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Morning Bike Ride

Distance: 10.0 miles
Riding time: 57 minutes
Max speed: 29.8 mph
Average speed: 10.4 mph
Temperature: 90º (according to questionable bike computer read)
Route:

  • Stanton to 162nd
  • 162nd to I-84 bike path
  • Bike path to Fairview Parkway
  • Fairview Parkway to Sandy
  • Sandy to 223rd
  • 223rd to Marine Drive
  • Marine Drive to 185th Ave
  • 185th to Airport Way
  • Airport Way to 158th
  • 158th to Fremont
  • Fremont to 156th
  • 156th to home
Tina recovered quickly from our soul-sapping ride last week and got back in the saddle on Saturday to ride with Thomas. I was more conservative about my recovery time and didn’t attempt to ride again until today. I felt pretty good the whole way and my legs felt fine going up hills. I had a conference call so I headed for home from Marine Drive but Tina decided to keep going.
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The Democratic establishment are cowards

The New York Times reports that once again, despite previous assurances that they would not, the Democrats in Congress have caved in under threat of veto from President Bush. When the American people elected a Democratic majority to both the House and Senate in 2006 it was assumed by most that the Democrats would end the war. A few weeks ago I watched Nancy Pelosi on one of the Sunday talk shows. The interviewer asked her why Congress had not acted to end the war during the last two years and her response was this: The President will veto it and the Democrats don’t have enough votes to override.

Continue reading “The Democratic establishment are cowards”

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Afternoon Bike Ride

Distance: 15.0 miles
Riding time: 99 minutes
Max speed: 22.2 mph
Average speed: 9.0 mph
Temperature: 90º (according to questionable bike computer read)
Route:

  • Through the neighborhood to 158th and Sandy Blvd
  • 158th to Marine Drive bike path
  • Bike path past 205 several miles (turnaround)
  • Bike path back to 205
  • I-205 bike path to Fremont
  • Fremont to 122nd
  • 122nd to I-84 bike path
  • Bike path to 162nd
  • 162nd to Stanton
  • Stanton to home
Ever since we knew that I would be working from home, Tina and I have been looking forward to riding our bikes together during the day. We finally did it today and boy did it wear us out. I thought we might go five miles out and then turn around, but Tina was enjoying herself so much that we went another mile. I also decided to take the 205 bike path home which may have been a mistake since it seemed like it was all uphill. When we attempted the last hill at 122nd, my legs had had enough and I simply didn’t have the will to pedal uphill anymore. So we walked up the heavily trafficked hill in the very narrow bike lane gasping for breathe the entire time. The rest of the ride went smoothly but we’re both pretty shot tonight.

My fitness definitely needs some improvement so I’ve been doing some homework on indoor training. After a fair bit of reading, I’ve decided that the best turbo trainer for my ability would be a CycleOps PowerBeam Pro. Extra indoor sessions should make these outdoor rides much easier in the future and also more enjoyable.

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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 2500
Van odometer: 154003
Weight lost (in pounds): 0
Aches & pains: left shin (scab gone), lower back, all my muscles
Current reading: My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
Recent listening: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box), News from Lake Wobegon, Science Friday, Coverville, DrugMusic
Recent viewing: Olympics, Democratic National Convention, Republican National Convention, The O’Reilly Factor
Recent playing: Chain Factor, Spaceward Ho!
Recently accomplished: Upgraded DSL, cleaned cat boxes, setup VPN access for work, office cleaning, office moving, office remodeling, cardboard recycling
Imperative To Do: Craigslist items for Thomas/Graham, install Tina’s bike computer, get rid of office junk, freecycle, activate new Tivo, oil change for van, weeds, clean garage, moss

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The wisdom of a fool won’t set you free

Life has been demanding lately. At work I’ve been transitioning to a new team while still maintaining some responsibility for the product the Splash team just shipped. I’ve also been working on another project outside of work that has been very demanding of my time. Today was supposed to be the first day working from home since the EFI office in Vancouver is now officially closed. Unfortunately, because of the recent time crunch, I didn’t have time to move my work stuff (and there’s a lot of it) home until Friday when Tina and the boys helped me lug a few computers and displays home. I spent the better part of the three day weekend emptying my office at home, cleaning it and redecorating. I didn’t completely finish but it’s in a workable state and most of the junk I moved out is no longer cluttering the rest of the house.
Continue reading “The wisdom of a fool won’t set you free”

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And the sun shines on the bay

I had to get up early this morning for another trip to EFI HQ in Foster City, CA. The 7:30 flight translates into a 5:00 am wake up time and I failed to get to bed before midnight. I’ll probably “nap” on the 2 hour flight but it will likely make no difference today. I’ll be attending a series of meetings today and tomorrow welcoming and orientating me and a colleague to our new team at EFI. You can bet that I’ll be hitting the free espresso machine whenever I get a chance this afternoon.
Continue reading “And the sun shines on the bay”