RTOO

I hate to say this, but I did predict Floyd Landis would win the Tour De France and... well... he did.  I guarantee his comeback victory will one day be a hollywood movie.  One can only throw down massive props to this man.  Team Discovery, you were a let down this year.  George who?  Levi who?  Team Phonak destroyed your teams.  Time to go back to the drawing board Discovery.  Landis has two words for the Discovery team who've talked trash about him in the past... Discover This!
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The Greatest American Hero is back in yellow! A Tour De France which will go down in history as one of the most incredible comebacks. No more sitting in Lance Armstrong's shadow, you're one of a kind Floyd. Let the champagne flow!
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Barry Bonds, arguably the best baseball player ever.  A man whose life has been riddled with controversy, is now taking the bullet for an entire generation.  Here's a man who was a hall of famer before steroids...and a galactic hall of famer after steroids.  That is unquestionable.  Now he faces perjury charges for accusations of lying about using steroids to the Federal Grand Jury.
Yesterday, Federal prosecutors announced they had failed to convince the Grand Jury that Bonds had perjured.  That's a wrap, right?  End of story?  Wrong! They’ve now decided to appoint a second Grand Jury and continue with their mission to destroy Barry Bonds, all in the name of doing the “right” thing. I understand our legal system is foundationally built on holding individuals accountable to their testimony and I in no way condone lying under oath, but how much money are we going to spend trying to convict Barry Bonds on perjury charges? Thousands? Millions? Just to figure out if the man lied about using steroids? Do you know how difficult it is to convict someone on perjury?  It sickens me to think about all the money that is being squandered on this witch hunt. This is just another example of how our government frivolously spends our tax money. Why not take some of that cash and build some low income housing, feed the homeless or buy some goddamn Girl Scout cookies?

Take a look at this pic:


The doubt...
The uncertaintanty...
The fear...
Have you seen those undead characters you can create in World of Warcraft? Not a gamer? Well... they basically look like a bone with skin on it and two dark, sullen, sunken eyes. You only look this way after you've gotten destroyed, he can thank Landis for that. Prepare for more my friend, my boy Landis is gonna own you Saturday at the TT.

Peace,
Rtoo

If you're not a cycling fan and haven't been following the Tour De France this year, then you're a chump. You missed one of the most amazing feats in sports history. A man who cracked in the mountains yesterday, fell from first place to 11th and lost over 10 minutes, today came back like the man of steel himself.



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i was 18, a big showoff
used to love to scare my mom and dad with stunts
tricks, etc
death defying stuff
so.. ok, we lived in corralitos on this huge hill (about 5 acres) that was REALLY steep
like "oh shit don't trip" steep
i mean STEEP
at the very bottom
was a chicken coupe, our house was at the top
one day, i see my mom and dad at the chicken coupe, it was after dusk (this has absolute no relevence to the story)
..anyhow...
im thinking ok, im going BIG this time
something that involves air, and lots of it
i look around... grab my little brothers 2-size-too-small-BMW bike
stickers all peeling off
its like a shitty toys r us bike
like just a cheapo
i get a wicked grin on my face and jump on the bike, start peddling like a mofo for the hill
scream.. HEY MOM, CHECK THIS SHIT OUT
mom and dad, dead silent
terrified, like.. you know when you can't move
?
that sorta scared
(i was a bit psychocitc) heh
anyhow.. back to the moment
ok.. sorry a cube buddy stopped by.. ok.. back to the story.
where was i?
ahh thats right,we're at the moment i refer to as "droppin in on mama"
Mom and dad, petrified, Jason.. full speed
I take the plunge, like really fast
immediately i realized .. this was BAD
i hear nothing but wind, roaring by
and the focus, omg.. is intense, one wrong move and splat
we have an area where it leveled out, forgot to mention that, then it dropped steeply
so i hit the flat spot and launch, not like a curb launch, we're talking John Glenn
seemed like time stopped, everything was in slow mow
i land, somehow and start screaming.. Y-E-S... my mom
my mom
is near tears
keep in mind
im still going really really fast
yes.. i landed
i realize something isnt right
the handlebars
its like.. they aren't connected to the bike
wait.. no.. really.. they AREN'T CONNECTED, i broke the neck of the bike and the wheel is clattering like its on a ghost track
the toys r us bike neck had broke!
made in taiwan, yes!
im watching the bike tire closely now, praying it will keep going straight
it doesn't
it defies me
and boom... im in the circus
launching through the air
20, 30, 40 feet , BOOM! wipeout and i come to a grinding hault in the chicken coupe
I look up...my mom is laughing, my dad has gone back to feeding the chickens
evidently it wasn't too impressive
.. well.. my hip is throbbing
thats the end

i was in college
was taking meteorology, because i thought it would be cool to watch clouds
yeah, im a dreamer
so, here i was
attending colorado state university
taking meteorology
bored
I lived on the computer nerd floor of a dorm
with my buddy terrence
not really a buddy actually
i didn’t even liked the guy
the only thing cool he ever did
was install a clapper for our dorm lights
back to my story
…
which is
my decision to join the air force
i was dating this girl
pretty hot actually
she was in the air national guard
talked about how much fun it was
so i did it
you know
just one day went down the the recruiter and joined
swore in
listened to the lies
and two months later im on a plane to texas
it was afterall Valentines Day 1992
and, there was NO love goin on, trust me
after i got off the plane in san antonio airport
at about oh, 8pm
with a bunch of other guys, scared shitless
all pansies, pretending they were ready for this
all the while
questioning why they joined
here I was...
i follow the signs to the air force recruits room
scared
alone
wondering to myself
what i was in store for
i finally arrive at the air force recruits room
open the soundproof door and realize
im fucked
haha
royally fucked
there was if i remember correctly 4 shaved head, buffed, drill sergeants yelling
right when we came in the door
i quickly grabbed a seat
remembered something someone had told me
dont make eye contact
and dont bring attention on yourself
an hour passed by and we loaded on the bus
as the door closed the sgt said
dont fucking talk to anyone
if i hear any of you talking your ass is mine
…
we didnt talk
it was raining out, i remember that
when we arrived at our dorm
more of a ugly ass cigarette shaped concrete structure actually
they unloaded us
in the rain
stood there for about 3 hours
till 2am or so
them yelling
me.. oh i was scared, but i smirked momentarily at the absurdity of the situation
“HEY BOY… WHAT IN THE HELL IS SO GODDAMN FUNNY?”
I think I blacked out at that point
not really sure
I do remember 4 or 5 of them rushed at me screaming and making fun of me
how i looked
how ugly i was or calling me stupid
just random shit
i kept smiling tho
but only on the inside
my exterior showed no emotions
stoic
if its one thing that night taught me
it was
you cant break a persons spirit, at least not in one night
in time though, i would learn the air force would break us all down
egos would disappear and we'd learn humility
but, for tonight.. i smiled

ever been
struck by something that .. i dunno
sorta reinvigors your faith in the human race
not that im negative
sometimes tho, life is overwhelming
its the simple things im tellin you
today
this morning actually
driving to work
for the second time
(left my laptop at home, durr)
here i was
hauling ass back to work
..again
kinda just wrapped in the moment
thinking about myself
i see some CHP lights on the right shoulder
and a minivan pulled over
as i get closer
i notice
a CHP officer
changing the minivans tire
down on his knees
loosening the lug nuts
...
as i drove by i peeked in the minivans window
I saw a very old guy
probably too brittle to change it himself
...
i dunno
that simple moment
made my whole day
how gracious
who cares if its in their job description?
there are people who care
even the guys who usually ticket you

I know this might be old news to some people, but I wanted to at least blog it so I keep it on the radar.  I really want to go see Al Gores movie, "The Inconvenient Truth"
The man virtually dissappeared for years and has dedicated his life to getting his message across to humans.  That message is... Well go see the movie :)

By noemail@noemail.org (Xeni Jardin)

Xeni Jardin:

 

Snip from introduction to a National Academy of Sciences report issued today:

There is sufficient evidence from tree rings, retreating glaciers, and other "proxies" to say with confidence that the last few decades of the 20th century were warmer than any comparable period in the last 400 years, according to a new National Research Council report. There is less confidence in reconstructions of surface temperatures from 1600 back to A.D. 900, and very little confidence in findings on average temperatures before then.

Link to news release, full text of report ("recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia... human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming"), and briefing notes. Here's a related AP report summarizing the findings:

Their 155-page report said average global surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rose about 1 degree during the 20th century. This is shown in boreholes, retreating glaciers and other evidence found in nature, said Gerald North, a geosciences professor at Texas A&M University who chaired the academy's panel. The report was requested in November by the chairman of the House Science Committee, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New York, to address naysayers who question whether global warming is a major threat.