A mid-day Sunday post... why not?  Last night I took a long hard ride in the rain and fog and cold on my mountain bike, and it was great.  I really need cycling right now, it is so simple: you get on your bike, you ride, you have fun, you feel good afterward, and it keeps you fit.  What could be better?  Otherwise a pretty quiet day, cold and rainy, spent some time coding, trying to programmatically clean up and analyze some study data...

I have a friend with a Chumby; he really like it, and apparently has it set to display RSS feeds when he wakes up.  Sometimes the first thing he sees in the morning is the last thing I posted the night before.  Wow, now there's some pressure; post something interesting for people to read when they wake up.  Perhaps they'll read this... 

Don't know why but this really hit me: Kay Yow loses battle with cancer.  One of the most successful college basketball coaches ever, she battled breast cancer for 22 years, and finally lost.  So inspiring!  Makes me want to do whatever I can to help others like Kay Yow win. 

ESPN counts down college football's most prestigious programs (since 1936, when the AP poll was started).  #1 is Oklahoma, #2 USC, #3 Ohio State, #4 Notre Dame, #5 Nebraska.  That seems pretty right to me.  Obviously in the last decade USC is #1 and Notre Dame has been shot out the back, but it was not always so.  Certainly a good subject for a bar debate :) 

More bank news; the infographic at left compares the market caps of various banks between Q2 2007 (blue) and Q1 2009 (yellow).  Wow.  The second big circle in the top row is Royal Bank of Scotland; the biggest circle on the bottom is Citibank.  The bank that's shrunk the least is Spain's Santander.  And this of course only includes banks which still exist. [ via Gary on Facebook ] 

Still noodling over Scott Adam's Define Friend.  I've decided it really comes down to trust, someone who will share your interests in the future. 

TTAC reviews the Lexus LS600hL.  "To reality check my impressions, I floored it.  And backed off.  And pressed a couple of buttons.  And floored it.  And backed off.  And then it hit me: the LS600h L has the world’s finest automobile engine."  The interior is spectacular, too, and the electronic toys like the GPS are top-of-the-line.  I'm not in the market for a new car (who is?) but if I were, I'd definitely consider this one. 

Randall Parker says SoCal overdue for Carrizo Plain earthquake.  Great, that's just what we need right now, a disastrous earthquake.  I've actually visited the Carrizo Plain, it's beautiful, although I must tell you it is a bad place to have a flat tire :)  You can see the San Andreas fault quite plainly, it runs right down the middle... 

Congratulations to Allan Davis, winner of the Tour Down Under.  Yesterday he won his third stage of the eight-day tour, pretty much wrapping things up.  Of course the big news in this tour has been Lance Armstrong's return to competitive stage racing.  What I found interesting is that while Lance was right in there - competitive as always - you realize that he doesn't win everything each time he gets on the bike, and he has bad days just like everybody else.  I must tell you I can't wait for the Tour of California! 

From PCWorld: The Seven Worst tech Predictions of All Time.  They are pretty bad, including "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers", and "there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home". 

Robert Scoble reports FriendFeed hits one million users.  Huh, FriendFeed?  I have a FriendFeed account, but I don't get it.  Yet another Web 2.0 social network thing that I don't get - once again it seems there's no there there.  Really the only one of these sites I get is Facebook.  It might be hopeless for me, but I keep trying...  old dog, new trick, etc.