James Fenimore Cooper

Brombomb the deer-hunter. How rad is it that I am the only person on his distro list outside of his squadron? This guy voted for Obama and loves guns. Weird yet awesome.

Not a medieval torture device

My tool box is now complete. My mom wanted me to give her a Christmas
list, but I ordered the last possible thing I will ever need for my
bike toolbox about a month ago.

This headset race pulled is no joke and will allow me to
professionally yank off races. Why is that important? When you have
a full carbon steerer and wick nasty (high school kid with no bike
wrenching experience) using a screw driver and a hammer to pull off
your race, this investment will save you hundreds of dollars!

Disclaimer: wick nasty is no longer in high school but he would still
try to pull a race with a flat head and hammer. Boo. Also, he claims
that he is riding full sram red now. I have yet to see any pics so
can someone substantiate this tomfoolery? Or will someone send me a
pic?

Still waiting for heroes season 2. Vets day tomorrow!

Ballin

Yep, only in Berkeley. Rims on a prius. Special place indeed

This is significant

There are a couple of things on my mind that I have been meaning to post.

Yes, this pic is from velonews.com and I yanked it. But it is significant. The fact is, Lance is back. Is that important? Well, maybe not to you, but it is to me. At the Naval Academy, plebes (freshmen) are required to be able to speak intelligently about 3 newspaper articles per day. Upperclassmen would drill them on the state of the economy, the election, forest fires in morocco, whatever. But sport was always the most interesting. Is it possible for the Titans to continue this streak? Do the phillies really deserve the world championship? Is Lance still going to be competitive? Well, in short answer, I believe that answer is an emphatic yes. He is arguably one of the most complete sportsman ever. Yes, he won the tour 7 times. Most riders do not even understand how important the tour is. Some racers dont even understand how important the tour is. While eddy merckx was a bad ass, Lance won the tour in an environment rife with doping. And he won clean. He is a freak of nature and a great champion. I dont care if you dont like him as a person, I dont care if you dont like his story, I dont care if you hate postal. The facts are facts: he won 7 times and never failed a test.

So why would he risk everything, his entire legacy (and literally millions of dollars) to race again? That answer is simple, he knows how to train his body and he knows that cheaters are being caught. He is not in his prime. He is not the 31 year old machine he once was. But, he's still a machine and he's still the best that ever was. Now that the cheaters are routinely being caught and ex-communicated, Lance knows that he can compete on the highest level.

I am so excited that this great champion is racing again. He's doing it for a greater purpose than any other champion (to promote his cancer survivorship efforts with LAF.org) and stands the most to lose. Jordan came back and sucked. Ali got beat. Lance wont get beat. He'll win and he'll light people up enroute to victory. And thats exciting. Way more entertaining than fwd rates, spot rates, and nominal vs real rates.

Lastly, as the Obama nation paraded the streets of Berkeley last night, I came to a serious realization. Not many people here are willing to hold themselves accountable for their own actions. I was driving on a main street at about 35 mph and there were supporters just running out in the streets in front of cars demanding they stop. What kind of place is this where people has 0 regard for their own safety? I mean, if I happen to be on I-5, I wouldnt run out in the middle of it to tell someone I loved Obama. Thats just me.

And why do people here find it necessary to start every sentence with "so?" Seriously, every person from Berkeley is unable to carry a conversation without using uptalk (seriously annoying cyclical roller coaster of tone) with a flaming disregard for the english language (think valley girl here). Add in the disgusting use of "so" at least 3 times in a sentence and you have identified 88% of the spoken communication devices here. PAINFUL. I would love to see the AirBoss dress down some of these people for lack of comm-brevity on the radio at the carrier.

Brenner, you'll do fine here.

Lastly, big shout out to Craddock Sr for farming out his lady in the name of free socks! Really? Maybe just buy some socks next time. Unless she's cool with the onslaught that you will endure for the next couple of months! Find the contents/purpose of this discussion here: pezcyclingnews.com or just look at this pic:

Grrraaaarrrrgggh

Yep, frats are in full effect now that call leads the pac10 in
football. This is by far the best effort yet.

Less friction

The good thing about the west coast and my school in general is that
people don't take themselves too seriously. I was amused when I found
this deliverable in my MBA mailbox when I checked for my grades.

The good news is that most people figure out the right amount of
effort quickly. I am learning what that right amount is. And this
product should reduce friction!

B is for Bender

My uncle Charlie used to say that D is for done. Well, I didnt score a D in micro econ, but I did score a B. I liken it to Bender. My situation is unique in that probably everyone else in my school has had these types of classes before. These were their major core classes or undergrad electives.
Myself, on the other hand, was mandated to a year of celestial navigation and weapons physics and dynamics outside of the Naval Academy core classes of EE, Calculus 1-3, Stats, and thermo dynamics. So, in reality, all these soft classes (not too # heavy) explore what I like to call the grey area. And now I am taking finance. Like anyone in America has that figured out.

Anyway, I am relieved that I survived with at least one B.

I also have an informational interview with Intel on wed afternoon. How cool is that? A USNA grad is the head of Intel's Accelerated Leadership Program. I feel like God works in mysterious ways. If I could swindle a summer internship out of this deal, I'd be there in a second!