March 25, 2003
Riding to Tschechen
I went riding today.
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| Some of the scenery along the Elbe |
I followed the Elbe down to the Königstein, which was my original intention. But I decided to keep going, to see how much farther the Czech border was.
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| Well, I made it |
The ride down took me about 3 hours, plus a little extra because I took a break in Königstein to have a döner kebap sandwhich and some ice tea for lunch. I brought along my GPS at that point, and left it on until the Czech border. I hadn't really considered this, but I had a moving average speed of 15.3mph, and I only took one or two short photo breaks for photos. That means I went just over 45 miles to get the Czech border. Not feeling incredibly tired, I decided to head back on the opposite side of the river. This was a little bit farhter, because one of the bridges was out and meant climbing a big hill (of similiar height to the cliffs earlier).
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| Oh my GOD!!!! $^*%! |
After I rode another two hours, following this road that promised Dresden, I came across this sign. That kind of downed my spirits. At this point it was 3 in the afternoon, and I was exhausted. I happened across a small food stand by the river, literally in the middle of nowhere, and bought some apple juice and some peanuts. I ate the entire 200 grams of peanuts and 0,3L of apple juice in a few seconds, then started riding. My legs were burning.
I did make it back, at about 5pm. I left at 10am this morning. Not a bad ride, but I felt about to throw up at the end...probably due to lack of water/caloric intake. So I'll be buying a water bottle for the next time.
Still, it was damn cool, and a minimum of 90 miles distance (probably quite a bit further than that), with a bit of muddy offroading thrown in for good measure. I only hope I can walk tomorrow...
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009