Dr Dremos demolished

Ten months after it was closed they finally started tearing down Dr Dremos.  Taco Bell was gone a couple weeks ago.  Only the upstairs front-end of Dremos is left.  

Can't wait for the new condo/apartment building!

(get in line to) Vote Now!

I happened to walk past my neighborhood polling station on my way home from dinner tonight.  At 7pm I could see more than 100 people in line in the lobby of our county offices.  Someone walking out mentioned "1 and 1/2 hours".  I bet it was longer if you got in line at 7:00. 

On NPR someone said that 40% of Colorado has already voted.  Don't vote now, save time and vote on election day!

UPDATE: The Washington Post did their own story video style here.

enduro 2 of the season

I think they usually have 6 enduros in a season with one a month.  They might take off in December.  So on this second enduro Dustin bailed on us with other plans and we recruited a guy from the PCA league I usually run in. 

Six teams showed up again.  Two were new and I hope the turn out doesn't dwindle anymore as six is the minimum number of teams we can race with. And a few of the new guys came equipped with gear. One in a Ferrari shirt had shiny red Ferrari shoes.

I qualified 2nd in the 5 lap qualifying session. Our kart for the race wasn't horrible but it was below average.  Last race we had no top end and this race we had no torque out of the turns. Maniacal, who usually competes for 2nd, passed me sometime during the 30+ minute stint but had issues and made an accidental pit.  So I handed it over to Howard in 2nd.  I think Maniacal came back and passed us during Howard's stint and he handed it over to Greg in 3rd.  Greg did an excellent job being his first time at the track and clicked off decent times each lap for a full stint.  I bet he is sore today.  Finally Tony got in.  Tony won our league this last year and he ain't slow. He proceeded to throw down some consistent times. The trouble was that Maniacal ahead of us was throwing down good consistant laps as well.  I was giving Tony all the info on the pit board including lap times and intervals.  Maniacal's driver apparently got FTD in an A Mod earlier in the day at an autocross (and another team member got PAX!).  Towards the end of the race though Tony was ever so slowly catching him for 2nd.  He managed to get the interval down to about 3 seconds and then it stayed that way for awhile.  It came down to within 5 minutes and I was yelling at Tony to pass the guy.  They clicked off similar lap times and the interval remained the same.  Then with about 5 laps to go they came up on traffic and Tony got around them both.  He ended up pulling away just a bit and crossed the line in 2nd.  It was this team's best finish.  

The 5 and 6th place teams started floundering towards the end and started getting lapped every 4 or 5 minutes.  Apparently those shiny red Ferrari shoes didn't give them the edge they needed.

My back is probably not as bad as last time but I did get a bruise on my left thigh that is worse than normal.  Usually my thigh is just real sore.  The seat belt gave me a small buise on my neck as well.

Stats...

Kevin	Fast lap - 24.946	Avg - 25.199
Howard	Fast lap - 25.279	Avg - 25.199
Greg	Fast lap - 25.179	Avg - 25.624
Tony	Fast lap - 24.832	Avg - 25.146

beer stock list!

I was thinking about doing this after I created a list of books and CDs in Google Docs that I wanted. It allows me to view the list on my phone while I'm in the store which sometimes happens unplanned. So I created my beer stock list (see link below). Not only will it show me what I already have, but it keeps track of purchase date and location as well. Important things to know when you get around to tasting it. Hopefully the spreadsheet will stay updated.

Once I've enjoyed the beverage and it's no longer in my fridge I'll move it to the second tab. The second tab isn't so complete being that I've just started keeping track.

I'm thinking I'll get a second fridge with a special thermostat for higher temperatures to store my precious beverages.

beer stock list

back in business

My mobile computer is back in action with the latest hacked software.  It's running oh so smooth and fast.  I originally hacked my phone back in March but about a month ago my number one app, the Opera Mobile browser, started crashing after 5 seconds. And the device would freeze up on me many times a day. I had to do soft resets all day long and sometimes more than once at a time. Without Opera Mobile, I had to use Pocket IE (PIE) with no iphone-like finger scroll or tabs! I felt like I was back in 2005. I don't think I'm necessarily that busy of a guy but for some reason it took about a month to find the time to fix.

After a bunch of research to make sure I won't end up with a useless brick and a few initial stumbles I got it updated with the latest OS and radio ROMs.  It works quite well.  Apparently Verizon did release a WM6.1 update but the GPS only works with the Verizon Navigator app.  So this hacked release doesn't use whatever code is on that official Verizon update, rather I believe it is derived from the XV6900.  I documented my steps this time so I can make quick updates in the future.

Some day when I have more time I'll get the aGPS working.  Currently it takes a few minutes for the GPS to get a fix and it only works outside.  It is possible to get it to work instantly and indoors with some added configuration.

The guy who created this hacked ROM included remote desktop and internet tethering.  It has improved memory management and unnecessary applications removed.  I installed a little flashlight app that lets me use my camera flash as a flashlight.  That would have come in handy as I checked a friend's oil level in the dark two nights ago.

I can't wait for Firefox Mobile and Opera Mobile 9.5 to be released.

another Harvest Ale

I saw Sierra Nevada's 2008 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale at Whole Foods today.  Unfortunately I'm sick and can't taste it.  I'm curious how it compares to the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale from this spring.  I'm sure its mmmm tasty good.  Here is a little bit about Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale series:

To make this project happen, we selected hops from regions where the hop harvest occurred at different times of the year. Southern Hemisphere Harvest uses hops from New Zealand that are harvested in our spring. Our Chico Estate Harvest uses hops grown at our brewery in Chico, California that are harvested in late summer. And our original Harvest Ale uses hops from Yakima, Washington harvested in early fall. The result is three fresh hop ales that will be released at different times of the year, each providing a unique experience with hops from different parts of the world. We aptly call this trilogy of fresh hop ales our Harvest Series.

UPDATE: One of two Chico Estate Harvest Ale casks that are east of the Mississippi will be tapped at the Brickskeller on Thursday.  

my Arlington bike loop

I finally rode a big loop around Arlington that I've been thinking about since I got my road bike. Its about 17.5 miles and uses parts of the Mt Vernon, 4 Mile Run, W&OD, and Curtis trails. See the map below. If interested check out the Arlington bike trails here.

I've been using my bike as transportation around DC lately and it was nice to get out without my heavy lock and in more suitable clothes.  I felt swift like the wind!  The weather was perfect and the trails were not too crowded.  I ate more bugs than usual on this ride and found a few in my hair and on my face afterwards.  

There were about 100 people at the park at the end of the runway at the airport.  A week or so ago Kirby and I were on a night ride and surprisingly found the spot to ourselves.  A few people were fishing at the mouth of 4 Mile Run which is quite nasty.  I didn't realize I was going to ride right through downtown Shirlington.  Once I got in the parks along 4 Mile Run past Shirlington I came across about two dozen dogs hanging out in the stream.  Their owners were mingling and the dogs were having a good time.

There are at least four parks between Shirlington and I-66 along 4 Mile Run.  The W&OD trail is along one side and the 4 Mile Run trail winds along the other.  The 4 Mile Run trail often splits in different directions around the parks and through the woods.  A few side paths go up and away with lots of elevation change which allowed me to dream I was on my mt bike.  I saw some single track that I might have to tackle some day.  At one point I came across a rather large and elaborate public rose garden.

It's not long but you could run that 4 Mile Run leg a few times and not get bored (or run the same trail twice). The whole ride was almost all on off-street paved bike paths.  It was a good time. Bummer winter is upon us.

mmm beer!

I haven't been to the store in a month or two and was able to hit up Total Wine & More today. Oktoberfest time of course! Last night I tasted Avery's Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager and it was damn good. Today I stopped by the store and picked up some Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, Sam Adams' new Hallertau Imperial Pilsner "An Intense Hop Experience", Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale, and my old stable North Coast Prankster.

The Hallertau Imperial Pilsner is quite unique; I dig it. I haven't had the DFH Pumpkin Ale yet this year.

ridiculous money

People in this town have way too much money. Of course it's true of any large city. There will always be those with shit tons o cash to spend on whatever they please. Oh I wish I were one. Really I don't need to buy a 500K or 1 million $ car; I'd be happy with a $130,000 Porsche Turbo. 

I've seen so many nice cars lately. Over the summer I saw an Audi R8 twice in my neighborhood. The other day while at the race shop near the Lamborghini dealership we heard a V12 fly by. Surprisingly in Missoula I saw an Audi S5, and there are a few around town here. Two nights ago I was downtown near a club and quite a few $90K BMWs and Mercedes where getting parked. Just today I saw a 6 series BMW, a new M3, two Jaguar XKs, and a Ferrari F430. How many of those guys have actually been anywhere near the limit of their cars on the track do you think? Someday I'll be old, make silly money, be insensibley rich, and buy ridiculous toys. Till then I'll appreciate what I have. 

I remember lapping the track with a Ferrari 360 in my four banger although I'm sure he was a bit more timid than I. That was fun.

yet another Beerfest!

Its that time again. The semi-annual World Beer Festival took place in Durham and of course my sister and her friends hosted us out-of-towners. For four hours you get your choice of 300 or so beers from around with world. Raleigh hosts the event in the spring and Durham in the fall. It was a new Durham venue this year and for some reason they like baseball stadiums. If you were in the know you were aware of the restrooms underneath the stands. This event seemed to have more local NC brews. Although there was still lots of good representation throughout the globe. Thanks to Mark and Michelle for driving me there and back. No real big discovers other than Smittynose which for some reason I've never really tried and the IPA they had seemed very fresh and tasty. I made the mistake of having two 10% brews before the fest and I don't remember much after the 3rd hour of the event.

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