Recently in Personal Category

Tom Friedman's latest post on diversity in the United States.

Let’s start with us. Walking through the Olympic Village the other day, here’s what struck me most: the Russian team all looks Russian; the African team all looks African; the Chinese team all looks Chinese; and the American team looks like all of them.

It is amazing that with our Noah’s Ark of an Olympic team doing so well “that at the same time you have this rising call in America to restrict immigration,” said Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. “Some people want to choke off the very thing that makes us strong and unique.”

Amen.

Latest Nike commercial for the games. No one captures the romance and passion of sports better than them. Makes me want to go workout!

Via Joe, I found about this ridiculous event of Seattle riders "protesting" their rite to ride on city streets. King 5 has some video here about an altercation with a local driver during the most recent protest ride. I'm totally embarrassed for all my fellow cyclists in the city. I've road Ride of Silence before which I think is a positive event--to honor riders that have been killed by bike/car accidents and bring attention for drivers to pay closer attention to cyclists on the road. But Critical Mass seems like overkill (too much protesting for little likely gain). Politically, I'd be surprised if the City of Seattle pays attention to this sort of a group.

I've been commuting for years and never felt like someone was denying my right to share the road. Yes some drivers get way to close to me and sometimes flip me off because I've slowed them down by 2 seconds. But for the most part, every year more and more people start riding and more bike lanes get built.

No, I didn't crash on my bike. I crashed on my run today of all things. Picture this...and action!

Scene 1
Cut to Andrej doing some trail running in Seward Park. He's in the zone today, running at about 8:30mi pace (good for him). Mind is elsewhere, listing out vacation spots for the year. Having a grand time.

Scene 2
Cut to a still image of a 1 inch piece of rebar sticking up in the middle of the trail.

Scene 3
Cut back to Andrej coming down the trail. Quick cut to his right foot getting caught on the rebar in full stride.

Scene 4
Slow-mo! With Andrej's foot firmly locked against a piece of rebar, left comes forward at full pace. But with no right following, entire body flails forward head first down the trail with arms out by now to protect core and head. With enough momentum still in force, Andrej slides down the trail on his stomach, arms out in-front of body at this point as if he were sliding head first into home plate for the game winning run.

Scene 5
Cut to mild mannered park walker up the trail who sees retardo runner's events unfolding ahead of him. "Whoa, what the F**k. That guy tripped over thin air. Wonder if he's OK?"

Scene 6
Cutting back to Andrej, face down on the trail. "Mother 'explicative!' What the 'explicative' did I hit!?! Another explicative', 'another', and 'yet another.' Andrej get's up to investigate. Finds the rebar and then proceeds to to blame Seattle Park & Rec for his predicament. Marks the rebar for other runners and takes off back down the trail.

Final scene
Cut back to mild mannered walker. "Guess he's OK."

Very cool video piece at the Whitney by artist Omer Fast.

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts

When I travel, I’m usually a pretty organized planner. Though, I been finding myself planning less and less on trips over the past several years. I usually don’t read travel essay type books. But doing some research for a trip at my local Barnes and Noble, I caught a book that took a more anti-planning approach. So, I picked up a copy.

I’d say the heart of the book is to just slow down when traveling and enjoy your surroundings. It’s really targeted to folks who want to do long term travel (3+ months at a time). I found it helpful for thinking about even shorter trips. The 10 day turbo trip across Europe? Ridiculous. How about 10 days in a single city? The other thing I liked about the book is the emphasis on traveling on the cheap. I remember the $10 dollar a night hotels I’ve stayed in. Not the $250. Finally, the author spends a lot of time making the point that there’s no need to wait to travel. Along those lines, this passage stood out the most for me:

…we end up spending (as Thoreau put it) “the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it.”

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

Last January after I saw Into the Wild, the movie left me wanting to learn more about the main character, Chris McCanless, and motives for his adventure. His death in the Alaskan wilderness seemed completely unnecessary and stupid. I’m not sure I learned much more about his motives other than to experience life in a more raw way than many of us do. Here’s one of my favorite passages in the book, written by McCandless:

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirt within a man than a secure future.

Even though this makes no sense at all, it beats the pants off of any car commercial I've ever seen. Watch it.

My favorite scene from Season 3 from The Wire. Don't worry, no spoilers.

After I watched this scene, I had a huge smile on my face. For those that don't watch The Wire, the scene is a show down between Omar and Borther Mouzone, both criminals. So brilliant to structure the scene like a classic western showdown in the heart of Baltimore.

Another favorite from Season 3 is this scene with McNulty and Lester (Baltimore cops). I can't tell you how many times I've seen the equivalent of McNulty's rant at past companies I've worked for (the whole us-versus-them organizational cynicism). Lester's advise is spot on. *Note, if you watch the clip, there is some strong language.

That's what's great about The Wire--the script and acting. It's easily the best television drama I've ever watched. If you haven't watched it yet, do yourself a favor and rent/buy it. On to Season 4!

Interesting theory on who the fifth cylon might be on Battle Star Galactica from Byrne Reese.

... let's just assume that Baltar is an allegory for Christ.

Suppose that Baltar, a brilliant scientist, was so obsessed with his own immortality that he sought a way to clone himself. Cloning of course is "easy" - the challenge is in the transference of consciousness. But this is exactly what Baltar discovered how to do...

The first cylon he developed was modeled in his own image: meant to be the vessel for his own consciousness when the time came....

Baltar knew he would be tested in unimaginable ways. To help him along the way he programmed into himself a guide, an angel of sorts to instill in him a faith in himself (God) and is so doing help him survive and fulfill his destiny. This theory even helps to explain how an image of Baltar, a.k.a. "Head Baltar" appears to Six.