Hershey Vs. Pot Dealer in Trademark Suit

But now you're associating illegal drugs with the Hershey mark. You're thinking about bad things, illegal things, things that will harm your body when you think of the Hershey mark, and that is terribly damaging to the company and its mark.

Oh please. Hershey should team up with this guy and offer an in package coupon.

Long story short...Mama coonhound winds up in a shelter a few months ago. She's a red-boned coonhound and pregnant. She has a liter of ten, three of which end up with a foster mom in a burb near Chicago. An e-mail ends up in my wife's inbox last week. After much cooing we scheduled a visit with three of the twelve-week old girls today.

We're taking the one in the middle, thinking that her meek and mild personality would go best with our first born. We pick her up on Friday, hoping that a weekend will be a decent transition period into her new schedule.

Hancock's father files suit:

Mike Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

Other defendants include Eddie's Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock's sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

Strangely enough, not listed in the suit are Hancock's left or right hand, which clearly contributed to his intoxication, and his left and rigth foot, which brought him to his vehicle and helped manuever it into the stopped tow truck. Not to mention the dog's breakfast that was ontop his spine that seamed to be incontrol of the whole situation. Huh?

Who would'a thought?

I have a better idea. I think the towing company involved should bring a lawsuit against the surviving Hancock family. Not only was their employee put in unnecessary danger due to Josh Hancock's irresponsible behavior, so was their customer. Furthermore, the city of St. Louis should bring a suit against the Hancock's for rearing a negligent dumbass that was a menace to the public transportation system.

Somebody else has to be responsible, right?

Taken from Heritage.org. Funny how I haven't read any of these points in a headline since the great shakedown compromise.

But wait, I know what will make all of that better...an ammendment that declares English the official language of the States United for the Purpose of Pandering and Providing. Or, you know, we could have just enforced the laws that were on the books.

But May weather has been pretty god-damn fantastic.

I picked up a new lens for the SLR the other day, a Canon 10-22mm EF-S. I was on the fence for some time. I have an L-series 17-40mm EF that has been fantastic. But with the small sensor EOS that I have, the 17mm is more like 27mm (x 1.6 due to the FLM). It's pretty wide, but definitely not like slapping the thing on my old film body. So, I was looking for something wider.

The 10mm EF-S is exactly what I wanted. The catch was that the EF-S will only work on a short focal length body. I was hesitating dropping the cash on a lens that will not work if ever get into the market for a full focal length digital. As lenses go, they should be like an heirloom, right? Get a few that work for you and hang on to them until you die.

The other factor was that the 10mm acts like a 16mm on the short sensor. So, essentially, I would be buying a very similar lens to what I already have, if I were to strap the 17-40mm on a full focal length camera. Well, I dropped the cash on the lens and absolutley love it. There is some chromal abberation, like the review said. But it is hit-or-miss. If you look closely you can see it in the upper right corner. And, that's at 10mm, f11. But I cannot find it in any of my other shots taken with similar settings.

I did some other shopping, inspired by Strobist that included an IR transmitter and a Speedlite strobe that can operate off-camera.

Men need hobbies, right?

I got dealt an academic kick in the 'nads this week. I won't go into it, but suffice it to say that a large part of it doesn't seem like my fault. It's not a huge deal, but it was a key class and the shitty grade will reflect quite badly to future schools when I go the PhD route.

When this sort of thing happens, I always remember the afternoon I was sitting in the office with seed and Billy, moments before an open house for the company we worked for started, when B pops out with "My rock and roll dream job is to be a chef. Fuck all this." Or something. I remember "rock and roll dream job" (RRDJ), and "chef" mostly. At the time, I didn't really have one.

Now, they kinda come and go. Mostly they get mashed together. What is it today?

I want to develop video game artificial intelligence. Not the high-falutin' crap about thinking robots. Just stuff to create for the opposing side in serious video games.

Why? No fucking clue. It just fascinates me. The whole process of trying to get a band of automatons to beat the crap out of the player in ever more ingenious ways. I think it's the creation of alternate worlds. Cuz if that's the first R in my RRDJ, the other would be writing comic books.

So, when I think about just hanging it all up, that's what I think about doing. Well, that, and porn.

Got my MS Society ride in on Saturday.

First of all, thanks to everyone who donated and supported the ride.

Summary
All in all, it went pretty well for the first one of these things I'd ever done. Good weather, new bike (see Tech Report), nice landscape, etc. As for numbers, I only have a rough idea (see Tech Report, see also Route Review). I averaged about 13-15 mph., which is no seed-like pace, but with my lack of work on real hills, felt like a decent push.

Tech Report
Why the fuzziness? Well, the bike computer I moved onto the new bike was on the fritz. In the post-ride maintenance, I discovered that the placement of the token on the wheel (the magnet that goes by the wireless piece to record a wheel's revolution) is one sensitive sumbitch, and that I had gotten luck on my other bike with it being right the first time.

Bigger issues, though, we had on the bike itself. As far as I can tell, there are some tension issues with the rear dérailleur. On climbs, or any flats where I wanted to up the speed with a little more pushing, I started doing an involuntary impression of the robot dance. The chain would either jump a couple teeth in the middle gears (rear cassette), or bounce between two gears. This meant I spent a lot of fucking effort getting up every single hill, since my feet would rotate a good quarter-turn every time this happened, with no power going to the wheels. No to mention the rather unsteady feeling it produces. So that needs to get checked.

Route Review
No doubt, VA is pretty country. Hilly, but pretty. The route was nice, meandering through the countryside and various small towns. The ride was a nice mix of long (relatively) flat areas, speedy downhills for a break, and some tough climbs.

The only problem was route marking was bad at the beginning. So I went a couple extra miles only to turn around. (Making it hard to figure my speed from time.) And then there was what I call the Fake Finish.

So, after passing a photog who was getting pics of red-faced people climbing a serious hill (ooh, pretty, can I have a shot of me looking like I'm passing kidney stones? sweeeet...), these two people were taking a break at the top. The greet me with big smiles, their matching blue/black jersey/short combo grating on me instantly. (I did it in bike shorts under ratty basketball shorts and a shitty t-shirt.) "Almost there!" says the big male one. "It's all downhill from here!" chirps the female one.

ASIDE: Despite being in lycra pants, it's often hard to tell the relative hotness of some female riders, covered as so many are in shapeless, oversized - though no doubt incredibly expensive - jerseys to match their bikes/boyfriends, under fat helmets, sunglasses that look like car windshields from Formula 1 races with enough reflective power to burn ants at 50 yards, and carrying a pack that would make some sherpas nervous.END ASIDE.

These were both lies. A twisty little down ended in a long, slow climb up to another hill that dipped a little before more climbing. And the "almost there" was referring not to the end, but to the Fake Finish.

So, I enter a town and round a corner. There's balloons, signs ("Turn in here!") and people clapping as folks ride in and dismount. And there were a lot of people. So I do the same. I wander over, drop the bike, the helmet, and the camelbak. Walk out some stiffness. Then head to the only table I can see through the people. It's next to a big FedEx truck, clearly of the kind that the ride info all mentioned would be taking bikes back to the starting point so people could get their cars. Folks are walking around, smiling, snacking, etc. And there's a big contingent of those people in color-coordinated outfits featuring jerseys from some Italian or French or Dutch, or whatever team with all the logos and crap, walking funny on their color-coordinated special clip-pedal shoes that look like they shelled out about what I paid for my bike. (Note also that they look very, very crisp. Newish. Used-lightly, like.) Many with a soda in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

This is it, right? I mean, why else would everyone be relaxing like that? So I spend maybe 15 minutes just laying down, taking in the sun, waiting for signals that the trucks ready to head back. I decide to get a glass of the water and some of the peanut butter sammiches they have on the one table I saw (yes, the one table seems odd, but I figured that since the 100-milers had a different route, this was just for us pikers). So I pick it up, and UNDERNEATH all the cups and crap, I see "REST STATION #5."

Ah, fuck. I got maybe 8-9 more miles. So I get back on the bike and pedal to the end. Unfortunately, these final miles head back into the area around the major highways, so the route takes you onto a bike trail that criss-crosses major roads (meaning you have to stop and put your foot down every 1/2 mile or so). But the end was a nice field at a decent farm-like place, with lunch, water, etc.

Personal Performance
I've got a lot of work to do.

Mostly, I discovered, on endurance for long climbs. It wasn't the steep ones that got to me, even if they looked kinda long. It was those 3/4 to 1-mile moderate grade things that you can't see the end of. Those fucking killed me. I had to stop on one of them, I admit. But I didn't walk a fucking step. Just stretched and tried to get my heart back into my chest. I promised myself I'd ride the whole bit, even if I had to stop for a bit. And I did. But boy, I would have walked the damn hill faster than I was pedaling at one point.

So tonight it's back to the spinning classes and rides. Hey, don't knock the spinning! The bikes are closer to road bikes than most exercise bikes, and the workout can be seriously hard if you ratchet up the tension. Plus the forced effort is good for the soul -- as cheesy as they are, the instructors are serious riders who keep things at a pretty high pace for the full hour. Plus, how can you mind watching 23-y.o. women in hotpants and sportsbras getting all flushed?

What I didn't count on was the upper-body stiffness from having been hunched for a couple of hours. My triceps felt like mush. But I'll know better next time.

Will the Bull's season last longer than the Cub's season?

If the Bulls beat the Pistons tonight, it just might.

Went to see a concert last night. Alison Krauss and Union Station performed with Tony Rice, and it was fantastic. We didn't have the best seats in the house, but the venue was decently sized for a downtown-DC location, so nothing was too far away.

They performed a huge range of things, including some songs I'd never heard them do before. And Tony Rice had a few instrumental solos, including a 6-7 minute thing that turned into a duet with Jerry Douglas. Rice's voice sounds like a back of rusty wrenches that have been smoking for 40 years, but he doesn't sing, and his fingers haven't lost a single step. He had Dan Tyminski come out for a rendition of Church Street Blues that was unbelievable.

Needless to say, Alison's voice was as pristine as ever; she's gotten a lot of power in it over the past few years as well, and damn near melted the speakers when the sound board guy had her mic up too high. She's also endearingly uncomfortable doing the on-stage patter thing that seems to be expected at concerts. She was clearly working to find things to talk about. A few songs from their recent album were great, and a favorite of mine, "Let Me Touch You For a While" (yes, please), was just stunning to hear in person. And, she's seriously attractive.

The only thing I wish I'd been able to see was the whole band doing I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow, but only because I've never seen it done live. Of course, since O Brother they've probably had to play it 400+ times, so I don't begrudge them not playing the tune. But still, I had hope.

About the only downer was that the guy next to me was recording the whole thing. Which, one, is kinda crappy since I don't think the venue or the band allows it. So if you're on BitTorrent and you get the urge, don't d/l the Thursday 5/16 DAR Hall Show. I realized he was recording once I realized he was covering the receiving mic whenever applause would start. Of course, applause also happens when a good solo is executed, when people realize the band is starting a favorite song, etc. The shithead kept making comments about my clapping, so I proceeded to clap at any provocation, hands up and loud enough to fuck with his equipment. Called me a "trained seal" at one point. Which, naturally, means I had to cough pretty badly during some of the best songs. Hopefully it fucked up his recording pretty well.

If you get a chance, I'd recommend attending a Krauss/US show.

Ok, so the new bike is seriously nice. I didn't realize it, but they had a non-stock saddle on the thing, so the one I've got is even better than anticipated. Apparently, that super-soft stuff isn't actually that good for you, despite the squishyness. This one has decent wings so I don't feel like I'm getting a doctor's exam, but the wings flex a lot during a ride.

Some things I've noticed:
1) Climbs are now about just getting up the hill, not pushing the damn bike up the hill.

2) Down shifting with the the whole brake lever is not a natural feeling. Neither is not having a brake on the upright handle area. The shifting in general, however, is like fucking velvet next to the GT mtb.

3) I need headphones that don't sound like I'm in a damn wind tunnel. I don't go without tunes, so don't even suggest that. But good phones that cut back on the wind would be welcome advice.

4) The "farmer blow" option for a snot-filled nose? It just gets all over your cheek and shorts when you're moving too fast.

My sister-in-law bought me one of those Camelbak things this Christmas. Turns out I kinda like using it, even though it's an odd contraption to have hanging around my neck.

19.55m : 1:04h : 18.3mph

So, last night I finally broke down and bought myself a road bike. I'd been on the fence for a while, figuring, you know, it's two wheels and a crank, so riding the old GT mountain bike for tens of miles works just fine. But with an MS ride coming up, I figured it would end up making a big difference.

So I went to the local purveyor of fine riding implements, and walked out with this:

Fuji Roubaix Pro, 2006. Specs:

WHEELSET: New Alex (A-Class) ALX-220
FRAMESET: Fuji Altair 2 custom butted aluminum with Power Diamond downtube
FORK: FC-770 Fuji Bonded Carbon, integrated 1 1/8" alloy steerer
DRIVETRAIN: New TruVativ Elita GXP Compact 36/50 w/ integrated spindle, New Shimano 105 & Ultegra mix
WEIGHT: 18.8 lbs / 8.53 kg

And did it for well less than half the asking price in '06, which, even with the markdowns for being last year's model, seems like a decent deal to me. I'll ride it a bit and take it around VA for the MS ride, but I'm already thinking about swapping out the wheels for something a little...more stable.

CNN: Doctor finds spiders in ear of boy with earache

I am officially creeped out for the entire week.

CNN: NASA rethinking death in mission to Mars

One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

Sex is not mentioned in the document and has long been almost a taboo topic at NASA. Williams said the question of sex in space is not a matter of crew health but a behavioral issue that will have to be taken up by others at NASA.

Right now, I am picturing the Pink Palace, which I used to live very close to a while back, and their Space Walk room. Sure, I would have paid alot extra for anti-gravity--think of the possibilities.