Jury Duty

I spent the day on a Jury yesterday. Wish I could say it was time well spent and that I felt I performed my civic duty, but I can't.

I'll summarize and speculate the case for you.

This couple had their forth child in five years.  The man was outside working on his motorcycle instead of helping out the woman with the newborn. This pissed her off causing an argument. She damages the bike and he tears her favorite neck-lass off her neck. He probably chucks it into the canal or a dumpster. She calls the cops and has him arrested for theft.

That was the case. Sure he was guilty but what a bunch of b.s. waste of our time. Anyway, I wish I knew what the judge decided for punishment.

Update in Berkley HOH case

There were reports of the Hateful Old Hiker going on the UC Berkely campus vandalizing Mountain Bikes. (leaving other bikes alone). From the San Francisco chronicle of other incidents below.

It was also reported that he had been kicked out of Environmentalist groups. He was then accused of making threats to members of the Environmentalist groups.

However, supporters (yes, he has some supporters) claim that this is a conspiracy of militant mountain bikers to soil his good name.

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. . .allegedly roamed a fire trail above the UC Berkeley campus, attacking bicyclists with hand tools.
Michael Vandeman of Berkeley accosted one bicyclist in summer 2009 and punctured his tire with a sharp tool, authorities said. About six weeks ago, he allegedly brandished a handsaw at another bike rider.
Both incidents took place on the upper section of the fire trail that runs from Grizzly Peak Boulevard to Strawberry Canyon, east of Memorial Stadium.
Vandeman was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor vandalism for the first attack and misdemeanor assault for the second one. He has not been charged in a third incident in which a 33-year-old Berkeley resident reported being accosted May 4 by a man who stepped directly in front of his mountain bike, grabbed his handlebars and put on the brakes.
That assailant "angrily yelled at the victim regarding his bicycle ruining the trail and the environment," and brandished a small tool with a sharp end, UC Berkeley police said.



The fire trail is open to hikers but closed to bicyclists.
- Henry K. Lee


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/BAA91DO9MS.DTL#ixzz0qCsYjeVB

Biggest Looser fifth weigh in - plus other stuff

Biggest looser fifth weigh in

Weighed in at 216.4 once again. Hate to make excuses but there was the big banquet last night for the festival of kites.

Total weight loss still at 5.8 lbs.

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All things Hawaiian

Hawaiian MTB rides

In honor of our Hawaiian friends, here is a post of Some old Hawaiian photos and our Hawaiian rides.
awaii

Trail	area	Puck	Description	Distance	TimeToRide	Effort	skill	PrimoTrail	FindRoute
Munro trail	Lanai	3	double track mountain roads	40	days	tough	intermediate		moderate
Secret Trails	Maui	8	isolated single track through various type forrest such a guava	3 to 100	1 to 5	moderate	Intermediate		moderate
Mt Haleakala	Maui - Kula Forrest preserve	5	All single track. Some fog. Redwood forrest Volcanic rock. A little of everything.	12	1 to 3	Tough	Expert		moderate
Kaaawa Valley	Oahu	1	Lush beauty. majestic Koolau Mountain cliffs and stunning ocean views are the backdrop for this epic mountain biking experience. scenic dirt roads; double track and single track. explore this sacred and historic Hawaiian valley.	6	2 to 3	Moderate	Beginner		Easy
Aiea Loop	Oahu	8	nice trail that provided some very different flora than I normally get to see.	5	1	Moderate	Intermediate		moderate

Been reading Mountain Bike Bills blog as he is currently in Hawaii. Also been reading the flat tire blog and he

resides in Hawaii as well. 
Nice redwood forest to hike and bike.

This was a nice feast.

You have to
love a place where fruit trees grow wild.

Just any excuse to post some old photos of my time there.

For such a small place, they have every ecosystem anyone would want. Desert, tropical jungle, pine forest all within a short distance of the other. Elevation and which side of the island is the key to what is going on ecosystem wise.

If there are any Hawaiian's out there that want me to include some of their favorite trails on Fat Tire please leave a comment.

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The Limbaugh Monster and the Presidents Daughter

I am thinking about writing some of my own children's stories for the child my wife and I are having next month.

I remember stories of monsters and princesses when I was a child. Why not tell a true story instead? How Rush Limbaugh attacked Chelsie Clinton when she was a child on a daily basis comes to mind. Moral of the story is words alone can never hurt you.

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Vikings and Saints

Both teams won by 31 points. Should be a good match.Too bad cardinals and cowboys. Retool and try harder next year.

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New Header

I changed my header. I write computer code, which is probably why I have had a fondness for the photo. The term loop has a double meaning for me.

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California woman drowns while snow skiing

This is another wtf news story. A california woman drowned in a creek while snow skiing in Colorado. Apparently it was a guided helicopter trip. Her helmet got caught in some stones in a creek and she drowned. WTF!!!??
Where was her guide! Why couldn't she just get out of her helmet!!?? Just doesn't sound right.

Biggest Looser fourth weigh in - plus other stuff

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Cardinals vs. Packers VS riding desert Classic

rode the dc then saw the 4th quarter and o.t. . . .  Wow. Cards win 51 to 45. The roaster in the toaster!

Anyway, I don't regret riding. Even though it was one of the greatest playoff games ever. Feels like a luxury to ride a 27 speed bike after i've been riding the single speed so much. Miss my big 29 inch rims, but the smaller ones are good for tight spots. Everything is a tradeoff.

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Biggest Looser fourth Weigh in

Missed a week due to the holidays. Apparently, I also missed the bike in to work as I gained 0.2 lbs. Current weight is 216.4 lbs. Total weight loss 5.8 lbs since the contest began. I am currently in third place.

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Seti@home, folding@home, distributed computing and Gilbert police urge charges against ex-Higley IT director

Every time I've heard mention of the story of former Higley Unified IT director Bradley Niesluchowski,the media has portrayed the guy as a nut. They also mentioned that his installation of seti at home  is costing the school district millions of dollars to remove. Really??! Millions, really??!! I would like to see a break down of their budget. What does it cost them for normal maintenance, removal of viruses and spyware? No wonder they are over budget.

You get the feeling that The superintendent, Denise Birdwell may be hiding some other expenditures with this indecent? The thing runs as a screen saver. It doesn't prevent you from shutting it or the computer off. There seems like there is padding of the numbers somewhere. Sure, if the guy installed Seti@home or any other software on their network without permission he should be held accountable. However, he was their IT director. Technically, he had the authority. Seti@home is an academic endeavor, they are an academic entity. It seems like the guy thought he was doing some good and now the Gilbert police want to file felony charges (see azcentral story)?

Do you think that the media would have presented the story the same way if he had installed folding at home on the network instead of seti at home? Punishing a guy for trying to find a cure for cancer may have been less popular than punishing him for searching for aliens. It certainly wouldn't have been as funny.

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A crazy dream

I saw an ad in the paper about acres of land for sale. 36 acres for $19,900; 94 acres for $29,900; 120 acres for $39,900 and 227 acres for $59,900. I don't know exactly how many mountain bikers exist in Arizona, but I know we have a lot. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just pitch in a dollar, have partial ownership and save the land for mountain biking, camping and hiking? Guess that's kind of what we do with our taxes. This would be voluntary though. I don't have the time to organize something like this nor would I even know how. Anybody want to run with this idea, feel free and let me know.

more rock circles

New Years Day, sunset ride on the outcast29.

Came across some more rock circles. This time near the dreamy draw park. Yin and Yang or maybe just an S in a circle. Quite a bit away from the other rock circle and the doll house. Not as interesting as before, but here it is.

Arizona Joe and the doll house

I was out riding trail 8 just trying to locate the Rock Circles I blogged about last August. I didn't find them, but I did come across a little doll house someone put up next to the trail.

It's a bit fascinating. The person(s) who built the doll house are probably the same person(s) who built the rock circles. It's somewhat of a remote location (for being in the middle of the city) so the situation seems a bit mysterious.

Anyway, I continued onward.  I climbed a bit more and came across wild life photographer Arizona Joe.

We talked about wild life, photography, mountain biking, conservation and other topics. He determined that the hawk that swooped down on Xena, me and one of our chickens Sunday was a red tailed hawk. Check out his site for a photo of one.

I also experimented a bit more with video. New method. Didn't turn out so well. Looks like I am riding on Mars.



Check it out if you dare. Don't blame me if your bored. It's only a couple minutes long.

pleasant day at the world trade center

It is difficult to believe that eight years have passed since that Tuesday morning that changed the world. The Tuesday that wouldn't end. In many ways has never ended.

What made the day even more

difficult, more bitter for me was a pleasant day spent at the world trade center a few years earlier.

It was a summer day in 1998. Security at the towers was much like it was at any airport. Guards in the lobby, metal detectors, etc. We all had to line up just as at the airport.

This type of security was not the norm for buildings in New York City or anywhere else that I've been. It was hightened for these buildings because of an attack five years before.

After passing security, we were escorted to one of the longest and fastest elevators rides on the planet. Zoom up 103 or 104 floors up. I don't really recall the exact number but it was high.

The weather was even different up there. Below was warm and pleasant but up there; sleet was pelting the windows. The roof was closed do to high winds. As I looked out at our towers twin, I imagined that crazy frenchman who walked between these towers years before. The thought makes me shutter.

A pleasant diversion is the virtual reality ride of New York City they had on the top floor. I take the tour. Sort of a wild virtual reality helicopter ride zooming under bridges, between buildings just the same kind of fun one experiences at Universal Studios in Hollywood. They have a model of the city, I take a photo.

The views from the tower were incredible. I take more photos. Brooklyn bridge, The Empire state building, then the Statue of Liberty.

As I look out toward Lady Liberty a vision runs into my imagination. A thought of a jumbo jet flying low, flying towards the tower. This time I spook myself so badly, I have to leave. I have to get out of there. Away from this place.

The people I met who worked there were wonderful, pleasant, friendly people and I prayed that nothing like I envisioned ever happened to them.

So, years later when W. Bush asked 'Who could have imagined this type of attack', I wondered who couldn't have imagined it.