Archive for January 30th, 2007
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
This is so meta-meta-meta and my time here is limited, I can’t resist.
I was checking Smithers’ search saturation, click here for a google search for ‘minneapolis blog’
Smithers is #2, nice. Look at #6, Blog Herald, a blog about…blogs. Which had an item on a ‘blog battle’ in Minneapolis that ranks well for the search. I figured the battle had something to do with Powerline, as their site is local, prominent and very combative. Check. The jump link isn’t working to Editor and Publisher, but I’m pretty sure I know which bank is pulling its advertising.
That’s how I got on the preceding rant, checking Smithers’ search results.
BTW, Smithers doesn’t rank well for ‘cycling blog’, in fact Red Lantern and Freewheel kick his butt. There’s software to track this kind of thing, which we might have to start doing for Smithers. Baby Smithers needs some new shoes.
Posted by scotterob at 10:28 pm in Miscellaneous | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Local right-wing smuggers at Powerline are off their game since their political agenda was handed back to them under a steaming heap of Abu Ghraib, Katrina, untethered Iraq, mounting deficits et al at the polls in November. Their rhetoric has toned down, which made me nostalgic for the halcyon days of their blog when they were turning up the noise machine as loud as possible.
So I dug through the wayback machine for some of those good feelings from 2004, when they were busy betraying themselves at warpspeed in the name of a prez unworthy of their efforts.
These guys could be thoroughly delightful by sticking to their professed guns: righteous Federalism, rigor of intellect and expression and civic probity. I love conservative intellects who can articulate their well-founded arguments. I see their merit.
But they spend so much time belittling their own values to earn my contempt (or maybe this is how to restore traditional moral values, integrity, work ethic, etc and I just don’t get it):
- Swift Boat Vets for Truth? Everyone with integrity knows that guy’s been trying to smear Kerry since 1971, and was in the wilderness until mercenary Rovians decided to echo it and see if it stuck. White House denies any involvement, and mystery funding launches attack ads. Sound like a Rove smear job? And Powerline pumped it over and over for months before 2004 election.
- Pres Bush? How about words on his pathetic powers of inquiry sitting in the hallowed oval office? Yeah, that’s what the framers had in mind…
- Fiscal restraint? What happened guys, afraid to rock the Republican boat with a bit of truth? Or is bankrupting us OK when your guys do it?
- Abu Ghraib, all the MSM’s fault? How about chain of command, or torture contributing to moral laxity and bad troop morale? No, the MSM is making a mtn out of this, that’s the issue. That’s so lazy, guys!
Their reification of rigor seems to go out the window when applied to people in their own party or issues that may tip the electoral balance.
The thing that REALLY bugs me about them is that if you’re a partner in a large corporate law firm or a VP at TCF bank you somehow have time to write multiple lengthy blog posts each day. And I’m trying to find a spare minute to click ‘publish’ on a post I wrote in a hurry in the middle of the night. Phew.
Posted by scotterob at 10:14 pm in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Smithers bothered me long before I knew him.
I first knew him as the spank in Belgian team kit lined up at my Cat 3 races, astride a bike painted in the Belgian tri-color scheme. If you show up for a local MN race like that, and you’re not vacationing from Oudenaarde, then you’re a spank, right?
I was the guy intent on blowing the race apart to see what would happen, maybe a break would stick and I’d get a result, eh? I was so sick of Cat 3. He was the guy who seemed to follow my wheel, looking for an opportunistic sprint.
At the St Paul Capital Crit, I eyed him on the line thinking, “Not this time spank, I’m getting rid of you and winning solo.”
Capital Crit was a long race for Cat 3, 1 hr, so I had time. The gun goes off and we ride around as we do at our bike meetings. A few laps go by and somebody attacks, a few guys follow and we’re racing. Nobody’s chasing and I’m staring at Mr. Belgium as he looks at me, like, “why aren’t you chasing that down”. Someone else says it for him and I’m all stoney about it. Another lap goes by and Mr. Belgium takes off and I follow. He sits up when he notices me there, he flicks me and I say “Forget it. You want in the break, you’re going to work for it.” Then spank looks all hurt like.
So I’m thinking, good time to go. I go, he gets on my wheel. We get to the hill, I go again. I’m stronger here, I keep it steady past the start/finish, but then it all comes together. This goes on for the rest of the race. We eventually get in THE break together, I roll the dice a couple times on the hill and blow the break apart, but I don’t win solo. I think spank was second and I was fourth in the final sprint. And spank raced smart and did his share in the break, so I was fine with him. I remember this as a great race.
So, that fall, I’m all cx guy and one of my cx guys, Ped, was trying to hook me into a new team, giocatore interne sella. I wasn’t sure. He was relentless; he and some Q guys were getting it all set up and it was going to be cool. I wasn’t sure. He told me about a meeting they were having at the Q and I should come check it out. I agreed to check it out.
I show up, and there’s spank Mr. Belgium, but he’s not wearing kit with too many vowels, just Q office guy clothes. And he and Ped clearly had some closeted issue with EuroPro worship, pro kit and videos and our kit has to look like ONCE’s Vuelta kit and foofy crap like that. Anyway, I stuck it out and ended up spending lots of time riding with Smithers.
It turns out we have lots in common. We even wear the same size and ride the same size bike. People sometimes mistake us for one another on the bike. One way to tell the difference: my hands and feet are way bigger (and Smithers insists on setting up his bike like he’s Roger de Vlaeminck with his ass 12 inches above his bars).
He moved to ABQ and WifERob and I went to the big Smithers wedding in New Mexico, had a great time. We were pulling for the evil cereal scientist aka Mrs. Smithers to transfer back here, it happened, and here I am, pulling double blog-duty while Smithers is up to his tits at work in France.
Posted by scotterob at 11:58 am in Local Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Lyon-Saint Exuper station le gare
Originally uploaded by smithersmpls.
TGV to Paris this afternoon.
(sent wireless via Treo 650)
Posted by Smithers at 9:48 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
I am getting the idea that you guys don’t feel sorry for me while I am on my business trip.
It is very stressful however. Yesterday for lunch I had to eat a real fatty piece of ham with a mushroom glaze and a side of sweet peppers. Dessert was creme brulee which I have had 3 times already this week. Geeze!
I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this hardship.
(sent wireless via Treo 650)
Posted by Smithers at 4:24 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Fatigue Cycle Testing
Originally uploaded by smithersmpls.
This frame was at 138,000 cycles on the way to 450,000 plus cycles. I’ll have some cool video to post later.
(sent wireless via Treo 650)
Posted by Smithers at 2:19 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Three cheers for Scotterob!
With only two days left in the month his work will help set a new record.
Who thinks he should start a blog? I do!
Posted by Smithers at 1:06 am in Miscellaneous | Permalink | No Comments »
