Monday, July 25, 2011

TDF Spectators

Did any of you watch the TDF?  I saw parts, and I can't believe how unruly the spectators get! They are constantly running out in the street, reaching over barriers and trying to touch, grab and downright STOP the riders.

Then there are the protestors.  Oh, my.

Here is a clip from a blog I read:

It seems to me that cycle racing and in particular the Tour de France is the chosen spectator sport of the European version of the Red Neck. This loser goes to all the trouble to dress up as a fake doctor; then waits on a mountain top for hours for Contador to come by.
Then he gets in Alberto’s face in some kind of anti-doping protest, and all he gets for his effort is a smack in the gob. Does one brag about that after? ”I got punched in the mouth by Alberto Contador.” Or does one keep quiet and hope no one recognizes you?
Rock on, Alberto!  Punch his freaking lights out!  If I were riding (even on my ride home from work) and some idiot got in my face, I'd clean their clock! I can't believe the people in charge of the TDF let this crap go on!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


-Papa Bear

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Museum of Non-visible Art

I kid you not. This is apparently real!  How stupid of an idea is this? I mean, how incredibly idiotic must a person be to pay for nothing??? 

Read on...

Museum of Non-Visible Art Opens Its Doors

This is a conceptual art project by Praxis, curated by Vallejo Gantner, artistic director of PS122 in Manhattan. Praxis is the collaborative art team of Brainard and Delia Carey, and in this project, James Franco has collaborated with them. Praxis has been in the Whitney Museum Biennial and James Franco has exhibited his art work internationally.

The Non-Visible Museum is an extravaganza of imagination, a museum that reminds us that we live in two worlds: the physical world of sight and the non-visible world of thought. Composed entirely of ideas, the Non-Visible Museum redefines the concept of what is real. Although the artworks themselves are not visible, the descriptions open our eyes to a parallel world built of images and words. This world is not visible, but it is real, perhaps more real, in many ways, than the world of matter, and it is also for sale.

Important Note: When you contribute to this Kickstarter project, you are not buying a visible piece of art! You will not receive a painting or a film or a photograph in your mailbox. What you will receive is something even more fascinating: The opportunity to collaborate in an act of artistic creation. You will receive a title card with a description of a piece of art, as well as a letter of authentication. You may mount this card on a blank wall in your home or gallery. What comes next is up to you! The artwork comes to life—and takes on full personal meaning—in your imagining and describing of it, both to yourself and to your visitors. You may also choose to sell the non-visible artwork to another collector, to exhibit it elsewhere, or to lend it back to Praxis when we take the Non-Visible Museum on tour.

As these non-visible works of art are bought, exchanged, and resold, they open our eyes to the unseen universe that exists at every moment, and we can share that universe. It is like finding the code beneath. We exchange ideas and dreams as currency in the New Economy.
In the near future we will invite more artists, writers, and others to contribute works to the Non-Visible Museum so that it can keep expanding. You can sign up on our website to be on the mailing list. http://www.nonvisiblemuseum.com

For now, we want to tour this museum in the U.S. and Europe. For each exhibition, we will give a tour of the Non-Visible Museum, describing to all those in attendance what they are looking at and imagining. As this tour grows, we will continue to collaborate and add new works. 
Thank you for reading this far and dreaming with us.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Scorpion

Spence bought a really cool scorpion made of wire at the farmer's market last weekend.  Now, I'm a pretty crafty guy myself, so I figured I could copy it.

I spent about a half-hour studying the weave of wires, then I went to work.

First, I bundled 8 wires together to form the core, then began weaving the other eight wires into a body and legs.

Body and legs from the side
Body and legs from the top
Bottom view

Wrapping the tail


Completed!



Pretty cool, huh? 
-Papa Bear

Stupid Train!

Here is my ride for this morning:




I was stuck for 15 minutes behind a stupid freight train that was stopped in the intersection.  I finally back-tracked and rode south to try to find a way around. I had to ride from 8th south to 13th south to finally get to the end of the train!  That was one loooooooooong train!

There were a bunch of girls on bikes waiting when I showed up, and they said they had been there for almost 15 min before me! I hope they got to work on time!

I have to say though, I was thrilled seeing so many people on bikes commuting to work.

I also had the opportunity because of this detour to find out there is a hill that makes the Escalator look fairly easy! It's on 1300 south between 900 east and 1300 east.  I swear, I felt like I was trying to climb a ladder not a road!  :)

Oh, well. I made it to work a little later than I planned, but I made it!

Keep pedaling!
-Papa Bear

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Difference Between Men and Women

Let's say a guy named Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"
And then, there is silence in the car.

To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Fred is thinking: ...so that means it was...let's see...February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...lemme check the odometer...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Martha is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Fred is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Martha is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Fred is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty...scumballs.

And Martha is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...

"Fred," Martha says aloud.

"What?" says Fred, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have...oh dear, I feel so..."(She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Fred.

"I'm such a fool," Martha sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Fred.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Martha says.

"No!" says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Martha says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

"Yes," he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

"Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Fred.

"That way about time," says Martha.

"Oh," says Fred. "Yes." (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Fred," she says.

"Thank you," says Fred.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification.

They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.

Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?"

And that's the difference between men and women.

-Dave Barry

UN Summit on Cancer...

Hey--

Did you know that six out of 10 deaths globally come from diseases
you can't catch like cancer? And that we can prevent millions of these
deaths with tools we already have?

This September, world leaders are meeting for a historic UN Summit on
cancer and other non-communicable diseases. I just signed onto
LIVESTRONG's open letter calling on world leaders to make the world's
top killers a top priority.

Will you add your name as well?

http://www.LIVESTRONG.org/SignOn

If we can get 100,000 signatures before the summit, LIVESTRONG will
hand-deliver the letter to the UN Secretary General and key Heads of
State.

Thanks.
Papa Bear

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Sing, Dance, Laugh, Love.

I wrote this poem for Caitlin when she went on the Trek reinactment.

Sing, Dance, Laugh, Love.

Sing, for within your voice is joy and love.
Dance, for within your movement is life.
Laugh, for laughter is the song of heaven.
Love, for love is the conversation of the heart.
-Criss F. Rosenlof


Written for my daughter Caitlin, 5/22/2011.

Plus 3 Network and World Bicycle Relief

First, and foremost... I'm NOT ASKING FOR MONEY.  Please read on...

The Plus Three Network, in conjunction with SRAM are raising money for "World Bicycle Relief".

World Bicycle Relief was founded in 2005 by SRAM Corporation in response to the December 2004 tsunami that swept the Indian Ocean. In partnership with World Vision Sri Lanka, this project provided more than 24,000 locally manufactured bicycles to carefully selected men, women and children in greatest need. Following the tsunami, World Bicycle Relief retained an independent organization to measure the impact of Project Tsunami. Two years after the project was complete, the results are outstanding: 88% of recipients depend on bicycles for livelihood activities, and bicycles can save a household up to 30% of its annual income for transportation costs. The bicycle program provided critical transportation enabling households to resume important livelihood, education and service activities.


Just by logging the miles I already ride, SRAM and +3 are raising money for this great cause. Here's my stats since I started logging for them on June 1st:

My Stats This Month:
Dollars$0.84
Hours03:42:12
Miles42.0
My Stats This Year:
Dollars$12.76
Hours28:57:06
Miles398.4

I know it doesn't look like much, but when all of my cycling buddies and running buddies log in, it really adds up!  If you want to help out, go to http://www.plus3network.com/ and sign up for free. Then you can pick the cause you want to help out (I'm doing World Bicycle Relief/SRAM).

Come on and help out!

-Papa Bear

Big Cottonwood River

Running high and fast!


Sent from my LG Vortex