Not in the Bay Area, it hasn't. Still winter-level cold around here. Although, there is plenty of greenery from the voluminous rains THIS WINTER, the hills probably won't turn brown until June...or July if it doesn't stop raining until May, a very real possibility.
EDIT - My extended family has an annual work weekend at the family cabin. This year's work weekend was slated for the weekend of May 6-7 until I pointed out that (1) it was likely to rain throughout April and (2) it should stop raining for at least one week before the ground will be dry enough to work around without footwear being caked in mud. The family agreed to push back work weekend two weeks to May 20-21.
I am torn - and have been for some time - between my instinct that it's time to get my old ass back on even a basic bike for some fresh air and exercise, and my genuine conviction that riding a bike on local roads even for daily errands and such is just asking to get leveled by angry / inattentive drivers. I've always felt that driving somewhere to then ride a bike is kind of goofy, but it might be the easiest path to getting back on the saddle.
the "padded shorts" do not really keep your butt from being sore. there is no trick to avoid that. it mostly helps with unwanted rubbing in the wrong places.
I share your trepidation. It also doesn't help that Mrs Slug is clearly against me cycling on local roadways. Her vehemence borders on the "I'm-putting-my-foot-down" perspective/attitude.
i guess everyone has their personal tolerance and each place has it's share of good/bad pathways for a bike.
before my injury (not related to others or cars in any way) i had ridden for 30+ yrs and never even had a close call w/ a car or scary road incident. so when it was time to teach the kids, they learned road safety and how to ride on street. in fact, i think it is rare that they have ever ridden on a sidewalk since they were "not allowed"
it would be nice if it was actually safer to ride and not have these tradeoffs ...
It’s often referred to as Holy Week, the span between the start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in the port city of Antwerp and the finish of Paris-Roubaix in the arena of the Parc Municipal de Sports velodrome in Roubaix.
Officially, it’s called Holy Week because these consecutive Sundays often fall on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Unofficially, it’s because they’re two of the hardest, most dramatic, most historic events on the race calendar, held one week apart.
WaPo has a digest on page 2 of the sports section that covers less prominent sports. Today has a few paragraphs about the Catalonia Volta, which I had never heard of.
there are a bunch of mini tours that have recently risen in popularity because the grand tour aspirants use the to prep for the Giro-Tour-Vuelta. also, with increased coverage and streaming you can actually watch these live nowadays.
in the "olden days" the main tour riders would just support their teammates in the one day spring Classics and get practice racing. now, the training is much more specific. we can thank Lance Armstrong for bringing that single-minded focus of only training to win one race a year that has forever changed the sport.
the Tirreno-Adriatico is my favorite of the short tours because the winner gets a trident as a trophy!
now that i dont ride outside anymore, i mostly ride on Zwift, which is a gamified version of riding outside with others. while it is not quite the same enjoyment, it is still pretty good and the group rides and races are intensely competitive and hard.
i ride about 3-4 days a week indoors. usually no more than 60 min at a time.
the missus and I have been having a test run for empty-nesting as our younger daughter is on a school music program trip to Florida, so we abandoned family viewing and got caught up on Ted Lasso (much better so far this season than season 2) and the Mandalorian, which is perfectly fine per usual.
Watched Zhang Yimou's Full River Red this weekend. 13/19. A darkly cruel, and often times very funny detective story in during the Southern Song Dynasty era of China (about 950 years ago) where a bumbling soldier and a too serious and ambitious officer try to solve a murder. Everyone's motive and location during the murder evolves every single scene. A lot of people die in terrible ways. There's a lot of nationalism especially as the movie gets towards the end. The visuals are amazing, as all Zhang Yimou movies.
Can someone explain the issue with Madsen? I don’t find this hire to be nearly as bad as Fox.
We are hiring a guy who is somewhat young, up and coming, has NBA experience, knows about Cal and its academics, knows the Bay Area and the west coast. Sure, he went to Stanford but I won’t hold they against him for taking on this massive rebuild.
Just being willing to deal with Cal's unique circumstances is courageous if he does accept the job. For many coaches it is a Sisyphean exercise. I hope it works out, otherwise we are looking at a lost decade.
But how much longer will stanfurd let Haase run their program into the ground? If Madsen is the hire as SI has reported it is, and if he is successful, what prevents furd from making a run at him when they eventually let Haase go?
What prevents any successful coach from getting poached from Cal? If he can turn Cal around and makes us so successful that someone poaches him at least Cal will be in a better place to hire a replacement as we will no longer be in nuclear meltdown like we are now.
That’s the thing. Is he pulling a Mariucci and bolting for Palo Alto, Provo or the NBA in a year or two?
As to Golden’s question, I personally don’t have as big an issue as others seem to have with him…I think he’ll do fine, if he stays long enough to build anything. I do have a problem with the process…Knowlton is an idiot and doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.
The NIL is huge now…Miami is in the Final 4 because of it, and let’s face it, 2 different candidates had tangible NIL contributors on the ready. Instead, the idiotic old white guy consulted with 2 other old white guys, 1 idiotic like himself and 1 just f-ing get-off-my-lawn cranky, to hire the 2nd most attractive milquetoast white guy that they interviewed.
Some former prayers are openly questioning the pick…however, at the end of the day, I don’t think AAR was EVER a serious contender, likely by his own choice. So when you factor in Madsen, Pasternack or Stan Johnson, it’s a coin flip. I would have much preferred Pasternack, but MM is definitely not awful.
Agree or disagree?
https://twitter.com/NotABigJerk/status/1639734230811914241?s=20
every type of italian sausage is a good name for a cat, every type of german sausage is a good name for a dog
can I?
Lauren is one of my favorite twitter follows!
this is too funny not to agree!
HAS SPRING SPRUNG
It has for some days - but not permeate.
Not in San Diego. Rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.
spring is the "rainy season" in NY.
rainy days in Apr
sunny days in May
It has also been cold in San Diego, wet and cold.
Sunny past 2 days in SB…rain tomorrow.
Not in the Bay Area, it hasn't. Still winter-level cold around here. Although, there is plenty of greenery from the voluminous rains THIS WINTER, the hills probably won't turn brown until June...or July if it doesn't stop raining until May, a very real possibility.
EDIT - My extended family has an annual work weekend at the family cabin. This year's work weekend was slated for the weekend of May 6-7 until I pointed out that (1) it was likely to rain throughout April and (2) it should stop raining for at least one week before the ground will be dry enough to work around without footwear being caked in mud. The family agreed to push back work weekend two weeks to May 20-21.
We have truly earned Spring and Summer this year.
skiing at Palisades till Jul 4 i hear
actually, I think it's only Alpine. Palisaides closes earlier.
That I can believe. July 4 is only 99 days (14 weeks and 1 day) away.
yes
+1, it was 65 and sunny yesterday in NYC area. went for a short trail walk w/ my daughter.
it was the first time i was able to get them out of the house in a couple weeks and the walk was much longer than i expected, which was nice.
yesterday was absolutely lovely weather, we did a decent bit of "change of season" yard work, and I had a very pleasant walk after dinner.
CYCLING
I am torn - and have been for some time - between my instinct that it's time to get my old ass back on even a basic bike for some fresh air and exercise, and my genuine conviction that riding a bike on local roads even for daily errands and such is just asking to get leveled by angry / inattentive drivers. I've always felt that driving somewhere to then ride a bike is kind of goofy, but it might be the easiest path to getting back on the saddle.
I hear it's important to get the right shorts (not to ward off cars, but for the old ass)
You and DCT are closer than I realized.
most important is to look good while doing it!
the "padded shorts" do not really keep your butt from being sore. there is no trick to avoid that. it mostly helps with unwanted rubbing in the wrong places.
maybe some Star Trek themed outfit like this
https://www.bicyclebooth.com/products/star-trek-yellow-aero-cycling-kit
I share your trepidation. It also doesn't help that Mrs Slug is clearly against me cycling on local roadways. Her vehemence borders on the "I'm-putting-my-foot-down" perspective/attitude.
i guess everyone has their personal tolerance and each place has it's share of good/bad pathways for a bike.
before my injury (not related to others or cars in any way) i had ridden for 30+ yrs and never even had a close call w/ a car or scary road incident. so when it was time to teach the kids, they learned road safety and how to ride on street. in fact, i think it is rare that they have ever ridden on a sidewalk since they were "not allowed"
it would be nice if it was actually safer to ride and not have these tradeoffs ...
Pro cycling ...
https://www.cyclingtips.com/2019/04/the-weekly-spin-flanders-into-roubaix-pro-cyclings-holiest-of-weeks/
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
It’s often referred to as Holy Week, the span between the start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in the port city of Antwerp and the finish of Paris-Roubaix in the arena of the Parc Municipal de Sports velodrome in Roubaix.
Officially, it’s called Holy Week because these consecutive Sundays often fall on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Unofficially, it’s because they’re two of the hardest, most dramatic, most historic events on the race calendar, held one week apart.
WaPo has a digest on page 2 of the sports section that covers less prominent sports. Today has a few paragraphs about the Catalonia Volta, which I had never heard of.
there are a bunch of mini tours that have recently risen in popularity because the grand tour aspirants use the to prep for the Giro-Tour-Vuelta. also, with increased coverage and streaming you can actually watch these live nowadays.
in the "olden days" the main tour riders would just support their teammates in the one day spring Classics and get practice racing. now, the training is much more specific. we can thank Lance Armstrong for bringing that single-minded focus of only training to win one race a year that has forever changed the sport.
the Tirreno-Adriatico is my favorite of the short tours because the winner gets a trident as a trophy!
https://sports.nbcsports.com/2023/03/12/primoz-roglic-triumphs-at-tirreno-adriatico-for-winning-return-from-injury/
One of my favorite activities.
now that i dont ride outside anymore, i mostly ride on Zwift, which is a gamified version of riding outside with others. while it is not quite the same enjoyment, it is still pretty good and the group rides and races are intensely competitive and hard.
i ride about 3-4 days a week indoors. usually no more than 60 min at a time.
DBD A/V CLUB
the missus and I have been having a test run for empty-nesting as our younger daughter is on a school music program trip to Florida, so we abandoned family viewing and got caught up on Ted Lasso (much better so far this season than season 2) and the Mandalorian, which is perfectly fine per usual.
Agreed with both shows
Watched Zhang Yimou's Full River Red this weekend. 13/19. A darkly cruel, and often times very funny detective story in during the Southern Song Dynasty era of China (about 950 years ago) where a bumbling soldier and a too serious and ambitious officer try to solve a murder. Everyone's motive and location during the murder evolves every single scene. A lot of people die in terrible ways. There's a lot of nationalism especially as the movie gets towards the end. The visuals are amazing, as all Zhang Yimou movies.
Finished Shrinking, AppleTV.
Good stuff.
OUR WOBBLY REPUBLIC
Another day another school shooting in the U.S. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-03-27-23/index.html
Unusually, in this case the shooter was a female.
Meanwhile the GOP-led Judiciary Committee is passing a resolution tomorrow to make it easier for mass shooters to obtain pistol stabilizing braces.
Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.
That is all.
beat me too it!
Trump attorney says he will not ‘defend or condemn’ Trump’s rhetoric toward Manhattan DA
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/26/trump-attorney-tacopina-alvin-bragg-rhetoric-00088861
Joe Tacopina, I dub thee Joey Tapioca.
PRO SPORTS
The A's had the Giants so confused when they ran off the field after the second out of an inning
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/03/as-giants-second-out-spring-training-confusion-video-mlb
Do they win 150 games combined? Probably not.
Who are those guys in green and gold?
OTHER COLLEGE
Caitlin Clark goes bonkers, scores 41 pts, Iowa going to Final 4
- first 40-point triple-double in NCAA tournament history
- makes 8 3-pointers
- launches 3s from anywhere on the court seemingly effortlessly
- more fun to watch than disappointing Warriors home loss because of stupid turnovers
CAL
Cal MBB really needs to break away from Monty’s sphere of influence.
When Jeff Faraudo suggested Knowlton lean on Monty I puked a little.
Can someone explain the issue with Madsen? I don’t find this hire to be nearly as bad as Fox.
We are hiring a guy who is somewhat young, up and coming, has NBA experience, knows about Cal and its academics, knows the Bay Area and the west coast. Sure, he went to Stanford but I won’t hold they against him for taking on this massive rebuild.
Just being willing to deal with Cal's unique circumstances is courageous if he does accept the job. For many coaches it is a Sisyphean exercise. I hope it works out, otherwise we are looking at a lost decade.
He's not a bad hire (really no one under consideration would have been as bad as Fox).
I think the issue is that a lot of folks really wanted Pasternack.
But how much longer will stanfurd let Haase run their program into the ground? If Madsen is the hire as SI has reported it is, and if he is successful, what prevents furd from making a run at him when they eventually let Haase go?
What prevents any successful coach from getting poached from Cal? If he can turn Cal around and makes us so successful that someone poaches him at least Cal will be in a better place to hire a replacement as we will no longer be in nuclear meltdown like we are now.
My concern is he gets poached well before he is able to do much of anything…like next March when Haase gets schittcanned.
That’s the thing. Is he pulling a Mariucci and bolting for Palo Alto, Provo or the NBA in a year or two?
As to Golden’s question, I personally don’t have as big an issue as others seem to have with him…I think he’ll do fine, if he stays long enough to build anything. I do have a problem with the process…Knowlton is an idiot and doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.
The NIL is huge now…Miami is in the Final 4 because of it, and let’s face it, 2 different candidates had tangible NIL contributors on the ready. Instead, the idiotic old white guy consulted with 2 other old white guys, 1 idiotic like himself and 1 just f-ing get-off-my-lawn cranky, to hire the 2nd most attractive milquetoast white guy that they interviewed.
Some former prayers are openly questioning the pick…however, at the end of the day, I don’t think AAR was EVER a serious contender, likely by his own choice. So when you factor in Madsen, Pasternack or Stan Johnson, it’s a coin flip. I would have much preferred Pasternack, but MM is definitely not awful.
Maybe Monty was asked to come out of retirement but instead he offered Madsen.
You know that’s not true
check out 1A in the Mini Meta today...it's a toughie!
Mark Madsen! LOL, the big guy up there just loves trolling us…
Go Bears!!!!