New Years Resolution

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

Losing weight, the easy way

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now Max Roach?!?

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

Phil Rizzuto 1917-2007

He will be missed.

Crazy Tour

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!

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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...

1. That asshole cop

2. Ricky Shroeder

3. Ethan Suplee

If you're the cop...

...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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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!

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...

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...

...and it's in my refrigerator.

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

:shudder:

Say it ain't so, Tom...

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

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

Bernie Brausewetter
September 10, 1954 - April 15, 2007

Rest in peace, Bernie.

Ah yes, fascism

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

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

Jack Johnson is a goddamn homo

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'!

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?

The History of the Issue
by Madalyn O'Hair
(used with kind permission from American Atheists: all rights reserved)

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...

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

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

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

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.