rantlust

Posted by riyer on July 30th 2005 in Health & Fitness, Outdoors, Rants
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Those of you who know me, know that I love riding my bike. I have owned a Diamond Back road bike for almost 13 years now, which means by all technological metrics, my bike is an antique. I am not the type who depends on fancy gear only to ride a few miles nor do I shave and wax my legs (most professional bike riders do). For many years I did not even own a pair of spandex (I am told that wearing spandex is a sexual kink but my needs are simply velo-centric). BTW until last year I did not even have the usual bike jersey - I own a red jersey now (which has only helped the damned SUV drivers to aim better)

Fresh from a backpacking trip at Mt. Whitney last weekend I started saturday wanting to ride up a neighborhood mountain (Page Mill road or Sandhill road), or atleast go as far as my legs would take me. I routinely do 20-30 mile rides and hope to do a few 60 mile rides this season - but I know I am lousy on mountain roads and bonk easily. Unfortunately Saturday was not the day that I was going to beat my mountain blues - thanks to some indulging I had done in what might appear to be a simple piece of gear - a pair of shoes. (Read more…)

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Posted by john on July 30th 2005 in Sports
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So we’ve reached that time of the year when Steinbrenner typically opens his wallet and tries to buy his way to a (somehow nowadays) elusive World Series title. In Boston, it also means the rumors start working their way into ESPN news clips about Manny Ramirez being in some earth shattering trade talks.This year however was expected to be a dull one in terms of blockbuster deals with nobody worth trading and the Yankees lying low. The only thing that has shaken awake this lull is the hoopla surrounding the rather late bloomng Manny Ramirez trade talk.

Manny earlier this week was reported to have asked for trade from the Red Sox because he gets no privacy in Boston. Yet another Manny moment in the long list of Manny being Manny. Red Sox Nation was naturally a bit peeved and some chose to give him an earful of boos last night at Fenway Park. Part of the reason was the fact that he chose to sit out a game when his team needed him (it’s happened before) and he was running his bases or showing outfield defence without a bit more enthusiasm.
(Read more…)

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Posted by stealthz on July 29th 2005 in Humor
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Once I used to be a clubber. I used to go coast to coast clubbing seals. Then I was in this organic tea shop and this special chai had, drove my estrogen levels up. It so happened I was babysitting my neighbours pet gecko. My neighbour was on the road most of the year so I raised this gecko. Finally one day he asked me if I would like to have him. So now I am the mother of 2 year old gecko. THE END.

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Posted by anupcs on July 28th 2005 in Movies
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First there was the Rat Pack in the 60s, then came the Brat Pack in the 80s and now for the 21st century, ladies and germs, we have the Frat Pack. The media is very good at creating artificial cliques of actors who act in each other’s movies and make it big. The previous two packs were in mostly serious movies whereas the current avatar is purely about slapstick comedy. The Frat Pack - for those of you not in the know - consists of Ben Stiller, Will Ferrel, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Jack Black. These actors have appeared in numerous movies together and most of them seem to do quite well in the US domestic box office (the international appeal is still not there). They are also known to hang out together outside of work. The name Frat Pack is a reference to one of their successful movies; Old School.

The movies in which this group appears stand out because of their mostly deadpan caustic wit with lots of parody and toilet humor. Though most of them have been around since before 9/11, I think the demand for such movies have gone up since then, in the US, as people are trying to leave their brains in the lobby and escape into a funny world.
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Posted by riyer on July 28th 2005 in Humor, Nature, Sex
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The topic of ‘whether giving expensive gifts gets the girl’ might be firmly in the academic realm to many of us, having frittered away a small fortune to win over the ones we now dub ’spouse’ - but it is interesting to note that recent research affirms something most of us guys have known all along, that buying expensive gifts for the girl remains a winning strategy.

Here is the story . For those of you who are still single and dating, do provide feedback on what happens when you give her worthless ‘cotton balls‘ I am convinced that those of us who are married will not get ‘any’ for a long time - if we give cotton balls

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Posted by riyer on July 28th 2005 in India, Nature, Science
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Last week while returning from a backpacking trip on Mt Whitney the strong smell of rain on the parched desert soil stirred memories of growing up in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Mild almost balmy winters were followed by some serious cooking under the baking sun in the Indian sub-contenient. As such the arrival of the monsoon, always heralded by the smell of moist dirt, carried an overwhelming sense of relief.

The monsoon rains, as we call it in India, are notorious for their flakiness . Some years (like this year) they are timely but torrential. They turn train tracks and streets into rivers and make life for everyone, slum dwellers to office commuters, almost impossible. 2005 is going down in the record books with Mumbai recording 94.4 cms of rain (see story). Public health systems and tranport systems are frequently stretched to their limits. Other years there is nary a sign of the monsoon, causing drought and wreaking havoc with the Indian economy (which relies heavily on agriculture), pushing large numbers of small farmers into poverty and in rising prices for even the basic items like grains, fruits and vegetables.
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Posted by riyer on July 27th 2005 in Health & Fitness
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Here is my boy-scout deed of the day.

Following the London bomb attacks, a campaign has been initiated to encourage people to enter an emergency contact number in their mobile phone’s memory under the heading “ICE” (i.e. In Case of Emergency). Vodafone in association with other organization is speadheading this campaign in London and it is sure to benefit people in other parts of the world.

Originally established as a nation-wide campaign in the UK, ICE allows paramedics or police to be able to contact a designated relative/next-of-kin in an emergency situation. For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.

The idea is actually the brainchild of a East Anglian Ambulance Service paramedic and was launched in May this year.

(Read more…)

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Posted by cowmoose on July 26th 2005 in Business
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An article in the Wall Street Journal last week discussed a report that suggested a little brain damage might improve your investment returns.

Before you settle down in front of your E*Trade screen and down those two bottles of 25 year old Macallan you’ve been saving, the study further notes that you need to suffer from a particular type of brain damage. Specifically, you need lesions in that part of your brain that controls emotions. The lucky subjects in the study can’t feel fear or anxiety. Which is the definition of psychopath.

Perhaps this why I find it difficult to enjoy the company of wildly rich investment bankers, hedge fund managers, and other movers and shakers of the financial world?

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