New Bike

29km / 29km

I got my new bike. It's a Marin Novato. It rolls smooth, like a (good) dream. Since the REI assembler set the odometer to kilometers instead of miles, I don't know how fast I was going (up to 30kmh, usually closer to 20), but it did seem faster than the old Giant. I fixed the setting; we'll see.

F <-> SR

460.6; 31.0

There ya go--31 miles! I did the 16-mile West County Trail, and then went through Sebastopol and did the 15-mile round trip out to Santa Rosa, basically a Forestville to Santa Rosa round trip. Not too bad, but I really took it easy for lots of the distance, knowing I was going to go farther than usual.

Insurance scare after dentist visit Friday--looked like I was not covered, and the possibility arose that maybe the extended coverage through August was only for certain body parts. I realize this is par for the course with the insurance "industry," but is it not still absurd, and even Kafka-esque (appropriate for today, as we read about the discovery of Franz' porn collection!)?

So, what happened to the Better Business Bureau? Is that even an avenue for a common citizen to complain against the corporate behemoths of today? To whom DO we complain, when we discover that the afflicted part of us is the one that happens to not be covered in our policy? "See the fine print here? 'Except in cases where left butt cheek is involved.'" So, dental and vision are a little more obviously different from general medical, I suppose, but it doesn't take much to see it extending down a slippery slope, to ear nose and throat, or podiatry, or heart-and-lung, or liver, or any other specialty, each falling under its own insuredness, such that we are paying for a Chinese menu of potential areas of ailment. And mind you, all of these are in addition to the THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH they want for basic medical health coverage.

Well, actually, dental IS covered, so I guess I have little basis for complaint... but I certainly was NOT a happy camper on Friday--indeed, no happy tent, no happy firepit, no happy spork and tin plate, not even happy weiners and S'mores.

I'm shopping for insurance for this difficult time of underemployment. I sure hope we can do a LOT better than the COBRA quote (1K/mo).

Sugar Town

429.6; 16.7, and that puts me over 300 miles in this latest spate of pedaling.

Nancy Sinatra! I haven't thought of that song since 1966, probably, when it was on AM radio with some regularity. My friend and I thought it was funny, the "Shu shu shu" refrain... Listened to the sample on iTunes, boy, that's creepy. I'll probably have bought it by the end of the week. Oh, it's Friday, better buy it soon--but should I look up Nancy Sinatra albums, or just get the 99-cent single on iTunes? LOL

I'm told, to progress in the muscle-building and weight-losing, I need to cross-train. "Lunges" and "squats" and the like are proposed and are probably just the thing. I just have a really really hard time with "organized exercise," exercise-for-exercise's-sake, exercise without scenery passing by as I GET SOMEWHERE. Too, if I hope to regain the svelte figger of circa 1990, I would probably need to step eating dessert and pay more attention to what I eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Actually, I'm probably doing pretty well there:

• Two or three cups coffee with nonfat organic milk.


• Costco macadamia-cranberry crunch cereal with blueberries--lots--and a peach and a banana sometime later in the morning.


• Peanut (or some-nut) butter and jelly, usu. on whole grain, for lunch.


• Various excellent meals usually involving foods from our meat and/or veggie CSAs, which Terrie makes nightly (I hope I'm saying THANK YOU every night...).


• After that is when it all falls apart: third of a pint of Ben and Jerry's or similar, in front of the TV.

But I do feel healthier. And I question the value of denying one's self these pleasures. My friend is cutting out practically all foods that taste good, it seems, and is now checking his blood sugar more often than I do, even though he isn't (yet) diabetic. And my sense is that he's not even that close to being diabetic. Further, that your diet and exercise can control your blood sugar levels, but ultimately, diabetes is largely genetic and a large percentage of your chance of ending up with it is entirely out of your hands.

How unhealthy might it be to stress out that much about your health?!?

It's one of the things that make me uncomfortable to be around him now. There's an implicit accusation there, that *I'm* not doing everything *I* can to control my sugar...

One Goal Met

412.9; 27.3

And so, two 25-plus days this week. It seems three 25s are harder than five 20s, somehow, but today I actually seemed to gain momentum later in the ride. No pressure for tomorrow, but who knows. 284 miles since July 13, starting to seem like a real accomplishment... First 13 miles clocked in at 66 minutes--almost 13mph...

Last night, watched "Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans." If even SOME of this is true, the current United States "government" has absolutely no shame. Really scary, how totalitarian this looks, and how hopeless the average citizen's chances against it. This is, absolutely, ten times as bad as anything Nixon did. One could make an argument for calling it genocidal.

We need to start planning for what to do if the 2008 presidential election is hijacked like the last two. I have no doubt that McCain loses in a fair contest, and I have no doubt that these sleazy people WILL try to usher him in anyway. I don't think we're living in a democracy anymore. I would dearly love to be proven wrong (about the ushering). I think the greatest hope of avoiding that is an overwhelming turnout for Obama. If it looks anywhere near close, they will try to skew it.

Boomerang

385.6; 27.2.

This route is boomerang-shaped. Big sweep ENE, then a right angle to NNW, out to a point, and turn around and do the whole thing backward. Half of my goal is done: one 25+ day in the bag this week. I was definitely running out of steam by the end, even without pushing too hard. Hope to be more sprightly at the end of a similar ride Thursday.

Sunday Roll

358.4; 20.5.

Didn't really plan to ride or have any expectation of a number of miles to ride today, but ended up getting 20. And not a "normal" 20, but one that included the bike path to Forestville and back, a pretty big hill (Barlow Rd.) and some single-track (in Ragle Ranch Park). Most impressive, I made the Barlow hill in gear 3-4 (19 of 24) without stopping.

At the foot of Barlow, there's a mini Buddhist shrine for what appears to be a cyclist who died there. Not sure who he is, or what the story is, but I stop there sometimes and somewhat superstitiously pour some of my water out. Guess I see it as sharing one of the precious things a cyclist needs, one of the few concessions almost EVERY cyclist makes to carry as much weight as necessary; the most valuable thing I'm carrying. I guess I don't really think this guy is cycleing beyond the grave, and in need of astral hydration (!), but it's more in the way of a gesture at the memorial; i.e., for the living. And it's only two or three miles from home so I am okay with jettisonning the last of my water bottle. Now I think maybe I can make that little patch green and keep it that way through the summer.

I took a little ride on a Marin (Belvedere?) 29er (single-speed) bike yesterday. It has the pedals designed for special shoes, which I don't have but I guess I'll need. I like the concept of wheels three inches bigger than the standard (26-inch) wheels--more momentum, better and smoother rolling over obstacles, higher center for the bike, but lower overall center of gravity for the rider. That, coupled with higher gearing and a stiffer ride, I think will make for a better machine for the kind of riding I'm doing. I'm going to get the bike if it's available. Wonder if I can get them to leave off the branding decals?

Stiffer ride: I tightened my front fork this morning before my ride, and I think it did help in the uphill and in general--less "give" means more power transferred directly to the pavement.

My goal this week, I think, will be to get at least a couple of over-25 rides.

Calcified

337.9; 17.7 (108.6 miles in five days)

It's quite warm outside today, and I did already walk about five miles, so 17.7 is acceptable. Could've gone longer, but this was all the distance I needed to go today.

I guess I wouldn't say I'm going with full-on intensity, but I am going harder than "medium." On the return trip, I tried very hard to keep it over 15mph, which is pretty fast for me, as a continuous pace (I get to 17 or 18 with a tailwind, or at least no headwind, and perhaps a bit of a downhill slant). Mostly did stay over 14 (well, definitely over 13) the entire ride back, except stopping and slowing for traffic.

Looking at bikes. Navarro Buzz V was looking pretty good in the REI store, but now I realize the gearing is pretty much the same as my existing bike; now I'm getting swayed by the Marin Redwood: http://www.marinbikes.com/2008/us/bikes/specs_redwood.php or the Muirwoods 29er: http://www.marinbikes.com/2008/us/bikes/specs_muirwoods_29er.php

So many variables! It helps to keep in mind that you can change a lot of stuff on a bike after you get it, and the more integral options are the ones to consider first: frame type and shape, gearing, brakes. The seat seems to be the first thing to go on a lot of stock bicycles. It's good that I think about it more before doing anything.

Lag-O-Matic

320.2; 21.3

Caught a 'bug' of some kind, it seems, at the Sonoma County Fair Tuesday in the livestock area--Swine Flu? I don't know, but on an intake of breath, something seemingly got into my respiratory system, caused a coughing fit, and lodged in my sinus cavity, where it stays, an irritant that won't go away. By this morning, I was no longer sure it was the particle from the fair; just knew my sinuses were still irritated and I didn't feel very good.

I'm determined, though, to get 100 miles in this five-day week. I have an appointment tomorrow in Santa Rosa--an 18-mile round-trip--so should manage it. But today was hard, and a lot slower than previous days, with more and longer stopping. Maybe it was partly from starting later and so getting more headwind.

People point to Obama's lack of experience vs. McCain's. I don't see a big gap there, and I don't see where inexperience in the kind of politics practiced by Karl Rove et al would be a negative point anyway.

I'm reading a sort of bio on Obama, "Promise to Power," a puff-piece to be sure, pretty obviously written by an admirer. But what I see emerging is a man of strong character, a man who devoted to service, and a man of extraordinary intelligence and learning. A man interested mainly in solving problems. He is extremely ambitious, but I think it is borne out that his ambition is not the self-serving ambition of a W. Bush (or even Hillary Clinton). I honestly don't think he's in it for personal glory.

I believe McCain is a damaged human. Whether from his Vietnam captivity or being dropped on his head at an earlier age, I do not know, but he has the look and manner of a person who is capable of wildly unpredictable and irrational actions, and I don't trust him. I also believe he IS in this for personal glory, and that's why he has switched ("flip-flopped," in the vernacular) from portraying himself as an almost independent outsider to largely toeing the BushCo line. I believe he will cave to corporate interests--rather continue in the Bush tradition of catering to corporate interests with no regard to human or national cost. Maybe he WAS outside? Now he wants very badly to be inside. Or shall I say "to be inside, very badly."

I can't believe this is anywhere near a close race, but in a way that's good: maybe people won't take their votes for granted and will go to the polls in large numbers in November. It is of the utmost urgency that we NOT let this neocon repugnican nonsense continue further--the country and the world won't survive it.

The Perfect Loop?

298.9; 23.2 miles. Tempting to go around the block just to pass 300, but we're in this for the long haul.

Well, it's better than the ride that included the hellish Frei Road segment. All the same, but instead of turning on Frei, I stayed on Guerneville Road to the end, turned left on 116, right on Green Valley, and met up with the West County trail there.

The remaining segment on Guerneville road is a slow grade (slowing me to 5mph at worst), but with at least 5 feet of shoulder, which feels like a mile compared to the entire lack of shoulder on Frei, even with cars passing at 55. There's still another variation yet to try, cutting over on Vine Hill Road, but it looks rather Frei-ish, and it would also make me miss the fun Green Valley Road downhill, on which I got up to ~32 mph coasting today. Biggest downhill I've had in this two weeks of riding.

It's taking me about two hours to do 23-ish miles. I think I was a little slower today, in spite of starting earlier with presumably less heat and headwind. Third day in a row over 20 miles, so maybe it's wearing a bit--and as noted yesterday, precious little in the way of visible/tangible results.

They're trimming brush and trees on part of the Greenway, and they have adequate signage on the eastbound entry to that segment, but NOT on the westbound. So twice now I've suddenly come up on these guys blocking the path such that I have t ocarry the bike around them. If they had a sign at the previous underpass, I could simply cross of the creek and ride the trail on the other side for that segment. As I was negotiating this obstacle today, a guy down near the creek was yelling at me to go back--yeah, like I'm gonna backtrack a mile when I can get around this in 20 seconds! I cupped hand to ear, universal sign for "I can't hear you!" and continued.

Thinking I should try to do some more serious climbs--seven years ago, I was doing hills like the truly fearsome Burnside Road--but it seems almost better to do a lesser grade consistently and steadily than to do a major one with multiple gasping-for-air stops...

FOund out how to adjust the front fork, I think. Might add a little preload to stiffen the ride there. Would definitely help in the case of actual standing-on-the-pedals climbs....

Tech Writers on the Storm

275.8; 23.6

Kinda wanted to try for more, but needed to get back.

Rodota -> Greenway -> Turned around at Willowside, which is around 13 miles, so the round trip would be around 26. But instead of taking the Greenway all the way back to Rodota, I shortcut it south on Stony Point. Still good ride, good workout; I'm drenched with sweat again.

So, is this just gonna make for shapely legs with the giant round torso balanced precariously on top? What do I need to do to reduce the BELLY? Might start doing some treadmill time too, and the situps again (which we KNOW have absolutely no effect on the abs). It's not like I'm pigging out hugely; though I do have my nightly dessert, it's no more than I had before I started biking so much. How much deprivation do I need to endure to lose a couple inches at the waist?

Deep Frei

252.2 miles on the OD - 22.8 miles. Have I mentioned that I had some 2500 miles (from ~2000-2006) on the odometer before the battery died and it zeroed out? OK, just checking.

Tried to extend the Sonoma County Bike Path Tour today, to encompass over 20 miles. I won't do this route again! Everything was okay till I got to Frei Rd, which is a bit of an uphill grind, with NO shoulder, several blind curves, and relatively light traffic but going about 40 mph.

In some cases, heavy traffic is almost better. If there's a constant line of cars, it's a pretty good bet that if one sees you they'll all see you.

Otherwise, great ride, with an earlier enough start to beat the worst of the heat and the afternoon wind.

From Sebastopol: east on Joe Rodota trail to the Greenway; west on the Greenway to Willowside Rd.; north on Willowside to Guerneville Rd.; SW on Frei, which crosses 116/Gravenstein to become Graton Rd.; catch the West County bike path there going south back into Sebastopol.

Looking at "hybrid" bikes for the road. 99% of my riding has been on pavement, and I think I can do better with more road-wise gearing, tires, etc. Having lost my job, should I drop $500, 800 on a bicycle? It's quite possible (it's my fervent hope!) that would become my commute bike., so there's SOME justification for it.

The girls at the coffee cart at Andy's seemed to think I was a "bike man" who had ridden from Maryland. I told them I left Maryland in 1974; "there have been a few stops."

Last night, Nina Gerber (http://www.ninagerber.com/) played at the French Garden restaurant in Sebastopol. Totally confirmed my assessment from hearing her on CD (I bought her "Sweet Dreams" lullabyes CD four times and gave it away three times) that she is an AMAZING guitarist, a local, should-be National, treasure.

The less said about the rest of the experience, the better--though you might find my account amusing, it would be quite negative. But I feel a profound urge to write a lilting melody about giving up in the face of adversity, just lying down and waiting for angels to bail me out, and if I can mention fire, birds, and weather in the same line, I think that'll be the chorus. Ahem: "hand me the capo, dear, I feel a Song coming on!"

Blueberry Derby

229.4 on the OD; 16.4 miles, and I've officially ridden 101 miles since I started riding again (seems like more, frankly). 95 degrees outside--if I don't lose some of this flab, I am going to give up and start eating chocolate ice cream exclusively.

The blueberry farm is here:


View Larger Map

It's about a 6.5 mile ride from Sebastopol, 1.7 from Forestville, according to my trusty odometer. They have blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and those flavors of ice cream and sorbet. It is a nearly perfect stop on the 16.4-mile bike ride from Sebastopol to Forestville and back (they could provide more chairs and more shade).

The blueberries aren't particularly cheap ($5 for a pint, which I devoured in one sitting), but they are good, and you can see where they came from. (To see where the raspberries came from, go to our back yard.)

Aren't these bike shorts supposed to be comfortable? A somewhat delicate matter: I have . . . issues . . . with getting everything situated properly so it doesn't move inside the shorts in a very uncomfortable manner. I was actually wondering if I was putting them on backwards; i.e. the padding is supposed to go in the FRONT? The only reason I wear them, really, is for the padding in the REAR, though. So I don't know. This is true of all of the bike shorts I've worn.

OK, ROAD BIKERS. When you come up behind someone and overtake them, especially if you are going enough faster than them to startle them, do you simply not have the spare breath to call out "On your left" or something like that? If you can't muster that, how about "pbbt pbbt pbbt"--the sound of wind from an asshole. Otherwise, one of these times, I am going to be startled sufficiently to veer inadvertently (after all "advertently" isn't a word, right?) directly into your path. I realize you want to seem as much like an android and/or Frenchman as possible, and it's hard to make a noise above the sound of your legume-sized testicles rattling about in your calcified scrotum, but c'mon, show some human consideration and maybe someone will watch your dumb-ass sport on television, 'mkay?

I really pushed it (for me at least) today, and maintained continuous speed and sweat (and almost constant high gear) through the entire 16-mile round trip, with no stops on the way out to F'ville, and only a rest at the turnaround (Zen Center), the aforementioned blueberry stop, and one other stop for water and crotch adjustment at Occidental/Gravenstein on the way back. It feels good. It feels like I'm stronger than last time. I like having the leg power, I think that could make the wind ultimately less annoying--though it's a different thing pushing the pedals with two miles to go, from pushing 'em with 15 and two big hills still to go!

My morning blood sugar readings have been great since I started riding again. Predictable, but surprising how immediate and how major the effect is: all readings pre-layoff were in the mid-hundreds. Seven of 12 days since, under a hundred (as low as 76). I think there's a certain "ricochet" effect, where high number s stress me out and cause generally higher numbers, and low numbers tend to be calming.

Yesterday, magnificent Frida Kahlo show at the SF Museum of Modern Art. (Get reservations and) Go!

213.0 on the odometer, 17.7 miles today.

Rode east on the Joe Rodota trail to where it meets the Greenway trail, then west on that trail to Willowside Road, south to Hall, west to Sanford, south to Occidental, west to High School, and south back into Sebastopol. Nice ride, mostly level, almost completely on paved bike paths.

Rebel Without a Cause. I would've thought Sal Mineo would've gotten more fame from this film, maybe even more than James Dean...

195.3 on the odometer - 16.4 miles today.

Forestville and back. We are so lucky to have the beautiful West County, Joe Rodota, and Greenway bike paths, enabling bike rides of this length and more with only very short stretches where you share roads with motor vehicles.

An "added plus" on this route is the blueberry farm. I noticed several bikes parked there today, and was tempted to stop myself, but had nothing to carry berries in today.

Is it self-perpetuating now for me, or just a fact of life, that road bikers almost never exchange greetings (at least with me) and mountain bikers almost always do? Well, a cycling magazine I once read actually commented on this phenomenon in their letters section, suggesting (perhaps somewhat tongue in cheek) that road cylists are more competitive and/or are stingier with their breath. Be that as it may, I feel that cyclists of both kinds have a bad enough rep in this area, and I make it a point to slow way down for peds and horses (and for that matter, cars and other bikes) and say HI. I always ring my bell for kids (and when coming up behind people, thank you!). Oh, hey, my new bell rocks (http://tinyurl.com/6z9m7c links to Amazon, but you can get the same price at REI and elsewhere).

Dark Knight, Mid-Day

178.9 - 6.7 miles. Rode over to Ragle Park and did the fun loop of single-track back there. See if this html works:


View Larger Map

Caught the newest Batman installment in a matinee. Why don't I walk the block and a half to the theatre more often to see movies as they are intended to be seen? (Mostly because whenever I think to go see a movie, I find the next start time is more than 90 minutes away and my gnat-sized attention span takes me elsewhere before showtime.)

I guess I'm a sucker for hype; this movie has gotten a lot. That tends to mean one of:

• it's a great movie, or


• the producers are desperate to get butts in seats

I think the first, but jeeze, what hath Bob Kane wrought? While the caped crusader was never a particularly happy-go-lucky kinda guy, I hardly think, in the original 1930s late-night inkfests when he was created, that anything this dark and complex ever crossed anyone's mind.

OK, the big hype was around Heath Ledger, playing the Joker in his last role. Well, what actor in his right mind follows Nicholson? I have to say the actor's craft is somewhat oblique to me. To me, a good actor is one in whom you don't notice "acting," and beyond that, it's really hard for me to say, of a characterization I enjoy, how much was good acting and how much was good writing/ direction/ production/ costumery/ popcorn/ mood-on-my-part, but this Joker was really pretty damn captivating, without the scenery-mastication that tends to typify the role, and it was definitely—-definitely--an entirely different person from the Brokeback Mountain character. (Actually, I don't recall being that impressed with Nicholson's Joker, which, after all, was mostly just a painted Nicholson... I'll have to see that one again now.) Based on that, I think the hype around Ledger here was well-justified.

Why does Maggie Gyllenhaal give me the creeps?

Christian Bale has turned out to be perhaps the best Batman yet. This is a seriously twisted person, almost as much in his way (as an endless line of critics have noted) as the Joker himself. But then, what sane actor would NOT follow Adam West?

Modern America doesn't have a lot of mythology going for it, so characters like Batman (when not played in camp form) provide an interesting glimpse into the collective psyche. When we can invent a persona and a physical presence, what do we choose? Among others, a millionaire vigilante with a chip on his shoulder the size of Utah. Hey, that almost sounds like... George W. Bush! (W. plays it a little more campy, though.)

As for the rest, I like how the accoutrements were mostly underplayed. Sure, he has the newest-model Batmobile, hang-glider cape, etc., but for the most part, that stuff is incidental to the story.

The typical Batman scenery is full-on Art Deco, as if Gotham were inhabited almost entirely by unhinged wealthy gay collectors. That, too, seems muted here--though the backgrounds are so dark it's hard to tell--when you see a wide shot of the city, it's early 21st century all the way.

I was forewarned that this movie was unrelentingly dark, with almost no humor. Actually, there were several places where the entire audience laughed (and one where only I did--FYI, that was where the judge's destination was revealed to her).

OK, seriously, I have a hard time thinking of stuff to write about movies. This is a long, dark, beautiful movie; it's worth seeing in a theatre. I give it all five stars.

Superstars of Permaculture

I had a permaculture-intensive weekend. Saturday, we took a tour of water savvy stars of Sebastopol, including Catchtail Farm on the Blucher Creek watershed, a talk with Brock Dolman on (and in) the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and a visit to the Post-Carbon Institute.

Sunday, I went to an open house at the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas.

I have a huge mish-mash of thoughts and inspirations around this, so please excuse a scattered posting. I'll try to fix it later.

What I've seen this weekend, and really in about the past year, is that, beyond the facts of global warming and peak oil, people are beginning to see that we are really on or past peak EVERYthing, and the Republicans aren't the only party that is pretty much over. It's really rather amazing that the US culture of excess has lasted as long as it has. However, it's also evident that there will still be parties.

Here's the thing: EVEN IF NONE OF THIS WAS HAPPENING, the following would be good things to do:
. Build community
. Grow food
. Learn all you can about conservation of all kinds
. Practice conservation
. Become more efficient

These are good things to do; if the left-wing liberal screwballs and Al Gore are correct in their dire predictions, these things may also become necessary.

In a time of massive inflation, good will and food become more valuable currency than paper money.

It doesn't matter if you own or rent the place where you live, you are still the custodian of it, and you can still create what you want (and need) in that space.

The Catchtail Farm folks have a really lovely place and a great outlook, and they're the kind of community members I hope I can become. When they started at this location, they built a fire circle in their yard and invited everyone up and down the street to a party at their house (see? already! Still having parties!). They've done smart things with their land, but what sticks with me--and what I believe will carry them through any coming crisis--is that they have built--are building--a strong community.

Brock gave a great walk and talk on water, and more to the point, on watersheds, at the Laguna. He's a man who likes to play with words, so I enjoyed his talk.

The Post-Carbon (heh, I first typo'd "Post-Carob") Institute is doing amazing stuff in a town environment in Sebastopol. Besides maintaining a large "victory garden," they're setting up an electric- and hybrid-car rental service for our town.

Something Terrie noted, and that surfaced on one of my quote pages in my daily catch-up work there, that has stuck with me too: "When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers." -Colleen C. Barrett (insert here a hundred other sayings about the relative worth of action vs. thought.)

There are a lot of people who are full of blue-sky ideas. Ideas are great. Ideas make the world go 'round. One person who can and will carry a rock 30 yards is worth approximately 15 people with ideas about how to move a rock 30 yards. Does anybody want to carry the rock? I'm here to suggest that the best architects have lain bricks, nailed boards, framed walls, hung sheet rock, and maybe even that only those people have really proven themselves qualified to BE architects... (More later)

Rode

172.2: 17.8 miles.

I've gotten in a few rides this week, dinging the odometer in miniscule chunks, but managed about 16 miles Wednesday and then this ride today, to Santa Rosa and back. Feels good. I'm slower than just about everything else out there, but I pushed it today and kept it up near 13 mph most of the time, and that in a headwind. More and more, I'm just on the big ring in front and the highest few gears in back. A roadier bike would have a better gear ratio and would be more efficient and therefore faster and that's a large percentage of the people who are going faster than me.

Cary Grant jag fading. The Awful Truth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028597/) was hilarious, great fun. Indiscreet (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051773/) was a little slow, but it isn't a comedy and romance isn't really my bag. My Favorite Wife (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029284/), good, but not up there with The Awful Truth...

Heroes

Another kid from Santa Rosa is coming home from the middle east in a box.

People call him a hero. Something bothers me about that. It makes me wince a little. Maybe it's the fact that they don't know anything about him, and tend to use that word "hero" in the same breath with words like "freedom" and "fighting terrorism," words our resident (I still have trouble including a "p" on the front of that word) has used over and over in a sanctimonious way to try to cover his lies about the war. In fact, whenever I hear that word "freedom" nowadays, I hear it spoken in W's simpering voice, and it becomes a simplistic, one-dimensional concept that has been drained of all of its original meaning. "Terrorism? That's people not like us." I think it has come to be mostly a synonym for "Islam."

Because in fact they are fighting a lot of things over there, but it doesn't seem like they're fighting terrorism, particularly, and I just don't see how they are defending freedom, by ANY stretch of the imagination.

Maybe it's the people I've known in my life who have chosen to go into the armed forces and police. Some of them really believe they are doing something noble, becoming peace-keepers and/or defending the concept of freedom. Others, well, they were bullies before and they remained bullies, in uniforms. They wanted to shoot guns and blow shit up, and maybe they even wanted to kill people. In regular society, that's not a hero. Somehow, you put a uniform on it and it's all cleaned-up and noble.

Or, they wanted a free education, someone to tell them what to do, some kind of structure in their lives, and really could be considered unwitting heroes when they found themselves one day sitting in a Hummer that happened to roll over an IED.

Heroism is more about the cause than the effect, isn't it? It's about your motives.

How much does an 18- to 22-year-old kid really understand about what it means to join the military and fight an old men's war? What do they really know about the principles on which this country was founded, that they are allegedly defending all those thousands of miles away?

But in a culture whose favorite pastimes include a game called "Guitar Hero," I guess I understand why people call these kids heroes.

I don't think you can automatically call a guy a hero just because he gets himself killed overseas. I think they deserve to get the benefit of the doubt to some extent--maybe this latest casualty WAS a hero--but I wouldn't automatically put them on a pedestal. And in any case, I wouldn't inflict the final indignity of putting Bush's vapid words in their mouths.

If one of these children had an uncommon understanding of world politics (or at least, say, a Harvard Business School edumacation), and no immediate financial need (oh, perhaps, was from a cushy Texas political family backed by Big Oil), and STILL left a promising future and gallons of alcohol and piles of cocaine, signed up and went overseas as a Private First Class...? Maybe THAT kid would be a hero.

Chill on the Anti-Warming

There seems to be a number of people (and I think that number is three, and they all post regularly [one might say obsessively] on the comment boards of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat {pressdemo.com}) who are still and/or newly in denial about the global warming question.

They tend to cite one book--I've never seen anyone cite two--and tend to set it up against Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth."

They also tend to posit that the entire GW "thing" is a conspiracy by "libs" to "keep us from consuming," "prevent us from enjoying life," etc.

I admire these people for their ability to hold an idea against the overwhelming tide of scientific facts and opinion, but I have a few questions.

Is there more than one book that debunks this GW "thing"?

IF the whole thing is untrue, an evil plot by liberals, even if the world is COOLING, how does it follow that there is any wisdom in continuing to spew crap into the earth, air, and water of this planet? Conversely, Mr. Conservative, what would it hurt if we attempted to Conserve a little?

In other words, whether it's true or not, wouldn't it be better to act as if it were true than to act as if it weren't?

I'm just asking.

Citizen Manners

What is it that makes people think they are exempt from rules, laws, and ETHICS to which the rest of us are subject?

Why, at the park around the corner, with signs clearly posted at every entrance forbidding off-leash dogs, and with a dog park less than two miles away where dogs can run and play untethered with other dogs, does almost everyone but me walk their dog without a leash? This is a place I love and respect. It is not really a man-made park along the lines of a city park, so much as a careful intrusion into a sensitive wetland habitat, a place where humans are allowed to observe from the edge, if they're considerate and careful. I try to keep my silence while I walk Laika there, passing dog after loose unruly dog and owner after lazy, apathetic owner. I'm not the police here, not even a hall monitor set to rat on offenders, the better to smooch on the derriere of the nearest elected or appointed uniform. I don't even necessarily believe in blindly following all laws to the letter. But these regulations make SENSE here, especially in cumulative form. Maybe it would be okay if one person's dog ran free while they walked, in reasonable voice control. But one leads to ten leads to a hundred, and there's shit all over the trails, and loose animals that threaten my dog and who knows what wildlife creatures here.

I called a guy on it in the parking lot. His dog came directly up to us and completely ignored him while he called it. I pointed out the sign, thirty feet from his car, and tried to make it light, but the frustration of repeated offense boiled up a little, especially when HE got all pissed off at ME for calling him on it, and then when it was down to the F bomb with him after only three lines of dialog.

What is WRONG with people?