July 19, 2003
More Riding
I went riding again, though not as far as I wanted. I injured my ankle at Ultimate on Thursday, so I'm trying to take it easy.
I did manage to ride through Drumlins Golf Course, when an arrogant golfer started running at me with one club raised in each arm, yelling, "Let's go, punk!" Not wanting to cause him grief by beating him to a bloody pulp, I opted to dash for the treeline and into the rock quarry.
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| At the entrance to the quarry... |
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| No kidding, really? I didn't notice. |
Rumor has it that the owners of the quarry are really clamping down on the mouuntain bikers back there. There used to be see-saws and big ramps and stuff back there. I didn't go far enough in to look for them. I do know that I've improved a lot in my mtn biking sk1zzlz since I was last there, though.
Not a very eventful ride, other than going a completely different route than normal, and picking up a Centro Bus Sign that was lying in a ditch (pictures later on I guess).
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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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The Curve of Binding Energy
John McPhee follows famous physicist Ted Taylor in this piece that was -- and probably still -- ahead of its time.
Originally published in 1973, McPhee outlined the coming security and environmental issues surrounding the plutonium enrichment processes. For the most part, though, McPhee invites the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, although he does point out the ease with which any number of people could obtain the material (though not necessarily the manufacturing prowess) to make an atomic weapon.
The question still sits in my mind after reading -- are we being too paranoid, or not paranoid enough?
Rated 
by reid
on October 01, 2007
by reid
on October 01, 2007
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Zodiac
Zodiac touts itself as an 'eco-thriller,' and it is just that. Told from the first-person perspective of ST (or Sangamon Taylor), the book recounts a roughly six-month period of his life busting big corporations for violating environmental laws.
Not the tree-hugging political activist type, ST is equipped with chem labs, scuba divers, maps, and an organization (GEE International, the Group of Environmental Extremists) that masterfully brings the press into the fold to scare the public with the very real dangers posed by illegal dumping. It's sort of a Sierra Club member's wet dream -- a band of ecowarriors that actually get things done.
ST finds something odd happening in Boston Harbor during his tale: a new form of pollution that could poison everyone on the planet in a matter of weeks. His quest to uncover exactly who and what is causing the latest spike in toxins goes all the way up to the President of the United States, and could end up costing him his own life.
While a neat and fast-paced tale, the novel drags on a bit toward the end, begging disbelief from even the most forgiving sci-fi folk. While not as good as his latest offerings, it's still a great read for those that enjoy a good Stephenson novel (or even those who don't).
Rated 
by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005
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Cat's Cradle
A few years ago, I attempted to woo an online datee, and she immediately criticized me for my politics. I protested the war on Iraq, which was "a shame." She defended her position of complete noninvolvement by standing behind Vonnegut.
It may seem odd to open a review that way. My assumption is now not that she was an idiot, but that she had only read Cat's Cradle, and only with a rather odd viewpoint.
Cat's Cradle looks at a cold-war world where the personifications of religious, political, and scientific single-mindedness collide to destroy the world.
Vonnegut tells a masterful tale, but it makes me wonder what one person's indifference would do to prevent us from all dying? So for now I will continue to unblindly stop unjust wars, even while I'm only reading.
Rated by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005
There is some great stuff back there. I think I actually tried to climb down that ridge in your picture on one ill fated trip. I was tired, and alone. I'd been riding for the better part of 3 hours exploring all of the ins and out back there and I thought I could connect aroud back to my car. Well, I couldn't and decided that instead of riding back around for 20-30 minutes, I would hop down on of the rock piles (on foot) and carry my bike down to the base. Well, rock slides are named that for a reason, and when I hopped the 3 feet down to the top of a pile it shifted and I along with it. One nasty shale gash to my shin later I was able to climb back up, grab my bike which teetered precariously overhead, peddle out and rinse off a rather nasty cut.
It was so worth it.
Take care of the ankle. I blew my ACL playing Ultimate. So long season.
And has someone take you to the "V's" out by Green Lakes. It is a good hour ride from campus on the Erie Canal and then you get to explore some great single track and jumps.
Posted by: Tim [tmo] on July 28, 2003 02:01 PM