Bikers

There unusual pleasures and annoyances today on the bike trail to Mount Vernon.

Usually, the MVT is one of the best afternoon rides - once you get past Belle Haven, it isn't crowded at all, there are nice views of the river, and plenty of shade if the sun is strong. And that was the case today, but there were additional factors. On the plus side, I scored one of my favorite biking achievements twice. I love passing riders on nicer bikes, who are all kitted out in expensive lycra, clipped in to their pedals and the very picture of the cycling geek. I wear old sneakers, a BMX helmet, and use straps instead of clips. Blowing past them gives me a great deal of pleasure that hints of schadenfreude. "Oh, you paid thousands of dollars for your carbon frame and are pounding energy goo? ON YOUR LEFT." It doesn't happen a lot, so twice in one day is a treat. Maybe not the best thing to take pleasure in, but there it is.

It was also an exceptionally nice day for a ride, no humidity and great temperatures. However, there were an unusually high number of folks out there who could not follow the rules of the trail, or even common decency. All too often, the cyclists who commit these acts are those same well-outfitted riders I enjoy passing. 1) YOU MUST GIVE A WARNING WHEN YOU PASS. It is not optional, it is the law. If you are riding too hard to give a verbal warning, you are riding too fast. Want to go faster? Get on the road, the limit on the trail is 15 MPH anyway. The MVT, especially, is too thin and too twisty to allow much margin for error when passing. Give me a heads up. 2) STAY TO THE RIGHT - also a trail rule. Just because you bought a yellow jersey at REI doesn't mean you are Lance Armstrong. Someone out here is going to be faster than you, and hogging the trail isn't going to change that. Don't be a dick. 3) If you are just out to enjoy a nice ride, don't ride side-by-side. Maybe other people don't want to get stuck behind you - be considerate of the fact that other people are using the trail in other ways. We can all enjoy it if we just show a little courtesy. 4) NEVER EVER STOP ON THE TRAIL. If you stop, get off the pavement. I do not want to run you over - but I will if you are just sitting there as I come downhill around the corner. There were people on the trail doing all of these things today, and it gets me worked up. These are not pet peeves - I really don't want to be in any more bike wrecks - they suck. The Park Service posts these rules up and down the trail so we don't have to go through the bruises, road rashes, and bent forks.

For all that, it was an outstanding ride. It looks like rain and riding the trainer for the next couple of days, so I'm glad I got a good one in.

Check Below For Damage

Ahh, April showers. Unlike most folks and many dogs, I like storms. I enjoy the sound of the rain, and I still count the time between the lightning and the thunder to find the distance to the strike. It is a relief when the storms come, because the humidity breaks and the temperature drops. Sleep even comes easier.

However, the heavy rain here in DC recently has been problematic. Like all storms, it means no bike rides. But I have the fluid trainer in the basement, so that is easily remedied. However, there is trouble downstairs. It is an old house, and that means leaks.

It goes beyond dampness. And they are no mere puddles. Large bodies of standing water. It isn't flooded, by a long shot - there are plenty of dry areas, and nothing gets too deep. But it's more than a mere mopping can take care of. I haven't had much luck getting it into the drains I can find, either. So I'm looking for any clever ideas on how to dewater the lower decks.

Baconator

I went to the Curious Grape wine shop last night with Jane & Ian, Sarah & Paul, Zina and one of her friends. The owner was doing a mini-symposium, free lessons on some of the basics of wine. I'm still not much of a wine drinker, but it was interesting. Never hurts to learn. And they did food pairings with the wine to bring out flavors. Most were cheeses, but there was one particularly notable food pairing: Mo's Bacon Bar. It's a pretty decent chocolate bar, with bits of applewood-smoked bacon inside. Not for everyone, and I certainly wouldn't want to eat a whole bar of it by itself. But it is at least as good as chocolate-coated pretzels and potato chips.

Afterwards, we went next door to Ping for chinese. I wasn't especially hungry, so I just got a small plate of pork-filled steamed buns. I often order these at chinese restaurants, always hoping that they will be like the dim sum that was next door to Ryan & Bethany in Boston. That place had the best cream buns... Not the case this time. They were different, but still quite good. The pork wasn't sealed up inside, rather the steamed bun was wrapped around it so it was like a chinese mini-taco. With a slice of cucumber inside - surprisingly tasty.

The televisions over the bar were showing the Nationals and Orioles games, so I got a little distracted. And then I may have geeked out all over the group by getting into sabremetrics and explaining the quick-and-dirty formula for Expected Runs. I may have also ranted about the moral degeneracy of interleague games. I sometimes forget that maybe not everyone shares my particularly geeky interest in the game.

Trust in the Swedes

Once again, Ryan and Bethany have made an outstanding video. This one has some technical and editing flourishes which I haven't seen them do before - they are getting better and better. Go check it out, vote for it or something, maybe they'll win some furniture for their new home.

Down with the Sickness

The timing was nothing short of impeccable. It seems like the very moment I got home on Friday, I got sick. My throat swelled, became scratchy and raw. My joints ached, my muscles became sore. I was exhausted, and it happened so suddenly, like someone flipped a switch. And, lucky me, it lasted all weekend so I wasn't able to do anything worthwhile. I suspect I will still be subpar Monday morning, but not enough so taking time off makes sense. Such a ripoff.

So I spent the weekend watching movies and playing video games. Sunday was fairly cruddy out, so I don't particularly mind. But Saturday was beautiful - maybe enough wind for sailing, certainly nice enough for a long ride out the W&OD trail. Maybe next weekend.

In a small bit of interesting news, in Alabama one of the ships we've been doing work for, the USS Independence, was unveiled at Austal Shipyard. There are some quick shots of it in the video below.

WKRG.com Video

(via WKRG)

Faster. Better. Cheaper. Choose Two.

There is an excellent article this morning in the NY Times about the troubles on the LCS program. I've been working on and off with the LCS program since I was an intern at NAVSEA in 2001. Back then it was still called Streetfighter. Then it was the Small Fast Surface Combatant, followed by the Focused Mission Ship, until it finally became the Littoral Combat Ship.

Most of the industry has been involved with the program at one point or another. There were many teams competing with original design proposals a few years back. Now, the two winning teams are extremely busy, and many others (such as my company) are working on the government side consulting and reviewing. It is a huge effort, and is almost universally decried as a mess.

The two designs are fairly solid; the trouble has been the execution. This article does a good job of explaining how it has happened, and why. It's not $500 wrenches that make the defense budget so high - it's half a billion dollar frigates that are the problem.

Toe-to-Toe with the Russkies

Pretty amazing footage of a Georgian UAV being shot down by a Mig-29, taken from the UAV.



Very sinister, the way the Fulcrum just smoothly slides into the frame before firing.