Ridedate 20080830

On Saturday, I set off with an eye towards reaching another small-Iowa-town-I've-never-been-to-within-reasonable-cycling-distance-of-home. There are fewer and fewer qualifiers over the years, but I was thinking about Quasqueton The Friendliest Town by a Dam Site! which would also be my first ride into Buchanan County.

The catch was that Jessica needed to leave for work at 10:30AM and Quasqueton was no short ride. I was hoping to leave at 6:00AM but, in spite of pre-preparations the night before, it took me a little longer than expected to get organized. I saddled up at 6:15AM; the delay was just as well since sunrise wasn't until 6:30AM.

Temperatures were around 55 degrees with light winds from the south-southwest. Knowing that the day would soon grow hot, I took the opportunity to try my new arm warmers.

The sun begins to peek over a treeline west of Robbins.



Bison north of Toddville. Another picture here.



The early morning light cast long shadows to the west and I found this giant cycling next to me.



I made decent time through Center Point and into Walker. However, after a short internal debate, I decided to abort the day's mission to Quasqueton. The reason was that I hard a hard deadline to be back to Cedar Rapids and (relating to the first point) I didn't know the way to Quasqueton.

Normally I don't really worry about finding my way. It's pretty difficult (impossible?) to get truly lost in Iowa. I'll glance at a map beforehand and have an idea of where I want to go, but then rely upon luck, intuition, and signage. As a male, asking someone for directions would, of course, be an option in cases of injury or imminent danger. But even then only if there were no "I think it's this way." feelings.

So even though I didn't care about getting lost, I did care about getting lost and then not getting back to Cedar Rapids in time for Jessica to leave for work. So I made the command decision to save Quasqueton for another day and cut my loop short by heading for Troy Mills. This way I could slow down and take some time to smell the cow patties.



Even by Iowa standards, this seems like a tiny City Hall. Later on the ride, Alburnett revealed its similarly modest city offices.

Who is that masked equine?



Note the Pioneer brand Canna Lillies in the background below. Kidding! But, in seriousness, I look forward to that spread of Cannas off Walker Rd. each year. Another view here.



A herd of lawn ornaments between Walker and Troy Mills.



Speaking of Troy Mills, I pedaled across the Wapsipinicon and into town briefly. Thus I was able, after all, to score another small-Iowa-town-I've-never-been-to-within-reasonable-cycling-distance-of-home.

Upon arrival, I found myself unwittingly in the midst of the annual Swine Trek (entry form here): a fair sized event organized by the Hawkeye Bicycle Club with 25, 50, and 100 mile routes. There was a small station manned by two elderly ladies serving food and drink to the riders. After pausing a few minutes, I started south for Cedar Rapids and passed scores of riders headed into Troy Mills.

Home; my shoes dusted with pollen.

• Distance: 51.4 miles
  
• Ride Time: 3:09:40
  
• Trip Time: 3:34
  
• Average Speed: 16.2 mph
  
• Average heart rate: 127 bpm
  

Note, it turned out that (after a brief false start towards Spencer Grove) my intutition sucessfully took me to Bettys Grove Rd which is the way from Walker to Quasqueton. Of course, it's not exactly one of the great feats of navigation to "find" one of three paved roads into a small Iowa town. But again, it was a good decision to save Quasqueton for another day.

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Odd but cool

Sarah Palin has two daughters named after witches!?

Upon review, this is an eeire coincidence. (At least in Willow's case.)

The first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired March 10, 1997. Willow was born in 1995.

Piper is younger (born in 2002) and the first episode of Charmed aried October 7, 1998.

So, for her, maybe.

Fun Palin Facts

A riff on a post from Matthew Yglesias' blog: John McCain was 27 years 172 days old when Sarah Palin was born and 22 years 132 days old when Alaska was born.

The inevitable Palin Iraq clock.

On the plus side, I'm awarding bonus points for her kids' names: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

Palin for a miracle?

Media outlets are breaking the news that the GOP VP choice is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

My initial impressions are as follows. The positives:

• Palin has a solid anti-abortion record so the GOP base will be placated on that count.


• This is a simple but effective way to offset the historic nature of the first ticket with an African-American. Field the second ticket with a woman.


• A likely "maverick" credential boost. I question how much this is deserved since Palin has steady conservative credentials but (see previous point) her gender alone counts for something.

The negatives:

• What happened to the "judgement and experience" meme? Palin's political career started in 1992 on the Wasilla City Council (population less than 10,000). She's only been governor (of the 47th most populous state) since 2006! Does her runner-up finish in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest prepare her for the mythical "Commander-in-Chief Test"?


• The age difference between Palin and McCain is striking. She looks young enough to be his daughter. She IS young enough to be his daughter. To be fair, the Obama - Biden age difference is only ~ 5 years less than the McCain - Palin difference. And Obama is just over 3 years older than Palin. But (see last point) it's the Republicans that have been harping on the experience factor.


• The pick is bold, but may come to be viewed more in terms of desperation. It can't be as catastrophic as the Harriet Maiers for SCOTUS pick, but may cause a lot of head scratching and be viewed as a transparent pander to female voters.


• This is small potatos as far as cases of Alaska GOP corruption and malfeasance go, but Palin is under current investigation regarding charges that she fired a Public Safety Commissioner after he refused to fire a State Trooper that was in an ongoing custody battle with Palin's sister.

Mark October 2 down on your calendars as Joseph Biden and Sarah Palin square off in the Vice-Presidential debate.

Republican VP Predictions

A follow up to my Democratic VP Predictions from last week...

On the GOP side, conventional wisdom is settling on: Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Joe Lieberman. The official "late breaking trial balloon that is transparently a ruse" is Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Tom Ridge and Sarah Palin are another couple wild cards that likely aren't under true consideration.

Tim Pawlenty is the official Dan Quayle option. Not in terms of him being a moron, but rather the "fresh young face" that shows that Republicans can be hip and cool. Some are even under the age of 50! I don't think he would lock up the battleground state of Minnesota's electoral votes (although he'd surely help), so I'm not sure what else he would bring to the ticket beyond the youth (relative) factor.

The downside is that he might make McCain look older than he already does and he'd undercut the arguments against Obama's relative youth and inexperience. In my opinion, Pawlenty is a highly unlikely choice. One thing I do like is his name. Pawlenty. A refreshing departure from the WASPy names on most tickets.

I think McCain wants to pick Joe Lieberman. He genuinely likes him. They have a good working relationship and have bonded over their shared support for the so-called War on Terror. Leaving aside the precise determination of whether or not McCain is, in fact, a "maverick", I think the selection of an Independent Democratic Senator as a running mate could only enhance his maverick credentials. Plus, Lieberman is very handy to have around because he can help McCain keep track of which Muslims we're fighting where. Choosing Joe would also potentially pick off a non-Republican member of the Senate since the governor of Connecticut is Republican. One last factor in Lieberman's favor is that including him would ipso facto bring Joementum to the ticket.

On the downside, well... He's not Republican. To the extent that Republicans are already facing an enthusiasm gap, I'd say including a pro-choice lifelong Democrat whom, for example, voted against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice nominees Alito and Thomas and carries an F rating from the National Rifle Association might rub some people the wrong way.

One strange thing is that Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity all spoke out in favor of Lieberman and endorsed him during his 2006 senatorial election run. But that was in contrast to the anti-war Democratic candidate Ned Lamont. Somehow I think they'd be crankier at the thought of Lieberman on a GOP Presidential ticket. Imagine the bizarre spectacle of a Vice-Presidential debate between two Democratic Senators who agree with each other on just about everything.

Somewhat by default, that leaves Mitt Romney as the likely choice. With his experiences in the private sector and business success, he shores up McCain's weakness in the area of the economy. His physical appearance is "Presidential" to the point of type-casting. He's younger than John McCain (along with everyone else) but not dramatically so. Much of the religious right would be comfortable with Romney although so too are there are tensions between evangelicals and the L.D.S. He would likely bring many votes in the western states with significant Mormon populations and help in Michigan.

On the downside, his family's wealth might be problematic. He and his wife report assets around $200 million and the family also has a blind trust set up in the names of the children and grandchildren worth over $100 million. Americans typically don't respond to class warfare and wealth isn't a negative. However, after the embarrassing episode of McCain not knowing how many houses he owns, adding Romney's four homes (including a $12 million residence in La Jolla) might be a bit much. ( But seriously John, who has to check with their staff about how many homes they own? Louis XIV? ) Another thing that could hurt Romney is that he's a serial panderer. He's had just about every position on every issue at one point or another. Right or wrong, this leaves him vulnerable to attacks and causes many to question his true motivations, etc...

But the single biggest impediment might be that McCain and Romney hate each other. Here again, any attacks showing Biden (or Clinton) questioning Obama and/or his qualifications will be undercut by example after example of McCain and Romney going at it. Given his actions since he dropped out of the race, I think Romney could "get over it." I'm not so sure about McCain who is famously stubborn and temperamental.

So there you have it. I think McCain wants to pick BFF Joe Lieberman but will ultimately "settle" for Mitt Romney. Look for the news to be leaked tonight to deflect media attention on Obama's acceptance speech.

Paging Lord Nelson

I was intrigued by this article in the New York Times detailing the scope of British debauchery whilst on holiday. (Nice touch, eh?)

I guess the easy answer is that Britons are generally discouraged from emoting, i.e., the whole "stiff upper lip" business. When the inner beast is released, it's that much crazier.

Here's another example from the WaPo describing the current incarnations of a venerable tradition: the Office Christmas Party. Sample quote:

...partygoers seem to find great amusement in photocopying intimate body parts. Stagg recalled one incident in which a man at his Christmas party sat on the copy machine, broke the glass and ended up in the emergency room with shards of glass in his bottom.

OK, so the Brits are out-of-control. Big deal. But I noticed something shocking on this topic.

I draw your attention to the Top 15 countries where British nationals required the most consular assistance from 1 April 2006 - 31 March 2007 chart in the official British Behavior Abroad report as published by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

The U.K. suffered 1,591 deaths among vacationers to Spain!? In a one year period!? Does this seem high to anyone else? By comparison, the U.K. suffered 258 deaths during the Falklands War.

Now granted, the same report shows that there were 17 million British visitors to Spain during the same period. But France had 14.8 million British visitors and only 385 deaths. So... that's 87% the number of visits and 24% the number of deaths.

Another comparision. The 9/11 attacks resulted in 2,974 deaths which equated to 10.43 deaths per million citizens (estimated 2001 U.S. population of 285,112,030). With an estimated U.K. population of 60,975,000, traveling to Spain recently resulted in 26.09 deaths per million citizens.

I can't figure out what's so dangerous in Spain although this picture of a group from Leeds on a walking tour may provide a clue.

Ridedate 20080824

Last Sunday I finally got around to the Vinton round-trip I was meaning to do in the Spring. It was a beautiful day. Temps in the low 70's, few clouds, and light winds. Perfect.

I filled my bottles, threw six fig newtons in a sandwich bag, and I was off.

Here are some cattle enjoying the day between Palo and Shellsburg.



It's been a long time since I've been to a good Ox Roast.



View to the foul pole from third base; Vinton, Iowa. Note that right handed batters pulling a long foul ball can send it into a cornfield.



In downtown Vinton, I noticed someone else taking a picture of a "dark spot" on a wall. I rolled over and found this bat snoozing right on Main Street.



Here's the view down a row at critter level. The tops of the tassels were over 8 feet tall here.



You've heard of the Field of Dreams? Well here's the Field of Beans. This was taken looking northwest right off the Linn/Benton County line.



The pleasing symmetry of hay bales.



It has to be said again. What a gorgeous day for a ride!

• Distance: 55.3 miles
  
• Ride Time: 3:35:43
  
• Trip Time: 4:00
  
• Average Speed: 15.4 mph
  
• Average heart rate: 131 bpm
  

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Everyone loves a good hoax

In August, Wine Spectator magazine granted an Award of Excellence to Milan restaurant Osteria L'Intrepido.

Nothing unusual there, right? Well... Let's just say that the prestige of the award was somewhat undermined when it was revealed that the eatery does not exist.

Osteria L'Intrepido was created by wine critic Robin Goldstein as part of an effort to examine the criteria and judgement leading to Wine Spectator awards.

Today's episode of the unreasonable

After his otherworldly performance in the 100m dash, what does Jamaican track sensation Usain Bolt do for an encore?

How about set another world record by running the 200m in a jaw dropping 19.30 seconds?

I haven't seen tape of the event yet, but my quick calculations show that a time of 19.3 over 200m equates to an average speed of 37.3057 km/h or 23.18069 mph.

Wow...

Naturally...

As soon as I predict Biden (previous post), he declares "I'm not the guy."

We can't say this rules him out definatively, but it makes it appear like I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm just making wild guesses.

Hey, I'm just like all the other pundits!

Democratic VP Predictions

Is everyone signed up to be e-mailed and/or texted when Barack announces his VP choice?

It seems like the chattering classes have narrowed the Democratic choices to three: Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, and Tim Kaine. Then we can throw in Kathleen Sebelius and Hillary Clinton as wildcards.

Of these, I'd say Evan Bayh is the worst choice. He doesn't offer anything in particular. He's not exciting, he's experienced but he's so low key that nobody knows that. Yes, he's a long time Hillary supporter, but I don't see choosing him as placating anybody. He might help win Indiana, but Indiana (neighboring Illinois) is a state that Obama might snag anyway. Plus, the Governor of Indiana is Republican so that would subtract a Democratic Senator.

I think Joe Biden is the likely choice. He, like Cheney, would be the designated party elder / Washington insider. Again like Cheney, he wouldn't be expected to bring in any electoral college votes. He has extensive experience in the area of foreign policy (an alleged Obama weak point) and has the skills to be an effective attack dog in the campaign. Possible drawbacks would be that, as an insider, he would work at cross-purposes to Obama's "change" mantra and he can be an undisciplined, if entertaining, speaker. He put the "blo" in bloviate. Another point in his favor; the Governor of Delaware is a Democrat.

Tim Kaine might be the best choice. Like Bill Clinton choosing Al Gore and "doubling down" in the young-politician-from-the-South category, Kaine has the potential to reinforce the "change" mantra. And maybe, just maybe, he could put Virginia (which last voted for a Democrat over 40 years ago: LBJ in 1964) in play. The downside would be that he would not provide cover against charges of inexperience or weak foreign policy credentials against the ticket.

Honestly, the longer the Obama v. McCain match-up has evolved without Obama able to distance himself from McCain in the polling, the more I've thought that Hillary Clinton would be a good choice. I used to think that she was too polarizing a figure and the nation could use some time without a Bush or Clinton in the White House (first time since 1980!?). But, naturally, the Republicans are working overdrive to keep the country as polarized as they can. It would serve to unify the party after the hard feelings of the bruising primary and, let's be honest, she would be an outstanding attack dog. Here again I think of LBJ and, to paraphrase his comment about J. Edgar Hoover, "It's better to have [her] inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."

So there you have it. I think I'll feel pretty good about anybody other than Bayh. I think Kaine would be a strong choice and Clinton would bring the most energy (good and bad). In all likelihood, you didn't hear it here first, but I think the selection will be Joe Biden.

Times are tough

I've seen the dire news about the Japanese economy, but this is a little ridiculous.

Guerrilas/assassins from fuedal Japan are now resorting to convenience store holdups in eastern Iowa.

Pootie-Poot?

Alerted by Dan Froomkin's White House Watch in the WaPo, I see that President Bush has bestowed the nickname "Pootie-Poot" upon Russian Prime Minister Valdimir Putin.


Even with allowances for Bush's fondness for nicknames, this seems a little bizarre.

For my part, I immediately wondered what Malik "Poot" Carr would think about this.


I think I'm pretty safe in assuming this is the most direct connection between a current world leader and one of the original (if relatively minor) members of the Barksdale crew from HBO's drama The Wire.

But, if nothing else, this gives me a chance to plug the series. There has been plenty of "It's the best show on television." hyperbole thrown The Wire's way.

The Seattle Times, Slate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, and possibly even a few publications that don't start with the letter 's'.

Look, when Salon.com and the National Review Online are AGREEING on something...

Heck, it's even #85 of Stuff White People Like.

But thy hype is deserved. It well may be the best show on television... ever... You just don't find series so ambitious, so intricate, that ring so authentic.

All-Time great headlines

I don't remember debate (high-school) being this wild & crazy. I guess college is a whole new ballgame!

Debate Coaches Lose Cool, 1 Pulls Down His Pants

Here's the incident on YouTube.

The new genuises

I can't believe this has only existed since Sunday. I ran into it on Slate.com this week and a friend on Facebook also linked to an 'enhanced' version.

I'm talking, of course, about the Barack Roll.

What did people like Hugh Atkin do in the days before powerful accessible technologies? And if they managed to do something (and I presume they did) did anyone else ever get to see it?

A little background is in order here. It's not absolutely essential to be familiar with the meme of Rickrolling to enjoy this, but it sure helps.

I should also add that I have been Rickrolled in the "wilds" of the internet. My encounter was on a message board specializing in Hawkeye Sports (of all places).

It's good even when it's bad

The wet spring and extensive flooding caused some well founded fears about the state of Iowa's crop production. With the wettest weather ending in the second week of June, it was right on the edge of feasibility in terms of replanting corn. Soybeans can be planted later but, in some cases, fields had been treated with a fertilizer and herbicide regimen optimized for corn.

Here's a primer from the folks over in Ames.

But after a downright grumpy spring (there was the F5 tornado in New Hartford too), the Heavens have been smiling on the corn and beans for the last 8 weeks or so.

Iowa, once more, is projected to be the #1 producer in the nation.

Odd statement...

A peculiar moment today when the Attorney General of the United States announced that...

But not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime

With due allowances for nuance and contrived situations, but isn't that a strange thing for the AG to state? Not every violation of the law is a crime?!

Common sense and definition 1 from American Heritage seem to disagree.

For comparison's sake

What are our friends to the North borrowing?

METRIC	USA	Canada
National Debt	9,572,825,890,604	508,109,000,000
Population	304,537,292	33,340,433
Debt Per Capita	31,434	15,240
GDP (2007)	13,840,000,000,000	1,178,000,000,000
Debt Pct of GDP	69.17%	34.80%

The only sure things are debt and taxes

Checking the Debt Clock this morning reveals that, as of 07 Aug 2008 at 03:49:22 PM GMT, the outstanding public debt is...

$9,572,825,890,604

The numbers are so mind boggling, so beyond the normal range of experiences for the average person, that they're difficult to comprehend.

Never mind average people. Even Russian oligarchs, Arab petro-princes, American tech tycoons, and Indian steel magnates would have trouble with this bill. If you combine the net worth of the Forbes 100 (as calculated in February 2008) you come up with a total of $1,740,268,000,000.

So if these guys went "all in", they could pay 18.18% of the debt. Or, expressed another way, we'd need them to spend their net worths five and half times in order to get out of the red.

If that somehow seems reasonable, consider the 3-year-average (2003-2005) median household income in the U.S. is $46,037. So, at that rate, we need ~ 208 MILLION household incomes to pay off the debt.

I'm curious about the upcoming documentary I.O.U.S.A. Perhaps it will serve as the equivalent of An Inconvenient Truth in terms of at least raising the profile of the issue and spurring discussion.

Regrettably...

...I think I'd have to take the next one.

More Scholastic Rebranding

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is at it again. Following on the heels of the department name change from Geology to Geocience...

• Absurdly, given the aforementioned change, Biological Sciences is now Biology


• Speech Patholgy & Audiology is now Communication Sciences and Disorders

Just wanted to keep everyone informed.

Heck in a Handbasket

I can't really put it any better than a poster on the comment board of one of these stories. The situation in Johnson County is borderline anarchy!

Ya know..the past few days sure have illustrated WHY we need a new jail....we've got guys biting people's noses off, naked men breaking into farmhouses and now..drunks kicking guys in the groin...

I think my uncle picked a good time to retire from the Public Defenders Office. Perhaps he'll be called back on a "stop loss" order.