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Showing posts from September, 2013

Post-Modern Java Man

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You're looking into the deep past of a bygone industrial age of the 1920s. This is a Universal Grinder. They came in several sizes, and promised to make your life amazing and easy in so many ways. The 1994 LA Earthquake came roaring out of the ground, the freight train from hell on January 17, 1994, at 04:31. Half the city lost gas and power. When I made it home from my girlfriend's just after dawn, my apartment was still standing. Gas, but no power. I was supposed to go to work, but that didn't happen. Jangled and suddenly very sleepy, I fell into a deep nap.  Several hours later, I'm kind-of awake.  Aftershocks are still rumbling through the city. I'd made a triple-espresso.  S itting at my kitchen table, half-awake, and watching my coffee cup dancing slowly around the table. I began to think— OK, I've got a camp-stove, Bialetti pots, water, coffee...what would happen if I didn't have any beans ground? Holy shit! Being a swap-meet and flea-m

Twenty-Third Psalm For Hipsters

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The Dude is a Hipster; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down at Coachella He leadeth me beside the fixies, He restoreth my white-boy soul He loadeth me in the tats of righteousness for His name' sake, and shit Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of norm, I will fear no evil: For thou DJs are with me; Thy 'pod and 5-bars, they comfort me. Thou preparest kombucha before me in the presence of whatever; Thou anointest my head with kale; My sideburns runneth over. Surely PBR and 420 shall follow me all the daze of my life, and I'll hang out in the House of the Hip, whenever.

The Once And Future Baldy Peaks 50k

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Luis Escobar getting his sponsored-ass kicked on the first pass over Baldy, 2004. One more to go. In 2012 he repaid the debt by calling me "the worst SOB RD anywhere" when I crossed the BTR50k finish line . He learned well. Relevant Race History: 1988-2004 "A mildly disturbing event with a cult-like atmosphere" —Craig Holloway Originated by John Davis , with his sons Ken and Stan. With the artistry, precision and eye to maximal sensory overload that can only come from the mind of an aerospace engineer (John) and a classically-trained musician (Ken) the race was born. Stan provided SysOps support. J oe Franko adds that "Actually, as I recall, the credit should go to John's son Ken, who laid out the course as part of a college project at Cal Poly, Pomona. We were students together then. He was an undergraduate in mathematics and I a graduate student."  So who said that science, math and pain

Finding Shit Out

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Uplifting Social Media Meme An essential part of learning is finding shit out. Seems pretty obvious, but WTF—its not quite like getting married or invading Iraq. I did my first 50mi 90 days after my first 50k—and had my head handed to me on a plate. I finished, but holy hell. My advice on when and how to do a 50miler is given with this knowledge. Your mileage may vary. Just one of my control issues, but you'll figure your own shit out. Or not. All this is a different order of business than charging people money to run 25 miles per week and drag a tire while telling them its gonna get them to the finish line in an ultra, especially a 100-mile. There are people who do that, and should be flogged. Pinoy fun-hogs running the Hollywood Half with a surfboard and climbing rack, plus the Lunas. Somebody's gotta do it. I'd gotten marathons cold-wired well before I even considered a 50k. My then-training level gave me 3-4 marathons a year. But I was getting