3D

As in U2 3D.

Gotta get to Tempe for this one.

In this film, though, no shot of the Edge can linger long enough; he is a fascinating blend of the ordinary and the mystical, a guy in a T-shirt, jeans and skullcap with a magical presence, capable of making sound from his guitar that seemingly should require four musicians on separate instruments. His face reflects authority, compassion and contentment, not the rage and glee that envelop Bono's onstage persona. The Edge is a still presence, a cornerstone, a man who quietly revels while a wild celebration unfolds around him.

Edge is always my personal favorite.

Another review.

Manchild

Heard this on NPR. Found this article incredibly interesting. Excerpts:

Not so long ago, the average mid-twentysomething had achieved most of adulthood's milestones – high school degree, financial independence, marriage and children. These days, he lingers – happily – in a new hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance.

Naturally, women wonder: How did this perverse creature come to be? The most prevalent theory comes from feminist-influenced academics and cultural critics, who view dude media as symptoms of backlash, a masculinity crisis. Men feel threatened by female empowerment, these thinkers argue, and in their anxiety, they cling to outdated roles.

For whatever reason, adolescence appears to be the young man's default state, proving what anthropologists have discovered in cultures everywhere: It is marriage and children that turn boys into men. Now that the SYM can put off family into the hazily distant future, he can – and will – try to stay a child-man. Not only is no one asking that today's twenty- or thirtysomething become a responsible husband and father – that is, grow up – but a freewheeling marketplace gives him everything he needs to settle down in pig's heaven indefinitely.

Comments? It's true. Feminism has allowed men to continue to be adolescents, enjoy the sexual benefits of women without the responsibility.

Men need something great to live for and fight for. Without that purpose, might as well get a good video game...or surf MTBR.

Mccain

This doesn't exactly make me want to support the guy.

What a resoundingly lukewarm endorsement from a most liberal source.

We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.

I doubt they are doing him much favors amongst conservatives.

Joshua Update

For those of you following Josh's saga, an update from his parents below:

God is being glorified daily in so many ways through the work that He is doing to prove His character and Word true in the lives of Josh, Sadie, Kylee and Bethany. Thank you for your continued prayers and your part in glorifying God. As you all can imagine it’s not an easy chapter of life for them, and the prayers, gifts and help of many people through the grace of God continue to sustain them and bear fruit through their lives.

Since the last “Josh Update” on November 15 here are a few things that God has done to sustain Josh and his family in the midst of their continuing journey of hope with his brain cancer:

· Although one of Josh’s many falls resulted in him breaking his weak right arm (humerus fxr--EN), he continues to get up through the pain to do all he can to pass on God’s grace to those around him. His arm has completely healed now, but recently Joshua has been falling from one to three times a day. Joint, back and side pain on his good left side has increased due to the right side weakness. Yesterday, God provided so that he could get a cortisone shot to hopefully relieve some of the pain in his hip. He has only been able to attain uneven and unsteady walking using a cane and leg brace over the past eight months since the recovery process began after his surgery last spring, and he may have to go to a wheelchair. This would mean huge new adjustments for them in their small condo with steps leading up to it.

· Chemo-therapy continues to be approved by their insurance provider, and his blood counts are once again healthy to enable him to resume his intra-venous bi-monthly chemo-therapy in Phoenix and his oral three week chemo-therapy each month. Due to the time needed for his broken arm to heal there had to be a two month pause in the chemo-therapy and that turned out to be a blessing in bringing back a good appetite for the holidays. There will be another MRI in February.

· Josh’s alertness and a return to more conversational involvement continues to grow and improve making relationships with family and friends increasingly more vibrant and fruitful.

· Josh goes about each day in faith trusting God to enable him to do whatever he can to fulfill God’s purposes and plans for his life. His greatest heart’s desire is to see God care for his wife Sadie and their daughters who are now 4 ½ and 2 years of age. Bethany Faith’s two year birthday is today. You might remember that Sadie was 6 months pregnant with Bethany when this whole cancer challenge began. We praise the Lord for both Kylee and Bethany and their sweet faith in Jesus as they watch, help and pray with Mommy and Daddy and go through this together as a family.

· Sadie is increasingly reaching out to help and bless those around her: babysitting neighbor children, giving a very moving testimony at her M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) goup, and giving a baby shower for a good friend. As you can perhaps imagine, the challenges of life with two little ones and the many added responsibilities with all of Josh’s medications, handicaps and falls are not easy for Sadie. And this week Sadie and the two girls all ended up with a very bad cold. As we sat around our table on New Year’s Day and each shared a goal for 2008, Sadie said “I’m asking God for hope.”

· Sadie’s M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group and many people from our church, The Heights, were led of the Lord to do a home make-over of their two bedroom condominium to encourage and bless them in November. Fresh new modern style painting, some new furniture, new lighting and a marble counter top in the kitchen are a few of the things that are daily reminders of God’s hands on care and encouragement for them through the very generous Body of Christ. God continues to provide for them through disability income, gifts from many people and public health insurance.

If the Lord places it upon your heart would you please join us in special prayer for one month until 2-22-08 to ask the Lord to please:

1. Take away the cycle of falling and increased pain in Joshua’s back, side and right hip joint. And instead for Josh to transition into steady walking and the freedom of movement that comes from less pain and stronger muscles, rather than going to a wheelchair.

2. Use these next 30 days to give Romans 5:1-8 kind of hope, joy, insight and contentment to Josh, Sadie, Kylee and Bethany. (See the verses printed out below.)

3. Bless all of the details and planning as Josh once again heads up a Cancer Treatment Center city-wide “Journey of Hope” here in Prescott on May 15^th.

Thank you for your part in what God is doing to glorify Himself each day here with Josh, Sadie, Kylee and Bethany.

Yours in Christ,

The Prescott Sloans

Romans 5:1-8

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,

Because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

Perseverance, character;

And character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us,

Because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

Whom He has given us.

You see, at just the right time,

When we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,

Though for a good man someone might dare to die.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

--Romans 5:1-8

May you be blessed and encouraged as you believe and find the treasures of our Lord Jesus Christ in God’s Word in the midst of the challenges and sufferings that you are facing as well.

Burn out Bright

Just listening to Switchfoot for no particular reason today in the office.

The lyrics to this song totally caught me off guard. Don't know if it is the lack of sleep or what, but I found myself weeping and see my life and desires in them so much. I had never listened to this song closely because the music is fairly hard, and actually annoyed me a bit, but in retrospect, the music perfectly matches the "fight for it tone" of the lyrics. Listen to it if you can.

I mostly relate the the first line. Never did I want the mediocre Christian life. One life to live and then eternity. Too often I live as though this world and its pleasures are all there is. Forgive me Lord for not following you with total abandon.

Burn out Bright

Does it have to start with a broken heart
Broken dreams and bleeding parts
We were young and world was clear
Young ambition disappears
I swore it would never come to this
The average, the obvious

I'm still discontented down here
I'm so discontented

If we only got one try
If we only go for a life
If time was never on our side
Before I die I want to burn out bright

So a spark ignites
In time and space
To make it through this human race
You fight and crawl your way back home
But you're running the wrong way

The future is a question mark
With kerosene electric sparks
There's still fire in you yet
Yeah there's still fire in you

If we only got one try
If we've only got one life
If time was never on our side
Before I die I want to burn out bright

I can't clean up the mess I've made
I can't clean up the mess I've made

I can't sleep in the bed I've made
I can't sleep in the bed I've made

If we only got one try
If we only go for a life
If time was never on our side
But before i die i wanna burn out
Before i die i wanna burn out
Before i die i wanna burn out
Before i die i wanna burn out bright

If time was never on our side
But before i die i wanna burn out bright

Those Puritans

Were fairly serious about rearing their children.

Intentionality with a capital I. I am afraid I fall far short of that. Too much time spent on sloth, amusement, and things not eternal.

John's EMD 9

Shamelessly lifted from MTBR.







I had the chance to build up and test ride an EMD 9 for a pal. He wanted a fast hardtail for midwestern singletrack that would complement his single speed Inbred. Generally, he liked the handling of the Inbred a lot, but there were times he wanted to push faster, and was just spinning out on the Inbred.

He had a Cannondale Caffeine for a while, but could never seem to come to grips with its handling traits. Just never felt the love so to speak.

After considering a lot of frames, we decided on the EMD 9 as one that would best suit his needs at a very reasonable price point I might add. His only requirement was that it have Mary bars, and a Reba with lock-out.



I think he is going to like it a lot.

The frame came very nicely packed, and built up impressively. I was impressed with the quality appearance and feel of it given the price point. Freaking light too.

Building with the new XTR stuff was dreamy. Just worked nicely right out of the box. Bleeding the brakes was a pain, but mostly because I always use mechanicals on my own stuff. The stuff is gorgeous.


The build was a mix of old and new. Used king hubs and headset, Inbred stem, Mary bars, Reba. New: XTR Gruppo, Gravity dropper (my idea since I am hooked on mine).

Wheels built in consultation with and parts from Mikesee were Mustangs laced 3X to DT Comp spokes, and they built easily and feel quite stiff given their weight. Tire choice was tough, but I went with big grip in the front and fast rolling in the back....Sorta mullet. This is not a full on XC race bike, so I like the extra grip in the front as a safety measure.

I got it together and had a nice few hours to test and tune. The ride was not too technical, more wide open terrain with a few short climbs, switchbacks, and singletrack. A few big ring descents with sweeping turns in it.



It felt great right away. Very responsive. Very fast. I have essentially no time on a geared hardtail since all my geared bikes are full suspension, and my hardtails SS, so it took a while for me to get out of the habit of standing and pushing a big gear all the time. It rides nicely climbing while standing, didn't complain a bit. Seated climbing up steep, narrow switchbacks was intuitive, easy even. Just shift down and spin.



Speaking of shifting....this XTR stuff is unbelievable. I am used to fairly dated Sram stuff, and the speed of the shifts was incredible. Initially it was finicky to set up, but once dialed, the front and the rear shift amazingly nice even under load. It might convert me back to Shimano if I thought it would stay that way after things get gummed up after a few rides....I don't think it will without more cable maintenance than I care to perform.

Comfort (flex) was slightly greater than my Ventana El Comandante..whatever. I noticed no flex in the BB shell, or front triangle, but really did not push it hard enough in technical enough terrain to tell.

Descending was nice. No surprises. It handles quicker than I am accustomed to, but not in a way that demands your absolute attention. In high speed sweepers, the rear lets loose slightly and predictably before the front. Braking is well modulated, not too powerful, but they are hardly broken in.

At the end of the ride, I realized that I will not be going back to Mary bars off road. They simply hurt my hands. For my test ride I had Oury grips on. I have since changed them out for Ergons as I have found the Ergons helped me a lot with discomfort on my commuter bike that sports Marys.



The cockpit looks like something the Borg would be happy with. Lots of levers and whatnot all over the place.



Everything routes fairly nicely anyway.

In summary:

The EMD 9 is a nice, comfy, fast, light, well constructed hardtail frame at a price that won't break the bank.

New XTR stuff is droolworthy and performs (when new) incredibly well.

It should perform nicely in the midwest, but it would not be the bike for me since I prefer a slower handling, more burly feeling frame. It is not as noodly as my Zion 737, and handles similarly, and not as solid as El Comandante, and handles significantly quicker.

Wow!

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/5173

Can I get an...

Amen

Ergon vs Oury

I have been happily using Ergon grips on the Lunchbox and the Cross check. In one case on risers, in the other with Mary's. In both cases, they are used with Gripshift shifters.

I have typically used Oury grips. The switch to Ergon's was prompted by some hand pain when riding the Mary bars with thinner grips. They definitely seemed to do the trick, and I have enjoyed the Mary/Ergon combo for commuting, and the riser/Ergon combo for suspension riding for some time now, with essentially no issues.

The one hold out has been the SS bike. I have Oury's on carbon risers and have really no issues with the set up. Since I started riding the SS full rigid I thought it might be worth trying the Ergon's for a little more cush.

I put one Ergon on and left one Oury. Rode 305 this am.

Verdict: The grips are essentially equal on the descents. After a bit of ascending, however, I found my hand using the Ergon fairly fatigued. Not sure why, but I think that being unable to encircle the grip completely forced me to put more pressure on the tendons that did have a grip (FDS technically). My fingers still ache now, many hours later. Obviously, SS riding requires much higher pulling grip pressures than geared riding, and that would explain why I never noticed it before.

So, for SS on relatively unswept bars, Oury's definitely have the edge and will be staying on the SS.

PS: I love El Comandante. Friggen awesome bike.

Happiness is...

BLASTING the stereo at way higher than mommy approved levels, listening and watching Bono and the boys on the Vertigo tour while dancing with four kids and screaming at the top of your lungs. I think the neighbors three doors down could hear us.

Sometimes it is good when mommy steps out:)

It is also getting a nice long ride on the commuter. Roadies would call it a LSD ride, and I so needed to get out. Nice scenery, relatively flat lots of water.

Rejoice always.

Visitors

Starting about 10 days ago, they started pouring in:

Mom and Dad in law

Brother in law

Brother, Sister in law with 3 yo son

1st bro in law leaves

My dad arrives

Wifes cousin and fiancee arrive

Parents in law leave

Cousin/fiancee leave

My sister and hubby and two dogs arrive

Dad and sister/hubby/dogs leave

Ahhhhhh. Back to the usual chaos.

It was really fun to have everyone around, and the house served us perfectly as planned. The kids really love having their little cousin Ben around as well. I was amazed at the amount of trash produced and food consumed by all these people.

Christmas loot for me (besides the baby) was the book "The War", and the 7 DVD series by the same name. So far I have read one chapter and watched one DVD. It is beyond outstanding and should be required in American history classes of all Junior/Senior level students. IMO, WWII always got short shrift in history. Essentially, the teacher always ran out of time and skipped it. Admittedly, this is the area of history that interests me most, but I am still learning stuff from the series. Not recommended for younger kids due to graphically violent images.

Bro in law also got me "Undaunted Courage", so I will have lot of history to read for a while.

Watson

Got out to Watson lake with the chillens for a hike/bouldering/canyoneering.


Frisco peaksThey learn young
First Canyoneering trip?
Nice shiner (monkey bars)


Man do they love to climb. I am having to really reel in the 7 yo because he is just so stoked to get out on the rocks, but still lacks a bit of judgment about what sort of falls can be deadly, and they are out there.

Need to get out there just me and him so I can spot him a bit on tougher stuff he wants to try.

Need to learn proper technique/etiquette for bouldering, and start working on protected climbing with him. Unfortunately this is a sport I find interesting, but have never made the time to learn it (unlike all things bikes).

Building

What better use for the new kitchen?

Finally got around to building John's wheelset for the world's fastest bike. I have been sitting on the parts literally for months, but figured there was no hurry since last time he was here he dislocated his elbow (following me off something), and is only just now getting back on the bike.

My building skills are improving. I was able to lace the wheels (the hardest part for me) without consulting a book although I did take a few peeks at some of the built wheels on the bikes prior to starting. In addition, this is the first time I placed every spoke in to the hub prior to lacing, previously, I would add spokes layer by layer.

Lacing both probably took 1.5 hours, tensioned the front in 1/2 hr, rear in an hour which is probably a record for me. These are about the 7th and 8th wheels I have built. Getting faster, but no speed demon yet. How many professional wheelbuilders can do a Carpal tunnel in three minutes though?

King hubs laced 3X to Bontrager Mustang OSB rims with DT competition spokes and prolock nipples. They tensioned up very nicely. I am impressed with the stiffness of these rims. The seem like very, very nice XC rims if you don't necessarily want tubeless. I think Bontrager has their own rim strip which served me nicely in the 26" version of these rims. I would say I like them better than the Stans Flows or Arches. Certainly built way easier.

They will go on John's full XTR Niner EMD back to Kentucky after I have finished thrashing them for a while. Very, very nice bike and quite nice looking. It will have my last used Reba on it, so it is WB and rigid for me.

The fun thing about wheelbuilding is seeing all these wimpy, flexy parts slowly transform into an amazingly stiff, light, durable construct that will support 200 lbs going at high speeds in rough terrain. All just with a few turns of a screw. Extremely cool and relatively unchanged for 100 years.