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Monthly Archives: June 2013

Rick Rubin interview

June 28, 2013
Music
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This Daily Beast interview is good, lengthy read.

Are there any artists you wanted to work with but didn’t get to?

I tried to sign N.W.A. I went to the studio when they were recording Straight Outta Compton. I was just a fan, but I developed a relationship with them. And the reason it didn’t work out was … there have been a couple of cases in my life where I make some plan with the artist, but then they already have an existing relationship with a company and the company ends up doing something different. N.W.A was one of those.

A Rick Rubin-produced N.W.A. debut would have been interesting.

I’m like a surgeon.

June 14, 2013
13in13, computers
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Not in a Weird Al way but in a “can make computer hardware repairs” way. I finally got and installed the replacement display I mentioned here. Like I said there, as long as the manual is clear I don’t feel like I can get too lost. This laptop is super-small but and there isn’t much clearance for cables but it’s all so cleverly engineered that it is tough to get confused. All of the cables end where they plug in. It’s neat.

And now I have a Windows machine that’s current-gen for work purposes of testing connections and things in Windows as well as the experience of cracking open a laptop and replacing pieces. Good times.

Funny story, I’m typing this up on the repaired laptop and I keep noticing a weird creak in one of the corners. Like the keyboard of top cover didn’t re-seat properly. It’s only then that it occurs to me that I might not have replaced all of the case screws. It is probably fair to say that I’m not *exactly* like a surgeon.

Best Coast at The National, RVA.

June 4, 2013
Music
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Monday night rock show. I love the latest Best Coast album and was excited to hear them play a lot of it. She can flat-out sing. No joke. Like how Neko Case can hit notes in person. It was great.

Michelle and I also enjoyed both opening bands which hasn’t happened in a while. The Lovely Very Bad Things were fast kind of 90’s style indie rock. The Guards are the new band from the lead singer of the Willowz, a band I got into for an album way back when. I thought they sounded good and put on a good show. It was cool to look at.

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Whole 30 is finished

June 3, 2013
food
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Well, that wasn’t so bad. The last 15 days of my Whole 30 weren’t so different from the first 15 and they even got good toward the end. I started to feel good again energy-wise and had settled into a solid meal routine: juice and egg for breakfast proved to be more then enough to get me to my lunch of grilled chicken over greens without cheese or dressing. Dinner was more grilled protein with some veggies. Standard “healthy eating”.

My goals getting into this thing were to lose some weight, course correct my eating habits back to something healthy, and dial back my drinks. I met them all and I’m cool with the results. I think a 2-week “Whole 14” is something I’m going to use as a way of getting back on track when I stray from health in the future. A strict plan will be a useful tool after the excesses of a vacation or holiday meal season.

2013 Bike MS: Ride Virginia

June 3, 2013
bicycles
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This was my 5th year riding for Team Capital Ale House in the Bike MS: Ride Virginia. It’s a fund raising effort for the National MS Society that culminates with a two-day bike ride from Richmond to Williamsburg, Va., and back. 150 miles over two days is a tough ride but it’s for a good cause. If you’re so inclined, this is my donation page.

There were a couple of big changes this year that made for a different ride than in years past. First, I finished my Whole 30 on the Thursday before the ride so I didn’t have the week of carb-loading that I have used as an excuse for a 4-day pasta binge. I had serious concerns about being able to ride my bike for 4-5 hours in a row because I didn’t know how my deeper energy stores would be after a month of fat adapting. The silver lining of the Whole 30 was that I lost a bunch of weight, mostly fat, so I’d be a lighter rider than I’d ever been on this ride.

Second, I didn’t get nearly enough training miles this year. The weather and schedule this Spring has been tough on our normal riding schedule. 75 miles is tough on my body even with our normal foundation of miles so going into it at 60% of normal training made for extra tenderness in all of my “contact points” (hands, feet, backside). I had a world-class 10-minute massage after Day 1 and I think it may have saved my Day 2.

Day 1 was good enough. I was worried about my energy levels after the Whole 30 but I made it okay. I ate mostly fruit at the rest stops to avoid any trouble that might crop up from bread or whatever. It was hot out, too, which mostly meant drinking lots of Gatorade and water. Everything worked out okay.

I was tired and sore most of Day 2. I had a couple of runs where I was strong but it wasn’t like it used to be before Whole 30. It was a “raw” strength, not a “feeling good” strength (That doesn’t make sense and I’m still working on how to describe this feeling). It was weird. Our group got split a little as the day went on and I got really fatigued/cranky over the last 20 miles. I was over riding my bike and that put a damper on the weekend for me. Lunch at the finish was great and I passed on the pool to get in a lengthy nap when I got home.

I’m reassessing my cycling calendar for next year. I love riding my bike. This was my 5th MS150 and I might need a break. The whole process felt more like a grind than it ever has and that’s not what I want. I’m not making the call today because I’m still pretty beat. I’ve got 6 months to mull it over. I’m a helluva muller.