I scored 13/14. I guess that's what happens when your "in the business", and I'm not talking hair.
Logo Quiz: Hair Care or Digital Audio?
via daringfireball.net
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Asteroid's Revenge
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
DALMAC 2006
Pedal, drink, eat, sleep, repeat
OK, OK, it was a lot more fun than that description. In fact I've been a little bummed out ever since it ended.
The weather was great. Maybe a tad cool as I had my leg warmers on most of the ride every day, but nothing to complain about. Heck, we were outside and not getting rained on, frozen, or cooked. Can't ask foir much better. Day 1 we had a strong NorthEasterly wind. That was less fun than days 2 through four where winds were neglible upon us and mostly shielded by trees.
"The Wall" was all we seemed to talk or worry about for the first 3 days and a couple hours of day 4. We tried to conserve energy on day's 2 and 3 to make sure we had legs left for "the Wall".
When we turned the corner just out of East Jordan and "The Wall" came into sight, It seemed incredibly small to me, compared to it's legend. I asked some riders passing us as we approached it if this was "The Wall", and one replied "No, it's after this one", he then turned to his buddy and said. "Im messing with thier heads" (Max was right beside me). It just seemed the lead up from East Jordan was far less steep than we were led to believe sO I had to question whether this was it. "The Wall" itself was much less awe inspiring, but with the turns following what I had memrized on the map and the STEEP HILL sign, this was it.
Now don't get me wrong, what it lacks in size it makes up for in steepness. My cyclecomputer registered grades of 19% at the top. It basically gradually increases in grade as it rises, maxing out just before the top. Speaking of maxing out, my heart rate, hit the 170's at the top. I had to stand up on the pedals to keep the weight from shifting off of my front wheel half to two-thirds of the way up. As I came to the gets your atention part of the hill, one rider zoomed past while another pulled even with me on my left and held there for a while. Referring to his faster buddy, I asked him, "Is it easier to ride it fast?", he replied "For him it is." I ask, "Why's that?". With a laugh in his voice, he says "Because he's insane". I ended up surging at the top to pass this young whipper-snapper. These are my memories of "The Wall".
Much to my surprise. I didn't pass out from exhaustion on the bus ride home that night, although I did nap briefly, probably for less than an hour. I'd heard that everyone sleep on the bus home, but I'm guessing only half the passengers did.
Max is already asking about next year. Will it be DALMAC or Ride the Rockies.
OK, OK, it was a lot more fun than that description. In fact I've been a little bummed out ever since it ended.
The weather was great. Maybe a tad cool as I had my leg warmers on most of the ride every day, but nothing to complain about. Heck, we were outside and not getting rained on, frozen, or cooked. Can't ask foir much better. Day 1 we had a strong NorthEasterly wind. That was less fun than days 2 through four where winds were neglible upon us and mostly shielded by trees.
"The Wall" was all we seemed to talk or worry about for the first 3 days and a couple hours of day 4. We tried to conserve energy on day's 2 and 3 to make sure we had legs left for "the Wall".
When we turned the corner just out of East Jordan and "The Wall" came into sight, It seemed incredibly small to me, compared to it's legend. I asked some riders passing us as we approached it if this was "The Wall", and one replied "No, it's after this one", he then turned to his buddy and said. "Im messing with thier heads" (Max was right beside me). It just seemed the lead up from East Jordan was far less steep than we were led to believe sO I had to question whether this was it. "The Wall" itself was much less awe inspiring, but with the turns following what I had memrized on the map and the STEEP HILL sign, this was it.
Now don't get me wrong, what it lacks in size it makes up for in steepness. My cyclecomputer registered grades of 19% at the top. It basically gradually increases in grade as it rises, maxing out just before the top. Speaking of maxing out, my heart rate, hit the 170's at the top. I had to stand up on the pedals to keep the weight from shifting off of my front wheel half to two-thirds of the way up. As I came to the gets your atention part of the hill, one rider zoomed past while another pulled even with me on my left and held there for a while. Referring to his faster buddy, I asked him, "Is it easier to ride it fast?", he replied "For him it is." I ask, "Why's that?". With a laugh in his voice, he says "Because he's insane". I ended up surging at the top to pass this young whipper-snapper. These are my memories of "The Wall".
Much to my surprise. I didn't pass out from exhaustion on the bus ride home that night, although I did nap briefly, probably for less than an hour. I'd heard that everyone sleep on the bus home, but I'm guessing only half the passengers did.
Max is already asking about next year. Will it be DALMAC or Ride the Rockies.
My speedy little brother
Andrew finished the Detroit Free Press Marathon in 3:09:36 a couple weekends ago. Impressive. A personal best for him, and only the 144th runner to finish. He was 14th out of 447 in his age class.
For comparison, he only gave 10 minutes to Lance Armstrong (2:59:36) who ran the New York City Marathon last weekend. From how Andrew described the marathon, it's sure a lot more fun to ride a bike 100 miles or maybe even 200.
You can see all of the results here.
For comparison, he only gave 10 minutes to Lance Armstrong (2:59:36) who ran the New York City Marathon last weekend. From how Andrew described the marathon, it's sure a lot more fun to ride a bike 100 miles or maybe even 200.
You can see all of the results here.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Whose forecast is most accurate?
I used to get all of my weather from TV, then I switched to Weather.com , then my brother, Andrew, told me that Accuweather was more accurate, so I had to switch. Well it was partially because their page loaded faster, too.
Next my daughter, Kimmy, told me her teacher had proclaimed Wunderground.com the most accurate. I like their easily accessible sunrise and sunset data. It comes in handy when you have to be out riding early or late. But I digress.
Everyone has an opinion about whose weather forecasting is the best. Now there's a site that can settle the dispute with real data, Forecast Advisor. Here's a brief description in their own words.
"ForecastAdvisor will also show you the accuracy of the major weather forecasters, including Accuweather, Intellicast, MyForecast, The Weather Channel, and the National Weather Service. We also provide links to your city's weather forecast at all the other weather forecasters, so you can compare for yourself."
This doesn't settle the assertion about Wunderground, they didn't make the cut. But is does demonstrate that the differences in accuracy between the top sites can be quite significant. If you try weather for cities in different parts of the US, you will see the forecasts are more or less accurate. Honolulu or San Diego weather are easier to predict than East Lansing or Cleveland.
Next my daughter, Kimmy, told me her teacher had proclaimed Wunderground.com the most accurate. I like their easily accessible sunrise and sunset data. It comes in handy when you have to be out riding early or late. But I digress.
Everyone has an opinion about whose weather forecasting is the best. Now there's a site that can settle the dispute with real data, Forecast Advisor. Here's a brief description in their own words.
"ForecastAdvisor will also show you the accuracy of the major weather forecasters, including Accuweather, Intellicast, MyForecast, The Weather Channel, and the National Weather Service. We also provide links to your city's weather forecast at all the other weather forecasters, so you can compare for yourself."
This doesn't settle the assertion about Wunderground, they didn't make the cut. But is does demonstrate that the differences in accuracy between the top sites can be quite significant. If you try weather for cities in different parts of the US, you will see the forecasts are more or less accurate. Honolulu or San Diego weather are easier to predict than East Lansing or Cleveland.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Holding out hope for Floyd.
I'm stil lholding out hope that Floyd Landis won the Tour de Fracne fair and square. This piece by John Eustice, a former racer, thinks something smells foul with the whole situation.
What if Floyd Landis was innocent. (International Herald Tribune 8/16/06)
Here are some quotes for the lazy among you.
---
"I''ve lived this sport for 35 years and know the European professional cycling circuit intimately, and I feel strongly that in this case something is wrong."
"Landis had an ironclad reputation in the racing world as a clean rider."
"Whenever an athlete tests positive for banned drugs, you look to see who is close to them. Landis's trainer, Dr. Allen Lim, an exercise physiologist from Colorado, is an expert in the use of power meters, devices that attach to racing bicycles and measure power output. According to Lim, the "improbable" stage 17 victory on July 20 was a triumph of strategy, science and Landis's vitality. Landis averaged 280 watts over the five hours of the ride, but he has averaged 320 for six hours in training - documented proof, according to Lim, that the performance was well within Landis's capability."
"If Lim and Landis were going to cross over to the dark side, testosterone would not be their bridge. There are many more effective means to cheat. Testosterone has limited effect, and in any case must be used in a cumulative manner; it is not a one-day wonder, like taking a shot of amphetamines. So where was it in all the other tests?"
"It is also worth noting that the validity of current testosterone testing methods is not universally accepted within the scientific community. A similar testosterone doping case brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was recently overturned."
---
Now this still doesn't address the detection of synthetic testosterone. The olny source I see for this is a "unidentified source" in the New Yotk Times piece early on in the process. No testing authorities that I have seen quted have ever mentioned that the tests found synthetic testostosterone.
Floyd's testotsterone leves tested within the normal range. His epitestosterone leves were depresssed. ( Doping is deternmined by the ration of testosterone to epitestosterone.)
If you've read some of the links from my previous post, you know that tightening of doping test values inevitably leads to some innocent athletes turining up false positives. Hopefully this is one of those situations.
What if Floyd Landis was innocent. (International Herald Tribune 8/16/06)
Here are some quotes for the lazy among you.
---
"I''ve lived this sport for 35 years and know the European professional cycling circuit intimately, and I feel strongly that in this case something is wrong."
"Landis had an ironclad reputation in the racing world as a clean rider."
"Whenever an athlete tests positive for banned drugs, you look to see who is close to them. Landis's trainer, Dr. Allen Lim, an exercise physiologist from Colorado, is an expert in the use of power meters, devices that attach to racing bicycles and measure power output. According to Lim, the "improbable" stage 17 victory on July 20 was a triumph of strategy, science and Landis's vitality. Landis averaged 280 watts over the five hours of the ride, but he has averaged 320 for six hours in training - documented proof, according to Lim, that the performance was well within Landis's capability."
"If Lim and Landis were going to cross over to the dark side, testosterone would not be their bridge. There are many more effective means to cheat. Testosterone has limited effect, and in any case must be used in a cumulative manner; it is not a one-day wonder, like taking a shot of amphetamines. So where was it in all the other tests?"
"It is also worth noting that the validity of current testosterone testing methods is not universally accepted within the scientific community. A similar testosterone doping case brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was recently overturned."
---
Now this still doesn't address the detection of synthetic testosterone. The olny source I see for this is a "unidentified source" in the New Yotk Times piece early on in the process. No testing authorities that I have seen quted have ever mentioned that the tests found synthetic testostosterone.
Floyd's testotsterone leves tested within the normal range. His epitestosterone leves were depresssed. ( Doping is deternmined by the ration of testosterone to epitestosterone.)
If you've read some of the links from my previous post, you know that tightening of doping test values inevitably leads to some innocent athletes turining up false positives. Hopefully this is one of those situations.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Floyd doping?
I heard on WJR this morning that no testosterone doping allegation has ever held up when taken to the sports "court" that decides these matters. This could be the first one, but that's not likely.
From what I understand, the current testing for testosterone is flawed. It tends to produce falst positives and with the reduction of the tolerance is going to produce more false positives than the old standard used to.
This article was helpful:
Inferences about Testosterone
Abuse among Athletes
I found it through this post. (referenced in my previous post.)
I cannot imagine why Floyd would dope with testosterone in these circumstances. I've read that it aids recovery, that makes sense considering what happened in stage 16, but the typical application would be for strength bulding during training, not for race day. Could he have had so much recovery benefit that he could ride away from all the others by 6.5 minutes? Also, if you do take testosterone using a patch, it leaves your system within 40 minutes to an hour so it would be gone from his system after riding for four or five hours like they did in Stage 17.
In addtion to all of this, I understand Floyd's actual testosterone level tested quite low. That it was only high in proportion to the epitestosterone level. It seems that the way they are measuring testosterone doping needs some significant improvement. At least, that's what I've read.
I'll be quite interested to see how this plays out.
From what I understand, the current testing for testosterone is flawed. It tends to produce falst positives and with the reduction of the tolerance is going to produce more false positives than the old standard used to.
This article was helpful:
Inferences about Testosterone
Abuse among Athletes
I found it through this post. (referenced in my previous post.)
I cannot imagine why Floyd would dope with testosterone in these circumstances. I've read that it aids recovery, that makes sense considering what happened in stage 16, but the typical application would be for strength bulding during training, not for race day. Could he have had so much recovery benefit that he could ride away from all the others by 6.5 minutes? Also, if you do take testosterone using a patch, it leaves your system within 40 minutes to an hour so it would be gone from his system after riding for four or five hours like they did in Stage 17.
In addtion to all of this, I understand Floyd's actual testosterone level tested quite low. That it was only high in proportion to the epitestosterone level. It seems that the way they are measuring testosterone doping needs some significant improvement. At least, that's what I've read.
I'll be quite interested to see how this plays out.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Floyd news and non-news
The reporting on Floyd's alleged doping is pretty curious. One headline read.
"Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone."
Gee. Is someone, ever so slightly, uninformed about male biology? Most of the stories I can find, leave me with a lot of unanswered questions and also take a guilty approach to the reporting. (There is still the second sample to test. That will happen on Monday.) I bring this up because testing regulations only consider a positive test valid if both samples test positive.
Here's the best information I've found.
This Malcom Gladwell piece, Drugstore Athlete, I discovered via the above article, was the best explanation I could locate on doping tests and how athletes can avoid detection. Section 3 addresses testosterone specifically. This quote sums up doping pretty well.
"The bottom line is that only careless and stupid people ever get caught in drug tests," Charles Yesalis says. "The elite athletes can hire top medical and scientific people to make sure nothing bad happens, and you can't catch them."
If the tests caught Floyd doping, it was a stupid mistake by his support crew. I don't consider that likely at this high level of cycling.
"Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone."
Gee. Is someone, ever so slightly, uninformed about male biology? Most of the stories I can find, leave me with a lot of unanswered questions and also take a guilty approach to the reporting. (There is still the second sample to test. That will happen on Monday.) I bring this up because testing regulations only consider a positive test valid if both samples test positive.
Here's the best information I've found.
This Malcom Gladwell piece, Drugstore Athlete, I discovered via the above article, was the best explanation I could locate on doping tests and how athletes can avoid detection. Section 3 addresses testosterone specifically. This quote sums up doping pretty well.
"The bottom line is that only careless and stupid people ever get caught in drug tests," Charles Yesalis says. "The elite athletes can hire top medical and scientific people to make sure nothing bad happens, and you can't catch them."
If the tests caught Floyd doping, it was a stupid mistake by his support crew. I don't consider that likely at this high level of cycling.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
A Piece of Landis
Outside magazine has a piece on Floyd Landis . He's definitely no Lance clone.
Excerpts below, You should really read it all. Dave Zabriskie and Floyd are quite the pair.
. . .
LANDIS ADORES logic. There is no easier way to infuriate him than to say or do something that does not make sense. We are in a Girona restaurant drinking beer and shooting the breeze with the Z-Man when I begin a sentence with the phrase "Of course, it could be worse . . ."
"What does that mean, really?" Landis wants to know. "Of course it could be worse. If you are alive—if you are standing up and have breath in your lungs to say those words—then, yes, I agree, you're definitely right, it could be worse."
Or later, when Z-Man mentions an athlete who spoke about "giving 110 percent."
"Well, why not 112 percent?" Landis inquires, eyes widening with burning incredulity. "Why not 500 percent or 1,300 percent or 38 billion percent? I mean, if he can crank it up beyond 100 percent, why not? What's stopping him, exactly?"
. . .
"Everybody wants to say, 'I couldn't win because of this or that,' " he says. "To my way of thinking, it doesn't matter if your goddamn head fell off or your legs exploded. If you didn't make it, you didn't make it. One excuse is as good as another."
Landis takes a sip and leans forward in his chair. "There's only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won't die. Even though you feel like you'll die, you don't actually die. Like when you're training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more."
. . .
via Kottke
Excerpts below, You should really read it all. Dave Zabriskie and Floyd are quite the pair.
. . .
LANDIS ADORES logic. There is no easier way to infuriate him than to say or do something that does not make sense. We are in a Girona restaurant drinking beer and shooting the breeze with the Z-Man when I begin a sentence with the phrase "Of course, it could be worse . . ."
"What does that mean, really?" Landis wants to know. "Of course it could be worse. If you are alive—if you are standing up and have breath in your lungs to say those words—then, yes, I agree, you're definitely right, it could be worse."
Or later, when Z-Man mentions an athlete who spoke about "giving 110 percent."
"Well, why not 112 percent?" Landis inquires, eyes widening with burning incredulity. "Why not 500 percent or 1,300 percent or 38 billion percent? I mean, if he can crank it up beyond 100 percent, why not? What's stopping him, exactly?"
. . .
"Everybody wants to say, 'I couldn't win because of this or that,' " he says. "To my way of thinking, it doesn't matter if your goddamn head fell off or your legs exploded. If you didn't make it, you didn't make it. One excuse is as good as another."
Landis takes a sip and leans forward in his chair. "There's only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won't die. Even though you feel like you'll die, you don't actually die. Like when you're training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more."
. . .
via Kottke
Saturday, July 22, 2006
A Bike for Seven
Friday, July 21, 2006
Doggie Goggles = Doggles
On the Road to Minneapolis
Thanks to Noel, you can see the white vans that are coming to take Becky and Kimmy, and another 19 or so high schoolers and volunteers, away to Minneapolis. Looks like an upgrade from last year.
When I was in college we made these trips in old school buses, complete with a storage and sleeping loft and bad brakes. How things change.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Friday, June 16, 2006
Where is God?
Instead of spamming all my firends, I'm posting a joke Bob e-mailed me. Read at your own risk.
---
A couple had two little boys who were always getting into trouble.
Their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their village, their sons
were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that an elder in town had been successful in
disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her sons.
The elder agreed, but asked to see them separately.
So, the mother sent her youngest son first, in the morning. The elder,
a huge man with a booming voice, sat the boy down and asked him sternly,
"Where is God?" The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response.
So the elder repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?"
Again the wide-eyed boy made no attempt to answer.
The elder raised his voice and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!?" The boy
screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into a closet,
slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him hiding, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG
trouble this time. God is missing, and they think WE did it!"
---
A couple had two little boys who were always getting into trouble.
Their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their village, their sons
were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that an elder in town had been successful in
disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her sons.
The elder agreed, but asked to see them separately.
So, the mother sent her youngest son first, in the morning. The elder,
a huge man with a booming voice, sat the boy down and asked him sternly,
"Where is God?" The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response.
So the elder repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?"
Again the wide-eyed boy made no attempt to answer.
The elder raised his voice and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!?" The boy
screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into a closet,
slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him hiding, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG
trouble this time. God is missing, and they think WE did it!"
Friday, June 02, 2006
For my programming buddies
O'Reilly has a brief piece on the distinction between engineers and software developers, Why We're Not Really Engineers (via reddit.com). I'm not a coder, but I can appreciate the programming process being improved. Better development processes, better software. More productivity for the rest of us.
While wer'e on the topic, Oracle Security Officer Mary Ann Davidson recently criticized the software industry and its culture of "patch, patch, patch."
"What if civil engineers built bridges the way developers write code?" she asked. "What would happen is that you would get the blue bridge of death appearing on your highway in the morning."
Hopefully tools like Alloy will lead to less "blue bridges of death".
While wer'e on the topic, Oracle Security Officer Mary Ann Davidson recently criticized the software industry and its culture of "patch, patch, patch."
"What if civil engineers built bridges the way developers write code?" she asked. "What would happen is that you would get the blue bridge of death appearing on your highway in the morning."
Hopefully tools like Alloy will lead to less "blue bridges of death".
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
Andrew and Jacob's 15 minutes of fame, Part I, Collectors Edition
I'm a little delinquent in putting this up, but this fort, modified slightly to have a greater resemblance to King Kong, made the Novi Commnity newspaper in December of last year ('05). This is the missing (from this blog, anyway) part of Andrew and Jacob's 15 minutes of fame.
Jacob is pictured here. The picture in the paper included Jacob , Bethany, and Elise, plus other neighborhood contributors and of course, Andrew.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Andrew and Jacob's 15 minutes of fame, Part 2
My brother, Andrew Schmid, and his son, Jacob, are getting all 15 minutes of their fame out of the way this year. First their King Kong snow fort landed them in the Novi paper in January, now Andrew's expert commentary on Pine Derby vehicle design and manufacturing has him being quoted in the Free Press. Jacob and his car get a mention, too. Didn't he have a Batmobile design?
You can read it here.
I guess all of that schooling and time at Ford taught him something about cars. Here's an excerpt from his e-mail.
I guess this is my year. I got quoted in the Detroit Free Press Newspaper's Community section. For those who do not know, a Pinewood Derby is a race conducted by Boy Scouts. Basically, cars are made out of a piece of pine wood that is formed into the body. The plastic wheels are installed into the body with nails. They roll down a ramp and the fastest wins. I was put in charge of the vehicle design competition.
P.S. No Schmids are visible in the picture.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Davin, Adam says you need this
Adam tells me that Davin needs a good uninstaller. He has an insatiable appetite for installing applications. So do I. Now, if we can get enough people to blog about AppZapper 1.3, we can both get an easy to use uninstaller (AppZapper 1.3) for free via MacZot! (A mac sofware Woot-like site) .
What's the catch, you ask? They are lowing the price $0.05 for every blog post link and will thus require 293 blog posts to reach free.
Get the details and post a comment with your blog post link here.
P.S. I tried out the demo version of AppZapper recently and it is quite simple to use. It has cool sound effects when you Zap an App, too. Fun!
What's the catch, you ask? They are lowing the price $0.05 for every blog post link and will thus require 293 blog posts to reach free.
Get the details and post a comment with your blog post link here.
P.S. I tried out the demo version of AppZapper recently and it is quite simple to use. It has cool sound effects when you Zap an App, too. Fun!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Really Dealing with Stress
Tom Asacker is smart enough to see that the usual advice for stress relief has us running from the problem instead of addressing it head on.
Most people, Americans at least, do the same thing with their debt load. Instead of spending less they think a new low interest rate, debt consolidation or lower monthly payment will solve the problem. For most, it doesn't. More on this later.
And while we're on the topic of relieving stress, isn't it fear we're trying to deal with? What is stress, but fear? More on dealing with fear later, too, maybe.
Most people, Americans at least, do the same thing with their debt load. Instead of spending less they think a new low interest rate, debt consolidation or lower monthly payment will solve the problem. For most, it doesn't. More on this later.
And while we're on the topic of relieving stress, isn't it fear we're trying to deal with? What is stress, but fear? More on dealing with fear later, too, maybe.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Joke of the month
I received this from Blinker Bob. It was the best laugh I've had in some time.
---------
Paddy had been drinking at his local Dublin pub all day and most of the
night celebrating.
Mick, the bartender says, "You'll not be drinking anymore tonight,
Paddy!"
Paddy replies "OK Mick, I'll be on my way then."
Paddy spins around on his stool and steps off and falls flat on his
face.
"Shoite," he says and pulls himself up by the stool and dusts himself
off.
He takes a step towards the door and falls flat on his face again.
"Shoite, Shoite!" He looks to the doorway and thinks to himself that if
he can just get to the door and some fresh air he'll be fine.
He belly crawls to the door and shimmies up to the door frame.
He sticks his head outside and takes a deep breath of fresh air, feels
much better and takes a step out onto the sidewalk and falls flat on his
face.
"Boy... I'm smashed," he says to himself.
He can see his house just a few doors down, and crawls to the door,
hauls himself up the door frame, opens the door and shimmies inside.
He takes a look up the stairs and says "No way."
So he crawls up the stairs to his bedroom door and says "I can make it
to the bed."
He takes a step into the room and falls flat on his face.
He says, "Dang it" and ultimately climbs into bed.
The next morning, his wife, Jess, comes into the room carrying a cup of
coffee and says, "Get up Paddy. Did you have a bit to drink last night?"
Paddy says, "I did Jess. I was smashed. But how'd you know?"
"Mick phoned, . . You left your wheelchair at the pub."
---------
Paddy had been drinking at his local Dublin pub all day and most of the
night celebrating.
Mick, the bartender says, "You'll not be drinking anymore tonight,
Paddy!"
Paddy replies "OK Mick, I'll be on my way then."
Paddy spins around on his stool and steps off and falls flat on his
face.
"Shoite," he says and pulls himself up by the stool and dusts himself
off.
He takes a step towards the door and falls flat on his face again.
"Shoite, Shoite!" He looks to the doorway and thinks to himself that if
he can just get to the door and some fresh air he'll be fine.
He belly crawls to the door and shimmies up to the door frame.
He sticks his head outside and takes a deep breath of fresh air, feels
much better and takes a step out onto the sidewalk and falls flat on his
face.
"Boy... I'm smashed," he says to himself.
He can see his house just a few doors down, and crawls to the door,
hauls himself up the door frame, opens the door and shimmies inside.
He takes a look up the stairs and says "No way."
So he crawls up the stairs to his bedroom door and says "I can make it
to the bed."
He takes a step into the room and falls flat on his face.
He says, "Dang it" and ultimately climbs into bed.
The next morning, his wife, Jess, comes into the room carrying a cup of
coffee and says, "Get up Paddy. Did you have a bit to drink last night?"
Paddy says, "I did Jess. I was smashed. But how'd you know?"
"Mick phoned, . . You left your wheelchair at the pub."
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Moore's Law applied to razors
Getting the best value from a one-trip salad bar
Friday, March 17, 2006
Six Degrees of Wikipedia
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
For those of you seeking college money
If your looking for money for college. Here are a few sites of interest.
fastweb.com
This site is about finding scholarships. Go find some "free" money.
finaid.com
This site is broader providing information on loans, scholarships, educational savings plan, military aid, and other types of aid. It also has some financial caclulators.
collegeanswer.com
This site is hosted by Sallie Mae. No, she isn't some sothern belle. It's the federal student loan program. Th site has some useful information about the entire college process fro preparing to choosing to, of course, financing.
fastweb.com
This site is about finding scholarships. Go find some "free" money.
finaid.com
This site is broader providing information on loans, scholarships, educational savings plan, military aid, and other types of aid. It also has some financial caclulators.
collegeanswer.com
This site is hosted by Sallie Mae. No, she isn't some sothern belle. It's the federal student loan program. Th site has some useful information about the entire college process fro preparing to choosing to, of course, financing.
Monday, March 13, 2006
More choices can lead to lower sales
Michael Kanellos over at CNet has a good post on the negative effects of our glut of choices.
Killing me softly with salad dressing choices
"Studies back this up. In a grocery store experiment, a table loaded with 24 types of jams got many visitors, but sales were ten times higher when only six jams were offered. In a study of the 401K plans at 1,500 companies, participation in retirement plans dropped 2 percent every time ten more investment choices were added to the mix. In speed dating, participants had a greater chance of hooking up if they met six, rather than twelve, people in a session."
They think that intelligent filters may help people narrow their choices, but how do you put an intelligent filter on a grocery store isle?
It's curious that I saw this today because I thin there is a lot of opportunity in the filtering business.
Killing me softly with salad dressing choices
"Studies back this up. In a grocery store experiment, a table loaded with 24 types of jams got many visitors, but sales were ten times higher when only six jams were offered. In a study of the 401K plans at 1,500 companies, participation in retirement plans dropped 2 percent every time ten more investment choices were added to the mix. In speed dating, participants had a greater chance of hooking up if they met six, rather than twelve, people in a session."
They think that intelligent filters may help people narrow their choices, but how do you put an intelligent filter on a grocery store isle?
It's curious that I saw this today because I thin there is a lot of opportunity in the filtering business.
Quote of the day
"Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay."
- Sam Abell
via AMA e-news
- Sam Abell
via AMA e-news
Friday, March 10, 2006
Quote of the day
"When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."
Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967) American industrialist
via daily e-mail from justsell.com
Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967) American industrialist
via daily e-mail from justsell.com
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Michigan makes the Crazy Street Names List
Take medication, get a gambling habit.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Tenacious Kids - A Tribute to Tribute
OK, I'm so behind the times. I had never heard Tribute, byTenacious D, until Monday evening. I smiled all the way though it. It seemed to me a rockin' spoof of "The Devil Went Down to George". So now Noel links to some kids acting it out.
Come to think of the Spartan hoopers could use some Tenacious D, too. Maybe I should send a CD to Coach Izzo.
Come to think of the Spartan hoopers could use some Tenacious D, too. Maybe I should send a CD to Coach Izzo.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
DIY Simpson's character
Every house needs a hidden passageway
This company specializes in hidden passageways for your home or business I suppose. You can pay to have them installed or do it yourself. Click on Videos to see animation of the designs. The
My favorite is the chair that is also the secret entrance to a spiral slide. ( Click on Animation #4) The little kids would be using this one all of the time. "Excuse me I have to go downstairs to get something again"
They claim it increases the value of your home. Of course, it will create buzz in the neighborhood, too.
via reddit.com
My favorite is the chair that is also the secret entrance to a spiral slide. ( Click on Animation #4) The little kids would be using this one all of the time. "Excuse me I have to go downstairs to get something again"
They claim it increases the value of your home. Of course, it will create buzz in the neighborhood, too.
via reddit.com
Friday, February 10, 2006
If you like to watch the Winter Olympics
We'll definitely be tuning in for some Olympic action. My family has had an interest in the Winter Olympics as far back as I can remember. My Dad grew up in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where they hosted the Winter Olympics in the 50's and my dad and his buddies also did a lot of winter sports on their own.
If your following the Olympics in the U.S. of A., NBC has well designed page for you to keep up on things.
This first page gives you the TV schedule for all of their coverage.
Another page is a table of days and Sports with Medal Days marked with what else, a medal. Click on the day your interested in and you get a run down of everything going on that day and what time it is occurring in Torino time. If you want to see the event schedule for a specific sport, click on it, and you can the entire schedule of events in that sport. Smart.
Now if I had a Tivo to skip all of the commercials. Which reminds me, David Pogue has another good post on human friendly design that mentions the Tivo. Did you know the Tivo takes into account the delay between you seeing where you want to be in the show and pressing the play button. Nice.
But I digress. Go USA. Go Switzerland, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera, Helvetica.
The Swiss have four native languages. German, French, Italian, and Romantsch. Swiss-German, a dialect of German that most Germans cannot understand, and Romantsch were the primary languages of my parents when they came to the US. Both of these are dialects and are not written languages. This may be a partial explanation for why this immigrant's son doesn't have perfect spelling. That and the fact that for Mom and Dad English was a second language.
But I digress, again. Now back to work all of you.
If your following the Olympics in the U.S. of A., NBC has well designed page for you to keep up on things.
This first page gives you the TV schedule for all of their coverage.
Another page is a table of days and Sports with Medal Days marked with what else, a medal. Click on the day your interested in and you get a run down of everything going on that day and what time it is occurring in Torino time. If you want to see the event schedule for a specific sport, click on it, and you can the entire schedule of events in that sport. Smart.
Now if I had a Tivo to skip all of the commercials. Which reminds me, David Pogue has another good post on human friendly design that mentions the Tivo. Did you know the Tivo takes into account the delay between you seeing where you want to be in the show and pressing the play button. Nice.
But I digress. Go USA. Go Switzerland, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera, Helvetica.
The Swiss have four native languages. German, French, Italian, and Romantsch. Swiss-German, a dialect of German that most Germans cannot understand, and Romantsch were the primary languages of my parents when they came to the US. Both of these are dialects and are not written languages. This may be a partial explanation for why this immigrant's son doesn't have perfect spelling. That and the fact that for Mom and Dad English was a second language.
But I digress, again. Now back to work all of you.
Friday, February 03, 2006
World Wide Waste of Time
Monday, January 30, 2006
David Pogue on Design
I love to read David Pogue. He writes and keeps a blog on the New York Times site. He also publishes a series of books called the Missing Manual. One more reason to live him, he's a Mac guy.
His most recent post was a response to critics of his last review of the Motorola RAZR and the Samsung Blade.
His final sentence really hits at the heart of a lot of the challenges of modern technology.
In phones, as in people, looks are important — in getting your attention. But for a happy long-term relationship, it's the software design that counts.
If you can't figure out how to use it, all the power and features on your new tech toy are worthless. To me this is the challenge of technology. Making it easy to use. There is a monstrously large business opportunity in this area.
Some say the iPod succeeds because of it's good looks. Some add because of it's ease of use. Other players have these. The iPod works because it's easy from end to end. The iTunes Music Store, the sync up and the use. None of their competitors seem to have executed the whole package from end to end.
His most recent post was a response to critics of his last review of the Motorola RAZR and the Samsung Blade.
His final sentence really hits at the heart of a lot of the challenges of modern technology.
In phones, as in people, looks are important — in getting your attention. But for a happy long-term relationship, it's the software design that counts.
If you can't figure out how to use it, all the power and features on your new tech toy are worthless. To me this is the challenge of technology. Making it easy to use. There is a monstrously large business opportunity in this area.
Some say the iPod succeeds because of it's good looks. Some add because of it's ease of use. Other players have these. The iPod works because it's easy from end to end. The iTunes Music Store, the sync up and the use. None of their competitors seem to have executed the whole package from end to end.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Social IQ testing
So, MJ tells me tonight that they have new Iq tests for social IQ. Apparently those with higher social IQ's make better doctors than pute intellectual geek types.
All I know, is I 'd flunk.
You think I'm joking, don't you.
Now, stop that.
All I know, is I 'd flunk.
You think I'm joking, don't you.
Now, stop that.
A LOT of bikes
I'm watching a PBS travel show that is in China this week. Apparently 33% of the bikes in the world are in China. There are 8 million bikes in Beijing alone. Do you think the Chinese know something about making bikes?
The most recent edition of Bicycling magazine did a piece on the best bicycling cities. They limited themselves to the Us of course, but I have to think you can really get around well on a bike in Beijing. Eight million riders couldn't be wrong . . . right?
An unrelated tidbit. We always hear how the Asian diet is so much better than ours. That we Westerners choke on all of the fat we imbibe. Well when this traveler goes to market what does she pick-up? Deep-fried dough. Kind of looked like an elephant ear. Go figure.
The most recent edition of Bicycling magazine did a piece on the best bicycling cities. They limited themselves to the Us of course, but I have to think you can really get around well on a bike in Beijing. Eight million riders couldn't be wrong . . . right?
An unrelated tidbit. We always hear how the Asian diet is so much better than ours. That we Westerners choke on all of the fat we imbibe. Well when this traveler goes to market what does she pick-up? Deep-fried dough. Kind of looked like an elephant ear. Go figure.
Great Design: What is Design?
We are working on our worflows in my business and I found this piece on design via reddit.com. It pretty well summarizes the challenge we're facing at Audible Business, and all of us for that matter are facing, in designing solutions.
Here's an excerpt for you lazy folks.
"When you're designing something, you often have a lot of conflicting constraints.
In fact, that's a key part of design: resolving all of these conflicting goals."
""So," you think, "simplicity, is that it?" No! I wish it was that easy!"
"Design is something you only have to pay for once for your product. It's a part of the fixed costs in the equation, not the variable costs. But it adds value to every unit sold. That's what Thomas C. Gale, the famous Chrysler automobile designer who retired in 2001, meant when he said that "Good design adds value faster than it adds cost.""
Here's an excerpt for you lazy folks.
"When you're designing something, you often have a lot of conflicting constraints.
In fact, that's a key part of design: resolving all of these conflicting goals."
""So," you think, "simplicity, is that it?" No! I wish it was that easy!"
"Design is something you only have to pay for once for your product. It's a part of the fixed costs in the equation, not the variable costs. But it adds value to every unit sold. That's what Thomas C. Gale, the famous Chrysler automobile designer who retired in 2001, meant when he said that "Good design adds value faster than it adds cost.""
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Male dancers drawn to the athleticism of the art
Here's a piece on men and dance from Grand Rapid Press.
Male dancers drawn to the athleticism of the art
Since I know you probably won't go there, here's an exerpt:
"We need to dispel the stereotype," said Laura Berman, associate artistic director of Grand Rapids Ballet Company and director of its school. "Dance is not for pansies or the weak of heart."
The athletic challenge is the biggest attraction for boys, several dance instructors say.
"Once guys get into (ballet), nine times out of 10 they are hooked, because it's a lot more difficult and requires a real discipline that they seem to like," Baum said.
"It's more difficult than any sport I've ever played," said Faucher, who was a three-sport athlete in high school and earned a college scholarship in baseball. "It demands more balance and muscularity."
That's what 10-year-old Nick Rivas is seeking when he rushes from football practice at Holland's Woodside Elementary School to get instruction at Turning Pointe. He sees what he learns in dance as a way to improve his performance in sports.
"It's hard work; my muscles get sore. But I think I will stay with it pretty long. I like doing it," Rivas said.
Male dancers drawn to the athleticism of the art
Since I know you probably won't go there, here's an exerpt:
"We need to dispel the stereotype," said Laura Berman, associate artistic director of Grand Rapids Ballet Company and director of its school. "Dance is not for pansies or the weak of heart."
The athletic challenge is the biggest attraction for boys, several dance instructors say.
"Once guys get into (ballet), nine times out of 10 they are hooked, because it's a lot more difficult and requires a real discipline that they seem to like," Baum said.
"It's more difficult than any sport I've ever played," said Faucher, who was a three-sport athlete in high school and earned a college scholarship in baseball. "It demands more balance and muscularity."
That's what 10-year-old Nick Rivas is seeking when he rushes from football practice at Holland's Woodside Elementary School to get instruction at Turning Pointe. He sees what he learns in dance as a way to improve his performance in sports.
"It's hard work; my muscles get sore. But I think I will stay with it pretty long. I like doing it," Rivas said.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Free Monk TV episode on iTunes Music Store
Apple is offering a free download of a Monk episode "Mr. Monk and Other Detective". Jason Alexander is in this episode and quite funny I might ad. You will need iTunes to get it of course, but that's free, too.
I downloaded it yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it while riding my bike, on the stationary trainer, and laughing out loud. I think I could get hooked on this watching what you want to, when you want to thing.
If Apple's goal in givng away this episode is to get buzz. It's obviously working on me.
I downloaded it yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it while riding my bike, on the stationary trainer, and laughing out loud. I think I could get hooked on this watching what you want to, when you want to thing.
If Apple's goal in givng away this episode is to get buzz. It's obviously working on me.
Writing Struggles
This one goes out to someone I know and love who has struggled with writing. I thought of you when I read this. Not sure it helps, but I thought of you.
"I think all good writing is a struggle. To write as well as you feel you can has to be a struggle, almost by definition, because you could always improve."
- Jane Asher
"I think all good writing is a struggle. To write as well as you feel you can has to be a struggle, almost by definition, because you could always improve."
- Jane Asher
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
On our freedom
I was talking with a friend today about beer at church sponsored events. I in my great wisdom pointed out that it's not prohibited to drink or allow drinking at a church event. Later I remembered there are some other tests you should peform to evaluate what your doing. I heard these from Arnold Fruchtenbaum Here are the questions to consider.
1. Is it a weight? Is it something that will hinder? Hebrews 12:1
2. Is it a habit? Will it enslave? I Corinthians 6:12
3. Is it a stumbling block? Especially in relationship to the saved. I Corinthians 8:1-13
4. Is it winsome? Especially in relationship to the unsaved. I Corinthians 10:32 , Collosians 4:5
5. Does it display God effectively? I Corinthians 10:31
1. Is it a weight? Is it something that will hinder? Hebrews 12:1
2. Is it a habit? Will it enslave? I Corinthians 6:12
3. Is it a stumbling block? Especially in relationship to the saved. I Corinthians 8:1-13
4. Is it winsome? Especially in relationship to the unsaved. I Corinthians 10:32 , Collosians 4:5
5. Does it display God effectively? I Corinthians 10:31
Friday, January 06, 2006
Chemical Brothers video
Thanks to Sean for the link to a cool video by the Chemical Brothers, whoever they are. I thought they had rounded up all of the chemical guys already. May part of their sentence was to produce music.
As Sean already pointed out the first 15 seconds are so are not representative of the balance of the video. Take a walk during the Jazzercisers until he gets to the park and you'll enjoy the rest of it.
As Sean already pointed out the first 15 seconds are so are not representative of the balance of the video. Take a walk during the Jazzercisers until he gets to the park and you'll enjoy the rest of it.
Snow riding without a lift ticket, snowcat or helicopter
Not sure why someone didn't think of it sooner,. They've been doing it on surfboards for a while now. Snowkiting.
Here's a NYT piece on it.
I imagine you could get in a heck of a lot of trouble really quick if the wind and terrain conspire against you. Trees, cravasses, cliffs. power lines. Oh my!
On the plus side, you prbably don't get cold like you do at a traditional hill because you never have to chill in the chair.
Here's a NYT piece on it.
I imagine you could get in a heck of a lot of trouble really quick if the wind and terrain conspire against you. Trees, cravasses, cliffs. power lines. Oh my!
On the plus side, you prbably don't get cold like you do at a traditional hill because you never have to chill in the chair.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
DALMAC 2005
Beleive it or not, I've got photographical evidence that I road the DALMAC 2005. This is a shot of Max and I. I'm in the yellow. If you care, to you can see more pictures here. Thanks to Bob Barrie for inviting me to rid ethe DALMAC, and for taking these pictures.
The bummer about doing a tour like this is that it's so hard to take the pictures that do this justice. Four days of fresh air and sunshine, with near perfect temperatures. You have to experience it.
Crossing the Mighty Mac on a bike was special but not nearly as fun as the rest of the ride. It was downright chilly up on the bridge with all that wind blowing over all that cool lake water. Plus you have to ride in a massive group at a relatively slow pace. The wide open spaces, far from the maddening crowds were the best part of the tour.
It's these dark, wet, icy, cold days of winter that make me savor the 4 warm summer days od DALMAC, or even a warm summer training ride for that matter. I may be crazy but a 95 degree day on a bike (it wasn't 95 on DALMAC, only 75) is better than 33 degree day stuck inside. Riding indoor has it's benefits . . . watching football, or a movie, listening to tunes . . . but nothing beats being out on the road miles away from anywhere.
I invite you to join me and 1,500 of my closest friends on DALMAC 2006. You can get all of the details here. Registration opens around the end of January.
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