24 July 2008Television
Who is Don Draper?

One of the best shows on TV is about to start up again, and would you beleive, it's on AMC. Mad Men is hands down the best photographed television show on the air right now. The quality of the cinematography along with top notch set direction and costume design allows you to seamlessly enter the advertising world of the 1950s where all is not what it seems to be on the surface.

Don Draper is one of the most compelling characters ever created for the small screen. He rules this world of petty office politics, shady dealings, guilt-free adultery and consequence free behavior writ large (smoking, drinking, fucking, etc.). On the surface his life seems perfect. He's rich, well-respected, good-looking, has a beautiful wife and family with a large house in suburbs, but underneath there's trouble. His home life is unsatisfying. He sends his wife to therapy. Every ad job is potential bombshell that could torpedo his career if he can't wow his clients. He has colleagues who are trying to undermine him and steal his job and his office. And he's not who he says he is.

Anyway, the show is great, you should check it out. The first season should be on DVD and the second season starts this Sunday.

Posted by andrew at 09:07 AM | Comment (1)

23 July 2008Education
Berkeley Online

The other day I stumbled on the Berkeley Podcast site. Looks like for a couple of years now, Berkeley has been recording and podcasting some of their courses. Ostensibly, this is for students who miss lectures for one reason or another, but the site is public and it's available to anyone.

Some of the courses offered are really interesting. Here's a small sample:

Introduction to Archaeology
Bio 1A General Biology Lecture
Bio 1AL General Biology Labratory (sic)
Bio 1B General Biology
Chem 1A General Chemistry
CS 162 Operating Systems and System Programming
CS 61A The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
CS 61BL Data Structures and Programming Methodology
CS 61C Machine Structures
Econ 100A Economic Analysis--Micro
Econ 100B Economic Analysis--Macro
EE 105 Microelectronic Devices and Circuits

You can download them onto your iPod and listen anywhere and if you don't have an iPod, download them to iTunes and listen at work.

(Is it bad that they spelled "Laboratory" wrong on the site?)

Posted by andrew at 10:04 AM | Comment (0)

21 July 2008Sports
Olympic Fever

The Beijing Olympics are only 2 weeks away. Who's excited?

I haven't read any of the pre-Olympic stories (Sports Illustrated, etc.) but I have kept my eyes on the Olympics trials for Swimming and Track & Field and I've been watching the Golden Gala meets in Europe. I know there's going to be problems with this events—pollution, censorship, drugs, terrorism?—but I don't care. I'm excited to see it as I've been for any games.

This will be the first Olympics where I've had a DVR. Between that and the blanket coverage that NBC is planning, I will finally be able to see everything I want and not have to stay up crazy hours to do it.

There's going to be a huge battle at the top of the medal table between the US and China. China has had a plan called Project 119 or something like that to win 119 gold medals including many in events like rowing where they are not exactly traditional powers. I know it will be close, but I hope we crush them. Athletes of free will should always be victorious over athletes driven by state-sponsored programs al la the former Soviet Union and East Germany. It's really only sports that gets my nationalistic fervor. I can't really explain it, but I always want the USA to win. If not the USA, then Australia. If not Australia, then Holland. I'd support Samoa, but they'll never win anything.

Posted by andrew at 04:21 PM | Comment (0)

19 July 2008Cycling
Devilish Climb - Mt. Diablo

Mt. Diablo sits out in the middle of Contra Costa Country like a challenge to all cyclists. At 3879 feet, it's easily the highest mountain in the area. It's winding slopes are both daunting and enticing. It's a hard enough climb if you start from the base, but today we started from Oakland (Emeryville for me) over 40 miles away.

Then there's the final 100 meters where the gradual slope kicks up to a sickening 17% grade. To put that in focus the Col du Galibier in the Alps on a regular climb on the Tour de France route is only 6.9% average. After 50 miles in the saddle, most of it uphill, hitting a 17% grade for any length of time will test the hardest of riders.

There were probably 40 riders or so who met at the lake and were going to to complete the whole ride. The Light riders leaving from the lake were only going to the Ranger Station at the halfway. The intermediates had taken the BART to Lafayette and skipped the Oakland hills. which look like nothing compared to Mt. Diablo on the profile, but can be quite tough.

We had three riders visiting us from some club in LA. I talked to them a little at the lake and on the way up Butters. They told me they drove the course they day before, so they knew what they were getting themselves into, but after Butters, I never saw them again. Maybe they abandoned?

The route starts out very similar to the Palomares ride, winding through the Oakland hills up Wildwood, past the Mormon Temple in Montclair, on Butters to Skyline and then down Redwood Road. Instead of continuing on Redwood Rd to Castro Valley, we turn right up the south end of Pinehurst and down into Moraga. From there it's fairly straight down the base of the climb about 30 miles away in Diablo.

Typically, when we started the ride, it was nice and cool. About 3 hours later at 11am when we were ready to start the climb, the sun was out and it was starting to warm up, not a happy situation. I wanted it to stay as cool as possible for as long as possible.

Back when I first got my back in August of last year, I had gone hiking with a friend at Mt. Diablo. That was the first time I saw cyclist on the mountain. Actually I might have seen them before, but I probably didn't notice, since I wasn't one of them. We drove all the way to the observation tower at the top and on the way down there was a cyclist in our draft. Eventually he passed us and was just gone. He could descend far faster than we could drive. It was scary, but also kind of cool. I thought, after our hike, I'd give it a try - at least see if I could get up to 1000 feet.

That day was seriously hot, over 80 and thought I had little problem getting to 1000 feet, I had serious problems getting down. I was new to the bike, had no idea how to the descend and the steep hairpin turns and the cars really freaked me out, so much so that I had to stop a few times, clip out and get myself together on the side of the road. I eventually got down, but it wasn't any fun.

Continue reading "Devilish Climb - Mt. Diablo"

Posted by andrew at 03:40 PM | Comment (0)

18 July 2008Politics
Petroleum Independence in 2018?

If you want to get a sense of the kind of leadership the United States has been missing that last 8 years, look no further than Al Gore's speech on the climate crisis yesterday. Love or hate him (and sadly, many do), you can't help to notice the glaring difference between the kind of leadership that Mr. Gore offers in this speech (entire text below the fold) and what we've come to expect from the current administration: the opposite of leadership.

It's not really important that the goals are achievable. I'm not expert enough to know anyway. What's important is the the problems we face are clearly presented and we as a society, a country and as human beings are being challenged to step and change our behavior. We might not meet Al Gore's aggressive goals, but trying and not quite reaching it is better than not trying at all and far, far better than pretending we don't have a problem.

Here's the crux of the speech in case you want to read it all:

The quickest, cheapest and best way to start using all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses. But to make this exciting potential a reality, and truly solve our nation's problems, we need a new start.

That's why I'm proposing today a strategic initiative designed to free us from the crises that are holding us down and to regain control of our own destiny. It's not the only thing we need to do. But this strategic challenge is the linchpin of a bold new strategy needed to re-power America.

Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years. This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans – in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.

You can see the call to action section of Al Gore's speech on the LA Times website.

More information on the We Can Solve It website.

Continue reading "Petroleum Independence in 2018?"

Posted by andrew at 04:14 PM | Comment (0)

18 July 2008Television
Top Gear

Top Gear is arguably one of the best shows on television. You don't even have to really like cars. You just have to appreciate the British sense of humor. Here's a description of the show from the website:

Top Gear takes extraordinary and ordinary cars to the limit and beyond to find out if they're as good as their manufacturers claim. Full of extreme stunts, challenges, and weekly features, Top Gear is exciting and has no boring stats and impenetrable conversations about camshafts and tire pressures. But it is the sharp wit of hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May that makes it more than just a motor show.

The great thing about the show is that the 3 hosts Clarkson, Hammond and May all pull no punches when it comes to skewering the cars (and each other). It's really good fun. I recommend checking out some of the episodes on You Tube, particularly the Peel P50. Then set your TiVo or DVR to record it.

The show airs on BBC America and you can find many older episodes on You Tube Including these favorites:

• Peel P50
• £10,000 Supercar Challenge
• The Atom

Posted by andrew at 12:44 PM | Comment (2)

17 July 2008Cool Stuff
800 Miles on One Fill Up?

Compressed-Air Powered cars could take you over 800 miles on a single fill-up, at speeds of up to 96 mph. They should refuel in less than 3 minutes, and at speeds over 35 mph emit about half the CO2 of a Toyota Prius. Best part? You could see them in the US at the end of next year.

Sounds good, but will they make an All Wheel Drive version for us powder hounds?

Now both my mom and my brother have a Prius. I would love to follow in their footsteps and get myself a hybrid, but there's just isn't an All Wheel Drive model that's worth a damn. Ford makes the Escape, but I will not buy a Ford (even though I'm a shareholder) until they improve their cars. I do think they are the one American car manufacturer that will take advantage of the demand for more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars. Toyota makes the Highliander, but it just sucks and barely gets better mileage than my Subie (about 20 miles/gallon on the highway). Why would I spend the money to get an extra 5 miles a gallon? I wouldn't. Then there's the Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon, but it's way too fucking large for me. The BMW X6 is supposed to have a hybrid model on the market in the US next year, but unless I win the lottery, I'm not getting that sled either.

Posted by andrew at 12:03 PM | Comment (1)

13 July 2008Cycling
Nicasio Valley

Continue reading "Nicasio Valley"

Posted by andrew at 11:51 AM | Comment (0)

12 July 2008Cycling
Petaluma - Monte Rio

Continue reading "Petaluma - Monte Rio"

Posted by andrew at 07:30 PM | Comment (0)

11 July 2008Politics
I Lift My Leg on Peace

A truly disturbing satire piece by Joe Frank that I heard recently on NPR:

So here's to the snappy salute, to spit and polish, the clicking of booted heels, the singing of martial odes. Here's to the officers' club and the swaggering commandant, to the loving but abusive drill sergeant, to the constant flow of insult that is the philosopher's stone of survival. Here's to the young lieutenant fresh from the academy, to the troop ship, soldiers with their duffel bags slung over their shoulders, their cloth caps slouched and angled on their brows. And here's to weeping parents, sweethearts and children clutching at the skirts of their mothers, to final tearful embraces and brass bands playing.

Here's to the night before the battle, to the assault, the coursing landing craft, to going over the top, to the airborne troopers plunging from their droning seed pods, to the rubber dinghy landing at night. Here's to where the farm boy and the city dweller meet and are made equal. Here's to the arcing shell and magnesium dawn, to the clanking treads of armored personnel carriers, to bullets and howitzers, carbines and recoilless rifles, to mortars and anti-personnel bombs, to fragmentation grenades and tear gas canisters, to machine-gun emplacements and flamethrowers, to fasgene(ph) and mustard gas, to the serrated bayonet and the deadly rain of shrapnel.

Here's to minefields fraught with sudden fragmentation, to screaming sergeant death, commanding the rag-tag remnants of his courageous platoon. And here's to raising the flag on the shattered field of victory, to the prisoner of war camp, to the medevac chopper, the hospital ship, sacrosanct, yet sunk, to chaplains, to burial detail and body bags, to "Taps" and other songs. And here's to the brave pilots who in their cavalier ready rooms prepare to become the airborne messengers of death, to the dog-faced infantry who dedicate themselves to the earth as much as their own cause. Here's to words like courage, sacrifice, discipline, glory, maimed, dead.

Here's to war. I raise my glass to you and gaze into the roiling liquid of death's own intoxication. O, war, you have made the low elevated. You have created heroes, and history will be written by your winner. Peace is pallid next to you. Peace can skulk and shrink, a weakling, a coward's paradise. Peace, you lukewarm bowl of grandmother's mush, you washed-out stand-in for manly behavior. Peace walks through the marketplace offering second-hand bargains, peace, the shaver of points, the cut-rate merchant. Peace, you miserable converter of men into swine, you destroyer of valor, quicksand in which nations founder, the bleeding wound in the side of the great avenging angel. Peace, the apologist, the compromiser, the appeaser, the rust upon the edge of courage's great sword.

What is peace but an excuse, a reason for cowardice, a refusal to accept one's responsibilities? I spit on peace. I lift my leg on peace. I have my dog despoil the miserable garden of peace. There are no medals to peace, no honors, no marching bands, no great monuments to peace, no hymns sung, no great odes, no martial melodies, no parades to peace. There are no gigantic fireworks displays, no champagne corks popped to peace, no last cigarette smoked in its honor. There is no night before peace, no declaration of peace. The very absurdity of a nation declaring peace on another shocks the imagination. And who among us can say that he has heard of the spoils of peace? Is there such a thing as a peace hero? Who among us have gathered with his old cronies late at night, hoisted a glass and told peace stories? What valiant young man has been welcomed back from peace? What young boy has gazed longingly at his father, saying that he would willingly go to peace to save his country?

You can hear Joe Frank reading this here. I will upload the MP3 when I get around to it.

Posted by andrew at 11:54 AM | Comment (1)

07 July 2008Television
Sheer Utter Disappointment

One of big complaints about my Comcast DVR is that if you set a recording, the DVR will stop at the scheduled time, not when the broadcast of the event actually stops. At first I would record programs after the event. Then I realized that I could modify the settings so that the DVR would continue to record for up to two hours after the event, which is usually more than you could need. It pisses me off that I still have to do this and I think Comcast needs to figure out a way to continue recording until the event ends. Period end of story. The DVR will be an inferior product until they can figure that out.

So. Wimbledon. I wasn't about to wake up at 5am like I used to do, and I was going to be out all day, so I scheduled a recording and I set it to finish an hour after the scheduled end. I thought that would be more than enough. Shit, the event was scheduled for 6 hours. How could that not be enough?

Continue reading "Sheer Utter Disappointment"

Posted by andrew at 10:51 PM | Comment (2)

07 July 2008Cycling
Let the Suffering Begin: The Marin Century

I just signed up to do the Marin Century on August 2nd. It'll be my first 100 mile ride (if I survive). The profile is daunting:

i was hoping for flat first century, but that's just not in the cards. But it's well supported with lots of rest stops and SAG vehicles. I'll be riding with a group from work and some friends (and maybe some from the Yellowjackets?) so it should be a lot of fun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be a nice cool Northern California day. Keep your fingers crossed.

I've got an 88 mile ride coming up this weekend from Petaluma to Jenner and back, so that should be a good indicator if I'm up for it not. Either way, I've already paid for it and bought the event jersey, so I'm committed (or should be, rather).

Posted by andrew at 05:14 PM | Comment (0)

07 July 2008Cinema
AFI 10 Top 10

The AFI is out with its latest set of lists, this time 10 top 10 lists. There's no list for just "Comedy", only "Romantic Comedy" (When Harry Met Sally should be number one), which is odd. So there's no place to honor The Big Lebowski, definitely the best comedy and one of the best films ever produced (thank you Joel and Ethan).

So while it's an interesting set of lists (and designed to foster debate like this), there are some things that I have a problem with.

I don't know why Field of Dreams is in "Fantasy" and not "Sports". That doesn't make any sense to me. Groundhog Day also appears in this odd "Fanstasy" category and should be in "Comedy", a category the AFI just left out. I'd probably include Presumed Innocent along with "Courtroom Drama". Star Wars: A New Hope is listed as #2 on "Sci-Fi, but I think Empire Strikes Back, which didn't make the list, is a superior film. Raiders of the Lost Ark is nowhere to be found, which is a crime. Nor is The Princess Bride, which should be #1 in "Fantasy" instead of the The Wizard of Oz.

Worst of all, The Natural, probably the 2nd best sports movie ever made (behind Raging Bull), is not even on the list. What a tragedy.

Part of the problem is that so many good movies cross genre boundaries and are particularly hard to categeroize. At the end of the day, it's just a few lists which are totally subjective.

Anyway, just for fun, here's my list of the top 10 American comedies (sorry, Monty Python)

10. Love & Death
9.   Raising Arizona
8.   Fast Times at Ridgemont High
7.   A Fish Called Wanda
6.   Blazing Saddles
5.   Airplane
4.   Fletch
3.   Office Space
2.   Groundhog Day
1.   The Big Lebowski

Honorable Mention: Stripes, Trading Places, Caddyshack, Top Secret, This Is Spinal Tap, Better off Dead, History of the World Part I, Kentucky Fried Movie, Napoleon Dynamite, Austin Powers

Did I miss anything? I'm sure I did since I made this list when I was sitting in a boring meeting and didn't give it much thought. Are they mis-ordered? Let me know.

Posted by andrew at 01:32 PM | Comment (4)

07 July 2008Cycling
Spin Baby Spin

These days, I don't just ride outside, I joined the gym downstairs and have been taking spin classes for about a month.

The Spin trainer Rachel (who also owns the gym), is incredibly hard core. She's in great shape (so much so that's it no big deal for her to teach the spin class and then turn around immediately and teach the core class. She's down Ironmans and ultra-marathons. Basically she's nuts, but in a good. Don't beleive me? Check out her bio.

Rachel also runs a serious state of the art fitness program for cyclists. It helps that there are so many Schwab employees who are into cycling and training for various rides. In class, we ride CycleOps Pro 300PT bikes. I know that doesn't mean much, but just know that they are top of the line. The basic difference between these bikes and other spin bikes is that they tell you what your output is in watts so you can tune your training not to your heartbeat which is variable but to wattage which is testable. Each class is geared to your personal threshold. There's a chart on the wall where you can find your 100% threshold and then see what output you should be at during various parts of the class.

Continue reading "Spin Baby Spin"

Posted by andrew at 01:04 PM | Comment (0)

06 July 2008Cycling
SF to Stinson Beach via Tiburon Headlands

Today was the first of the many Schwab training rides leading up to the Waves to Wine 150 mile ride in September. I met 6 co-workers at the Sports Basement at 8:30am after taking the Transbay bus across the Bay Bridge from Emeryville and riding up the Embarcadero from the Transbay terminal.

It was cold. Really cold. And foggy. When I first arrived around 8:10, I couldn't see the bridge for the fog. I t started to burn off and I took the above picture, which is not a black & white image despite appearances. I didn't have a jacket because I didn't want to have to carry it when the sun came out. My arm warmers kept the worst of the morning chill off, but it was still cold.

We took off about 8:40 at a very leisurely pace across the Golden Gate Bridge. At that hour, there wasn't much much traffic on the bike path. But there was this one mountain biker who was giving some of our riders shit for what he called "breaches of etiquette. He told Peter he shouldn't be using his Aerobars on the bridge and he made some comment to another guy, Phil, which I didn't quite catch.

Meanwhile, this guy is riding with two iPod ear buds and whistles to people when he's going to pass them instead of saying something. When Phil pointing this out, the guy asked if he wanted to fight. What a prick.

The sun was starting to peek out as we made our way off the bridge and down into Sausalito. From there, it's onto the San Francisco Bay Trail for a few miles, up to the tiny Camino Alto climb and around the Headlands to Tiburon. It was really nice ride though I did pass two turkey vultures fighting over a deer carcass which was was fairly disgusting and very inauspicious.

At Tiburon, which is only about 20 miles from the Sports Basement, we broke for brunch. I had a great omelette with avocado, fontina cheese and ham. Exactly the fuel I needed to for the next leg of my trip from Tiburon to Stinson Beach.

After about a 45 minute break, we were back on the road. I continued with the group until we hit Highway One where I peeled off and headed up the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais on my way to Stinson Beach. Almost immediately the road starts to wind up the mountain. It's a narrow two lane street with barely a shoulder. Super freaky. I used to see cyclists coming up and down this road all the time when I was headed up for a hike or going to the beach and I thought they were insane. Now I was one of them.

The worst part was going around a right hand turn in places where the shoulder narrowed. I could hear the cars screeching around the corners behind me, knowing full well that they had no idea I was just ahead of them. It was nerve-wracking.

The first part of the climb to the fork that head up to the summit of Mt. Tam wasn't bad in terms of grade. The funny thing is that I thought I was done with the climbing. Oh no. Not even close. The worst of it was still ahead of me.

I dropped through thick fog to Muir Beach on the most hair raising descent of my life. It's not just the windy roads, the fog and the cars. It's the grade and the speed. It's just almost impossible not to go fast. You just have to white knuckle it and hang on for dear life.

There's a short flat section past the Pelican Inn, but then it's back into the steeps for the hardest part of the ride. There are tons of false flats and every time I thought I had reached the summit, there was another hill ahead of me. It was tough, but at least the fog kept me cool.

When I did reach the summit around noon, it was so socked in with fog it was hard for me to believe that it was going to be a nice beach day, but a couple of riders heading the other direction assured me that the sun was shining at Stinson. I had to go up and down a few more hills before I reached the scenic lookout above the beach.

Dropping into Stinson was brilliant. The sun was out. The road was nice and smooth (and relatively straight) and I knew I wouldn't have to ride back. Jennifer met me in Stinson. We had a great afternoon sitting on the beach eating the picnic she brought and hanging out. It was a great way to wrap up the three day weekend. After 199 miles and 14 hours in the saddle over 4 days, it was good sit my ass on the sand and do absolutely nothing for a few hours.

Continue reading "SF to Stinson Beach via Tiburon Headlands"

Posted by andrew at 07:29 PM | Comment (0)

05 July 2008Cycling
Dumbarton-Alpine

I seem to have a problem with these Yellowjackets BART rides. Must have something to do with not taking BART. This time, I was five minutes down the road to Union City when I realized I forgot my shoes. What a dumb ass! I really need to post a cycling checklist on my door so I can make sure that I have everything I need before I head out the door.

So I had to turn around, head home and grab the shoes. I hustled down south to Union City, but by the time I got there, not a single rider remained. By the time I geared up, I was way, way behind. Lucky for me there was a good tailwind on the first long stretch and I put in huge turn to catch up. Within a few miles, I past 3 riders on the side of the road fixing a flat. At 5 and a half miles, I passed our president, Al. Great guy. Not a very fast rider. At 8 miles, I was thick in the middle of the Light riders where I stayed until the rest stop regroup where I joined up with the Advanced riders.

It was actually a nice change of pace for me as I was cruising along at a slow enough pace to chat with another club rider, Leslie, who I hadn't met before. Normally we're riding so hard, there isn't much conversation on the bike. Leslie and I rode together over the Dumbarton Bridge, one of the few bridges in the Bay Area you cross on bike, and well in Menlo Park.

It was a beautiful day. We were in cycling heaven in the Peninsula. The sun was shining. The skies were blue. The road was well paved and the bike path was wide. We started to head up Sand Hill Road and there were hundreds of riders coming down the hill. They were everywhere. Awesome!

It was really easy climb up Sand Hill Rd. to Portola Valley where we had a nice long lunch break at Robert's Market, a place so new they didn't even have a sign on building. But they did have cheese (and ice cold Gatorade) and we're nice enough to fill one of my water bottles full of ice. All the talk at the break was about the Tour de France.

Continue reading "Dumbarton-Alpine"

Posted by andrew at 06:20 PM | Comment (0)

05 July 2008Cycling
TdF Starts Today

The Tour de France gets underway in a few hours. It's a wide open race without 2 of the top three finishers from last year, defending champ Alberto Contador and 3rd place Levi Leipheimer. Good money is on Aussie Cadel Evans to win, but I don't know. This year's tour is more mountainous and has fewer time trials so it could favor a climber. With no real clear cut favorite, the racing will be exciting and unpredictable.

For the best coverage, look no further than Steephill.tv. The Official Site is always worth a look. Here's a race preview from Velo News.

Enjoy!

Posted by andrew at 12:05 AM | Comment (0)

04 July 2008Cycling
Palomares Light

Since I didn't make it last weekend, I decided I needed to tackle Palomares today. I had planned to get going at 6 because I didn't want the ride to kill my day and I thought it was going to be incredibly hot so best to get the ride out of the way before the heat of the day, but it didn't work out, and I left at 8, as usual.

I also wasn't going to do the exact ride because instead of coming from Oakland, I was already on the east side of the hills in Walnut Creek. I'd head down to Pleasanton via Danville and San Ramon and pick up the route there.

It was a seriously overcast morning, which really worked to my advantage. The cloud cover providing shelter from the strength-sapping sun. I headed south on Danville Rd. through Danville where preparations were under way for the 4th of July parade. Lots of people parked by the side of the road even though the parade was more than 90 minutes from the starting. There were floats lined up, a contingent of marines with a Blackhawk and lots and lots bunting and flags. Danville is as close as we get to middle America in the Bay Area. Well, it's a rich middle America, but almost seemed trapped in the 50s with a few ferraris here and there.

I was cruising. There was a slight headwind, but it was mostly downhill to Pleasanton. I did the 16.36 miles in the first hour. But it was boring. Danville Blvd. and San Ramon Valley Rd. are less than inspiring. But then the route changed dramatically at Foothill Rd, 8.5 miles of winding ribbon down to Sunol.

It was still overcast when I got to Sunol, a nothing whistlestop of a town with a train station and a couple of businesses. I stopped to fuel up and take some pictures.

Continue reading "Palomares Light"

Posted by andrew at 10:34 PM | Comment (0)

04 July 2008Photography
Palomares Horses

Posted by andrew at 10:30 PM | Comment (0)

04 July 2008Critters
Friday Cat Blogging:
Makelani in the Sun

more shots of Makkie in the sun on Flickr.

Posted by andrew at 09:47 PM | Comment (0)