Well I'm off for vacation.
I was going to stick it out here at Deathnic until 1pm but it seems that the building is filling up with nitric acid fumes (again). So I'm off.
Mrs. B and I will be going to Prtland, ME Tues-Fri. Send ideas for amusements.
il B
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sox & NASCAR
From projo.com
BOSTON (AP) — Carl Edwards has got a new paint job for his No. 99 car at this weekend’s NASCAR race in New Hampshire.
Edwards will be driving a baseball-themed car in honor of his visit to New England. The Ford will sport several Boston Red Sox team logos and red stitches like a baseball.
The promotion is the first for Roush Fenway Racing since the owners of the Red Sox invested in NASCAR.
The car was on dispaly at Fenway Park on Thursday morning.
“It’s our intention to be the Northeast’s NASCAR team,” owner Jack Roush said. “There’s some pressure to perform in front of the home crowd. Everybody will be at their very best.”
Edwards will be driving a baseball-themed car in honor of his visit to New England. The Ford will sport several Boston Red Sox team logos and red stitches like a baseball.
The promotion is the first for Roush Fenway Racing since the owners of the Red Sox invested in NASCAR.
The car was on dispaly at Fenway Park on Thursday morning.
“It’s our intention to be the Northeast’s NASCAR team,” owner Jack Roush said. “There’s some pressure to perform in front of the home crowd. Everybody will be at their very best.”
Monday, June 25, 2007
Weekend Update
On Saturday I hung around with some folks even nerdier than wheelspeople. Radio Hams!
The local radio club set up at Hunt's Mills in EP for field day. All geeked up to cq as many other radio nerdz as were to be had. http://www.w1aq.com/home
Nice folks but not too impressed with an SWL.
I rode the Surly over to their encampment while they were setting up Saturday morning. I was surprised to see how automated Hams had become. A lot of computer tuners and a signal finder dealie that kept casting out cqs to a minimum. I was pleased to see so many folks still interested in cw or Morse code operation. As a kid I could never get the hang of it, so couldn’t pass my radio license test.
Saturday afternoon I caught up with AVH my best friend from prepdom. Still digesting the experience.
My wrist hurt from actually doing physical work on Saturday so I didn’t ride Sunday. I cannot hold onto the bars without significant pain.
Sunday was the Cox race. Nice afternoon out. Saw Hutch, an old URI mate, and Willi as well as Jimmy.
On Saturday I hung around with some folks even nerdier than wheelspeople. Radio Hams!
The local radio club set up at Hunt's Mills in EP for field day. All geeked up to cq as many other radio nerdz as were to be had. http://www.w1aq.com/home
Nice folks but not too impressed with an SWL.
I rode the Surly over to their encampment while they were setting up Saturday morning. I was surprised to see how automated Hams had become. A lot of computer tuners and a signal finder dealie that kept casting out cqs to a minimum. I was pleased to see so many folks still interested in cw or Morse code operation. As a kid I could never get the hang of it, so couldn’t pass my radio license test.
Saturday afternoon I caught up with AVH my best friend from prepdom. Still digesting the experience.
My wrist hurt from actually doing physical work on Saturday so I didn’t ride Sunday. I cannot hold onto the bars without significant pain.
Sunday was the Cox race. Nice afternoon out. Saw Hutch, an old URI mate, and Willi as well as Jimmy.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Prov World Cup on Ice.
Francine called it right.
From cyclingnews.com:
"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."
Francine called it right.
From cyclingnews.com:
"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."
Friday, June 22, 2007
Nostalgia.
OK Foley, you asked for it.
I graduated from high school 25 years ago this month. I was always thankful that my mother sent me to prep school. I was a bully magnet in public schools and the torture abated a good bit once I went to private school.
Something my classmate, a golf prodigy, said to me once has stayed with me. He noted that he and I were the school’s token Portagies. He was there because he could play golf, I was there because I was the neighborhood kid with a highest entrance exam score. Not the prototypical New England prep school boys.
I was never a good fit at school but it allowed me a lot more freedom, and safety than the urban/suburban East Providence school system.
Last month my phone rang and a heavily Middle Eastern accented voice asked for me. I almost hung up, expecting it to be another outsourced worker offering large savings on my mortgage. But I waited. “This is Mohammed,” he said.
“Mohammed F____i?” I asked.
“Yes”.
Wow. Mo was an exchange student my senior year. A Muslim from Tunisia he was placed with a prominent Jewish family from the school. They did a great job and were very supportive but it was not the easiest year.
Mo is a physician now and was in the US for a conference. While here he went by the school to look up old friends. I was the first he found.
He also found Maj. Preston and Fredo. Two Sunday nights ago the Major called. HE is retiring form the military and moving back to Rhode Island. A week or so later Fredo emailed. Mo had started the ball of nostalgia rolling. We were all misfits that managed to flourish in the strict prep school environment. We were not the cool kids, or jocks but were good students allowed to, for the most part, get along fairly happily.
Fredo was my best friend for years. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I missed Fredo and his family very much. Time got in the way and we lost touch years ago. Fredo has a second wife and a new baby now. I am meeting up with him for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday. I am nervous. What if we just don’t like each other any more?
Bike content, Fredo and I were on the school’s cycling team together. It was a prep school where the whole bike thing started. It was old school. Wool jerseys. Double pacelines. Getting yelled at for screwing up. I loved it. I loved working hard. I loved racing as team, (it was scored like cross country or collegiate racing). I loved being better than awful at a sport. Something new for me.
My experience on the cycling team is what I cherish most form my high school experience. It gave me something I still have. A place.
I credit cycling and the people I have met riding for saving my life on a number of occasions. That is not hyperbole. My bike has saved me from myself for 25 years.
The bike team disappeared in the 90s but driven by this recent pang of nostalgia I have agreed to organize a bike ride for my reunion / homecoming day. The school has hunted down 40 alumna/e that were members of the bike team and there is interest among the new athletics regime for a recreational cycling program. I hope it happens.
See ya on the road,
Il B
OK Foley, you asked for it.
I graduated from high school 25 years ago this month. I was always thankful that my mother sent me to prep school. I was a bully magnet in public schools and the torture abated a good bit once I went to private school.
Something my classmate, a golf prodigy, said to me once has stayed with me. He noted that he and I were the school’s token Portagies. He was there because he could play golf, I was there because I was the neighborhood kid with a highest entrance exam score. Not the prototypical New England prep school boys.
I was never a good fit at school but it allowed me a lot more freedom, and safety than the urban/suburban East Providence school system.
Last month my phone rang and a heavily Middle Eastern accented voice asked for me. I almost hung up, expecting it to be another outsourced worker offering large savings on my mortgage. But I waited. “This is Mohammed,” he said.
“Mohammed F____i?” I asked.
“Yes”.
Wow. Mo was an exchange student my senior year. A Muslim from Tunisia he was placed with a prominent Jewish family from the school. They did a great job and were very supportive but it was not the easiest year.
Mo is a physician now and was in the US for a conference. While here he went by the school to look up old friends. I was the first he found.
He also found Maj. Preston and Fredo. Two Sunday nights ago the Major called. HE is retiring form the military and moving back to Rhode Island. A week or so later Fredo emailed. Mo had started the ball of nostalgia rolling. We were all misfits that managed to flourish in the strict prep school environment. We were not the cool kids, or jocks but were good students allowed to, for the most part, get along fairly happily.
Fredo was my best friend for years. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I missed Fredo and his family very much. Time got in the way and we lost touch years ago. Fredo has a second wife and a new baby now. I am meeting up with him for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday. I am nervous. What if we just don’t like each other any more?
Bike content, Fredo and I were on the school’s cycling team together. It was a prep school where the whole bike thing started. It was old school. Wool jerseys. Double pacelines. Getting yelled at for screwing up. I loved it. I loved working hard. I loved racing as team, (it was scored like cross country or collegiate racing). I loved being better than awful at a sport. Something new for me.
My experience on the cycling team is what I cherish most form my high school experience. It gave me something I still have. A place.
I credit cycling and the people I have met riding for saving my life on a number of occasions. That is not hyperbole. My bike has saved me from myself for 25 years.
The bike team disappeared in the 90s but driven by this recent pang of nostalgia I have agreed to organize a bike ride for my reunion / homecoming day. The school has hunted down 40 alumna/e that were members of the bike team and there is interest among the new athletics regime for a recreational cycling program. I hope it happens.
See ya on the road,
Il B
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