tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54953332011-12-23T13:35:41.527-08:00What's going on in Cleave's mindCleavenoreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-71715331956045451362011-09-13T22:34:00.000-07:002011-09-13T22:34:09.532-07:00

In my usual state of absent-mindedness, I forgot to create the obligatory post saying that I moved this blog to WordPress (sorry Blogger). You can find a bunch of new posts and all of your old favorite posts at http://cleavesblant.wordpress.com/.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-46546059144163009802010-09-29T01:40:00.000-07:002010-10-17T20:56:29.562-07:00

This past weekend I competed in my last criteriums for the year, The (CBR) Razor's Edge State Criterium Championships. Almost needless to say, I didn't win either race that I entered, but at the same time I didn't ride as complete pack fodder. So far I've paid an entry fee and had a number pinned on my back 67 times (road races, criteriums, and road and track time trials). I will be racing in a

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-62513605931297356562010-08-13T21:44:00.000-07:002010-08-18T18:41:00.234-07:00

About a year ago, Long Beach christened their first sharrows in Belmont Shore on 2nd Street. Now there are sharrows popping up throughout the LA Basin. Dan Gutierrez has photographed many of these installations and shows why all sharrows are not created equal.http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56977&id=1574017310

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-7279192978291800422010-01-25T18:03:00.000-08:002010-08-02T21:33:45.971-07:00

(For various reasons I have had several unfinished posts sitting in my queue on Blogger. This is the third of three old posts that I am finally finishing.)I have been trying to get more involved with bicycle advocacy to promote cycling as a lifestyle; as a way to reduce our use of automobiles as primary transportation. To that end I have been supporting events related to the Long Beach Bicycle

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-86662710971493020072010-01-09T23:27:00.000-08:002010-08-02T21:27:50.186-07:00

About 1-1/2 years after Dr. Christopher T. Thompson caused two cyclist to smash into the rear of his luxury sedan by slamming on his brakes after passing them on a residential road, Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington sentenced Thompson to 5 years in prison. There have been a lot of discussions on the internet about the incident, Thompson's trial, his conviction, and his sentencing during

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-17983511739925707302009-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:002010-08-02T21:21:03.132-07:00

(For various reasons I have had several unfinished posts sitting in my queue on Blogger. This is the second of three old posts that I am finally finishing.)Saturday was the official opening of the "sharrows" in Long Beach. Sharrows are green-painted lanes in the right-hand lane of traffic. These lanes denote where cyclists are legally allowed to ride (whether painted or not) per the California

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-6610909953203621422009-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:002009-09-18T20:39:39.002-07:00

After failing once again to break the 25 MPH barrier in the Southern California/Nevada District Individual Time Trial Championships, I found myself on the starting line a week later with three teammates (Todd Barker, Greg Page, and Jeff Scanlon) for the Team Time Trial Championships -- 4-men 180+ (cumulative age of riders at least 180 years). It was a very strange race.The team that started 1

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-39567393285338994062009-05-07T23:25:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:32:16.700-07:00

(For various reasons I have had several unfinished posts sitting in my queue on Blogger. This is the first of three old posts that I am finally finishing.)Epic is becoming one of the great overused words of our time. With so many extreme approaches to sports, people frequently talk or write about their 'epic' adventures. While I am not impervious to hyperbole, I feel that I had a truly epic

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-39768559210347334002009-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:002010-07-08T02:29:39.767-07:00

I frequent the web site bikeforums.net. Yesterday, one of the denizens of the forum asked people to post their history of road bike ownership. After spending a fair amount of time remembering and looking at some old bicycle brochures, here's my list beginning at the start of my racing "career." (Note that I bought the bike during the model year listed unless otherwise noted.)1974 Lambert Pro: One

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-67381889519299637682009-04-06T23:01:00.001-07:002009-05-06T20:26:02.137-07:00

I guess I don't have to knock on wood any longer. For the past two winters, I've been able to train pretty effectively because I've been able to avoid the dreaded influenza virus. (Note that I get a free flu shot at work every year.) My "lucky" streak finally ended (even though I had flu-like symptoms last summer), when I came down with a strain of the flu while on a business trip in St. Louis in

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-44905958718345645302009-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:002009-05-06T20:25:16.542-07:00

This morning I heard an interview with Robert Reich (former US Secretary of Labor) on one of our local Public Radio stations on the program, Marketplace Morning Report. Mr. Reich notes:"But what's intelligent for an individual does not necessarily translate into what's good for the economy as a whole. The only way to create or preserve jobs is through additional spending. And unlike tax cuts used

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-36488864609442921922009-02-04T13:53:00.001-08:002009-05-06T20:24:49.045-07:00

My wife and I are fans of the television show, Living with Ed. Ed Begley, Jr. is kind of a nut on the show, but if you think about all of the things that he does to minimize his family's impact on the environment, you'll find that you can do many of them with relative ease. Some are easy, but require an investment. Others you can do inexpensively and with a relatively quick payback.Here is a list

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-2324549729961079382009-01-20T09:32:00.000-08:002009-01-20T10:10:46.696-08:00

Hope, inspiration, freedom, and change are some themes from today's inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama. I watched a Presidential Inauguration live on TV for the first time in my life. It was inspirational and it did give me hope.I voted for Barack Obama but what is most heartening for me is to hear positive comments from people I know who did not vote for him. I think we

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-83763158188018199692009-01-01T19:47:00.000-08:002009-05-06T20:25:40.752-07:00

It didn't look like I was going to get in a good ride today as I woke up on New Year's Day to a very foggy morning. I don't like to ride in the fog because:It's more dangerous with people driving not being able to see youI can't see because the fog collects on my prescription glassesMy bike gets dirtyHowever, it was New Year's Day and I didn't want to start the year sitting on my butt. So in my

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-24065946733972146862008-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:002009-01-01T17:02:06.267-08:00

When I was in college one of my roomates introduced me to the music and satire of Tom Lehrer. Thanks to YouTube, I have rediscovered Tom and his music. Here is one of Tom's songs that ties to one of my current passions: Pollution.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-91737417030470080752008-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:002009-01-01T17:01:05.683-08:00

Through my favorite cycling internet forum, I found a link to a very good sports photographer, Elizabeth Kreutz. Apparently, Ms. Kreutz has access to Lance Armstrong and she has chronicled his return to professional cycling with a series of photographs. Go to her web site and check out photos 21 to 25 under Index => Lance's Comeback.I don't think that all of that upper body strength is going to

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-62651524815485852942008-12-02T21:16:00.000-08:002008-12-05T09:28:14.071-08:00

The global news has been anything but good this past month. With the true human tragedy in Mumbai, India, the financial woes of the Big Three US automakers seems strangely juxtaposed on the list of recent tragedies. Yes, the decline of these companies affects millions of people, but somehow the tragedy of business failures pales against the loss of lives and the For several years I've been

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-29862861304976043062008-11-16T09:21:00.000-08:002009-01-01T17:01:41.825-08:00

I have no idea how people can either lie or be so deluded that they can't see the obvious. Among the sources reporting the UAW's view on the crisis in the US auto industry, USA Today has this alarming quote from United Auto Workers president, Ron Gettelfinger:"We're here not because of what the auto industry has done," he said. "We're here because of what has happened to the economy."I'm not

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-82685756483699889712008-11-15T19:47:00.000-08:002008-11-15T19:55:32.469-08:00

I wonder how the current Southern California firestorm affects global warming?I wonder if the weather conditions that led to the current Southern California firestorm are a product of global warming?By noon today is was 90ºF with less than 10% humidity with wind gusts over 25 MPH -- prime brush fire weather. Of course you need an ignition source to start the fire. I heard that a smaller fire

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-48852939672074903042008-11-15T19:38:00.000-08:002008-11-15T19:40:03.863-08:00

There are a lot of ways that all of us can help save the planet. Here is one.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-19000538331706621982008-10-24T18:38:00.000-07:002008-10-24T19:15:41.878-07:00

A couple of days ago I was driving to work (late -- long story) and I got stuck in traffic on PCH because of some road work. It looked like they were re-striping the road so the only thing that I really thought about was that it took me 30 minutes to drive 1 mile.A day later I was riding on the same stretch of road when I noticed that part of the shoulder on the northbound lane was "chewed up" in

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-83731817533478041102008-09-14T16:46:00.000-07:002008-10-24T10:09:15.951-07:00

I'm not talking about panning for gold either.Often I see people on photography forums ask about how to shoot fast moving cars or bicycles. Their initial notion is to use a very fast shutter speed to capture the action. Unfortunately, there are few times when this is the best way to capture a racing car or bicycle. A fast shutter speed freezes everything in the photo and it looks like the subject

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-81583814659785128162008-09-13T13:09:00.000-07:002008-09-14T16:20:49.853-07:00

Just thought that I'd link back to my post from the days after 9/11. Note that there is also a link in that post to an article that I posted to our web site.Peace.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-56565920313404708992008-09-03T22:23:00.000-07:002008-09-04T07:35:08.678-07:00

So as of the next to last weekend in August I'm pretty much done with mass start races for the year. Not much left on the calendar for me except for some time trials. Here are some of the pertinent stats for the year-to-date:45 road races / criteriums / circuit races2 of 45 were road races20 of 45 were Tuesday evening series races (circuit)Total of 952 miles4 DNFs (3 too slow, 1 mechanical)0 DFL1

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-56723560347089340092008-07-25T13:31:00.000-07:002008-11-19T02:16:58.323-08:00

...and my guess is that they will do so -- continually.So the latest business news is that Toyota will probably be the #1 auto manufacturer in the world -- displacing GM -- at the end of this year. Now Toyota publicly states that they do not place much stock in being #1 (and I believe those statements), but there are a couple of important points related to this news. First, Toyota got the lead

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-81827297307091115352008-06-11T20:07:00.000-07:002008-09-08T15:48:31.749-07:00

So this bicycle racing season has been one of ups and downs. Right now I'm on a big up. This past Saturday was the Southern California / Nevada Cycling Association (SCNCA) Team Time Trial District Championships in Palmdale (Lake Los Angeles). I rode it with three other Lightning Velo members, all of whom were over 40 years old. We were in the 180+ (total age) category and I was the oldest rider

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-34122788295722686682008-05-05T15:50:00.000-07:002008-05-05T19:27:56.950-07:00

A colleague led me to this article in the The New Yorker online. It is one of the better "general" pieces that I've seen on Toyota and the core reasons for its success.So how has Toyota stayed ahead of the pack?The answer has a lot to do with another distinctive element of Toyota’s approach: defining innovation as an incremental process, in which the goal is not to make huge, sudden leaps but,

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-28140129578994917302008-05-04T18:02:00.000-07:002008-05-05T12:50:36.708-07:00

The short story is I finished for the first time in my last several attempts at this race and I stayed in the peloton longer than I have over the same period of time. Though this doesn't sound like much progress, at my age you have to savor any progress that you make.I really didn't start the race in a good frame of mind. I've been worrying about getting dropped quickly -- especially after last

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-46651828653912611112008-04-30T12:17:00.000-07:002008-05-05T12:57:39.706-07:00

My bicycle racing season started off pretty well and I felt that my training was going reasonably well. However, after a month of vacation and business travel, my most recent races have not gone well. Most recently I competed in the Devil's Punchbowl Road Race (Masters Men 50+) on Saturday, April 26th, and the El Dorado Tuesday Twilight Training Series last night.Now I'll preface my lack of

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-28579095044101796652008-04-30T11:59:00.000-07:002008-05-05T07:52:27.226-07:00

I grew up on Long Island and went to college in upstate New York, but somehow, I never visited the "fair city" of Boston. Well that all changed when I got to attend the Lean Advancement Initiative (LAI) Annual Conference last week.I had the opportunity to walk a good chunk of the Freedom Trail with a colleague and I took a number of photos (some of which may appear in an upcoming Photoblog post).

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1987868369285692092008-04-18T21:36:00.000-07:002008-04-30T11:57:18.840-07:00

I know that this sounds like a trivial subject but I believe that it is a symptom of something more insidious. Of course, I may just be paranoid.Regardless, the has been an inordinate amount of glass on the roads in SoCal as of late. A couple of weeks ago, my club members had numerous flats on our Saturday Social Ride. Personally, I have been having to swerve around too many patches of freshly

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-18889617113917235992008-04-08T11:51:00.000-07:002008-04-08T13:17:05.693-07:00

Obviously I have not been a prolific blogger. As one of my self improvement projects, I have decided to spend 15 minutes per day (either during lunch at work or at night at home) writing something for this blog.So with 15 minutes per day, six or seven days a week, my goal is to have three posts per week. I will try to have these post rotate through three topics, bicycling, Lean, and photography.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-57074947210651076512007-02-21T02:23:00.000-08:002008-01-30T23:20:54.214-08:00

So here's my race report. This was my first massed start race since last August's Manhattan Beach GP. It was also my first 50+ crit. Anyway I was more nervous than usual and when the race started I realized the I was in the small ring and had a bit of trouble clipping in and shifting to the big ring (nerves?). So I ended up at the back of the pack and fortunately the first lap wasn't too fast.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-51592257205247093322007-01-19T18:51:00.000-08:002007-01-19T18:55:20.135-08:00

The unusually cold temperatures that have caused severe crop damage in California also greeted me and two of my Lightning Velo teammates at the Tom's Farm Time Trial in Corona, CA, on January 14th. Jim Brashear, Pat Baker, and I arrived at the parking lot for registration to find that any moisture on the ground was ice. Jim's vehicle showed a balmy 29 degrees F on its thermometer.After

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-7128246168539980612007-01-12T19:54:00.000-08:002007-01-19T18:55:47.683-08:00

...the year started out in such a promising way. Had a very nice 74 mile ride on New Year's Day and have ridden ZERO miles since. We went on a short vacation to Palm Springs and when I got back I started coming down with some type of flu (as noted in my previous post).Now, one week later, I am still not 100% and tomorrow's Saturday ride is in jeopardy because my throat is still not great and the

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-34015085483547928382007-01-06T22:20:00.000-08:002007-01-19T18:56:15.703-08:00

You may be wondering why I have been so prolific in my posting today? Well the simple answer is that I have been sick. The new year started nicely with a 74 mile ride through Laguna Canyon on January 1st. A short vacation to Palm Springs was supposed to lead into 3 days of riding.Unfortunately, what felt like allergies in Palm Springs turned into some kind of a virus (cold, mild flu, ???). So

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-46689721808423392962007-01-06T20:53:00.000-08:002007-01-06T21:34:54.012-08:00

I went to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands with my in-laws the day after Christmas. It was my first extended visit since they restored the inlet to the Pacific Ocean and I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well the restoration went.The breeding grounds for birds was greatly expanded and the paths were improved. Even though it was mid-day and cold (for Southern California), there many wonderful

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-44927015375686112212007-01-06T20:31:00.000-08:002007-01-06T20:46:43.874-08:00

Well, USA Today, published another article on Jan. 5, 2007, that shows how little we understand the competitive advantage held by Toyota. GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner notes:"I like being No. 1, and I think our people take pride in it," he told a small group of reporters at GM's headquarters. "It's not something we're going to sit back and let somebody else [Toyota] pass us by."If Toyota does

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-58650121357014623442006-12-07T07:17:00.000-08:002007-01-06T17:14:54.166-08:00

When I first heard about this story it was sad enough. A family got caught in the terrible winter weather that had struck Oregon during the Thanksgiving holiday. Rescuers found the mother and her two young daughters alive, but the father, who had set out on foot to find help was missing. The family's last name was Kim and the father's first name was James -- fairly common names.But last night,

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-33236354145262268652006-12-04T21:51:00.000-08:002007-01-19T18:56:46.800-08:00

Well, I can complain no more. After 18 years as a semi-anonymous member, I am now the 2007 President (elect) of Lightning Velo, my beloved cycling club. To-date I have only held the semi-official position of newsletter editor and over the last few years I have published precious few newsletters. I guess at this point I will have little excuse for not having content for the newsletter.I do believe

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1158982168515329492006-09-22T20:27:00.000-07:002007-01-19T18:57:24.673-08:00

The longest running bicycle race in southern California is the Manhattan Beach Gran Prix. Warm sunshine and cool ocean breezes make this one of the best attended races (racers and spectators) in the United States.This year the racers behaved themselves better as the grinding of metal, carbon fiber, and bodies on asphalt was kept to a minimum. No one was able to break away in any of the races so

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1154062909084481342006-07-27T20:45:00.000-07:002007-01-06T18:25:45.456-08:00

Something is just plain wrong and I'm not sure which side of the story is fallible. Is it Floyd Landis, the modest, boy-next-door (assuming you are a Mennonite) who somehow suffered a personal failing by doing something unnatural and illegal to raise his testosterone level?Or is it the drug testers who failed in their ability to design or perform tests that really root out the dopers?Like Sports

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1146795435249111352006-05-04T18:56:00.000-07:002007-01-06T18:24:59.174-08:00

The "big three" auto manufacturers have been studying Toyota and the Toyota Production System since the early 1990s. They have had 15 years to either do as well as Toyota or to figure out how to do better than Toyota and, unfortunately, neither has happened.Once again the "experts" who get quoted in the media (money.cnn.com, May 3, 2006) think that Toyota has some kind of secret weapon or crystal

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1145943591871737432006-04-24T22:28:00.000-07:002008-04-30T12:35:20.922-07:00

One of my vices is my passion for motorsports. It's a passion that I largely satisfy in front of the tube, satiated only by the exhaust cacophony emanating from my surround-sound system. However, my inability to frequent the race track only heightens my experience during my rare visits. My body vibrates and the part of my brain connected to my olfactory nerves relishes in the fumes of dead

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1143713179393598582006-03-30T01:30:00.000-08:002008-04-30T12:32:21.386-07:00

It was a Sunday afternoon in March in sunny Southern California -- Angel Stadium to be exact and we were getting ready to watch a baseball game. But it wasn't sunny (or warm) and the Angels weren't playing. The United States team was getting ready to face the team from Japan in the World Baseball Classic.The stadium was pretty full (even though the skies were threatening rain) and the crowd was

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1143671169138941962006-03-29T14:21:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:36:53.585-08:00

This is a very cool blog for those who aren't totally obsessed by bicycle technology. I hope these guys do well at their district time trial championships. I also added a link to their site in my links section.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1142495859207760972006-03-15T23:29:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:39:09.477-08:00

Finally got my first racing miles of the year on my legs yesterday evening. Rode the world famous, Tuesday night training series at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, California. Achieved my standard goals for the first race of the season: (1) Stay upright and (2) Don't get dropped. Number 1 is not as easy to achieve as it sounds. Unfortunately a clubmate didn't stay upright as the pack entered the

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1140203142476536232006-02-17T11:03:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:40:58.203-08:00

Some of the responses to a leg shaving question on a cycling forum are just way too funny.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1139534687466831492006-02-09T17:13:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:47:10.164-08:00

I can't believe that there is so much pressure to cheat (yes, cheat) in professional cycling. Here is another rider that I want to believe is innocent but I keep having a harder and harder time believing their denials. Roberto Heras rode a great Vuelta, but was it a drug-aided win?As I said earlier, we have to get to the real root cause of the problem by eliminating the motivation to take

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1139203696868844192006-02-05T21:22:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:49:23.692-08:00

Well, for some reason this took me by surprise. I am interested because I am a fan of both, but that's as far as it goes -- interested. However, there is some pretty harsh stuff on the web, here and here.Anyway, I hope that their futures apart from each other go well.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1136877492742620622006-01-09T22:50:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:55:15.530-08:00

This article in industryweek.com from the AFP news agency further shows that many automotive experts don't understand hybrid technology or the intelligence of many American consumers. The article notes:A big barrier to the sales of hybrid vehicles is the high sticker price. The hybrids on the market currently cost on average 3,500 dollars more than their gasoline equivalents. It would take most

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1135314886142706502005-12-22T20:34:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:56:06.913-08:00

I finally got to read the VeloNews.com interview (Part 1 and Part 2) with Lance Armstrong. Lance was forthcoming, to say the least. What struck me most was how he talked about the Postal / Discovery team as if he were one of the principals instead of just being a rider. I've always said that to be a top athlete you also needed a large ego. Well, despite the post-cancer humility, Lance's ego is

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1135140618342116452005-12-20T20:10:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:58:36.686-08:00

I was watching the emergency landing of Midwest Airlines Flight 210 on CNN this evening. The reporting on CNN was not stellar but it was fair and reasonably accurate. I switched to Fox News after CNN switched to one of their regular news programs and I was almost immediately shocked and disgusted by what I heard.The anchor person, "Catherine," was interviewing a spokesperson from Midwest Airlines

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1134531881634749812005-12-13T19:41:00.000-08:002007-01-06T18:59:37.920-08:00

Saw this funny link on this photography forum that I visit daily.In addition, you should count to ten and take a deep breath before you click the send or post button.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1134041530427049052005-12-07T21:40:00.000-08:002007-01-06T19:32:37.059-08:00

This is no longer news, but I still wanted to comment on Roberto Heras' positive drug test (both A and B samples) following this year's Vuelta a Espana. As with Tyler Hamilton's positive test, I want to believe that Roberto's test is faulty, but at the same time I do believe that drug testing, properly administered, is the only unbiased arbiter in deciding if an athlete is clean.I still feel that

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1133933344076110412005-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:002007-01-06T19:34:13.599-08:00

Can someone please explain how we "evolved" to our current state of applying to high schools in Long Beach? The past few weeks have been just short of the process that I went through to decide which college to attend. Reading propaganda about various educational programs within and between high schools, listening to schools pitch the virtues of their programs, and visiting high school campuses to

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1133499966627759072005-12-01T20:39:00.000-08:002007-01-06T19:36:28.182-08:00

(sfgate.com, Nov. 22, 2005)GM has been crippled by high labor, pension, health care and materials costs, as well as by sagging demand for sport utility vehicles, its longtime cash cow.I find it quite amazing that business reporters and business professors just don't get it. Toyota's current and strategic advantage is not based on its labor contracts, health care costs, gasoline prices, or...

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1133065491858921802005-11-26T19:58:00.000-08:002007-01-06T19:37:41.607-08:00

While I'm on the subject of cars, either the reliability of turn signals in today's cars is abysmal or turn signals are now an option on most cars. (Rhetorically he asks) "Why don't people use their turn signals anymore?"Did they stop teaching people how to use them in Driver's Ed? Do people believe that they can transmit their driving intentions telepathically? Did they take the need to use turn

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132673869648985352005-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:002007-01-06T20:09:35.307-08:00

Hybrid cars are becoming more popular (OK, that's a bit of an understatement) and I'm all for it. Yesterday (Nov. 21, 2005), the Los Angeles Times ran an article about hybrids in the business section. They note:American automakers are launching hybrid versions of those vehicles to remain competitive in the areas where they are most profitable, said Anthony Pratt, an analyst who covers hybrids for

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132566830093029312005-11-20T23:18:00.000-08:002007-01-06T20:13:43.223-08:00

Let me be perfectly clear, I do not condone the use of drugs for the purpose of enhancing one's athletic performance. Let me also be perfectly clear that I believe that we, as sports fans, put too much pressure on athletes to perform. Sport is about achievement, not just winning. It's natural to focus on winning, but not at the expense of sporting integrity.I know that there are people who don't

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132315930433682152005-11-18T06:24:00.000-08:002007-01-06T20:14:57.938-08:00

OK, I'm going to try this blogging thing again. I'll be posting things from my personal and business life (within the bounds of corporate policy and government regulations). :-PWhy am I blogging? I'm not sure. Maybe it's a way for me to express my thoughts in less private way without necessarily exposing my whole persona. (Maybe it will be very public if people actually start reading this thing!)

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132427889248163322001-10-01T23:17:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:29:16.085-08:00

There is great comfort in the craziness of our daily lives. Soccer games, karate lessons, piano lessons, etc help us blot out some of the disturbing issues over which we have no control. Hobbies, daily workouts, web site construction, etc. have the same beneficial effect. Not that we shouldn't think about the world's troubling issues, we should, but we shouldn't dwell on these issues to the point

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132427835745954462001-09-27T23:16:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:28:49.254-08:00

It's amazing how introspective you become at times of national emergency. However, we must go on with life, even with the specter of heightened security that affects our daily routine. For now Americans have traded some personal freedoms for a sense of security and safety. The terrorists have won the first round.

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132427783033676322001-09-26T23:14:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:26:23.031-08:00

As time goes on more news arrives about people who were caught in the maelstrom that were within my life's sphere. So many people and so many families were devastated by acts whose ultimate purpose I can not fathom.Another fallout of our current mania was a bomb threat at work. For the first time in my 22 years at Boeing (McDonnell Douglas), we were sent home so that Boeing Security and Long

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132427429602952352001-09-21T23:09:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:25:50.479-08:00

It's been 10 days since the terrorist attack on our country. I continue to go through emotional ups and downs as I either hear more of or think about the tragedy. Click here to read the column that I wrote for The Spoke 'N Word.Unfortunately, the day after I wrote the column, September 17, 2001, I found out that a former classmate from Jericho High School perished during the terrorist attack. Leo

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132427269759634942001-09-08T23:06:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:25:09.190-08:00

Well I guess I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow. Been promising the boys that we'd go but I canceled the last scheduled trip because of their lack of good behavior. Here I am again in a quandary because their behavior over the last 36 hours has been less than stellar. The troubles of a parent who is trying to reward appropriate behavior while trying to provide some fun for his children. Maybe I'm

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132426770390065392001-09-04T22:57:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:24:49.982-08:00

Where did the summer go? I had resolved to update this site more frequently but...Anywho, here I am, 44 years and 2 days old. Did more bicycle racing this year than in recent years and have attained a better level of fitness than in recent years. However I am still getting old(er) and will not necessarily get any faster. But, as we all know, at this level of sport, this is supposed to be for the

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495333.post-1132426463599251192001-04-27T22:52:00.000-07:002007-01-06T20:24:15.897-08:00

Who knows where this blog will lead? I understand that these blogs are part diary, part bully pulpit, and part glass house. I also understand that you may stumble on to this web page and think, "What drugs has this guy been ingesting?"Anyway, I've taken the plunge and started this thing. I've been suffering from lingering flu effects for the past week and I probably should be in bed but it really

Cleavenoreply@blogger.com0