Biking Update - June 12, 2009

A good week for weight loss and for biking. Just not a great week at work. I rode 20 miles solo on Saturday and then 12 miles with CRChair and the Bowhunters on Sunday - beautiful days and beautiful rides both. I rode pretty much every day during the week on the stationary bike (which is finally beginning to disintegrate, as I tore an arm off this week) due to rain. And I picked up the Trek Navigator 3.0 from Amity Bike in Woodbridge, so I can get back to riding some of the dirt trails again.

Weight-loss wise, I was down a pound pretty much every day this week over the same day the previous week. No major advances, but what is (hopefully) steady progress. Work, on the other hand, had me sleeping 6 hours or less a night, every night. So my body is likely suffering some inefficiencies from that.

This weekend, I am hoping to again ride on both Saturday (solo) and Sunday (group). Maybe I'll try to up to 30 miles in a single ride, so that my goal of a 20 mile charity ride will seem easier and easier in comparison.

Nomad Styling

Nomad Styling
Originally uploaded by crchair

Long Odds

Two great truths are that everything except a contradiction has a non-zero probability of happening and truth is stranger than fiction. In that vein, there is the unemployed mortgage worker who won the lottery twice in one week and the 14 year old German boy who was hit by a meteorite and survived. As proof that I'm a geek, I'm still not sure whether I would rather have the $142,919 lottery winnings or having a scar from a falling meteorite.

Iran's "Marriage Crisis"?

I have been so busy with things at work that posting has been light this week. We discussed this interesting article from Time.Com at GNO this week on the upcoming Iranian elections, and how youth are beginning to really change that country.

These days, the phrase "marriage crisis" pops up in election debates, newspapers and blogs and is considered by government officials and ordinary Iranians alike to be one of the nation's most serious problems. It refers to the rising number of young people of marrying age who cannot afford to marry or are choosing not to tie the knot. By official estimates, there are currently 13 million to 15 million Iranians of marrying age; to keep that figure steady, Iran should be registering about 1.65 million marriages each year. The real figure is closer to half that.

Why does this matter? Because Iran's government cannot afford to further alienate the young people that comprise more than 35% of its population.

Will these kinds of issue topple Ahmadinejad? And if so, will it mean anything in a country where the Ayatollahs are the Supreme Court? It should be an interesting time to observe Iran.

Confirmed: Futurama lives again on Comedy Central!

It was rumored before, but now it is confirmed. Comedy Central has ordered 26 new episodes of Futurama for 2010! This is after an experimental run of 4 straight-to-DVD movies which sold well in their own right, and were then brought to Comedy Central as a special new season. Apparently ratings were stellar. What does this mean for Fry, Bender, and the crew? No idea. But hopefully proof that a quality series can find new life on cable, even after a shortsighted cancellation on network television.

(I'm looking at you, SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES - perfect for Spike TV.)

Good News in the War on Terror

Finally some good news is being reported in the war on terror. CNN has up a story telling of how local civilians in Pakistan have formed a Militia to fight Taliban fighters in their area. About 400 Militiamen have taken up arms against the Taliban who recently detonated a bomb at a Mosque during Friday prayers. 40 people were killed and 80 other wounded. These people have had enough and are willing to fight back. The Pakistani military so far has supported the militia and has helped when requested. This is a great happening in the war on terror and should be encouraged.

North Korea threatens offensive Nuclear strikes

Remember when President George W. Bush included North Korea in "the axis of evil"? Many people scoffed at his "simplistic" and "moralist" labeling of the regime. I wonder if they are scoffing now as Kim Jong Il threatens to use their nukes against anyone who "offends the dignity" of North Korea "even a little bit."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-would-use-nuclear-weapons-in-a-merciless-offensive-1700590.html

This is why the dream of nuclear disarmament is false. It only takes one madman who keeps his nukes to blackmail the whole planet.