I went for a ride with Steve on Sunday last. We rode the Foresthill divide connector trail and it was pretty gnar. The trail is packed nicely and had only a moderate level of underweight lycra cross country dweeb traffic (as opposed to overweight freeride poseur traffic). The trail mostly rolls and winds up the hill with only a few big sustained climbs on the way up and a few on the way back. The return trip drops only a couple of hundred or so feet, but this modest drop is achieved in series of rollers that requires that you pedal the whole thing to keep it going.

I manged to pedal through all of the rollers on the drop at top speed for the first time this trip and it was brilliant! All of the key corners are bermed, the trail is butter, and the only trick is remembering which corners can be jumped across without carrying too much speed into the next.

The views were nice and the open fall canopy was really calming under the oak and madrone. I stole all of these pics off of flickr as I rarely remember to take pics of my own. Here's one of me hitting a sick jump.

It may not be northwest riding, but it isn't too bad...

B: Something there is that doesn't love a wall

My neighbor and I met one on a side to mend our wall...
or fence as our case is. We had some rotten posts and the fence had managed to stay standing for a while simply by the application of some cross braces and luck. It was time to repair it before winter storms and wind were upon us, so we two men met in a timeless way to replace the posts and rebuild the fence and repair our wall.

But for a time we had torn down the wall and moved freely between our two domains and shared tools, and knowledge and sweat in the sun as we set about working side by side. At the end of the day as we set to mount the final planks in place we shook hands through the gap and it set me to a bit of melancholy as I thought about that old poem and the question of neighbors that maintain walls.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall...

B: I am a rotten Mr. Grinch....

or Why I hate "Days" (mothers, fathers, administrative support personnel)

I hate fathers day. All of these Hallmark holidays should be abolished or at least abstained from by reasonable people. When did we turn the calendar over to women who want to have a special activity once a month that centers around making somebody feel special? I know it's sexist, but I can't imagine that a man came up with Fathers Day.

The major reason I don't like fathers day now that I am a father, is that it is patently clear that Fathers Day isn't really about fathers at all. It is about kids school projects and selling greeting cards, and making people that aren't really grateful express feelings they don't mean, or making people that are grateful express their thanks in a really lame over hyped day wrought with expectation and disappointment.

If Fathers Day was really about fathers, it would be called Leave me the fuck alone day. There would be no LMTFAD cards, tradition would require a simple gift of a sixer or bottle of Dad's favorite booze, or cigs or cigar or bicycle part or BJ and then that he be left the fuck alone for at least part of the day. That is all any man really wants, a simple pleasure and some time to himself. I don't need your coerced guilt or a hallmark expression of your appreciation. It is nice, but entirely uneeded.

So...If it is not too late, let me suggest that when you think about giving Dad something for fathers day, give him the gift he really wants....a new router bit and some time to use it, or free day to go riding at northstar with nobody waiting around at home (thanks Mandy!!!). It will mean so much more than dragging Dad out for some event that is about everybody else feeling good about doing something for Dad and achieves nothing in consideration of what Dad really wants.....to be left the fuck alone.

PS If you want to see the origins of Fathers day in the US please read the wiki entry for proof that I am not a complete sexist pig. Also, if you want an idea for a fathers day present that dad actually wants look at the the german fathers day. A wagon trip with a cask of beer??? Yes please.

B: Tao Knee Ville

or Downieville.....

I am getting ready to head to Downieville for some riding tomorrow. The riding lately has been pretty weak so I hope it works out. My new 2008 XT Shadow rear deraileur is detsroyed so I have switched back to the Saint rear wheel for tomorrow. If that fucker fails on me I am giving up.

Going against our usual rules, I thought it might be fun to post some old pictures. Check it out...

I can't fricking believe Merc fell in that funny hole 4 years ago!

Drinking beer is fun!

I don't know what is worse the weak beard or the weak hair cut.

B: A Micro.. Bitch

Just a quick gripe about Microsoft.

Last night I open a file from e-mail (Outlook) hit save as, changed the name and started working on it. I forgot to change the save destination, so when I closed the file, I realized it was gone. It did not show up in my recent documents under Start or in the drop down in Word because I had changed the file name using Save As in Word. Worse still, when I re-opened the original and hit save as to find the default directory, it showed it as being in C:Docs and settings/user/local setting/temporary internet files/olkao/file name, but when I went looking for it, that folder doesn't exist or wasn't visible to me. This means Microsoft has programmed Outlook to default to saving files in a directory that not all users can access. I couldn't even find the file by trying to open it from Word even though I knew exactly where it ought to be because Word couldn't find the folder in the open mode even though word could tell me where the file was when I hit save as. Search couldn't find the file, or even that OLKAO folder. Worse still, when I look in the save as directory, there are a half dozen other files that I have lost over the last 2 years that I also can't get to, if for no other reason than to delete.

I ended up going into the Program files for Word and drilling down through the temp files directory and found a link through the recent documents in there to the saved document. For whatever reason, this list of recent documents was not the same list that was present in the other recent documents directories (start or docs and settings).

Long story short, Outlook ought to know that if people open a word or excel document from e-mail and then change the file name and try to save it, that they intend to re-open it and therefore it ought to be saved in a file directory that can actually be accessed by all users. It ought to differentiate between this action and other temporary internet file type activities. This is a simple problem with a really common occurrence that ought to be super easy for users to fix, but isn't. The default save location in this instance ought to be changeable in tools and should default to someplace logical like an outlook folder in My Documents. In fact why don't they make is so that all auto-recover files, temporary document files and anything opened from an e-mail server that you ever intentionally save is duplicated to a temporary folder in My Documents if another directory isn't specified? Auto-recover files can be just as tough to locate when working over a Network, and so it seems to me that those ought to be saved in a local easy to access directory as well.

People in my office do this same thing all of the time, and quite a few of them don't know enough to know where to look and so they assume the file is just lost. Microsoft, please fix this. If I intentionally save something, please default to saving it someplace where I can actually access it. Hiding my files from me in an inaccessible directory is really bad programming.

Bad Microsoft....Bad!

B: The tastiest of jew wieners

M and I have come to the conclusion that Hebrew National All Beef Franks crush most other hotdogs on both taste and girth. We have been doing some tastings lately and they are clearly better than Ball Park franks and several others. To me, the Ball Park frank taste like bologna in tube form. Gross. I also don't think they grill up real well, as opposed to the delicious Hebrew dog which has enough fat in it to get wonderfully brown and delicious.

The only thing the Hebrew Dogs are missing is the snap. I really do like that snap that the boutique "Old Fashion" style hotdogs have. Unfortunately, the old fashioned style dogs are so skinny that you end up with significantly less meat than bun in your mouth and they are tough to find.


M and I were making hotdogs the other night when we were feeling lazy and tired and "The hotdog system" came up. I realized in that discussion, that most people aren't anal enough to have a hotdog assembly system. The hotdog system is really both an outline of my hotdog assembly system, and an exercise in a set of beliefs about caring about your food preparation and flavor profiles regardless of how simple or meager.

The hotdog system:

1. Start with a tasty dog such as a hebrew national all beef frank or some other quality dog and an equally quality bun of your choice. Just beware of overly large buns. I am assuming that you are in this for the dog, not the bread. If I am using a big polish or something else that is so big that it threatens to overwhelm and split the bun, I might consider splitting the sausage and using a sandwich rolls. Unfortunately, a split sausage becomes more of a sandwich, which to me is not truly a hotdog experience.
2. Second, grill or steam your wiener to perfection. I far and away prefer grilled to steamed or boiled. I think you get way more flavor out a browned piece of meat rather than one that has been been soaking in boiling water. If I am grilling, I like to brown (ie char) the buns a bit for extra flavor (mmmmm pyrene!)
3. Third, apply your condiments. This is where the system really comes into effect.

• Ketchup - Apply in a strip down one side of the bun. Don't apply too much. You want to avoid putting on so much that you get drips and you overwhelm all of the other flavors with sweet cloying tomato. If I have fresh delicious summer tomatoes available, I might skip ketchup entirely and just do very thinly sliced tomato down one side.
• Mustard - I like a spicy brown, but any variety will do. Again apply just enough to taste. If you want to eat mustard coated bread, you can do that at costco for $0.99 and feel gross, or you can use good mustard and delicious bread and feel way better for it, but that ain't the point of going to all of the trouble of making a hotdog at home.
• Pickle - Always dill, I like Klausens Koshers. Aways buy the whole pickles and slice them your self. Pre-sliced pickles get soggy and overly briny on the inside and lose their snap. I like to cut thin planks of pickle that can be slipped between the dog and the bun. The pickle shouldn't be too thick such that all you taste is pickle. The most important point of the pickle to me is that it should always be placed on the ketchup side to avoid too much vinegar on one side of the dog. The pickle should be used to form a harmony with the ketchup and balance the mustard.
• Relish - I never buy the stuff. I will use it at the ball park or costco if that is all there is, but I find sweet relish to be one dimensional and overly sweet. Your call, but I wouldn't.
• Onion - Either diced or very thin strips. I like red, but any color will do. I find nice fresh onion to be pretty sweet, therefore onion goes on the mustard side. Again the onion complements the mustard and balances the pickle and ketchup. I feel it is difficult to apply too much onion, but strive for balance.
• Peppers - Jalapenos or salad peppers go down the middle if used. I prefer to rinse the salad peppers to cleanse them of the brine and try to make sure they are adjacent to something sweet to balance. Jalapenos should be minced and applied sparingly. Too much of that grassy flavor will muck up you dog.
• Kraut - I don't eat the stuff, but if you are going to, I might suggest that it is so strong by itself that you really ought to consider a very strong flavored dog and limited condiments. Maybe just a nice strong stone ground brown mustard like Ploughman's.
• Chili - See the kraut discussion. I like a bowl of chili. I have no need to get a wiener involved because you just can't taste it.
• The key to assembly is balance. Try to make sure that any bite you get, even if you don't get everything at once will be balanced and complimentary. You don't really want one bit to be all mustard and pickle because that will be really briny and vinegar and then your next bite will be all onion and ketchup and overly sweet. Balance those flavors and make a harmony in your mouth.

For beverages, beer is always traditional and a great pairing. I go light in color and flavor with a hotdog and usually prefer something a little hoppy but not a big IPA. I don't really like porters and stouts with a hotdog unless they are dry and not too smoky. I find a more interesting pairing with hotdogs is white wine or even better, sparkling white. Hotdogs and champagne pair super well as do dry'ish Reislings and other fruity white.

The thing here is that so many people treat hotdogs like they are throw away food just because they are cheap and easy to prepare. I feel that with some care and proper attention to ingredients and details we can fix a hotdog in 15-20 minutes that rivals some of the truly great hand held food experiences. You don't have to be rich to have a great food experience, you just have to put in the work and care. Why would you save 2 minutes and $3 or less on quality hotdogs and fixings just to gulp down something that tastes no better than a bologna sandwich instead of something that tastes like an authentic and desirable food made with care and passion?

B: programmed for conflict

I read some nerdy science magazines....And in those magazines it seems that there is a growing body of evidence that regardless of the source of stimulus (TV, video games, books, real life), the brain accepts the things that it processes to be true, even if we know they aren't. It actually takes the brain extra work to perceive something as not true and there appear to be physiological disincentives such as the experience of "distaste" when things are found to be not true. The end result of this that for all intensive purposes, parts of your brain believe everything that you experience, even if it is imaginary. And this imaginary stimulus may actually impart changes on the brain patterns and function.

This has me wondering about the arts such as literature, theater, and plain old TV and movies. We as a society immerse ourselves in dramatic conflict as an "escape" from the stresses of our lives. If we are escaping from our stress by immersing ourselves in fictional conflict, are we ultimately reprogramming ourselves to perceive conflict where there is none? Does drama result in people that feel the need to create conflict where there was none to feel comfortable within their surroundings? Does my escape to Hogwarts from my everyday life ultimately result in my feeling isolated and persecuted (or just pathetic and dorky)?

Are we as a society over stimulated with drama? Is our constant experience of fictional violence, anguish, and aggression resulting in people who expect that this is the immutable state of the world? Is there a narrative that can be told that is not rooted in conflict? Is there a narrative of joy that is not rooted in sorrow?

The more I learn, the more those laughing clubs, lame motivational posters, and fake happy people appear to actually have something going on. It now seems that immersion in fake laughter is no different than real laughter (hence the laugh track) and that eventually the fake laughter becomes real laughter as your brain accepts that is is okay to feel irrational joy. Doesn't that seem nicer than watching another murder on Law and Order?



just some thoughts...guess we need to get a TV cuz I am thinking too much.

oh yeah, this is supposed to be good too.

B: You been out riding fences

Why does everybody cover Desperado? It's such a lame song! When I am a recording artist of national recognition, and Rick Rubin suggets that I cover Desperado, I am just going to say "Go screw Rick. That song is lame. And for christ sake, can we have less cowbell?".

I am currently leading my NCAA bracket thingy, which is awesome and hilarious to me. I know next to nothing about college hoops. I generally pick teams based upon mascot. You know, if a bulldog can beat a cardinal in a fight, I go with the bulldog (unless I feel bad for the mascot because they are like a disadvantaged race that is being exploited as a mascot). Actually, that is a good question. Are we ever going to get to the point that we can stop using native americans and other races as sports team and school mascots? Vikings were people too!

The dudes and dudettes over at UBrdo bike shop in Kirkland, WA are planning a sick, awesome, rad, gnarly trip to Whistler for opening weekend at the bike park. I think I am going, and you should too cuz it is going to be epic.

I finished Phase 1 of the home network set-up. The Cat 5E and wireless are in and working awesome, and the phone gets configured today. Phase II involves re-running all of the co-ax that currently exterior to the house and drilled through the walls, down into the crawl space and hooked into the Leviton plates that I installed. I didn't do it now, because, we don't currently have a TV so it seemed like a low priority. YAY it works. I invented the internet at my house. Now I am even more like Al Gore.

B: Lame Friday post

I have two blog topics for today. First, I just found this blog again after several years, and it is funnier than I remember. Oakpark Mastermind, Thank you. Here's a quote to give you an idea of how lowbrow and witty she is. Background, she is a making an alphabetical list of things not to be thankful for:

K. ky jelly commercials. have you ever seen one of those commercials? they
are all filled with people who look like they have never had sex in their life.
people that are like 'try a massage with this new ky warming liquid!' UH, THAT
SHIT IS NOT FOR MASSAGES, THAT SHIT IS FOR FUCKING. how come commercials for shampoo are all about fucking and commercials for ky jelly are about wholesome activities such as massage therapy?

A rational critique of the hipocracy of our puritanical policies within media. Certainly well trodden territory but well aimed. I choose to give some possibly undeserved credit and assume that the entire blog is a satire. It is more entertaining and droll that way. Plus it allows me to be in on the joke and feel smart and use the word droll which I totally love.

mishief managed.


Secondly, I am bringing back an old cumulus tradition of a puppy on friday.




So heres a puppy! Let's hope this puppy finds a nice loving home that will change it's name from Elvis to something that doesn't suck. I hate people names for pet's. I think we ought to have a new class of names assigned specifically to animals. I personnally like naming animals after food, but sandwich never really stuck for kitty, and I didn't come up with the idea until after we had Luna for a while. If we were to get a new dog I would call it salsa. There now I got dibs.

B: Preston rides again

I went for a ride with my brother this weekend on the newly rebuilt Transition Preston FR. We hit a cross country trail on our free-ride bikes because neither one of us is really inclined to ride a true cross country bike. They are too fragile. We rode the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail. It was pretty fun. There are some good downhill stretches, but it is a true XC trail. I am going to need to get back into shape! My bro royally kicked my ass all around this trail.

The bike with a full 08 XT kit (minus front wheel) is sitting around 34 or 35 pounds. That's down from 38 lbs, so that is a great weight loss! It rides awesome, though I do miss the reverse shift rear derailleur. The shifting is super snappy and a big change from older XT. I am probably a bit crusty, but I am not sure that it is an inherently better release system. It is just different and requires modification of your riding style.

As you can see from the crappy cell phone pic, the new design front derailleur sits really low. It is damn near hitting the pivot and I doubt that a chainguide could be used with it where it is. If you look at that pic closely you can see the rear derailleur. Yup, it's there (barely), but the Shadow is designed to sit in so tight in that it is practically hidden. It also almost hits the spokes, but that is another issue altogether.




My only bitch on the new XT is the M-F'ing Enduro front wheel. The new Shimano XT Enduro front hub doesn't use the industry standard 6-bolt pattern, or the standard Shimano centerlock (the lock ring is too small for a 20 mm axle), or the Shimano Saint centerlock (which was designed for use with 20 mm axles), but instead they designed it to use a new and unique lockring specific to this hub. This is just absolutely stupid to me. Why did they need to create yet another new and unique system specifically for this hub when both a market standard, and a Shimano proprietary system exists?

It's just dumb if you ask me...


Anyways, I am looking forward to getting this bike out onto some trails more suited to it's strong points (ie not sharp steep climbs).

B: Private thoughts

Just a quick note to bitch about the invite only blog concept. I totally get it if you want your blog to be a family and friends only thing for privacy reasons, or if you are just sick to death of negative comments, but it totally bums me out. Back when we were devout bloggers we had tons of regular anonymous readers, and that was fine. I myself have been an anonymous reader of several blogs for years, and I hope that this doesn't bugs those people too much either. Unfortunately it seems that a swelling number of blogs are becoming invite only, and I am no longer allowed to read...


All of their thought have become private. So sad. I wonder why they keep the blog.




Looks like the sun may break through today!

B: Holly brilliant shining orb!

Lots of stuff happening over the last few days.

We finally have our appraisal and the financing is moving along and things are in motion to buy the house YAY! Mandy found a daycare for L that is near the house. Better still, we were able to start right away. Yay!! The sun is shining today YAY!!!

The other day on Talk of the Nation there was a guest on talking about the modern man-boy and how this phenomenon is getting worse. I totally wanted to call this woman and chew her ass for stealing my book idea!

Seriously though, I am so totally glad that somebody is finally talking about it. For those that haven't heard me rant about this before you should probably just follow the link, listen to the piece and skip this ranting lame blog post. For those of you that enjoy belligerent rants, let me clarify. The subjects in question are "guys" (not men) 25 and older that refuse to growup in the socially accepted and meaningful ways. This includes: getting married, making a committment to their baby mama, holding down a decent job, buying a house, or investing in the future. .

The worst part is that these guys, when in relationships whine about their inability to commit to a relationship because they don't trust the institution or because mommy was a nut or daddy left them. They frequently are still trying to "find themselves" and "don't really know who they are" or where they want to be in their life. I am sorry, but these guys make me want to scream "Grow up and grow a pair you whining little bitch!". These guys are frozen in a 15 year old male mindset that they fail to mature beyond and nobody in our society is speaking up to make them.

I know this shouldn't bother me, but it does for a couple of reason. A major reason is that these guys are everywhere and I have to interact with these douche bags on a regular basis. The second is that these "dudes" are so pervasive that there are a lot of attractive smart women out there that can't find a half way decent guy. I know quite a few women that are in their late 20's that date loser after loser in a constant parade because that is all they can find.

This alone is enough to make me want to be a polygamist! Just kidding Mandy.

A final reason is that our entertainment media are overrun with these losers affirming this bullshit as a societal norm and ensuring that there will be an entire future generation of would be playboys to buy X-Boxes, jet skis, LOTR collectible swords. In just a few more years these guys will reach their 40's when they can evolve into a mid-life crisis and buy a Harley.


Having cable for the last couple of weeks has really run down my faith in our society. It is clear that the morons are in charge and there is no societal will to change this. I guess my problem is that I haven't yet thought of a way to profit off of the idiots as they drive our nation to the lowest possible standard of living.

Sorry for the rant, but the topic got me all fired up.