been struggling with GIS stuff again. As usual, I think I know what to do, I just don't know how to make the computer do what I want it to, or it won't do what I tell it. Frustrating as hell. I sure don't want to be a GIS person for a career. It's a handy-dandy tool, but certainly not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
Speaking of that, Mylroie was down in the Bahamas last week, and aparently there's another possible project to do. Nassau National Trust or something is trying to set up some sort of National Park on Long Island Bahamas, and they need to have a "karst inventory" (survey of their caves and karst resources) done. So far, I think the coastal cave morphology thing interests me the most. I should probably mention this to him, so he doesn't stick me doing something sucky. Bahamian caves are all pretty darn small, and being a big dude, I don't want to be squeezing my way through tiny, roach-enfested, guano-encrusted little shitholes any more than I have to. The coastal caves don't really have that problem...
So that's that. Thanks for the birthday calls and goodies.
Athena got me a garlic press, since I had recently been bitching about having to chop up cloves of garlic and fresh garlic is just better than garlic powder. Kristen gave me a "coupon" for a digital camera, so I ordered one of those yesterday. I got one that is touted as being waterproof. They even advertise it in a bag with a goldfish and in a martini glass. The last camera I bought (a Sony) crapped out because of a humid summer, and it may have gotten a bit damp from kayaking too. This one is a Pentax Optio WPi or something. Little, light, point-and-shoot, 6-megapixel, and waterproof! That last one is key! I'm excited about that, especially since I can actually almost afford it since I sold the trials bike. So expect more pictures to be coming along.
I also wanted to mention the weather. Man it's been all over the place. Last Monday (or was it Saturday?) it snowed a bit, then by Friday it was up to 72, then it got cold and rained over the weekend, and this morning we have freezing rain! What's going on around here? Not that I'm complaining. I think a little variety is nice. I'm not as bummed out as I usually am this time of year, after 7 or so months of winter...
Kristen made it through her crazy week. She had 6 tests last week. She also had one the Friday before, and one tomorrow, so that's 8 tests in less than 2 weeks. Hard-working, crazy kid. I've been struggling with GIS stuff again. As usual, I think I know what to do, I just don't know how to make the computer do what I want it to, or it won't do what I tell it. Frustrating as hell. I sure don't want to be a GIS person for a career. It's a handy-dandy tool, but certainly not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
Speaking of that, Mylroie was down in the Bahamas last week, and aparently there's another possible project to do. Nassau National Trust or something is trying to set up some sort of National Park on Long Island Bahamas, and they need to have a "karst inventory" (survey of their caves and karst resources) done. So far, I think the coastal cave morphology thing interests me the most. I should probably mention this to him, so he doesn't stick me doing something sucky. Bahamian caves are all pretty darn small, and being a big dude, I don't want to be squeezing my way through tiny, roach-enfested, guano-encrusted little shitholes any more than I have to. The coastal caves don't really have that problem...
So that's that. Thanks for the birthday calls and goodies.
Thursday, February 16
WRC - Sweden
Marcus Gronholm wins again! Sebastian Loeb in second again... Sorry, bit old news.
Gronholm in the Focus WRC
Skoda Fabia WRC... how fun does that look?! :)
Not sure who that is, but they look a tad out of control...
Gronholm in the Focus WRC
Skoda Fabia WRC... how fun does that look?! :)
Not sure who that is, but they look a tad out of control...
Sunday, February 12
Frames for Teal... and snow!
So, Teal, here's pics of those two frames I was telling you about. The Trek is Reynolds 501 and is brand spanking new. Nary a scratch or blemish on it. Nice deep black paintjob... The Peugeot is Reynolds 531 (top o' the line for its day I think). It's got some scratches and the fork (also 531) has a little rust. Nothing some WD-40 and steel wool won't handle (best rust remover ever). Mike says the BB on the Peugot may be Italian, I haven't checked yet... could always use the BB it's got already, it seemed fine. Anywho, here's the pics...
Trek, driveside
Trek, nondriveside
Trek, front end
Trek, BB area
Peugeot, driveside
Peugeot, BB area
Peugeot, non driveside
Peugeot, front end
Another interesting thing... it actually snowed here in Starkville yesterday. Nothing accumulated, but it was still kinda neat. Here's a pic from the front door of the shop. Also notice the new look of the former "La Galerie", now called "Cotton Crossing"...
Snow in 'Vegas... (look really close and you might see some flakes)
Trek, driveside
Trek, nondriveside
Trek, front end
Trek, BB area
Peugeot, driveside
Peugeot, BB area
Peugeot, non driveside
Peugeot, front end
Another interesting thing... it actually snowed here in Starkville yesterday. Nothing accumulated, but it was still kinda neat. Here's a pic from the front door of the shop. Also notice the new look of the former "La Galerie", now called "Cotton Crossing"...
Snow in 'Vegas... (look really close and you might see some flakes)
Sunday, February 5
Lots of new stuff...
A lot has happened since last time I wrote anything on here, so this is probably going to be long...
Been in classes for a week and half or so, and so far, nothing too exciting. Advanced GIS looks like it's going to be about much fun as remote sensing was (same prof.) only slightly different and easier (more familiar) software. Engineering geology looks like it'll be a lot like Hydrogeology was (same prof.) with slightly different content. Though I've already seen plenty of ppt slides I saw last semester. I'm sitting in on Mylroie's geophysics class just to see what else I can learn about it (I already took geophysics at UMaine). Very much suprisingly, he teaches by mostly reading from the book. Of course he gets off on rants every now and then, but it wasn't how I expected him to teach. So far, it's effective. The other class I'm taking, called "geologic literature/geoscience seminar" used to be about preparing poster presentations and researching geo stuff (when Mylroie taught it). Now it's basically a public speaking class (now done by Dr. Dewey, who I had for Eastern Regional last semester). Aparently, the last few grad students to defend their theses really sucked, and they wanted to do something about it. I'm sure it'll be good practice, but it seems kinda ridiculous. If nothing else, it's somewhat entertaining...
Kristen is taking her usual load of class, a full 24 credits. She's taking Chem 2, Physics, and 5 biology classes (virology, ecology, and some other ologies...). Right now, she's frustrated by learning the same thing over and over again. She's got a pretty good handle on the basics since they seem to teach them in every single bio class. She doesn't very much like memorizing 100+ scientific names(kingdom->species) for fish. She's also got a professor Dr. ___ who is aparently kind of a jerk who doesn't care much about the class he teaches. Kristen doesn't like him much. The week after next, she has 6 tests! It's going to be a nasty week for her. Too bad that week is Valentine's day and my birthday too. As if it weren't stressful enough for her.
And now for the other news. Let me start off with some background information: Athena Owen (who is in some of those pictures from San Sal) is a grad student here, also one of Mylroie's. We both started here last semester and have become good friends (with Kristen too). Her boyfriend (more on that soon) is Jason McIlwain who is also a geology grad student, but a semester ahead of us. They share the office next door. They've been dating for close to three years. Well, it wasn't working out for Athena, and this past Tuesday, they broke up. The reasons are between her and Jason, so I'm not going to get into that. But to make a long story short, we have another housemate. Two actually, and soon to be three. We cleared out the room that had formerly been for storage and watching movies/reading (one of two rooms in our apartment). So she's going to be living with us. She had been living with Jason. She's also got a cat named "Circles" and a dog named "Bell". Bell isn't here yet, but she will be eventually. It's going to be crowded. 3 people, 2 dogs, and a cat. Athena is also a horse fanatic (seriously, she's crazy about them) and owns three of them. The horses (Reno, Mystery, and Bug) live on Jason's parents' farm in Carrolton, MS, about 1.5 hours north of here. Not sure what she's going to do about that situation, but I think it's safe to say they won't be in the apartment with us. Whew. Athena will be staying with us until something else comes along. Not sure who/when/where/why/how that'll happen, but that's OK. So that's that big news.
Kristen and I got a yoga CD for christmas from her dad's girlfriend. We've been doing that on mornings we're not feeling like going for a walk. For some reason, I feel sort of silly doing it, but it really does feel pretty good. Both Kristen and my favorite pose is "simple relaxation pose". Basically you just lay on your back and veg out. It's great. It's making me a bit more flexible and also helping my posture a bit. By the way, I've lost the weight I gained over christmas, and I think I'm losing even more...
Let see, what else... oh, I've scrapped the trials bike and am selling it off. So far I've sold the frame/bar/stem (though the money isn't here yet), the BB, and the crankset. I'm going to be sending the BMX bike up to fordo when I get a chance too. Not a lot of time for that sort of thing lately it seems. Nowhere to ride either bike around here either. Well, nothing too exciting to ride anyway. I'll have to make do with just the two (XC and SS road) for a while. Besides, we need the extra space in the apartment now anyway. Actually, my bikes are going to have to live outside now because there's not room inside.
Still not set for a thesis topic. Either I'll be going to Guam to work on revising the geologic map of Guam, or I'll be going to San Salvador and other Bahamian islands to try and figure out the morphologic difference between sea caves, tafony (aeolian) caves, and collapsed flank margin caves. I have a feeling it's going to be the latter, but we'll see. I should know more about Guam next week.
Mom and dad, FINALLY got your stuff ready to ship. Went to go ship it yesterday, but aparently the P.O. doesn't operate on Saturday, even though it's open... So that'll probably go out on Tuesday morning.
Fordo, I'll ship you that bag, the little thingies for attaching a rack to a frame without mounts, and the BMX bike as soon as I get a chance...
Tealio, those shimano 600 cranks are still kicking around. I'll see if I can get them for you. What else do you need?
Alright, I'm going to go home and eat some grub.
Been in classes for a week and half or so, and so far, nothing too exciting. Advanced GIS looks like it's going to be about much fun as remote sensing was (same prof.) only slightly different and easier (more familiar) software. Engineering geology looks like it'll be a lot like Hydrogeology was (same prof.) with slightly different content. Though I've already seen plenty of ppt slides I saw last semester. I'm sitting in on Mylroie's geophysics class just to see what else I can learn about it (I already took geophysics at UMaine). Very much suprisingly, he teaches by mostly reading from the book. Of course he gets off on rants every now and then, but it wasn't how I expected him to teach. So far, it's effective. The other class I'm taking, called "geologic literature/geoscience seminar" used to be about preparing poster presentations and researching geo stuff (when Mylroie taught it). Now it's basically a public speaking class (now done by Dr. Dewey, who I had for Eastern Regional last semester). Aparently, the last few grad students to defend their theses really sucked, and they wanted to do something about it. I'm sure it'll be good practice, but it seems kinda ridiculous. If nothing else, it's somewhat entertaining...
Kristen is taking her usual load of class, a full 24 credits. She's taking Chem 2, Physics, and 5 biology classes (virology, ecology, and some other ologies...). Right now, she's frustrated by learning the same thing over and over again. She's got a pretty good handle on the basics since they seem to teach them in every single bio class. She doesn't very much like memorizing 100+ scientific names(kingdom->species) for fish. She's also got a professor Dr. ___ who is aparently kind of a jerk who doesn't care much about the class he teaches. Kristen doesn't like him much. The week after next, she has 6 tests! It's going to be a nasty week for her. Too bad that week is Valentine's day and my birthday too. As if it weren't stressful enough for her.
And now for the other news. Let me start off with some background information: Athena Owen (who is in some of those pictures from San Sal) is a grad student here, also one of Mylroie's. We both started here last semester and have become good friends (with Kristen too). Her boyfriend (more on that soon) is Jason McIlwain who is also a geology grad student, but a semester ahead of us. They share the office next door. They've been dating for close to three years. Well, it wasn't working out for Athena, and this past Tuesday, they broke up. The reasons are between her and Jason, so I'm not going to get into that. But to make a long story short, we have another housemate. Two actually, and soon to be three. We cleared out the room that had formerly been for storage and watching movies/reading (one of two rooms in our apartment). So she's going to be living with us. She had been living with Jason. She's also got a cat named "Circles" and a dog named "Bell". Bell isn't here yet, but she will be eventually. It's going to be crowded. 3 people, 2 dogs, and a cat. Athena is also a horse fanatic (seriously, she's crazy about them) and owns three of them. The horses (Reno, Mystery, and Bug) live on Jason's parents' farm in Carrolton, MS, about 1.5 hours north of here. Not sure what she's going to do about that situation, but I think it's safe to say they won't be in the apartment with us. Whew. Athena will be staying with us until something else comes along. Not sure who/when/where/why/how that'll happen, but that's OK. So that's that big news.
Kristen and I got a yoga CD for christmas from her dad's girlfriend. We've been doing that on mornings we're not feeling like going for a walk. For some reason, I feel sort of silly doing it, but it really does feel pretty good. Both Kristen and my favorite pose is "simple relaxation pose". Basically you just lay on your back and veg out. It's great. It's making me a bit more flexible and also helping my posture a bit. By the way, I've lost the weight I gained over christmas, and I think I'm losing even more...
Let see, what else... oh, I've scrapped the trials bike and am selling it off. So far I've sold the frame/bar/stem (though the money isn't here yet), the BB, and the crankset. I'm going to be sending the BMX bike up to fordo when I get a chance too. Not a lot of time for that sort of thing lately it seems. Nowhere to ride either bike around here either. Well, nothing too exciting to ride anyway. I'll have to make do with just the two (XC and SS road) for a while. Besides, we need the extra space in the apartment now anyway. Actually, my bikes are going to have to live outside now because there's not room inside.
Still not set for a thesis topic. Either I'll be going to Guam to work on revising the geologic map of Guam, or I'll be going to San Salvador and other Bahamian islands to try and figure out the morphologic difference between sea caves, tafony (aeolian) caves, and collapsed flank margin caves. I have a feeling it's going to be the latter, but we'll see. I should know more about Guam next week.
Mom and dad, FINALLY got your stuff ready to ship. Went to go ship it yesterday, but aparently the P.O. doesn't operate on Saturday, even though it's open... So that'll probably go out on Tuesday morning.
Fordo, I'll ship you that bag, the little thingies for attaching a rack to a frame without mounts, and the BMX bike as soon as I get a chance...
Tealio, those shimano 600 cranks are still kicking around. I'll see if I can get them for you. What else do you need?
Alright, I'm going to go home and eat some grub.
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