Yes, of course the Tour kicked off today, and even without the traditional Prologue, Stage 1 had plenty of excitement. As is usual this early in the race, nerves were high and there were a number of crashes. Luckily none of them appeared early on to be very serious — with the exception of one which took young Cofidis rider […]
Tomorrow is the Big Day −− Stage I of the Tour. Since I’m on the West Coast of the US, if I want to see the race live I’ll have to get up at 5:30 a.m.; otherwise I can watch the replays at various times throughout the day on Versus. My plan is to videotape the live broadcast, because that’s the way I’ve gotten used to doing it in years past. On the weekends it’s no big deal, but during the week when the Big Guy is working he likes to come home in the evening and watch the stage sans commercials. We also enjoy hearing the commentary of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin; in fact, for me it just wouldn’t be Le Tour without the sound of Phil Liggett’s voice. Of course I’ll also be casting on my Simple Knitted Bodice. I’m going to be using a Size 6 Susan Bates circular needle, since my Size 6 Options circ is broken and I haven’t gotten round to trying to replace it. I did have the brilliant idea today of driving over to Babetta’s (my LYS) in the hopes of finding the right size Addi Turbo needle −− but of course they were closed today . . . and if I’d had the sense to phone ahead I would have known that! It’s not a disaster to have to use the Susan Bates needle, but I’m still going to try […]
. . . but I’m still learning (the hard way, apparently) about blogging and posting information on the internet for all to (hopefully) see. When I first opened this blog I decided my very first post would be a summary of some helpful information on how to save money pumping gas. I’d read these tips in my local newspaper so I took the info at face value and faithfully reproduced it. Now I’ve learned that the source of this information is questionable, as is the usefulness of the so-called “tips.” In fact, this very article has been listed on truthorfiction.com as “fiction.” The web site’s page on this article was last updated in November of 2007, so clearly this story has been drifting through the internet for some time. Whether I have hundreds of people reading my blog or no one at all, I feel it’s my responsibility to post a correction to the previous entry and apologize for not checking my facts further before publishing. I admit it never even crossed my mind to check the veracity of the information — and I’m usually of a more skeptical mind set. All I can say now is, lesson learned!
The following paragraphs were originally posted on 31 March and 19 May 2008: Spring is arriving little by little, and that means, for one thing, more sunny days for my dogs to enjoy outdoors. Gabby especially is a sun bather; I think that’s a definite characteristic of pit bulls. Every pit bull I’ve been lucky enough to share my life with has shown an absolute genius for locating the most comfortable spot in the yard for lounging and soaking up as much sun as possible. Sometimes it seems the only thing that gets a bull dog through the shivery cold winter is a stubborn hope that the sun will come back, just for her. On cloudy days Gabby will stare at me as if to say, “Well? What did you do with my sunshine?” The first even-slightly-warm day of the year is her opportunity to find her spot and stay there until she’s overheated and panting. And then nothing pleases her more than trudging back inside the house for a nice, long, cold drink of water — and right back out the door to do it all again. 19/5/08: I keep seeing images of the Eiffel Tower today! I’m watching part of Project Runway (third season), and of course I watched part of the Giro d’Italia on Versus yesterday, so I’m very much in mind of the Tour de France coming up oh so soon and the possibility of my […]
The following entry was originally posted on 27 February, 2008 on my old blog: Last week we went over to Sebastopol and watched Stage I of the Tour of California. We’ve been there every year for the last three years, and this was the second year we climbed halfway up Coleman Valley Road and watched the peloton snake its way up toward us. I’ve got some GREAT video, but my stills aren’t the best. Oh well — every year I learn something new about photographing the race; maybe someday I’ll get something good enough to share. Either way, I’m happy because I got to see the guys in person and I’ve got pictures to prove it. Work started up again this week, and I’ve got to say I’m glad, although it may be tough getting back into the routine again. Oh, wait — I forgot. I never really HAD a routine, which was part of my problem. Seriously, one of these days I’ve got to make up a work schedule and make myself stick to it. You know, so I’ll be able to work and still have a life . . . I finished up my “quickie” knitting project — took time off from the Pinwheel Sweater to knit up a hat, with the intention of giving it to my mom. Last summer I bought two skeins of Cascade 220 in a lavender shade which I thought she might really […]
I just read a piece in my local newspaper with some interesting info. The article is supposed to be posted in a special section of this site: http://www.orangevalejournal.com — although at last check I couldn’t actually find the article on the site. I’ll quote the salient portions of the article: “These tips come from the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where [the source] works in San Jose, CA. They deliver about 4 million gallons through the pipeline in an average 24-hour period. One day they are pumping diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. They have 34 storage tanks here in San Jose with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. And here are some of his tips. 1) Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is coolest. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening, your gallon is not exactly a gallon . . . A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. 2) When you’re filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the fastest mode. if you look, you will see that the trigger has three stages: low, […]