I can waste time on the interweb...this is one of the many ways I do it...
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Thursday’s Muscial Education - Avalanche - Just Friends (Nicolas Jaar)
Wait!!! You get two TME this week since I was too busy to post anything last week. I heard this song this morning and I liked it so much I thought it was worth sharing. Just Friends is Nicolas Jarr with Sasha Spielberg (yes, she’s one of those Spielbergs). So first Mr. Jaar works with Scout LaRue and now he’s working with Ms. Speilberg. I notice a trend.
Avalanche is a Leonard Cohen song that has been done a few times by other artists. The crazier thing is how you have to get this song (notice this is a BBC rip). It’s not an available mp3. No, you have to buy a cube to get it. Kind of a cool idea…
(Source: youtube.com)
Thursday’s Musical Education - Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) - Icicle Works
This song makes me feel very old and very young at the same time. I heard it last night and right at that moment I thought “Yup, that is this TME”. So let’s take a trip back to 1984 (or something like that).
(Source: youtube.com)
RIP Matt
The last couple days I’ve been in Pullman learning some protocols in the lab where I earned my Ph.D. (and yes, I earned it…I did have to work my ass off for it). My mentor came in to talk to me a bit and then he told me some horrible news. The kind of news you never want to hear.
A guy I overlapped with in the lab when I was a graduate student committed suicide. I have to say I’m absolutely shocked and completely bummed by hearing this news. Matt’s wife had severe Type 1 diabetes. The kind where you end up in the hospital for days even weeks and she passed away recently. I guess the heartache was too much for Matt to handle so he took his own life. I hate suicide and I hate the thought of him having to go to that extreme. It’s just not the answer.
I’m not going to pretend he was my best friend, or even a good friend. But I liked the guy and always enjoyed running into him at meetings or conferences. He was great to be around. For a scientist, he was different…very different. There are not a lot of biochemists out there that are from Western Colorado, are 6’8” tall, wear Wranglers and cowboy boots, be a beast on the basketball court and listen to horrible country music. Matt did all those things. After obtaining his Ph.D. at WSU he went on to Johns Hopkins for his Post-doc and did very well there. He was a very good scientist. If I thought he was a tad different in Pullman, WA imagine what people thought about him in Baltimore, MD.
I have so many different Matt stories and they all make me smile or shake my head with a wry grin. He, all 6’8” of him, was paired up with a brand new 5’ Chinese post-doc. He was going to mentor her in ddRT-PCR (I’ve just dated my scientific career with that reference)…their communication was absolutely hysterical to watch. Instead of trying a different way to explain something to the Chinese gal with a limited English vocabulary, his solution was to point at things and talk louder. Very loud. It was awesome. Or the time I was looking on-line at the results of a collegiate bike race I did. I was, as usual, towards the back of the pack…he tapped my shoulder, tapped the computer monitor where the results were posted and said, “Looks like you need to be a bit better…you’ve got some work to do…”, all of that was said with a huge smile on his face.
He was a good guy, a very good scientist, and an incredible husband. He took care of his wife like no other. It was impressive what he did to help her with her disease. I can’t put into words what I saw…and I saw only a limited bit.
Suicide is not the answer. Never. But…that is not what this post is about.
I’ll miss ya Matt. RIP
Thursday’s Musical Education - Animal Collective - Honeycomb
New Animal Collective! I’m happy for it. You can pre-order a 7” of it…so all you pretentious hipsters can play it on your “turntable”.
Thursday’s Musical Education - Francoise Hardy - Le Temps De L’Amour
I bet you did not see this one coming? Did ya? I sure didn’t. You may have heard this song in the trailer for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom or maybe you heard it somewhere else like I did. Or, perhaps, this is the first time you have heard it. No matter…I’m pretty sure that you’ll like it. I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.
(Source: youtube.com)
I absolutely loathe western blots. Lucky for me six of the eight antibodies I ordered showed up today. Not only do these need to be done immediately but I also need to do IF/ICC with them.
I think I can state, as the kids would say, “FML”. (I realize that the six of you who read these posts will have no idea what I’m talking about…that’s okay…thanks for reading!)
Thursday’s Musical Education - Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers Part 1
I almost feel like it is cheating using a Neutral Milk Hotel song…because everyone loves them…right? I mean really…no “education” is necessary when it comes to NMH. I absolutely adore this song, it’s a scant two minutes in length but there are so many classic lines.
Searching around for a video of this song I came across this particular video. How it only has 183 hits is beyond me. It’s a great video that some kid made…and gave me a smile. I hope it does the same for you all.
Thursday’s Musical Education - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - ‘NY Is Killing Me’
It’s Gil Scott-Heron remixed by Jamie from the XX. What else could you want in a song? Well, maybe Gil to still be alive…
(Source: youtube.com)
Thursday’s Muscial Education
Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
These guys are awesome. I saw them a year or so ago here in lil’ ol’ Spokane. There were less than 50 people there at the A Club that night. They blew me away. How often do you see two guys killing it for less than 50 people? Not too often.
This is their new single. I can’t wait for the full length when it is released in June.
Fuck yeah. Go Canada!!!
(Source: youtube.com)
Thursday’s Musical Education - Best Coast -The Only Place
I really can’t wait for this album to come out.
Need a nut for a road bike brake? Maybe a front? Or possibly a rear?
I’m slowly beginning the arduous task of organizing all the bike crap I have. Here is my dilemma…I think everything is worth saving when it comes to small bike parts. This picture just illustrates my “problem”. Do I really need 11+ brake nuts (pivot nuts, if you are a Shimano guy)? Of course I do! The sad thing is I have plenty more random small parts and some are very esoteric.
So anyhoo…if you need an odd size brake pivot nut for your road bike…just let me know…
Thursday’s Musical Education - Oberhofer - Away From You
Yay for lo-fi! I like this kid (well, I guess guys since “Oberhofer” is a band), and if you are in the Spokane area next Wednesday they will be at the A Club. I hope to be there as well.
(Source: youtube.com)
Thursday’s Musical Education
Bright Eyes - A Line Allows Progress, A Circle Does Not
What an uplifting song! (I kid, of coruse). Typical Bright Eyes. It’s sad, depressing, and makes you reflect a bit. Conor Oberst is such a good songwriter as I’ve said before.
The question you may be asking is “Why did you pick this song”? I dunno. I came across it this morning on my run and it felt good, so I thought I should share it with you all. (All meaning the one or three people that actually look at this blog).
(Source: youtube.com)
Thursday’s Musical Education - Les Savy Fav - Precision Auto
Cover songs suck. Most of the time…however, this version of Precision Auto (originally performed by Superchunk) does not suck.
This particular song, the original version, is one of my favorite songs of my entire life…so for me to use the cover version says something.
Wawawai TT and Hill climb results (with a GC)
The third annual (I guess it can now be called “annual”) Wawawai Hill climb and TT occured again last Sunday, March 4. The event grew again this year with a total of 81 registrations which was composed of 55 unique riders. Twenty-six of those riders did both of the events. These people are true hard men and women of the sport. Congrats to anyone who did both events, I know that it’s not easy. Actually…I don’t know that since I have never actually raced either event…which may be a sign of my intelligence.
No records fell in the morning’s time trial. The headwind on the way out made sure that would happen. Of course, that same headwind helped the hill climb records fall. Both the women’s record and men’s are new as of the 2012 event. Jodi Bolt (Old Town Bicycle) shattered the previous women’s record with a time of 32:20 (previous record was 35:29) and Jake MacArthur (Keller Rohrback Cycling Team) set the new men’s record with a time of 27:34 (previous record was 28:04). Congrats to both of them.
Results for the hill climb can be found here or here.
Results for the time trial can be found here or here.
I’m posting the unoffical GC times here for people who did both races. I’m thinking about adding overall prizes next year to reward people who do both events.
GC by category:
GC Overall
To those of you who raced, thanks again for coming out. In addition to GC changes, I’m also thinking about adding a 40+ category.
I hope to get some pictures up in a few days.
Thanks to the WSBA, Emde Sports, River City Red Racing, and our officials for all the support and help.
Until 2013…
