Conan, please stay!

Conan's office window
Some of the folks at the office are distraught at the departure of Conan O’Brien and posted a large sign in the window that faces his office saying “Conan, Don’t Go!” and above you can see the response… “I already bought the tickets.” I understand he waved as well, although apparently, I’m once again not part of the in crowd and missed the event itself.

While I don’t have a picture, one of my fellow devs posted a “F” in our window, which expressed his feelings about the entire thing without causing a corporate stir.

A few minutes out of the otherwise routine days we spend toiling away at our various tasks.

And while I’m mentioning my brushes with greatness, Little Stevie van Zandt of Springsteen and Sapranos fame picked up his Range Rover up from the lot where I park. While I’d never met him before, he was pleasant to anyone who walked over and said something to him. Nice.

First!

jones_shadow_small.png So it took month but I finally completed the first ride (of any distance) for the year. First I was sick, and the weather has been uncooperative to say the least. I still don’t need great weather, but the roads have been covered in ice and slush and salt, and the trails are too far away… so other than some turns around the backyard, and some hiking… feh.

Today was sunny, bright, and relatively warm (45 degrees give or take), so I grabbed a bike, found Jenni and went for a spin through the park. There were some sketchy parts, but mostly it was quite lovely, and overall it was a lovely spin. Big, fat, knobby tires were the order of the day and as a bonus they make you work pretty much all the time. The 165 cranks still feel little weird to me, but less so. I may try switching them out for slightly longer ones, but not just yet.

I wore some new cycling duds, a birthday gift from my wife… Jenni berates me into mentioning, and I also met the first day of “28 Days of Exercise” easily on this ride. Another first. I’m tweeting using #twentyeightdays, thinking about using #dailygoals as well (Since it can be tracked easily.

What does one call a collection of firsts? Suggestions welcome.

Merrell Thermo 6 Waterproof (recommended)

thermo6waterproof.png Everyone once in a while I run into a product (that is, I wasn’t looking at the time) that turns out just great. The Merrell Thermo 6 Waterproof
 is once such product.

It’s been very snowy already and all my boots and shoes are getting wet and ruined. They’re not meant for winter except for one pair, and I can’t wear them all the time (like to work) because they’re high, and lot of my pants don’t fit over them, and they’re not appropriate looking for work (that’s a whole ‘nother discussion).

I was returning a pair of gloves Noah picked out for my birthday (wrong size), and I saw the aforementioned boots. I saw that they were going to be waterproof, nice grippy looking soles, soft around the ankles, and insulated. Perfect! I tried a couple of sizes just to be certain, they’re really comfortable and warm (for the conditions in which I intend to wear them.)

I was out in them today with a few inches of snow, some sledding with Noah, and some shoveling and car clearing, and they were everything I expected at 14 degrees F.

So if you need a nice, not too costly pair of 3 season water resistant boots (but not just a membrane thing, but a “plastic” boot) recommended.

Chinese Jones?

Chinese Jones?:According to a thread on the MTBR 29er forum, a company in China is knocking off Jeff Jones’ Spaceframe. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Jeff for months now, and I have no idea if he’s yet seen these “Ti Special style MTB frames,” but they’re an interesting example of form leading function, the complete opposite of everything Jeff believes in.[How cheezy. Great artists steal… this isn’t even a serious attempt.]
Source: Speedgoat Blog

Me Tube

I’ve enjoyed the explosion of video resources on the net. People have yet another way to share moments from their lives, etc. etc. And along with that come life’s little mishaps. And as almost everyone will admit, viewing a prat fall, a slip, a fall, or a splash can be funny. It’s part sympathy, recognition that we all walk a tight rope with dignity on one side and humiliation on the other… and partially just the simple fun of watching others get in to trouble.

But I’m troubled by something as I watch some of these videos.

People face plant, bang their heads against rocks, launch themselves onto all manner of nasty surfaces and time and again the person taking the video (and you can tell when it’s hand held and when it’s not) does absolutely nothing besides watch. I was horrified when I saw one sampling from the Fail blog where a cyclist smacked their head against a rock with significant force and the person behind the camera did nothing besides ask the person (eventually) if he was alright.

Folks, two thoughts. If you witness an “unintentional result” in front of a camera… see if the person needs help rather than worry about “the shot”. The second thought is, if you’re going to do something in front of a camera know that Heisenberg understood that the camera was going to have an affect on the proceedings. For some reason, these effects seem to be almost universally negative for the person being observed for any “cusp” event.

New Hampshire Cracks Down On Search And Rescue Costs

New Hampshire Cracks Down On Search And Rescue Costs: It is noted that New Hampshire has spent a total of $1 million over the past 10 years on search and rescue activities.  Of that $1 million, only $25,000 has been recuperated.

How do you feel about being charged for search and rescue? [Interesting. It’s a lucky thing I’ve never needed that sort of help. Then again, I believe in Daniel’s first rule of the mountains, when in doubt, head down and/or back. Seems like 99% of all mountain tragedy’s occur because people keep going up to what must be “right over that rise”. Second rule is never tie yourself into a rope with someone who you wouldn’t give your life to/for/with. That rope’s a contract of overwhelming strength.]
Source: The Adventurist

Merb *is* Rails

Merb *is* Rails: Wow this has been a hectic, emotional week. The Rails and Merb core teams have been silently working together towards this monumental announcement. The announcement is that Merb is Rails and Rails is Merb.
http://rubyonrails.org/merb
http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2008/12/23/merb-gets-merged-into-rails-3
http://yehudakatz.com/2008/12/23/rails-and-merb-merge/

[This is awesome news. There’s parts of both frameworks that I love, and now, with a bit of luck, all of them will wind up in the same place.]
Source: Brainspl.at

Hed Ardennes

hed_ardennes.jpgA while back I took the Mavic Kyserium ES wheels off my bike and ordered a set of Hed Ardennes. I completely understand the wider is better thing (from a riding stand point… and I’m beginning to think that the thinking behind super skinny tires is, in almost all cases, flawed.

That said, I’m not a aerodynamics expert, nor is it clear that the science word has a really clear idea of all the forces in action as a bicycle tire, tube, wheel, and road interact. Rolling resistance is debated every which way, and the degree to which a given aero improvement has value in the real world… but all that, and all the marketing aside, I can tell you that wider feels better. It’s not a large switch from 19 to 23mm wide, but the effect is noticable, and I really like how nicely they corner.

My disclaimer is that I recently started riding on a set of Salsa Gordo hoops, which are 35mm wide, and love them too. Some part of me is clearly and forever a fat tire guy.

winter_hills_with_jenni.pngThat said, the wheels (which are a slightly tougher “stallion” build (larger bearings, a few more spokes)) are still plenty light. They have a bit of a hollow hum from hubs, but it’s musical and not annoying. The rear engagement mechanism is quiet and solid. The wider rim spreads the contact patch and shortens the sidewall a bit, but I didn’t really notice much difference there with the following exceptions: The transition from straight up to tilted over is far smoother, and it feels like the tires are putting more rubber on the road when it’s leaned over. The bearings and races are clearly of high quality, and the front wheel feels like it will spin forever. I didn’t opt for the ceramic bearing option. Seems like a waste for most of us (or at least me). All in all, the wheels felt great. I’m very pleased.

The downside… the rims are wider! The Zero Gravity brakes I had no longer fit (they didn’t open wide enough). Your mileage may vary, but mine didn’t. So I sold them and replaced them with SRAM Red brakes. They’re only about 50 grams heavier, open wider, and are plenty good enough for me. Also, should I decide to upgrade the Force group on the bike, it would be to Red. Annoying that the 0Gs don’t open up enough, but not a big deal in the scheme of things, and certainly not a reason not to buy the Ardennes. For most folks, this clearly wouldn’t even be a consideration.

noahs_never_far_behind.jpg

On today’s ride Jenni was in a celebratory mood, which in her case apparently means hill climbing (Really? Crazy Girl(tm)). So that’s what we did. We got a late start for us and so lights were the order of the day. I love riding as the sun sets for two reasons. One, it’s the opposite of when I ride most often (daybreak). Two, it feels like I’ve been riding all day, yet I feel really fresh. Heh. The day had finally warmed up a bit although it never came near the 46F promised degrees. And of course, was getting colder rather than warmer. But I recently added a piece to my riding outfit straight from my closet… a very windproof soft shell thingy, and it has greatly improved my comfort level in the cold.

Before I left on the ride, I was getting things together with my bike and of course, since there were tools and things about, Noah was not far behind.

He helped me get the wheels on the bike, and attempt to adjust the brakes, which led to a quick trip to the bike store for parts. After changing wheels and tires around this week… the spare bedroom had that winter look to it. Trainers are out, wheels are everywhere… from the reverse angle you’d see the Jones bike having been reshod with knobbies… really looking forward to hitting some trails with that baby.

Anyway, bring on the steady state intervals…

lookin_like_winter.jpg