I finished a 14-mile trail today with a few friends.  The terrain was a mostly level, but it was a little rough…I can feel my shocks-less Trek’s (and my butt’s) pain.  That said, I just LOVE how the 700c wheels zip through it.  Crap…this only means one thing…

Popularity: 12% [?]

In a span of 12 days, I’ve racked up a total of about 52 miles.  Total bike time: 4 hours and 51 minutes.

The next upgrade I’m looking at is to replace the pedals with the clipless model.  I noticed that I find mind myself re-positioning my feet on the pedals, which is a distraction and keeps my eyes off the road…not a good idea when you have these jerks on riding these things called “cars” who could potentially hit you just out of spite.  Shimano M540’s looks like a good start without breaking the bank…

Popularity: 12% [?]

I did a 7-mile path this morning, which is a second ride with my new saddle: a Brooks B17.  The butt pain that I get with the stock 7.5 FX saddle is gone with this one.  I am now a Brooks believer.

Popularity: 12% [?]

We went to see the Nubble Lighthouse in Maine and then ate at a nearby Fox Lobster House.  What can I say?  This restaurant served the absolute worst lobster dish in my lifetime as a glutton…and I don’t even have finicky taste buds!
That’s it.  I wrote an entry on this blog just to say it.  Don’t believe the positive reviews out there.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Since acquiring the bike last week, I have accumulated a whopping 22 miles on the bike spanned across 4 days! It’s almost embarrassing, but in my defense, I’m just trying to get acquainted with my new bike, and my butt hurts after 20 minutes or so, and I realized that I’m not too familiar with my neighborhood. Though I’m a bit proud to say that the short trips are not due to getting tired easily; I started running last fall, and I’m pretty sure that helped a lot with my stamina.
In addition to the new bike, I probably already spent half of my retirement savings on a slew of accessories and clothing ($30 for a pair of shorts?!), and one of those accessories is the Garmin Edge 205 GPS-enabled bicycle computer (as recommended by Densio).

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Popularity: 11% [?]

I always wanted to buy a bicycle. Thing is, everytime I come up with the funds to buy one, I end up buying gadgets that have something to do with my “other” hobby, photography.

I’m not sure what really happened, but I was determined this time around to buy a bike when I acquired the funds. I realized there is a multitude of choices out there. In photography, you have more-or-less Canon or Nikon, then you’re done; not so with bicycles.

Good thing I knew that I wanted a “hybrid” bike–a bike that is mainly a road biking that can withstand a little bit of punishment off road…it would have been worse if I didn’t know what type of bike I would buy.

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Popularity: 17% [?]

AlienBees finally started shipping their much-anticipated CyberSync Strobe Radio Triggers.  Fortunately, I happen to be one of the first people who got their grubby hands on this product.  Unfortunately, I’m also one of the first ones to express disappointment on this not-so-well-thought-out-designed product.

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I finally saw “Kite Runner” on DVD after reading the brilliant novel.

One thing’s certain: the person who wrote the screenplay should be shot.  Literally.  How anyone could screw up writing a screenplay based on this novel is just beyond me.  I have a written list of what’s wrong with the screenplay, but it’s so damn long I’m too upset to write it here (yeah, even to *cut and paste*…leave me alone).  Not even Kubrick could have saved this trainwreck.

There are only two things good about this movie: the opening credits (i liked the calligraphy-style lettering), and
Shaun Toub’s superb acting (the rest of the actors could have been replaced with wooden planks).

This movie needs to be re-done.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Wow, that’s a mouthful.

If you find yourself cringing at the price of a pair of PocketWizards for your wireless strobe triggering needs…or perhaps cursing at your el cheapo eBay radio triggers (I’m on both camps), you’re in luck…because the genius that is Paul C. Buff has created yet another splendid product aimed “for the rest of us.” A pair of the transmitter/receiver is cheaper than a used PocketWizard transceiver.
Alas! It’s only available for pre-order. Be rest assured that this site will be host one of the first reviews available when AlienBees start shipping this (hopefully) awesome product.

Popularity: 23% [?]

If you think writing “Shawshank Redemption” is reason enough to elevate this man to godhood, think again.

With the Congress, Senate and Presidential candidates and a certain lawyer bitching about the “connection” between violence and videogames, His Highness has spared a few minutes of his time from just being awesome to writing this column on Entertainment Weekly to explain his insights.

As always, the man has managed to transform mere entertainment magazine column writing to an artform:

“What really makes me insane is how eager politicians are to use the pop culture — not just videogames but TV, movies, even Harry Potter — as a whipping boy. It’s easy for them, even sort of fun, because the pop-cult always hollers nice and loud. Also, it allows legislators to ignore the elephants in the living room. Elephant One is the ever-deepening divide between the haves and have-nots in this country, a situation guys like Fiddy and Snoop have been indirectly rapping about for years. Elephant Two is America’s almost pathological love of guns. It was too easy for critics to claim — falsely, it turned out — that Cho Seung-Hui (the Virginia Tech killer) was a fan of Counter-Strike; I just wish to God that legislators were as eager to point out that this nutball had no problem obtaining a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Cho used it in a rampage that resulted in the murder of 32 people. If he’d been stuck with nothing but a plastic videogame gun, he wouldn’t even have been able to kill himself.”

This is why is he has “King” for a surname.

Popularity: 18% [?]