Countdown!

A co-worker found this website: Bush's last day. You must check it out. My co-workers and I have decided that the only way to survive the remaining days is to drink heavily and often.

Good grief

People have been asking me all day about the revelation that Flandis tested positive for high levels of testosterone (from the sample taken after his Stage 17 victory). Flandis denies doping and I really want to believe him. He's never struck me as the type to dope. From the things I've heard, the testosterone test isn't all that reliable and all the people who've been busted on their testosterone level have been able to prove that they have naturally high levels of testosterone thereby avoiding punishment. Landis' B sample will be tested now and we will all wait and see.

I wish I could say I was shocked. I'm not. I'm saddened. I would like to believe that there are a few guys left in professional cycling who aren't taking *something.* I always suspected that my dear Jan was on the juice (or is it the "clear"? no, that's what Barry Bonds takes), but he never tested positive so I was left to imagine him as pure as the driven snow. Sadly, that's probably not the case.

Floyd's statement makes it seem that he's not guilty. Let's hope that's the case. Fingers crossed.

Random recap

Flandis wins! I don't know if anyone saw his face after the final Alps stage or after the TT but if you did, you can see how intense he is. Scary.

Sen. Arlen Specter is preparing a bill that will allow a suit to be brought against the President for all those signing statements. Let the games begin.

I convinced tpgal and MWR to attend the friendly match between Real Madrid and DC United next month in Seattle. I apparently have a long term case of World Cup fever.

Rock Star:Supernova is scary tv.

The heat wave in Seattle has forced us to sleep in the living room for the past 3 nights. I can't take it anymore.

Flandis is UNBELIEVABLE!

I'm glad I hedged my bets on the final podium for the TDF. Holy cow. Floyd Landis put in a ride today that rivals the best rides done by the best cyclists in history. It brought tears to my eyes. He was completely blown yesterday. He was going so slowly up the final climb yesterday that MC remarked that I could ride up it faster than him. He was going that s-l-o-w-l-y. I had no idea Flandis had it in him. Take that Lance Armstrong! He ended up over 8 minutes down on Oscar Peirero. Today he's only 30 seconds down. 30 seconds down. I can't even believe it. So, barring some unforseen circumstance on tomorrow's stage, the battle will be on the TT on Saturday (57 km and hilly). If you look at the first TT of the tour, you will see that Flandis beat Pereiro and Sastre by over a minute. I'm about to go back to my first prediction, Flandis wins. Who knows who 2nd and 3rd will be.

Uh oh

Looks like my prediction was WRONG! I can't believe it! Actually, I'm not surprised. I feel very badly for Flandis. The MSN homepage said "Landis Flops." We don't use "flop" in our house to describe what happened today. It's not really a cycling term of art (at least not in this area). How should I put it? Flandis cracked; he bonked; he was put into extreme difficulty and suffered mightily; he blew. Poor Flandis. I suppose it was a bad idea to let Pereiro take the yellow jersey the other day...on the other hand the jersey could be Sastre's right now but for Pereiro.

After discussing the issue at length with MC, we have decided that the podium will be Pereiro, Sastre and Kloden. Of course, there's one more day in the mountains so all of this could change again. What won't happen is Flandis on the podium. Unless everyone else completely blows up tomorrow and Flandis has the ride of his life (alone) then there is no way he's making up 8 minutes.

(I'll post again if I'm proven wrong - I wouldn't be shocked if I am wrong)

Sonics sold!

Oklahoma City. I can't believe that Howard Schultz and the rest of the owners couldn't find a buyer who lived in Washington. They sold them. I can't believe they sold them. Time to start boycotting Starbucks now too - I'm sure it will make a HUGE difference in their profits. Much like my boycott of all things Tom Cruise.

Bastards.

Pretend You Care!

If I have to live through another 2.5 years of Shrub, the least he could do is to act like he cares about what is happening in the Middle East. Just a little bit?

Shrub and the Geneva Convention

I'm sure the rest of the world can breathe much easier now that the WH has confirmed that the Geneva Convention DOES apply to prisoners in our custody. Whew. Guess that means we will have fewer prisoners and more renditions.

More TDF commentary

I can't bear to listen Al Trautwig and Bob Roll during the "enhanced primetime coverage" on OLN. Can't bear it. Makes me want to pull my hair out. I think one of them said "aerodynamicism" last week. What in the hell does that mean? Not only that but they've continued on with their Jan Ullrich bashing ways. Seriously, they called him a "ball and chain" last week. AND Bob likes to do a fake German accent when talking about Jan. He doesn't do a fake Italian accent when he's talking about Basso. Grrr. I tape the morning coverage now so I only have to listen to Phil and Paul and fast forward through the never ending LL Bean and Saab commercials. Did you know that Saab was born from jets?

The mountains are back on Tuesday (rest day tomorrow). Go Floyd.

TDF

My prediction for a winner is Floyd Landis. He lost the yellow jersey yesterday but that isn't too much of a concern. If he can hang on in the mountains and have another TT he's there. It's so easy. ;-)

Just watched a terrible crash on today's stage. There's a reason I can't stomach road racing any more. Cross seems so much safer (keep in mind that I had 3 pretty good crashes last year during cross season - the ground is so much softer than pavement).

Fixated

Thank goodness the Tour de France is on right now. I got so wrapped up in the World Cup that I'm afraid I'm having withdrawls. I now have 4 years to be completely prepared for the next World Cup in South Africa. Hmmm...South Africa, that could be an interesting trip.
I've decided that Zinedine Zidane is much better looking with his head shaved - somehow the lack of hair makes him look more fierce.

I suppose that's appropriate because his last act as a professional was a perfectly executed head butt ("Glasgow Kiss")(digression - it's amazing the things one can learn from the internet.) He may seem like a thug but man, can he play.

Back to the TdF...they hit the mountains tomorrow. Which means we will finally have an idea of who could win this year's tour...

TDF time trial

The first time trial was today. It was a disappointing day for the Americans except for Floyd Landis - he finished second. Bobby Julich crashed near the start and may have broken his wrist. Levi Leipheimer ended up 5 minutes down on the winner. Not sure if he can recover from that performance. Sergai Gonchar won by over a minute so a good day for T-Mobile. I think Paul Sherwin said something about T-Mobile not missing Jan Ullrich. Well, they might not miss him and Paul may not miss him but I do. Sigh.

Catch up

I can't seem to find the time to make entries on a timely basis! I'm afraid I will have to revert to a list of topics (in no particular order of importance):

1. I heard from a friend of mine that there is a group of people who have a sign over Yesler Way that says "Impeach Cheney First." My kind of people.

2. Warren Buffet is amazing. He just gave away the majority of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I've read several articles on how his philosophy on philanthropy matches his philosophy on investing. His money will go farther by donating it to a foundation that is remarkably effecient and effective. This is a man who doesn't have the vanity to insist on a Warren Buffet foundation; he clearly doesn't need his name on buildings or grants. I'm at a loss for words.

3. World Cup fever has taken over my household. We don't usually watch football (soccer) but for some reason we've watched every game. It's on at home; I turn it on at the office. I LOVE that they don't have any commercials. Just at halftime and then it's mostly commentary during the 15 minute break. I've been watching so much that I just found the song they've been using for the adidas ads. "Eanie Meany" by Tom Noir. The USA and Japan got knocked out in group play so I was rooting for England. Well, that didn't last long. They lost on Saturday to Portugal. It was disappointing. I'm thinking we may see a Germany/France final. I just heard a rumor that the US might be looking at the German manager, Jurgen Klinnsman to take over for the departing Bruce Arena. I say good - we need a foreigner to help us. Of course if we ever win the World Cup it will guarantee that even our last remaining allies will hate us as well. We just need to get into the quarterfinals...someday.

4. The Tour de France shake up. OH MY GOD. They kicked out Ullrich, Basso, Mancebo, Vinokourov (his team), Sevilla, etc. It's out of control. Everyone keeps asking me if I think if they have been taking drugs. My answer is that they ALL take something. It's just a matter of how good they are at hiding it. What's really disappointing for me is that I thought it was going to be a battle between Ullrich and Basso, with Ullrich getting his 2nd TDF win. I figured he would retire after the Tour. Looks like he might retire right now. I will probably never get to see him race again. Sigh. My mother even called me to tell me how sorry she was that Jan got booted out of the Tour. That gives you some indication of my obsession, er, admiration. I was really looking forward to an absence of Lance from this year's Tour, but no such luck. OLN has to mention him every chance they get. Blech. I think I'll be routing for Floyd Landis. I would like to see George Hincapie and Dave Zabriskie do well too.

5. MC doesn't have gamekeeper's thumb. Turns out he just sprained it. He's happy about that.

6. My attempt to buy an iPod on eBay didn't go so well (I had to return the one that I purchased). I ended up buying a refurbished one from Apple. I also bought a shuffle as well. It's fantastic. The "new" 40 gb should be arriving tomorrow. I can't tell you how happy I will be when it arrives!!!!

7. Saw "Superman Returns" last Friday. It wasn't as bad as some of the reviews. It was a bit of a downer and a bit long. Went to "Cars" the weekend before that. I was entertained. My favorite bit was with one of the little Italian cars, Guido ("pit stop"). In one scene he had the fake 'fro wig in Italian colors and waving little Italian flags. He had the complete tifosi look going on. I think you have to see it to appreciate it (and have seen real life Italian fans).

8. The Supreme Court actually ruled against President Bush! Of course, I think that just means that the Bushies will find a way to do what they want in secret. More renditions, etc. God, I feel sorry for our next President. So much work to be done. Speaking of the Bushies, why do we waste so much time and effort discussing a possible Constitutional amendment regarding gay marriage? It boggles the mind. It amazes me that people can get so worked up about it. There are so many other things to be concerned about. The lack of a good education for ALL, the lack of decent healthcare for ALL, the poor, the homeless, appropriate funding for security measures, the environment, the war in Iraq, the situation in Iran, the rocket testing in North Korea, I could go on.

9. We went camping this weekend up at Mt. Rainier.


It was impossibly beautiful. Seems a shame that all of those people who aren't fans of the national parks can't get out and see what wonderful places they are. Also seems a shame that those who don't believe global warming is a problem can't see what we will lose if we don't do everything we can to save our planet.

10. It's our 230 birthday today. Seems like we are going through some tough times. I was thinking the other day that some people might accuse me of being unpatriotic because I express my displeasure with our current adminstration. I love this country. I love it because I can speak disparagingly of our President. I love it because I can disagree with the Republican party. I love it because I can vote for who I want to, I can dissent, I can protest; I can do all of those things and not be thrown in jail. I complain, fret, worry and get angry because this is America and we should be better than we are right now. We should be the country the rest of the world looks to for guidance, as an example of a free and just society. Wanting this country to be "a beacon of freedom" and complaining when we fall short does not mean I am unpatriotic. It means the opposite. It means that I care about this country's legacy to human history. We aren't perfect but we can try to do the best we can. I'm afraid that right now we aren't doing our best. As a side note, I like to tell the story of why my mother decided to become an American citizen after living in this country for almost 25 years as a legal alien. Newt Gingrich. He pissed her off so much that she wanted to vote. Happy 4th of July.