Been Thinking Again About The Stealth Apocalypse

Morning weigh-in: 175.5#, 13% BF

"If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

-- Albert Einstein (attributed)

Anyway, good ride last night, Round Valley with Kevin McGatha. Mechanical problems prevented me from climbing the second of the Three Sisters hills, but other than that (and of course the "impossible" entrance section) I rode everything there; I'm actually surprised at how well I'm doing on climbs like Anaerobic Detour these days. Too bad I blew chunks at the end of the ride -- some pollen towards the end made me get all phlegmy & post-nasal. It was weird, with a very sudden onset; I coughed so hard I ended up gagging.

Pushing thru the market square, so many mothers sighing

News had just come over, we had five years left to cry in

News guy wept and told us, earth was really dying

Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying

-- David Bowie, "Five Years"

The Big Buzz

Morning weigh-in: 178.5#, 11% BF

Back to the boring posts. Yoga last night, followed by the Which Brew monthly Mug Club dinner -- not two days after the annual party, and maybe that's why it seemed a little quiet. Tonight is Svaroopa yoga, then I'm prepping for this weekend's race. Tomorrow is a ride at Round Valley.

UPDATE: Scooter gets 30 months. Sweet!

The View From Lunch

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 10% BF

In The News: Well, it looks like the Lizard Princess is off to jail, and I'm suggesting "Summer's Eve" for this guy's new nickname.

Reading: I just finished David Mitchell's number9dream. I had a lot of trouble with it at the start, just couldn't get into it like his other books, but I brought it down with me on vacation and knocked off a good chunk of it down there. It got a lot better, and I was totally engrossed in the story only to be disappointed by the ending, which I thought was a little too literary -- by that point I was just looking for some "happily ever after."

Now I'm reading Mitchell's Black Swan Green, just started this morning.

Truly Sad News

Rest in peace, Steve Gilliard. I guess you couldn't call it unexpected, because he'd been scary sick for a while, but this is still a gut-punch. Someone (Kos?) once called him "the best ranter on the Internet," and the News Blog was one I read every day for his take on current events, as well as food, beer and technology reviews; I might also point out that he absolutely nailed it, three or four years ago, calling out the exact shape the Iraq war would take (I heard of the Mahdi Army from the News Blog, long before they were on anyone else's radar) and illustrating his points with history lessons from WWII and colonial wars. His interests and outlook were very close to my own, and his was a voice I trusted to tell it like he saw it, and also to get it right.

I'm kind of upset, so I don't think I'll say any more, but Jane Hamsher has something to say worth reading, and so does Lindsay Beyerstein.

The Weekends Go Too Fast

Gonna Party Like It's Nineteen Seventy Nine
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

Friday was pretty mellow (no ride because of the thunderstorms that kept threatening, dinner at Which Brew, early night because I was out Thursday night in Bethlehem) but Saturday was jam-packed: I ran in the morning, then hit the gym, and then decided to get a ride in before the rain, and in between all that were various errands & chores etc. Got a lot done, I was pretty happy actually.

I was under the gun because I wanted to get down to the annual Mug Club Party at Which Brew. It kicked off at 5:00; I got there at 6:30 but no worries, the party went all night. Great food as usual, free cask-conditioned Weyerbacher Muse, and a DJ playing disco. Photos are posted on flickr, check 'em out.

Sunday was trailwork at Sals, chainsawing fallen trees (damage from several recent storms), as well as cutting back a lot of the underbrush where it was encroaching on the trail. Quick lunch in Bethlehem, then we went back for a ride but we were all pretty tired and the rainn finall started coming down, so we cut it short.