On New Year’s Day, I entered the San Bruno Hill Climb for the second time. With more prep in recent weeks, and a year of bicycle racing under my belt, I knocked almost two minutes off my time. Official results are in a PDF file. My time was 18:02.91 for the climb, putting me 72nd…

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Doctor Zhivago stretched over two nights’ viewing. At three hours and twenty minutes, even the DVD had to be flipped over to watch the part after the intermission. Loved the scenery and the sweep, though a bit too sappy overall. Also, I’ve never seen such fresh, unlined faces among those supposedly enduring the ravages of…

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I enjoyed The Guardian’s coverage of the chronophage. “Beware the time-eater: Cambridge University’s monstrous new clock includes a marvelous video. The official University of Cambridge video from the inventor and maker, Dr. John C. Taylor, provides more of the history and details. Neal Stephenson must be pleased that a new mechanical clock was introduced the…

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Racing Tactics for Cyclists by Thomas Prehn entertains with its anecdotes about the author’s racing experience. The lessons build slightly on Bike Racing 101. The crosswind echelon described in Chapter 5 was the truly new tactic for me, though I’ve rarely ridden in groups large enough or experienced enough to practice this energy-saving technique. The…

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Bike Racing 101 details about what the title promises. I’m foolish enough to read this near the end of my first season of bicycle racing. (I finished the book maybe a fortnight ago.) If I’d read it at the beginning, I might have saved Ken a few questions during the year. Still, even though the…

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Scott Adams does more than just Dilbert. I don’t read his blog regularly, but someone pointed to “Existing” and it’s worth sharing. An excerpt: It’s nice to think that you can be your own person, true and accountable to no one but yourself, but I don’t think life works that way. We are what other…

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Eating has been a more conscious act for me since seeing Super Size Me. No claims to remarkable health or true moderation, but I do pay attention. Left over from the wife’s book group, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan lived up to (most of) the hype. My favorite portions (ahem) included the exposition of…

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I’ve shared my respect for Paul Graham’s work before (more). I’ve pondered learning how to program many times. So this Slashdot thread last week, “AppJet Offers Browser-Based Coding How-To, Hosting,” pointing to AppJet as a Graham-recommended way to learn how to program caught my attention. When you follow the link, you see the reference to…

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Phew. Caught up with all the reading I did this late spring and summer, just before Labor Day comes to a close. My apologies to those flooded with these blog reports of several months of reading in a handful of days. Now back to our regular irregular updates. 😉

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Alan Furst is a find. Since the paperback of The Foreign Correspondent touts “New York Times Bestseller,” I’m slow in that revelation. Start with the eventful lead-up to World War II, add Italian emigrés in Paris in 1938, when travel throughout Europe is still allowed (if dangerous to some), throw in the security services of…

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