tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71795352024-03-12T20:18:08.192-07:00occasionalrandomly updated contentdolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-72747327990026874632008-08-18T00:04:00.000-07:002008-08-18T00:26:34.577-07:00Trans Rockies Challenge - Done!I should be in bed, but instead I'm sorting through pictures (I'll post 'em soon, you can find a raw dump in my Flickr stream), drinking beer, and listening to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEp1EOQFtk8">this</a> which they played every night at the awards ceremony (warning: very cheesy video. Your best bet is to let it play in a background tab).<br /><br />Trans Rockies was HARD, way harder than I expected it to be; Jen and I are both pretty strong, and we finished 19th out of 30 teams that started in our category (Open Mixed). <br /><br />I didn't realize going in that most people train for at least a year for it; I did it mostly as a lark, and had an absolute blast, but it was incredibly humbling to go from winning at adventure racing to being back-of-the-pack.<br /><br />I'll try to do a better write-up in the coming weeks, but the whole thing is basically impossible to describe; it was hard and amazing and inspiring and scary and frustrating and rewarding and I'm a better rider by at least an order of magnitude from when I started. I also have an idea of how much I have to learn about the sport, but I think I really started to get why people are so passionate about it, and am looking forward to getting better and being able to RIDE stuff, not just survive it.<br /><br />Anyway, great people, great race, great course, hard, hard, HARD work. I loved it.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-64880869467720524632008-07-29T18:05:00.000-07:002008-08-05T16:13:58.585-07:00Trans Rockies ChallengeOK, so Jen talked me into doing the <a href="http://www.transrockies.com/trc/">Trans Rockies Challenge</a>, a 7-day mountain bike stage race, and since I'm a masochist I said yes.<br /><br />The course changes a bit from year to year, and they don't release details until the week before it starts, but here are some details from last year:<br /><br />Stage 1: Panorama to Invermere - 33km, 1139m of elevation<br />Stage 2: Invermere to Nipika - 60km, 1300m of elevation<br />Stage 3: Nipika to Nipika - 90k, 1522m elevation, 43% single/double track<br />Stage 4: Nipika to Whiteswan Lake, 113km, 1139m of elevation, 45.1% single/double track, 54.9% gravel road<br />Stage 5: Whiteswan to Elkford - 93k, 1528m of elevation gain, 46.8% single/double track<br />Stage 6: Elkford to Sparwood - 116k, 2300m elevation gain, 57% on gravel roads, 27% on single/double-track (this is the Queen stage; the hardest stage of the race)<br />Stage 7: Sparwood to Fernie - Unknown<br /><br />Stage info found here: http://www.teamrunningfree.com/wordpress/index.php?s=transrockies<br /><br />It's going to be pretty epic, and I'm definitely nervous about it, but there's no backing out now!dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-42267663231850120492008-07-23T17:46:00.001-07:002008-07-24T07:51:47.580-07:00Ellsworth Truth<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/2697322500/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2697322500_f9380bf0e1_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/2697322500/">Ellsworth Truth</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/dolface/">dolface</a></span></div>I got a new bike (again).<br /><br />It's an <a href="http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/">Ellsworth Truth</a> with mostly SRAM X.0 components, and Ellsworth XC wheels. It's a lot of bike, and while I've only taken it on one real ride, so far I love it.<br /><br />I'd sort of been thinking about getting a full-suspension bike for a while since they're really nice for longer races, but didn't have a compelling reason to spend that much money (fancy full-suspension bikes generally go for something north of $5k).<br /><br />Two things happened: Jen asked if I wanted to do the <a href="http://www.transrockies.com/trc/about/index.htm">Trans Rockies Challenge</a> with her, and Ellsworth offered a pretty amazing deal to some of the adventure racers out here.<br /><br />There are plenty of people who do the TRC on hardtails, but they're MTB racers and I'm not, plus, this was the perfect excuse to get a full-suspension. I NEEDED it for race <grin>.<br /><br />Ellsworth's deal clinched it for me , so I jumped.<br /><br />As a result, I'll be flying up to Calgary on August 9th, and spending 7 days zig-zagging back and forth across the spine of the Rockies on my new bike, doing my best to live up to it's potential.<br /><br />It's gonna hurt.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-68692470873788240072008-07-23T16:08:00.000-07:002008-07-23T16:10:19.408-07:00Back in the saddleOK, let's try to get this thing back on track.<br /><br />To start with, Brynn and I adopted a critter, you can read all about her <a href="http://billythehedgehog.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />More stuff soon.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-10426401869844729852007-12-26T15:26:00.000-08:002007-12-26T15:39:16.402-08:00holidaysB and I are spending the holidays at her parent's house in Mammoth. There's snow on the ground and it's snowing as I write this, very wintery.<br /><br />This morning B, her mother, and I drove down to the green church next to 395 went for a short run. It was clear, windy and freezing where we were, but looking west we could see snow squalls along the tops of the mountains.<br /><br />After the run we drove out to Wild Willy's hot springs and nearly got hypothermia in the period where we were in our bathing suits but not in the water.<br /><br />We soaked for quite a while, and then went through the whole hypothermia routine again when we got out.<br /><br />Brrr.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-35408325252854403102007-11-19T12:02:00.000-08:002007-11-19T12:13:27.439-08:00Get your geek onA couple of math videos that are really worth watching.<br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JX3VmDgiFnY&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JX3VmDgiFnY&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><center><br />Moebius Transformations<br /></center><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-6626464599825291409&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><br /><center><br />Turning a sphere inside out< (it's 20 minutes long, but at least watch the first 1:45 to see how it's done).<br /></center>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-40030326826690837122007-11-12T10:35:00.000-08:002007-11-20T18:20:35.048-08:00Gold Rush 24 hour Challenge ReduxA year ago this weekend I raced in my first 24-hour adventure race, the Gold Rush 24 Hour Challenge. I wrote about it in great and boring detail <a href="http://dolface.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html">here</a>, and one of the things I wrote was "it was UNBELIEVABLY fun and i fully plan to win one at some point." <br /><br />Last weekend my team and I won this year's edition of the race. I'll write a full report later, but here are a few random items from the race.<br /><ul><br /><li>The race started at 8:00 a.m. and it rained from 8:00 that evening to 8:00 the next morning</li><br /><li>We got lost 3 times</li><br /><li>I crashed my bike twice</li><br /><li>The second running section took us 9 hours and was gorgeous</li><br /><li>Checkpoint 1 was in the wrong place (everyone found it)</li><br /><li>Checkpoint 16b was in the wrong place (no one found it)</li><br /><li>Out of the 21 teams who started the race only 2 finished the whole course and only 3 crossed the finish line</li><br /><li>We won by less than 20 minutes</li><br /><li>We saw a deer swimming across the lake while we were kayaking</li><br /><li>It took us 27 hours</li><br /></ul><br /><br />What I ate:<br /><ul><br /><li>7 Dole fruit cups</li><br /><li>1 can of Campbell's chicken Noodle soup</li><br /><li>2 cheese and butter sandwiches</li><br /><li>1 PBJ</li><br /><li>8 small boiled potatoes with salt</li><br /><li>3 Lara bars</li><br /><li>1/2 a Clif bar</li><br /><li>4 packages of Clif Bloks</li><br /><li>3 Pringles Snack Packs (regular flavor)</li><br /><li>1 Twix</li><br /><li>1 Starbucks Frappacinno (the kind in the bottle)</li><br /><li>1 can of Pepsi</li><br /><li>2 slices of pizza</li><br /><li>Approx. 5 liters of water</li><br /><li>40 oz. of Conquest</li><br /><li>1 cup of hot chocolate</li><br /></ul><br />Edit: full report is <a href="http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=591">here</a>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-3937820204160649862007-11-06T18:04:00.000-08:002008-12-12T15:12:17.234-08:00what a week (and it's only tuesday!), and some gear pornI've been gearing up for the Gold Rush 24 Hour Challenge this weekend (last year's report is <a href="http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=301">here</a>) and it's gotten a little hectic.<br /><br />First my teammate Oliver crashed his bike and badly bruised his heel, so he's out since he can't run. Mari, Jonathan, and I talked it over and decided that we'd just race as a 3-person team; we'll be a little bit slower on the kayak section (a double and a single are slower than 2 doubles) but faster on everything else (less gear, fewer people to get through transitions, fewer people on the rappels) so while it's a bummer that Oliver's out, it's deal-withable.<br /><br />Then I got an email today from Ali who is/was crewing (driving the car with all the crap we need in it from transition area to transition area and helping us through them) telling me that there had been a death in her family and she wouldn't be able to crew.<br /><br />The race isn't doable without a crew, so I'm emailing like a madman trying to find someone to take her place. <br /><br />Why do I like this sport again? Oh yeah, I'm a masochist.<br /><br />On a totally unrelated note, I lost my beloved Marmot fleece a while back and have been trying to replace it.<br /><br />Marmot was bought by K2 a while back (after I bought the fleece), and now none of their stuff fits me. The best way I can describe it is that the cut and sizing has been "Americanized"; sizes are bigger and much larger in the waist/torso. One of the the things I loved about the Marmot was that it was tailored pretty closely to my body, and now all the new ones are bulky in the waist, which I freakin' hate (and it makes layering harder).<br /><br />Anyway, when Brynn and I were in Seattle we went to REI and I tried on a metric assload of jackets, all of which had the same problem: too bulky in the waist.<br /><br />On my way out I grabbed a softshell I hadn't seen earlier to try on, and of course it fit like a glove.<br /><br />It also cost more than I'd ever spent for a piece of clothing, so I left it.<br /><br />About a week later I still hadn't found a jacket I liked, and I got a coupon from REI.<br /><br />Done.<br /><br />I am now the happy owner of an Arc'teryx Gamma SV jacket, and I absolutely love it. It fits, it's the right weight, and I wear it every day.<br /><br />I'm still a little uncomfortable with how much I spent on it (which really isn't that much in the big scheme of things, it's less than I spend on a 24-hour race, and it'll last longer) but I REALLY like it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_An2J6ix94Dw/RzEjr6qjkuI/AAAAAAAAAAM/g9LmH-Zai4M/s1600-h/arc_gamma_sv_jkt_black.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_An2J6ix94Dw/RzEjr6qjkuI/AAAAAAAAAAM/g9LmH-Zai4M/s320/arc_gamma_sv_jkt_black.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129920687940801250" /></a>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-33811807459477735662007-10-10T17:05:00.000-07:002007-10-10T17:09:13.041-07:00there's a reason we make fun of the southi'm still trying to get my head around the fact that this is an ELECTED official.<br />(via <a href="<br />http://blurbomat.com/archives/2007/10/10/gotta-love-jesus/">blurbomat</a>)<br /><embed src="http://www.myragantv.com/ups/5e27b3da1692df577aefd81a03e0193f" height="400" width="410"></embed>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-86350565261348435842007-09-28T14:37:00.000-07:002007-09-28T14:41:55.207-07:00Added Twitter feedI added my Twitter feed over there --><br /><br />I wasn't sure about Twitter when I first signed up, but I've come to really like it. It's an easy way for me to write down quick thoughts and observations, especially since I can (and almost always do) update it via SMS (you can follow my updates that way as well; just click the "follow me on Twitter" link).dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-7967787681272574012007-09-11T17:38:00.000-07:002007-09-11T17:45:45.808-07:00randall said it better than i couldfrom the generally awesome <a href="http://xkcd.com/">xkcd</a> (click the image for the full-size version).<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://xkcd.com/137/"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dreams.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></center>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-5573315539397767612007-09-05T19:18:00.000-07:002007-09-06T18:27:57.479-07:00Mt. Whitney, East ButtressBeen a long time since I've posted so here are some links to what I've been up to:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/sets/72157600736152807/">An attempt to get all the California 14,000' mountains over the 4th of July</a> (pics only, I'm still working on the write-up).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=532">Kit Carson 24-hour adventure race</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/sets/72157601889368829/">The East Buttress of Mt. Whitney</a> (see below for some details on this one).<br /><br />My buddy Steve asked me if I wanted to attempt the East Buttress of Mt. Whitney with him and a couple of friends over Labor Day, and, while I'd been on top of the highest point in the contiguous 48 on on two other occasions, I'd never done a technical climb up it, so I said sure! The route we were planning was a 5.6 (explanation <a href="http://www.climber.org/data/decimal.html#fifth">here</a>) 10- pitch (about 1,000') that started at about 13,500 and finished at the summit (14,505').<br /><br />We drove over on Friday night, camped at Tioga pass to sleep at altitude, and drove down 395 to Lone Pine the next day. We did a couple of warm-up routes in the Alabama Hills that evening, then drove up to Whitney Portal to sleep. Our 2:00a.m. wake-up came all too soon, and by a little before 3:00 we were hoofing it up the North Fork trail on our way to Iceberg Lake.<br /><br />5,000 vertical feet later and after a little scrambling around looking for the base of the route and not finding it we started climbing around 7:30 a.m. I was paired with G-Funk, and Steve and Aaron were climbing together.<br /><br />We made our way up a couple of pitches towards where we thought the route was (it turned out later that we were on the harder 5.7 variation) and eventually found it.<br /><br />The climbing was mostly easy, but I get pretty freaked out by exposure and was glad that I wasn't leading. Despite that I did most of the route in my running shoes (the other guys were all wearing approach shoes) and only had to resort to rock shoes for a couple of pitches.<br /><br />It was warm in the sun, but cold in the shade, and it got pretty chilly on some of the belay stations. Moving was good, so we tried not to stop for too long.<br /><br />G-Funk was a great leader, placing his pro securely but in such a way that it was easy to get out; I didn't need to use the nut-tool once.<br /> <br />By the 9th pitch we were all ready for it to be over. We'd been climbing for almost 8 hours (and only gotten a few hours sleep the previous night), it was starting to snow (better than rain I guess) and we were all tired.<br /><br />The last pitch was just a scramble over a boulder field and then we topped out to more snow (it wasn't sticking but it was still weird). A few minutes in the summit hut to warm up, then a brief search for the start of the Mountaineers Route (our way down) and we were moving again.<br /><br />The route down SUCKED; steep, sandy, slippery, slide-on-your-butt class 3 stuff which was no fun at all. We met a couple who were on their way up at the bottom of the steepest part and were all a little puzzled as to what they were doing. The guy was in shorts and short sleeves and carrying a day-pack, and the woman he was with was in street clothes. We told them it was snowing on top and they nodded and smiled and kept going, the guy coaxing the woman up over the ledges. They were in for a long night.<br /><br />We kept moving down the steep chute, my knees beginning to protest at the descent. Eventually we got to Iceberg lake and started making some decent progress. Sorta.<br /><br />Steve and I were moving well, happy to have a trail ahead of us, but Aaron and G-Funk were slowing down. The long day and all the miles were starting to get to them. Steve and I would get ahead of them, then sit down and wait until they caught up, and we'd start moving again. <br /><br />We got through the ledges as the last of the light was fading, then put on our headlamps and kept going.<br /><br />G-Funk picked up the pace at the very bottom of the trail, right before it meets the main trail, and we were basically running when we hit the intersection. <br /><br />I kept running because it felt GOOD, and Steve stayed with me for a bit, then he dropped back while I kept going, my heavy pack bouncing a bit as I ran.<br /><br />A little while later I was back at the parking lot, just over 17.5 hours since we'd left.<br /><br />The rest of the crew showed up a few minutes later and we threw the gear into the cars and drove back down to town for some much-deserved food and beer.<br /><br />My altimeter showed 7,600' of vertical gain, and I'd guess we covered about 14 miles. That's what I call a good day!<br /><br />(We went back up to Whitney Portal to sleep and escape the heat, and I was woken up around 3:00a.m. by a bear scampering through the trees where we slept. I sat bolt upright on my tarp and my sleepy brain decided that yelling 'hah' as loud as I could was the right thing to do, so I did. Then I lay back down, went to sleep, and didn't wake up until the sun was up.)dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-27470655943013937182007-07-12T20:37:00.000-07:002007-07-12T20:40:37.569-07:00Update coming soonIn the meantime, I'm thinking about this: <a href="http://www.patagoniaexpeditionrace.com/in/08per2008.htm">Patagonia Adventure Race</a>.<br /><br />(If you know anyone who might want to sponsor us lemme know; we stand a good chance of a podium finish).dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-73537734675014882272007-05-25T18:09:00.000-07:002007-05-31T19:37:47.559-07:00bikes come in, bikes go outThere have been changes in gang of bikes that I ride and maintain: (I'm sure you're fascinated) the road bike (a 2004 Masi, a Taiwanese TIG-welded Reynolds 853 frame with Ultegra components) has been upgraded to this:<br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/484264428/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/484264428_2e4cd81f27_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_1742" /></a><br /></center><br />It's a 2006 Trek Madone 5.9 SL with mostly Dura Ace components that I built myself, including the wheels.<br /><br />It rides like a rocket, and is lighter than either of my track bikes. (Click pics for more).<br /><br />The mountain bike (my beloved Trek Pro-Issue carbon hardtail, details <a href="http://dolface.blogspot.com/2006/05/say-hello.html">here</a>) has also been replaced. It was broken in transportation from the finish of the Baja Travesia.<br /><br />After much hassle and thrashing around the race directors paid for a new frame out of their own pocktets, and here is the result:<br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/514063534/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/514063534_8c41f4f199_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_1849" /></a><br /></center><br />Trek 9.9 Elite carbon hardtail, Cane Creek wheels, Rockshox SID Team fork, carbon FSA Team cranks, Magura Marta disc brakes, and SRAM X.9 shifters and drive train.<br /><br />It's heavier than my old bike due to the brakes, but it rides like a rocket, and other than the fact that I hate the color it's a great bike so far.<br /><br />As a result of all this, I find myself in possession of two bikes that are each worth more than my car.<br /><br />I kinda like that.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-78904101567484845742007-05-19T20:19:00.000-07:002007-05-19T20:21:02.989-07:00the dread pirate robertsthe thing is clearly broken:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://paradox.of.arden.tripod.com/quiz/princess/index.html" target="new"><img src="http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/images/westley.jpg" border=0 alt="Westley / The Dread Pirate Roberts"></a><br><br><a href="http://paradox.of.arden.tripod.com/quiz/princess/index.html" target="new">Which Princess Bride Character are You?</a></center>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-66195587588634695472007-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:002007-05-18T21:59:33.086-07:00screedmy aunt sent this out tonight:<br /><br /> Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in<br /> Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black Muslim from<br /> Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white atheist from Wichita,<br /> Kansas.<br /><br /> Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.<br /><br /> When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned<br /> to Kenya.<br /><br /> His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a radical Muslim from Indonesia.<br /><br /> When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama<br /> attended a Muslim school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a<br /> Catholic school.<br /><br /> Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is<br /> quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also<br /> attended Catholic school."<br /><br /> Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that<br /> Obama's<br /> introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was<br /> temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon<br /> after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over His<br /> son's education.<br /><br /> Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham,<br /> introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school<br /> in Jakarta. Wahabism is the radical teaching that is followed by the<br /> Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.<br /><br /> Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when seeking major<br /> public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the<br /> United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim<br /> background.<br /><br /> Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential<br /> candidacy.<br /> Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they plan on<br /> destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at<br /> the highest level.<br /><br />++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />i responded with this:<br /><br />I'm extremely disappointed that you're helping to spread this crap.<br />One of the tenets that makes this country great is the separation of<br />church and state, and while that is not true in practice, I firmly<br />believe that it's something we should all be striving to achieve.<br /><br />The email you forwarded looks like nothing more than a cheap attempt<br />to distract voters from the issues by creating false controversy.<br /><br />We cannot forget that this country was founded by people fleeing<br />religious intolerance and looking for a place where they could<br />practice their beliefs in freedom. To ignore that not only flies in<br />the face of the basis of the Constitution, it makes a mockery of the<br />ideals that our founding fathers fought and died for.<br /><br />If you disagree with Obama or Brownback or Clinton or McCain that's<br />fine; convince me with your points about the issues, but please don't<br />sling mud. There will be more than enough of that during the campaign,<br />and we, as citizens, as the the government (because that's what we<br />are; WE elect the government to act on our behalf) have a civic duty<br />to ensure that it's the issues that are at the forefront, not<br />prejudice or bias.<br /><br />++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />my response is heavy-handed and jingoistic, but fer fucks sake, this campaign is going to be ugly enough as it is, we don't need to fan the flames.<br /><br />batten down the hatches, it's going to get UGLY!dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-73308150556842120202007-05-07T15:34:00.000-07:002007-05-07T15:35:21.021-07:00mine! get your own!<span style="font-weight:bold;"> DF 96 EA E5 EC 72 8D AD C7 E3 20 C0 7A C3 0B CD</span><br /><br />(get yours <a href="http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1155">here</a>)dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-72431121949420899002007-04-23T17:48:00.000-07:002007-04-23T20:38:06.552-07:00baja kayak clipcheck this out, you can see us starting at about 2:55<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q0PYIsrmzSE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q0PYIsrmzSE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-103551474441112912007-04-10T11:51:00.000-07:002007-04-10T11:53:04.736-07:00Baja Travesia 2007 Race ReportI finally got around to to posting the race report for Baja Travesia, it's long as hell but it's got pictures!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=438">http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=438</a>dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-57014488426784598802007-04-06T22:39:00.000-07:002007-04-06T22:41:43.998-07:00letdowni want to be back in the race; it was simple and and very hard and had clearly defined goals.<br /><br />i liked that, and i liked being part of a team.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-54276936615909757972007-04-05T20:16:00.000-07:002007-04-05T20:18:43.292-07:00obfuscation"Preliminarily, information suggests the agent may have been fatally wounded as a result of the accidental discharge of another agent's weapon during a dynamic arrest situation"<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/05/national/a181652D59.DTL">this story</a> about the death of an FBI agent.<br /><br />Who the hell talks like that?dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-77447149279250155552007-03-20T18:45:00.000-07:002007-03-20T18:51:00.927-07:00race reportI forgot to post <a href="http://www.baarbd.org/community/forum/view_topic?topic_id=395">this</a>, it's my report from the BAAR Brawl, an infamous Bay Area training race. No one has ever finished it.<br /><br />(<a href="http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/baar/message/2217">This</a> is also worth reading if you're into that sort of thing; it's another race account of the race and it made me laugh out loud, but maybe you had to be there).dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-87806216846636764192007-02-16T13:18:00.000-08:002007-02-16T13:19:47.869-08:00summerit's 72 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, with just a few clouds in the sky and a soft breeze.<br /><br />happy February 16th everyone!dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-23974055783618849392007-01-15T17:10:00.000-08:002007-01-15T17:25:35.350-08:00Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.i posted the text of this speech on MLK day last year, and i'm going to do it again. it's worth reading (and re-reading).<br /><br /><br />I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.<br /><br />Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.<br /><br />But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.<br /><br />In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."<br /><br />But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.<br /><br />We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.<br /><br />It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.<br /><br />But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.<br /><br />The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.<br /><br />We cannot walk alone.<br /><br />And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.<br /><br />We cannot turn back.<br /><br />There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."<br /><br />I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.<br /><br />Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.<br /><br />And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.<br /><br />I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."<br /><br />I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.<br /><br />I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.<br /><br />I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.<br /><br />I have a dream today!<br /><br />I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.<br /><br />I have a dream today!<br /><br />I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."<br /><br />This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.<br /><br />With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.<br /><br />And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:<br /><br /> My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.<br /><br /> Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,<br /><br /> From every mountainside, let freedom ring! <br /><br />And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.<br /><br />And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of<br /> Pennsylvania.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.<br /><br /> But not only that:<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.<br /><br /> Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.<br /><br /> From every mountainside, let freedom ring.<br /><br />And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:<br /><br /> Free at last! Free at last!<br /><br /> Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179535.post-37851893790971977032007-01-14T19:11:00.000-08:002007-01-14T19:57:06.145-08:00kayak lessonsi just got done with two full days of kayak lessons, and my brain is full and i'm TIRED!<br /><br />the first day was all about the 'forward stroke' which is what the correct/most efficient paddle stroke is called. when done correctly it can look like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kchej3XjvYA" target="_blank">this</a>.<br /><br />when i do it it looks more like a broken robot who's batteries are running low.<br /><br />the class was held south of Santa Cruz, in Elkhorn Slough, and the place is littered with sea otters. they were everywhere; big rafts (i think that's what they're called) just hanging out and hassling each other, and a couple of loners who came over to check us out. they'd dive down occasionally and come back up with a rock balanced on their chests and a clam in their paws, which they'd proceed to slam against the rock until it broke open. then they'd crunch it up (it sounded like they ate the shells too) while seagulls heckled them for scraps.<br /><br />it was also freezing cold (almost literally), with temps in the mid 30's F* in the mornings. we're in the middle of an unusual cold snap right now, and i didn't have the appropriate gear. we rented wet suits but my hands and feet got really cold.<br /><br />fortunately this class was all about paddle technique and we didn't have to get in the water.<br /><br />day two was about surf: how to get off the beach through breaking waves, and back in again without getting dumped and sent through the washing machine. the waves weren't that big, maybe two to three feet, with the occasional set of four to six footers.<br /><br />when your eyes are only two feet off the water, three-foot high waves look BIG, and they can flip you ass over tea-kettle before you know what's happening. our instructor, roger, has been paddling for years and makes it look easy, and is beautiful to watch. <br /><br />we weren't like that. we flailed, go dumped, got tips and pointers, flailed and dumped again, but eventually got to the point where we could get through the break, and back in again, without going over.<br /><br />and every once in a while we'd do it right on the way back in and catch a wave and ride it, and holy crap that was fun!<br /><br />by the end of the day we were tired and waterlogged, but the waves didn't look so scary anymore. we knew what to look for, what our options were, and that if we kept our heads we could ride them in.<br /><br />i'm tired. muscles i've never used hard are whining about the effort but they'll just have to get used to it. i have the beginnings of a new skill set and THAT is fun.dolfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10104873951082032326noreply@blogger.com0