The Notorious R-O-G!!

Moving on...

2011-01-26T01:29:00.002-05:00

I've decided to bag the blogger spot, and move on to my own site. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride...

You can now find me at militantbuddhist.com

Cops and their silly toys

2010-05-04T21:50:00.001-04:00

Here's a shock - a police officer just tasered somebody, unnecessarily. What a shock.

Sorry.

Ok, yeah, a kid jumps on the field and runs around. Yep, it's a nuisance, a bother. And he needs to be corralled and given a disorderly conduct, or whatever they do in Philly (in NYC, they put you in jail for a year - the Calvin Klein law. Yes, that Calvin Klein). Of course, before they do that, they have to catch the guy, and when it's a young, fast teenager, that can take a while. The cop who was chasing this kid decided ok, he's tired of looking and feeling stupid, in front of a bunch of frothed up, idiotic Phillies fans (really, Philly fans are the worst human beings on earth. Cops being sub-human, of course). One can understand that feeling. I certainly can...it sucks when some idiot decides to make your life more difficult, solely because he so enjoys being an idiot. So this cop pulled out his taser, and shot the kid with it. Lit him up, literally. And now, people in Philly are getting together to decide if this was appropriate or not.

Here's the answer.

No. It's fucking not.

Tasers are supposed to be non-lethal force...in the case where a WEAPON is needed. It's not supposed to be something to just make a cops life a little easier - hey, I don't feel like chasing this dick anymore, so I'll just fucking electrocute him. No, sorry, that doesn't work. You still have to do the heavy lifting.

It may come across like I'm anti-cop here, like I'm trying to tie their hands behind their back. I'm not, really. While I do have some obvious disdain for them, for a variety of reasons that would take way too long to get in to here, I think they have a tough job, and I really, genuinely tip my hat to the seemingly fewer and fewer good cops that are around. But - it is a *tough* job, and if you're not tough enough to do it, you shouldn't be a cop! If you have to subdue some crazy crackhead, or keep a loon from attacking you, or a fellow officer, or a civilian, great, fine, that's what it's there for. If you use it to stop some kid from running around IN AN ENCLOSED AREA, or settling down a 10 year old girl, or stop that "don't tase me bro" hippy from asking a presidential candidate a question (you all know who I mean), then you're a lazy bag of shit, and should be doing something else to pay your bills.

In the case of the cop that tased the 10 year old, his department actually said he was being threatened by the girl, and could have been hurt. Oh my god. Right there, you shouldn't be a cop. They also said that it was that, or hit her with a baton, because they couldn't control her.

What?!? A cop, a grown man, couldn't control a 10 year old girl?!? Pick her ass up, you fucking pussy motherfucker! Jesus Harold Christ.

I think it's a fair distinction that I"m making. I'm sure every police department will disagree, and cry about how tough the job is. Sure it is. Unless you use your silly toy to do your job for you.

Back to school

2009-10-23T16:54:00.002-04:00

So, a little while back, I realized that my life had plateaued somewhat, and it was time to go do some stuff that I probably put off for far too long. In this case, that means school. College. Higher learnin. Trading in the blue collar for the white one.

Not that I mind being blue collar, mind you. I just want a job that's physically easier, where I make more money. I've also found that while driving a tractor trailer is, without a doubt, skilled labor, that once you get to the point where you can do it, and do it well, that's pretty much it. And I'm finding I simply need more mental stimulation.

So I've enrolled at DeVry University, in East Brunswick, NJ. It used to be one of those schools that I kind of looked down on...I didn't realize it was fully accredited, that it had real professors, etc. A friend of mine went to Cittone, and he said that it was really dodgy, that they had a very high level of turnover with their instructors, and he thought they all seemed to be just professionals who are in between real jobs. But I did some research, spoke to some IT recruiters, and found out that DeVry has a solid reputation, at which point I paid the school a visit, and liked what I saw. So I've enrolled. And now I'm a bona fide college student! Of course, being a fully accredited uni, I have to take humanities, literature, tons of math classes...stuff that I really, really don't want to take. What the fuck do I need with a poetry class? I know, I know. I'll be more well rounded. Im the fat guy, remember? I'm more than round enough.

The enrollment process was interesting...I haven't been to school in a long time, I had no valid credits to transfer, and so I had to take an entrance exam, which was broken down into four parts - reading comprehension, math (decimals and fractions), algebra, and a written essay. Except for algebra (hadn't studied any of that in about 24 years), I did really well...to the point where I started wondering if I was going to a school for dumb bunnies. I did get to speak with some professors, though, and they seemed as sharp as you would expect college professors to be, so that allayed my fears.

Hey, you people have to start telling me what I can get student discounts on. Seriously. I need to know this stuff. My friend Leon told me I can get discounts on Apple and Microsuck, my girl told me I can get discounts on Broadway plays (great, sign me up)...what about important things? Like Devils tickets?

Hey, I'm a college student! Fuck you! :-D

Went for a ride.

2009-02-10T20:44:00.003-05:00

Beautiful day for it, and we've had several in a row now. Somehow I've managed not to go for too many rides, but today I did. Not very far, not for very long...I started lifting at the gym yesterday, doing Joe Friels workout, and I didn't want to do a terribly long ride the first day after starting a new workout. Makes sense, right? Anyways, nice, easy ride, with the highlight being a 1/2 mile long, perfectly straight descent, down a 12% grade. I can usually hit around 45 mph, when motivated. The only problem is...there is an entrance/exit to a fairly busy highway about 3/4 of the way down, so you really have to be extra vigilent, or get squished. And predictably, wrecking the fun of going really fast, some dickhead was sitting on the side of the road, with his left hand blinker on, as though he were going to pull back out onto the road. He didn't, but I had to touch the brakes a couple times, and not pedal, to make sure I had the ability to get out of the way if he made his stupid move.

Waah, I could only do 37.5 mph, instead of 45. Waah.

Outside of that, it was nice. Even saw a couple other roadies, which is quite unusual in Sayreville...one on a Specialized, one on a Bianchi. Good to see other people out.

Anyways, that's all I got. I know it's not much...but I wanted to put something up, so that the ultra depressing post about Billy (RIP) wasn't the first thing you see upon coming to this blog...people were sending me email, making sure I wasn't going to kill myself. Sweet, but unnecessary. Thanks anyways, folks...

RIP Bill McLaughlin

2009-01-20T20:33:00.003-05:00

I just found out today that my friend is dead.

I am devastated...I can't believe it.

I don't think it's any worse to him at this point, but to me, finding out he killed himself...cut through me in a way I'm not even going to attempt to put into metaphor.

My friend was in pain, and now he's dead.

We had lost touch...probably haven't spoken in two, maybe three years. He got transferred from the place that I used to pass on Rt 17, in Hasbrook Heights, to a place in Passaic that's off the beaten path, for me, so I didn't have the chance to drop in on him in a while. I had a cell phone die an ugly death in the washing machine, so I had lost his phone number...but I always said, no problem...I can get the number for the new place anytime. And I will...I'll call him one of these days, we'll catch up on old times, it'll be great. So today, just by chance, I passed the place that he got transferred to...I passed it before I really realized it, and decided to give a call, rather than stop in. Looked it up on the iPhone, called...

...and found out my friend was in pain...

...and now he's dead.

It's narcissistic to think that I could have made a difference, maybe...but I still can't help but think...I could have helped...if only I'd picked up the phone the day before he'd had enough.

Right now, I hate myself more with every breath I take.

I've done my fair share of fucking things up in my life...I've wrecked relationships, said stupid things to people I care about, lost good gigs, and jobs, and through it all, through the disappointment of doing damage to my own life, I've been able to remain upbeat, even happy. When I've done some good, even happier...but that's beside the point. When things are going wrong, I've always had the ability to let it roll off my back...I get depressed, just like anybody, but it passes reasonably quickly, and I find something to laugh at.

I am not one tenth the person Billy was. He was in the top five of the best human beings I've met in my life. He was relentless about being a good person, even when being just a little loose with it would have benefited him. And yet, in the end, it seems that he didn't have that ability to let it go the way I do...and I can't think of a greater injustice. The world was better off with him in it...and would be better off if I was able to trade myself for Billy...and give him what I have.

I'd do it in a second. In a fucking heartbeat.

Rest in peace, Billy. I thought of you as a brother that I would always meet up with again...I'm better off for having known you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help.

Sammy Faq

2008-12-07T19:12:00.006-05:00

Sammy is a Blue and Gold Macaw

He is 3 years old (hatched 10/11/05)

Yes, he does talk.

No, I cannot make him talk on command.

He has approximately a 100 word vocabulary, so far.

He loves people food, he will eat almost anything you give him, although there are things that are harmful to him. He also loves nuts, a variety of seed, and chicken. Yes, chicken.

I do not know if he is male or female. It's impossible to tell, unless you do a DNA test. The test costs about $50, and I'll get it done one of these days. My money is on female.

Blue and Gold macaws generally cost about $1,500, but there are many more expenses, including cage, feed, vet bills, grooming, etc. Don't try to steal him, as you might get shot as you come through the door or window.

If he remains healthy, he will live about 70 years.

Yes, he does curse.

No, I will not put him on my head.

Todays ride, spinning

2008-11-27T16:50:00.004-05:00

Had a good ride today, with a fellow Skylands member, a gentleman named Gene. Gene races, and apparently is pretty strong, so I didn't really know what to expect...I don't usually ride with racers, as they are always "training". Which I suppose I should be doing as well...but it's Thanksgiving, and I just wanted to go for a couple hour ride, have a little human contact, since all of my people are in North Carolina right now, and enjoy the scenery in north western NJ, my favorite part of the state. Still, there's always a little trepidation with this kind of thing, since I don't race, and don't know the guy...is he going to drop my ass like a hot potato? Am I going to be a lead weight that he feels obligated to shepherd along?

Gene had put out an email last night, through the club mailing list, saying he wanted to do a couple hour base ride, and I figured, why not. He said it would be about a 17 mph pace, on flat terrain (in NW Jersey?). Great! I can keep a 17 mph pace on flat terrain pretty easily. And gas prices are low, so it won't impact the old wallet much. So, the plan was in effect. I woke up at 7:30 (ride was at 10), got my shit together, I'm out the door with plenty of time to get there, and, as is my custom when trying to hook up with Skylands rides, I found a way to fuck it up. 10 minutes out of the house, I realized I left my cycling shoes behind. Goddamnit. Went back, got them, got back on the road, and the goddamn GPS was telling me my arrival time would be about 10:15.

Now, Garmin GPS units don't take into account how fast you're going, when it gives you your ETA. It takes into account your position, and the speed limits on your route. So...I knew I could make up time, and I did - I arrived at 10:05, averaging about 12-15 mph over the speed limit. Safe? For you, probably not. But I'm a hell of a driver.

I actually pulled into the parking lot of the school that we were meeting at, immediately after Gene, so it was all good from a time perspective; this may have been helped by me emailing him en route...iPhones are a wonderful thing. We went for a somewhat hilly ride (I know there ain't no flat ground in that area), 30 miles or so, in about 2 hours. So, a little slower than planned, but I don't think I held us back, I think that's just the way the ride unfolded. We did a lot of yakking along the way. Here's the route we took:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7210726

Pretty good ride, just the right length...my legs were starting to get a little heavy at the end. Made a new friend. What else can you ask for on Thanksgiving?

In other news, I took my first spin class the other day...I don't feel any gayer, but you never know....

It's been a while, eh?

2008-10-17T12:44:00.003-04:00

Yeah, it's been a little while since I've posted. I've had an idea for an entry here and there, over the last month or two since I posted, but I procrastinate, and I just don't do it. For me, the time that I found easiest to post new entries was when I was actively training for the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge, which was preceded the week before by the Tour de Lake Hopatcong. I haven't been actively training since then, for a variety of reasons, therefore I haven't been posting.

The biggest reason I haven't been training, I posted a couple entries about - my back. Now, it's not really that much better, and I still haven't seen a doctor for it (stupid? Yes, of course. That's kind of my thing), but I have found a way to make it much more managable...lots and lots of core work. Which is good and bad - I desperately need to tighten up the middle, and core work does make you a better cyclist. I hate doing ab/core work...that's the bad part, but this back issue will keep me doing it.

I've actually done a fair amount of riding this week, starting with a group ride with Skylands, and followed up the next day with the TdLH route. Funny thing - the same semi-mountainous route that is so much fun, when you're training for it, is not nearly as much fun when you're 15 lbs heavier (pure fat), and you've only been on the bike about eight times in the last two months. I mean, epic fail. I did the ride with my friend Garrett (who's also the mechanic at my LBS), who rides a single speed mountain bike up ridiculous grades on a regular basis, and it was just embarrassing. He kicked my ass up and down that route. Well...maybe not down, so much...the added weight makes me one hell of a descender.

Overall, though, I was pleased...simply finishing a course, especially a tough one, without getting shooting pains down into my leg, is an accomplishment in itself. A month and a half ago, I literally thought I was going to have to sell my bikes. It was that bad.

Awful condition, though, absolutely awful. I've gone on two semi-recovery rides since then, 31 mile rides (same loop both times) that I can do from my front door, keeping about a 17 mph pace, and it's weird...first of all, my heartrate still hasn't really come back down to my normal resting rate...it's about 10 bpm faster than it usually is; on these two rides, it was higher than normal, and while it comes back down to 100 fairly quickly, it takes forever to get down to 90. My lower back is a little sore, which is a concern, but hopefully, that's just because I haven't been on the bike nearly enough lately.

So from here on out, I'm considering myself back in training, full time. I'll be getting back into the gym, on a very regular basis, for core, pilates, yoga (it can't hurt, right?), some weight training, and possibly some spin classes as well. Hopefully, I can be under 200 lbs in about 5 months. I've taken a couple pics of myself, sans shirt...they aren't flattering. I'm picturing them being the "before" pics, in about six months.

Hey, what could possibly go wrong? ;-)

German broadcasters "not amused" with Armstrong's comeback plans

2008-09-14T17:37:00.002-04:00

So, as unpopular an opinion as it may be, I'm pretty psyched that Armstrong is coming back. The way I see it, the only thing that realistically is going to stop him from winning Tour #8 is Contador's unreal climbing ability.

But...not everyone is as entertained as I am:

German television broadcaster ARD, which screens the Tour de France in that country in partnership with rival network ZDF, said Sunday it greets Lance Armstrong's planned comeback with skepticism.

Armstrong, who will be 37 on Thursday, announced last week that he plans to come out of retirement in a bid to win next year's Tour de France for the eighth time.

With Armstrong having been accused of doping in the past, Tour organizers have said he will be able to ride in the world's premier event next year if he complies with their strict rules in the fight against doping.

But the German broadcasters are "not amused.”

"For us, Armstrong is a piece of the past we don't want to see again," Rolf-Dieter Ganz, head of communications at ARD, told Sunday's edition of Die Welt.

Both ARD and ZDF stopped broadcasting the 2007 Tour de France during the event after German rider Patrick Sinkewitz failed a drugs test and are currently negotiating the contract to screen the 2009 Tour.

"When we renegotiate the contract, we will certainly sit round the table with the Tour director Christian Prudhomme and make it clear to him: we are not amused to hear about Armstrong's plans," said Ganz.

"The future belongs to young riders, certainly not to Armstrong's generation which we had hoped to have seen the last of."

With several riders having been caught doping during the competition in the last few years, the Tour's image has been damaged and the German broadcasters' attitude will carry some weight with the organizers as they look to gain important broadcasting revenue.

File this one right under "Fuck you, you humorless Kraut bastard". They aren't amused. Ok, file that one under "Who gives a fuck, you annoying, Holocaust camp running bastards".

A bit harsh? Maybe. But fuck them.

They aren't amused. His goddamn bloodwork is going to be online! You fucking half commie cunts used to spit in Armstrongs face, because Ulrich (a doper who got caught doping) couldn't beat him. He's 37, and has been out of the sport for several years. If you can't beat him now, he probably proved he never doped. So suck it up, you buying electricity from France motherfuckers.

Since when are Germans amused by anything? Other than, like, clocks, and warm beer.

Green country, my ass. You essentially outlaw nuclear power, then can't produce enough electricity, so you have to buy it from a country that gets it from...nuclear power! Amusing? You be the judge.

Landis is coming back, too. I can't wait til he shows Bernard "Conehead" Kohl how to time trial.

The Fat Guy is depressed, part II

2008-08-16T19:51:00.004-04:00

So it seems I might have a damaged disk in my back. Great. All these years of dealing with tendon problems, I finally get past them (with the help of the greatest chiropractor/massage therapist/ART practitioner in the world), and now my lower back is damaged, permanently. I really don't know how I'm going to deal with this...I mean, I've worked hard, and spent a lot of time saving money to buy these ridiculously expensive bicycles, and now I have lower back pain if I ride more than ten miles. At about 15.5 mph.

I had been planning to slow down, anyways...I have/had this plan to just do LSD (long slow distance) rides, for the rest of the year. My goal was to not exceed a 15 mph average for the rest of the year, solely working on getting used to a higher constant cadence, in the 90-100 rpm range, and developing the soft/connective tissue in my knees and ankles, which I've had many problems with in the past. Then, hit the weights in the winter, while riding the rollers when it's too cold to go out, then start doing serious intervals, hill repeats, etc, next spring.

Why do I think I have a disk problem, you ask? Well, it started a couple months ago...my back just started hurting a little, down low, right at the top of my pelvis, so I found a good chiropractor, who understands the stresses a cyclist goes through, and made an appointment. Saw him twice, my back felt great, off I went. Couple months later, my back is bothering me again, but not badly, so I ignore it. Then, one morning I woke up, and my back was mangled. My girl later told me I was sleeping in a weird position (thanks for not giving me a shove, hon!), and it must have been a bizarre one, cause I've been twisted ever since. It mainly seems to bother me when I drive...which is unfortunate, cause I drive a ton. I get out of the car, and I'm bent over like an old man for 5-10 minutes. So I go see the chiro again, he breaks up some scar tissue in the muscle in my lower back, cracks me up, and off I go (planning to see him a week later). That was on a wednesday. The following friday, I went for a ride, in the Atlantic Highlands. If you look at the link, you'll see it was a slow average speed ride, but that's because there were lots and lots of 18-20% grades. On one of these grades my back went out on me a little, and I felt a pain shooting down into my leg. When I told the good doctor about it, he said that sounded symptomatic of a disk problem. Which, as you might imagine, is absolutely the last thing I wanted to hear. That was last wednesday, it's now Sunday, and my lower back is sore, but it's more soreness in the muscle, where he worked on me...which he told me to expect. Outside of that, no shooting pains, or anything.

My one real hope is, I've also been dealing with a groin injury...and the shooting pain might actually have been that. I'm not fooling myself here, it really was that area that was giving me trouble the rest of the day. Not a lot to hang my hat on, I know, but...I gotta have a little hope. But I figure about a 75% chance that I do have a disk issue. Of course, I'm a pessimist.

Next stop - MRI-ville!

Ouch

2008-08-09T09:08:00.002-04:00

Ok, yeah, haven't been posting much, but real life has intervened quite a bit, and let's face it - I really have nothing to say anyways.

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to write now and again, and so here it is. I've pretty much lost all the fitness I gained while training last spring...put back on 10 disgusting pounds...and even more fun, I've managed to mangle myself. I don't know how, exactly, but I'm definitely hurting. My left achillies tendon, my right knee, and worst of all, my back. My lower back. Shooting pains down into my right leg. Now, my chiropractor, who's by far the best in the world, has assured me that it's just a little compression, and a couple of adjustments and some appropriate home-based exersise will fix me right up. And, that cycling won't make it worse. So I went for a ride yesterday, with a couple guys from my LBS.

The ride took place in the Atlantic Highlands region of NJ, and was actually a very cool ride, except for the pain. Oh yeah, pain. Back pain, plus 10 extra pounds, plus...20% grades (!), equals pain. And Rog slowing up the group. Yikes...all of a sudden, 10% grades seemed like nothing. I'm starting to think, though, that it's important for me to be on the bike A LOT more, and for a purpose - to make next year much more enjoyable. So I think the rest of the year is going to be spent spinning, at ridiculously slow speeds. I'm setting a goal of not averaging more than 15 mph for the rest of the year, and hopefully get in at least 150 mile per week. That won't be easy, as I just joined yet another band, but hey, without a goal to not live up to, I'd have no reason to have my own blog.

And that right there, is enough for me.

Floyd Landis decision expected Monday

2008-06-28T16:36:00.003-04:00

Great, this is fantastic. The greatest example of ignoring your own protocols will finally come to an end. The farce and tragedy that is the theft of Floyds '06 victory will be complete.

Now, don't fuck it up - I'm no Floyd apologist. Did he dope? I tend to think no, but if you gave me conclusive proof that he did, I wouldn't fall down from the shock. But two things - the lab that did the tests *didn't follow their own rules*. No matter how much you hate Floyd, and there are a lot of people that do, you are being disingenuous if you deny me this point. I'm not going in to how they didn't. It's been covered ad-infinitum. If you really don't know, and want to, go here. Everything you need to know is there, and you can even buy it in book form now, apparently.

Reason number two: Living in a world where Oscar Periero is a Tour champion is offensive to me. He's a nice rider, but...come on.

Coincidence that it happens the week before the Tour starts? Sure. Probably.

There is an obnoxious commercial running on Vs, the tv network that broadcasts the Tour in the US, entitled Take Back the Tour. In it, they show Floyd being awarded his yellow jersey...but they show it in reverse, as though they were taking it back, as well as a few other riders...including David Millar! Anti-doping crusader David Millar is vilified in this commercial. Funny. I'd love to see that commercial have it's legs taken out from under it by CAS naming Floyd the '06 Tour champ.

This is the first time, in quite some time, that I've looked forward to a Monday.

See youse there... ;-)

The Fat Guy is depressed.

2008-05-31T08:19:00.003-04:00

Went for a thirty mile ride yesterday, mostly flat.

The Fat Guy actually gained a pretty good level of fitness whilst training for the Tour de Lake Hopatcong, and the 3 State, 3 Mountain Challenge. Said fitness has gone the way of something that has gone away (depression doesn't equal witty metaphors for me. Sorry).

This is a ride that used to be a recovery ride for me...30 miles, slightly hilly at the beginning, but then the second half is pancake flat. And man, are my legs dead. My legs are dead, my lungs aren't very good, my heartrate was never below 120, and was usually up around 170. For a flat ride, in which I averaged 15.7 mph. Good god.

Oddly, when my heartrate monitor was chirping at me that my heart rate was too high, at 185 plus, I felt fine.

Best part of this ride? When I flatted. I got to rest for a few minutes. Sheesh.

Healthy eating is my white whale. Even now, I'm planning on going out to get a pork roll and cheese sandwich. I imagine this will raise my heart rate another 10 bpm.

*sigh*

As a musician, when I have a bad set (regardless of how good everyone else tells me it was - my standard is pretty high), I get real down on myself. For me, it's a slippery slope - bad set - depression - and all of a sudden, now I think I'm an awful human being. It goes away when I have a good set. Sick, right? Now, apply that to bicycling, but unlike music, where I have a high level of proficiency, I'm a fat, slow cyclist. There's no chance I'm going to ride well...

I better have a really good set tonight.... *grr*

Perhaps a cleavage shot of Liz Hatch will cheer me up!

Nope, didn't help. Damn...this is bad...

Haven't posted in a while

2008-05-25T21:18:00.002-04:00

Stuff has happened.

Lots of wild, crazy stuff!

Almost too much to tell.

I RODE MY BIKE!!!

Over some hills, over some dales.

Went on the road, went down south...

Then I was sick for a while. I think I ran myself into the ground.

Things have happened, things have happened.

Since getting back, haven't really been on the bike, but I'm getting ready to ride more again.

Tour of Somerville is tomorrow, so I might go for a ride, or I might go watch people ride. Who knows?

Either way, more things are going to continue to happen.

Sincerely,

Your hero,

Rog

TdLH Follow up

2008-04-28T22:23:00.002-04:00

So, the results were posted today, and I didn't finish dead last. There were two people behind me. In one of the all-time great scoring travesties, though, they had me listed as finishing in 3 hours even. Incorrect - it was 2:54. Imagine that...this was a ride that benefited the cops, and they stole 6 minutes from me! Those snakes. Worse - they had the two people that finished behind me, finishing in the same time! Gasp! They hadn't even finished by the time I got my bike in my car! I would guess they were about ten minutes behind me.

All joking aside...I looked up the time of the guy that won...2:05 (assuming it was accurate). He beat me by 50 minutes. Yikes. A guy named Jon Kameen, who, of course, was a skinny little thin mint. I want to say it's my goal to win this thing next year, but I have to be honest with myself...that would be a real tall order, and would take a ton of work. Hill repeats, intervals, diet...can I do all that for a year? One wonders...

Ok, Jon Kameen, you're on my radar, punk.

The (semi)Official List of Things Rog is Better than Jon Kameen At:

Playing them drums, or any other kind of percussion,
Boxing,
Jiu-jitsu,
Pizza eating contests,
Lollygagging,
Self-loathing

Just wait til next year.

The Tour de Lake Hopatcong

2008-04-27T20:14:00.003-04:00

I had no idea yesterday, whether I'd be riding in the Tour de Lake Hopatcong today. I had no idea last night. I had no idea if I was even going to go, the first and second time I hit snooze this morning. I could hear rain. Rain was forecast for today since last week. It rained last night, it was raining this morning. Hell, I'm up, right? It's either drive out there, or clean my apartment. And besides, since I pre-registered, I was to receive a free pint glass...and I'm almost out of glasses, so that was a pretty serious enticement. So I load up the car, feed the bird, feed myself, and I'm off. It's raining a little bit down by me, but it stopped by the time I got to 287. By the time I got to Arlington, where the ride started, the streets were pretty much dry, for the most part, so that settles that, I'm riding. And hoping it doesn't rain. The skies were very overcast, some might even say threatening, but I'm not going home just because of a cloud.

So I go in the building where we register, sign in, get my pint glass, change, blah blah blah, and we're off. Probably about 35-40 riders, and man, did they get to dropping me quick. Right off the bat, there was a steep grade, between a quarter and a half mile long, and the conversation I was having with the guy next to me ended right there. I like to keep my pulse rate under 150 for the first 3 miles or so, generally, but that went right out the door. Steep climb, steep descent, and now I'm trailing everyone except for a couple that were clearly just out for a cruise. I'm not a great descender, and although I'm getting better, I'm really not a great descender when I don't know the roads. So, ok, time to get to work. The next few miles weren't bad...some short, semi-steep rollers, but I deal with that all the time down here on the Jersey Shore, so not a problem. I get warmed up, and I can see the pack off in front of me, and I try to bridge up to them, but it just ain't happening, and I set my sights on picking off a straggler or two.

This ride went clockwise around Lake Hopatcong, which is funny, because a good friend of mine lives right on the lake, so I passed right in front of his house. Is he there to wave? Hell no, he has a family, and a life. Good on him. Anyways, long story short, the hills quickly started getting out of hand, and I started getting gassed. Thank god that when you go up, you have to come back down. I was actually kind of worried about my knee throughout a lot of this ride, as I've been dealing with some pain in it in longer rides, and I (perhaps foolishly) did a 63 mile ride with 4800 feet of climbing, in small, but potent doses, and my knee was still hurting from that. Somehow, I managed to keep it at bay - something Edison Road, in Ogdensburg, did not help with.

Edison Road. I pre-drove the course, a few weeks ago, so I knew about Edison Road. In fact, looking at the cue sheet, when it says to turn onto Edison Road, it said "Get ready to climb". Huh? I though we had been climbing. Shows what I know. Edison Road is about 4 miles long, and it's got a couple of pretty relentless sections. I had kind of been dreading getting there, but I had dealt with most of the climbs up to that point ok, dropping down into low gear, which in my case was 39-27, and grinding it out. A couple times I had to just roll the pedals over, but I handled everything, so Edison Road would just be the same, but longer, right?

Let me put it this way - ouch.

Now, it's great, because I did want to challenge myself, but that road had me on the limit a couple times...I hate to say it, but I even had to stop at one point, and recover for a minute. I couldn't help wondering how much easier it would have been if I'd been good about the diet for the whole 6 weeks leading up to this...maybe I'd have been 10-15 lbs lighter, maybe I'd have made it the whole way up. But I digress.

About halfway up, there's a nice little park, which is only open to Ogdensburg residents - which, I gotta tell ya, I find kind of annoying. But it was pretty, so I stopped to take a couple pictures. While I was doing so, this guy, who I'd caught and passed, caught back up to me and passed me back.

The nerve. However, since it's easy to beat someone in a race, when they have no idea you're racing them, I knew I'd have my say in how things went, so I let him go while I snapped a couple more pics of the park that outsiders aren't allowed at.

My mind must have decided to block out the rest of that climb, when I drove it, cause I thought I was pretty much at the top when I was at the xenophobic park. Nope, only about halfway. Ouch, ouch, and ouch. Catch the guy, pass him again, ouch ouch ouch. Finally get to the top, and then get to do some nice, chilly descending. It was a chilly day, mid-fifties, and although I brought arm and leg warmers, I should have brought a wind vest for the descents. Cause I sweated up a storm on the climbs...and sweaty climb + long descent - wind vest = brrr!

The rest of the ride went pretty much the same...lots of fairly difficult rollers, one more long, hard climb (at the top of which I must have looked pretty shot, as a roadie going the other way asked if I was ok, and let me know I was at the top). I had to stop one more time, within a mile or so of the finish, on a half mile long, very steep climb...which annoyed me to no end. But, at long last, I got there.

All in all, I'm slow as all git out, but I was really happy I made the effort...and really, really, really happy I set out to get myself into shape over the last six weeks. I never would have made those climbs otherwise. And on that note, my friend Garrett was supposed to come, but got derailed by family obligations. Had he come, it might have gotten ugly. His cassette is an 8 speed, 13-23, and I was going to go with my 11-23, just to show a little solidarity. Thank god I didn't have to do that. I definitely would have had to stop a couple more times if I did...the extra 4 teeth in back was oh, so necessary.

But I've been needing a challenge like this, to force myself to get it together...and I feel like I'm going to keep the ball rolling. I love riding - and the more weight I lose, and the stronger I get, the more I love it. Next year...well, I might not compete for the win, but I'll represent much better on the big hills. And mark my words, I'll do it with that 11-23.

This coming Saturday, the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge. Bring it on.

Wow

2008-04-26T22:39:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I know. It's in some crazy, non-english jibberish. Even the sub-titles make no sense whatsoever. Watch it anyways.

Why can't we have shit like this in the good ole US of freakin A?

Things are coming around

2008-04-25T21:54:00.002-04:00

Good ride today - the Atlantic Highlands route again. Today I averaged 1.5 mph faster than last time, and was much less thrashed when I got back home. Except for a twinge in my knee, and a bit of neck/shoulder soreness (from holding up my gigantic melon head), a great ride, and definitely got to see some progress.

I have a couple big rides coming up - the Tour de Lake Hopatcong, this Sunday, and then the 3 State, 3 Mountain challenge; both of which are rides which feature challenging climbs. To deal with this more easily, I put a 12-27 cassette on. I never got all the way down to the 27, but I did get to the 24 a couple times. It's remarkable how much of a difference that one tooth makes. I do definitely prefer the 11-23 for around here (probably will more and more as I continue to lose weight), and I'm sure I'll go right back to it after these rides, but it's the right move for these two rides coming up. I almost wish I could switch to a compact crankset for it. Can't though, and really, I should be able to get over anything short of the Dolomites with a 39 - 27.

I feel I've really hit a tipping point with the training I've been doing - I can go longer, harder, and feel much fresher when I get back home. The first time I did the Atlantic Highlands ride really seems to have been the catalyst for that, too. I'm definitely climbing better...I can jump out of the saddle and dance on the pedals now...at least as much as a fat guy can dance on pedals. Overall, I'm really happy with where I'm at right this minute. I haven't been as disciplined as I want to be with my diet, or hit the abs as much as I want, but everything outside of that is going the way I want it to. Hopefully, some good rides this week, starting Sunday (I'm doing a very light recovery ride tomorrow - just an easy spin), and I'll really be motivated and psyched to continue getting leaner, stronger, faster all through the rest of the season.

That's it for now, hooligans. Get the hell off my porch. ;-)

Gearing up

2008-04-25T07:50:00.003-04:00

Only about a week and a couple days til the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge, and two days til the Tour de Lake Hopatcong, which might get rained out. Actually, I've spoken to them, and they say it's a rain or shine ride, but I'm not going to do it in the rain. Sissy? Maybe.

Anyways, I just put a 12-27 on the bike, so I should be ok. Picked up a bug screen for the bike, so it should be ok up on the roof for the ride into Tennessee. Everything is falling into place, including my fitness. Went for a 30 mile ride the other day, felt strong all the way through it. One more training ride today, a 60+ miler, with lots of hills, a recovery ride tomorrow (or the rollers, if it's raining), and I'm good to go for Hopatcong.

I'm getting psyched...time to go for a ride!

I'm giddy!

2008-04-19T12:08:00.003-04:00

It's crappy food day! All week long, I've been eating really healthy...the plan was to kill the diet all week long, then Saturday, I get to have one disgusting meal. And then back on the diet again. I'm going to have a cheesesteak from Rudolpho's!!!!! Heeeeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!!!

Oh god, this is going to be so good. A cheesesteak, a Mountain Dew, and some fritos. I am going to be a worthless lump the rest of the afternoon.

By the way - the scale told me 236 this morning (down from 244 last Sunday). I'm betting it tells me something different tomorrow.

Cheesesteak!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!

Great ride today

2008-04-18T22:47:00.004-04:00

Long, and somewhat slow. I generally keep a somewhat better pace than todays, but I was hampered by a little Garmin confusion at first; I had loaded this route into the Garmin, but it seems the Garmin gets a bit confused when confronted with a route that crosses over itself a couple times...then later in the ride, my stomach was acting up a bit, probably a result of having two root beers at lunch. But, a great ride nonetheless...challenging, and great scenery for the most part. The Jersey Shore - yet another part of NJ that people from other states, who rag on NJ even though they only know it from bad jokes, and an 8 mile stretch of the Turnpike, should be forced to go see. Since they can't, or won't, here's exhibit A:

Here's the stats for the ride http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5430061.

The climb up to that rest area was definitely a challenge for a big, flatlanding clydesdale like myself. I love the climbing, but I'm built for punching a hole through wind on flat terrain. In fact, several times, I've gone out for a ride while it was windy, and at one point or another realized that some little thin mint, who can climb circles around me, but is afraid of wind on the flats, has been wheelsucking, without announcing his presence. Cheesy barnacles...

Anyways, 4,734 feet of climbing, over a 60 mile course, makes for a tired Rog, so even though I planned on going into more detail about this ride, I think I'm going to bag it, in favor of visiting the wonderful land of nod. Be good, you hooligans.

But weight, there's more

2008-04-17T10:48:00.003-04:00

I haven't been talking so much about what I weigh, even though losing weight to make riding in the mountains easier was one of my original goals. Reason being I wasn't doing a very good job of taking it off. I'm definitely getting a lot more exercise, being out on the bike so much, but although I'd started incorporating more healthy food into my diet, I hadn't cut out the shit - the pork roll and cheese sandwiches, the mountain dew, the potato chips... Well, I'm conducting an experiment. I'm eating nothing but an organic vegetarian (not quite vegan - I won't give up honey!) diet for a solid week, drinking only water (ok, a juice glass of orange juice per day), and not eating before I go to bed.

So far, I'm four days into this plan, I feel great, more alert mentally, and I've lost seven pounds.

Seven. In four days. Sunday, I was 246.8, monday I was 244. Tuesday I was 242, Wednesday I was 239, and today I'm 237.6.

I gotta say, I'm impressed.

So, Saturday I reward myself with a big, shitty meal, and then I get back on it. I'm going to see how far I can get, and although I can be a bit willpower-challenged, hopefully I'll just keep going, and going, and going, until I'm at my target weight of 185.

P.S. - if I go spiralling back down the junk food ladder, I give everyone permission to bust my balls, and call me a fat fuck.

A little more than two weeks to go

2008-04-15T09:33:00.002-04:00

Last week was frustrating. I got a good ride in on Saturday, was impressed with how much stronger my legs have become. Got another good 30 miles in on Tuesday, but my back started hurting on Saturday, seemed better by Tuesday, but then got a lot worse after the ride. And it's hard to tell with your back what the problem is. Muscle soreness? Muscle imbalance? Need an adjustment (anybody got a good chiropractor?)? Or something worse than that - a disk problem. I kind of think it's a combination of the first three - my abs are pathetic - but I've been hurt but good a few times, and I have a couple permanent reminders. Having a bad lower back for the rest of my life just wouldn't work for me, so I've been off the bike ever since. Stretching constantly - I can almost touch my toes. Hooray.

My last "training" ride before going to Tennessee, will be the Tour de Lake Hopatcong. For anybody that trashes New Jersey, at least driving this route should be a requirement; nothing but scenic mountain lake after scenic state park. Rural living at its best, with less rural settings just minutes away. But I haven't seen the whole ride course, so I decided to take a drive up there, and take a look for myself.

Whoa.

It's got an awful lot of climbing. In fact, most of the first 10 miles is climbing, then there's a more or less flat section for about 2 miles, then the route sheet says "Get ready to climb". What?!? And that section is pretty crazy...it might not be Alpe de Huez, but it's pretty impressive. If it weren't for the back pain, I'd be raring to go. I'm still looking forward to it...it's going to beat me up, but good.

26 days to go

2008-04-06T18:16:00.002-04:00

Er ah...ok, a little good, a little bad last week. I got virtually no riding in before Saturday, the result of rain, and a little bit of laziness. I also started eating a lot healthier, finally...but went flying off the tracks several times. Oreos and the like were eaten.

The bright side, though. Yeah, the bright side. Went for my usual Saturday ride, from my place, to Bike Haven, which is my "LBS", or local bike shop...although it's not really that local to me. But, it's the best shop around, and it's a good ride - 55 miles round trip.

It was supposed to be yet another rainy day, but it turned out to be absolutely beautiful. Sunny, 60 degrees...no need for knee warmers, which makes me happy. Knee/leg warmers, while sometimes necessary, are a pain in the ass...especially if you're riding more than 30 miles or so, and they need to be adjusted. Just a big pain. So, the warm weather was great, although I still almost sissed out, due to the wind. Not just the wind, though...there's something else. This may seem obvious, but for the first couple of weeks that I was training for this ride, I felt terrible, and simply put, I hate feeling like that. Its bad enough I have to lug all this extra body weight up and down hills, but I don't have any legs, either, and that just makes this no fun. Id look at my bike, and it looks fast even sitting still, and I want to ride. I'm dying to ride. But then I get out there, and I just want to go back inside, cause I'm so bad at it...but this week, finally, I hit a bit of a turning point; my legs are coming back.

I actually almost didn't even do this ride - warm as it was, it was windy, and fat + no legs + wind = no fun. And I certainly would have let that be my excuse if I didn't have that ride coming up in May, but I know what that ride will be like if I don't get in the miles now, so I sucked it up and off I went. And I had a great ride down to Bike Haven, albiet a little wind aided. And suprisingly enough, I had a great ride back. Into the wind. That is a great sign, and now I can't wait for the next ride.

Thats it, thats all I got for now.

29 days to go

2008-04-03T15:33:00.001-04:00

WHAT IS WITH ALL THE MOTHERFUCKING RAIN ON MY DAYS OFF?!?!?!?!?

33 days

2008-03-30T16:48:00.003-04:00

Fucking loser.

What an absolutely pathetic effort today.

Ok, there's this loop that I can take from my house, about 9 miles long. Hilly, but...short. My plan today was really, really easy...two laps, about an hour of riding. I did one lap, and stopped.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Arrgh! I keep thinking of that Lance quote - "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever". My knee hurt a little, nothing that would have gotten worse, I don't think. And when I first set out, I was not feeling good at all...which was totally my fault. I didn't warm up one bit. I spun for about 2/10 of a mile, and then tried to go hard up a hill. One mile in, and I'm wondering why my heart rate is 160, and I'm only going 12.2 mph. Got over the hill, soft pedaled down the other side, wasn't close to being recovered by the end. On it went, for about 4 miles...finally started feeling better, but just wanted to go home at that point. Plus, there's kind of an odd phenomenon here...the wind goes all the way around the loop. If there's a tailwind, there's a tailwind all the way around. And 90% of the time, there is a tailwind, which I was kind of counting on today. But today, there was a headwind. Was it a tough headwind, you ask? Nope. It was probably about 8 mph. But that was enough to make me sis out.

Lots of healthy cooking is going to happen tonight. That should help. Also, sleep. I only got about 4 hours last night - no good whatsoever. I'm hoping for at least 7 tonight.

Ok, that's all I got. If I'm home early enough tomorrow, with good enough weather, 30 miles. If not, perhaps the gym?

I'm so goddamn sick of being fat.

34 days to go

2008-03-29T21:17:00.002-04:00

I don't feel great. I wonder why...could it be the pork roll and cheese sandwich I had for dinner (smart move, when you're training)? Could it be the 54 miles I turned in today? Ah, at least I ate a healthy breakfast and lunch. Still no gym, though, so still no letting myself buy bike schwag. And I need me some shwag (sch, or sh? Neither really looks right), so I better get my fat ass in the gym tomorrow.

Ok, rode down to Bike Haven and back today, 54 miles, 3 hours, 28 minutes. 12 mph tailwind on the way down, 12 mph headwind on the way back. What I wouldn't give for a reverse of this scenario - I'd much rather punch my way through the wind when I feel strong; of course, maybe it's better this way. It's definitely not more fun.

I have more to say on the subject, but I'm pretty whipped, and still need to clean off my bike, and get a shower, so...f off.

35 Days

2008-03-28T15:15:00.004-04:00

Ok. I have 35 days left, including today, to get ready for the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge. I thought it was 37, but according to the ticker on the official website, it's 35. So be it. So far, it's not going so well...I have not cleaned my diet up at all; well, maybe I drink a little less soda, and a little more water. But I haven't cut out the junk food at all, and the situation is getting dire. I'm at 242.6 lbs today. I figure I'll die on one of those mountains if I'm a gram over 230. It'll be easy to lose that kind of weight, so long as I'm not a complete asshole. Of course...that begs the question...

What if I'm a complete asshole?

And that's one of the great things about this challenge...I really get to find some things out about myself. Am I an asshole? Do I have the very low level of willpower I need to pull this off? Because, really, it's not going to take that much. Maybe 10 hours on the bike a week, another 3 or 4 in the gym, and some very simple, basic diet adjustments, and I'm good to go. Not that hard. Not that hard at all.

Ok, 35 days. I'll be realistic, and say I'll be on the bike, or in the gym, 80% of those days. That means 28 days, on the bike, or in the gym. Thank god I don't have kids, right? And the lovely Kate is in LA for the next 6 weeks, so no excuses based on time, unless work gets in the way. But that's why I budgeted out those 7 days. Getting the proper rest is going to take still more discipline and organization, as well, but said rest is of paramount importance to just being able to do something like this, and you lose more weight when you sleep enough, even given the same effort. It's scientifically proven. Ask anybody.

Oh god, do I hate the gym, though. My core is, as Stanhope says, soft and doughy. Go ahead, poke it. It'll jiggle. I've taken some pics of topless Rog, for a bit of before and after, but mainly for comedic effect...they'll be posted in late April. Consider yourself warned. I am giving myself an inducement, a carrot on a stick, if you will...I'm not allowing myself to buy anything until I go to the gym. Will I go today? No. I'm cleaning my tastefully decorated townhouse.

I'm not even going to detail what I've eaten today. It's pathetic.

Hey, there's other things going on in the world...Floyd Landis' appeal is being heard by CAS as we speak. Anybody know anything about that? I wonder why the cloak of silence this time around...is it a CAS regulation? Did Floyd realize how much the open court hurt him, public opinion wise? Either way, I think while an open court is best for everyone in general, for Floyd specifically, this is the better option. He has none of Lance Armstrongs ability to positively control his public image.

Good luck, Floyd, even if winning means you have to ride for Rock Racing.

Monday and Tuesday

2008-03-18T06:59:00.002-04:00

Ok, Mondays stats:

246 lbs (you fat fuck)

The menu wasn't pretty. A bagel, toasted and buttered, a turkey and provolone sub, small, and pizza. About 1.5 liters of water, and some lemonade. I was kind of tired, big suprise, the way I ate, right? But I got some time in the saddle. 20 of the most pathetic miles you'll ever see, which was to be expected after a sedentary, junk food (Wendys!) laden month and a half. It was really pathetic, draggingmy fat ass over the little bitty rollers on rt 34. And while the new Dura-Ace stuff was very nice, the 11-23 cassette was killing me. But you gotta start somewhere, and its going to hurt when you do. At this point, pain is good.

Tuesday:

243.8 lbs

Gym day! Its still early, and I'll update it throughout the day. I'll tell you this - I am dreading going to the gym. Core work on the worlds softest core.

The menu so far is off to a much better start. Slow cooked, steel cut organic oatmeal, with a tablespoonful of raw honey, and a scoop of hemp protein powder, a handful of Gary Null super vitamins, half a glass of lemonade, and some water. An organic apple. Some pizza (I wanted a turkey sandwich, but the deli was closed!).

More to come.

A New Beginning

2008-03-16T13:20:00.005-04:00

No, not as in a Star Wars new beginning. Yesterday I signed up for the 3-States 3-Mountains Challenge. 100 miles, from Tennessee to Georgia to Alabama and back to Tennessee. It takes place in about six weeks, on May 3rd; so for the next few weeks, this is going to be kind of a training log blog.

Now, I'm in awful shape; without a doubt, the worst shape of my adult life, which is going to make getting in shape for this ride a real challenge. Which is exactly what I need; I need a challenge, something to motivate me. Without that challenge, I'll just keep getting fatter and fatter, as I slowly but surely become one with the couch. The way I feel now is unacceptable, and this ride is going to force me to do something about it. I also need something like this just because I've become something of a hermit. The lovely Kate spends the weekends at my place when she's able, I hang out with my good friend Mike Massimo every couple weeks; outside of that, its go to work, come home, don't bother me. Sammy (my macaw), is my constant companion, which is fine by me, but I probably need more human interaction than that.

Ok, thats enough for now... Over the next few weeks, I'll be detailing what I eat, how much I train, as well as what I weigh. This should be fun.

RIP Jeff Healey

2008-03-03T19:41:00.002-05:00

I wasn't the biggest fan of Jeff Healeys music. It wasn't because of his songwriting, rather the genre always came off as a little limited to me, whether it was Healey, Stevie Ray, Clapton, or BB King. But Healey was a hell of a player.

Blind. Self-taught. Astonishing in its own right. But he was actually really good, and deserved whatever fame he had found; he was no gimmick. More importantly, he was something that I strive for - capable. Capable of overcoming, to an extent that makes me feel ashamed for every time I whinged about not making an effort, for whatever stupid reason. Too cold to go for a bike ride. Too tired to practice. Man, what bullshit. Jeff Healey is...was...an inspiration, and I'm sorry he's gone. I just read his last three albums were jazz, instead of the blues-rock I had known him for. I'll have to check some of it out.

You've earned your peace, Jeff. Rest well.

Maggie is tougher than you.

2008-02-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

My man, Magnus Bäckstedt is one tough cookie. Just a week after he wrecks his collarbone, and donates several patches of skin, he's back on the trainer. Good job, Maggie...

It never stops shocking me

2008-01-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

The absolute lack of humanity that abounds these days is shocking to me. I simply don't get how one human being can look at another and just see ... something in his way, totally lacking any understanding, feeling, empathy, whatever...for the fact that the other person is just as much a human being, feels just as much sense of importance in his own life, has people that loves/cares about him just as much...

Lately, there have been a lot of bicyclists dying after getting run over. Some of the people who do the running over don't even get punished. A couple years ago, a guy that posts on a bike forum website I frequent was killed - killed - by a 17 year old girl who didn't see that she was about to end a human life because she was text messaging a friend of hers while driving. She received virtually no punishment - just a ticket.

That's bad enough - but then there's this cunt, who was driving on a license that was suspended for drunk driving already. Thank god she actually got punished in this case:

TUCSON, Arizona - A judge sentenced a woman to nearly the maximum prison term for negligent homicide after hearing a recorded jail conversation in which she made light of the cyclist she killed.

Melissa Arrington, 27, was convicted two months ago of negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated drunk-driving in connection with the December 2006 death of Paul L'Ecuyer.

She could have received as few as four years behind bars, but Superior Court Judge Michael Cruikshank sentenced her Tuesday to 10 1/2 years — one year shy of the maximum.

Cruikshank said he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and an unknown male friend, a week after L'Ecuyer was killed, to be "breathtaking in its inhumanity."

During the conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."

Arrington laughed. When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

Lawyer: She's always felt remorseful
Assistant Public Defender Michael Rosenbluth told the judge his client has never been "cold, callous or flippant" about L'Ecuyer's death and has always felt remorseful.

Arrington said words couldn't express how she feels, and that once she's out of prison, she hopes to share her story with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

L'Ecuyer, 45, was riding his bike the night of Dec. 1, 2006, when Arrington swerved off the road, hit him and then continued for 800 feet before stopping, according to Deputy Pima County Attorney Jonathan Mosher.

Arrington's blood-alcohol content was .156 percent, nearly double Arizona's .08 legal limit. She had been driving on a suspended license for a prior drink-drive conviction.

Oh wow, yeah. She plans on sharing her story with MADD. That's great. Will the cyclist still be dead? Will she have her license back? Will she start drinking the second she gets out of jail?

And if that's not bad enough, then there's this guy:

By HAROLD HECKLE Associated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain Jan 25, 2008 (AP)
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A speeding motorist who killed a teenage cyclist is suing the boy's parents over damage to his luxury car, the government says.

Enaitz Iriondo, 17, died instantly in August 2004 when businessman Tomas Delgado's Audi A8 crashed into him at 100 mph near Haro in northern Spain, an Interior Ministry traffic report said. The speed limit was 55 mph.
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Iriondo was not wearing reflective clothing or a helmet, the ministry report said. As the sun had set when he crossed the path of Delgado's car from a side road, a regional court found both parties at fault and closed the case, the report said.

Delgado, whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,500 in compensation for their son's life, filed a suit in late 2006 to recover $29,400 in damages to his car and car rental costs, the ministry traffic report said.

"It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais, which first reported the story on Friday. El Pais said a ruling was expected next week.

Iriondo's parents were shocked.

"It's the final straw, a stab in the back," Iriondo's mother, Rosa Trinidad said, according to El Pais. "Before the lawsuit we thought the poor guy would find it hard to live the rest of his life with the thought of having caused our son's death.

The European Union's statistics office says Spain recorded 113 traffic fatalities per million inhabitants in 2004. The average for the 25-nation bloc was 95. In 2006, 3,016 people died on Spain's roads.

So...in China, when the state executes you, they then send your family a bill for the bullet. No, I'm not kidding - your family has to pay for the bullet that killed you. This guy just brings a new level of heartless to the world. I wish I had his address, so I could post it ... it's really unspeakably vile to me. Hopefully, the Spanish courts throw this one out, and admonish the man for being such a fucking leetch.

Ok, I'm going out for a bike ride now. If you are in your car, and you see me...give me some room, ok? My family would miss me as much as yours would miss you.

Stupid blog

2008-01-24T18:52:00.001-05:00

Ugh...Ok, so about 30% of the people who have the unfortunate loss of ten seconds of their life that is stumbling across my blog get here from Trust But Verify, which quotes my occasional Floyd Landis comments for some reason, a bunch more find it because of the pic of Tom Boonen shitting himself, and the rest used to find their way here through a link in my sig file, that goes out with my email, newsgroup postings, etc. For the last couple months, I've taken the URL of this site out of my sig, and replaced it with Republican For a Day, which expressed my support for Ron Paul's presidential campaign. It looks like that's going to be over soon, and that means I'll have to switch the URLs back around. Which means I'll actually have to start coming up with some goddamn content for this shitty site.

God, I'm lazy. I mean, I have some stuff to say, but I'm just too goddamn lazy to post it. Even typing this is torture...

Vote for Ron Paul in the primaries/caucuses, so I don't have to update my blog! Fuckers!

Floyd Landis is killing me

2008-01-05T09:52:00.000-05:00

This guy just...he simply must not have any media savvy whatsoever. Now he's getting into bed with that idiot Michael Ball, from Rock Racing? Unbelievable. I really, really want to support Floyd, but this move is going to make it more difficult, by a long shot.

http://boulderreport.bicycling.com/2008/01/more-changes-ro.html

But the biggest pending move at Rock may have nothing to do with who’s turning pedals. I asked Ball who would be the team’s director now that Andreu is gone. “We’ve been talking to some individuals,” he said. “We have some talented guys ready.” Specifically, I asked whether he was negotiating a deal with Landis, who’s currently serving a two-year suspension for artificial testosterone use.

“Floyd’s a good friend and we’ve had a lot of conversations,” said Ball. “Nothing’s been solidified, but we’ve talked about this since last year. I can’t really speak to that right now, but we’ll see what happens.” Landis was included in a recent e-mail to Rock riders and staff about an upcoming training camp in Malibu. I have not yet contacted Landis directly to confirm Ball's comments.

Andy Lee, spokesman for USA Cycling, said that Landis is actually barred from working in any official capacity with Rock. “If you’re suspended by USA Cycling, an individual cannot participate in any activity that requires a USA Cycling license of ANY KIND (rider, manager, official, mechanic, support staff, coach, etc…),” he wrote in response to an e-mail asking for clarification of the rules as they would apply to Landis. “(Landis) is ineligible to obtain a USA Cycling license of any kind.” Landis has appealed his suspension to CAS and, if lifted, could immediately work with the team, but unless and until that happens, he’s barred from any official role.

Ball seemed to implicitly recognize this. When I asked what position Floyd would fill, director or other, Ball replied, “He’d be more of an advisor, a race strategist. He’s done it all; he’d be an amazing asset for this team, especially the younger riders.”

New Years Resolution

2007-12-31T22:05:00.000-05:00

Lose the weight I want to lose...

Train on my bike a lot more...

Do at least one road race before the year is up.

That is all.

Oh yeah, and make 10-20k more in '08 than '07.

Now that's comedy

2007-12-16T20:04:00.001-05:00

Losing weight, the easy way

2007-12-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

Yep, lost a little weight today. About 210 grams, to be exact. Want some before and after? Sure, here you go:

Before:

and after:

Not bad, eh?

Crazy thrash metal

2007-11-30T18:34:00.000-05:00

is pumping from the neighbors place. Not crazy loud, but I can definitely hear it. Can somebody please explain this nonsense to me? There has to be some release you get when you listen to it (you = someone who likes this garbage), because there is no musical value to it whatsoever. Not the blastbeats, not the cookie monster vocals, not even the names of the sub-genres, like grind-core. Come on. Give me a break.

Oh well...they aren't really bothering me...I could sleep through it easily, so it's not like I'm going to say anything to them. They want to kill brain cells, it's their business.

Look at this asshole

2007-11-13T16:08:00.001-05:00

http://wyrd.hood.edu/~cmp14/projects/badsites/badsites.html

The nerd says MY site lacks purpose?!? How can you say that a site which explicitly states is solely for the purpose of my mindless ramblings, and actually contains my mindless ramblings, isn't living up to it's stated objective? Clearly, this person is an idiot, who doesn't understand the difference between a stated purpose, and an editorial. The purpose is for me to blurt out whatever I feel. If you think those feeling are pointless, so be it - but that's in reference to the posts themselves, not the site.

If anyone can find that guys email address, let me know...he's gonna get schooled on some things.

Besides, his site lacks panache.

Say it ain't so, Floyd, part whatever

2007-10-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

So...Floyd Landis is appealing the guilty verdict. I really wish somebody could tell me why, I really do. Not that I don't appreciate his trying to prove himself not guilty, if indeed he is...but come on. You know they're going to find him guilty, you know it. No matter how good a case he puts on...hell, if he could provide photograpic evidence of that french lab doctoring up his samples, he'd still be found guilty; that's just the way it is. The USADA picked the arbitors the first time, WADA is going to pick them this time, and they aren't going to lose. That simple.

Just in case anyone doesn't realize this, yes, Floyd got to pick an arbitrator for the panel, but that came from a list that was approved by the USADA, so in effect, the USADA (and soon WADA) really did pick the arbitrators. Or at least, they stacked the deck.

Completely unfair, this process is. Completely unfair.

Save your money, Floyd. You don't want to end up working at McDonalds.

And now, for a little relief from that depressing news, a little Massimo:

Floyd Landis verdict

2007-09-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

It's not like anybody had any doubt about what the verdict was going to be; still, I feel for the guy. I have two hopes - one, that he's really innocent. I hate to think of him as a cheater, even though he probably is. I'm still mad about the day it was announced...I felt like a sucker, and I hope I'm not. Two, I hope he doesn't appeal, and that he's saved whats left of his money, and can figure out a post cycling life.

Hey, Floyd, they can't take your memories away, can they.

I stole David Walsh's book, From Lance to Landis. The guy is a talented writer. He's also a completely disingenuous scumbag - he does a phenomenal job of making it look like he's giving you all the evidence, from a completely neutral standpoint. But, oops, he doesn't mention that he has a vendetta against Lance, or that he has a vendetta against cycling in general, because of his son. Didn't even mention his son. Also oops, I read too much...I read some pages of his book, and I'm like, wait, you didn't mention this or this or this. Lying by omission is still lying. Don't pay for this fucking book. If you must read it, steal it. Or go to the library. This man does not deserve your money. Oh, and by the way, its 99 percent Lance, 1 percent Landis. Hopefully, Trust But Verify will quote this post (as they sometimes do when I post about Floyd), and maybe someone will read this post who was going to buy that book, and not buy it instead.

That is all.

September

2007-09-01T10:11:00.001-04:00

58 degrees outside, as of 7 am this morning. Fall weather has returned. Thank god.

F off, summer. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

Some Massimo for ya

2007-08-28T20:54:00.000-04:00

And now Max Roach?!?

2007-08-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

Goddamn it. There's number three. I mean, if you count Merv Griffin as the first, then Phil Rizzuto, now Max Roach. Two of the three meant something to me. Rest easy, guys. Max fucking Roach...another true great that I never got to see in person. That's what you get for being a slacker.

RIP Scooter

2007-08-14T21:48:00.000-04:00

Phil Rizzuto 1917-2007

He will be missed.

Crazy Tour

2007-07-28T22:21:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm wrong. Levi isn't going to win. But who the hell could have predicted the insane climbing abilities of one Alberto Contador? My god, that kid can skyrocket up a mountain. I've got to make it a point to not work on my upper body for a while (shouldn't be a problem), and lose as much weight as I can, and get my power to weight ratio as high as I can. I've got to see what it would be like to blast up hills to the maximum of my potential. I think if I really killed myself, ate smart, worked out smart, I could get down to about 170. Wouldn't be easy, but I think I could. I'm a climber at heart, anyways...so I'll get down to a buck seventy, and just start finding insane climbs like this one. Yeah, that's a sick motherfucking climb, and that's what I want.

But I digress - the Tour. I've never seen anything like it. Et tu, Vino? You must be a dolt, using someone elses blood. I mean, I can sympathize; he had last year basically just stolen from him, he feels his last shot was slipping away, but still. Duh. And Rasmussen? What a fuckin clown. Doping or not, you're a retard if you basically lie on that diary you have to fill out, letting your national organization know where you'll be. The guy basically missed 4 drug tests. Yep, gone. Fuck him. I never liked him anyways.

And now the Malliot Jaune is back where it belongs, with Discovery. Nothing could make me happier, except maybe a Levi win. This kid Contador is going to be a lot of fun to watch, for a very long time. Of course, Disco might fold, since they don't have a sponsor for next year, so who knows who he'll be riding for.

Can't wait for the Vuelta.

BTW - now, can we please have a verdict for Floyd Landis? Not for nothing, but they've clearly decided to wait til after the Tour to give their decision. Bullshit move. Floyd and WADA/UCI/ASO/USADA deserve to know ASAP. To say nothing of Oscar Pereiro, who stands to inherit Floyd's win if he's found guilty of doping. Hope he doesn't get it - I want Floyd to win.

One last thing - please boycott the book From Lance to Landis, by David Walsh. The guy paid people off for "interviews", and apparently gives an awful lot of misleading information, to make certain people look guilty of certain things. This guy has a vendetta against both Lance and cycling (the sport that killed his son), and he doesn't deserve a cent of your hard earned money.

Ok, that's it for tonight. Be safe.

Now THAT was a stage!

2007-07-22T21:25:00.000-04:00

Wow. Contador and Rasmussen banging it out on the top of Plateau de Beille. That is what I look for in post-Lance Tour de France. What a stage...what a freakin stage!

And Levi, yeah, he still has a chance - cause I'd be shocked if Ras was able to follow up todays ride with a big ride tomorrow. I haven't looked at the stage profile, but I understand that...well, it's the fucking Pyrenees. If Disco can soften up the pack enough for Levi to get out on a breakaway, he could pick up time.

Then again, if the Chicken follows it up with another huge day...start looking for needle marks.

Either way, if Levi doesn't get out soon, time to start looking Contadors way...something that there are whispers that Bruyneel is already doing. Too bad Popovych hasn't put himself in position to be a team leader...he really gritted it out today, but definitely looks more like a stage winner/super domestique than a leader, or someone who could podium.

Now...if Tom Danielson had made the TdF squad...how far back you suppose he'd be by now? Or would he have missed a cutoff. Probably.

Michael Rasmussen

2007-07-21T20:51:00.000-04:00

Yeah, Ras is still leading the TdF, after the individual time trial. But who could forget the last time his time trialing was on the big stage?

It's hard to watch, I know.

Sick of my blog theme

2007-07-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

And yet...none of the others provided with this account do it for me. Can I make one myself? Can I go to a blog theme site, download one, and install it here? Someone, tell me. My incessant posts about my terrible diet and Floyd Landis need more style!

Positively False

2007-07-17T00:05:00.000-04:00

Just picked up Floyd Landis' new book, Positively False. As a writer, he's definitely a hell of a bike rider, but it's a compelling read, and just makes me that much crazier over the way he's being treated. WADA, whether or not Floyd doped, is a criminal organization, and should be disbanded for the way they've conducted themselves, period.

Back to the book - though it's definitely not the greatest prose you'll ever read, it's a compelling read. Floyd seems to have dictated the book to Loren Mooney, who did a good job of writing the book in as transparent a fashion as possible, so it really comes off like Floyd is telling you this story, personally. I'm sure if you listen to it on audio book, you'll be able to completely forget that this is a written book, and feel as though he's speaking directly to you.

I can still read, though, so no audiobook for me.

I have no idea whether he doped or not. Based on how he presents himself, I tend to feel he didn't in my heart, while the cynic in me screams otherwise. Doesn't matter - he's getting hosed here. I'll be shocked if he wins this arbitration. Buy his book - he's going to need the money for the appeal. Which he'll also lose.

Anyone remember Floyd Landis?

2007-07-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

What nonsense. A two week arbitration hearing, supposedly with a verdict to follow, with Friday, July 6th supposedly the latest it can be. Well, here we are, a week into the Tour de France, and no verdict yet. Oh well; at least there's the Tour. And all the bullshit flat stages are out of the way, and up into the Alps we go. For me, this is where the Tour really starts.

I'm still predicting a Levi win, followed by a positive.

How to lose weight, in one easy step

2007-07-13T07:34:00.000-04:00

Quit drinking soda. Since quitting the Dew, I'm losing weight, even though I've been eating like an asshole, and have gotten very little time in on the bike. Two pork roll and cheese sandwiches yesterday. Not one; two. Still lost weight.

My soda addiction was really out of control - more than a liter a day, easy. I've replaced it with lemonade. Specifically, Minute Maid frozen lemonade. Best stuff ever.

Now take my advice, and improve your life. And remember, nobody gives better advice than Rog.

Ah, le Tour de France

2007-07-07T15:14:00.001-04:00

I'm not much for a Prologue, time trial, or even a sprint stage, unless there's a good breakaway, but I did watch the whole Grand Depart today. Here's my bold prediction - Levi wins le Tour. And ends up testing positive.

Pet peeve of the day

2007-07-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

People who can't spell "the".

Teh, teh, teh. Stop it, you fucking lowlife. Take a second, step back, take stock of your life, then put your grubby little sausage fingers on the (see? Not that hard) keyboard, and go fuck yourself.

Friggin finally

2007-07-01T17:39:00.001-04:00

Finally made the ride to Avenel with two full packs on my bike. I'm so close to getting rid of my car, I can taste it...

I guess some explanation is necessary. And yet, I don't really feel like typing right now...

Sometimes it's embarrassing living in Jersey part two

2007-06-16T15:55:00.000-04:00

Thank god for the NJ state legislature, once again saving us from ourselves. And putting every bike shop in the state out of business.

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicycleretailer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003599447

New Jersey Passes Bill Banning Quick Release Wheels

By Lynette Carpiet

JUNE 15, 2007 -- TRENTON, NJ (BRAIN)--The New Jersey bicycle business may be in serious trouble unless retailers and suppliers take immediate action. State legislators earlier this week approved a bill banning the sale of all bikes equipped with current quick release wheels and tabbed tips.

Under the bill, it would be illegal to sell bicycles with quick release wheels unless they met performance specifications that are not commercially available. Assembly bill A2686, which was introduced in February 2006, passed in the assembly with a vote of 77-3 and is now headed to the Senate Commerce Committee.

While originally drafted to ban quick release wheels on children’s bikes, the bill was recently amended to include bikes with 20-inch or larger wheels. It also stipulates that the secondary retention device on a wheel meet certain specifications, including that it activate automatically and always prevent wheel separation.

“It’s being promoted as a bill intended to protect children,” said Bob Burns, Trek’s legal counsel and spokesman for the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association. “But the language would make every bicycle with quick release currently for sale in New Jersey illegal. This bill is not intended just for children’s bikes.”

Furthermore, Burns said there’s currently no secondary retention device on the market that would comply with the bill. “No system always retains the wheel,” he said. “Even the bolted axle, if the bolts aren’t on right, the kid’s in trouble. As of right now, there’s nothing on the floor that meets this definition and nothing on the horizon that is commercially proven.”

For the past year, the BPSA had been working with Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, the bill’s sponsor, on alternate language that would not prohibit the use of quick releases. The BPSA is now encouraging all dealers to contact New Jersey state senators and voice their opposition to the bill.

While it’s likely that the bill as written would be pre-empted by federal regulations that currently define how a quick release should perform, the law would still be in effect until a successful legal challenge was mounted in the courts.

“Bicycles are regulated by the Feds. If you start getting state-by-state regulation of bicycles, it will make selling bicycles in the U.S. very burdensome and extremely expensive for manufacturers and retailers,” Burns said.

“We need to get the New Jersey Senate Commerce Committee to listen to us and get them to consider the impact the bill would have on the bicycle business in New Jersey,” he added.

People I'd like to punch in the face today...

2007-06-15T19:06:00.000-04:00

1. That asshole cop

2. Ricky Shroeder

3. Ethan Suplee

If you're the cop...

2007-06-15T19:01:00.000-04:00

...who was tailgating me, off duty, driving a big, new Dodge Ram pickup truck, red, with white stripes (in Sayreville, NJ)...fuck you. Fuck you, you hiding behind your badge, abusing your authority motherfucker. You got my license plate #, you can easily find out where I live, come get me. I called the Sayreville cops non-emergency number, they said they know who you are, you're not a Sayreville cop (wouldn't tell me what police station you work out of, lucky for you), and that you are basically an asshole who likes to, yep, you guessed it, abuse your authority and hide behind your badge. Pussy. You are the cop that makes everyone hate cops. You are the cop that makes it a much harder job for all the good cops out there. You don't deserve your position - and when I see you again, and I will, you better believe I'm going to do something about it. Punk.

The Paris Debacle

2007-06-09T08:11:00.000-04:00

I gotta admit, I'm impressed with the judge and prosecutor in the Paris Hilton situation. Who would have thought that the law, the man, the powers that be, would actually feel embarrassed into doing the right thing in the USA? And especially in LA.

The whole celebrity worship thing escapes me. Maybe because I've gotten work with some semi-famous musicians, maybe because of my out of control anti-socialism, maybe I just think, incorrectly, that I'm smarter than everyone else. Who knows. But I know it made me a tiny little bit angry when I heard that Paris Hilton was being released from prison after three days (with her lawyers, and the obviously corrupt sherrifs department inexplicably calling it five days). Not very angry, and not suprised in the least...which to me is a sad commentary on how things work here - how completely different the treatment is for the rich and famous. Really? She was let out? Why on earth would anyone be suprised. And I don't consider myself to be overwhelmingly cynical.

At first, when I saw the pictures of her crying in the back of the police car, her face puffy with tears, I felt bad for her. Hey, I'm human, why not. Nobody likes to see a girl cry. But even that has completely faded upon reading that she was screaming for mommy, yelling "It isn't right" (no? Why not?), and that she had to be dragged away. And you could hear her screams reverberating down the hallway. At that point, fuck you. Because of course she didn't expect that to happen. Of course she thought she was going to get away with it. Even after she was sent to jail, she knew she'd be getting out in a day or two, after a psychologist coached her on how to act (you think you'd be able to get your own private psychologist in jail? Yeah, me neither), and the nudge nudge, wink wink arrangement with the sheriffs department.

Although I wasn't suprised they did it, I'm still shocked at the brazenness of everyone involved. Did they really think they could do it in that blatant a fashion? That they could just say "fuck everyone else if they think the same laws apply to us" with no backlash whatsoever? A couple quotes that stick out for me:

"Her release after only three days erodes confidence in the judicial system," said L.A. Assistant City Attorney Dan Jeffries.

Thank you. Seriously. Not that I really have any more confidence in the judicial system - not so long as the big white collar criminals are allowed to basically run this country, and nobody ever does anything about it, but putting Paris back in jail to placate us, well, that has at least made my weekend a little more enjoyable, knowing that I'm having a better time than that pampered cunt.

(Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee) Baca defended his decision, citing Hilton's "severe medical problems" and "inexplicable deterioration" while in custody."

He said he thought her sentence was stiffer than usual for such a crime, noting it would normally be punished with home confinement.

Herbert McClure, who recently served a month and a half behind bars for the same offense, disagreed.

"It's wrong. I had to do 45 days, so why should she get treated any differently," he said. "If you do the crime, you pay with time."

And that's the story, right there. Paris' family, lawyers, PR people are all trying to say she's being treated unfairly. She's not. Which this guy clearly doesn't believe:

"She is America's Princess Di," said fan Jake Byrd.

What. The. Fuck.

Kathy Hilton, Paris' equally delusional mom, is out of her mind. She's mocked the judge, telling him to enjoy his fame, she's complained to the press about unfair treatment, said:

"I know they don't want to do anything. They made up their mind," she said before angrily stalking out of the courthouse with (husband) Rick by her side.

I wish I could get into her head, for a minute. Figure out exactly why she believes that they're above all the rest of us. Is there no sense of reality there? I mean, I guess it makes sense; the world truly is their playground. But do you not have the sense to not mock the judge, in his own courtroom? Damn.

In the end, however, this is all just a distraction being played up by the media. Keeping us occupied from what's really going on out there. Maybe after reading this nonsensical accounting, you should go over to Alex Jonses website, and get some information on stuff that really affects us...our civil liberties being taken away, real corruption that hurts our standard of living...stuff like that. Not nearly as sexy a news story, I know. Whatcha going to do.

Random things that suck

2007-06-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

The Yankees suck.

Cops suck.

Baseball sucks.

Every player on the Yankees sucks.

Hockey sucks.

Tacoed rear wheels suck.

Entourage really, really sucks. I give a fuck about four spoiled assholes charmed lives. This show is based on Marky Marks life, which means he thinks his brother reeeeally sucks.

Tendonitis sucks.

Shoulder injuries suck.

New York City fucking sucks.

Not having my bike for a week sucks.

Chelsea Center sucks.

The two Hildegards suck ass.

Being overweight sucks (the bike would really help, right about now).

15 degrees above the average temp sucks.

A good ride gone bad.

2007-06-02T22:30:00.000-04:00

Hot as hell around here lately - around 90, midday, which is about 15 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year. But I still gotta ride, right?

Yesterday I sissed out of a ride, for every reason in the book. It was too hot, my new shoes weren't fitting well, my feet hurt...so at about the 3 mile mark, I took a short loop home, ending up with 7 miles. Weak. The worst part was, by the time my tastefully decorated townhouse was in sight, I was starting to feel better; nothing unusual for me, as I generally don't ever feel good til I have at least 5 miles in, and the heat was definitely exacerbating things. But with the homestead in sight, my day was done.

I felt shame. So I set a goal for today - 50 miles. From my place, to my LBS of choice (Bike Haven, in Fair Haven, NJ), and back, which is about a 50 mile round trip. For the record, there are closer bike shops, but Bike Haven is the best. But I digress...

I set out at about noon, which was definitely later than I wanted to go, and felt just as crappy as I did the day before, but this time I slogged through it. One interesting note was my heart rate seemed to be 10-15 beats per minute faster than on a cooler day - something I decided to take note of. Wisely, I think. I wasn't keeping a very fast pace at all...slightly under 15 mph, but again, heat, heartrate, yeah, better to take it easy. And the miles were rolling away...5...10...15...At one point, I seemed to pick up a wheelsucker... The guy had a nice bike - a Trek 5500, but he wasn't dressed like a cyclist, and even though he looked like he was in decent shape, he wasn't built like a cyclist. Not that I am, right now, but I have pretty strong legs, and I like to climb. He first started falling behind on a climb (really hilly terrain), closed the gap on a descent a bit, fell behind on the next climb, closed up a bit on the decsent, then finally fell back on the next climb. Kind of like Savoldelli chasing Simoni, in super, super slow motion. He disappeared for a while after the last climb, but I stopped for a minute to adjust my shoe, and as I got started again, the guy caught up to me, and told me he was busting his ass to catch up...which is kind of funny, because I am by no means fast, but as I said, he wasn't built like a cyclist, nor was he dressed like one, so that probably explains that.

Anyways, we go our separate ways, and I settle in for the rest of the ride to the bike shop. I noticed around mile 17 that I actually felt pretty good...but just a short time later, at around mile 21, my legs started feeling pretty dead. No problem, just a few miles more to go. I get there, receiving the kind of congratulations that a fat guy will receive for riding 25 miles, hang out for a bit, and then split. No food on me, and I'm starving, so I hit a deli at mile 28, got a sandwich...and that's pretty much when it all went to hell.

I eat my sandwich, get back on the bike, go out to a light, I'm making a left. Light turns green, I clip in...there are cars all around me, so I want to get through the intersection as fast as possible, so I hammer the pedals...for about one and a half revolutions...and then...all of a sudden...I'm going sideways. This can't be good. Much like Wile E. Coyote, when he runs off a cliff, and then falls after looking down, I crash, but good. No idea what just happened. I'm ok, thank goodness, barely a scratch...but my back wheel is tacoed. Great. So I call a friend for a ride, go back to the bike store, and find out the wheel is gone, and the handlebars as well. That'll run about $400, thank you very much.

*sigh* Nobody ever said it was a cheap sport.

Crazy as it sounds, I actually think I may have been sabotaged, while at the deli. When I was picking up my bike, I looked down and saw the quick release on my rear wheel was open, and it definitely was not on the way down to the bike shop, or from there to the deli. The bike was only out of my sight for a couple seconds while I was in the deli, but I was in there for 20 minutes, eating, and one of the dozen or so kids that walked past my bike could easily have flicked it. The guys at the bike shop assured me that I could very well have been right, since there's no way I would have made it 28 miles with an open quick release, and there's no way the fall would have opened it up. Who knows. Maybe just a freak accident. That ain't making this any cheaper.

The worst part? Outside of the money...I had about a 10 mile an hour tailwind. I never have a tailwind going home from there. I so wanted to ride that tailwind home....

Stay tuned for pics of my new Ksyriums! lol

P.S. Shoe epilogue - picked up some nice inserts, which really helped with the fit. Good thing - Sidi doesn't have a return policy.

New shoes

2007-06-01T12:25:00.000-04:00

Normally, this would make me happy. I love shoes, and I ain't afraid to admit it. Bike shoes, no less, which I love even more. But...I bought a pair of Sidi Genius', which are really nice shoes. Unfortunately, I have gigantic feet, so the shop had to order them. Size 49 (euro sizing, obviously), Mega, which denotes wider than their usual shoe. I tried the 48 regular, but my toes were touching the front, and it was definitely somewhat narrow. So, the new shoes arrive, I go try them on, and they seem to fit. Maybe slightly wide, but I can tighten them up pretty good. So, I have Cliff (owner of Bike Haven, my favorite local bike shop) throw some cleats on it, and I'm off. Now, for some reason, I don't get to try them out on my bike right away - some bad weather, some mechanical difficulty (broken spoke). Got them almost two weeks ago, tried them for the first time today. And they're too big. Not way too big, I can cinch them up so my feet are solid in them, but still...just slightly too big.

Fuck.

Weird thing is, they still feel better than my other pair, a pair of Pearl Izumis. I'll probably keep 'em; as much because I would feel like I was taking advantage of Cliff, whose been really, really good to me, as anything else. And they do feel pretty good.

Moral of the story - go to Bike Haven. They're that good. Cliff would take them back in a second, I've no doubt. But I don't want to be a dick. And fuck, I can afford it.

edit: Fuck that. I gotta exchange them. I don't want to throw away $225. I'll figure out a way to make it up to Cliff.

The "You've got to be kidding" moment of the day

2007-05-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

Rehab.

Everybodys favorite way to dodge responsibility for their actions lately, rehab. Mel Gibson, Lindsey Lohan, Michael Richards...

...and now...

Will Geoghegan.

Long story short - Geoghegan was Floyd Landis' business manager. Floyd is in arbitration to see whether or not he'll be found guilty, essentially, of using performance enhancing drugs during his win of last years Tour de France. Greg Lemond was going to be a witness for the prosecution. Geoghegan called Lemond the night before, and basically threatened to expose the fact that Lemond was molested as a child. Scumbag move, big time. Landis, upon finding this out, fired Geoghegan immediately.

And now this:

The ongoing saga of Floyd Landis's business manager Will Geoghegan took another twist Monday when it was announced he was entering rehab. That news came via an e-mail letter from Dr. Brent Kay, who is stepping in to Geoghegan's role. Heretofore Kay has served as Landis's personal physician and was with him at the Tour de France last summer when Landis revealed the hip problems that led him to have replacement surgery in the offseason.

"I know that Floyd is eager to get through the last days of his hearing and to turn his focus toward his business responsibilities," Kay wrote. "He is very excited about our anticipated victory and is anxious to support the very few that have supported him. I can personally tell you that he considers the ones that have stood up to support him in this time of crisis as the true champions."

Kay then addressed Geoghegan, who was relieved of his duties last Thursday when it was revealed he'd made a threatening phone call to Greg LeMond on the eve of his testimony at the Landis hearing. Geoghegan later blamed the indiscretion on being angry and having a "beer or two."

"I am sure that you are aware of last week's events and may be concerned about Will's well being," Kay wrote. "He is distraught by his actions and is entering a rehabilitation program [Monday] in an effort to address his problems. The past few months have been remarkably stressful for Will and his decompensation resulted in the unfortunate and embarrassing incident last Wednesday. While Floyd and the entire team find Will's actions regrettable and abhorrent, he is still a friend and we wish him the best in his recovery."

Good fucking god. Can't anyone stand up and be a man anymore? Can't we get past the "my demons made me do it" mentality that allows us to completely absolve ourselves of any responsibility? This makes me sick.

Of course, I take no responsibility if you're offended by my opinion. The Mountain Dew made me do it.

Refrigerator post script

2007-05-20T23:11:00.000-04:00

Holy fucking yikes.

Oh, yeah. We're definitely back into the realm of Things that Only Rog Would Give A Shit About. My refrigerator.

So, I swear, I thought when I last cleared it out, I got whatever it was that smelled. The last two days it's been very apparent that I was wrong. Unfortunately, today I went shopping for produce (broccoli!), so I had no choice but to open the fucking thing. Fuck it. Time to clean. And oh, look at that. A block of cheddar that had been in there for about four months, that somehow I didn't see when I cleared stuff out the last time. Where do these blind spots come from.

Anyways, basically a hunk of green. And no doubt about it, it wasn't the two week old peppers that smelled, it was the fucking cheese.

Bottom line, the fridge is now safe. I'm making broccoli stir-fry tomorrow night - who wants some?

Ouch

2007-05-19T07:14:00.000-04:00

My sense of direction is legendary. My ability to remember where I'm going is equally legendary, but for a completely different reason. I don't know why I don't pay attention to where I'm going sometimes, but there are days when it really bites me in the ass. Case in point - yesterday, I took a ride on my bicycle down to Exotic Birds of Red Bank. That's a pretty good ride for an out of shape piece of shit like myself; it's just the right distance to push my fitness level a little bit. 20 miles down, and 20 miles back. The only bad part is I have to ride down a highway (rt 35) about 7.5 - 8 miles. I've been thinking about how I can shorten the highway distance, so this time I rode across 35, and went up to 516, which is a much lighter traffic route. Just a semi-busy inter-town road, versus a highway. So I do that, and it works out rather well...it ends up being 22 miles, which is fine...44 miles overall I can handle.

Except, you guessed it, I missed a turn on the way back, and didn't realize it for a while. Long story short, I turned my 44 mile ride into a 55 mile ride. 11 miles doesn't sound like that much, does it? On a bike, in hilly terrain (LOTS of elevation change)...it really can be. Here's a map detailing my folly. You can see there was an awful lot of painful meandering.

Could have been worse, though...the first time I rode down to the bird store, I totally wasn't in shape to do it, and I got legitimately lost on the way back, turning that ride into almost a 60 mile ride. The worst part was all the way home, I was riding into a 20 mph headwind. And was carrying 10 lbs of bird food for Sammy. That little bastard better appreciate me.

New name

2007-05-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

I've changed the name of this blog from the somewhat lacking in creativity "The World According to Rog" to "The Second Most Useless Blog Ever". If you're wondering who writes the most useless blog ever, you'll have to check in with a guy named Josh.

Exercise is good

2007-05-08T18:21:00.000-04:00

My legs feel freakin great right now, my heartrate recovery time is way faster than it was even a week ago, and the extra fat is slowly but surely melting away.

What a big difference a high cadence makes. I've been focusing my efforts on keeping my cadence around 90 rpm, which is forcing me to be in a lower gear, which is making the hills far, far easier on my knees. And my knees, especially the right one, need all the help they can get. It's not easy...I'm sure I'll get used to the aerobic effort involved in the faster spin, but right now I'm quickly out of breath, and generally end my rides with an average cadence in the mid 70s. That's ok. You gotta walk before you can run. Maybe after the tendons toughen up, I'll be able to mash the bigger gears going up hills, but for now, the higher cadence is definitely the way to go.

Shit...Lance spun at about 105. I don't have that kind of aerobic capacity right now. Not that all the fat on my legs helps that any...I can't even picture how much more fun cycling will be when I get back under 200 lbs. I can't fucking wait.

And the verdict is in...

2007-05-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

Well, not a verdict, per say. But it turns out Ivan Basso was involved in the Operation Puerto scandal.

Surpise!!

Ok, so Valverde is apparently also dirty...Ullrich is out, Basso, obviously, Floyd is out, and I assume Valverde won't be able to start the Tour de France or the Giro de Italia. So who's left? Vino, obviously, and maybe Levi has a chance now. Heh...until he gets caught, and there's no doubt in my mine Levi is doping. He looks so much better this year. Granted, it's partly because Disco is a much stronger team than any he's been on as a leader, and yeah, he went into the wind tunnel and cleaned up his time trialing position, but he's looked superhuman at times.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope all of Discovery is clean, but let's see...Contador, Basso, the rumors that still dog Lance (whom I don't really believe doped). Just so long as Popo and Janez are clean. And Hincapie, of course. If he tested positive, I'd stop watching the sport.

See ya!

2007-05-07T13:32:00.000-04:00

Alex (that's what I named my hemmorhoid) has left the building. Thank god for FONoils.com.

Ok, so much for the too much information section.

No, wait...just a little more...my ass feels great! And thank god, too, cause I put in a lot of miles over the past few days...

Riding with my new buddy...

2007-05-04T13:30:00.000-04:00

Went for a 20 mile ride today. Pain, pain, and more pain. Why? Hemmorhoid. Granted, I should probably keep it to myself...but I'm on vacation, goddamnit! No work, gigs, lessons, nothing but nice weather and time to waste, and I'm going to ride my goddamn bicycle! Fuck it if my ass is going to cry out in pain the whole time!

Ouch...

Something smells really, really bad...

2007-05-01T23:21:00.000-04:00

...and it's in my refrigerator.

This is definitely going to get worse before it gets better.

:shudder:

Say it ain't so, Tom...

2007-04-27T17:50:00.000-04:00

Tom Boonen. One of my favorite riders...until now. Since seeing this pic of him, I just don't know what to think. Except maybe it's time to buy stock in Charmin. Or Huggies.

Those wacky Republicans

2007-04-18T21:46:00.000-04:00

Apparently, they don't even know they're bigots. To wit:

GOP presidential candidate Tommy Thompson apologized to a Jewish audience Monday after saying that making money is "sort of part of the Jewish tradition."

At the outset of a speech to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the former Wisconsin governor told an audience of a few hundred people that, "I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money."

Added Thompson: "You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition, and I do not find anything wrong with that. I enjoy that."

RIP Bernie

2007-04-18T18:51:00.000-04:00

Bernie Brausewetter
September 10, 1954 - April 15, 2007

Rest in peace, Bernie.

Ah yes, fascism

2007-04-10T04:46:00.000-04:00

It's getting embarrassing, living here...

I mean, it's bad enough this country voted Bush into office. That means I live amongst morons. But if you voted for Bush, and you aren't a chimp, you have to see how bad this guy has been. To wit:

Professor who criticized Bush added to terrorist 'no-fly' list

Michael Roston
Raw Story
Monday April 9, 2007

A top Constitutional scholar from Princeton who gave a televised speech that slammed President George W. Bush's executive overreach recently learned that he had been added to the Transportation Security Administration's terrorist watch list. He shared his experience this weekend at the law blog Balkinization.

Walter F. Murphy, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus, at Princeton University, attempted to check his luggage at the curbside in Albuquerque before boarding a plane to Newark, New Jersey. Murphy was told he could not use the service.

"I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list," he said.

When inquiring with a clerk why he was on the list, Murphy was asked if he had participated in any peace marches.

"We ban a lot of people from flying because of that," a clerk said.

Murphy then explained that he had not marched, but had "in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution."

The clerk responded, "That'll do it."

Murphy was allowed to board the plane, but was warned that his luggage would be "ransacked." On his return trip, his luggage was lost.

Murphy is a decorated Marine who served in the Korean War and was a reservist for 19 years. Mark Graber, who presented the blog post, adds that there were other reasons that Murphy was an unlikely terror suspect.

"While he holds some opinions, most notably on welfare, similar to opinions held on the political left, he is a sharp critic of ROE V. WADE, and supported the Alito nomination," he wrote.

You gotta love local politics

2007-04-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

Especially when it's televised, and a professional comedian shows up.

Jack Johnson is a goddamn homo

2007-04-01T09:21:00.000-04:00

I have lots of issues with todays music scene, which is so different from when I was just coming up in the early '90s as to be completely unrecognizable. There seems to be an unprecedented focus on light, fluffy, bubble-gummy pop right now...or maybe disposable is the right word, since it seems to encompass pop, hip-hop (easily the most creatively dead form of music right now - I'll get into that in a sec), r&b, hard rock, metal, etc. I'm not letting myself get depressed by it, as I do live right next to NYC. Now, New York is not the playground of creativity it once was - not by a looooooooong shot. But you can't see the kind of stuff elsewhere that you can here. Couple years ago, I stopped in at the Izzy bar (hmm...maybe not the Izzy...but one of those places like that), and Richard Bona was playing. Kenny Garrett was sitting in on sax. What? Thank god I had my minidisc player with me that night (no, don't even bother asking).

I've never really been that into mainstream music anyways, but I've always had a good sense of what was musical and what was just crap. Backstreet Boys? Crap. That's why they sold it right next to the register, along with merchandising stuff like keychains, hats, etc. Pearl Jam? Not the greatest rock band in history, but there is a validity to their music. It's real.

The problem is twofold - and really seems to have picked up steam in the '90s, and even more so in the current century/millenium. Of course, the real root of the problem is probably MTv, with it's quick cut editing style, it's over-reliance on style itself, and the push for instant gratification. If you are in a band today (and I know this from personal experience), you will be told by any A&R guy you speak with that the intro to your song can be no more than 10 seconds, and you have to be into the chorus within 40 seconds, or it won't be commercially viable, and nobody will touch you. Well, that sucks for anyone who has a real creative vision, because the "punk" mentality of banging out songs in under 3 minutes, leaves no option for actually being musical. Another part of the problem is musicians themselves (including me, although when I got started I didn't realize it). The "freelancer" mentality is so prevalent today...everybody wants to get paid. Understandable, but someone has to be in a band. Really. If you're a freelancer, and you are reading this, join a band. Not in place of putting food on the table, but start a creative project, and actually make it a priority.

You see, what happens is, you work and develop your ability, you get out there and market yourself as a gun for hire who will make singer-songwriters sound as good as they possibly can, you start getting gigs. You probably join a wedding/cover band to supplement your income. Maybe you teach. And god, you get bored. Because so many good musicians are saying "Pay me to make you sound good" instead of "Let me put it on the line myself, and make my own music", the pool of musicians who are actually writing has gotten much smaller, and as a result, there are far less good bands/solo artists out there. So you go to your gig, punch the clock, smile, play great, do all the glad-handing you have to do, go home, and feel ridiculously unfulfilled, musically. You started in this line of work long before it was a line of work - when you were a kid, when you wanted to play, have fun, look cool to girls, whatever. And then you developed a passion for it. You realized you loved playing, and felt it was your method of communicating you you are in the purest sense.

And then you realized you could make money doing it. And that brings us back to the part from freelancing to the lack of fulfillment. So what can you do? Oh, ok, you say, let me go start a band with my freelancing buddies. We'll get monday and tuesday night gigs, for free, or very little money (unless someone in the band is a "name" player), and we'll use it as an excuse to blow, stretch our creative legs a bit, and then Wednesday through Sunday we'll go back to playing with the singer/songwriters who've managed to scrape up enough money to hire us this week, and our cover bands, and our wedding bands, and we'll spend the week thinking about how much we can't wait to do our house gig at the local bar, when what we should be doing is pushing that. Even though it means we'll have to teach more during the day, and take the risk that what we're playing is too much for the dumbed down music listening public, and that it might not go anywhere. Besides, being a freelancer is easy, once you get past the lack of job security - all you have to do is show up and play. When you own a piece of the band, shit...then you are responsible for everything, including - oh no! - getting people to come see your band.

Is this coming off like a bitter rant at this point? I guess it is, in a way...but it's a larger thing, really, epidemic of where America is going as a country. Dumbed down, only interested in the quick buck, not really willing to roll up our sleeves and work. Not willing to take any risks. But what I said about the American Idolization of music not affecting me, cause I can always go to New York and see great stuff, or I can go see Glenn Alexander when he feels like playing in New Brunswick, or at Orphan Annies. People in the flyover states have to thank Al Gore for the internet, cause that at least provides an option to search out good music, even if your live music options are the local blues band, and whatever shitty tours come to town (OMG! The American Idol tour is coming to town!!!!!!!!).

Ok, I said I'd expand on what I said about hip-hop music. I'm tired of typing, so here it is in a nutshell. I'm not a guy that hates rap. I love good rap just as I love all good music. But can you find me some? Please? I blame the easy marketability of the form for its downfall...it's just a quick buck now, instead of what Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were doing. Screw social message. Screw subtle sampling, and even coming up with your own music. Lets just put the latest thug in front of the mic, let him babble about how many diamonds he has, and how many bitches he's fucked, market the living shit out of it, and watch it sell a million units. Ugh.

Ok, hopefully you weren't looking for a point, cause obviously I don't have one.

I'm listening to good music right now. Real musicians really interacting with each other, making a real musical statement. Get it while you can...it won't be around in 20 years.

You ain't no 'merican if you ain't god fearin'!

2007-03-27T08:24:00.000-04:00

Heh, ah the Bush family. In my opinion, history has been rather kind to the first President Bush. This is certainly due in no small part to the fact that his son is a moron, and just about anybody would compare favorably to him. But, his father had his issues, and bigotry was one of them. My personal favorite was when he was asked about his half hispanic grandson, and he replied "I love all my grandchildren, even the brown one". But the following is a close second. This great country is supposed to be free of religious persecution, no? But apparently, if you aren't a member of the Bush family religion, you don't even deserve to be considered a citizen, even if you served in the military.

By the way, I am not an atheist myself, unless you consider a Buddhist to be an atheist because Buddhists don't believe in god. I posted this because, well, I just love when this family shows its hypocrisy.

George H. W. Bush:
Atheists Neither Citizens Nor Patriots

Can George Bush, with impunity, state that atheists should not be considered either citizens or patriots?

When George Bush was campaigning for the presidency, as incumbent vice-president, one of his stops was in Chicago, Illinois, on August 27, 1987. At O'Hare Airport he held a formal outdoor news conference. There Robert I. Sherman, a reporter for the American Atheist news journal, fully accredited by the state of Illinois and by invitation a participating member of the press corps covering the national candidates, had the following exchange with then-Vice-President Bush.

Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?

Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me.

Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?

Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?

Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.

On October 29, 1988, Mr. Sherman had a confrontation with Ed Murnane, cochairman of the Bush-Quayle '88 Illinois campaign. This concerned a lawsuit Mr. Sherman had filed to stop the Community Consolidated School District 21 (Chicago, Illinois, suburb) from forcing his first-grade atheist son to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States "one nation under God" (Bush's phrase). The following conversation took place.

Sherman: American Atheists filed the Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit yesterday. Does the Bush campaign have an official response to this filing?

Murnane: It's bullshit.

Sherman: What is bullshit?

Murnane: Everything that American Atheists does, Rob, is bullshit.

Sherman: Thank you for telling me what the official position of the Bush campaign is on this issue.

Murnane: You're welcome

This suit, now in federal district court for over three years, is not considered to be bullshit by the federal judge before whom it is pending. During the time it has been in the federal court, Robert Sherman's son, now age nine, has been physically and psychologically brutalized in his school for refusing to pledge to a "nation under God."

After Bush's election but before his taking office, American Atheists wrote to Bush asking that he consider being sworn into office on the Constitution instead of the Bible and also asking him to retract his August 1987 statement. Bush had his White House buddy, C. Boyden Gray, counsel to the president, reply on White House stationery on February 21, 1989, stating that substantively Bush stood by his original statement.

"As you are aware, the President is a religious man who neither supports atheism nor believes that atheism should be unnecessarily encouraged or supported by the government.

American Atheists had not asked Bush to either "unnecessarily" or even "necessarily" encourage or support them. All they wanted was an apology for the insult. Many atheists wrote to Bush over the issue and Nelson Lund, the associate counsel to the president, found it necessary to reply on April 7, 1989, directly to the American Atheist General Headquarters, Inc. This letter from the White House said that Mr. Gray was adhering to his statements in the February 21, 1989, letter. On May 4, 1989, Jon Murray, the president of American Atheists, again wrote to President Bush demanding a clarification of and an apology for his statement that atheists "should not be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." Bush ignored the letter, as did Gray and Lund. Mr. Murray also asked for an appointment so that a group of representatives of American Atheists could meet with Bush.

Mr. Joseph W. Hagin 11 responded on May 25, 1989, again on White House stationery. He stated that the president "appreciated your taking the time to write and your willingness to share your thoughts" but that "due to heavy commitments on his official calendar" the president could not meet with representatives of American Atheists. On January 9, 1990, George Bush, in signing a proclamation for the Martin Luther King holiday, had the gall to remark that "bigots" must be brought to justice. Again, American Atheists threw his words back in his face, asking what his designation of atheists as being unworthy of citizenship was. On February 5, 1990, Mr. Nelson Lund replied again on White House stationery -- stating

"We believe that our position has been adequately explained in previous correspondence."

Indeed it has and that position is that George Bush is a bigot.

On February 21, 1990, American Atheists wrote to every member of the United States Congress asking that body to pass a resolution condemning discrimination against atheists by any elected or appointed official of government. The offered resolution read:

No person in public life may be free to impugn the patriotism of any minority group because of that group's opinion in respect to religion. President George Bush is herewith censured for his public expression of August 27, 1987, at which time he stated: "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

You don't need to guess how many senators and representatives answered that letter: there were none. At this point, American Atheists sent a list of the members of Congress to all of its membership and asked each one to write or telephone their congressmen. Hundreds of angry letters and telephone calls were received at the American Atheist GHQ during the next several months as it became obvious that the elected Congress was composed entirely of politicians too damn yellow to challenge Bush. In just one campaign incident, American Atheists was able to teach thousands of the nation's top-notch citizens that their government did not give a damn about them. This exercise added appreciably to the malcontentedness in the nation and rightly so.

American Atheists then sent every single columnist in the United States a packet of information -- from Pat Buchanan to Jim Fain. Only one was courageous enough to write a lengthy article on the matter: Tom Tiede. And the newspapers in which Tiede was syndicated did print his column taking the president to task. A little later, the CNN feature program "Larry King Live" broadcast a quarter-hour interview with Mr. Robert Sherman, as he detailed the perfidy of President Bush.

When George Bush appeared on the campus of the University of Texas on May 19, 1990, American Atheists placed a full-page advertisement in the Austin American Statesman detailing the above and demanding an apology and an explanation. The founders of American Atheists, a thirty-year-old organization, are both honorably discharged veterans: Richard E. O'Hair, U.S. Marines (totally and permanently disabled); and Madalyn O'Hair, Women's Army Corps. Both served in World War II.

On December 23, 1990, in Chicago, Illinois Mr. Robert Sherman met with Ed Derwinski, the secretary of the Department of Veteran's Affairs, to discuss exclusion of American Atheists from veteran's groups which have been chartered by the United States Congress. Mr. Derwinski said he would do "absolutely nothing" about the discrimination. On January 3, Mr. Sherman crossed paths with Ed Derwinski again at the Illinois inaugurations. He asked Mr. Derwinski, at that time, what American Atheists could do to have the Bush administration take an interest in the problem of discrimination against American Atheist veterans. Mr. Derwinski's response was:

"What you should do for me is what you should do for everybody: Believe in God. Get off our backs."

When Mr. Sherman was in Washington, D.C., on another issue on March 20, 1991, he again met with Mr. Derwinski, who, on this occasion, shouted that the atheists should "get off his back," that the Bush administration would do nothing for them, and that they would need to "sue" to end discrimination against them.

To add pointed insult to injury, the City of Chicago Commission on Human Rights refused to permit American Atheist Veterans to appear as a group in the Fourth of July "Welcome Home" parade for the veterans of Desert Storm in that city.

In the corridors of American history, atheists have loomed large: Clarence Darrow, Margaret Sanger, Mark Twain, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Albert Einstein, California's Governor Culbert L. Olson, Thomas Edison, the great botanist Luther Burbank, and James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution. The list is long.

American Atheists ask that you write to George Bush, President of the United States, at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500 and ask him for an apology to this group which comprises from 9 to 16 percent of the population.

And you thought blogs were boring...

2007-03-23T19:23:00.000-04:00

Damnit...the lovely Kate is coming over tomorrow, and my place is looking like casa de shithole. And there just isn't any way I'm going to vacuum. It wouldn't be so bad if I had the morning free tomorrow, as she's working til three...but I don't. I have many a thing to do, and that means I'm going to have to run home, do a hack cleaning job (which will be plenty good enough for me, but the lovely Kate has explained the difference between "boy clean" and "girl clean" to me), and then go pick her no transportation having ass up.

That isn't fair. She has a very nice car. In Australia.

Here's a pic for you, you bananas...the mighty Samuel L. Sammy. Hell of a bird. Right now, he's trying to dismantle the shirt that I'm wearing; a transgression that I'll live with, since he's house trained enough now to the point where he almost never poops on my floor. This pleases me.

My god, I look frightful in that pic. I once walked through the wilderness for four days, doing mushrooms (yes, really), and I didn't look that chopped up when I got back. Look at my friggin eyes...sunken into my head, and somehow still looking bug-eyed.

Hey, didja hear? Republicans don't believe in global warming. Suprise.

Ok, I'm going to go have a brownie. Go back to whatever it was you were doing.

Already pretty lax

2007-03-18T16:16:00.000-04:00

I have a ton of things that I'd like to write about, but already the slacker in me has taken over. Plus, the lovely Kate spent pretty much the whole weekend at my place, and if I have the option of blogging, or spending time with Kate...well, Kate presents a pretty serious argument for spending time with her just by walking in the room. It doesn't look like it much matters, however, as nobody has yet visited my blog. You people have no idea what you're missing.

Ok, second post

2007-03-13T11:11:00.000-04:00

Probably should have been the first post. I took my rogersherman.com site down, as I was kind of bored of keeping it up, but people need to be kept up-to-date on what I'm thinking about, and my stupid Myspace account really doesn't quite do it. So, a blogspot it is. I'll be reposting my How To Be a Professional Musician blog that people seem to love so much, and outside of that, there'll be mostly stuff on music, bicycling, and of course, politics.

Paris-Nice '07

2007-03-13T11:09:00.000-04:00

I'm watching the race on cycling.tv as I type this...very frustrating. They usually have a really clear picture, but the data rate is really slow today. Maybe because so many people are watching? Annoying.