While we're on the topic, here's two groups of people i can't stand.
Group 1 - In the terminal, the people who blow by you so they can rush down a jetway, board a plane and then sit down and do nothing.
Group 2 - People on a plane, rushing to get out of their seats, so that they can stand in line in the aisle for ten minutes, blocking your view of the plane, while you taxi to the jetway. Completely filling the cabin with, from where i'm sitting, people's asses. Like they think you're doing some kind of research field work on what happens to Dockers after they've been sat on for 3 hours.
Yeah, i can't wait to fly again, next Sunday to Beantown, then the next week Colorado.
Rich.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Longest Entry Ever or Airport Joy
Saturday was a hoot, taking Amy and Ryan to the airport, really it was.
We woke up at three, packed up the wife and boy and were on the road by four.
Arrived at the airport right after five and proceeded directly to the Northwest check-in as our Delta travel assistant, stationed in Delhi, had directed us to do. Immediately things became interesting because our confirmation code wouldn't work in the Northwest kiosk, no worries, i figured it was a glitch, due to Delta owning our fare, whatever.
No, not that simple, our trusty Northwest attendant informed us that they only had a return ticket for us from Grand Junction. With the charm and charisma that has earned me millions of fans worldwide, i asked her "So then how will she use the return flight when she can't get to Colorado?" Like so many times before, i got no answer. Instead, the three of us trucked over to Delta because according to Northwest, they had botched this up.
At Delta, we got in our second line, long story short. Delta had correctly set up the fare, Northwest didn't know what they were doing. Amy's new connection would be with American. We wait about 20 minutes while all this gets confirmed then blammo, back across the terminal a la Jesse Owens.
At American, our third line, we were faced with a decision, International or E-Ticket? We waited it out in the E-ticket line, seemed logical. When we got to the front, we discovered that while our original ticket was an e-ticket, the new reissue was a printed ticket, which of course gets handled in the line labeled International. Makes sense to me.
On to line number four, American International. At this point i'm a bit delirious with anger, but it seems like things are sorting themselves out so i recline on the luggage that we've been toting, which of course engages the roller wheels on the bottom and blammo slammo, i'm now laying on my back facing the roof of the New Orleans International Airport. Laughter pours out of me like Tom Hanks in the Money Pit. This is a great way to meet other people in line, namely the wonderful group of senior citizens ahead of us heading to Vancouver. Seeing Ryan and taking pity on the obviously insane father of this cute little guy, they let us skip in front of the line. Tough times are obviously behind us right?
We get Amy's ticket, all's good with the baby appliances she hopes to check at the plane, and they even give me a pass to assist in the whole operation through to the gate. Nice!
Line number five forms at the metal detectors. We're told that Ryan's carseat and stroller have to pass through the x-ray. So barefoot with a hundred people behind me huffing and puffing, i'm given the awkward task of collapsing the stroller while holding the carseat in my other hand because surprise! Amy and Ryan have been randomly chosen to be patted down. Undoubtedly, her lovely pale skin and blue eyes succeeded in being racially profiled as a key operative of the IRA or something.
I stuff everything into the x-ray, positive that i jammed it, and turn around just in time to see Ryan, my 7 month old son, being patted down by a security officer. This is good stuff, but it gets better.
I'm putting on my shoes, and i grab Amy's plastic bucket containing the 15 odd metal bangles she was wearing, and i hear the following screamed out loud so that everyone in 70001 can hear, "SIR YOU CANNOT TOUCH YOUR WIFE'S BAGGAGE, STEP AWAY FROM THE TABLE." At this point they decided that Ryan, although dangerous looking on the outside, is actually quite benign and they hand him to me. I wink at a pilot and say, "We fooled them! My son is a killer!" he laughs. Meanwhile, Amy is now being scanned by a wand, and i'm wondering why we just didn't drive out to Colorado.
Finally through the security check, we haul butt down to the gate. Amy checks in and they tell her to get right on the plane, so now we're forced to have a nice Hallmark goodbye moment for the viewing pleasure of the 30 odd people pissed off and queued up to be seated last on the plane.
Did we actually pay Delta for this?
We woke up at three, packed up the wife and boy and were on the road by four.
Arrived at the airport right after five and proceeded directly to the Northwest check-in as our Delta travel assistant, stationed in Delhi, had directed us to do. Immediately things became interesting because our confirmation code wouldn't work in the Northwest kiosk, no worries, i figured it was a glitch, due to Delta owning our fare, whatever.
No, not that simple, our trusty Northwest attendant informed us that they only had a return ticket for us from Grand Junction. With the charm and charisma that has earned me millions of fans worldwide, i asked her "So then how will she use the return flight when she can't get to Colorado?" Like so many times before, i got no answer. Instead, the three of us trucked over to Delta because according to Northwest, they had botched this up.
At Delta, we got in our second line, long story short. Delta had correctly set up the fare, Northwest didn't know what they were doing. Amy's new connection would be with American. We wait about 20 minutes while all this gets confirmed then blammo, back across the terminal a la Jesse Owens.
At American, our third line, we were faced with a decision, International or E-Ticket? We waited it out in the E-ticket line, seemed logical. When we got to the front, we discovered that while our original ticket was an e-ticket, the new reissue was a printed ticket, which of course gets handled in the line labeled International. Makes sense to me.
On to line number four, American International. At this point i'm a bit delirious with anger, but it seems like things are sorting themselves out so i recline on the luggage that we've been toting, which of course engages the roller wheels on the bottom and blammo slammo, i'm now laying on my back facing the roof of the New Orleans International Airport. Laughter pours out of me like Tom Hanks in the Money Pit. This is a great way to meet other people in line, namely the wonderful group of senior citizens ahead of us heading to Vancouver. Seeing Ryan and taking pity on the obviously insane father of this cute little guy, they let us skip in front of the line. Tough times are obviously behind us right?
We get Amy's ticket, all's good with the baby appliances she hopes to check at the plane, and they even give me a pass to assist in the whole operation through to the gate. Nice!
Line number five forms at the metal detectors. We're told that Ryan's carseat and stroller have to pass through the x-ray. So barefoot with a hundred people behind me huffing and puffing, i'm given the awkward task of collapsing the stroller while holding the carseat in my other hand because surprise! Amy and Ryan have been randomly chosen to be patted down. Undoubtedly, her lovely pale skin and blue eyes succeeded in being racially profiled as a key operative of the IRA or something.
I stuff everything into the x-ray, positive that i jammed it, and turn around just in time to see Ryan, my 7 month old son, being patted down by a security officer. This is good stuff, but it gets better.
I'm putting on my shoes, and i grab Amy's plastic bucket containing the 15 odd metal bangles she was wearing, and i hear the following screamed out loud so that everyone in 70001 can hear, "SIR YOU CANNOT TOUCH YOUR WIFE'S BAGGAGE, STEP AWAY FROM THE TABLE." At this point they decided that Ryan, although dangerous looking on the outside, is actually quite benign and they hand him to me. I wink at a pilot and say, "We fooled them! My son is a killer!" he laughs. Meanwhile, Amy is now being scanned by a wand, and i'm wondering why we just didn't drive out to Colorado.
Finally through the security check, we haul butt down to the gate. Amy checks in and they tell her to get right on the plane, so now we're forced to have a nice Hallmark goodbye moment for the viewing pleasure of the 30 odd people pissed off and queued up to be seated last on the plane.
Did we actually pay Delta for this?
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Delta Website
It's still a work in progress, but i got the Delta Racing website pieced together this week. I've been working with the DotNetNuke framework for a while, and decided to use it for our site. I hosted it with Go Daddy and they made configuration super easy, hats off to their interface. DNN makes it very easy to add pages, manipulate them, and it ships with integrated site membership and management etc. I'll be adding photos and more info over the next few weeks, for now, the highlight is the LAMBRA District Road Race Bible located on the front page. Check it out.
Monday, May 29, 2006
It's in the books
Haven't posted in a few days, the Fantasy Giro kept me busy. Congrats to Lisa's Buca Di Luca squad which took the overall from the clutches of Brian's The Giro Zero. I'm still working out ideas for the Tour de France, i've heard some feedback that maybe a competition on just final GC would be cool, as opposed to the managing lesser-known cyclists whose goals may only be for a stage win. I think that's what keeps it interesting, but it requires more work to administer. Who knows, we'll see, July is still a ways off.
After some thought, i decided last week to opt for a different kind of BTC. I'm still going to do a BTC, but it's going to be my own, based out of Fruita, i hope to spend every day on routes like these. Also, Amy's dad and i are going to head over to Utah to do some work on her grandfather's cabin, so we'll get to do some rides there too. It should be sweet.
Tonight, we're settling down to a Memorial Day marathon of Deadliest Catch, that show is so addictive, THANKS JEFF.
After some thought, i decided last week to opt for a different kind of BTC. I'm still going to do a BTC, but it's going to be my own, based out of Fruita, i hope to spend every day on routes like these. Also, Amy's dad and i are going to head over to Utah to do some work on her grandfather's cabin, so we'll get to do some rides there too. It should be sweet.
Tonight, we're settling down to a Memorial Day marathon of Deadliest Catch, that show is so addictive, THANKS JEFF.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
doping making me sick
Being a fan of the euro-pro peloton is sometimes like being a 15 year-old kid who still wants to believe in Santa Claus.
The arrest of Manolo Saiz this week along with staff from Liberty Seguros and Communidad Valenciana who were found to be in possession of steroids and blood doping and freezing equipment (See Saiz Released) is a real blow to the sport.
It stinks when an individual rider like Millar admits drug use. When it's a director sportif, what does that say about his team, his previous teams? People speculated that JaJa juiced because of the way he bounced back from his crash at Armentieres back in 94, but now it makes you wonder if the ONCE's were systematically juicing with Saiz. Does that mean Zulle, Olano, JaJa, Stephens, Bruyneel, Beloki, Heras, who is currently serving a ban, were all part of it? Is that how they won all those TTT's?
So Liberty Seguros pulled the plug today, which means Vino and Beloki have no team for the Tour de France. That is a pisser, unless they're on the "list". I know the Societe is chomping at the bit to get to that piece of paper.
The arrest of Manolo Saiz this week along with staff from Liberty Seguros and Communidad Valenciana who were found to be in possession of steroids and blood doping and freezing equipment (See Saiz Released) is a real blow to the sport.
It stinks when an individual rider like Millar admits drug use. When it's a director sportif, what does that say about his team, his previous teams? People speculated that JaJa juiced because of the way he bounced back from his crash at Armentieres back in 94, but now it makes you wonder if the ONCE's were systematically juicing with Saiz. Does that mean Zulle, Olano, JaJa, Stephens, Bruyneel, Beloki, Heras, who is currently serving a ban, were all part of it? Is that how they won all those TTT's?
So Liberty Seguros pulled the plug today, which means Vino and Beloki have no team for the Tour de France. That is a pisser, unless they're on the "list". I know the Societe is chomping at the bit to get to that piece of paper.
Mitch All Together
Just in case you need a little Mitch during your work day, i got this collection e-mailed to me yesterday. Enjoy
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
i love google
It's true, my new fav google app is SketchUp. Do yourself a favor, download the personal use version and run through the tutorials, it takes probably 10 minutes and you'll be creating 3-d diagrams in no time. The orbit feature is very cool.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Hurray for the Hippies et al
Amy and i really enjoyed the finale of the Amazing Race yesterday. The Hippies who we'd been rooting for because of their upbeat quirky stylings pulled off the big win for a million bucks.
Not like i care that much, but i was happy to see that Elliot got voted off the American Idol leaving Katharine and Taylor, who is a strange Joe Cocker/Michael McDonald/Ray Charles-trapped-in-the-body-of-an-awkward-white-man who is prematurely gray type. The show is real crap, but i can usually laugh my way through the panel's commentary in less than 5 minutes thanks to the trusty tivo.
After talking to Norm on Tuesday, i decided to do a complete workout of leg isolation drills on the bike this morning. Good God, I've never felt so bad after only 45 minutes, i'm still limping around, i've got to believe these will be effective.
Tomorrow night, after our niece's birthday party, we're hitting the Hot Art, Cool Nights down in the Government Street area. It's a cool hip eclectic soiree like nothing else in BR, should be fun. Maybe i'll run into Amy's crazy old heckler.
Not like i care that much, but i was happy to see that Elliot got voted off the American Idol leaving Katharine and Taylor, who is a strange Joe Cocker/Michael McDonald/Ray Charles-trapped-in-the-body-of-an-awkward-white-man who is prematurely gray type. The show is real crap, but i can usually laugh my way through the panel's commentary in less than 5 minutes thanks to the trusty tivo.
After talking to Norm on Tuesday, i decided to do a complete workout of leg isolation drills on the bike this morning. Good God, I've never felt so bad after only 45 minutes, i'm still limping around, i've got to believe these will be effective.
Tomorrow night, after our niece's birthday party, we're hitting the Hot Art, Cool Nights down in the Government Street area. It's a cool hip eclectic soiree like nothing else in BR, should be fun. Maybe i'll run into Amy's crazy old heckler.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
wednesday scoop
Had a great weekend, Saturday, Amy and i ran with the boy from LSU to downtown to check out the Main Street Market on the new Levee Top Bikepath. The path is very nice, much wider than i expected with two bike lanes, and a third walking/running type lane. If it were to be extended out to Gardere or further, it could perhaps become the new home of the training race. I know i'd be willing to try it, it's currently only about a mile and a half long and slated to be the cycling super highway for football fans riding from downtown to the stadium. After, we caught lunch at Our Daily Bread which is always slamming.
Sunday's Mother's Day celebration at my mom's was a blast, some photos will be at Ryan's blog soon.
Got one of these new Tivo wireless adapters and it's working well, much nicer than the long phone cord we were using and now we've opened the door to downloading videos on your pc, and catching photos and music through the tv. It's a bit slow, but a better fix none the less.
Last night i did the training race, hoping to work out the PCF (Post-Cheaha Funk) which has been killing my legs ever since the ride. It worked, i replaced the PCF with just good old fashioned soreness which is much nicer. This was my first Tuesday night since the Aussie's departure and the average speed seemed down, it was still plenty hard though for me. I did what i could throughout but couldn't quite stick in the last mile or two as Norm, Dylan and Seabass turned it up a bit. Two generations of Team Ripple were present as Jan came out with her daughters Kate and Shelly, considering it was their first training race, i'd say they did pretty darn well.
Tought to believe that the BTC is just a little over a month away. Time to start doing some more serious planning and oh yeah, maybe some riding too.
Sunday's Mother's Day celebration at my mom's was a blast, some photos will be at Ryan's blog soon.
Got one of these new Tivo wireless adapters and it's working well, much nicer than the long phone cord we were using and now we've opened the door to downloading videos on your pc, and catching photos and music through the tv. It's a bit slow, but a better fix none the less.
Last night i did the training race, hoping to work out the PCF (Post-Cheaha Funk) which has been killing my legs ever since the ride. It worked, i replaced the PCF with just good old fashioned soreness which is much nicer. This was my first Tuesday night since the Aussie's departure and the average speed seemed down, it was still plenty hard though for me. I did what i could throughout but couldn't quite stick in the last mile or two as Norm, Dylan and Seabass turned it up a bit. Two generations of Team Ripple were present as Jan came out with her daughters Kate and Shelly, considering it was their first training race, i'd say they did pretty darn well.
Tought to believe that the BTC is just a little over a month away. Time to start doing some more serious planning and oh yeah, maybe some riding too.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Ruining a good thing
This just in from the home office located in Brian, Wolshonsia. The feared dirt finish of Stage 17 in the Giro is being repaved as we speak. Check out Road to be completed just in time for Plan de Corones and more photos of the dirt here. Such a good source of information, all done while leading the Fantasy Giro.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
mercilessly battering penguins was never so much fun
i can't stop playing this
gota love the subtle nod to Messner's love affair with the Abominable Snowman on the rock, nice.
558 feet, top it, i can't
gota love the subtle nod to Messner's love affair with the Abominable Snowman on the rock, nice.
558 feet, top it, i can't
Zajicke at the Gila
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Giro is in Effect
After a short delay, the Fantasy Giro is happening, and i've got the overall lead. Never fear, i can't win, my climbers suck. But tomorrow is the Team Time Trial. Should be interesting to see how fast 9 euro-gods can shred 38K, i'm guessing maybe 47 minutes? Anyone else in?
Cheaha Yee Haw!
How glad can i be to have that one in the books!
It was an excellent weekend obviously, travelling with the G-Town Homeys, Jeff, Char, Ward, Doc, Don, Cody and Taylor thrown in for good measure.
Lots of good times, Saturday night we caught the Sunny King Crit which was a kick to watch. I decided not to race the 2/3s after making a very quick exodus last year in the same event and i must say it was a lot of fun to just spectate, given what comes on Sunday.
As the Pro 1 field lined up, who should pull up right in front of me but Travis Sherman, he was talking himself down, saying he'd get spit out fast but he stuck like glue for a long time, nice riding because those dudes were flying. Toyota and Jelly Belly took turns controlling the race. As we left the crit, i ran into Erich Mattei who i raced with the previous year. Good catching up with him, he's still living in Athens, working in finance and getting married later this year to his girlfriend of many years. Not riding quite as much, it happens to us all :). Great seeing him and that all was well.
Sunday was perfect, rain at the start, temp in the 60's. My rain jacket fell out my pocket somewhere. Here's me on top of the first serious-real-serious climb then me dying of oxygen dep a few seconds later. Here's Jeff hitting it Moots-style. The Doc going medieval on it. Don orange-whip orange-whip orange-whip 3 orange-whipping it. I couldn't find the rest of the crew in the tiny thumbnails.
I swore i'd never do it again ever, but now Eric is saying he's game, and there seems to be a little interest among the rest of the crew. We'll see, if i can shed about 25 pounds, maybe.
It was an excellent weekend obviously, travelling with the G-Town Homeys, Jeff, Char, Ward, Doc, Don, Cody and Taylor thrown in for good measure.
Lots of good times, Saturday night we caught the Sunny King Crit which was a kick to watch. I decided not to race the 2/3s after making a very quick exodus last year in the same event and i must say it was a lot of fun to just spectate, given what comes on Sunday.
As the Pro 1 field lined up, who should pull up right in front of me but Travis Sherman, he was talking himself down, saying he'd get spit out fast but he stuck like glue for a long time, nice riding because those dudes were flying. Toyota and Jelly Belly took turns controlling the race. As we left the crit, i ran into Erich Mattei who i raced with the previous year. Good catching up with him, he's still living in Athens, working in finance and getting married later this year to his girlfriend of many years. Not riding quite as much, it happens to us all :). Great seeing him and that all was well.
Sunday was perfect, rain at the start, temp in the 60's. My rain jacket fell out my pocket somewhere. Here's me on top of the first serious-real-serious climb then me dying of oxygen dep a few seconds later. Here's Jeff hitting it Moots-style. The Doc going medieval on it. Don orange-whip orange-whip orange-whip 3 orange-whipping it. I couldn't find the rest of the crew in the tiny thumbnails.
I swore i'd never do it again ever, but now Eric is saying he's game, and there seems to be a little interest among the rest of the crew. We'll see, if i can shed about 25 pounds, maybe.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Fantasy Giro Team Deadline
The deadline for entering the 2006 Fantasy Giro will be this Friday, Cinco de Mayo at NOON. Sorry for the short notice, but entering is easy, e-mail me at davidealex@cox.net with a teamname and if you like, a preferred draft order list.
Depending upon your pick order in the draft (determined randomly), your list may have a profound or infinitesimal result on your team. Give it a shot, you can always have random picks assigned to you in the draft, which is usually not a bad way to go.
As always, the prize list is largely made up of pride, honor and a sense of glory earned in beating your fellow man. Try it out, and stay tuned to the site.
Depending upon your pick order in the draft (determined randomly), your list may have a profound or infinitesimal result on your team. Give it a shot, you can always have random picks assigned to you in the draft, which is usually not a bad way to go.
As always, the prize list is largely made up of pride, honor and a sense of glory earned in beating your fellow man. Try it out, and stay tuned to the site.
Fantasy Giro 2006
It's only days away, so i know what you're thinking, where's the hype?
Thanks to BBT, here is the beginning
Fantasty? You bet ya
More info to follow, for now get your team names and preferred draft list together.
You don't have to pick a draft list to gain a team, and historically, random teams have done really well.
Stay tuned.
brokeback stugots
Vito is coming to terms with his sexuality?
AJ is putting the finishing touches on being a smack-head.
The competition between two restaurants heats up?
Fellas can we get back to what got us here?
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
the weekend that was
Congrats to Amy who had a doll on exhibit, and performed a poetry reading at the Venus Envy. It was a pretty wild night weather-wise and the lights went out before Amy was to read, so she began reading under an emergency light, but luckily the power returned midway. There was a great turnout despite the deluge which continued throughout the night.
One highlight was this old codger who was standing behind me while Amy was reading. He'd been talking to the hors d'oeuvres ever since we'd gotten there, but when Amy started reading i heard him comment, "I can't hear a word that she's saying" as he butted in front of me. Well dressed in a gray suit, he had the kind of lucid insanity that you're allowed to have when you're elderly.
I can't wait, anyway, Amy completed a poem inspired by Ryan's birth and he belted out, "That one wasn't too cheery!" One of Amy's friends responded, "NEITHER IS LABOR!" which was priceless. Yes, it was a rowdy scene. The crazy guy continued to commentate, Cindy read a poem about San Francisco and he just started yelling "Haight Ashberry! ha ha Haight Ashberry!" even after the reading he walked by us and repeated it again. Great stuff.
Mona Webb did a reading that was off the hook, straight out of the Def Poetry Slam. There was belly-dancing plus live music, it was a very cool scene.
Sunday, we hit the Festival in Lafayette which was a blast. We met up with Tommy and Connie and caught Carimi from Haiti, and Maria de Barros from Cape Verde which were cool acts. We didn't want to push Ryan too much in the heat, so we headed out and luckily we were able to catch Buckwheat Zydeco perform live on the radio, he is cool. Hats off to Lafayette for broadcasting their festival live, gotta love it. I always have a better time at this one than the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
One highlight was this old codger who was standing behind me while Amy was reading. He'd been talking to the hors d'oeuvres ever since we'd gotten there, but when Amy started reading i heard him comment, "I can't hear a word that she's saying" as he butted in front of me. Well dressed in a gray suit, he had the kind of lucid insanity that you're allowed to have when you're elderly.
I can't wait, anyway, Amy completed a poem inspired by Ryan's birth and he belted out, "That one wasn't too cheery!" One of Amy's friends responded, "NEITHER IS LABOR!" which was priceless. Yes, it was a rowdy scene. The crazy guy continued to commentate, Cindy read a poem about San Francisco and he just started yelling "Haight Ashberry! ha ha Haight Ashberry!" even after the reading he walked by us and repeated it again. Great stuff.
Mona Webb did a reading that was off the hook, straight out of the Def Poetry Slam. There was belly-dancing plus live music, it was a very cool scene.
Sunday, we hit the Festival in Lafayette which was a blast. We met up with Tommy and Connie and caught Carimi from Haiti, and Maria de Barros from Cape Verde which were cool acts. We didn't want to push Ryan too much in the heat, so we headed out and luckily we were able to catch Buckwheat Zydeco perform live on the radio, he is cool. Hats off to Lafayette for broadcasting their festival live, gotta love it. I always have a better time at this one than the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
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