Nice. Just after posting my own diatribe on Proposition 8 I found a great video that Brian S had posted. Here it is:

One thing that strikes me is how he (Keith) appeals to logic when the supporters of Prop 8 pretty much threw that out with the bathwater. If the foundation of a person's belief is religious, how can you use logic to appeal to that person? Not possible in my opinion. Religion - for better or worse - is resigning yourself to some higher power that makes the rules. Who are we to question that?

Yesterday at work some of the folks that support the central computing infrastructure at the UW posted that three days ago an alleged spam source got taken down thus reducing the volume of spam at the UW from over six million messages/day to just over one million!

That is a phenomenal reduction which seems to be mirrored outside of the UW and it just goes to show how messed up the Internet is currently... The VAST majority of everyone's bandwidth is being used by crap. Stuff that is totally useless and just makes everyone else pay more, have to implement crazy security measures and use stupid 'safeguards' like third party spam reduction services that block legitimate email, etc., etc. :(

Once again SNL had me cracking up with their German coat skit.

Nice.

There is NO shortage of one-man bike shops in Seattle. You've got 12th Ave Bicycles and Collectibles, 20/20 Cycle (which really is much more than a one-man operation currently - they even sponsor a team now), there was Ti Cycles when I worked there way back when and recently I learned about another one - Mobius Cycle.

Mobius is run by "Niki" (a former bicycle messenger I believe) and although it's now also more than a one-man operation it embodies what I love about the urban bike shop.

• The entrance is in an alley.
• The shop is on the 4th floor of the building.
• The hours are "afternoon to evening - Monday to Friday". Nice.
• Niki seems to do what she wants and does it how she wants. Thank goodness for her there are like-minded cyclists in Seattle to patronize her business.
• It's in the heart of downtown Seattle.

The web site is slow as hell, it's organized in a way only Niki probably understands and I can't wait to visit this shop.

ASIDE - I spent some time following links and in addition to some very entertaining blog posts I also came across this deleted scene from the Fast Friday movie.

I have to admit that I love this stuff...

Funny how your perspective changes.

When cell phones first came out I scoffed at them. Now I can't live without mine. Not only do I have a cell phone I've got one running Windows Mobile and I sync to Microsoft Exchange and pay for unlimited data - the whole nine yards in other words.

With the recent passing of the you-must-be-using-your-phone-hands-free-while-driving law (which is a crock by the way), I was looking around for a new ear bud. But after remembering how well (read: not well at all) my previous ear bud worked, especially with the car window open even just a little, I started shopping for other options. A quick web search  suggested that a Bluetooth earpiece might be the answer so after getting over my disgust for people how have one of these things glued to their head 24/7, and at the most inappropriate time and in the most inappropriate places, I got one myself.

So, here is what I bought; the original Jawbone:

The newest version although smaller did not get consistent rave reviews plus this was a lot less dough so there you go. And you know what? It's AMAZING.

ASIDE - when it showed up there were no instructions...?! And they make this look super sleek and sexy so there are no obvious buttons (do you see any?) so I had to go to the Jawbone web site to figure out how to turn it on for crying out loud. Thank you knowledge bases.

But back to my latest geek status symbol acquisition. It really works well. Not only does it cancel noise extremely effectively but the ear bud means I can hear really well when there is noise around me. Having someone hear you is only half the battle after all.

God help me if I end up taking a call in some public airport toilet with my hands otherwise occupied (if you know what I mean) and a flashing LED stuck in my ear. Look Ma, hands free!

Not like it was hard... all you have to do is spend the money. I'm now entered in the Las Vegas Half Marathon which other than the Jingle Bell Run (that I did a couple of times with a friend ages ago) will be my only other running race ever.

The hard part - at least so I hear - will be to run enough so that I can actually finish this running and not walking. Here's hoping. :) Check out my training diary to see my progress if you want. Or not.

ASIDE - now that I'll be doing a real running event I of course had to get an accessory. No, not an Elvis wig (although that seems to be popular at this event), I got a Road ID bracelet. Not bad, I can wear this cycling too. Running,at least to a n00b like me, is so devoid of gear! What's a gear hound like me going to do?

up pops some nut job like this.

I guess some background is appropriate here. I work at the UW and they recently launched an emergency notification system that you can subscribe to via email or SMS text messages. Today at 1:44 PM we got this message.

SUBJECT

UW Alert Seattle

BODY

Dear Martin Criminale,

Incident in Red Square. Male set self on fire, taken to hospital. No other persons injured. Area is secure. Ck. Web for updates.

Nice... and it's not even finals yet. This guy actually set himself on fire. On FIRE. The image that immediately came to mind was the Buddhist monk that burned himself to death in protest during the Vietnam war. Jesus H.

While partaking of my daily bread yesterday morning I read that yet another cyclist tested non-negative for CERA from this year's Tour de France.

From my limited research it appears that CERA is a form of EPO that lasts longer than the traditional strains so you can take it less often. This also obviously means you don't have to continue to take it during a stage race as the effects will continue for days. And, prior to this new test that just came out, it was also not detectible.

The problem (for cheaters anyway) is that now blood and urine samples can be stored for a long time, so labs can go back in time and examine samples from athletes after new tests are released.

"What's that you say...? Anti-doping people are trying to catch up? D'oh...!"

That's right Mr. Kohl. And Mr. Ricco. And Mr. [insert name of your favorite athlete that just performed an unbelievable feat here].

What a f'n shame that now EVERY time someone bounces back from a lousy day and has a terrific day or someone strings together more than one outstanding performance that it's more than likely they have cheated.

Well what do you know... :)

And it's about time, right? The San Francisco Chronicle just reported that the $700 billion bailout of the US economy will give bicycle commuters a $20/month tax-free reimbursement starting in January of 2009. As long as your bike is your primary mode of transportation of course; fair is fair.

And speaking of fair, you just know what this will bring...  It will be the start of all kinds of creative lies to try and prove that your bike really is your primary mode of transportation. I wonder how one will be required to substantiate this? Show the federal government your road rash? Fax them a copy of your bike locker key? I see a lot of creative stories on the horizon. :(

I just hope they don't make it too hard, like for the person that drives to a park & ride and then takes the bus most of the way and rides the rest, they should get this subsidy too in my opinion. The bigger picture is getting more cars off the road,right? I sure hope so.

You hear that Tim Eyman? This is supposed to do good so don't f it up.

Sweet Jesus... sometimes I have no idea what people are thinking! I'm a regular reader of cyclingnews.com and today they covered the world's most expensive bicycle.

What's so great about this bike? Uh... exactly nothing.

It looks for all the world like some ancient track bike that has been restored, plated in gold and then crusted in diamonds. What's that adage? You can polish a turd but no matter how much you polish it, it's still gonna stink. I mean c'mon, the saddle is made from really hard, uncomfortable leather (and they couldn't even level it out for the photo!), the bar wrap is hand sewn (and why don't we use leather on the bars anymore?) and what's with the pedals?! It looks like they put some regular old, department store platform pedals on a single speed. Nice. What about those super cool new Speedplay nanogram pedals? Or at least a classy, Campagnolo quill pedal with a fancy Binda strap? Heck, plate the strap buckle why not! But no.

This thing doesn't even look good hanging on the wall.

How can you make an expensive bike that is also cool? Sure, there just isn't as much technology involved as say, with a car or a sailboat but you can still do it justice. What about using some kind of unobtanium material for the frame? Or what about sticking some kind of uber-researched disc wheels on the front and rear? Or how about this; we all know you can only make a bike so light and make it affordable, what about if price was not object?

Gluing diamonds on a steel frame just does not get me hot. I can totally see some lower-income kid out there trying to bling out his ride with a can of gold spray paint and some fake stones. Looks the same to me...