Ramblings about soccer, bicycling, and living
Grizzly Peak, that is.
The early morning showers here in the East Bay flats broke up on our way to the office, revealing the snow-capped peaks of the East Bay hills. What a sight to see, white on Grizzly Peak! From below, the snow seems to start somewhat above the top of the lab, so I would estimate the snow level this morning at above 1200-1400 feet.
Maybe we will have a wet winter after all…
Like Joe Posnanski, I am not very good at small talk. Some people have a talent of getting someone to indicate what interests them, and when the listener also knows something about one of those subjects, asks an intelligent question. Like Sean the sales guy at our company, who figures out what sport and team the guy was into, and then always has a lead in question whenever they may meet. (How ’bout them ‘Boys? or Can the Sox win it again?) And then the ice is broken and the listener is engaged and volunteers information about “business” more readily. But not me; unless I know you pretty well, getting to that common subject just can take forever.
Even if you are not a sports buff, this is a good read at SI.com. While you may not understand the sports references, you should understand the small talk and lifestyle points.
This link at SciAm has many outstanding articles and contacts for alternative energy research, development, and use. I have really enjoyed several of the links provided here, and hope to spend more time browsing here. Who knows, maybe I can use some of this tech someday soon.
From a fans persepective, this doesn’t seem like that big a deal until I think about my long-standing dream of going to England and seeing some Premier League games.
A quote from Tottenham’s Barber at the press conference announcing the partnership:
“We hope to see some visits between fans here and also fans back in London wanting to come to California,” he said. “I’m not sure which is the better swap there — coming to London on a cold, wet November evening to watch us play, or coming out here to California on a nice, sunny evening to watch the Earthquakes play. But there will be plenty of people who want to do both, and we’re looking forward to that.”
I got this link on a list.
Too good not to share, as are some of the Releated Videos that come up on that YouTube page.
My wife would probably call the title an oxymoron, or worse, but I am always pleased when Frank Dell’Apa gets to write a column. Now with ESPNSoccernet (previously writing only for the Boston Globe), Frank understands both soccer and writing. A real pleasure to read, at least for me.
I have also enjoyed Center Line Soccer in San Jose for great coverage of the NewQuakes. While maybe not as analytical as Dell’Apa, Jay Hipps and the rest do real coverage that years ago was done by major metropolitan dailies. SF Chron take notice, you are nowhere when it comes to covering this team. Although I would give an adequate grade to the SJ Merc News, as Ann Killion and others have done more than just report the scoreline.
Anyway, because of the internet, I can follow soccer without needing to go the a big newstand for the various papers. And thanks to RSS feeds, I can have it centralized and fed to me daily.
Well, now there is some evidence that a popular pain killer and recreational drug may indeed help you ward off infection. And not just against trivial diseases, but against drug resistant strains of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which claimed more lives than AIDS in 2007 or, more recently, extensively drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (XDR-TB.) that are infecting people in hospitals.
The wonders of nature…
Well, there is some online video after all for the Vuelta. I have been watching some of Cycling News Video highlights, and while they are short they do give some indication of the terrain, the road, the crowds, the villages, etc.
However, it is not as fun as watching the whole thing. My searching has found that it is available online in some countries, but I haven’t explored thoroughly enough to find one worth watching.
Here is a SciAm article that portraits the woman who made the breakthrough about the problems with a key component of polycarbonate. Patricia Hunt figured out how bisphenol-A (BPA) can leach out of the plastic, and into our food. Good read, and makes one think about how we store our foods.
Just the other day, I had given my wife some grief about buying a new lexan Nalgene bottle, instead of the softer kind.
I may be missing something, but it doesn’t appear that there is any video of the Vuelta Espana this year. Too bad, as it seems to be a race where Astana is trying to prove a point about not being at the Tour de France.
And it also seems that there is a really epic climb, to give the race to a true climber. See the Velo New story about the Angliru.
Benlucky's Blog 
Recent Comments