Fixed Gear

I've decided to venture into the fixed gear world. Last Friday, this beauty arrived:



A fixed gear bicycle lacks a freewheel -- when the rear tire spins, so does the crankshaft. There's never any coasting. Whether you're starting, stopping, leaving the saddle, or turning, the pedals are moving. This was startling to me as I acclimated to the new bike.

People have repeatedly questioned why I would opt for a fixed gear. The best answer I can provide is that it appeals to my sense of simplicity and presents a new set of challenges. No rear brake, no chainrings, no cassettes, and no derailers -- just the joy of riding.

Goodbye, A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez has opted out of the final 3 years ($91M) of his contract with the Yankees. He will be become a free-agent and will be free to negotiate with any MLB team. Industry experts expect his next contract to exceed $300M.

As both an Alex Rodriguez and Yankees fan, I'm sorry to see him go. When his career concludes, A-Rod will be remembered as the best power hitter to have ever played. However, I will admire the Yankees organization even further if they stick to their word and choose not to pursue him as a free agent.

A-Rod's next contact will be in excess of $30M/year. At that price, the Yankees would be able to sign Johan Santana and a third baseman with 70-80% the capability of A-Rod. Surely, that is the wiser business move. In baseball, a single player cannot win the World Series for you.

The Yankees' off-season will be intriguing. It has already begun with the firing of Joe Torre. There is a potential of a brand new look if the Yankees choose not to resign Posada, Rivera, and Abreu. Moreover, Pettitte may decide to retire. As a life-long Yankees fan, I think it's time for a makeover.

Then Yankees of this decade are becoming the Braves of the 90s - a team good enough to make the playoffs, but one that quickly fizzles out once they get there. Here's to an exciting winter for the Yankees.

Send large files

If you need to send files that exceed your email system's attachment limit, check out Virtual Drop Box. It's my pet project and employs SSL, Ruby/Rails, reCAPTCHA, Adsense, and Google Analytics. It's simple, secure, and free. While you're at it, click on some of the ads.

10th Reunion

This past weekend, I ventured to Old Nassau to celebrate my 10th college reunion. From the strong showing of children, there will be no shortage of future Princetonians.

Pictured below are my college buddies. We're all older and drink a lot less, but otherwise remain the same.

Ron Paul

I admire Ron Paul for criticizing our asinine foreign policy. Instead of pandering to the masses and parroting the "They attacked us because they hate freedom and our way of life" mantra, Paul invites us to consider the real motivations behind Al Qaeda's attacks. Our Middle East foreign policy, nation building, and pre-emptive strikes are not indicators of a peaceful nation.

Unlike Giuliani, I will take Congressman Paul's advice and read the books he's recommended.

Charitable Donations as Presents

For the past few years, I have made charitable donations as wedding presents in lieu of consulting a registry. As more couples marry at a later age, the idea of registering for linens and china is quite antiquated. Most of my friends own houses and multiple vehicles by the time they're married. Besides, contributing to cancer research or an organization like Doctors Without Borders does much more to balance the karmic scale than buying a crock pot or serving tray.

Liquid Diets Suck

I've been trying to explain the difficulties of having my mouth wired shut. Yes, your speech is mumbled and and it feels like someone hooked up a pair a pliers to your teeth and is yanking with all the force of an F5 tornado when you yawn, cough, or sneeze. I can overcome these things. The most troubling part is my repeated comical attempts to get enough nutrition into my system.

Following surgery, getting enough calories and protein is essential for a quick recovery. However, it's difficult to consume enough calories when you can't open your mouth and everything must be sucked in through a straw. Forget about steak and lobster. Heck, forgot about minestrone soup. All you have to work with is the opening between your teeth that won't even allow the strawberry seeds from a smoothie to pass through. It's pretty much juices, milk, and whatever will dissolve in them. (By the way, despite what they tell you at Whole Foods, all protein powders are disgusting.)

Tonight, I attempted to overcome my calorie and protein deficient diet through some ingenuity. Armed with 2 hard boiled eggs, chicken broth, sea salt, a microwave, a blender, and a strainer, I set about satisfying my continually growling stomach. I heated the broth and dumped the eggs and salt into the blender. After a minute or two in the blender, I poured the admittedly disgusting looking liquid through a strainer. No dice. Most of the egg particles clogged up the strainer. I did my best to get whatever would pass through the strainer into a soup bowl.

Next came the pathetic step of sucking this unappetizing concoction through a straw. (This is not something you want to try on a first date.) I regret to report that my stomach is still growling and that most of the hard boil eggs are in the strainer. I guess it's back to soy milk and protein powders.

I don't recommend fracturing your jaw to anyone. The consequences suck.

How To Avoid Jury Duty

Two days before you're scheduled to appear for your jury summons, go to your softball game. Then while playing second base, stop a one-hopper destined for the fence with your jaw. After you've spit out streams of blood and verified that your teeth are in place, go back in and finish the inning.

Next, drive yourself home to pick up your insurance card and head to the emergency room. There, X-rays and CAT scans will reveal that you have broken your jaw in two places. When the on-call oral surgeon arrives, he informs you about anaesthesia, metal plates, screws, and wiring your mouth shut. While discussing these options, be sure to ask for a doctor's note to get out of jury duty. That's a perk for giving the hospital tens of thousands of dollars worth of business.

The next morning, while feeding yourself with an oral syringe with an IV in your arm and your mouth wired shut



take a call from the court house. They will inform you that the parties have agreed to settle. Done: you are now released from jury duty.

Chalk One Up to Lupica

From Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News:

Now this week it comes out from Rev. Tim that, lo and behold, Rev. Ted [Haggard] is "completely heterosexual."

Now I'm no ministering counselor, but in light of the facts, wouldn't this be like somebody trying to suggest that Yao Ming is completely short?

Google Analytics

My latest obsession is Google Analytics. (Kudos to Busey for pointing me to this free service.) In an effort to sell more ads, Google provides all the functionality from Urchin for free. I check the stats for this blog more often than there are visitors. Sad, but true. The one advantage of having such small traffic numbers is that I deduce which family members and friends have read my posts recently.

Which Celebrity Do You Most Resemble?

If you ever wanted to know which celebrity you most resemble, now you can. Simply visit this facial recognition application and upload a recent photo. I uploaded the picture you see to the right and here were the results:

Christian Bautista, 75%
Johnny Depp, 75%
Christopher Lambert, 71%
Richard Stallman, 66%
Haley Joel Osment, 64%

Richard Stallman? WTF.

(Gadget) Lust

Funny, geeky, and easy on the eyes, Veronica Belmont is my latest crush. Oh yeah, I'd also like to have the iRiver Clix in the video.

Open ID

The idea of a universal login is nothing new. Microsoft has been trying it with Windows Live ID and Sun has the Liberty Alliance. Yet, Yahoo! and Google are closer to realizing the vision of a unified web authentication method with their myriad of services.

A relative newcomer to the game is Open ID - a universal web login controlled by the user. While the initiative has gained some traction, it will require either Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft to adopt it before it reaches the tipping point. However, I can't imagine any of the big players adopting Open ID alongside their logins. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

O'Reilly on Colbert

Stephen Colbert and Bill O'Reilly appeared on one another's show on January 18, 2006. On The Colbert Report, I couldn't help snicker at the following exchange:

O'Reilly: I am effete. I'm not a tough guy. This is all an act. I'm sensitive --
Colbert: You're breaking my heart, Bill. If you're an act, what am I?

On the Way Out ...

I never enjoyed watching Randy Johnson pitch in the postseason. In 1995, he came in from the bullpen to shut down the Yankees as the Mariners won game 5 of the Division Series. In 2001, he and Curt Shilling proved that 2 dominant starting pitchers can win the World Series. Fast forward to 2005 and 2006. Randy Johnson is still pitching, but this time for the Yankees. He loses all the playoff games he pitches in.

So, I'm not sad that Johnson has been traded. Neither is David Letterman:

"Maybe you heard about this: Randy Johnson, used to play for the Diamondbacks, came to play for the New York Yankees -- well, he's been traded back to the Diamondbacks. It's crazy. So, now this season, the oldest, most overpriced thing at Yankee Stadium will be the hot dogs."

Condo for sale

If you're looking for a condo close to UT, please consider this listing.

Why Clinton Has a Better Chance Than Obama

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are on the verge of declaring their 2008 presidential candidacies. The possibility of both running leads me to the question, "Who has a better chance of being elected President in America, a Black man or a White women?" In my mind, the answer is clear: a White woman.

While it's politically correct to publicly declare race and gender agnosticism, the evidence against such neutrality is damning. Despite accounting for 12.8% of the population, African Americans are woefully underrepresented in Congress: 1 Black Senator and 42 Representatives. Let's not forget the 0 Black Republicans in Congress.

Women in the 110th Congress fair somewhat better: 16 Senators and 74 Representatives. However, considering that women comprise 51% of the US population, this is pathetic.

Nevertheless, there is a 16:1 ratio of Female (White) Senators to Black Senators. Since I am a gambling man, I would bet heavily that Clinton receives more votes than Obama in the primaries.

Sorry, Barack. While Americans claim to be race neutral, their preferences are quite clear.