Safe As Milk

(That’s 10 lbs. of head in a 5 lb. helmet if I’ve ever seen it.)

Go kart racing was awesome. It is also very, very different from driving my car.
Those little go karts are fast. The brochure said they can get up to 35 mph which feels like 200 when you’re whipping around the inside of a warehouse. There wasn’t a part of the ride that I didn’t like. They give you a little sock (balaclava) to wear under your helmet and then a neck brace to fill the gap between the bottom of you helmet and your collarbone. You know, so your head doesn’t snap off when you hit a wall at 20 mph.
I was surprised at how physically tiring the whole thing was. You work up a healthy sweat in that helmet and my arms and legs are a little sore and stiff this morning (some of that might be due to the beer-and-wings part of the evening). We ran 2 races, the first was a qualifying-type race to determine who the better drivers were. It was supposed to be 14-15 laps but I only got 8 in because I kept spinning out. Apparently I wasn’t properly taking my, um, mass into account when I was barreling into and out of turns. Once I adjusted to that it was pretty smooth sailing.
Once they had our average lap times they paired us off for a “race”. We were supposed to work out pit stops with our partner for the 61 lap main event. 61 laps. We decided that we would just split the 61 in half. I took the second shift. 30 laps in a row was a bit much for me. By the end my arms and legs mere jelly and my hands were killing me from the deathgrip I had on the wheel. The pain didn’t really set in until the adrenaline had worn off, and let me tell you, it’s one hell of a rush. I’m looking forward to taking another run at it sometime soon. I need to get a work outing organized.

Probably the weirdest part was the drive home after racing for 2 hours. I looked at the traffic on the highway in a different (and very unsafe) light.

They did it.

What an amazing ride.

Now maybe the Mets can make a run n ‘05 I can get some sleep.

I have one of those jobs where people somtimes come to town to take you out to dinner. It’s a perk, no doubt. But after 10 years it gets to be a chore, no matter how good the dinner is.

Tonight will be different. Instead of cocktails/steakhouse we’re going go-kart racing. Yeah, I know. And then we’re going to a bar for wings. I know!

Hopefully I will get a snap or two of me on the track. Should be fun. I’ll let you know.

Short story: Giants lost, Rhinos lost, car died but was revived by my MacGuyver-like neighbor who saved the day with his auto-fu.

It was extreme!

If you want to read the long version check out the extended entry. Warning: the extended entry is long and rambly. You don’t really care that much.
Continue Reading »

We’re getting closer to having this back on track. I started it this week. Ethan replied and started the second game but I didn’t get a chance to keep it going. Sorry about that. There will be a full half-dozen games next week. Promise.

NEW YORK over Detroit - The Giants come out of the bye week to host the Lions. As a Giants fan, I think this is exactly what they need to regain their momentum. The Lions are struggling with injuries after their hot start and Joey Harrington has been bad without (my new favorite player) Roy Williams. If Williams can play and Kevin Jones is healthy enough to contribute in the running game I think the Lions can make it close, but I think the Giants are just playing too well to lose this game. I know the Giants are pretenders for the Division crown but they are still better than the Lions this week. Pick: Giants Agreed. Harrington seems to really struggle without his security blanket. As good as Kevin Jones might be, he’ll face some tough defenses as long as Az-Zahir Hakim is his team’s WR1. Meanwhile, the Giants are playing very good football. They’re looking like a Wild Card team to me, while the Lions are looking more pretender-ish. Pick: Giants

INDIANAPOLIS over Jacksonville - This game is making me nervous. The Jaguars have won three games in the final minute this season. that’s amazing. They have the mojo, and I wouldn’t be picking against them if they weren’t playing the second-hottest offense in the NFL. There are just a few little things that, to me, add up to a Colts victory. Leftwich is a little dinged. The Colts are at home coming off a bye. Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokely are producing this year. I think this is the week that Marvin Harrison explodes (sorry, Rhinos) and the Colts get a win in what should be a nailbiter.

… with a 20-chainsaw-powered motorbike!

Nicked from Engadget, as if you didn’t know.

Nicked from Engadget

[I nicked the image over at ckelly's ink, a Boston-area blog]

Those who know me know that I’m not a big Apple fan. In a nutshell: I think their products are very pretty and that sometimes that prettiness leads to awkwardness. I’m talking OS X here, which IMO tries so hard to not be Windows that needlessly eschews good Windows features, like the Taskbar.

Really, my major gripe with Apple is their zeolot users, not them. I have nothing but praise for the iPod, for instance, which I think is perfect.

But I’m pretty mad at the Apple Music Store.

I wanted two albums, Crowded House’s Temple of Low Men and Elliott Smith’s new posthumous from a basement on the hill. The former is one of my all-time fav albums that went missing a year ago. The latter is one that Borders wanted $18 for. Both were available on AMS for $9.99.

So I bought both. And only AFTER purchasing the music did I see that they’re only available at the supersucky bitrate of 128kbps. it’s not an Option or a Preference. I just had to buy them at 128. When I rip my own CDs I use 224. IMO, if I’m purchasing music, I should be able to get the max, 320. After all, I’m buying it.

But what makes me really mad is that this info wasn’t apparant until AFTER they had billed my credit card. I’m trying to be good and not steal music and I feel like I got a big old bait-and-switch. It’s either a cheap ploy to save bandwidth or a bone thrown to the RIAA. Either way, why assume that your customers aren’t audiophiles?

I burned a copy of ToLM and listened to it on my stereo. Even my sucky ears could tell a difference on “Into temptation”, which might be my fav song of all time. Al could certainly tell the difference.

So, I’m off AMS. Done.