Burma

This is just such a fantastic photo. These two, as Secretary of State and President, in Burma meeting not only with the government but openly with opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is something I never thought I'd see. Full article here. 

Octopus Project: Music Is Happiness

TONIGHT at the Neurolux!!!

The Weekend

Me and Theo did a lot of hanging out this weekend. Even though he started it a bit under the weather, and I caught his cold on Sunday morning, we still had a blast. Lego cities, blanket forts, leaf piles, dog park, and endless hot wheels. 

Voted

We took Theo to the polls this morning. It felt right, seems important to introduce him to the processes behind Democracy at an early age.

He was good and patient, but we can't help but think he was also a bit disappointed. There was a line, and it took a little while to get in, which was fine. "Lotta people in line for the boat!" he said, excitedly.

"No, Vote. With a V."

Blank stare.

"Gonna get on a boat!"

Yeah, he was disappointed. 

Polica

Vote

“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote.”

― David Foster Wallace, Up, Simbal!: 7 Days on the Trail of an Anticandidate

RADIOTHON!!!

Hey y'all, it's that time again.

RadioBoise takes to the airwaves for 8 days of support-seeking, self-promoting, absolutely necessary begging so that we can keep bringing you the community-programmed music and issues that you deserve.

I'm on Tuesday 8-11pm. Call and say hi. And pledge a few bucks. We need it.

You can go here, too: www.radioboise.org.

Happy Halloween

The Route

Sure, a bit of the gleam is off. But it's going to be an amazing race next year.

Lunch

Great day for an afternoon ride.

Anniversary Ride

Cathy's gift to me on our 11th wedding anniversary was that I could go on a mountain bike ride, for as long as I wanted to, guilt-free.

She knows me so well.

So I headed for the Ridge Road for the first time this year, taking a circuitous route up the Aldape Pass side, and am I glad I did. I took routes I don't usually, saw some new things and felt really good. Started in the Reserve, up the road/trail by the gun club, past the dumpy shack, over Shane's, out to Rocky Canyon Road, up to the Ridge, up up up up and over to where 5 Mile Gulch hits the Ridge, and down down down.

I'd forgotten what a beautiful grind that ride up and over the summit on the Ridge Road was. I went a bit beyond my turnoff just to ride up there some more before coming back and turning downward.

I'd also forgotten how fun the descent of the top of the 5-Mile trail is. When I hit the intersection, I felt ambitious, so I turned and went back up at the Watchman Trail, which hurt a bit but was fantastic. Then I bombed it, half exhausted, all the way to town on singletrack via 3 Bears and the Reserve.

It's been a while since I've been out on the mountain bike for that long. A bit under 4 hours with stops and photos. The perfect fall ride. Thanks honey!

Big Fall

Sheezus. Is it just me, or is there more amazing new music dropping all around us over these past few weeks than we should have a right to expect?

Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus, Sera Cahoone, The xx, Balmorhea, Matthew Dear, Tame Impala, Ty Segall, The Sea and Cake... Just take a look at that rapidly expanding Heavy Rotation list here. It's tough to keep up, but it's very exciting. And it's just the shove I need to start paying attention again.

Anything I'm missing?

The New Machine

It's like I've been reborn.

Took my MacBook into Mac Life for some long overdue upgrading. Tripled my hard drive, doubled my RAM, brought my OS closer to current, and put the old hard drive into a case so it's now a backup. And they cleaned the sh*t out of this thing. It looks like new. Even the stickers are cleaner.

It's a little weird how excited I am about this.

I've finally caught up on loading new music to this thing, so I feel like I'm not 6 months behind anymore. I can put pictures on it. Maybe even watch a video.

And it is SO. FAST.

I forgot how fun a new machine can be. This reminds me.

Middle Fork of the Salmon River

Back from an amazing trip. 8 days of high adventure on the Middle Fork.

James dropped a great quote by the campfire: "No man can cross the same river twice, because neither the man nor the river are the same."  (Heraclitus)
 

Tim Whitecotten

My friend Tim Whitecotten died last night. He was a great human being, a great friend, a force for good in a world that needs more like him.

Few were better to share a pint and an animated conversation with than Tim. He was inspiring in his curiosity and in his conduct, in his intellect and his enthusiasm. Even though he moved to Portland some years ago, and I only got to see him every year or so, I'll miss him very much.

This is a very sad day. Rest in peace, Tim.

U Cut Ma Hairs Off!

But man, do I look good.

School, Anyone?

First, Codeyear. Now, I've gone and signed up for this. I hope to be thinking like a machine by year's end. Anyone care to join me?

Exergy Tour

That's Evelyn Stevens on the top of the podium at the end of the Exergy Tour.

Amber Neben talks about her experience in the race in this very nice interview with VeloNews.

We had a blast watching and volunteering this year. From the awesome and horrible prologue where the whole race changed in an instant, to the cold downpour of the Kuna ITT, to Sunday's queen stage up the Banks-Lowman Road and down Hwy 21, right to the sprint finish in Hyde Park, the entire thing was as tight and pro as you could hope for.

The Specialized-Lululemon team dominated in Armstrong's absence, but there were plenty of other great performances, including the final stage being taken in a sprint by Claudia Haussler (who rolled a water bottle to Theo as we cheered from the side of Pierce Park Rd.!). It was a tough break for Neben to lose the overall lead on the last day to Evelyn Stevens, but great to see such a performance on the last day.

Let's hope the universally positive reviews of the Tour help turn the event into a Boise Memorial Day tradition for years and years to come.

Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, John Hardy

Hats Off to Hesjedal

The Canadian pulled it off to become the first ever from his nation to stand on a podium (let alone on the top step) at the end of a grand tour.

 Ryder rode a beautiful race and gained the respect of the peloton. He made it fun to watch, and he brought his Garmin team into the ranks of the top international teams, capable of more than just winning the team classification. And the fact that he so often had help in Vande Velde or Stetina high in the mountains is almost as important.

With Vande Velde riding into great form throughout this race, July in France is looking very interesting.