National Bike Month

May is National Bike Month and in Washington D.C., Friday May 19th is also "Bike to Work Day". I don't know if I will try it since my commute is a bit longer than most ppl, but I may give it a shot especially since there will be guides and re-fueling stations (water,gatorde) all along the way. It's definately nice to live in a bike-friendly area like DC. There are so many wonderful trails and communities that I would never have discovered if not for the fact that I've been there on a bike. I would love to live on the West Coast in California or Oregon which are two of the best places to live for bicyclists…

Pikes Peek 10K Finish Time: 00:54:59

Just ran the Pike's Peek 10K Race this Sunday and here's the results. Not exactly an excellent time at 8:50 mins/mile average but it was my first 10K. I don't really have the body for distance running but I can see where the endurance aspect of the sport is addictive. Next year I would like to do an Olympic Triathlon (10K run + 1500m swim + 40km bike ride).

The more I look at this picture the more I think that my face is way to intense looking. The last 200m or so of this race was a steady decline and everyone in the pack surrounding me was taking their sweet time to get to the finish. Rather than go out like that I started booking it and nearly mulled over the lady just behind me whom I passed with avengence. At 6'2" 215lbs I might not be able to get up to speed as quick as those skinny kids but when I get the motor running everyone better WATCH OUT!….;-)

The Ultimate Collection of Travel Fare Search Sites

Multi-Search Sites (In no particular order):

• Travelocity
• Expedia
• Kayak
• Farechase (Yahoo)
• Farecompare
• Sidestep
• Orbitz
• Priceline

Individual Airlines:

• Delta
• Southwest
• AmericanAirlines
• AirTran
• United
• JetBlue

Kamut: A refreshing alternative to whole wheat or wheat bran

Ever get tired of those cardboard tasting wheat or bran flakes? Want a tasty whole grain cereal that is also good for and doesn't need sugar? You may wanna try kamut. Kamut (pronounced kah-moot) is a new grain being introduced in the united states recently that is naturally larger and sweeter than regular wheat. Arrowhead Mills even makes a Kamut Brekfast cereal (pictured below).

I tried this cereal myself and I have to say, "Yum!". It kind of reminds me of KIX brand cereal except a little more subtle. It has a pleasant texture and slightly sweet taste and the best part is that it is an extremely low-calorie food. Check it out next time you go grocery shopping. You may find more info on Kamut here.

At least one actor “Gets It”

In response to questions about fellow Mission Impossible 3 castmember Tom Cruise's new baby, Ving Rhames had this to say:

"There's gonna be a bill passed sooner or later that's gonna draw a line. We have to just think about, 'What have we become? Why is all of this fuss over another human being?' "

Yes, folks, even actors theselves want you to get over your obsession with them…

Just a little something to mull over the next time you sit down to watch complete strangers act like total fools on the latest reality TV series or find yourself glued to the Entertainment Tonight special on some young actresses' clothing and car preferences. Gossip and celebrity worship have become the "in" thing nowadays in a society that is increasingly devoid of any real curiosity about actually LIVING life (as oppossed to living vicariously through the thoughts and opinions of others)…

Google Finance! Paper Trading the online way…

If you haven't tried out google finance (http://www.google.com/finance), I suggest you give it a whirl. It has 5 year data on pretty much ever stock and security (along with a few mutual funds) and does a really nice job of putting everything an investor would need (earnings reports, outlooks, blogs, company news, rumors, etc.) right there on the page. Once again google gets kudos for being so darn intuitive that you don't even have to think about it.

Another nice feature is the google portfolio which will allow you to have a "paper trading" or mock account of various stocks and see how their worth changes over time. It's a nice feature and I really like the interface. My only complaint is that it doesn't let you "sell" out of your positions or "short" the market but other than this, a nice tool indeed. Here's a snap with my summer stock pics, they are all based on common sense (no fancy technical anlysis here) but it will be neat to see what they are trading at near the end of the summer.

Jetta: Lexi’s new companion

So Lexi has a boyfriend, well more like a canine accomplice. He's a black German Sheppard and his name is Jetta. Here's some pics of him. He's 8 years old and not nearly as energetic as lexi but what he lacks in enthusiasm he more than makes up for in heart.

 

 

NASA making strides to decommission the Space Shuttle Program

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/04/10/nasa.in.transition.ap/index.html

Looks like NASA is making further steps to finally decommission the aging space shuttle program in exchange for the Crew Exploration Vehicle. The CEV will be more modular and be launchable from a low earth orbit (NASA description here). This is probably the biggest change that NASA has undergone in the last 30+ years, let's just hope it works. Looks like Lockheed Martin and NG are the only two competietors left (albeit with a bevy of sub-contractors at their leash) after the last contract proposal downselect. At $104 Billion dollars the CEV contract is a pretty big prize.

Product Review: Hood Carb Countdown Fat-Free Milk

I'm not usually one to hype up the already over-sensationalized bevy of low carb products that are already out there BUT…this one might not be so bad. At just 45 calories per cup, 3g of sugar and 0g of fat this milk makes protein shakes palatable again. It also works as a substitute for non-fat milk in cooking recipes and unlike skim milk it doesn't taste like watered down penicillin.

Apple Boot Camp: Duel Booting Mac/Windows XP for Intel MACs

Well, it's offiicial, as of this week Apple has officially found the holy grail of computing. Why for you say? Because they now have a hardware platform that can please almost any computer geek on the planet. Mac OS X is based on BSD Unix under the sheets which keeps the Linux crowd happy with the intuitive and robust interface that MAC users have come to expect and now apple is providing the software needed to boot Windows XP on it's new intel line of hardware. No more will users have to choose between a new video card for their PC and buying upgrades for their mac. Now the same machine can play windows games and apps or all the regular Mac OS applications. Granted you will have to reboot to go into Windows XP but this is actually the best approach because as anyone who has ever used an emulator before can tell you, emulated software just plain runs slower. Now I can run straight windows apps the way they are meant to be ran on apple hardware. Perhaps Apple doesn't realize it but I think this is the most strategic thing they could have ever done to hook more windows users into buying their hardware. Judging by the 10% increase (yes you read that right) in their stock this week you almost have to agree with me. I have absolutely no reason not to buy a new mac now…