For all the problems that Twitter has faced recently with the system slowdowns, lack of delivery, spam, etc. it still does one thing really well and that is let you keep up with those that use it.

And really, isn't that what it's all about? I recently went on a binge of sorts and sought out all the professional cyclists I admire and began following them. Know what? It's really cool to read about their daily trials and tribulations. People like Robbie McEwen who is coming back after yet another horrific crash was just out and managed 1.5 hours on the bike and did 200 m at 45 km/hr.

It's heartening. It's interesting. It's educational. It's a huge time suck. But it's also a ton of fun.

Oh yeah, unless you have a cell plan with unlimited texts, perish the thought of sending updates to your mobile device for everyone you follow… good grief. I only get updates for my real friends now and view the rest via the web.

Good stuff for sure.

Thanks to my friend Hank K for this gem.

Okay, it might be (read: probably is) just me but the documentation for dasBlog is just slightly less than ideal… I usually figure everything out but it's almost always written at such a high level that you really need to know your stuff to get the job done. Apparently I know just barely enough stuff. Thank goodness. I guess this post could also be called, "Upgrading dasBlog for Dummies".

In my case I upgraded dasBlog from 2.0 to 2.3 but these instructions would probably work for just about any version upgrade. Why upgrade? 2.2 had the features I really wanted (OpenID, fixed Daylight Saving bug, enable anti-spam, etc.) and I just got the latest version available.

This post assumes that you have console or at least RDP access to your server, that you are a member of the local Administrators group on your server and that your server is running Windows Server 2003 and that IIS 6 is your web server.

So I tried to follow the upgrade instructions and failed. When I would load my blog the version was not being displayed correctly so something about the engine was not right. I thought about it for a bit and then realized that dasBlog is really compartmentalized in that the content is quite separate from all the other stuff so I figured I could try to perform a 'fresh' install and then just dump my content in this. It worked!

Okay, let's get to the nuts and bolts.

1) BACKUP YOUR SHIT. It goes without saying, right? Of course not so I'll say it here. In my case I backed up/copied the entire dasblogce directory but if that is prohibitive you can get away with just the following things.

• The entire content directory.
• The entire SiteConfig directory.
• The directory containing any custom theme you might be using. If you are using a stock theme you can forget about this step.

I would also recommend taking a screen shot of your configuration.

Once you are sure you have all that stuff in a safe place you can blow away everything in the dasblogce directory on your server.

2) Now download the dasBlog 2.3 web files.

In the upgrade instructions it tells you to run the DasBlogUpgrader.exe script against your content but it's assumed that this script is packaged with the Web Files download and as of this post it still isn't. Luckily I found it and you can download it here.

3) Now open a Command Prompt and navigate to the directory where you have the DasBlogUpgrader.exe script and run it against your content like so:

If you are not sure what to do it's fine to answer Y to all the questions. That's what I did.

4) Next you want to upload everything. Put the entire contents of the 2.3 dasblogce directory in the dasblogce directory on your server.

Then put all of your upgraded content in the content directory on your server.

ASIDE - I use Windows Live Writer to post most of the time and all of that is saved in the content folder so if you back up all of it you are good to go.

If you were using a custom theme you will need to upload this to the themes directory.

5) Correct permissions are critical to allow dasBlog to run. You need to give the NETWORK SERVICE account the Modify permission on your content, logs and SiteConfig directory.

6) Lastly you need to configure your blog. In the SiteConfig directory you want to edit site.config. Just edit all the recommended values near the top, it should all be really easy and obvious stuff. If you are using a custom theme this is where you will need to specify the name.

You also want to edit the siteSecurity.config file in the same directory. This is where you add your account as an admin and the accounts of anyone else that needs the ability to post to your blog. If it's just you, simply edit the only admin entry and you're done.

7) If you had customized your blogroll or links you can quickly and easily restore them simply by copying the appropriate .opml file and navigatorLinks.xml file up to your SiteConfig directory.

8) Load your blog in a browser, log in and check all the configuration entries. Here is where you can enable OpenID, email, anti-spam, etc.

Done!

Someone is no doubt going to read this and go, "What a retarded way to upgrade dasBlog…" What can I say, it works and this way I know I'm running the latest engine with all the features and fixes and patches for sure.

And so it begins.

A few days ago under the affects of new bike euphoria I Tweeted, "Can I get a (Ellsworth) witness?!" Sheesh, talk about starting things off with a cliché. :(

But screw that, a few days ago Shelley and I received the bulk of the stuff needed to build our first full-suspension mountain bike tandem and it rocks. It ROCKS. You hear me?

First I gotta thank the 'sponsors'.

Ellsworth - this company is one of most outstanding mountain bike companies in the world. All their shiz is still made right here in America (not just assembled here or designed here) and lucky for me they launched their own recovery plan whereby new bikes were discounted $700 if you sent them any(!) old complete bike or frame. Ellsworth gets the tax write off, needy people get a working used bike and Shelley and I get a brand spanking new ride. Martin is no dummy, I jumped at the offer.

WebCyclery (and Henry Able) - this company is actually a brick and mortar retailer in OR but they happen to have a big web presence and phenomenal customer service. Oh yeah, the happen to be tandem experts. It helps that Henry is a tandem-crazy person himself (he has a road, full-suspension and single speed tandem at least…) and the guy is passionate about riding them. Way passionate. Henry answered all of my questions patiently and even though I did not get ALL of the parts through WebCyclery they were never anything but fantastic. I did a 15 year stint in the bicycle industry and this is why IBDs succeed.

This morning I finally broke down the boxes, put the frame in my repair stand and sorted through all the parts to see if anything was not going to work or was missing. Here are those pictures. Turns out the 350 mm Ritchey Pro seatpost I ordered for myself will not be long enough. Luckily though Ritchey makes a Comp in a 400 mm length so that's now on the way. Even though I triple and quadruple checked the advertised dimensions against my single and tandem bikes, there is nothing like dropping 5 large on a bike that you have never seen in person to make you sweat… I was not absolutely positive it would fit us until it showed and thank GOODNESS it will be fine. Shelley will actually need a 350 mm post and the stoker top tube is plenty roomy. And with the 400 mm post in front and one of my 15 cm stems it will be fine for me. One word: relief. One more: Anticipation. One more: I'm calling in sick as soon as it's ready! Oops, that's more than one but you get the idea.

I was able to recycle some parts from an old tandem (the captain's cranks) and from my single (headset, shifters, derailleurs, saddle and pedals) and had a some tires and tubes and a saddle and pedals lying around for Shelley but everything else is new.

Speaking of new, I love the fork I got for this bike. LOVE it. It's the 2009 Fox Talas. OMG, this is one sweet way to hang a wheel on a frame.

ASIDE - I had to sell two tandems to afford this one! I sold the beautiful, custom Ti Cycles steel bike with the daVinci Designs drivetrain that Cameron and I used to ride in the Courage Classic to a good friend and I will need to sell our Rodriguez mountain bike tandem as well. I'm okay with this. :)

What's next? I need to build the wheels and then assemble the bike. I'm still waiting for two parts to arrive, one of which is that longer seatpost, but my goal is to be in the dirt one week from Saturday. Yes!

Most of us use iTunes and most of us experience the frustration with having to sync it with your music or video folders each time you add or subtract stuff from those folders.

Well say hello to iTunes Library Updater. This program will let you sync any combination of folders with iTunes and let's you specify lots of useful options in the process.

Using the GUI is neat but what if you want to run this program automatically? Simple, you create a script and run it as a Scheduled Task.

• Grab a copy of of the iTLU batch script.
• Edit the script per the included instructions to include all of your folders.
• Save the script to your hard drive.
• From Control Panel, add a new Scheduled Task that will run this script daily.

Now that's more like it.

Oh. My. Freaking. God.

A friend posted this video on Facebook today:

and it is quite possibly the funniest IT movie I have ever seen in my entire life. That means it's damn funny. You have to watch it many times to catch all the jokes, like when:

• the IT guy keeps shooting the character in Halo in the balls while talking to the sales guy
• the IT guy opens the sales guy's mailbox in Outlook and deletes the sent mail
• the email with the warning about not rebooting the web server is displayed in huge, red letters
• the IT guy blames the sales guy for making him take down the web server incorrectly
• the IT guy blames the guy in the server room for taking down the Exchange server
• the sales guy admits to having the same icon arrangement for 8-9 years
• "You can't arrange them by penis."

But I digress. In the video the IT guy mentions posting a picture of the sales guy's desktop on Boing Boing and so of course I had to go there right away. Here is what I just saw:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/08/woman-kills-elephant.html

This woman trained for months so that she could use a bow big enough to bring down an elephant? Oh man, how many more things could you spend months doing something useful? Reading comments like, "I waited overnight to make sure it was dead." make me sick. Obviously death was NOT very quick.

Sport hunting is ridiculous. And when I say ridiculous I of course mean that the hunter is retarded. Hello, if you're going to kill it, how about you eat it too? And then how about you donate everything you can't eat to organizations or industries that can use the stuff. You know, parts like hooves and hide, etc.

If you're going to waste your time, at least do something that does not require anything else to die. How about that.

Tune in next week when Martin goes off about something else.

Today at work one of our faculty sent out a link to a video and on a whim I watched it:

It was fascinating.

The speaker - Hans Rosling - started an organization called Gapminder (as in the British slogan "Mind the gap!" that pertains to their subway system) that endeavors to take existing data and display/present/explain it in such a manner that allows the layman (read: me and maybe you too) to understand it. Nice.

His premise is that we don't need new databases or more, obscure repositories to store data; rather we need to get it out to the public and make it accessible because by and large we do not know the truth about our world as it exists today.

There are so many noble causes out there but this one really struck a chord with me.

What a bust…!

To fill you in, some time ago I embarked on a diet to see if I could improve my climbing a bit (I'm talking about cycling here) and today is a little over six weeks from the time I began.

Did it work? Well… it might have helped a little but it also reduced the fun factor in my life quite a bit. Like I said in my original post, there is nothing like trying to eliminate something from your life to make you want it liken ever before. When it comes to food that is. In my case I cut out alcohol and 'extraneous' sugar meaning deserts and the like.

And of course as luck would have it (not), as soon as I decided to do this we were invited out for drinks several times and went to a free dinner with unlimited wine, etc., etc. Sigh.

The whole point was to try and lose a few pounds for this hilly race I did last Sunday. When I started I lost four or five pounds right away and then leveled off. After a few weeks I gained back a couple of pounds because I think I started eating larger portions to compensate for not having the stuff I was craving. Then I leveled off again so the net result was I only lost about three pounds.

That's not a big amount of gain for a comparatively large amount of anguish and conscious self-control. What did Martin learn? Totally cutting out something is not that hard but the benefit and reward is also not so great. Portion control on the other hand is obviously the key to more significant gains (or loses in this case) and MUCH harder to enforce.

Major revelation, eh? I know, I know… it just takes me longer than most to figure these things out. :(

Every once in a while you get an itch and it just needs scratching. It might be your first century, your first fully loaded bike tour, an ultra distance ride, a night ride, whatever. Sometimes you don’t even know you have this itch until someone else tells you about it. This is what just happened to me.

Thanks to my buddy Tom W on Saturday, May 23 I will show up at Tom's house and do the 100 miles to nowhere ride for charity:

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2009/04/23/register-now-for-the-100-miles-of-nowhere/

We will do this event on rollers but you - because I know you want to do this - could do it on a trainer or any (really) small outdoor circuit you that you like.

Tom has graciously opened up his house (or very large deck if the weather is nice) if one or two of you want to join us and if there is more interest we might see about an outdoor venue like the Marymoor Velodrome infield, etc.

Cost is only $75 ($50 of which goes directly to charity). What's that you say, I get to PAY to endure this torture...? YES! Isn't that the way it usually works? Plus, no fund raising - just pay and ride and get your schwag.

So c'mon, check the box and think of all the stories you will have to tell your children once that skin graft on your taint finally heals up.

Let me know if you want in.

Martin "Yes, I am going to regret this but WTF..." Criminale

"I believe Tyler… was doped to the gills." No doubt.

Remember when it was cool to support Tyler Hamilton? All those evil Euros were saucing it up and getting away with it because they were part of some good old boys club (along with lots of doctors and half of Spain it appears) and our squeaky clean kid with the cutesy dog was riding his heart out on foreign soil. For USA no less. Well what f'ing ever.

My new favorite blog said it really well so I won't plagiarize too much here but I am REALLY bummed that this situation is making us (read: cycling fans) into such cynics. Rider gets caught, rider - of course - denies everything, B sample comes back and guess what, it's positive too…

Call me naive but I still must want to have heroes that I can live vicariously through.

I suppose my failing is that with all the doping news surrounding cycling I had some notion that it was helping. Lord knows that all the major sports in America are hopelessly mired in drugs and will probably never rise above. Football, baseball, golf (WTF?!), give it up.

Because I like to ride and race and am bike crazy (and don't want to come down from my high) I now choose to live in a dream world when I read about professional results. And every few days I zap myself with one of those neuralizers from Men In Black just for good measure.

Oh yeah, remember that domain for all the Mr. Hamilton fans?

http://ibelievetyler.com/

Hahahaha…