Thought Sausage

Since I don't have anything in particular to say...here's a random un-assorted list of shit going on around here...

1. I have a big swim on Saturday. 5k stroll around Ohio Beach. I'm not really at peak performance levels as I've been off for the past week for the funeral. Rumor has it some pretty decent masters swimmers are going to show, so we should have some competition. Seems about a dozen of us from the team are going to turn up. My only real concern is that it's been raining in Chicago the past few days and when that happens, the lake seems to drop a good billion degrees. Not to mention the chances of e-coli (sp?) levels getting dangerous increase. So the prospects of my Saturday morning being spent in freezing disease ridden water riding in the back of the pack because I slacked on training isn't all that thrilling.

2. Fred Thompson announced he's running for president for the one guy who hadn't already figured that was inevitable. I don't think I'd vote for him (yet..), but I will say without a doubt he's going to be THE campaigner. This guy is going to be good to watch.

3. This the conversation Roly and I are having on AIM:
[00:04] fatsholo: now watching sabbath 'the wizard'
[00:04] fatsholo: cool tune
[00:04] ZosoV101: watching?
[00:04] ZosoV101: Ozzy playin harmonica?
[00:05] fatsholo: yes sir
[00:05] ZosoV101: what year?
[00:05] fatsholo: not sure but it looks more recent
[00:05] ZosoV101: hmm
[00:06] ZosoV101: yeah I don't think they played the Wizard much towards the end of his tenure
[00:06] ZosoV101: which sucks
[00:06] fatsholo: yeah
[00:06] ZosoV101: they kinda buried all the bluesy shit in favor for the more electronic crazy shit on Never say Die on any of the vids that exist from that time
[00:07] fatsholo: yeah
[00:07] ZosoV101: other than the obvious shit like war pigs or NIB
[00:07] ZosoV101: I sound like a sabbath snob
[00:07] fatsholo: you are ha ha
[00:07] ZosoV101: and yes, I realize that'd make a good T shirt

4. I'm told by people who would know these things that funerals have a tendency to bring out the worst in people and create tension. I've been to funerals before, but none I guess as close-hitting as this last one. And I'll be damned if I don't come from a family that falls into the same thing. People who are otherwise extremely smart and successful making obscenely poor judgement calls and thoroughly fucking up what should otherwise be a somber reflective and perhaps cathartic event is something to behold and a little suprising. Actually, it was a case of watching one uncle be extremely classy under extreme pressure of organizing affairs and keeping it all together for the sake of his young kids and another who has been a complete loser and class one grade A fuck up in just about everything he's ever attempted do what you would think a person of that description does...only to be mediated by a guy who would otherwise seem pretty smart/diplomatic pull some crazy shit I'd expect on a japanese game show. Strange times we live in....

5. The following video pretty much mirrors every Saturday night for me:

6. Apple has a lot to learn about the cell phone business it seems. But they dont' have a lot to learn in releasing new-and-improved versions of ipods. Glad to see they didn't abandon the wheel on those things entirely with the new line. That touch screen is cool but for working out (aka sweaty hands) it'll be a greasy mess. I'm not really sold on the ipod touch because 16 gigs ain't hackin it for my music purposes. But boy howdy havin 80 gigs to pile on the tunes and videos/tv shows for 250 bones is pretty tempting. Megan and I have been talking about how road trips would be a lot less tedious if there were movies and shows to watch (it just so happens Mustangs placed the power supply in the center of the dash, making this a perfect dock for video...yes I realize that's technically illegal sue me). I'd say "enjoying the scenery should be enough" but since I live in the vast cornlands with the occasional silo or rest stop that is Illinois, I don't.

7. I have to get my flight and days off in order to go to LA (en route to Death valley) like...really fucking quick.

8. Coke Zero gets an A over here @ 180 N Jefferson. We finally procured a case of it this weekend and I'm definitely a fan.

9. I really really really need to install the new version of movabletype on here. sorry you can't comment away on things without me approving it...but if I didn't have that in place, 90% of the comments would be littered with shit about expanding your penis size or how you can still get a good interest rate even if your credit it shit. And I've always said I'm gonna have flaccid readers or no readers at all!

Let me make one thing clear right away, I don't know fuck all about Kanye West's music. Don't own a single one of his albums and I probably never will. I have absolutely no interest in what he creates. What I do know about him is that he's grossly over-exposed and being shoved down America's throats. I know this because if he weren't somebody like me wouldn't know who the fuck he is.

That said...is it me or does this guy take every opportunity in the press he possibly can to play the race card? He went on his tirade about Bush not caring about black people in the wake of Katrina (a short-sided move if there ever was one), and now he's hinting that the reason Britney Spears is opening the show instead of him is because he's black with this pithy little remark:
“Maybe my money’s not right. Maybe my skin’s not right,” he said.

People like Kanye West annoy the fuck out of me. I don't disagree that there are times in this country when people are held back because of their race. But when a millionare "artist" who's made more money in a year than most black people make in their lives tries to throw his plight up there when there are real racial problems it makes me wanna upper cut him in his pussy. What the fuck is it with people like him that makes them think common Americans are going to empathize with his ass over shit like performing on a dumbass MTV show?

Of course this latest comment is based on him getting slighted on an MTV show in favor of Britney Spears so just shoot me right fucking now.

Well this weekend was another one for the bag. Did my big 5k race and boy howdy that was a lot of worryin' for nothin'. Turned out all the elements lined up perfect. We had fantastic weather, fantastic water temp, and no effects of E Coli (if there were any, I'm pretty sure I killed it with alcohol later that night). We all did really well (by we, I mean the Chicago Blue Dolphins)...I came in at 1:12 which ain't bad for my first time around. In fact that put me in the top 10%, so its a start. I definitely learned a lot about pacing. That said, I think I may have found a niche. Open water 5-10ks are where it's at IM oh so HO.

So that's that for swimming until next week when the Fall season starts. I don't feel like I'm the greatest shape (I think I peaked somewhere in Feb). I'm sort of putting swimming on the back burner until at least the end of September because Roly and I have our death valley ride. In fact I finally got around to booking the flight for that. Gonna give Jet Blue a whirl. Ian swears by these guys (I think). Looks like we'll be flying into Long Beach and then driving out to Lone Pine...all 230 miles of it.

Between now and then I need that new iPod classic to come out (if it hasn't already). I've got mine to the gills and was meaning to upgrade to something that I could cram full of shit for a long time. Plus the added bonus of craming movies on the thing is appealing to me more and more. It seemed stupid to watch shit on a little screen back in the day, but now I'm intrigued for travel purposes (as previously mentioned). I'd have to say my opinion on the iPod Touch ain't so great. It's the fucking iphone except you can't call people.

This week should be fairly productive for me (I say that every week). Lots of new projects brewin' round the ranch (aka 225 Michigan). This week also represents my last summer Friday week. For those of you not aware of this...in an effort to keep up with the Japanese, lots of American companies now give their employees one Friday off a month in the summer (May through September). This week I thought I'd actually make an attempt to spend this day productively rather than hungover. So Megan and I are taking the Architecture Tour @ 2:30 and then the Untouchables Tour later that night. I'm pretty stoked about the latter because I think when this whole internet fad blows over, I'm going to become a historian and/or city tourguide. Maybe those guys are hiring a weekend dude?

Don't thank me thank Travis

And you thought Microsoft had good marketing now...you shoulda seen when they were the little guy...

And for Gabe, since I know you're about to be subjected to the hell-on-earth that is children's television...this is what you're in for:

If you moderate a group on Google of any size, you will be bombarded by these 3rd world link builders who are so clueless its sad. Seriously....I had one who's been trying to contact me all week and finally I decided to tell him what's up.

The following conversation took place on Gchat (since I dig the whole stream of conscious thing)

Satbir: hello

Satbir Singh: I need Water Filter, Watches & Jewelry related sites
Sent at 9:55 PM on Tuesday
Satbir: r u there

Dave: yes
Do you have any content a water filter, watch or jewelry site would want to link to?

Sent at 9:59 PM on Tuesday
Satbir: hello

Dave: what do you need these sites for?

Satbir: i want jewelry and home decor related sites

Dave: are you looking to buy some jewelry and redecorate your house?
or do you have a website you are trying to build links to?

Satbir: r u a link builder

Dave: I'm not a link-spammer if that's what you're asking

Satbir: i m a link builder

Dave: No you're not, you're a link spammer
let me help you out here dude
I'm sure you probably read some link building guide or a get rich on the internet book written in 1995...but going around asking random people you met on a SEO forum if they have "related sites" at random like this is about as useful as tits on a boar for trying to generate any real rankings in search engines
that's soooooooooo 1999.
If you really want to get rankings, you need to focus on viral content, link bait and having a web presence taht doesn't scream "internet for fun and profit (but mostly profit)" to everyone who comes across it
Rest assured I have nothing nice to say about what you're doing or how you're going about doing it.
and to answer your question
no I don't have any jewelry or home decor sites that would link to you :-)
have a nice day and don't contact me anymore

Okay, I’ve stands all that I can stands and I can’t stands no more. I’ve had it with Vista for any sort of musical purpose (and the ill-concieved yet well intentioned laptop-as-a-DAW idea). Seriously…even with all that aero bullshit and looking like its straight out of 98, Vista can’t process audio to save its ass on this machine. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty cool OS for everything else…but not music. So, to remedy the matter, I nutted up and bought a dual Xeon server which I will proceed to load with XP, Sonar, Cool Edit, Native Instruments, Gear Box and get on with it (yes I have massive hookups in the hosting industry for those of you who didn’t already know that)….and that sound y’all are hearing is most likely Genender coughing “I told you so” under his breath. Yeah whateva…I know when I’m wrong. Killing a fly with a bazooka you might say. But if I have to hear an audio clip one more time I swear to Christ a head will roll. Nuff’s e nuff. One cool aspect of this approach is that I get to geek out and build an actual workstation. I’m going the slim route. So my list-of-shit-to-buy consists of a monitor and a utility rack (I have the means for the rest) and possibly new keyboard/mouse implements. Hopefully a cool rackmount concoction will come of this. Will post pics once we’re up and rockin.

In other music-related news…I bought that ipod classic I’ve been babbling about yesterday. Proceeded to load it up with all my music and get a little trigger happy on itunes for video content. The 1st and 17th seasons of Law and Order are on this bitch in addition to the available episodes of Mad Men, and 3 episodes of Prison Break. And I’m barely a quarter occupied! To make matters even cooler, they changed the dimensions of the ipod classic to resonate more with the old school ipods instead of that wider stance the ipod videos had. As a result, it fits perfectly in my car harness, meaning we’ve got plenty of video entertainment in the stang nowadays. Once I figure out how to kife some DVD’s onto this thing I may just start hanging out in my car.

Negatives? Well that DRM shit is finally starting to be a pain in my ass. I had to install itunes 7.4 for this one and it told me I couldn’t play any of my songs because my computer was no longer authorized. What the fuck is that shit? So I had to “authorize” the same damn computer that was playing the shit 5 minutes ago and it informed me that I had now authorized 5 of the total 5 machines I have available (note I only went through 3 machines on that account and the other two were merely software upgrades). So I guess next time Apple decides I have to upgrade I won’t be able to play my own fucking songs on my own fucking computer. Sorta silly don’t ya think? Also, it seems the “get album art” function only drops the album art onto your computer and not onto your ipod. I don’t really give a fuck about album art, except with the new ipod OS, it makes this cute little screen saver thingy out of ‘em that is kinda cool. Plus the display looks pretty damn sweet and the neato factor is still wreaking havoc on me. Argh…

It’s funny how as late as 2004, I was convinced that ipods were for hippy dipshits and steadfastly refused to drink the Apple kool-aid. Well here I am 3 years later and I own 3 of ‘em. One of which I had to buy to use the Nike+ (yeah that only works with a nano go figure) and the most recent cos I crammed the other full. I guess all I can say is “ya sure showed me Steve”.

My hatred of Dane Cook has grown to new levels. First off, I never thought this guy was funny. He's a joke stealin, tight-jean wearin, lisp talkin, teetotalin' douche bag. And now I guess he's become some sort of emo rocker (yes, that song is Dane Cook singing). Who the fuck told this guy THIS was a good idea? @ least when Eddie Murphy ventured into music he got Rick James on board to make sure the song didn't suck. This sounds like Dane hired a 14 year old who just broke up with his first girlfriend to pen this audio cancer. The sad part is I know a chick who hangs onto every not-funny shit that comes out of this idiots mouth because she thinks he's hot. I'm gonna go ahead and guess that's probably why anybody likes him. His shows have to be like Morrissey concerts at this point, where all the straight men in the room are there because a girlfriend made them go. I seriously think I might start a campaign to get this idiot off the street and into the projectionist room at a movie theater where he belongs.

UPDATE: Wow I just realized this is the 3rd time Dane Cook has been Fucktard of the Week. I think this puts him in serious contention to be fucktard of the year.

Well it's gettin' around to that time of year when the presidential hopefuls on the Democrat side start throwing out all these great promises that give some have-not group something for nothing. Health care is usually at the helm of this banter, and I have to admit I'm somewhat suprised at how not-so-unrealistic Edwards and Clinton's stances are. I know very little specifics about Hillary Clinton's new health care plan, but I get the general overview from her unveiling on the campaign trail.

Sounds like a bit of a pull back from what she ran up the flagpoll back when her husband was prez. Rather than outright take over the insurance industry, she simply wants to regulate it and subsidize people who can't afford it. It smacks of the same ideas Edwards has been throwing around for the past six months or so but that's fine. I like to see that this dialog is moving more towards the center this year. Rather than outright saying everybody gets coverage no strings attached, the plan is to require businesses to cover employees, create bargaining markets and then go through and make sure the health insurance industry is regulated to keep premiums from spiraling out of control. Edwards (and I say Edwards because he thought of all this first) plans on paying for this by repealing the tax cuts of people who make over $200,000. In my years as a registered voter, I've come to the conclusion that the "People who make over 200k" is in fact code for "people who make between 30 and 100k once this thing comes to pass" because there simply aren't that many rich people out there.

Now that's not to say I'm ready to become a bleeding blue democrat (or any party for that matter, they're all clusterfucked in their own little ways), but I could support a system like that.

HOWEVER

I do believe there is some responsibility that comes with this universal health care. We live in the fattest country in the world, and obesity is the leading cause of heart problems in America. We know cancer is the biggest killer in America yet millions of Americans smoke.

I'll say this, if this social bill comes to pass, there should be a bill along with it that imposes a federal ban on smoking in ALL public areas (that is, if you wanna smoke do it in your car or your home) and a serious FDA crackdown on the food industry. If the government is going to tell me they are going to take more of my money to subsidize a family's health care bill...you're goddamn right that family better not smoke or eat all 1670 calories and 107 grams of fat that is the fucking Baconator. Shit happens, that's why we have insurance...but over-eating and smoking are two things people volunatarily do to themselves that we know as a fact (despite the bullshit PR from Phillip Morris) lead to health problems. The way I see it, if the government is going to tell me I need to pay for other people's right to health care (and as sure as you're born, you WILL pay for it), it's those people's goddamn responsibility to do their part to be fucking healthy. And I submit that there isn't a single drawback to having an overall healthier fitter country.

You know, it's not often that I side with the country of France on much of anything, but I'm behind 'em on this sentiment.

What the fuck is with Iran these days? How can they possibly be suprised that the rest of the world isn't sitting to well with a country run by a guy who wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth enriching uranium? Here's an idea Iran...get that idiot off the throne and put somebody in who can at least represent himself and your country in a way that doesn't make him sound like a deranged terrorist. I'm sure the people of Iran don't share his sentiments (although I'm not so naive as to think everythings cool between Israel and the citizens of just about any other country in the region). Nevertheless...don't talk about wiping countries off the face of the planet while you are trying to enrich uranium...I'm no foreign diplomatic, but I think I might really be onto something here.

New Ministry album came out today. I've had it on rotation since about 5-ish, and allz I gotta say is Grandpa Al is goin out with a bang. The cover of Roadhouse Blues is worth the price of admission alone. Two bigass thumbs up from me so far. Awesome punk/thrash flavor throughout.

Run don't walk to purchase this one. It's the last new-material outing for Ministry (seriously?). Some all-covers album is going to come out next year, but after that, Al is hangin that up.

Quote of the day (from Roly, who those of you who don't know him, is from Belfast):

fatsholo@aol.com [3:55 PM]:

this is from the local paper

fatsholo@aol.com [3:56 PM]:

_http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music-gigs/news/article2974101.ece

fatsholo@aol.com [3:56 PM]:

thanks to the response from the Belfast crowd it persuaded Zep to record Satirway

fatsholo@aol.com [3:56 PM]:

no thanks necessary

In other news..the Fed Ex truck didn't deposit a server at my house today. So alas no system ramp up tonight. Which sucks double because I have a work thingy tomorrow night and I'm off to Madison Friday to cycle on Saturday morning (the outskirts of Madison feature some of the finest road-biking in the midwest bar none). So this could possibly mean the music rig won't be put into action until Sunday. Yeah I'm a little miffed about that. Especially since I bought all the necessary peripherals (rack, keyboard/mouse, scented candles). Plus I'll probably have my hands full next week ramping up for the big ride in Cali next Sat/Sun. I ordered the crate to ship my bike out there and we'll see how/if this actually goes off.

And while we're at it, can I just go ahead and say Home Depot's definition of "Easy to Assemble metal shelving" and mine are most definitely two different animals. My definition revolves around being, easy and stuff. Easy as in doesn't take long and the pieces fit together easily. Home Depot's is more on the order of takes all goddamn night and the pieces don't fit together for shit. Not that I'm a badass craftsman, but I am from Iowa and I am more than capable of assembling shit. In case you're looking for some metal shelving not to buy, might i reccomend the "no-screws necessary easy-to-assemble" unit from Home Depot.

I did get it all together though, and its starting to look like the borg took over the room. And its pissing me off that the space where the server should be isn't here.

UPDATE: Okay, just checked the tracking data @ Fed Ex. It says it's been in transit since the 17th from Waterloo Iowa. WTF??? Are they delivering it via horse 'n buggy?

Indulge me for a second while I engage in a SEO experiment for work.... And see what the query matrix means to me.

RANKINGS RANKINGS RANKINGS RANKINGS!!!!!

Man it's been busy weekend around these parts. Some good some bad. I just got done tinkering with the server (it's been christened Roxbox). Installed Windows XP on it and it turns out that's not exactly going as swimming as I'd hoped. There are two big hurdles to overcome at the moment:

1. the monitor I got isn't recognized by XP and as such, defaults all 19" of it to a 15" display. I've somewhat averted this by using a shitty resolution. Nonetheless...pain in the ass.

2. It likes to restart randomly. Moreover, it seems to do it whenever I open shit off certain CD's. This is a HUGE problem and one that the spirit isn't moving me to tackle tonight...hence why I'm writing this instead of yelling at it and throwing things around the room. Needless to say this is an absolute must-fix. I'm thinking I'll let Windows 2003 Server Edition take a crack at bat. If that doesn't work, and this is indeed a hardware issue, then sheeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaat. fun fun fun.

Other than that, all is well. The thing actually had a perfectly good hard drive in it that wasn't hooked up. So the storage factor on this bumped up another 80 gigs. It's a 2U rack so it's got space for around 4 more drives as well. Lots of fun to be had there.

Spent half the weekend in Wisconsin. Roly and I drove up to Madison Friday night and stayed @ my uncle's place and drank Pointe all Friday night and cycled Saturday morning. The outskirts of Madison (by way of Black Earth,Middleton, and Mount Horeb). For my money, this area represents some of the greatest cycling in the midwest. Great roads, good layout, fairly decent scenery and really nice people. It's amazing how cycling through an area that is friendly to cyclists can dramatically alter the experience. Without naming names, I'll say there are areas around Chicago that could make lesser men give up the bike altogether just because of the assholes that inhabit it. We DID however get our asses handed to us at least twice by way of some hardcore hills. One of which I think damn near killed both of us. That particular area has lots of valleys and trees. While you're in an area like that, it becomes really difficult to gauge where a hill is and isn't. So we had a few spring up on us that we weren't really ready for. We even said fuck it and walked up one (it was right after lunch so I wasn't hip to thrashing my legs just yet). That said though...it's unfortunate that I cycled this area so late because it is class. Other pertinent elements of my Madison area scorecard:

1. Fantastic bike lanes. All other mid-sized town suburbs should take note

2. Rocky Roccoco still has a strong presence in Madison. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

3. Mount Horeb is having a Brewfest for the entire month of September. Then Oktoberfest in October. If there is ever going to be a reason I'd move to a tiny little town, this type of activity would be it.

4. The town (and I use that in the 'buildings all gathered in a common area' sense of the word) of Pine Bluff can't have more than 150 people in it, and there are no less than 4 bars. Class...

So yeah...big ups on the cycling in Madison experience. I'll be back up there again (which of couse will really test the mettle of my aunt and uncle).

Spent the majority of Saturday night installing XP and various necessesities on Roxbox. See above for the outcome of that...eventually met up with peeps at Bridget's and hanging too late @ Jeff Tap.

Today I met up with Jay H (for the first time in ages) in Oak Brook for Nikki Sixx's book signing (funny how everybody I told I was doing this would respond with "that guy wrote a book?"). His book, The Heroin Diaries is basically his journal from 86-87 with various insights from people who were around at that time. It's actually a pretty fascinating read...and a great look at the inner-workings of a major band at the height of its popularity (this would have been around the Girls, Girls Girls period).

Unfortunately we didn't get our book signed, as neither of us had anticipated the vast amounts of 80's remanents that are Motley Crue fans that have nothing better to do than hang out at a Borders from 8am until 4. I always love going to metal related stuff because of the people that come out of the woodwork. Watching some chubby 20 something sitting outside a Borders with jet black hair, pleather pants (worn baggy plumber style) with mascara, a Theater of Pain black shirt and a red bandana in the back pocket waxing poetic about how "if it weren't for Nikki Sixx, I wouldn't be alive today" really makes you re-evaluate your role models. Not.

Plus there's the added bonus of it taking place at Borders. Since Jay and I have long since gotten the "dress like you wanna embarass your parents" phase out of our system, people who weren't there for the book signing would approach us to ask what all the commotion was about (these people are of the age-demographic and appearance you would expect out of one who frequents a borders on Sunday). When we'd tell them, the requisite rolling of the eyes, or that look of disapproval is amusing.

So other than that, I hung out with Megan for a bit, tinkered on Roxbox more and read.

The crate to ship my bike out to Cali appears to have arrived but I haven't picked it up yet (Fed Ex drops packages @ the dry cleaner in my building and leaves a note in the mailbox). The butterflies are startin to swirl in my stomach...we're down to the wire now.

Interesting night after work. I come home and fire up Rox Box only to be greeted by a huge growling/grinding noise. Like a drive or a fan was fucked up. Very unpleasant. It did however appear to be booting just fine. And by just fine I mean get to the login screen and restart. Opened up the case to find said grinding noise wasn't actually a fan or drive, but an unused plug that was laying up against the fan and rattling around. So that was an easy fix.

But the restarting shit was a show-stopper. So Drew and I dropped 2003 Server Edition on that bitch and boy howdy did the sky part. Installed smooth and shit and runs as solid as a rock. Within 10 minutes I reinstalled everything I spent all night fighting to get on the old box. And as a side bonus, 2003 recognizes the monitor so now I'm enjoying the full screen. NICE

Am still throwing all the plugins on it. But so far...big ups to 2003 and big downs to XP.

UPDATE: Okay, shit is all installed and I've recorded a few things. Finally to where I can "work" (and by work I mean fuck off). Now onto more important things like buying a bass....

Exactly

And now for something that actually is fucking funny

Oh god this day couldn't possibly get anymore financially draining.

I don't have a lot of time...but here's the readers digest version....first, James noticed the bus was missing from its spot. thinking it was stolen, he notified the police (it bears mentioning we haven't actually driven it since Ragbrai). He then finds out that it has in fact been towed because little kids were playing on it, and despite being in a private lot, the city saw fit to take it away because it wasn't fenced in. Cost to get it out? $4500. But wait...it gets better. They won't release the bus until we come up with all 4500 and in the meantime, they'll be charging 100 bucks a day for the privilege of sitting in the impound lot. Ian is working with a lawyer to try to sort the matter out.

THEN I came home from work to find a nice little letter from the IRS wherein they've found a descrepency in my 2005 taxes, and now feel they should charge another grand over what I paid in. So they are coming to collect. Luckily their payment system is pretty painless, and they don't seem to mind letting me not pay up right away (cos I got a budget here folks), but jesus aitch christ!

I had to run to swimming right after the last update. Needless to say, the backhalf of the night wasn't near as stressful as the day today. However, there were some good things to come of it.

Back into swimming...and that thoroughly kicked my ass. Two weeks off and I go to pure shit. Its disheartening to see how much you lose in that time. The good news is that my cardio seems strong as ever. Just getting the muscles to do what I want for as long as I want. I also got myself back on track diet-wise. A little too late to make any real impact on the bod for Saturday, but this is more of a "stop going down this path before I go totally to hell" strategy. When I'm training hard my diet is pretty insane. If I'm over the weight I want, I usually take in around 1200-1500 calories. Otherwise I'll throw down 2500 or so. But its all pretty bland if you're like me and appreciate the finer tones of Taco Bell, Chipotle and the various pizza joints in Chicago. But starting back into it always sucks cos you have that constant hunger ache thing going on.

Upon return from swimming, I spent some time in the hot tub reading more of The Heroin Diaries. I went into this expecting some self indulgent cash grab, but its actually a pretty well laid out book. Definitely no punches pulled as there's no shortage of people talking about what an asshole Nikki Sixx is. Even if you're not a Motley Crue fan (and I can't say I really am myself...could take or leave 'em really), it is an interesting read.

Spent the rest of the night in front of RoxBox. God damn its good to have a fully operational rig that like works 'n stuff. Still just poking around creating soundbytes and crap that may or may not evolve into something. I'm not really in any hurry.

Still heading to Cali on Friday morning (early Friday morning..plane leaves @ 7:30). Still riding a century in Death Valley on Saturday. I'm pumped but fucking hell I wish I would have trained more. We shall see I guess. I have all the necessary gear. new items include the shipping crate to send my bike out there with me (goddamn if that isn't a pain in the ass), and I finally got around to getting a CamelBak. So that, plus 2 water bottles oughta keep me somewhat okay until we hit a midpoint water stop. Plus the bike is fully luminated. All in all, I can't think of any loose ends.

Man...7:30? Why the fuck do I book shit so early?

Welp...ready as I'll ever be. Got the bike crated all up tonight. That was suprisingly easy, save for my left pedal, which decided that between Drew and I, it was going to hang on for dear life. Jesus christ that fucker was in there but good. Must WD-40 it ASAP. I caught myself marveling a few times at how sturdy the crate is. The worry of being able to get that in there was for naught to be certain.

-Bike, helmet and components? CHECK

-Spokeasy jersey and shorts? CHECK

-New shoes (cos I ain't using my Ragbai/Triathlon Sandals for this shit)? CHECK

-Gel packs? CHECK

-Bike Rack? CHECK (and it bears mentioning I stuffed my car rack in my fuckin suitcase)

-Ipod loaded with a bunch of movies I may not watch cos Jet Blue has Direct TV? CHECK

-The Heroin Diaries? CHECK

-Digital camera? CHECK

-GPS System so we can actually find Lone Pine? CHECK

-A can-do attitude? WE'LL SEE ON SAT AFTERNOON.

All in all, its shaping up. So far so good I guess. I'm a little nervous yet excited. This is the first real organized century I've done. So I'm so-so on how ready i'll be. I always do better at these things when I'm a tad nervous so there's that.

Oh, one thing that may throw a wrench in the motor...my main ATM/Visa card (the one with the lions share of my loot) has a stripe that isn't working. People can still key in the numbers but I can't get cash out. So somewhere in Cali I'm going to have to pick up one of those ATM debit/cash cards and/or only give my business to places that accept cards. Joy fucking joy

All in all, I gotta admit, I'm really pumped about this. While its a cheesy website those pictures have me super stoked.

Am sitting in the lobby of the hotel, which the name escapes but I assure it is not a chain. This shit is straight out of the 20's...but in an amusing cool 'we have a story to tell' kinda way. First, the lobby is littered with old country stars and John Wayne. They REALLY like John Wayne here. In fact, its even the password for their wifi. We have no private bathrooms...Roly is taking a shower as I sit here.

Everything went unnervingly well getting here, re-assembling the bikes and so forth. And Jet Motherfuckin Blue is the business. Two big thumbs up from me. I've flown on every airline that has service in the US many times over the past few years and all I can say is that they are without a doubt the most bang for your buck. Direct TV in every seat? It's on. They serve actual water, the seats are actually comfortable and the people actually seem like they enjoy their jobs. Shit, even manuevering through LA was fairly painless and that has NEVER happened to me or Roly. We lucked out and got a big-ass Nissan full sized truck for 5 bucks more than we would have paid for a compact, which kind of sucks because I wouldn'thave packed my car rack if I knew that was going to happen. But it's good because, well, we don't look like lame-asses rolling into town in a Saturn. I guess the cycling gods are smiling on us. We stopped at a shop in Long Beach to pick up some last minute supplies. Roly decided to forgo purchasing a camelbak, which I suspect he'll live to regret.

Lone Pine is the absolute epitamy of a two-horse town. We are literally out in the middle of the desert surrounded by mountains. It's absolutely beautiful. There's even a Jake's! Except this place is called Jake's Saloon and it has those old western saloon style doors out front. ...Nice

We just got back from a cycle just to make sure everything works and to get a feel for how it is out here. I will say this, it is WINDY. But not a dense wind like Chicago (I think that's the proper way to describe it). You can cut through it a lot easier than the shit in the midwest. Maybe the lack of moisture in the air has something to do with that. The major downside is that instead of moisture, you have dust. And in the brisk 10 or so miles we rode, you DO feel it. That's why I think Roly might regret not having the Camelbak (plus he told me as much).

We're off to get some food, have a few beers @ Jakes and do god-knows what. Our ride doesn't start until 4 tomorrow so it's not like we're on a schedule or anything. Man that's nice.