Saluting our pyrotechincal heroes

Rhett and Link's salute to our pyrotechnical heroes.
If you can keep a straight face, I salute you, too.

Tour de France preview

Either Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador are playing major head games with the competition or they are a team torn between two lovers ... I mean, riders. I'm excited to see how this race plays out, not just for Astana but in general.

If you'd like to follow the race on the web the official site is a good source of information. The live ticker is nice if you can't see the action on TV.

My favorite site is Steephill.tv, though. They have links to more resources including live tickers, streaming video links, TV schedules, last kilometer and daily highlight videos, stage profiles and maps.

The race is 21 days of racing plus 2 rest days, so if you're short on time, you can conserve time by focusing on key moments that will likely be decisive to who wins the overall competition, commonly referred to as general classification or GC. If you take the abridged approach, you will miss other aspects of the race, like competition for the king of the mountains and sprinter's jersey, and some stunning scenery, but if something exciting happens in the race, you can always watch the rebroadcast or catch it on your DVR.

Here are the dates and stages that should have impact on the overall victory.

Mountaintop Finishes
Mountaintop finishes are significant because riding is generally most aggressive when the roads turn upward and finish on top. When there is a subsequent descent, riders tend to get reeled back in on the descent or the flats after the descent.

July 11 Barcelona (Spain) → Arcalis (Andorra) 224km
July 15 Pontarlier → Verbier (Switzerland) 207km
July 25 Montélimar → Mont-Ventoux 167km

Time Trials
Time trails are a race against the clock with no drafting (hiding from the wind), with the exception of course of drafting behind your teammates in the team time trial.
July 4 - Individual Time Trial (ITT) 15.5 km
July 7 - Team Time Trial (TTT) 37 km
July 23 - Individual Time Trial 40.5 km

I'd love to say more but have to run. Viva le Tour.

FDA warns on Zicam use

The FDA is warning that Zicam can cause long term or permanent loss of smell. I know some of you are thinking, it would be OK if you smell less, but this is referring to your ability to sense scents. Here's the story.

via Noel's tweet

Best Car Review I've Ever Seen

Top Gear ‘Thoroughly Tests’ a Ford Fiesta

via DaringFireball.net

Moving

The Haslett Choirs sing this song after their final spring performance each year. It's not a traditional choral performance, they're all sitting on the floor facing the back of the stage while a slide show of captured moments of their times with HHS Choir. They invite alumni to come forward to sing along. It's a sort of send-off for the seniors. I'd cry at the performance every year if I had the courage to.



This is not their performance of the song, but they sound very similar. It's much more powerful live, knowing the people singing it and who they are singing it to.

If Everything Were Math

this New Math would be required material. True and amusing.

Tip of the hat to John Gruber.

Good Passing Makes it Look Easy

via Soccer-Training-info.com

I keep telling my players as our passing improves the game get easier. When you watch these highlights you think a team should be scoring on every possession. Enjoy!

Alpenhorn Hero

I've been hoping developers would extend the Guitar Hero idea to ther instruments. Finally Microsoft's seen the light and announced Alpine Legend. Now I can become the Alpenhorn Legend of my childhood dreams.

Get money to work, don't work for money

“We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.” - Walt Disney

This Disney quote was John Gruber's muse for his self-described dueling rant with Merlin Mann at SXSW earlier this month.

Another more powerful image John quotes in his summary that you will not quickly forget is from Jonathan Coulton.

But somewhere along the way the bottom line started improving, and I became less obsessed with tracking every little thing. Now I sort of think of the whole engine as a special genetically engineered cow who eats music and poops money — I have no idea what’s going on in its gut, and I have the luxury of not really caring that much about the particulars. […]

The state of the industry makes a lot more sense when you think of it this way, all these new business models rising and falling, internet radio choking on insanely high performance royalties, Radiohead and NIN giving stuff away and making a killing. This is the thing about the new landscape that drives everyone crazy: you can’t see inside the cow; you can only build one, feed it music, and wait for it to poop.

You can listen to John and Merlin's dueling rant here. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but can recommend it because these two never disappoint. John's summary is here.

Mia Hamm

Sarah and I have read a Matt Christopher book about Mia Hamm. She is an amazing person and an amazing player. Last time I went searching for Mia highlights they were sparse and the quality was marginal. Better fortunes today.

She exploited the smallest opportunity with such power. See for yourself.

Rendering

I have been reading on Riverview's chapter a weekday text since it started in January and it's been great. I prefer the hard copy rather to web site.

One of the best parts is reading the chapter before bed with Sarah. I'm not sure who's getting more out of it, her or me. When I read these familiar stories with her, it reminds me of the first time I read them in college and how incredible all of these happenings and Jesus' wisdom are.

Last night as we read we read Matthew 22.

Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply amazed them, and they went away.

It's easy to drive right by this one and see it as a snappy answer to a trick question designed to get Jesus arrested, but because the second half of Jesus' answer was pointed out to me in the past, I get stopped in my tracks by "give to God what belongs to God".

If it's made in Caesar's likeness, give it to Caesar. If it's made in God's likeness, give it to God. Our lives, our entire being is God's. Period. Without him, we would never exist. Without his constant aid, we are nothing. How deluded we are to think we can live "our own" lives. It was never ours, and never will be.

Give to God what belongs to God.

If this idea scares you, your not alone, it scares me too. I don't do it. I find every available excuse not to. The greatest help I've had in getting comfortable with the giving myself completely to God has come from John Piper. He passionately argues that God's greatest glory and our maximum joy are a unified point in space, not two ends of a continuum. Christian Hedonism, Forgive the Label, But Don't Miss the Truth is a good summary of the principle. You can spend quite some time plumbing the depth of this point, so be sure to bring your SCUBA tank.

The best error page ever

Adam Richardson says this is the best error page he has ever seen. I have to agree. The tone reminds me Douglas Adams, and Scott Eisensmith.

Who saw our economic crisis coming?

I find it useful to look back and see how the economic and market experts looked down there noses at the few who predicted that our spend and borrow cultur would eventually breakdown.

Peter Schiff was the first one to be brought to my attention but Schiller, Roubini,Larry Burkett, and Harry Dent also predicted economic trouble. It's interesting to look back and review their predictions, and differing rationales.

The most difficult question is how should I invest now? People are predicting 6 months to 10 years of recovery.

Congratulations, President Obama

Congratulations, President Obama. This is a historic moment for ort country on so many levels. I hope your girls like their new home. I pray that God protects you and gives you wisdom and courage.

My favorite recollection of the day came from Tom Brokaw. He reminisced on Reagan's departure, as Bush 43 flew away in the Marine Helicopter today. As Reagan flew over the White House one last time, he said to Nancy, "There's our old shack."

Weather madness

AccuWeather headline tonight read "Storms Target Major Cities Coast to Coast". Really? Really? It's bypassing rural areas, small towns, villages, townships, even lakes and streams, and mid-sized cities and metropolitan regions? It only targeting the Major Cities? This is new. This is scary. Wait till Al Gore finds out about this new phenomena. With this newly developed targeting ability, weather no longer must inflict global or even regional flooding. All weather can placed with surgical precision. Rain, snow, sleet or hail strikes on hand-picked targets, with laser-like accuracy. Amazing!

While I'm on the weather news, does anyone else think the Weather Alarms are getting a little carried away. It seems every time I check the weather there is an AccuWeather Weather AlarmTM. We get Weather Alarms in East Lansing for two and a half inches inches of snow, possible over the next four days. Two and a half inches ... over four days. If that's a Weather Alarm, Weather Alarms are meaningless.

Wait! Now it's becoming clear. These overused Alarms are just another part of the weather's master plan to destroy us all! First they overwhelm us with Alarms, until they're meaningless, then they drown us in a flood, suffocate is in snow, or slush us to death. I'm onto you Mr. Weather.

A Mac Geek's Christmas Wish

I've enjoyed The Joy of Tech cartoons for many years now. Finally, I'm sharing it with you. A Mac Geek's Christmas Wish couldn't be truer.

bicycnical

bicycnical - jaded or scornful skepticism or negativity on two wheels.

Inspired by an e-mail exchange with my good friend, fellow bicycling enthusiast, visual artist, wordsmith, and storyteller extraordinaire, Bob Barrie, a.k.a. Blinker Bob.

Number 16

My brother, Andrew, completed his 12th Free Press Marathon, and his 16th overall, last weekend. This years training schedule included a DIY 3 story addition to his home. Quite impressive.

This year he has the privilege of getting a small deposit on his fifteen minutes of fame. He is pictured on the WXYZ 7 site AND in the video on the right as he receives his medal.

Note: Anyone who knows how to capture this video for future use, please educate me with a comment.

Late Bloomers

In our pop culture, it's easy to think you might as well hang it up after you turn 40. Malcom Gladwell's New Yorker piece, argues otherwise.

Late Bloomers: Why do we equate genius with precocity?

In a nut: Keep working. Your best work may well be ahead of you.

Seth Godin lets you choose where $2 of charity goes

Squidoo, a Seth Godin company, is letting votes decide where to send $80,000. Vote for the charity of your choice here.

I voted for Church! at Bethany. You can learn more about them here.

The Fastest Route to Faster Internet Speeds

I faithfully read Pogue's Posts. David is both entertaining and insightful. And I trust his thorough and honest reviews on everything from PCs to digital photo-capable binoculars. His post on The Fastest Route to Faster Internet Speeds made me check our routers firmware. It hadn't been updated since we bought it 7 to 10 years ago.

After updating the firmware, and running speed tests at SpeakEasy and speedtest.net our download speeds have increased from around 3.6M to 4.6M. That's a whopping 28% increase. Total time invested, five minutes. Total cost, zero dollars. Thank you, David Pogue.

If you're running an old router with old firmware, do yourself a favor and install the update.

Now I'm wondering if the spastic performance of AT&T DSL we tried out last winter was caused by our paleolithic era router firmware.

Why Stock Dividends are not just good for investors

Daniel Eran Dilger in his insightful post, Why is Microsoft Buying Back $40 Billion of its Own Stock? points out that executives and other option holders are enriched by stock buybacks without having to increase the value of the corporation.

Warren Buffett on Rewarding Failure.

In a 2005 letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett wrote:

Too often, executive compensation in the U.S. is ridiculously out of line with performance. That won’t change, moreover, because the deck is stacked against investors when it comes to the CEO’s pay. The upshot is that a mediocre-or-worse CEO – aided by his handpicked VP of human relations and a consultant from the ever-accommodating firm of Ratchet, Ratchet and Bingo – all too often receives gobs of money from an ill-designed compensation arrangement.

Take, for instance, ten year, fixed-price options (and who wouldn’t?). If Fred Futile, CEO of Stagnant, Inc., receives a bundle of these – let’s say enough to give him an option on 1% of the company – his self-interest is clear: He should skip dividends entirely and instead use all of the company’s earnings to repurchase stock.

How Videogames Blind Middleschoolers With Science

Clive Thompson's Wired article discovers that middle schoolers are secretly appplying the scientific method to their on-line games. It's so secret, the kids don't even know they're doing it.

At one point, Steinkuehler met up with one of the kids who'd built the Excel model to crack the boss. "Do you realize that what you're doing is the essence of science?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Dude, I'm not doing science," he replied. "I'm just cheating the game!"

. . .

One of the reasons kids get bored by science is that too many teachers present it as a fusty collection of facts for memorization. This is precisely wrong. Science isn’t about facts. It’s about the quest for facts — the scientific method, the process by which we hash through confusing thickets of ignorance. It’s dynamic, argumentative, collaborative, competitive, filled with flashes of crazy excitement and hours of drudgework, and driven by ego: Our desire to be the one who figures it out, at least for now. It’s dramatic and nutty and fun.

via John Gruber

Soccer dribble fakes

Youtube links. Embedding isn't allowed sorry.

Cutting with the ball

Leg Fake

Fake Kick

Scissors fake

It's Your Ship

A few months ago I heard the author of It's Your Ship on the a local radio station. I read some reviews and an excerpt on Amazon. This was part that made me think I should get around to reading the whole thing.

"Pondering all of this in the context of my post as the new captain of Benfold, I read some exit surveys, interviews conducted by the military to find out why people are leaving. I assumed that low pay would be the first reason, but in fact it was fifth. The top reason was not being treated with respect or dignity; second was being prevented from making an impact on the organization; third, not being listened to; and fourth, not being rewarded with more responsibility. Talk about an eye-opener.

Further research disclosed an unexpected parallel with civilian life. According to a recent survey, low pay is also number five on a list of reasons why private employees jump from one company to another. And the top four reasons are virtually the same as in the military. The inescapable conclusion is that as leaders, we are all doing the same things wrong."

Surpised by Apple

On Monday evening, I sent my 3 year old PowerBook G4 in for repair under my Apple Care service plan. The display had a 3/4" wide area in the lower right of the screen that was slightly grayed out. I'd dropped the powerbook from about a foot onto the concrete a couple of times, so I thought they'd say this wasn't covered because of the visible dents in two corners.

I was pleased to see, via the on-line Repair Status system, that the repair was completed the next morning and the system was awaiting shipment. I received it on Wednesday morning at 10:15 AM, and quickly booted it up to see how the screen looked and confirm that my data survived the trip.

Because my battery is so dead, I usually receive a low battery warning shortly after booting up. To my surprise, this didn't happen. I turned it over and pressed the battery monitor switch. The LED's indicated a full charge. Weird. So I checked the estimated time remaining on the battery, 2:56. I was shocked. I even checked the paperwork and indeed it was true and not an error, they had thrown in a new battery. I never imagined they would do this. Batteries are not a covered repair.

Thank you Apple! Depending on how you look at it, they saved me $137 or extended the useful life of this little beauty.

Tour de France Summary for Newbies

The BBC has a nice summary of the Tour for newbies.

A leisurely 3,500 km (or 2,175 mile) bike ride around France and neighbouring countries. That's roughly the distance from London to Cairo or Tel Aviv and an incredible 15m people line the route.

As many as 180 riders will set off from Brest to Plumelec in 20 teams, but many will have dropped out by the time the race finishes on the Champs Elysee in Paris on 27 July.

Le Tour Podium Prediction

1. Evans
2. Menchov
3. Sastre

The order may vary, but it will be these three.

Font Conference

What would it be like if the fonts gathered for a meeting? Thanks to this
Font Conference, you don't have to wonder a moment longer.

via Daring Fireball.

Think you're poor?

If you think you'report, check your work ranking here.

via Big Contrarian, Jack Shedd

Key Tour Stages to Watch for 2008

If you don't have much time to watch the Tour, you'll want to watch the stages with the greatest probability of being decisive to the race's outcome. Here they are.

Five High Mountain Stages

Stage 9 Sunday, July 13th

Stage 10 Monday, July 14th, uphill finish

Stage 15 Sunday, July 20th, uphill finish

Stage 16 Tuesday, July 22nd

Stage 17 Wednesday, July 23rd, uphill finish on L'Alpe d'Huez


The uphill finishes in the mountains are significant because often on descents riders will lose some of the advantage they gained by working hard on a climb. Riders will often attack aggressively on uphill finishes, it can change the outcome of the race and it's exhilarating to watch.

Two Time Trial Stages

Stage 4 Tuesday, July 8th

Stage 20 Saturday, July 26th

Who will win the Tour?

VeloNews profiles eight favorites for the Tour this year.

Rider (Country), Team

CADEL EVANS (Aus), Silence-Lotto

CARLOS SASTRE (Sp), CSC

DENIS MENCHOV (Rus), Rabobank

FRÄNK SCHLECK (Lux), CSC

DAMIANO CUNEGO (I), Lampre

KIM KIRCHEN (Lux), Columbia (High Road)

MAURICIO SOLER (Col), Barloworld

ALEJANDRO VALVERDE (Sp), Caisse d’Épargne

You can read the complete analysis of each riders strengths and weaknesses here.

My Prediction: Barring a crash, Evans will ride into Paris in the Maillot Jaune. He can hang with the climbers and he can put time into them in the time trials, as he demonstrated yesterday. Yesterday, during the Time Trial, or what the French call the race of truth, Liggett and Sherwin kept talking about how Cadel has spent a lot of time working on his climbing. I expect this will pay off. He'll be the first Aussie ever to win the Tour.

Th exciting thing about the race this year is, anyone could win. As the roads turn upward, we'll see the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders. The attacks in the mountains and the ripping apart of the peleton is quite fun to watch. The hills begin tomorrow, but they hit the first high mountain stage on Sunday.

Tour de France cliffhanger

In 1951 Wim Van Est, a Dutch rider was in yellow and crashed twice descending Col d'Aubisque trying to catch the leaders. The second crash took him off a cliff. Spectators had to squint to see him. After they rescued him with a rope made of bike tires, he asked for another bike. Gotta love it.

Get the full story, with pictures here.

Get your brain in gear for Le Tour

I've been holding out on my readers. There are several great sites I've discovered on cycling. One of these is SteepHill.tv. It's a combination of racing news and mere mortal rides in some beautiful locations. The race coverage is convenient because it provides the basics plus images. I think what sets this site apart are the photos and videos and great outside links. Go check it out.

The Tour de France Dashboard has some great images and videos of the mountain stages for 2008. The Alpe d'Huez page has highlights of Lance's 2001 "look" and subsequent obliteration of Ulrich. If this doesn't make you want to go ride, you never will.

Not getting it.

Unfortunately, I've never seen Zoolander, so this video at Riverview last Sunday was lost on me.



Much funnier if you've seen this scene.

[Upon seeing the model of the "Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too] What is this, a center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can't even fit inside the building? The center has to be at least... three times bigger than this!

Becky's Recital

For those who missed it and want to hear Becky's recital performance. You can listen individual songs or download them to enjoy later at this site.

If gas prices are getting you down . . .

. . . be thankful you don't fil your car with HP ink. David Pogues posted some cost per gallon stats and here's the math on the HP 02 Black Ink Cartridge, 16 ml $18 online = $4,294.58 per gallon.

Ouch! Gas is almost a thousand times cheaper.

Memealicious

Check out this memealicious Weezer video. If you don't get it, well. you haven't been wasting enough of your time.

Switzerland gets the iPhone

Switzerland gets the iPhone.

via maclife.com

Harvard of the Bronx

My dad is a Fordham grad. Apparently, it's the Harvard of the Bronx.

I was born after dad finished graduated and we moved away from the area, so my thoughts of Fordham are of the Seven Blocks of Granite, which I learned about when reading an incredible football history book I read in junior high. The pictures and stories inspired me. I began my career in organized football to demonstrate my zeal. The coach did not concur. Ballerinas were referenced, I returned to backyard ball.

"Change is inevitable . . . "

"Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine."

- Robert C. Gallagher

Giro d'Italia

Just a week before the Giro d'Italia begins, the race organizers have invited the Astana team. They promise to bring the strongest team possible. I'm hoping for a Leipheimer or Contador win, though they didn't obviously prepare for the course.

Here's a video of the final kilometers of last year's Giro Stage 14. Even if you don't know Italian you will hear some words you understand, and the announcers' enthusiasm is energizing.

Testing an MP3 Player for our site

Quote of the day

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.

Mia Hamm

Quote of the day

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

Could your water bottle be killing you?

The Canadian's are looking to ban a chemical that is present in hard plastics bottles, like Nalgene's, and some baby boottles.

Some quotes from the USA Today story.

Earlier this week, the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program said that there is "some concern" about BPA from experiments on rats that linked the chemical to changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast. While such animal studies only provide "limited evidence" of risk, the draft report said a possible effect on humans "cannot be dismissed."

"At best FDA gave Americans a false sense of comfort about a questionable substance. At worst, they put millions of Americans directly at risk," Schumer said.

Soccer Technique

More Soccer videos for me to find easily later.

Play in a V Back each other up with the off the ball player at the bottom of the V.


Closing an Attacker Down


First Touch Away from Pressure


Dribbling Stepover Turn


Dribbling Roll and Scissors


Dribbling: Double Cut


Dribbling: Cruyff Turn


Dribbling: Shielding the Ball


3 Player 2 Servers Passing Drills


Ball Control Dribbling Drills

Goalkeeper Training Videos

I was surprised to find a plethora of goalkeeper training videos on YouTube. I'm putting these so I can find them again to use with my goalkeepers.

34 goalkeeper drills.
This one is quite thorough but you have to watch and replay to catch everything.


Pre-match warm-ups


More pre-match warm-ups


Make yourself big in the goal and proper drop-kick technique.


Goal technique from Real Salt Lake goalie


How to practice on your own


And one more, in German with some good drills and conditioning

Quote of the day

I was going 70 miles an hour and got stopped by a cop who said, "Do you know the speed limit is 55 miles per hour?" "Yes, officer, but I wasn't going to be out that long..." - Steven Wright

Wreck in one paragraph or less

Riverview is currently doing a series called "Wreck" that walks us through Solomon's wisdom gained by making all of the wrong decisions. I decided to open my super-spiritual* Ryrie Study Bible to Ecclesiastes today and came across this summary, which I enjoyed . It dove tail nicely with the "Wreck" series and what I've been learning lately.

The message of the book may be stated in the form of three propositions. (1) When you look at life with its seemingly aimless cycles (1:4ff.) and inexplicable paradoxes (4:1; 7:15; 8:8), you might conclude that all is futile, since it is impossible to discern any purpose in the ordering of events. (2) Nevertheless, life is to be enjoyed to the fullest, realizing that it is the gift of God (3:12-13; 3:22; 5:18-19; 8:15; 9:7-9). (3) The wise man will live his life in obedience to God, recognizing that God will eventually judge all men (3:16-17; 12:14).

*In my college days, we used to joke that this is how you demonstrate how spiritually mature you are. By the condition of your Bible. This Bible looks quite worn and is literally coming apart at the seams. I only wish I had been that much of a student of the Word. The truth is, it's a poorly-constructed book. I purchased 1981 or so, around the time Detroit was making some poorly-constructed cars, too. It showed signs of structural weakness very early in it's limited-use life. I keep it because I like the study references and in fond memory of bygone days. Twenty some years after purchasing this Bible, I found myself enjoying the teaching of one of Charles Ryrie's students Arnold Fruchtenbaum. I guess it's a small theological world.

Essays

I used to enjoy essay exams in college. I've since been stuck when it comes to writing. I'm reading Paul Graham's "Hacker and Painters" and he points out:

The word "essay" comes from the French word "essayer", which means "to try". An essay, in the original sense, is something you write to try to figure something out.

Writing to try to figure something out, is a lot easier than writing what you've already figured out. There's certainly a broad range of material available to me in the former.

Picking an investmet guru

I saw an ad for an investment adviser today and in researching him I found a useful site GuruFocus.com. Their scoreboard ranks investment gurus investment performance on several time window and interestingly enough, Warren Buffet come out #4 for the last 6 months and #1 since inception. Impressive.

Maybe it's time for me to give up trying to beat the market by selecting smarter or investing in indexed ETFs and invest in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A or BRK.B).

Updated Becky Video

I converted the Vision 22 video of Becky's Spring 2007 performance at the Haslett Cabaret. The video and audio quality from Vision 22 surpassed my camcorder, but I'm afraid my conversion process didn't do them justice.

For the video editing experts in the audience, who can hopefully clue me in on where I went wrong, I used HandBrake to convert the DVD video to AVI, imported to the AVI to iMovie, edited down to the two clips I wanted and then exported for iPod. If anyone knows how to get this from DVD while better preserving the video quality, please, chime in. If you'll need more details, I'll understand.

I Could Have Danced All Night


The Rain In Spain

So you want to be a mountain biker?

A little fun with mountain biking via BikeRadar.com .

So you want to be a mountain biker?

1. You must get a tattoo.
4. You must choose a tribe.
7. Be prepared to be injured in new and interesting ways.

My Brother & Sister's High School

My brother & sister's High School, Miami Palmetto High School produced Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos and world-famous street fighter Kimbo Slice. My brother came out somewhere in between. He works with a fortune 500 company and his street fighting skills are all in his feet (he's a marathoner). My little sister has a world-class concern and compassion for all creatures great and small.

Why didn't I go there? We moved a couple times after Warren Area High School in Warren, Pennsylvania, the high school I graduated from. (As the link indicates, it isn't listed on Wikipedia yet). I only spent a year there and made some great friendships.

Quote of the day

"Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving."

- William Shakespeare
 

Who's reading?

I'm curious who's tuned in. Please comment or send me an e-mail if you read this blog.

See how fun road cycling can be

A little road comedy sketch.



via steephilll.tv.

Andy Rooney's iPhone review

I don't take the time out to catch Andy often enough. I guess he's older than I thought.

Why I like road cycling

Last week Noel posted a video link on why he thinks road cycling.




Although that looks like fun, this video explains why I prefer road cycling.

Bill Gate's Final CES Keynote

Funny. With appearances by Bono, Al Gore, Hillary, Barack, Jay-Z, Jon Stewart, Clooney, Spielberg, Napoleon Dynamite, and Brian Williams.

A little off-season cycling inspiration

Charles Howe tells the story of the 1964 Tour de France in The Greatest Bike Race – Ever. It's enough to get you on your bike . . . inside, at least.

The problem with prosperity

If you've ever wondered if the abundance we live in creates problems, you'll want to listen to Barry Schwartz's TED talk. It's 20 minutes of insight and humor.
I put a hold on his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less at the local library to hear the balance of his case and solution.

It's interesting to juxtapose this the Christmas gift buying rush and what I've been listening to and reading from John Piper lately. We are so wealthy and live in such over abundance in the US of A, we totally lack perspective on so much of life, "necessity", and God himself.

Großvati wrote a nativity play

My mom's Dad, Großvati (pronounced Gross-faah-tee, and Swiss-German for Grandfather) wrote poems, plays, and stories under a pen name. Pius Rickenman. Mom recently found out his nativity play has become an annual tradition in Rapperswill, just down the road from where she grew up.

When we googled it this link popped up.
"Rapperswiler Sternsingen" - a nativity play with procession for all ages.

Our RivKids Christmas play at Riverview has a slightly different target audience.

Understanding Web Design

Jeffrey Zeldman's article, Understanding Web Design, reminds us the web is it's own medium and shouldn't be judged by the standards of other media.

Excerpts:

Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity.

and

The experienced web designer, like the talented newspaper art director, accepts that many projects she works on will have headers and columns and footers. Her job is not to whine about emerging commonalities but to use them to create pages that are distinctive, natural, brand-appropriate, subtly memorable, and quietly but unmistakably engaging.

If she achieves all that and sweats the details, her work will be beautiful. If not everyone appreciates this beauty—if not everyone understands web design—then let us not cry for web design, but for those who cannot see.

Getting In

A great by Malcom Gladwell article that should reduce every parent's blood pressure over where your child is admitted to college via Kottke.

Bottom Line: Getting into a selective school is not going to change anyone's life. People achieve based on thier intelligence, drive, and social skills, and being accepted or rejected by an elite school will not change your life for better or worse.

Greak Prank

The Swiss put a jacuzzi at the top of Mt. Blanc

See images from their climb, in the tub, and descent here.

The other side of soccer, incredible keepers

Soccer

I started coaching soccer this fall for the first time. I love it!

Check out this video of 50 great soccer goals.

Swiss firefighters rap for saftey

Swiss firefighters star in rap video. via Andrew.

If you're completely ignorant of the French language, you should be able to say "1-1-8" in French by the end of the video.

For those who aren't familiar with Switzerland, they have three native languages, Swiss-German, French and Italian. Geneva, where this is shot, is in the Southwest corner of Switzerland and is the biggest city of the French speaking part of Switzerland.

You've probably heard of Geneva because of the United Nations office, the Red Cross (the Geneva convention), or the CERN labs.

I learned about it because my cousins lived there. My uncle is a particle physicist and worked at CERN. The coolest thing about Geneva for me as a kid was the massive fountain, and the lake.

A (ringtone) Sucker Is Born Every Minute

According to an attorney consulted by Wired blogger, Scott Gilberton, it's completely unnecessary to pay for ringtones of songs you already own. So don't pay cash for your ringtones. That's for suckers.

Apparently the law has established that a ringtrone is not a derivative work, so the rights that accompany the song, apply to the ring tone. Now, make sure your ringtone is not annoying.

Dad's New Business

My Dad and Nam Ashcroft have started a recruiting business. They are seeking English-speaking college graduates for one year tours teaching English in Korea. The pay seems quite good for a recent graduate who wants to travel and deeply experience Korea.

They'll be promoting this opportunity to college students around the US. This is part of an pre-existing program that has been in place for several years. They seem to have a shortage of teachers, so if you have any interest, check it out on the web at LotusRecruiting.com or call 1-772-288-0535.

The Day The Music Died

Luciano Pavarotti died today at age 71. For some unexplained reason I got a little wet-eyed when I heard the news.

Via 43 folders, I found this touching story about Pavarotti kindness and generous spirit.
A memorable encounter in Miami with the late Mr. Pavarotti.

His performances are incredible and filled with passion. Take a minute to listen to one. Neesun Dorma means never sleep. This is the song of a man in love. Go here for a translation of the lyrics and an explanation of what is happening in the story. It will give you a greater appreciation for the song.

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Everyone's Going Green

Even the chili cook-off.

A design principle to live by

"I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn't itch."

- Gilda Radner

via American Marketing Association e-newsletter

First, don't make your product or service annoying.

We missed the metric memo

If your old enough, you recall the US of A trying to go metric in the 70's. Well, it seems we are now one of the last hold outs. IT's down to us, Liberia and Myanmar.

Good Magazine maps the non-metric countries.

via Daring Fireball, again.

Getting the best pictures

When I saw this site, I was stunned at the difference.

Images taken with and without flash.

via Daring Fireball

Quote of the day

“You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy.“ - Eric Hoffer

Fourteen Year Old Pianist

This is inspiration for everyone who is learning any instrument or has a desire to create music . . .

. . . and has 10 years to learn and develop thir skill.

Jennifer Lin at TED

More on becoming an expert

Fastcompany magazine blogged on becoming an expert, in a similar vain to my previous Gretzky "field sense" post. You can read the Fast Company blog, or be lazy and read these excerpts.

"According to the HBR article, it’s not a high IQ, one’s gender or a God-given talent that makes you a top surgeon, actor, writer, computer programmer, musician...and you name it. The only innate differences that are at all significant, according to the article, are height and body size – and they matter primarily in sports. What truly makes the difference is intense practice.

And, by intense practice, don’t think you can become a real expert in a month’s or even a year’s time. As the HBR article puts it:

'The journey to truly superior performance is neither for the faint of heart nor for the impatient. The development of genuine expertise requires struggle, sacrifice and honest often painful self-assessment. There are no shortcuts. It will take you at least a decade to achieve expertise, and you will need to invest that time wisely, by engaging in ‘deliberate’ practice – practice that focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort.' "

Nice ad

via Noel

iPhone: The Music Video

For those who think life and techno-lust should be set to music.

So we do have a chance.

It turns out more of us have a chance to be a "superstar" athlete. That certain, je ne sais quoi that legends like Gretzky, Bird, and Montana possess turns out to be trainable. Wired has an article on scientists studying the magic that is "field sense".

Wayne Gretzky-Style 'Field Sense' May Be Teachable


Such talent has long been assumed to be innate. "Coaches tend to think you either have it or you don't," Vint says. Unlike a jump shot or a penalty kick, field sense — which mixes anticipation, timing, and an acute sense of spatial relations — is considered essentially untrainable, a gift. Gretzky himself once fuzzily described it as having "a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can just turn and pass without looking."

But Vint rejects the notion that Gretzky-style magic is unteachable.

I Could Have Danced . . .

The Rain in Spain

Becky sang "The Rain In Spain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" at the Haslett Choir Cabaret this week. If you missed it here's your chance to catch up.

Power Cranks live up to their name

Pez Cycling has a testimonial for Power Cranks from a 38 year old former pro rider who tested his power output and VO2 Max both before and during his training. The results are impressive.

PowerCranks.com also has some research reports and video testimonials from cyclists and triathletes.

Now where can I find the money for these and a Power Tap.

Dig the Swiss

The BBC has a story on our new record setting tunnel at 35 miles.

Swiss dig world's longest tunnel

I have driven this region and this will certainly save a lot of time. Fortunately it will only be electricity powered trains passing through, so there won't be choking exhaust fumes like in the current Goddard auto tunnel. Dad would try to hold his breathe through that one.

Dance Dance Immolution

How about getting hit by a flame thrower if you evey time your other left foot gets in the way. That's Dance Dance Immolation and it's not a joke. It's the hottest thing in dance since the Macarena!

Swiss Army on the Move

USA Today reports on the Swiss Army's first invasion. They penetrated Lichtenstein by a mile without being noticed. Sounds like the U.S.-Mexico border, only with soldiers with unloaded guns instead of elephants and a mariachi band.

IF you're thinking of Investing in HD

This Wired piece is the best HD primer I've read.

The High-Def FAQK


Here's the writer's signature: "Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Lore Sjöberg eventually overcame these handicaps to amass an impressive collection of remote controls."

Monty Python Dead Parrot

This Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch is legendary.

When I watched it yesterday, however, it didn't seem to have the same effect on me as it did in my younger days. I'm guessing it didn't get me laughing the same way because I usually see it in the context of a group of silly Python sketches, so my laugh engine has already warmed up, and I usually see it in the evening, so you've got that tired slap-happy thing going, too.

Or maybe it's because I was pining for the fjords.

Sarah's Igloo

Inspired by the U.S.S. Rock, Sarah and I quickly constructed an igloo with the wet, melting snow last night.

It's still up today, but it's days are numbered. If only we could create a product with the opposite effect of Summer Wheeze. Winter Breeze would make snow and ice impervious to melting.

More of the U.S.S. Rock

Reporting from Novi, my brother writes "The two tunnels are about 15 and 25 feet each and they connect in the middle, making for about a 40 foot tunnel. The meting has begun. The picture has Jacob and some neighbors in it."

My Brother's Snow Fort Tradition Continues

Christened the U.S.S. Rock, this masterpiece was created with the assistance of the kids of the Rock at Oak Pointe Church and a few neighborhood kids. The eldest laborer was Grossmutti who assisted in the early stages of the project. The interior features a home theater room with stadium-style seating and a billiard room. Local media are being notified of the project.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Apparently,"The Happiest Place on Earth" is not Disneyland but, Denmark. Dang it, I knew it began wih a D.
Of course, Switzerland is No. 2. Sorry Noel, but Finland only made No. 6.

Psychologist Produces The First-ever 'World Map Of Happiness"

The 20 happiest nations in the World are:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada
11. Ireland
12. Luxembourg
13. Costa Rica
14. Malta
15. The Netherlands
16. Antigua and Barbuda
17. Malaysia
18. New Zealand
19. Norway
20. The Seychelles

via Guy Kawasaki

Quote of my life

“One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.”

- Oswald Chambers

It's so easy to live inside your cranium. Well, actually, my cranium.

I've officially labeled myself a theoretical person. I'm trying to be less in theory, and more in reality. My theories show it should work. ; )

When your battery dies on a bike ride.

For the longer rides, when ither'es no power outlet to recharge your phone,
now you can mkae your own with a bike powered phone charger.

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

A thought provoking set of images. Check out the butter and the Doritos.