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I rode the Death Ride today, and survived (!), in fact it went rather well (9:48!)... I am tired but happy. But tired. I'll post more about that tomorrow when I have a chance to catch my breath. Tonight after the ride I had a nice dinner with my brother Jeroen, my cousin Anita, and her husband Tom... this ride is my annual opportunity to see them :) and so now I am driving home, currently in Bishop taking a break, and making a brief filter pass...
... and again I am delighted with my remote viewing setup, Tivo to Slingbox to laptop, which enabled me to watch today's Tour stage, and I am about to watch the World Cup third place game... you might think this is dangerous, but actually I am mostly listening rather than watching, and it serves to keep me awake. On the road again...
Looking back over my blog, I must tell you I can't believe the Fourth of July was last weekend. Must have been the longest week of all time!
Yesterday I wrote "Tomorrow is a big day in the Tour de France, and also in the World Cup", but now I can write it again, in fact Tomorrow is a bigger day in the Tour de France (the first real mountain stage), and also in the World Cup (the final!). I will be watching both with great interest. Go Lance! Go Oranje! 
 Paul Mirengoff of Powerline has a nice preview of Spain vs Holland... I fear he's right about this: "There's an important difference between what it means for these teams to play badly. When Spain isn't playing well, it's usually about an overhit final ball or a scuffed shot. The result is a throw or kick by the goal-keeper. When Holland isn't playing well, too often it's about a turnover in midfield or a gap in the defense. The result is a scoring opportunity for the opposition."
I am hyper-aware of the need to stay away from my computer and phone tomorrow morning. The results of both the Tour stage and the World Cup final will be all over everything immediately... (among other things, I'm sure all my friends are going to be sending text messages; people cannot keep something like a World Cup final score a secret...)
Liran Shapira makes a subtle point: Be Impressed. "When you tell people they're making a positive impression on you, they automatically turn up the behavior that caused it." When a girl has a beautiful smile, always say so :)
 This Rocks: It's as if Apple has hired Don Draper. Not only a great point about the iPhone 4 - which I am amazingly intrigued to buy, like many, for the FaceTime capability alone - but it introduces me to Mad Men, a TV show about which I have heard much good... I might have to watch a TV show. (Wow, I can change.)
BTW I already knew I loved Louis Armstrong, but now I know it all over again!
A key question, asked on Slashdot: Has any creative work failed because of piracy? I can't think of anything quickly, can you?
Man I need some of this: A chemical to make brain cells grow. I have been using Diet Coke and Red Wine with limited results :)
My answer is 155. So far...
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Just finished watching today's TDF stage while driving back from the Death Ride; it was pretty entertaining, wasn't it? There was just enough climbing to make things interesting and provide opportunities, but the climbs weren't steep enough (or long enough) to provide the GC men with opportunities to gain time. Jerome Pinot used the stage as a chance to escape and take points for the polka-dot climbers jersey - chapeau to him, nicely done - and 
