Too funny. In the last two days I have had three people ask me if I have developed some iPhone application or a snap-in for my training blog. It seems people like the tabular layout of information and were wondering if I had done that programmatically.

Uh, nope.

I just created a HTML snippet that I paste into each entry and viola, it now looks like a printed training diary and is all organized and shit. I'm not that smart.

Hey, better late than never, right?

Way back in college I got an earring. As is the case with these kinds of things all too often, one earring turned into three in the course of a few years. What the hell, right? Back then it was cool. If you can call a sorta preppy looking cycling nerd with earrings cool.

Then around 15-20 years ago I started wearing rings. Again, at first it was just one and then over the course of a few years the number grew to five on one hand and three on the other.

Sheesh.

You know how when change occurs over time you are less aware of it? That was me. Oh sure, every once in a while I would find myself in a situation where I felt awkward like buying gas in some one horse town out in the boonies with shaved legs, wearing fruity (read: surf) shorts and sporting earrings in both ears and rings on almost every finger. But the effect would wear off pretty darn fast and soon I'd return to my little fashion island that is Capitol Hill and where I was the 'normal' guy and all was well.

But then you get older. And your values - or at least your sense of style - changes a little. And you start to look around.

Hmm... not too many guys who I think look really classy are sporting the triple hoops in their ears and the dueling brass (or silver and titanium in my case) knuckles. More and more I think it's about who you are and what you do and NOT what you wear that makes the person. I think I used to associate something significant with this jewelry and when I try to find that now it just isn't there.

Besides, when I got married it seemed sorta silly to have more than one ring on my left hand. I totally love my wedding ring, what it signifies and having it be the only ring I'm wearing helps it stand out that much better.

ASIDE - long ago after my divorce I was all about doing whatever Martin wanted. I came first and all that... Part of that was wearing all these rings that I liked again, which meant that both of my ring fingers were adorned. And I could never figure out why some women hesitated when I made an advance. Duh... Men can be such idiots.

So a few weeks ago I ditched all the extra rings. And last night on my 45th birthday I took out all the earrings.

OMG.

I know, I know, heavy stuff.

What's really funny is how different I feel. What is different? Pretty much nothing except for how complete strangers might perceive me. You know, stuff that really matters. Not. Part of me thinks I'm finally growing up. :) Did I mention I just cut my hair short again?

Wow, I might have to start singing a different tune here.

Lance is just not my favorite guy. He seems totally narcissistic, self-centered and appears to have absolutely bailed on his wife and kids and then went and had another child with a girl he had dated for what, six months? Nice. Plus,prior to his recent comeback he just never warmed up to the media.

Anyway, today on cyclingnews.com I read a quote that made me do a double take.

"Sometimes I get frustrated with people who criticize his return, and then what, they're going to sign up and cheer when David Millar returns? It's the same thing. You've served your suspension, let's get back on the bike and race," he said, using the EPO-confession of the British star as evidence of the fans' hypocrisy.

"There's no point in criticizing Basso, criticizing Landis, or criticizing anyone… if you've paid your penalty, this is normally how society works. Let's forgive and forget and get on down the road.

"Obviously Floyd's a friend of mine, he's a former teammate and he has a lot of fans. In that sense, you've got to remember that Floyd might have been found guilty but at the end of the trial if you polled the people, 50 percent thought he was innocent – in regard to that it's good that he's back."

I agree 100 percent.

So why am I still buggin'? Because in my humble opinion Lance cheated and never served any suspension. Just the opposite in fact. Because of his connections, celebrity status and wealth he got access to cancer drugs and treatments that mere mortals could not. Everything was totally fast tracked with no waiting period and when he survived he was the media darling. Oh sure, he might be clean now but to me it's like justice never got served.

Whatever.

Good to hear that he's in favor of these guys racing and of forgiving past indiscretions.

My phone is broken, it happened last night. Amazing how much I miss it already.

No more email, text messages, no more Facebook on the go, no more Twitter updates; how did I ever manage without one way back when? I suppose once I manage to work my way through the five stages of grief I might feel liberated but right now I'm just bummed and lonely.

Oh yeah, and I can't make any calls or check voicemail either. Did I mention that my home phone is forwarded to my mobile? Good grief. The replacement better arrive soon. Kinda makes one feel like an addict, eh? Yep, sure does.

So, what did Martin get? Well, I really liked what I had so I got it again, the T-Mobile Dash:

Why you ask? Well, my carrier is T-Mobile so the iPhone was not an option and I use Microsoft Exchange for email so Windows Mobile is good and we just switched to a my Favs plan and I think it's great so the phone had to be compatible with that technology. Besides, except for the small display I really like this phone a lot.

I did seriously consider the G1 but it's actually really limited if you want to connect to anything but a Google service. No ActiveSync, no support for Hotmail/Windows Live; just IMAP, POP3 and Google. But damn, it sure has a nice feel, keyboard and display size...

Oh well, now I will have an extra battery and charger. :)

Because I always forget where this is I thought it might help if I posted a link:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Roads/Bicycling.aspx

I saw him again today...!

And when I say 'him' I of course mean a person that fits this stereotype.

Last night taking the bus home it was FREEZING out, mid 30s at best with a mild windchill to boot. Half way home this guy gets up and gets off the bus; he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. You hear me? People, I'm talking NOTHING BUT SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT here.

What is it with these people? Are they really that hot-blooded or is their metabolism really so jacked up that they just do not get cold? Or is it that they just can't/won't/couldn't be bothered to put in the effort to switch up their wardrobe even a teeny, tiny bit. You know, roll with the seasons and all that.

This guy fit the bill perfectly. He was young (20 maybe?), slightly overweight, kinda introverted looking and was wearing black Velcro tennis shoes with white, crew-length socks. One had fallen down and the other was pulled up, sorta. As he shouldered his backpack and walked sort of awkwardly down the sidewalk I was left thinking is it that hard to put on even a sweatshirt?

I can just see this guys closet. Five pairs of shorts (just enough to last until the next time he does laundry assuming he wears each pair a few days in a row) and 20 t-shirts. 90 percent of which he got for free. Some of these would have slogans on them like:

• [insert name of high school here]
• [insert name of computer game here]
• Mountain Dew

ASIDE - see, the true nerd doesn't wear shirts with slogans like, "There's no place like 127.0.0.1" or, "There are only two kinds of people, those that understand binary and those that don't". They wear stuff that isn't clever at all. That's why they are nerds. Get it?

So today on the way to work I see this same guy on the bus again. So help me he has on the same shoes, socks, shorts and shirt. [And I thought I was bad...] If anything it was even colder this morning than last night plus it was pretty foggy and his face was flushed and his arms were pink so I'm thinking he has GOT to be cold. Is it that he just doesn't understand that clothes have a purpose or he's just so OCD that putting on anything out of the ordinary would be too upsetting?

And then I'm thinking, if this guy is legitimately warm enough when it's in the 30s, what does he wear in the summer...?! I mean he has got to be hating life when it tops 70 degrees, right? What about when it gets up to 80? Does he hide in his apartment and put bowls of ice in front of fans? Does he just not go outside?

I give up. I choose just to be entertained. The bus excels at that for sure.

I'm no different than anyone else that uses the Internet in that I get a boatload of spam. I have lots of defenses for this; most of it gets caught by me sending all email that uses my secondary MX record somewhere else, more gets caught by my primary mail server using blacklists and even more gets caught using the Junk E-Mail filter in Outlook.

Still, I get my fair (is spam really fair...?) share in my Inbox. The last line of defense is the Delete key.

Usually I'm too busy/bored to read any of it but sometimes I take a quick glance and on those occasions when it makes me laugh I'm not bothered by it at all. This is one of those.

First of all you gotta love the broken English. And this is my favorite quote here, "At leisure I like to... prepare. Yes, I prepare very well." A f'n riot that is.

From:
"Eddy Whalen" <tuntunoo@singnet.com.sg>

Hello.

We got acquainted with you on a site familiar, and to me were so pleasantly with you to get acquainted. But I would like to study you more.

And I have recollected, that you gave me the electronic address, and I have decided to write to you.

I do not remember exact your address, but I very much hope that it you. And I shall write to you below about me, that you could recollect me.

Some words about me. My real name - Irina, friends name me Ira. I - the unique girl from Russia, now I live in settlement - Sovetskij
My age 27. I have been given birth August, 27-th, 1981, my sign on the zodiac - Deva, mine growth - 176 sm, weight - 56 kg. I have blond hair and brown eyes. (you can look also at a photo in the appendix).

Friends speak, that I am the attractive, optimistic, kind and sensitive person. I love theatre, a museum, I like to be engaged in aerobics and I visit sports a hall, but work borrows a lot of my time.

At leisure I like to read books, to look cinema and to prepare. O! Yes, I prepare very well, and I like to try new dishes.
I search for true love , my best friend and the soul mate. I want to meet the reliable and responsible person who will be the special person for me. I only need in one special person and I have no any interest in others.

I put a photo, what you knew my person, please tell to me that you think of my photo - well? Also I want to ask, that you have sent me some your photos!

Please reply only at me personal e-mail: comirina765@gmail.com
I am very open also me easily to learn, so please ask me something.

Please tell to me more about you, and send to me your picture.

I wait your message,
Irina.

Once again Matt Groening proves that he has his finger on the pulse of (geeky) America by spoofing the Apple ads. This movie got taken down from YouTube pronto (duh...) but if you can tolerate the slow download, you can get it here:

http://www.criminale.com/download/The_Simpsons-Mapple.wmv [23 MB]

One word: (very, very) funny

I wish I could take credit for this but hey, that's what the Internet is for. Instead of figuring this out myself I just did a web search and found the instructions here:

http://www.ajvaynerchuk.com/how-to-link-twitter-to-facebook-a-twitter-tutorial/

Nice. Now I only have to update one place; done.

best of craigslist > SF bay area > Manly Bike for Sale

Originally Posted: Tue, 22 Jul 10:18 PDT

Manly Bike for Sale

Date: 2008-07-22, 10:18AM PDT

Bike for sale

What kind of bike? I don't know, I'm not a bike scientist. What I am though is a manly guy looking to sell his bike. This bike is made out of metal and kick ass spokes. The back reflector was taken off, but if you think that deters me from riding at night, you're way wrong. I practiced ninja training in Japan's mount Fuji for 5 years and the first rule they teach about ninja biking is that back reflectors let the enemy know where you are. Not having a rear reflector is like saying "FUCK YOU CAR, JUST TRY AND FIND ME".

The bike says Giant on the side because it's referring to my junk, but rest assured even if you have tiny junk that Giant advertisement is going to remain right where it is. I bought this bike for 300 dollars from a retired mercenary that fought in both World War 1 and World War 2 and had his right arm bitten off by a shark in the Philippines while stationed there as a shark handler. When he sold it to me I had to arm wrestle him for the honor to buy it. I broke his arm in 7 places when I did. He was so impressed with me he offered me to be his son but I thought that was sissy shit so I said no way.

The bike has some rusted screws, but that just shows how much of a bad ass you are. Everyone knows rusted screws on a bike means that you probably drove it underwater and that's bad ass in itself. Those screws can be replaced with shiny new ones, but if you're going to go to that trouble why not just punch yourself in the balls since you're probably a dickless lizard who doesn't like to look intimidating.

The bike is for men because the seat is flat or some shit and not shaped like a dildo. If you like flat seated bikes you're going to love this thing because it doesn't try to penetrate your ass or anything.

I've topped out at 75 miles per hour on this uphill but if you're just a regular man you'll probably top it out at 10 miles per hour. This thing is listed as a street bike which is man-code for bike tank. The bike has 7 speeds in total:
Gear 1 - Sissy Gear
Gear 2 - Less Sissy Gear
Gear 3 - Least Sissy Gear
Gear 4 - Boy Gear
Gear 5 - Pre-teen Boy Gear
Gear 6 - Manly Gear
Gear 7 - Big Muscles Gear
I only like gear 6 and 7 to be honest.

Additionally, this tool of all immense men comes with a gigantic lock to keep it secure. The lock is the size of a bull's testicles and tells people you don't fuck around with locking up your bike tank. It tells would-be-thieves "Hey asshole, touch this bike and I'll appear from the bushes ready to club you with a two-by-four".

Bike is for 150 OBO (and don't give me no panzy prices)

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 765370039

[Thanks to my buddy Les for sending me this.]

Colored, durable; what else do you need in a condom? Durex thinks you need a funny video and I agree.

Listen for the squeal in the second scene - brilliant.

Nice...!

Oh man, Shelley and I just got home from our first ever skate ski vacation and it was great. Great for me anyway, Shelley's back got progressively worse the entire trip so that put a big damper on things.

I finally learned what the Methow Community Trail is all about, That Mark W has his own business in Winthrop and has been living in the Methow for 10 years and got to connect - albeit very briefly - with Don P who runs the Methow Valley Ski School.

Here are the pictures.

I want to go back right now.