2006 Predictions

Here are some things I predict will happen in the coming year.

• Gasoline will be $4.00 per gallon
• I will buy a car that runs on diesel/vegetable oil
• There will be no exit strategy for the war in Iraq
• Andy Bakke will have sexual intercourse
• News programs will have more coverage of Brad and Angelina than genocide, poverty, and AIDS in Africa, combined
• I will break a bicycle rim
• A famous cyclist will fail a drug test and deny he ever doped
• Ivan Basso will win the Giro
• Chris Horner will win a stage in the Tour
• I will win a cyclocross race
• Lance will do all he can to stay in the media spotlight
• George W. Bush will still be an asshole
• I will not shop at Wal-Mart
• I will have a Colorado Paramedic License
• Mary and I will buy a home
• The Mets will win the World Series
• Federer will not win a grand slam
• A record number of athletes will fail drug tests during the Turino Olympics
• Paris Hilton will die
• Sampson will meet Vontoux
• A telemarketer from Calcutta will call and try to get me to consolidate my student loans
• I will drop an F-bomb on said telemarketer
• A Canadian will contract bird flu
• Right-winged yahoos will dismiss global warming
• Scott Johnson will spend a month on our futon, and train with me
• I will vomit from exertion
• Apple will come out with a ghetto blaster/boom box iPod

I'll come back to this list next year and see how many came true. I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and a prosperous 2006!

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Holy crap it's stromy here! Wind and rain and craziness. At times I don't think it could possibly rain any harder than it is. There are high surf advisories too. I might walk down to the beach and check it out. If the waves are cool, I'll post some pics.

I finished a 48 hour shift this morning. Nothing too cool to report again. I have a friend who is a paramedic in Arcata, CA, and he has the BEST stories. Weird-ass stuff I can't post on the blog. One story involves a guy who jumped out of the back of the ambulance traveling down the highway. You can imagine the result.

Less than 2 days until I get back on the bike. If the weather continues like it has, I'll be logging a lot of miles on the trainer. Fun fun. I think I want fenders.

You Gotta Make Way for the Homo Superior

This is Megan.

Here are some random facts about Megan...

Megan was the ispiration for the David Bowie masterpiece Hunky Dory.

Megan spent the Festivus holiday of 2004 at Chuck Norris's Sumatran beach home. During the feats of strenth portion of the celebration Megan had to pin Chuck Norris. They wrestled for 3 days, culmunating in Megan roundhouse kicking Chuck in the beard. We know the resulting devistation as the Asia Tsunami.

Megan once had a mild case of diarrhea. Only later did she find out it was the Avian Flu.

Lex Luthor once tried to hire Megan to distroy Superman. Megan declined, and Lex was forced to clone Nuclear Man out of Superman's hair's.

Megan once climed all 14 of the worlds 8000 meter peaks in one day. She never used supplemental oxygen.

After seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night, Megan promptly tracked the Dutch master down and cut off his ear, saying "Never paint such shit again!"

Megan eats nails for breakfast.

Megan is banned from competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Don't ask why.

Megan built 2 of the 3 great prymids.

Megan was the choreographer on Napleon Dynamite.

Megan, while holding a flux capacitor and running at 88 mph, can travel back to the future.

When God sneezes, people reply, "Megan bless you."

Megan invented the internet out of a pay phone and an old Speak n' Spell.

The film Delta Force was originally written with Megan in the lead role.

Megan invented the Total Gym. Chuck Norris only sells them to repay Megan for saving his life in Nam.

If you laugh at the picture of Megan, her fist will travel through the matrix and punch you in the face through your computer screen.

Chuck Norris's beard turned red after Megan bitch-slapped him.

Mary in Florida: Day 10

My wife finally comes home tonight. Besides the disgusting moustache I grew while she was gone, I think I still have my sanity. The "Chester A. Arthur" was shaved last Thursday at the request of my boss, but I kept the moustache. Work was incredibly slow yesterday. It just goes to show that most of our calls are because people are bored and have nothing better to do than go to the hospital.

The other day I finished the single front ring project on the cyclocross bike. I used an aero brake-only lever, a 42 tooth chainring, and two carbon fiber chain guides. The inside guide is mounted where the inner chainring would be, the chainring sits where the large, outer ring normally is, with the outer guide set outside of the chainring with 3mm spacers. It's held together by long chainring bolts used for triple ring cranksets. I also took the "oh shit levers" off, since I never used them. Here are some pics.


I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use an inner guide due to chain line issues, but everything clears, and shifts awsome. If the inner guide didn't work, I'd use a thrid-eye and maybe place the chainring in the inner position. I still need to take some links out of the chain so there is no possibility of dropping the chain. It's a pretty clean set-up, and took a quite a few grams off the overall bike weight.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Mary in Florida: Day 8

I actually have a day off. The last 2 days of work were horrible. I slept a total of 3 hours, and most of that was in the ambulance. We were busy. This morning Sampson and I were in search of snow. I thought there'd be snow up in the mountains, but it was like 60 degrees, so there was no snow. We went for a little hike anyways, and I let sampson go swimming in the river. The current is pretty strong now, so he got a pretty good workout trying to swim back to shore. Here are some pictures.



I have to work tomorrow, so I'm "celebrating" Christmas today. I have a turkey in the oven, and numerous beers in the fridge. Mary will be home Monday, so we'll have Christmas then.

I wish everyone a merry Christmas, and I hope Santa leaves fun toys in your stockings.

Mary in Florida: Day 5

Another 48 hour shift is complete. Nothing too cool to report on. I have to go back to work tomorrow though for another 48 hours. It's been rainy and windy here in Crescent City the last few days. It looks like its not going to let up until Christmas. My "Chester A. Arthur" is coming in nicely. I'll take some pictures of it before I shave it off. I've been working on changing my cyclocross bike from a double to a single front chainring set-up. I'll post pics of that also when its complete. You guys need to check out this video. It's f'ing cool! Here's a picture of the incident.

I had a message on my answering machine when I got home today. I have an interview for a paramedic postition in Boulder, CO on January 3rd. Wish me luck.

Mary in Florida: Day 2

It's storming here in Crescent City today. Windy and rainy. Sampson and I had a hike planned for today, but I don't think its going to happen. Instead, I put together a little holiday wish/lust list.

Alpha-Q CX cyclocross fork

Ritchey WCS carbon seatpost

Bianchi Pista fixed/track bike

SRM DuraAce powermeter

If anyone has the holiday spirit inside them, and has about $4600 to burn, there it is.