Renewable Energy

One of my former co-workers...

Michigan

Michigan Cheats.

Side effects of watching Notre Dame.

So I've been sick since the Notre Dame game. Only Charlie Weis' pathetic offense could make me physically ill.

The Worst Showing I've Ever Seen.

If you've ever pay attention to Joe Paterno, you've probably noticed that he always talks up his opponents, even if they're tremendous underdogs. He'll find the only good player on the team, and say 'That number 12 is pretty good', or say 'Most people don't know that they came within two touchdowns of beating Middle Tennessee State'.

When asked about Notre Dame's offensive line: 'They have some problems'.

Problems, all right. I'm convinced I witnessed the worst showing in college football, ever. Notre Dame has BIG problems. High snaps, six fumbles, missed tackles, two interceptions... the only thing that was missing was a blocked kick. Check out the scoreboard above - for most of the third quarter, they had, give or take, negative 50 yards rushing.


Luckily, there was SOME signs of good football in Ann Arbor this weekend.

Race Report

So, I went to the last race of the season today. After last time, when I got harassed by the organizers for passing another category (I did) and drafting off of them (I did not), I decided not to push myself at all, instead slowing the pace for the pack whenever possible and doing as little work as possible.

Now, for those of you that know me (and who reads this that doesn't?), you probably know that I've never been a good sprinter. I'm not good at long distances, either, but compared to sprinting, I'm a regular marathon-machine-man.

So basically, the idea of a slow race where everyone just sprints at the end to the finish is more-or-less a guaranteed loss for me. On top of that, it's just plain boring. But I was still kind of pissy from the last race, and if no one wanted a fun race... then fine, slow is what they get.

So, I sat in behind people, waiting. Twice, when I was second in the pack, I sat up and soft-pedaled, letting the person in first gain time... one was a Junior (~14/15 year old), who posed no threat, and who got repeatedly shellacked last week when I killed the pace. I figured if he was going to do work, he might as well do it while in the full glory of a breakaway. The second time, I was sitting behind a possible-future-teammate who needed sprint points on a bonus lap. Same theory, same results... soft pedaled, and before anyone realized it, a big gap between him and the pack. Everyone else had to sprint, but it was for nought; they didn't have a chance.

...Now the guy who had just got the points was the same guy who won last week. Unlike the unsung author of this blog, his sprinting capabilities are top notch. So when he eased up and came back to the pack, I stuck on his wheel like I was trying to reenact the massive Krazy-glue incident of 1990. It worked. Although I couldn't pull around him at the end (I tried to pass too early, and got hung out in the wind) (did I mention my lack of sprinting?), I did manage third overall. I was in the prizes. The guy I was following won, so I didn't even feel bad about stealing the race from him.

Don't let anyone tell you I'm not a professional cyclist... but I don't know what I'm going to do with this damn Canadian money.



OK, so technically the socks are from two weeks ago.

Interview

Interviewer: "Ah, I see your resume here..."

Interviewee: "Yes, I graduated Magna Cum Laude. I have had extensive job experience, and I'm a hard worker. You won't be disappointed".

Interviewer: "Yes, yes, I can read all of that. But how would you rate you ducking skills?"

Interviewee: "Ducking, sir?"

Interviewer: "Yes, ducking, bending... general flexibility and agility."

Interviewee: "Well, I guess I'm at least average..."

Interviewer: "Good. Well, let's start by showing you an
instructional video...

It's a crazy world

...When the Detroit Lions will have a better record after today than the Michigan Wolverines. If Michigan didn't buy off the refs every year I might almost feel bad for them.

Prefontaine

Some quotes from Steve Prefontaine, indiscriminately stolen from wikipedia.

* "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift."
* "A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."
* "I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting."
* "I run best when I run free."
* "A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways as they're capable of understanding."
* "I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."
* "Someone may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."
* "The only good race pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die."
* "What I want is to be number one."
* "Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off."
* "Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."
* "How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre.' 'Give up your foolish dream Steve.' But they forgot something. I have to win."

The Big Ten

A disgusting day in the little eleven.

First with the debacle of 'The Big Ten Network', they decide to destroy the definition of 'nonprofit' by depriving their fans of coverage.

Then, as I correctly predicted (I'm psychotic), Michigan had trouble with Appalachian State. Contrary to what I predicted, Michigan lost.

And so did Notre Dame.

So now my beloved Nittany Lions are facing a wounded-with-something-to-prove team next week against ND, and again a couple of weeks later with Michigan.

Dairy Queen

One of the best cycling quotes of all time... but first, a little background. For those who don't follow professional cycling; the European tours are three-week-long events of up to seven hours per day of grueling work on the bike.

That's a lot of time to sit and think. So, a couple of decades ago, a question was posed to Greg Lemond: what do you think about during those long races? Instead of cycling strategy, or the stunning mountaintop vistas, Greg answered:

"Dairy Queen. God, I dream of Dairy Queen."

Let me tell you, I can relate. After burning thousands of calories on the bike, the slightest hint of food makes you ravenous.

...which brings me to today. It was supposed to be a 30-40 mile day. My mileage-limit without needed to eat more is around 50 miles or so, so no problem, right? Since my regular route was flooded, I decided to try to get to Grosse Ile, which had been recommended to me. In fact, it was actually gorgeous, on a gorgeous day, and I missed some stunning pictures of an Egret perched on a twisted stump in the river, but I digress.

Coming home from said detour... what can I say, I missed my turn. I ended up going through the Mexican-town part of Detroit; not a good idea after burning 2000 calories on a two-hour bike ride. Those restaurants sure smelled good.

"Chimichangas. God, I dream of Chimichangas."

Totals for the day:

Miles: 49
Calories burned: 2000
Chimichangas consumed: None. I'm in a serious deficit here.

Bike Ride!

My father's been working weekends lately, and as I haven't seen them much this year, AND my father might be going out of the country for a year. To make a long story short (but not by any means less tedious) I took a couple of days off this past week to visit.

My journey wasn't purely selfless, however. Southwestern PA has fantastic roads to bike on, if you like continuously rolling hills.

As my parents live about twenty-some odd miles away from West Virginia, and around thirty to Ohio, a started out with a 'Ohio or Bust' logo on my jersey, with drizzling rain threatening to change to thunderstorms.

As this was my third attempt to make it to WV, it was pretty smooth sailing. I blame my prior two failures on the detours and a lack of a map; by now I pretty much had the route memorized.



My personal favorite part of the trip was descending the 8% (average) grade for two miles from West Virginia down into Ohio. 40 MPH? No problem. 40 MPH on wet, grooved concrete, on tires the width of index finger? Perhaps I should squeeze the brakes...

Word to the wise - getting to say that you rode to Ohio isn't worth crossing that bridge.

And for the truly ridiculous...

There is now a full-page Yahoo (Rivals) article about a football player who just finished his sophomore year.

...of high school.

Politics in Michigan

Alas - the painful pangs of being a resident of a swing-state (near the major airport, no less) during an election cycle...

In any case, at least the good news is that Michigan is trying to pull ahead the primaries, in a blatant and overdue attempt to put a spotlight on some of the problems here.

But there's some question about whether or not that will happen - some in the state prefer a caucus. The difference between the two, of course, being known to no one who isn't a Machiavellian insider.

I'll save you the pain of reading the article linked above, and take you directly to the subject of today's rant...

"U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who supports Edwards, said in a letter released Tuesday night that he opposes a presidential primary.

He didn't mention Edwards, instead saying it would be irresponsible to hold an expensive, state-paid primary at a time when the Michigan budget is strapped. Edwards supporters also pointed out voters would have to present identification under Michigan's photo ID law in a primary, something they wouldn't face in a caucus."

So - there are two problems:

1. Michigan doesn't have any money
2. Eliminating voter fraud, through a means as simple and convenient as photo ID, is something to be avoided

You might think that these TWO problems require TWO solutions. But I have a better solution, to which I propose to those in Lansing: just don't hold an election at all. We'll stay home and you can tell us how we voted.

Good Times.

My, how time flies.

I finally got around to posting because:

A) The trendi-ness of having a web log has probably worn off enough that I can start;
B) I have a little unplanned extra time on my hands this week;
C) My plans for world domination are woe-fully behind schedule, and I figure a snazzy web log would pick up the pace a bit.

Fear and Loathing in West Dearborn

Ah... my first post as a certifiable blogger. I loathe myself already.


To you, the reader, I promise nothing but self-serving rants and random nonsense.