Who is Earl Hayden, and why is he saying (in the linked photo caption) that "these things don't happen in threes"?
If you don't already know, maybe I'll tell you later.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
HP 2133 Mini-Note
Now this is the ultimate in laziness: The below is my take on the Gizmodo Lightning Review of the HP 2133 Mini-Note as posted as a comment to that review:
"It's a remarkable little laptop if you can stand the extra weight and price over the Eee PC 4G."
Nahh, I can't really: I'm sure that it's a nice and desirable machine. Mind you I'm sure that an Atom dual-core will beat the Via in terms of performance -- and possibly battery consumption. But once the price starts edging up into the twice-as-much-as-an-Eee category, it begins to make less economic sense:
You know that apocryphal $400 laptop that everyone posts about as soon as there is any mention of the Eee? You know, the one with the 15" mid-resolution screen, 120GB+ hard drive and built-in optical drive that you can get for the same price as an Eee? Well when you can have the best of both worlds and get both that AND an Eee for the same price as the HP, why bother with the HP?
The Eee is 1/2 the weight? That makes it more likely that you have it with you more often, when you can just throw it into a bag and forget about it (fugeddaboudit -- a translation for American readers). The really useful computer is the one that you have when you need one. On the other hand, the larger computer would give you the non-cramped screen, keyboard and storage; for more stationary and limited mobile computing. For when you actually need to type for more than an occasional 20 minutes here or there.
You would actually have to compromise less if you gave yourself those two highly divergent choices at once, rather than starting with the already compromised HP -- bigger and heavier than the Eee so not as portable, but more cramped and less capable than a cheap 15" "standard" laptop. And expensive enough that you can get both of them for pretty much the same price, as the HP. As an alternative choice, I'd have to say that getting two discrete devices for the same price would be the better choice, delivering more flexibility.
When they can make a really powerful computer in that form factor that IS powerful enough to be your main computer -- and it will cost much more than this, and may not be that long in coming -- then it will be worth considering the single and expensive over the multiple and cheap.
"It's a remarkable little laptop if you can stand the extra weight and price over the Eee PC 4G."
Nahh, I can't really: I'm sure that it's a nice and desirable machine. Mind you I'm sure that an Atom dual-core will beat the Via in terms of performance -- and possibly battery consumption. But once the price starts edging up into the twice-as-much-as-an-Eee category, it begins to make less economic sense:
You know that apocryphal $400 laptop that everyone posts about as soon as there is any mention of the Eee? You know, the one with the 15" mid-resolution screen, 120GB+ hard drive and built-in optical drive that you can get for the same price as an Eee? Well when you can have the best of both worlds and get both that AND an Eee for the same price as the HP, why bother with the HP?
The Eee is 1/2 the weight? That makes it more likely that you have it with you more often, when you can just throw it into a bag and forget about it (fugeddaboudit -- a translation for American readers). The really useful computer is the one that you have when you need one. On the other hand, the larger computer would give you the non-cramped screen, keyboard and storage; for more stationary and limited mobile computing. For when you actually need to type for more than an occasional 20 minutes here or there.
You would actually have to compromise less if you gave yourself those two highly divergent choices at once, rather than starting with the already compromised HP -- bigger and heavier than the Eee so not as portable, but more cramped and less capable than a cheap 15" "standard" laptop. And expensive enough that you can get both of them for pretty much the same price, as the HP. As an alternative choice, I'd have to say that getting two discrete devices for the same price would be the better choice, delivering more flexibility.
When they can make a really powerful computer in that form factor that IS powerful enough to be your main computer -- and it will cost much more than this, and may not be that long in coming -- then it will be worth considering the single and expensive over the multiple and cheap.
Friday, April 18, 2008
My Bike Accident
I have had just a couple of accidents since I started riding. In the most serious one I was hit by a car and the motorcycle destroyed: On a Sunday afternoon in April, about 10 years ago, I went for one of my first rides of the season. It was a fairly short ride, after which I stopped and had lunch before returning home. I was three blocks away from my home when it happened (yes, it's true that they happen close to home):
About 80 feet ahead, a car pulled out from a parking spot into the oncoming lane after doing his shoulder check and looking behind carefully; and then immediately moved into a u-turn, without ever looking ahead. If he had looked forward even once (I was watching him through his windshield), he would have seen me. It was around 1:00PM; his car was facing south and I was travelling north, so the sun wasn't in his eyes or mine. I was riding a bright red-white-and-blue 1986 Honda 750 Interceptor, with the high beams on. I was also wearing a white and blue jacket, and a bright red-white-and-blue helmet. I was 80 feet away. Visibility was not a problem, but his lack of attention was.
In any case, I was now in survival mode, and took a precious 1/4 second to analyze the situation. I didn't have enough room to go around the rear of the car (old man, big car). I also didn't have enough room to stop. I had already started to slow down from 60-65km/hr, since the light had turned amber just before his car started to move. As he started to turn I geared down while I hammered the brakes, concentrating on the front, and getting that perfect howling sound that told me that I had maximum braking traction before the front wheel broke loose, and keeping it right on that edge. The tires were still warm from the ride, which helped; but I then realized that maximum braking wasn't nearly enough, and that I would impact the side of the car right on the open passenger window. I would strike there at maybe 50km/hr, probably killing his blue-haired wife, and probably myself. At the very least we would both be severely injured, if we lived, so that was not an option.
That only left me with the option of scooting through in front of the car, between his front bumper on the left, and the curb and a fire hydrant on the right. The 1/4 second had expired; I was now less than 30 feet away, and the window about 4 feet wide and closing. I flicked the bike to the right while releasing the brakes, to put it up against the curb, and flicked it upright again, while whacking the throttle wide open - no time to change gears, just gas it and go. I hunched over the bike and blurred forward, just in time to clear the fire hydrant, but not the right corner of the car's front bumper. The bumper struck the bike somewhere around or just behind my right foot in a glancing blow, and I was sent tumbling through the air.
As I flew through the air (cursing the driver almost absent-mindedly. I believe it was the "A" word), I knew that I would be okay; as it was just my weekend flashing before my eyes, not my life. I half-chuckled and relaxed a bit, as I finished flipping on my back just in time to hit the sidewalk, and tumble into the side of the Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant that I used to frequent. But that's another story. The whole thing took about 3 or 4 seconds, from start to finish. It's amazing how much thinking you can do in such a short period of time.
I lay on my back moaning, and was suddenly looking at the sky through a circle of faces. The area was fairly busy, as it was a beautiful spring day, and there were also many people leaving the Salvation Army church service at the same time as the driver. A bunch of people ran over to the now red stoplight, to stop the elderly gentleman, who had blithely kept going. He later explained to the policeman that he hadn't seen me at all, and thought that the crunching sound was a pop can getting crushed under his tire.
In any case I was getting attention, and was not too badly hurt, the driver was stopped, and the policeman there within a couple of minutes. A doctor who was passing by in a car checked me out until the officer arrived, and informed him that I was not severely injured before leaving. I was able to sit up at this point, and remove my helmet with some difficulty, as my arms didn't want to work properly. I got a nervous laugh from the crowd by pulling a movie (I had stopped at the video store after leaving the restaurant) out of my jacket, and declaring that I guessed I wouldn't be watching it that afternoon. I think I told a couple of other lame jokes. I get "funny" when I'm in shock.
I happened to have a cell phone with me, and immediately made some calls. I had been using a cell phone for work for about two years at this point, but had never had one in an emergency situation. In the few minutes between making my statement to the policeman and the arrival of the ambulance; I had arranged for a friend to pick up the ruins of my motorcycle, two other friends were meeting me at the hospital, and everyone who needed to know had been informed of the accident. I have never gone anywhere without a cell phone since.
At the hospital, I was further poked, prodded and twisted, and the final damages added up: I was injured asymmetrically, with the lower left side of my body injured by the initial impact, and the upper right portion injured by the impact to the sidewalk. My left ankle suffered torn tendons from impact with the hood of the car or the tank of the bike, which hyper-extended my foot hard enough to grind red paint into the shoe that's still visible today (yup, I still have those shoes), and tear a chunk off the sole. The tendons also pulled a chunk of bone the size of a quarter off as they tore, so I was placed in a walking cast for a couple of weeks, to keep the foot immobilized. My right shoulder separated when I bounced off that shoulder blade, and that arm was placed in a sling.
All in all, I was very lucky (thanks to making it past the fire hydrant), suffering mostly soft-tissue damage and bruising. It felt like my entire body was severely sprained, but nothing was actually broken, or permanently damaged. It was a week before I could do more than shuffle out of bed for brief periods. Even with the painkillers. And the scotch. It was more than a month before I graduated from crutches (awkward with the separated shoulder) to a cane, and around two years before I considered myself fully and completely recovered.
Would such a close call make me consider giving up motorcycles? Not a chance. Every time that I analysed the accident afterward, I felt extremely proud. I did all of the right things, and I did them extremely well. That was probably the best riding that I had done in my life, to that point. I had been in enough car accidents (sad but true) to know better than to freeze up, give up, and try to ride it out. I had already learned to keep actively trying to seek a way out, to mitigate things. I knew to use that peculiar and cool time dilation factor, where everything seems to slow down, to my advantage.
I had also been riding long enough to be able to approach things analytically, and view my riding objectively, with a view to constant improvement. Long enough to know the value of practicing emergency manoeuvres before they are required; practicing emergency braking with every new bike, or set of tires, or set of brakes. Experienced enough to know the high degree of alertness that is required, and to maintain it. Experienced enough also, to read everything that I could about riding better, and to practice it when I could. Educated enough to know that "laying her down" would have been the stupidest thing I could have done, and which would have resulted in just one fatality - mine. I re-learned the value of proper protective gear, which I was wearing at the time. And I never much liked that bike, anyway.
More to come...
About 80 feet ahead, a car pulled out from a parking spot into the oncoming lane after doing his shoulder check and looking behind carefully; and then immediately moved into a u-turn, without ever looking ahead. If he had looked forward even once (I was watching him through his windshield), he would have seen me. It was around 1:00PM; his car was facing south and I was travelling north, so the sun wasn't in his eyes or mine. I was riding a bright red-white-and-blue 1986 Honda 750 Interceptor, with the high beams on. I was also wearing a white and blue jacket, and a bright red-white-and-blue helmet. I was 80 feet away. Visibility was not a problem, but his lack of attention was.
In any case, I was now in survival mode, and took a precious 1/4 second to analyze the situation. I didn't have enough room to go around the rear of the car (old man, big car). I also didn't have enough room to stop. I had already started to slow down from 60-65km/hr, since the light had turned amber just before his car started to move. As he started to turn I geared down while I hammered the brakes, concentrating on the front, and getting that perfect howling sound that told me that I had maximum braking traction before the front wheel broke loose, and keeping it right on that edge. The tires were still warm from the ride, which helped; but I then realized that maximum braking wasn't nearly enough, and that I would impact the side of the car right on the open passenger window. I would strike there at maybe 50km/hr, probably killing his blue-haired wife, and probably myself. At the very least we would both be severely injured, if we lived, so that was not an option.
That only left me with the option of scooting through in front of the car, between his front bumper on the left, and the curb and a fire hydrant on the right. The 1/4 second had expired; I was now less than 30 feet away, and the window about 4 feet wide and closing. I flicked the bike to the right while releasing the brakes, to put it up against the curb, and flicked it upright again, while whacking the throttle wide open - no time to change gears, just gas it and go. I hunched over the bike and blurred forward, just in time to clear the fire hydrant, but not the right corner of the car's front bumper. The bumper struck the bike somewhere around or just behind my right foot in a glancing blow, and I was sent tumbling through the air.
As I flew through the air (cursing the driver almost absent-mindedly. I believe it was the "A" word), I knew that I would be okay; as it was just my weekend flashing before my eyes, not my life. I half-chuckled and relaxed a bit, as I finished flipping on my back just in time to hit the sidewalk, and tumble into the side of the Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant that I used to frequent. But that's another story. The whole thing took about 3 or 4 seconds, from start to finish. It's amazing how much thinking you can do in such a short period of time.
I lay on my back moaning, and was suddenly looking at the sky through a circle of faces. The area was fairly busy, as it was a beautiful spring day, and there were also many people leaving the Salvation Army church service at the same time as the driver. A bunch of people ran over to the now red stoplight, to stop the elderly gentleman, who had blithely kept going. He later explained to the policeman that he hadn't seen me at all, and thought that the crunching sound was a pop can getting crushed under his tire.
In any case I was getting attention, and was not too badly hurt, the driver was stopped, and the policeman there within a couple of minutes. A doctor who was passing by in a car checked me out until the officer arrived, and informed him that I was not severely injured before leaving. I was able to sit up at this point, and remove my helmet with some difficulty, as my arms didn't want to work properly. I got a nervous laugh from the crowd by pulling a movie (I had stopped at the video store after leaving the restaurant) out of my jacket, and declaring that I guessed I wouldn't be watching it that afternoon. I think I told a couple of other lame jokes. I get "funny" when I'm in shock.
I happened to have a cell phone with me, and immediately made some calls. I had been using a cell phone for work for about two years at this point, but had never had one in an emergency situation. In the few minutes between making my statement to the policeman and the arrival of the ambulance; I had arranged for a friend to pick up the ruins of my motorcycle, two other friends were meeting me at the hospital, and everyone who needed to know had been informed of the accident. I have never gone anywhere without a cell phone since.
At the hospital, I was further poked, prodded and twisted, and the final damages added up: I was injured asymmetrically, with the lower left side of my body injured by the initial impact, and the upper right portion injured by the impact to the sidewalk. My left ankle suffered torn tendons from impact with the hood of the car or the tank of the bike, which hyper-extended my foot hard enough to grind red paint into the shoe that's still visible today (yup, I still have those shoes), and tear a chunk off the sole. The tendons also pulled a chunk of bone the size of a quarter off as they tore, so I was placed in a walking cast for a couple of weeks, to keep the foot immobilized. My right shoulder separated when I bounced off that shoulder blade, and that arm was placed in a sling.
All in all, I was very lucky (thanks to making it past the fire hydrant), suffering mostly soft-tissue damage and bruising. It felt like my entire body was severely sprained, but nothing was actually broken, or permanently damaged. It was a week before I could do more than shuffle out of bed for brief periods. Even with the painkillers. And the scotch. It was more than a month before I graduated from crutches (awkward with the separated shoulder) to a cane, and around two years before I considered myself fully and completely recovered.
Would such a close call make me consider giving up motorcycles? Not a chance. Every time that I analysed the accident afterward, I felt extremely proud. I did all of the right things, and I did them extremely well. That was probably the best riding that I had done in my life, to that point. I had been in enough car accidents (sad but true) to know better than to freeze up, give up, and try to ride it out. I had already learned to keep actively trying to seek a way out, to mitigate things. I knew to use that peculiar and cool time dilation factor, where everything seems to slow down, to my advantage.
I had also been riding long enough to be able to approach things analytically, and view my riding objectively, with a view to constant improvement. Long enough to know the value of practicing emergency manoeuvres before they are required; practicing emergency braking with every new bike, or set of tires, or set of brakes. Experienced enough to know the high degree of alertness that is required, and to maintain it. Experienced enough also, to read everything that I could about riding better, and to practice it when I could. Educated enough to know that "laying her down" would have been the stupidest thing I could have done, and which would have resulted in just one fatality - mine. I re-learned the value of proper protective gear, which I was wearing at the time. And I never much liked that bike, anyway.
More to come...
My Bike
I first began riding motorcycles when I was 13-14 years old and lived in the country, sneaking rides on my friend's dirt bikes and mopeds when our parents weren't looking. That initial contact became a lifelong obsession, and I ride motorcycles to this day.
The first motorcycle that I owned was a 1970 Yamaha R5, which was a 350 two-stroke in purple and white. I had that motorcycle from the summer of 1985, until the spring of 2000, when it was stolen from the back yard of my home. I've owned a total of 9 bikes now, including my current one, which is a 1986 Kawasaki Concours. Most of them have been sportbikes, and the Concours is the first one that I've owned which was made for riding longer distances.
[Portions of the following three paragraphs were taken from a description of the Concours written by David Gibbs (dagibbs@quantum.qnx.com) in August of 1992, and adapted. His full text may be found at: ftp://ftp.cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Kawasaki/CONCOURS-90. Some like to stand on the shoulders of giants. I prefer to stand on the shoulders of normal people. Less vertigo.]
The Concours is a 1000cc Sport-Touring motorcycle which is based on the 1000cc Ninja of the same vintage. It is big and heavy, weighing almost 275kg dry (without gas). It has a 26 litre fuel tank, which is pretty large for a motorcycle, and which gives it a range that exceeds 350 km. This large fuel tank contributes to its top-heavy, clumsy feel at walking speeds, especially when full. It is an extremely good long-distance bike, but surprisingly sporty as well. It's known for being durable, and a good all-round bike. It was, in fact, produced for 20 years to the same basic design, which is almost unheard of with sporty motorcycles.
It has a large fairing, slightly leaned forward seating position, fairly good space for one or two, standard hard luggage saddlebags with reasonable capacity, shaft drive, liquid cooling, dual disk brakes at the front, a single disk rear brake, a 6 speed transmission, and an engine that redlines at 10,500 rpm. In the hands of an experienced rider on a twisty road, it can keep up with all but the most hard core sport bikes. It has a detuned version of the Ninja motor (which makes it nearly "bulletproof"), and carries a lot of weight, so the top speed is just over 200 kilometers per hour. By comparison, a current Sportbike of the same displacement weighs around 175kg and has a top speed greater than 300km/hr. It's very nimble on a twisty road, though, despite its weight. The weight just seems to disappear once you move beyond walking speeds.
The fairing protects well against rain, and I have ridden through light rain for 5-10 minutes in jeans without getting wet. This protection tapers off from the shoulders and up, so my helmet and shoulders do get wet. The wind also generally hits the top of my helmet, depending upon speed and air turbulence. This causes a bit of buffeting, but it is acceptable. On most days, I can comfortably travel at speeds up to about 80 km/h with the helmet visor open, but I have to close it for highway speeds.
My bike is from the first year that Kawasaki produced the Concours, 1986; and was, until recently, in excellent condition for its age. It has had few modifications: The handlebars have been raised one inch and a Corbin seat fitted, for greater comfort. These changes were also made by the factory in subsequent years (well they didn't fit Corbin seats, but they made a credible copy), and for the same reasons. A previous owner has also installed a 12-volt accessory outlet, so that a heated vest or other powered accessory may be used. Up here in the great white north, that's an excellent thing; as it allows you to extend the riding season until the last possible moment.
Although this bike is still in excellent cosmetic condition, never having been dropped (Hi Ho Silver!), it's now living on borrowed time: The mechanic that I took it to, to have the motor rebuilt last Summer, basically told me that the bottom end is now worn out to the point that it's not worth it... "Ride it till it blows up, and then get another one" was the basic diagnosis. We'll see if I can squeeze another summer out of "Connie"....
The first motorcycle that I owned was a 1970 Yamaha R5, which was a 350 two-stroke in purple and white. I had that motorcycle from the summer of 1985, until the spring of 2000, when it was stolen from the back yard of my home. I've owned a total of 9 bikes now, including my current one, which is a 1986 Kawasaki Concours. Most of them have been sportbikes, and the Concours is the first one that I've owned which was made for riding longer distances.
[Portions of the following three paragraphs were taken from a description of the Concours written by David Gibbs (dagibbs@quantum.qnx.com) in August of 1992, and adapted. His full text may be found at: ftp://ftp.cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Kawasaki/CONCOURS-90. Some like to stand on the shoulders of giants. I prefer to stand on the shoulders of normal people. Less vertigo.]
The Concours is a 1000cc Sport-Touring motorcycle which is based on the 1000cc Ninja of the same vintage. It is big and heavy, weighing almost 275kg dry (without gas). It has a 26 litre fuel tank, which is pretty large for a motorcycle, and which gives it a range that exceeds 350 km. This large fuel tank contributes to its top-heavy, clumsy feel at walking speeds, especially when full. It is an extremely good long-distance bike, but surprisingly sporty as well. It's known for being durable, and a good all-round bike. It was, in fact, produced for 20 years to the same basic design, which is almost unheard of with sporty motorcycles.
It has a large fairing, slightly leaned forward seating position, fairly good space for one or two, standard hard luggage saddlebags with reasonable capacity, shaft drive, liquid cooling, dual disk brakes at the front, a single disk rear brake, a 6 speed transmission, and an engine that redlines at 10,500 rpm. In the hands of an experienced rider on a twisty road, it can keep up with all but the most hard core sport bikes. It has a detuned version of the Ninja motor (which makes it nearly "bulletproof"), and carries a lot of weight, so the top speed is just over 200 kilometers per hour. By comparison, a current Sportbike of the same displacement weighs around 175kg and has a top speed greater than 300km/hr. It's very nimble on a twisty road, though, despite its weight. The weight just seems to disappear once you move beyond walking speeds.
The fairing protects well against rain, and I have ridden through light rain for 5-10 minutes in jeans without getting wet. This protection tapers off from the shoulders and up, so my helmet and shoulders do get wet. The wind also generally hits the top of my helmet, depending upon speed and air turbulence. This causes a bit of buffeting, but it is acceptable. On most days, I can comfortably travel at speeds up to about 80 km/h with the helmet visor open, but I have to close it for highway speeds.
My bike is from the first year that Kawasaki produced the Concours, 1986; and was, until recently, in excellent condition for its age. It has had few modifications: The handlebars have been raised one inch and a Corbin seat fitted, for greater comfort. These changes were also made by the factory in subsequent years (well they didn't fit Corbin seats, but they made a credible copy), and for the same reasons. A previous owner has also installed a 12-volt accessory outlet, so that a heated vest or other powered accessory may be used. Up here in the great white north, that's an excellent thing; as it allows you to extend the riding season until the last possible moment.
Although this bike is still in excellent cosmetic condition, never having been dropped (Hi Ho Silver!), it's now living on borrowed time: The mechanic that I took it to, to have the motor rebuilt last Summer, basically told me that the bottom end is now worn out to the point that it's not worth it... "Ride it till it blows up, and then get another one" was the basic diagnosis. We'll see if I can squeeze another summer out of "Connie"....
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Estoril MotoGP -- Not final yet
I actually caught this race last weekend, but I wanted to watch it again while making notes on the Fujitsu Tablet -- thereby killing two birds with one stone. I did that this evening, but now I'm too tired to make a comprehensive post (boooo). All I'm going to say for now, is that my race predictions (below) were pretty good, yet again; and that the Tablet worked pretty well. The next race will be in Shanghai China in another two weeks; and I think that we can expect to see the finishing order shaken up a bit for the next few races, starting with that one. I'll expound a little on what I mean by that, with the next long post.
Cheers,
Cheers,
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Mario Theme Played with RC Car and Wine Bottles
Ok, I stole this one from Gizmodo, but it's pretty cool: The Mario theme played by a remote controlled car and some wine bottles...
http://view.break.com/487616 - Watch more free videos
http://view.break.com/487616 - Watch more free videos
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Estoril MotoGP
Crap, another computer ate my long and carefully considered prognostications for the race tomorrow (stupid Mac) just as I hit Post, so I'll keep this short: Lorenzo, Rossi and Pedrosa for the Podium; with Hayden being in with a chance. If it rains, all bets are off; but expect to see Vermeulen do well, with Edwards, Toseland and Dovisioso being right in the thick of things.
Peace out.
Peace out.
Hayden at Indy
Nicky Hayden became the first person (well officially, anyway) to ride a motorcycle at the new track configuration that was designed for the Red Bull Indy USGP. This is the first time that the MotoGP circus will be racing at the famed Brickyard. Hayden did a couple of laps on a 1909 Indian racer -- that raced the first ever event here in 1909, a motorcycle race; and then did some laps on a tarted-up Honda CBR 1000 production bike, liberally plastered with Red Bull logos. He managed around 150Mph on the big CBR, but expects that the MotoGP bikes will top 200Mph down that big straightaway. Video from YouTube.
Jerez MotoGP Final
I said that I would comment on the Jerez Race final. I guess I'd better do that now, as qualifying has already completed for the Portugese MotoGP in Estoril, two weeks later! I finally got around to watching the whole race a few days ago (while doing laundry, cooking dinner and surfing the web -- top that, non single parents!), so I'd better do this while I can stilll remember any of it. I've already said that my predictions were right on for Jerez, so I'd better qualify that:
We will not see a dominant performance by Casey Stoner: I was right. Casey had big problems during the race, running off the track twice! Not only is this not what we've come to expect from the new and improved reigning world champion (who eventually finished 11th), it may be indicative of some troubles in the Ducati camp this year. While the other teams could be expected to have caught up with a year of 800cc experience under their belts, Stoner has been complaining of a lack of feeling from the front end. The rider makes more of a difference than the bike in MotoGP, but only as long as they have confidence in the equipment! If he cannot feel what the front end is doing (good or bad), then he can't adjust and ride around it.
We will see the return of Valentino Rossi: Right again. Rossi put in a solid performance here, as expected. He managed to get around Jorge Lorenzo fairly early on and hold onto second. He almost lost it on the penultimate lap when he slowed to wave to the crowd -- apparently thinking that the race was over -- but gathered it up in time to hold on to second place.
Jorge Lorenzo has shown in only his first race in the premiere class that he fully deserves to be there.... Given the home crowd advantage, he will be on the podium: And when all was said and done, there he was, having started from pole. The early part of the race featured the Spanish rivalry of Lorenzo vs Pedrosa, until Rossi managed to sneak by.
Dani Pedroso: An often petulant and spoiled-acting racer... he has the drive and talent to also finish on the podium at Jerez: And so he did. Admittedly, in what could be considered the surprise of the race, Pedrosa just walked away from everyone else, and was never challenged for the lead, winning the race by more than 3 seconds, if I recall correctly. Mind you all of the dogfighting behind him just slowed everyone else up, but this was truly a commanding performance. And of course he managed to still show his petulant nature at the end, with King Juan Carlos forcing he and Lorenzo to shake hands.
Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP world champion, must be considered as somewhat of a dark horse here: Hayden the hardest working man in MotoGP, put in a solid performance to finish 4th, sticking right with the lead group until the very end. He lost the front end in the closing stages of the race while pushing hard to catch Lorenzo, a la Colin Edwards II in qualifying; but managed to save it, losing some ground in the process. A very credible performance, perhaps signalling the return of "The Kentucky Kid" as frontrunner.
That's it for the Jerez wrap up. I'll be back shortly with some prognostications for the Estoril final, which happens tomorrow.
We will not see a dominant performance by Casey Stoner: I was right. Casey had big problems during the race, running off the track twice! Not only is this not what we've come to expect from the new and improved reigning world champion (who eventually finished 11th), it may be indicative of some troubles in the Ducati camp this year. While the other teams could be expected to have caught up with a year of 800cc experience under their belts, Stoner has been complaining of a lack of feeling from the front end. The rider makes more of a difference than the bike in MotoGP, but only as long as they have confidence in the equipment! If he cannot feel what the front end is doing (good or bad), then he can't adjust and ride around it.
We will see the return of Valentino Rossi: Right again. Rossi put in a solid performance here, as expected. He managed to get around Jorge Lorenzo fairly early on and hold onto second. He almost lost it on the penultimate lap when he slowed to wave to the crowd -- apparently thinking that the race was over -- but gathered it up in time to hold on to second place.
Jorge Lorenzo has shown in only his first race in the premiere class that he fully deserves to be there.... Given the home crowd advantage, he will be on the podium: And when all was said and done, there he was, having started from pole. The early part of the race featured the Spanish rivalry of Lorenzo vs Pedrosa, until Rossi managed to sneak by.
Dani Pedroso: An often petulant and spoiled-acting racer... he has the drive and talent to also finish on the podium at Jerez: And so he did. Admittedly, in what could be considered the surprise of the race, Pedrosa just walked away from everyone else, and was never challenged for the lead, winning the race by more than 3 seconds, if I recall correctly. Mind you all of the dogfighting behind him just slowed everyone else up, but this was truly a commanding performance. And of course he managed to still show his petulant nature at the end, with King Juan Carlos forcing he and Lorenzo to shake hands.
Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP world champion, must be considered as somewhat of a dark horse here: Hayden the hardest working man in MotoGP, put in a solid performance to finish 4th, sticking right with the lead group until the very end. He lost the front end in the closing stages of the race while pushing hard to catch Lorenzo, a la Colin Edwards II in qualifying; but managed to save it, losing some ground in the process. A very credible performance, perhaps signalling the return of "The Kentucky Kid" as frontrunner.
That's it for the Jerez wrap up. I'll be back shortly with some prognostications for the Estoril final, which happens tomorrow.
Things I have Seen While Online Dating
Something that has nothing to do with Computers or Motorcycles:
Online dating is a bit of an oxymoron. It's no different, really, than any other means of meeting someone. The whole idea is that you then take that connection out into "meatspace" and see what happens. The problem is, the online services are all very good at undercutting and thwarting that, in a subtle way; by making it all to easy to get the illusion of being in a safe and coddled space in which you may meet your Prince/Princess without taking any risks. The problem is that it doesn't work that way in the real world. How the heck will you know if someone is right for you, if haven't actually met them, and then spent any appreciable time with them? How many times have you blown people off who weren't perfect, only to be disillusioned when that "perfect" person that you finally found, isn't after all? And how many of the ones that you blew off could have been "the one" if you gave them a chance?
I'm not exempting myself from this, by the way, it's just the way that it is. The way that it's encouraged to be. This insidious nature of all the dating sites means that, just like in a meatspace bar, you tend to see the same faces over and over again. The "regulars if you will. And you know that you'll see them for a long time to come, vainly turning down great people in the hopes of meeting that oh so elusive and non-existent "perfect" one. Just the way the dating sites like it. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". Yes, there are successes -- loudly trumpeted ones represented by pithy quotes and airbrushed models -- but I'm willing to bet that more of the disappeared gave up in discouragement, rather than walking off arm in arm into the sunset. After all, hanging on to a captive audience is part of the business model, just as with the cellphone carriers.
But that's not what I wanted to talk about. In spending time on these sites, I've noticed a few recurring themes. Common phrases that are commonly misused, words that are commonly misspelled, dating site clichés, or things that just caused me to raise an eyebrow. After reading this, please go check your profile to see if you did any of these things. Please note that I am not picking on any one person or dating site in particular. Ok, here we go...
"Rings a cord" No, a cord's a cord, A ring's a ring. Unless it's maybe made out of cord.
"Peaks your interest" Not particularly. I like valleys as well.
"Independant" Too independant to use a dictionary or spell check, apparently.
"With that said and down" You have a stenographer?
"Equally comfortable in jeans and a ballgown/little black dress, etc." That's fine, but it sounds like a pretty limiting wardrobe.
"How to describe oneself without sounding vain or arrogant" Me, I would just leave out the vain and arrogant bits -- but I'm far too perfect to worry about you plebes....
"Tired of the dating sceen" So tired, I forget what order the letter go in.
"My fashion style is sheik" You wear a burnoose and robes?
"That spacial someone" You're looking for an Astronaut? Fireman not good enough?
"Looking for brain and braun" You want someone who can fix vibrators?
"Looking for someone to compliment me" Boy you're sharp!
"Carpa Diem" Seize yesterday?
"Please spare with me" You wanna go bowling?
"I go threw life with determination" Where did you go throw it?
"Easier said then done" Yup, that seems to be the right order.
"Talk to me if your funny" If my funny... what?
"Spontanneous" You like to sunbathe impulsively?
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate these sites and the alternative that they present. As a single parent I'm no longer inclined (and frankly too old) to be hanging about in bars trying to meet people. And I've met some wonderful people in this way. But please, people: Read your profile carefully, if you want or expect anyone else to.
The most popular shows for women to watch on television, as claimed by their online profiles: Hockey, Football, Baseball, Nascar and Wrestling....
Online dating is a bit of an oxymoron. It's no different, really, than any other means of meeting someone. The whole idea is that you then take that connection out into "meatspace" and see what happens. The problem is, the online services are all very good at undercutting and thwarting that, in a subtle way; by making it all to easy to get the illusion of being in a safe and coddled space in which you may meet your Prince/Princess without taking any risks. The problem is that it doesn't work that way in the real world. How the heck will you know if someone is right for you, if haven't actually met them, and then spent any appreciable time with them? How many times have you blown people off who weren't perfect, only to be disillusioned when that "perfect" person that you finally found, isn't after all? And how many of the ones that you blew off could have been "the one" if you gave them a chance?
I'm not exempting myself from this, by the way, it's just the way that it is. The way that it's encouraged to be. This insidious nature of all the dating sites means that, just like in a meatspace bar, you tend to see the same faces over and over again. The "regulars if you will. And you know that you'll see them for a long time to come, vainly turning down great people in the hopes of meeting that oh so elusive and non-existent "perfect" one. Just the way the dating sites like it. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". Yes, there are successes -- loudly trumpeted ones represented by pithy quotes and airbrushed models -- but I'm willing to bet that more of the disappeared gave up in discouragement, rather than walking off arm in arm into the sunset. After all, hanging on to a captive audience is part of the business model, just as with the cellphone carriers.
But that's not what I wanted to talk about. In spending time on these sites, I've noticed a few recurring themes. Common phrases that are commonly misused, words that are commonly misspelled, dating site clichés, or things that just caused me to raise an eyebrow. After reading this, please go check your profile to see if you did any of these things. Please note that I am not picking on any one person or dating site in particular. Ok, here we go...
"Rings a cord" No, a cord's a cord, A ring's a ring. Unless it's maybe made out of cord.
"Peaks your interest" Not particularly. I like valleys as well.
"Independant" Too independant to use a dictionary or spell check, apparently.
"With that said and down" You have a stenographer?
"Equally comfortable in jeans and a ballgown/little black dress, etc." That's fine, but it sounds like a pretty limiting wardrobe.
"How to describe oneself without sounding vain or arrogant" Me, I would just leave out the vain and arrogant bits -- but I'm far too perfect to worry about you plebes....
"Tired of the dating sceen" So tired, I forget what order the letter go in.
"My fashion style is sheik" You wear a burnoose and robes?
"That spacial someone" You're looking for an Astronaut? Fireman not good enough?
"Looking for brain and braun" You want someone who can fix vibrators?
"Looking for someone to compliment me" Boy you're sharp!
"Carpa Diem" Seize yesterday?
"Please spare with me" You wanna go bowling?
"I go threw life with determination" Where did you go throw it?
"Easier said then done" Yup, that seems to be the right order.
"Talk to me if your funny" If my funny... what?
"Spontanneous" You like to sunbathe impulsively?
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate these sites and the alternative that they present. As a single parent I'm no longer inclined (and frankly too old) to be hanging about in bars trying to meet people. And I've met some wonderful people in this way. But please, people: Read your profile carefully, if you want or expect anyone else to.
The most popular shows for women to watch on television, as claimed by their online profiles: Hockey, Football, Baseball, Nascar and Wrestling....
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Fujitsu Tablet 5010D
Got the Tablet on Saturday afternoon. A subsequent full weekend of installing and patching later, and it's just about ready for use. I'm not going to say anything about it just yet, though, until I've had some playtime under my belt. Well, ok, I'll say a couple of things: The unit gets surprisingly hot after a couple of hours of full-tilt boogie. Since that wasn't typical use, though (hard drive, CPU and network in constant action for hours on end), I'll reserve final judgement until I've had a chance to put it through some paces in more normal usage scenarios. Secondly, it's not the fastest machine around; but should be more than adequate for note-taking, and casual browsing while wandering around the house. And thirdly, even machines think that my handwriting sucks... more to come.
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