Current Trends

The current issue of Back Home magazine has good articles on rainwater storage (large quantities) and using yards for food production. You can't read the articles online but you can order a single issue copy for $5.00 Would be a good introduction to the magazine as well as getting the value of the articles. These two trends are signs of the times -- preparing to become self-sustainable in terms of food and water.

Cuil (Cool)

A new search engine, Cuil (say "cool," old Irish word for knowledge) comes online today, developed by some former Google Ph.D's. Theoretically searches three times as many web sites as does Google.

Most folks know that Google returns search results ranked by how often the returned sites are linked to by other web sites. In other words, the web itself (web users) determine the ranking of results. Cuil supposedly has new technology that analyzes the content of web sites and ranks them in the returns on the basis of pure content, not popularity among other web sites.

When I tried Cuil this morning it was noticeably slow in returning results compared to Google's instantaneous feedback. I'm sure speed will improve over time. The returns are formatted totally differently from Google. Because it's different, it seems "strange" -- but that's just because we've been Google-ized.

One other good thing about Cuil: Searches are private. Unlike Google, Cuil keeps no record of search histories or information about users. And it has an optional "Safe Search" (turned on by default -- nice) feature that theoretically blocks pornography, etc., from appearing in returns.

Cool Kid

A friend sent a link to this story -- there are many of these out there, stories of people with handicaps who achieve great things. But this one had a great video available and it's about a tough little eight-year-old guy. Adam Bender had one leg removed due to cancer when he was one year old but is now a standout catcher on his Little League baseball team. In a game he mostly uses his crutches once he gets on base -- functions on one leg the rest of the time. A good reminder of what's possible and why there's no whining in baseball (and shouldn't be any in life). This is a cool kid. (If you have, or have access to, kids of your own, show them this video.)

I linked above (in the title) to the Lexington, Kentucky, news web site where the video and an audio interview with his parents are if you want to go there. But the same video is on YouTube, so here it is:

Final Tour Sweepstakes Key Words

The last three key words for the Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes are:

champagne
yellow jersey
paris

Enter here.

The Tour de France is over -- a worthy winner this year. Two or three dopers caught and quickly removed from the Tour -- it appears that the anti-doping system is working. After last year's sad experience with cheating everyone wondered if the Tour would make a comeback this year and it definitely appears to have done just that.

Bikes and Gardens

Three young women took a 2,000 mile bike trip from Washington, D.C., to Montreal and back to document community agriculture (garden) developments and efforts. Their web site is here and a short trailer (of a forthcoming documentary? -- not sure) is below. These young women are obviously amateur videographers, but their hearts are in the right place:

Wendell Berry

I joined the Wendell Berry Society on Facebook and came across this video of the man speaking at a February 2008 rally in support of the mountains of Kentucky (against the ravaging of said mountains by the coal interests). I have never seen him speak so was fascinated to hear the voice that accompanies the pen. Unfortunately, not all will know of Berry or why he is so important, but someday, when he is gone and his pen is silenced, these videos will be priceless. Amazingly, searching for "Wendell Berry" on YouTube turns up only this video. Is it possible, as much as he speaks, that he has not been video'ed?

Miso Happy

Back to the soy discussion -- one of the kinds of fermented soy that I've been interested in learning about is miso (pronounced mee-so). I stumbled across this tiny company in Massachusetts that makes small batches of organic miso in the Japanese tradition: South River Miso. Unfortunately, they don't ship products during the summer. There is quite a lot of information about miso on their web site. I plan to go back in "the fall" to check on prices and ordering (and getting a "Miso Happy" T-shirt).

[P.S. I'm adding this note after posting the above. The Flock web browser I use has a built in blog editor which means you can post something that you find on the Internet directly to your blog without having to go through Blogger.com > new post, etc. When I first started using Flock a few months ago the blog editor never seemed to work well, so I stopped using it. But I tried it when posting the South River Miso info above directly from their web site -- and it worked perfectly. By that I mean that the formatting I use for my posts was duplicated -- it looks just like a post I would have made from blogger.com. For people who blog, use the social networking sites, etc., Flock has more built-in conveniences than any other browser.]

Saab Sweepstakes Key Words

Here are Saturday's Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes key words:

cadence
team director
time trial

Enter here.

Barring any catastrophe on the ride into Paris tomorrow, the podium will look like this:

1. Carlos Sastre (Spain - Team CSC)
2. Cadel Evans (Australia - Team Silence-Lotto)
3. Bernhard Kohl (Austria - Team Gerolsteiner)

An American, Christian Vande Velde (Team Garmin-Chipotle) came in 5th place overall.

Cancer and Cell Phones

This is not new news, but the cell phone = cancer connection got another boost yesterday from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. I saw this report on the TV news last night, but here's a link to the study. Here's a link to a February, 2008, study at Tel Aviv University in Israel showing a similar connection.

There have also been studies showing no link. People who use cell phones need to be aware of the growing concern. Suggested solutions are to use a cell phone with a speakerphone feature so you can hold the phone away from your head/face, or use an earpiece/speaker device with a long enough wire so you can lay the phone down away from your body. DON'T lay the phone in your lap when talking while driving using a wired earpiece!

Fly to the Finish Key Words

Friday's Tour Sweepstakes key words are:

off the back
pack
saddle

Enter here.

Fly to the Finish Key Words

Today's Tour de France Sweepstakes key words are:

polka dot jersey
white jersey
green jersey

Enter here.

Soy

Soy is surely hotly debated. I continue to err on the side of caution regarding consuming any soy that isn't fermented (tempeh, natto, miso). That's only because most of what I have read makes that distinction. This article by Dr. Mercola (of whom I am a lukewarm reader) provides an overview of why non-fermented soy is DANGEROUS to one's health. I can't verify the science, of course -- am just linking this article as part of the ongoing debate.

Kruidenier's Garden

As a contrast to Mr. Grier's garden, I update the growth of the lowly sweet potato I stuck in the ground the other day. Coming along nicely, I would say. (Compare with the original photo a week ago.)

Grier's Garden III

While running errands today I stopped by Mr. Grier's garden -- fortunately he was open so I got some corn, banana peppers, and two kinds of eggplant. Wanted to get more but I'm a little cautious about his use of chemicals -- though it's minimal. Following are some pictures:

The man, the legend -- James Grier. Does he not look like a good gardener?



In his John Deere Gator. I want a Gator. Actually, I want a reason to need a Gator (a farm, a market garden, an estate -- I'm not picky):



Flowers, yellow squash, and tomatoes:



His tomato plants just drip with fruit:



I was encouraged to see the tiny holes in his eggplant leaves that are caused by leafhoppers -- looks like an organic approach. I note, however, that only this one leaf shows signs of leafhopper damage. It looks like a large, original leaf -- probably attacked before he dusted the plants:



A wall of sunflowers:



On these next two pictures I'm standing in the same place on the back edge of the garden, first looking left, then right -- just to show the size of the garden. He even has other sections, along with huge mulch piles, etc., down behind his house. This is only a part:





Mr. Grier's son-in-law works with him on the garden -- but when I first started visiting a few years ago he managed all this himself. He's an amazing man. I think I mentioned in one of the earlier posts about his garden that it operates on the honor system. Either he or his son-in-law are usually around, but if they're not you just get your veggies (prices are posted) and put the money in a (locked, nailed-down) box with a slot in the top. I wonder if Harris Teeter has ever tried that?

Fly to the Finish Key Words

Today's Tour Sweepstakes key words are:

peloton
gap
soar

Enter here.

Today's Alpe d'Huez stage was awesome -- well worth watching tonight at 8:00 EST on Versus.

Fly to the Finish Key Words

Five new keywords from yesterday and today:

chasers
disc wheel
bonk
versus
alps

Enter here.

Today's Fly to the Finish Key Words

Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes key words for today are:

feed zone
wattage
performance

Enter here.

P.S. Regarding yesterday's post on the upcoming week of the Tour in the Alps, the best night to watch the replay on Versus will be Wednesday night. On Wednesday the riders will climb the most legendary peak in the tour, Alpe d'Huez. More drama has been played out on that peak than any other -- and the Tour crazies will be there in full force

Here's a picture of the climb to Alpe d'Huez with its 21 hairpin turns. The higher the route goes, the bigger and louder the crowds that line the roads:

Tour Sweepstakes Key Words

Here are the Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes key words for today:

bobke (not a misspelling -- refers to one of the beloved commentators, Bob Roll, affectionately known as Bobke)
gear
cervelo

Enter here.

I realize most Americans don't have too much interest in the Tour de France. But if you want to get a quick glimpse into what a phenomenon this event is in Europe -- you can do this sometime in the coming week, the last week of the Tour.

Why? Because the Tour heads into the Alps in southern France -- and the peaks chosen for this year's Tour are said to be particularly brutal. But here's the cultural part: people come from all over Europe -- they are there now -- a week or more ahead of time to get a spot on the high mountain roads. They park their campers and cars on the edge of the mountains, or walk to the top and pitch a tent. They buy supplies in the mountain villages and eat, drink, paint the roads with their favorite riders' names, paint themselves, put on costumes -- all for the opportunity for a few minutes of seeing the riders pass by. The crowds fill the roads leaving only enough room for the lead motorcycles to get through, and even less room for the single file ant-trail of bike riders as they labor up the sides of these huge mountain. They wave flags, scream at the top of their lungs, and seem to use the event as an annual opportunity to go completely nuts. The Alps stages of the Tour are totally different from the flatter stages which can be rather boring as the riders race at high speeds over flat roads and then sprint for the finish line -- four hours of boredom concluded by 30 seconds of pandemonium at the end.

American has no sporting event to compare with the Alps stages of the Tour de France. You don't need to watch all three weeks of the Tour -- but you should watch one of the mountain days this coming week just to experience this cultural event.

Here's how:

As I've mentioned, the Tour is carried in America only on the Versus network. Go to the Versus homepage and enter your ZIP code and you'll be told what channel(s) on which TV systems carry Versus in your area. (For instance, on Time Warner Cable in Charlotte it's channel 74.) The live broadcast starts early every morning -- so that's out since folks are at work. But it's replayed every evening on Versus at 8:00 p.m. So you can grab a chance to see a day in the Alps one night this coming week. (Except for Monday night -- Monday is a rest day in the Tour, so no racing on Monday.)

I hope I'm not disappointed, and hope you won't be. All my experience with the Tour has been during the years when Lance Armstrong was the reigning champion for seven years in a row. And the Europeans loved to hate this American -- so the crowds in the Alps (where Armstrong was at his best) were particularly boisterous when he rode. But there's a tight three-way competition going for the lead in the tour this year, including one American rider, so perhaps the loonies will be out in good form despite the absence of Lance Armstrong.

Last and Lost (As Usual)

There is an annual bike ride from Charlotte to the NC beach every year in support of Multiple Sclerosis research. (I think it may be nationwide -- rides held in lots of places.) It's around 150 miles, taking two days, and is fully supported with road crews and support stations along the way.

In anticipation of that annual big ride (which I'm not doing), there are weekend training rides held in the weeks leading to the MS Ride to the Beach -- one of which was today. I attended the one today -- a 62-mile ride held about an hour east of Charlotte (an hour from my house). There were around 100 riders who participated. It started at 8:00 a.m and I arrived just as the group was getting final instructions and heading off. So I was at the end of the bunch from the beginning and gradually got further behind. I missed several of the road markers and managed to get totally disconnected from the group and lost. Ended up in a small town I was unfamiliar with, bought a map at a convenience store and got some directions from a couple of good old boys who were hanging out, solving the problems of the world. I eventually made my way back to the elementary school which was the staging area for the ride, working my way through a series of small towns east of Charlotte.

By the time I got back (only a few cars left in the parking lot) I had covered 59 miles so I missed the full 62 mile ride by just a few. But it was a good experience -- you learn something every time you step outside life's safe zones -- and I got a colorful jersey for making a contribution to the MS Race cause. So that was a nice "been there, got the jersey" surprise. (Update: tried the jersey on and it's way too small. It's yours if you want it.)

Another "frustrating" day on the bike -- but I'll keep at it. I don't want to win -- but I do want to get better. And doing these group rides is one way to measure one's own progress against those who are much better. My goal is to be able to keep up and gain the aerodynamic advantage of riding with the group. When you're riding in a group, the experts say you gain a 25-30% advantage over riding alone (where I usually ride) in terms of reduced energy consumption -- higher speed while burning less energy.

So -- another of life's disappointing moments, but every reason to work harder and smarter for the next opportunity.

Flash of Genius

Just watched the trailer (several times) of what looks like a great movie coming in October: Flash of Genius. It's PG and based on a true story -- a David vs. Goliath story in the spirit of two more favorite movies of mine, The Insider (Russell Crowe) and A Civil Action (John Travolta). And this one stars one of my all-time favorite actors, Greg Kinnear. If you watch the trailer, look for the split-second scene where Kinnear's movie-daughter says, "Don't do it, Dad" -- don't give in to Goliath -- we can win this!

Men don't always have the experience of their family standing behind them when they're hanging by a thread -- but this guy does (at least in the trailer). Awesome.