Saturday with Sophie

Next to my niece, this is the cutest little girl. I was fortunate enough to be invited to her first birthday celebration.

Dumbass

I'm a dumbass. After avoiding this label for 29 years, the time has come to admit defeat. Years of priding myself on never losing a key or wallet will soon be replaced by the rapid onset of senility. But I'll probably forget about it, so it won't be that bad.

A few weeks ago I found myself downtown for a night of debauchery without identification. Today, the good folks at BlockBuster Video called to inform me that I forgot to put the DVD back in the case before returning it. And my favorite blunder of the week: I put my boxers on backwards this morning and didn't realize it until bedtime.

I should have done something productive with my life while I had the chance.

What I Wear

An advantage of aging is caring less about what others think of me. At night, I'm comfortable going to the grocery store in my pajamas. I also have no problem answering the door for deliveries in nothing but my boxers. Now if I can be comfortable showing up in public with my morning hair, I will truly surpass the point of giving a shit.

New Project

After purchasing a new receiver and speakers, I've realized that my mp3s encoded at 128 kb/s are the weak link in my music reproduction system. About a year ago, I ripped my collection of 250 CDs to mp3s. Now I use this Creative device, connected with an optical audio cable, to stream mp3s over my wireless network to my stereo system.

After some research, I've learned that I can rip my CDs to wma lossless using Windows Media Player. This will provide me with a mathematically lossless storage of my CDs onto my hard drive with a 2:1 - 3:1 compression ratio. Thus, the average CD will require about 300 MB of storage. The upside is that I can then use any number of available programs to convert this format to a lossy format (mp3, wma lossy, ogg, etc.) suitable for portable devices. The wma lossless files will also allow me to burn audio CDs. The best part is that my Creative device allows for the playback of wma files. Thus, playback of music through this wirelss device will not suffer from any degradation. Not that I could tell anyway, but at least I will know that my digital music isn't below par.

I've calculated that it will require about 75 GB of hard drive space and over 20 hours of rip time. Something has to keep me out of trouble. This should be the final time that I will have to rip my CDs.

Gender Equality?

How can you not laugh at the following?

I'd like someone to give me door-to-door chauffeur service, bring me presents, and pay for my dinner and entertainment, all for the possibility of sex, but with no obligation whatsoever. Let's be honest; if we did this, we'd be in jail for fraud.

Sometimes, it's just not fair.

She Has a New Home

My bicycle fleet was reduced to three today as the Bridgestone RB-3 found a new home. Serve the cute blonde well in her triathlon endeavors, my faithful riding companion.



Watch out, downtown Austin. I'm now armed with additional beer money.

So I'm a Geek

While sitting at a coffee shop, I noticed the clumps of inflated balloons above me. Instead of wondering what the occasion is, I determined the ratio of deflated vs. inflated balloons. Then guessing at the half-life of inflated balloons, I worked out how long the balloons have been there. You just can't remove the geek from the boy.

I Need a Fallback Job

For years, I've joked that I could always become a bicycle messenger if this whole computer thing didn't work out. The ubiquity of broadband has now made my fallback job not so realistic. This article cites statistics that every major city has seen a decline in the number of bicycle messengers.

Let's see ... I can boil water. Perhaps I could apply for a chef's position at The Boiling Pot.

Back in One Piece

Costa Rica is a beautiful country filled with friendly citizens. They don't even mind Americans. However, no matter where I travel, towards the end of the trip there's only one place I long to be - home. I'm glad to be back.

Humbling Moments

After participating in a 43 mile ride on Saturday, I honored a promise and ran the Capitol 10k the following morning. To add to the "Keep Austin Weird" theme, I ran in my flannel pajamas and pimp hat. Humbling moments during the run:

1. While ascendinging a hill, I was passed by a man pushing not one, but two of his children in a carriage.


2. I was beaten by a 200+ lb. man running in a terry cloth bathrobe.


3. My mile average was TWICE of what it was when I was a high school senior.

My ego may never recover.