Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Playing in the Mud
Monday, October 31, 2011
Lust
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Still Here...
The boy continues to grow, and boy is he cute!
Hopefully you've been following the Team Gates Carbon Drive cyclocross updates on the Gates blog.
More stuff coming soon!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Marco Simoncelli; Jan. 20, 1987 - Oct. 23ober 2011
A horrible crash took Marco Simoncelli yesterday at the Sepang circuit. He was probably my favorite rider to watch, riding aggressively on the track, and giving lively interviews to the press. No doubt, a first of many MotoGP wins was in his future.
Marco's spare waits in the Sepang paddock for his return.
Winter is coming, and my moto rides to work are likely very short in-number for this season. So it seemed fitting to ride in today, enjoying the crisp fall weather, and changing leaves.
Marco's spare waits in the Sepang paddock for his return.
Winter is coming, and my moto rides to work are likely very short in-number for this season. So it seemed fitting to ride in today, enjoying the crisp fall weather, and changing leaves.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Team Gates Carbon Drive Bikes!
I was trying for the longest time to get the blog caught-up, but time wasn't cooperating and it just wasn't working out. So now it's time to just start fresh and pick up from right about here. And might as well start with a brand new bike for the first post!
I am lucky to once again be riding the amazing crew at Gates, on the Team Gates Carbon Drive cyclocross team for 2011! We're hoping to have another, increadibly succesful year, and definitely have the bikes to do that! We'll be riding carbon fiber single speed frames from Raleigh, designed to accept the Gates Belt Drive of course. The belt break is very clean, and uses a removeable portion of the metal dropout, to allow the break right at the droupout;
We are riding the newest CenterTrack version of the belt drive. This belt offers a lower profile, even more amazing mud and debris cleaning and tolerates misalignment better than the CDX systems we were running last year. On my first ride, I didn't expect the drivetrain to feel any smoother than the CDX, but I was shocked that it was indeed, noticeably smoother!
And lets be honest... it's not a bad thing that it looks a lot cooler too! The bike itself rides amazing! It was a lot of fun to check out the variety of new trails at the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder. The Raleigh has that incredibly smooth carbon ride that doesn't sound like something you "have to have" on a cross bike... until you ride a carbon cross bike. Then everything else seems old-fashioned! It definitely doesn't hurt the ride (or the run-ups) that my bike weighed in at 15.2lbs. That's even without getting too involved with using extra lightweight parts!
The excellent components from FSA and EA90 wheels from Easton are all great, high-quality bits. Even more importantly, they'll handle the rigors and extra stress on the cross bike. And I was pumped that TRP provided us with not just their EuroX brakes, but also the sweet new single speed brake levers as well! The shape of the hood and lever are awesome; bringing updated shapes to single speed riders, and the push-button brake release is perfect on a cross bike.
10 minutes into my first ride, and I didn't even think about the bike - which means it more than passed the test! I can't wait to mount up the tubulars and really push the bike!
Keep an eye on the Gates Blog for updates from the team's exploits this season, and I'll have some more updates as well!
I am lucky to once again be riding the amazing crew at Gates, on the Team Gates Carbon Drive cyclocross team for 2011! We're hoping to have another, increadibly succesful year, and definitely have the bikes to do that! We'll be riding carbon fiber single speed frames from Raleigh, designed to accept the Gates Belt Drive of course. The belt break is very clean, and uses a removeable portion of the metal dropout, to allow the break right at the droupout;
We are riding the newest CenterTrack version of the belt drive. This belt offers a lower profile, even more amazing mud and debris cleaning and tolerates misalignment better than the CDX systems we were running last year. On my first ride, I didn't expect the drivetrain to feel any smoother than the CDX, but I was shocked that it was indeed, noticeably smoother!
And lets be honest... it's not a bad thing that it looks a lot cooler too! The bike itself rides amazing! It was a lot of fun to check out the variety of new trails at the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder. The Raleigh has that incredibly smooth carbon ride that doesn't sound like something you "have to have" on a cross bike... until you ride a carbon cross bike. Then everything else seems old-fashioned! It definitely doesn't hurt the ride (or the run-ups) that my bike weighed in at 15.2lbs. That's even without getting too involved with using extra lightweight parts!
The excellent components from FSA and EA90 wheels from Easton are all great, high-quality bits. Even more importantly, they'll handle the rigors and extra stress on the cross bike. And I was pumped that TRP provided us with not just their EuroX brakes, but also the sweet new single speed brake levers as well! The shape of the hood and lever are awesome; bringing updated shapes to single speed riders, and the push-button brake release is perfect on a cross bike.
10 minutes into my first ride, and I didn't even think about the bike - which means it more than passed the test! I can't wait to mount up the tubulars and really push the bike!
Keep an eye on the Gates Blog for updates from the team's exploits this season, and I'll have some more updates as well!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Busy Weekend!
Definitely a busy weekend; starting at 4.30am on Friday! Sebastian was born at 11.20am, Friday the 13th (my little monster), 5lbs. 11oz., 19in. long. All three of us made it home Sunday afternoon, and have survived the first night. Time for a Monday that's different from all the previous Mondays!
More details soon, since I have a tiny human sleeping in one arm, and only have one arm to type with!
More details soon, since I have a tiny human sleeping in one arm, and only have one arm to type with!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
DEFCON 3
Holy shit... today means there is just 3 more weeks until the due date for Magnum Excaliber Skelator to show up. That's a bit frightening.
In the meantime, I've been trying to get a good look at the incredible planet alignment that's going on. Though the weather really hasn't been cooperating. I thought this morning would be good, but it was so cold, that we had a lot of fog in the air. At least I learned I should set my alarm a bit earlier for tomorrow, though getting up at 5am sounds like a horrible idea. Anyway, here is what things SHOULD "look like";
I killed some time last week, building up a pretty cool set of wheels too. I haven't used the Tune Schwarzbrenner 24mm clincher rims before, so it was interesting to see how they built.
They were actually quite nice... a good thing given the pricing! But overall had a great finish and built up round and true, without too much hassle.
It was also nice to build these up with a much more "reasonable" pair of hubs. A pair that you can use every day and don't need to baby. These used Sapim CX-ray spokes, laced to an Alchemy Elf front hub - far and away my absolute favorite front hub. Nothing else even comes close.
The rear didn't have much flash, but that's fine, it was built with a lovely, standard DT-240 hub. No nonesense and pretty much bombproof.
So yeah, I still don't totally get the plan to use a carbon clincher rim on a wheelset like this, given the cost:benefit ratio, but this did build a nice, relatively low spoke count wheel, that was still a very cool weight - just 1,287g for a clincher wheelset.
In the meantime, I've been trying to get a good look at the incredible planet alignment that's going on. Though the weather really hasn't been cooperating. I thought this morning would be good, but it was so cold, that we had a lot of fog in the air. At least I learned I should set my alarm a bit earlier for tomorrow, though getting up at 5am sounds like a horrible idea. Anyway, here is what things SHOULD "look like";
I killed some time last week, building up a pretty cool set of wheels too. I haven't used the Tune Schwarzbrenner 24mm clincher rims before, so it was interesting to see how they built.
They were actually quite nice... a good thing given the pricing! But overall had a great finish and built up round and true, without too much hassle.
It was also nice to build these up with a much more "reasonable" pair of hubs. A pair that you can use every day and don't need to baby. These used Sapim CX-ray spokes, laced to an Alchemy Elf front hub - far and away my absolute favorite front hub. Nothing else even comes close.
The rear didn't have much flash, but that's fine, it was built with a lovely, standard DT-240 hub. No nonesense and pretty much bombproof.
So yeah, I still don't totally get the plan to use a carbon clincher rim on a wheelset like this, given the cost:benefit ratio, but this did build a nice, relatively low spoke count wheel, that was still a very cool weight - just 1,287g for a clincher wheelset.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Starry Night
The stars were finally out the other night.
But it was still only 28 degrees and windy, so my time outside was very limited.
But it was still only 28 degrees and windy, so my time outside was very limited.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Moonstruck
It didn't take long, walking around in public last weekend, to realize that the full-moon was upon us. People get absolutely (more) insane whenever the moon is showing it's full brightness. I wish I knew why. Anyway, that made me want to mess around with some camera time, but the clouds and crappy weather had already started to blow in. Still, had some fun over-exposing some shots; like this one. Cool around the moon, but wild that there really wasn't even any of the city-light visible to the eye at the bottom of the picture.
Clouds, haze, and a full moon... not to mention some light rain blowing around, just to make things wonky. Still kinda fun though.
The next night had a lot fewer clouds, but there was still a good amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Still... with some playing around (quickly, before my battery died) I got a moon pic with a fair amount of detail.
I have a few more thinsg I wanted to play with trying to capture... but it has literally been raining and/or snowing for the past 10 days or so. Ah, spring in Colorado.
Clouds, haze, and a full moon... not to mention some light rain blowing around, just to make things wonky. Still kinda fun though.
The next night had a lot fewer clouds, but there was still a good amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Still... with some playing around (quickly, before my battery died) I got a moon pic with a fair amount of detail.
I have a few more thinsg I wanted to play with trying to capture... but it has literally been raining and/or snowing for the past 10 days or so. Ah, spring in Colorado.
Weekly Sightings
Last week (mostly) wrapped up with a loud and fun dinner to celebrate Bonnie's birthday! I think she's old enough to drink now... and definitely wanted to prove that point with the margarita that she chose.
If you want to be "that guy" walking around looking like a complete douchebag... then you need flipflops with LED headlights. Just $60 at REI, and not a single chick will come up to bother you.
It seems like every year I try to give Indy Car racing another chance... but every year I make it through about 2 races before I remember that it's silly, and completely boring. This year, I had the back-to-back ridiculousness of the current top drive, Dario Franchitti wearing not one, but TWO Breathe-Right nasal strips during his pre-race interview. I wonder if the plan was to be able to breathe twice as well, or if he was going to use them like tear-off visors? Then, if that wasn't enough... ALL of the Versus commentators down "trackside" doing interviews, had their own Versus driving suits on. Riiiiggghhhht.
I took a first aid class this week, to renew my first aid and CPR certifications, as usual, it was an interesting class. This particular class, definitely had one of the more entertaining/comical videos to accompany the teaching. Plus, the book even had a tear out cell phone in the back cover, to be used in practicing to make emergency calls;
One of the ladies in my group MIGHT have overdone it on the lipstick that day;
And of course the training was on campus, on 4/20. And leave it to Boulder to have several planes doing aerial advertising, for local dispensaries, flying over campus. Might as well, all your key customers were in one spot... I've never seen so many people suffering from chronic back pain in one spot.
If you want to be "that guy" walking around looking like a complete douchebag... then you need flipflops with LED headlights. Just $60 at REI, and not a single chick will come up to bother you.
It seems like every year I try to give Indy Car racing another chance... but every year I make it through about 2 races before I remember that it's silly, and completely boring. This year, I had the back-to-back ridiculousness of the current top drive, Dario Franchitti wearing not one, but TWO Breathe-Right nasal strips during his pre-race interview. I wonder if the plan was to be able to breathe twice as well, or if he was going to use them like tear-off visors? Then, if that wasn't enough... ALL of the Versus commentators down "trackside" doing interviews, had their own Versus driving suits on. Riiiiggghhhht.
I took a first aid class this week, to renew my first aid and CPR certifications, as usual, it was an interesting class. This particular class, definitely had one of the more entertaining/comical videos to accompany the teaching. Plus, the book even had a tear out cell phone in the back cover, to be used in practicing to make emergency calls;
One of the ladies in my group MIGHT have overdone it on the lipstick that day;
And of course the training was on campus, on 4/20. And leave it to Boulder to have several planes doing aerial advertising, for local dispensaries, flying over campus. Might as well, all your key customers were in one spot... I've never seen so many people suffering from chronic back pain in one spot.
Visitors
We had a couple busy weekends with visitors lately. First up, Harry, Danielle and Nate came out just a couple weeks after our visit to their house. It was Nate's first birthday, and we were all set to do some partying! We went all out and made up all of Nate's favorite food; cheeseburgers, chicken, french fries and mac-n-cheese!
Jesse and his mom came up to join the celebration too, and it was an all-out party. After dinner it was time for Nate's awesome birthday cake. Chocolate with butter cream from the awesome Spruce Confections bakery in Boulder.
No doubt that Nate loved his cake!
The weekend after that, Jessica was super excited that her good friend Stephanie and Addison were able to come out for her baby shower! No matter how many times we tell Addie to "stop growing", she never seems to listen, and is bigger everytime we get to see her! But, it still doesn't keep her from looking like a bobble-head when she tries on Jessica's helmet.
On one of the days we got to go into Nederland, so that Stephanie could show Addison where she grew up, and of course to see all the changes since Steph was last there. This of course meant a stop at the Carousel of Happiness was mandatory.
Jessica even got to take Magnum for his first official ride on the carousel.
Other than that, we mostly hung out for the weekend, did some good catching up and the ladies had fun at their shower. Addison and Cyrus also became best of friends - he's always a ladies-man, for sure.
A fun diva picture or proof for next time we see Addison, so that we can yell at her for continuing to grow-up;
Jesse and his mom came up to join the celebration too, and it was an all-out party. After dinner it was time for Nate's awesome birthday cake. Chocolate with butter cream from the awesome Spruce Confections bakery in Boulder.
No doubt that Nate loved his cake!
The weekend after that, Jessica was super excited that her good friend Stephanie and Addison were able to come out for her baby shower! No matter how many times we tell Addie to "stop growing", she never seems to listen, and is bigger everytime we get to see her! But, it still doesn't keep her from looking like a bobble-head when she tries on Jessica's helmet.
On one of the days we got to go into Nederland, so that Stephanie could show Addison where she grew up, and of course to see all the changes since Steph was last there. This of course meant a stop at the Carousel of Happiness was mandatory.
Jessica even got to take Magnum for his first official ride on the carousel.
Other than that, we mostly hung out for the weekend, did some good catching up and the ladies had fun at their shower. Addison and Cyrus also became best of friends - he's always a ladies-man, for sure.
A fun diva picture or proof for next time we see Addison, so that we can yell at her for continuing to grow-up;
Friday, April 8, 2011
Not an iPad
There was a good "carpet" of clouds laying down on Boulder this morning, when I came around the hill and started my way down.
I had pretty much forgotten that I had a tour of our new supercomputer on my schedule this morning! A nice distraction for the morning routine, minus the fact that I couldn't take my coffee with me. Your tax dollars hard at work... this is a roughly $8m Dell supercomputer that intended for research on the University campus. There wasn't a building set for it to go into, so instead, it went into a custom made container, that sits in a parking lot - but at least it's out of the floodplain, unlike most of our equipment. It definitely doesn't look flashy from the outside;
The second row of four rows of racks;
1,348 nodes, each with 12 cores and the machine has a bit over a petaflop of memory. The racks are separated into cold and hot zones, the hot zones being contained inside these "rooms" and averaging about 150degrees, vs. 60 degrees for the cold.
Here is the mechanical chiller;
And a good portion of the passive chiller. The system has been running quite efficiently, at about 1.07 - 1.2 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Still, that's about $20k of electricity per month.
Now that's a pretty serious circuit box!
And this, of course, is the Mani-corn that sits outside and guards the supercomputer.
I had pretty much forgotten that I had a tour of our new supercomputer on my schedule this morning! A nice distraction for the morning routine, minus the fact that I couldn't take my coffee with me. Your tax dollars hard at work... this is a roughly $8m Dell supercomputer that intended for research on the University campus. There wasn't a building set for it to go into, so instead, it went into a custom made container, that sits in a parking lot - but at least it's out of the floodplain, unlike most of our equipment. It definitely doesn't look flashy from the outside;
The second row of four rows of racks;
1,348 nodes, each with 12 cores and the machine has a bit over a petaflop of memory. The racks are separated into cold and hot zones, the hot zones being contained inside these "rooms" and averaging about 150degrees, vs. 60 degrees for the cold.
Here is the mechanical chiller;
And a good portion of the passive chiller. The system has been running quite efficiently, at about 1.07 - 1.2 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Still, that's about $20k of electricity per month.
Now that's a pretty serious circuit box!
And this, of course, is the Mani-corn that sits outside and guards the supercomputer.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Random Pics
Crazy color in the sky on this evening!
I hate snow... but sometimes it can be somewhat pleasing to look at.
Early spring skies at sunset.
Windy, early spring skies at sunset.
Crazy-high clouds filling the sky.
Neo
Daytime moon with clear skies.
I just liked the contrasting colors
Kodoma, up close and personal.
I hate snow... but sometimes it can be somewhat pleasing to look at.
Early spring skies at sunset.
Windy, early spring skies at sunset.
Crazy-high clouds filling the sky.
Neo
Daytime moon with clear skies.
I just liked the contrasting colors
Kodoma, up close and personal.
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