Midnight Modern Conversation

Go play outside

2012-01-23T07:06:00.002-05:00

Looking north from the summit of Camels Hump. Not captured in the photo - the gale bringing in a change of weather from the south.

It's been a piss-poor winter so far, with lots of erratic weather, no big snowstorms, and the snow cover in the woods is pretty thin. It's already late January, February is a short month, and that means that the spring equinox is not that far away.

Once consequence of the dismal winter is that my skis have been languishing in the garage and I have been staying indoors, spending too much time unproductive time online and watching too much television. This is not my usual mode of living, and one which I hope is not a harbinger of things to come as I get older.

So it was good to scramble up Camels Hump yesterday, snowshoes were not required on the well broken trail, I wore crampons which were mostly overkill but did come in handy near the summit. Once on the bare, windswept and glaze-ice covered rock at the top of the mountain I could stride around with impunity on my lethal-looking footgear while others balanced precariously in the gale.

Raise a glass to the memories

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and auld lang syne?
(Auld Lang Syne)

Raise a glass to the memories.

I'll start the new year by looking back, as usual. For many people in Vermont, 2011 was memorable year, albeit for mostly bad reasons.

It's a VERY inconsequential claim to fame, but I had the last pint of 'cask conditioned ale' ever pulled at the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury.

It was about 7:30 pm on Saturday, August 27, 2011, and the beer was, as I recall, Donovan's Red. The cask 'kicked' with my order, and there was no more til the next week. But the next week never came. I finished the beer, bid a hasty good night to Kenny (the head bartender) through the thick scrum of customers at the bar, and headed out into the evening.

Happier times at the bar, standing room only in December 2010.

The next day tropical storm Irene hit Vermont and the village of Waterbury was inundated by the Winooski River. The Alchemist, like many other businesses in the village, was heavily damaged.

After the flood.

At first the pub's owners thought that they would be able to reopen but then the reality of the situation (coupled with an artfully written flood insurance policy that managed to not cover very significant damages) meant the plan to reopen did not come to fruition. The space will reopen as a pub but under new management.

The owners of the Alchemist had (thankfully) diversified prior to the flood and built a small brewery - cannery on a hill in Waterbury which will be their main line of business from now on. I wish them every success, and have purchased some of their canned product, but it's not the same.

Many words -- online and in print -- have been spilled on the fate the Alchemist (here). It was a place that kind of put Waterbury on the map for nightlife as people traveled from far and wide to sample the beer and eat the reasonably priced pub food. You could tell Waterbury was becoming a happening place because prior to the flood it was getting so that it was hard find parking downtown in the evening.

The Alchemist really was where I first encountered a range of beer styles that I could experience (beer has become quite the topic on this blog) and also was the first bar that I ever became a semi-regular in. The staff displayed an amazing ability to remember names and faces considering that the place was always busy.

And it was a place of some solace in times of economic distress -- I noticed, that the worse the economy was, the more time I tended to spend there -- meaning I spent a lot of time there in the past four years. I met some interesting folks there and heard some stories of the wider world.

It's all gone now, consigned to the realm of memory. Some beer geeks filmed an interview with brewer/co-owner John Kimmich in July of 2011 and the clip is like watching a train wreck in slow motion, at one point there's some banter about the flood of 1927, not knowing what was in store a month and a half later.

The clip -- which is not so much about beer, as it is about the rewards and perils involved in running a small business -- can be viewed here and some photos of Waterbury -- including the Alchemist -- after the flood can be viewed here.

Happy [fill in the blank]

2011-12-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

We made it through another holiday season. In Waterbury, where I live, there's been something of an atmosphere of enforced gaiety and holiday cheer as the community struggles to recover from the September flood and the dramatic changes brought about by the filthy brown water from the Winooksi River that inundated the town.

So let's be thankful for what we have and hope for better things in 2012 -- whatever one's personal belief system might be.

What lies ahead

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Rebuilding Waterbury meeting, facilitated by FEMA

Driving through Waterbury in late December 2011, things look almost normal. The oversized dumpsters filled with debris that were such a prominent feature of the post-Tropical Storm Irene townscape are mostly gone. Hundreds of buildings were damaged but relatively few -- mostly centered in the village's two trailer parks -- were destroyed. The temporary FEMA office on the second floor of the fire station has closed.

But appearances deceive. Many of the homes damaged in the flood are still under repair and are not yet habitable, and there are many displaced families living in awkward and temporary housing arrangements. Some local businesses have reopened but some have closed and some relocated out of town. Most of the state office complex, which once housed 1500 workers, is closed and the workforce dispersed far and wide, a situation that will not be resolved for several years to come.

Into this very challenging situation steps the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). The agency is working specially and intensively with two towns in Vermont: Wilmington -- where the entire business district was inundated, and Waterbury, where there's lots of damage, and is the community that probably took the single largest economic hit in Vermont from the storm, due the damage at the state office complex.

Last Thursday FEMA facilitated a meeting on Waterbury's future in the local elementary school. It was well attended and designed to conceive of what the village 'might be' in the future without taking into consideration unpleasant practicalities like funding mechanisms. A process to come up with a community wish list, with no strings attached.

It was relatively easy for a couple of hundred of engaged, optimistic people (neatly broken up into teams, each assigned with a separate area -- Recreation, Human Services, Economic Development, etc.) to come up with a long list of ideas, some of which are solutions to problems resulting from the flood, some of which addressed pre-existing problems in town.

The FEMA group had experience with other disasters and showed a short video of some folks in Alabama talking about the recovery process in their tornado-devastated community. The FEMA folks, they've seen situations like this before.

I attended this event and sat in on the economic development table. On one hand, it was a positive event. Lots of people, lots of energy, the community leaders were all there, there was a palpable frisson of optimism in the air.

On the other hand, however, (and maybe this is a temperamental defect on my part), it was a profoundly discouraging event. The list of post-flood problems in Waterbury is long. What was once a pretty thriving (by Vermont standards) community is now regressing backwards. There are many pressing needs, and some -- most? -- will require significant amounts of money to address. And therein lies the rub...

So to engage in a large scale collective imagineering session paying scant attention to practical realities might feel good for 90 minutes or so. But on the day after, one wakes up with the realization that the situation has not changed, and that the process of change hasn't even really begun.

Some photos of Waterbury the day after the flood here.

Assimilation

2011-11-28T19:12:00.001-05:00

I had avoided cell phones, smart phones and mobile technology -- until now. My one small contribution to the untold billions spent on Black Friday was to order this device from Amazon -- a basic 4G capable Android phone for the T-mobile network.

T-mobile (at least while the company still exists in North America) has a $30/month unlimited data plan that comes without the necessity of two year contracts or 450 minutes of unwanted and expensive voice minutes per month.

When the device shows up, I intend to 'root' it (delete a host of unwanted pre-installed software), install a VOIP dialer, and use a Google Voice number over data or (when available) WiFi connections. If this works well then my days with a landline phone may be numbered.

It will be interesting to see how this changes me -- if at all. Perhaps constant connectivity will reinvigorate my waning interest in online oversharing and having a camera with me more often may open some new possibilities.

...or perhaps I'll just play Angry Birds instead.

Go-go girls ascendant as Tyler fades away

2011-11-20T08:10:00.001-05:00

To run this totally inconsequential site, is to have a small keyhole through which to peer at the pulsing global consciousness: The traffic reports reveal what people all over the world are searching for.

And what does this record reveal?

That erotic massage in Kathmandu (Thamel, specifically) is now the single most searched topic on this site.

Looking for ~~love~~ tawdry, paid-for sex in all the wrong places...

And the thing is, that I'm sure that these worldwide seekers of pleasure are pretty disappointed when they click through... because the post in question alludes to tawdry, paid-for sex, but does not describe any such activity, because there were no such activities to describe on the night in question.

Go-go dancers, alas not of Nepal, but of New York City.

Time marches on and memories fade.

And how has traffic to this site evolved? Back in 2007 I inadvertently Google-bombed cyclist Tyler Hamilton's then-wife (the topic of the post was doping) and this post was the single most trafficked page on this site through the spring of 2011.

In May, however, Hamilton confessed on 60 Minutes and ignominiously retired, and ever since, search traffic to this post has tapered off. Two trends remain, however:

If it's not the topic of drugs, it's the topic of sex, that drives traffic to this site. The post "Drugs and sex remain popular" is already written.
No one really cares about where I ride my bike or the other more recent triviality that shows up here.

Out and back

2011-11-16T06:44:00.001-05:00

I have not been very active on this blog lately. "Moonlight in Vermont or Starve" is a bumper sticker here and I have managed to juggle a string of roles, some professional and challenging, others more mundane (landscaping), in an attempt to keep the repo man at bay.

Also some of my roles involve blogging and after coming up with coherent, well-argued, typo-free blog posts on varied topics in the workplace the last thing I want to do is come home and blog some more.

It has, however, been a warm and clement November which has meant that my Sunday routine has involved watching a cyclocross race (usually a Superprestige or World Cup) from Europe online and then going for a ride on my road bike.

After several years away from the road bike it is strange and somewhat awkward to spend hours in the saddle again. I find that both leg speed (ie, cadence) and overall speed is lacking on the bike but there's no doubt that the longer road climbs in the area offer a chance to gain strength and fitness that will carry over to nordic skiing and next year's riding season.

The usual lumpy Vermont ride profile.

Autumnal

2011-11-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

One can sense the end of the year aproaching -- and it's not just from the holiday commercials showing up on television. Images from a (probably) last ride on Waterbury's Perry Hill trail network near my home last week. Wind and a light dusting of snow over the weekend finished removing any remaining foliage from the trees: It is officially 'stick season' now.

There was still some color in the understory on the trails at lower elevation.

These trails close for the season on November 1. If there are some balmy clement days in November I may poach a couple of quick rides but for the most part riding season here is over until 2012.

Higher up, the trees were pretty bare and the thick layer of leaves on the ground made for very tricky riding, even on trails that I know very well.

I know it is perfectly absurd of me and also that I am not a very technically proficient mountain biker but I was quite pleased with myself when I learned to ride these rocks on my rigid bike. When I first encountered this obstacle many years ago I thought to myself "there's no way I'll ride this".

The 'line', roughly.

My Redline has served me well but now that I have a mostly functional road bike I can set about upgrading or replacing this rig. Most of the time the rigid bike is fine but I have done some longer rides where the Redline has delivered a real beating and left me sore and barely able to ride. Salsa's "Adventure by bike" slogan and design philosophy has a certain appeal....
The GPS track of this ride.

Ride of the (mostly) fallen leaves

2011-10-17T09:15:00.001-04:00

The foliage in north-central Vermont is now mostly past peak which means that most -- though not all -- of the tourists have departed. A fine day for a long, hilly ride on my newly-rebuilt road bike.

Bottom of Loomis Hill in Waterbury Center.

Sweet Farm Road.

Waterworks Road.

My bike is not delicate and I don't hesitate to ride on the many dirt roads in the area. Vermont Route 100, with heavy traffic, a poor road surface, and glass and other debris is much worse to ride on compared to a relatively smooth and quiet unpaved road.

Trapp Hill Road in Stowe.

Rt 108 riding towards Smuggler's Notch.

Looking pretty grubby heading up into the Notch.

Loomis - Trapp Hill - Smugglers - home.

Forty-six turning 38

2011-10-14T08:01:00.001-04:00

Little ring.

Every October marks another turning over of my personal odometer, a few more kilometers closer to the grave.

Showing that I am perhaps a little wiser -- as well as fatter, and slower -- in my advancing years, I set up the drivetrain of my road bike with 52/38 chainrings, and am running a 25 cassette. The idea is to make climbing at least a little easier going forward.

Waterbury to Waitsfield by bike.

Small gears make ride profiles like this easier to manage -- and Route 100 through Duxbury does not count as one of the longer, or steeper, climbs in the area.

Back in the saddle again

2011-10-09T12:45:00.000-04:00

My road bike languished in my garage for the better part of three years. Its components were worn out, I had started collecting parts and brought it to a local shop, which told me that the frame was cracked, which sent me back to square one. In the meantime, wasps built nests in the crank bolts and pedal spindles and the frame and fork served as a forlorn ornament hanging from the rafters.

Further research, however, revealed that the frame was not in fact cracked, but procrastination and other projects prevented me from putting the bike back together. I was going to get to this project earlier this year -- like spring time -- but only recently was the project finished, thanks to help from Iride in Stowe.

Resurrected: My 11 year-old, size 52 cm, Chinese-made titanium, Habanero road bike.

After years of inelegantly hammering on my undergeared rigid mountain bike it feels very strange to get out on a road bike again. The muscle memory of sitting in the saddle and trying to be smooth and keep a high cadence -- especially climbing -- is almost all gone. And there have been some issues getting the new drivetrain parts to work together: the photo is from an aggressive chain degreasing/re-lubing session.

I haven't had any close calls with cars yet, but with distracting personal technology even more prevalent now then when I last was out on the roads, I wonder if it is only a matter of time. It is disconcerting to do something perfectly innocent -- ride a bike -- but to know that it is a bit like playing the lottery with potentially catastrophic consequences.

A tour of devastation along the Winooski and Mad River valleys in Vermont. It is strange to ride along local river valleys and see debris from the flood high in the treetops, gutted homes and collapsed bridges, silent testimony to the passing of Irene.

Dirty pictures: More Nor'Easter cyclocross race images

2011-09-29T15:19:00.003-04:00

Images from the cyclocross race held at North Beach, Burlington on 9/24/2011 as part of the Nor'Easter festival held at various venues along the waterfront.

Ian Field and Tom Van Den Bosch race in the late afternoon sun.

Some of these images were used in the previous post but these have more elaborate post processing so perhaps the quality on these is a little better.

Nicolas Bazin showed the strain of the heavy, muddy course.

The frentic start of the pro men's race.

The local CBS affiliate declined to send a crew to cover the event itself but did make sure to have crew talking to some very unhappy Canadians on the day after the race.

The race did tear up the turf pretty badly but I'm pretty sure that with some grass seed and hay for mulch that there won't be any sign of the race when the park opens again in 2012. People should just chill out.

A gallery with images from the Juniors/3s, Women's, and Pro men's races can be viewed here.

Water, water (and mud) everywhere: Nor'Easter Cross images

2011-09-25T17:06:00.001-04:00

Images from the Nor'Easter Cyclocross Race, September 24, held at North Beach, Burlington. It rained on the days prior to the event, soaking the ground and turning pretty much the entire course into a heavy, slippery mud bath.

UK National Champion Helen Wyman flew through the mud in the women's race.
(Ted King watching in the background.)

Laura Van Gilder spun sideways on a flat section on the first lap.

Pro montain biker Lea Davison had an easier time than most in the mud.

Amy Dombrowski rode in second for most of the day...

Until she snagged course tape and had to complete the race on foot, winding up 8th.

Wyman had plenty of time to celebrate her victory.

Wyman: "Racing in mud is like custard and ice cream to me..."

Women's podium

Spray flew at the Pro men start.

The pro men had to contend with the thickest mud of the day.

It was a struggle to ride even flat sections.

More mud.

The pits were a busy place.

Near the end of the race, it was down to Ian Field and Tom Van Den Bosch.

Waiting and watching for a slip-up.

Justin Lindine was top US finisher.

At the end, Field forced a separation and won alone.

Men's podium: Tom Van Den Bosch, Ian Field, Nicolas Bazin

More photos to come...

I remember when: Cyclocross at North Beach

2011-09-23T12:39:00.002-04:00

Nice straight lines for the pit at the Nor'easter Cross at North Beach.
Speaking from experience, it helps to use a guideline when setting the stakes...

Back in the 1990s, I lived in Burlington and raced a bike quite ineffectually, mostly on the road, but also cyclocross and mountain bike racing.

One of my autumn training grounds was North Beach in Burlington, it was a great place for cyclocross workouts, offering a mix of surfaces, run ups, and spectacular -- almost Wagnerian -- scenery: I remember training with low clouds scudding by, in a ripping wind, waves pounding on the beach, and glimpses of the Adirondacks across the lake.

I always wondered why no one tried to promote a race at the area and then stopped riding and eventually moved to Waterbury... but this year the venue is being used for the first time for a New England Verge Series race. I spent a few hours yesterday helping the crew from Pioneer Event Productions set up the course.

I plan on attending the races on Saturday, it will be like old times. There will be some Euro pros in attendance -- trying to snag some early-season UCI points -- but most of the domestic elite cyclocross group will be racing in Wisconsin due to a scheduling conflict with the USGP.

17 times up Mt. Royal: Images from the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal

2011-09-16T21:38:00.000-04:00

Some images from the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on 9/11/2011.

The race course consisted of a 17 laps of a 12 km circuit that included the climb of Mt. Royal on each lap.

Professional cycling miscreant Danilo Di Luca led the break on the climb most of the day... but Danny Pate wound up winning the KOM prize when all was said and done.

Some minutes behind, the Rabobank and Sky teams rode at the front, and upped the pressure as the kilometers went by and the afternoon shadows deepened.

View of Montreal (looking east) from Mount Royal, with the old Olympic Stadium in the center.

More photos from the race:

(Gallery here and a snippet of video here)

Who's number 1?

2011-09-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

Phillipe Gilbert at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, 9/11/2011

Mr. Phillipe Gilbert, (Philllippay Giil - bear, as they say in French speaking parts of the world) that's who. Images from the Montreal Grand Prix on 9/11/2011. Gilbert finished 3rd on the day after winning Friday's race in Quebec City.

Here's a video snippet of a couple of laps on the Mount Royal climb that defines this race, by the end things are blowing apart as the pace picks up.

I will post more from this event at some point... I am very slow at editing images and posting things these days. I'm not sure if it is laziness, post-Irene shell shock or just a general feeling of anomie.

Come hell or high water, the race will go on

2011-09-01T13:06:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week someone in the midwest typed "Green Mountain Stage Race" Irene into google and wound up at this blog.

So, though it's not the Tour de France (although the 2011 event website proclaims that the GMSR is "the largest Pro/Am road stage race east of the Mississippi!") the GMSR will go on this year.

The flag drops on the 2011 TdF


Racers waiting for the start of the 2010 Dealer.com criterium

Through the years race director Gary Kessler has been forced to get creative with courses... and this year will be the greatest test yet. Irene destroyed lots (most?) of Vermont's transportation infrastructure in some areas and finding replacement road courses that will support multiple fields and hundreds of racers at the spur of the moment is ahem... challenging. There is a chance that Sunday's race will (unexpectedly) come through Waterbury and if so I will be there marshalling.

Bike racing seems quite trivial (even more so than usual) in light of all that has happened. Most GMSR participants, however, come from outside Vermont and their presence will pump some money in the local economy which is a good thing considering the circumstances.

2010 criterium photos here.

Après le déluge

2011-08-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

I live on a well-drained hill. Consequently, Tropical Storm Irene was a big rainstorm (there wasn't even much wind) where I live.

Less than a mile away, however, in the village of Waterbury nestled in the valley of the Winooski River, Irene brought catastrophic devastation as the river overflowed its banks and swept through town.

Pink skies on Saturday night as the storm approached. Looking west on Route 2

Noon on Monday, about 100 yards from the above, looking east.

The Winooski River inundated Waterbury village, leaving a noxious layer of mud behind. A heavy odor of fuel oil hung in the air and there are health concerns due to sewage contamination.

The water swept over the town athletic fields carrying everything away. The white gravel is ballast from a washed out roadbed.

As the mud dries clouds of dust fill the air and settles on everything.

More flood images here. This has been my closest encounter with large scale natural disaster, and it has been a sickening, numbing and shocking experience. And what has happened in Waterbury is just one sad story out of many in the state as the full force of the storm was centered far south of here.

That being said, it's very saddening to drive through town and see sodden piles of people's possessions out on lawns and to note that that there is a steady procession of trucks loaded with dumpsters through town hauling the detritus of people's lives and livelihoods -- many small businesses have been flooded -- to the landfill. I fear that a cheerless hard winter is coming and that many hard years ahead lie ahead in Vermont.

Harvest

2011-08-20T07:46:00.000-04:00

Still life with peppers

Another summer is fast sliding by, I haven't been posting here much because I've been distracted by various projects, and also because my distaste for the whole 'put yourself out there online, and think of oneself as a digital brand' thing is rising (more on this subject here).

Peppers ripening, they did OK this season, though Late Blight devastated the tomatoes, the very wet spring was good for fungal diseases...

Tripping the light fantastic: Manifestivus 2011

2011-07-27T08:56:00.003-04:00

I made it until quite late in life before attending a multiday music festival. But, my wife Eva wanted to go to the Manifestivus in nearby Cabot, Vermont... and it seemed like a reasonable thing to do, so off we went.

Accomodations: A crowded tent city in a pasture. The weather during the day was great -- sunny and hot -- but rain showers moved through on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Some attendees were too inebriated to pitch tents properly and consequently suffered badly in the cold hard rain that blew through early Sunday morning. We (being rather sober) managed to keep dry, thankfully.

Bread and Puppet added an ethereal touch to the event with oversized puppet figures moving through the venue at irregular intervals.

More giant puppet strangeness -- at night the effect was heightened.

Brett Dennen headlining on Saturday night -- after a hot day there was a beautiful sunset and the temperature dropped rapidly -- it was almost cool. Brett Dennen described the Manifestivus as a Vermont-size Burning Man festival... which I guess is a good description of what was going on, not that that I have ever been to Burning Man.

Afro-jam band Toubab Krewe playing on Saturday night. I remember that the first two numbers they played were fast and furious and featured cigar-box guitars and other homemade instruments -- it was quite unique. Unfortunately after these numbers things got very Phishy with long meandering jams consisting of guitars interminably following bass lines. But it was still a good time...

A giant bonfire was lit at about 11:30 on Saturday night... but that was not the end of the show, which continued far into the night.

I've discovered, that all subcultures have their own mores, symbols of rank and achievement, patois, and expected behaviors: This holds true for road racers, mountain bikers, hikers, theater people, and (apparently) the substance-ingesting young people who regularly attend such events. Camping in the crowded, damp and messy tent city for two nights, it was funny to be exposed to a new subculture, I almost felt like an anthropologist among the natives of Polynesian islands or something.

All in all it was a fun event and I'd go back -- but also don't think I'll buy an old VW van and start following the festival scene all over the country any time soon, either.

After the flood....the sun does shine: 2011 Vermont Mountain Bike Festival

2011-07-19T08:07:00.001-04:00

A few images from the very successful 4th Vermont Mountain Bike Festival, held this past weekend in Waterbury, Vermont.

The festival organizers had been debating the wisdom of having a 'rain contingency plan' after the epically wet spring, but thankfully it turned out to be a beautiful summer weekend, and there even was some dust on the trails -- a first for this riding season.

The venue on Saturday morning, after many riders had already left for rides in Stowe, Waitsfield, Hinesburg, etc.

The Perry Hill trailhead was close at hand. The Waterbury trails start with a punishingly steep doubletrack climb straight up the hill.

Higher up, the trails are narrower and cut into the grade, making for an easier (and more interesting) ride.

At the top, a group tackled some rough Vermont slickrock. It was very dark in the woods and getting get the camera to work in the dim light proved to be a challenge. My old, inexpensive Pentax with a slow telephoto lens was barely up to the task.

A fun time was had by all. After spending a lot of time hanging around bicycle races -- both as a participant, and as an organizer -- this event has a very low key, mellow vibe, which I can appreciate at this point in my life.

More 2011 festival images here. Images from 2010 (which came out better, but I wanted to try something new this year) here.

Quarrymen at work

2011-07-10T21:23:00.002-04:00

Trail work on the Perry Hill network in Waterbury this past weekend.

Tools of the trail-building trade.

Waterbury is in a very central location and this trail network is very well known -- perhaps too well known for the good of the trails -- and people come from near and (especially) far to ride the trails.

Choosing work assignments at about 9:30 am, after a good stiff hike up Perry Hill.

Getting ready to hike out at about 1 pm after re-routing trail to avoid a low spot.

Want gravel?: Collect lots of big rocks and smash them with a sledgehammer.

My contribution to this effort was mostly collecting rocks to be smashed to provide a durable trail surface in wet spots. I've done this task before and I can say that it is a shattering full body workout like no other. I was very tired, sore and dirty at the end of this work day.

The trails have taken a beating this spring with a lot of heavy usage in sub-optimal (record amounts of rain) conditions but volunteer crews have spent many hours cleaning things up. I took the opportunity to ride today and the effort is making a difference and many eroded low spots have been hardened and new drainages have been constructed.

The weather finally seems to be trending towards a dryer pattern and the forecast looks promising for the upcoming Vermont Mountain Bike Festival -- which is fortunate, as this event would be cancelled if rain was in the cards.

Rocket's red glare

2011-07-04T22:31:00.002-04:00

Some images from the Waterbury town fireworks display at the state office complex on Saturday night.

Fireworks above the state office complex in Waterbury.

These images were taken from a cornfield that was completely underwater during the recent flooding. The waters have now receded, though this is turning out to be a very disappointing year for Vermont agriculture. Thankfully the long holiday weekend turned out to be mostly dry...

Cut the cake: Beach House rededication, Elmore State Park

2011-06-26T10:10:00.004-04:00

Governor Schumlin and others at the rededication of the Beach House at Elmore State Park, 6/25/2011

A smattering of images from my covering this event at Elmore State Park yesterday for the Vermont State Parks system.

The original Beach House was a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and the governor's brief remarks focused on the parallels between then -- the Great Depression and the CCC program -- and now -- the present Great Recession and access to stimulus funds. (Official press release here and some project images here.)

In weather related news, the day featured showers in the morning, then the weather broke for a bit, but more heavy rain fell during the night. Can't do nothing about the weather... except complain and stay indoors.

Leantos in the rain

2011-06-22T21:10:00.004-04:00

Campsites at Brighton State Park in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

No, I do not have a strange fetish involving taking photos of vacant campsites. I signed up to be a volunteer photographer for the Vermont State Parks system again this summer. It's an unpaid job that will get me out of the house and comes with a day use pass good at all parks, along with some camping credit. The state parks use the images on interactive websites.

Now, however, there just needs to be a break in the weather: We made a special trip, with reservations, to this particular park, and the weather was typical for this year so far, which is to say, gray and wet. Needless to say there were very few campers in evidence.

The weathergirl on the television did make some recent allusions to a summer-like weather pattern developing so perhaps some warm sunny days will come in the not too distant future.

Summers in Vermont are short -- though, with climate change, are growing longer -- and it won't be too long before the days grow shorter, leaves begin to change, and there will be an autumnal chill in the air again.

Completely random: Avalanche Lake, 2005

2011-06-12T08:10:00.004-04:00

Avalanche Lake, near Keene, NY 8/21/2005. Taken with a Canon A60 - my first digital camera.

I almost titled this post "Memories of blue skies" because this has been an epically wet spring so far, with few soft warm sunny days. An unprecedented amount of rain has fallen and the weather pattern shows no signs of changing, perhaps this is becoming the new normal.

This is your life, and it's ending 140 characters at a time

2011-06-09T11:39:00.006-04:00

OK, so I am not going to write about the latest poli-sex scandal du jour.

Keep private things private, eh?

Last week, however, I attended a presentation in the big city of Burlington on the topic of creating compelling content for online consumption, based on a book called (naturally enough) Content Rules. Included with the $60 admission fee was a copy of this tome... but my copy hasn't shown up in the mail yet.

It was a moderately interesting presentation and was a decidedly more engaging and involving environment than the insipid and uninspiring Vermont Business Expo which I had attended the week before.

I went this presentation for multiple reasons -- networking, it got me out of the house, I took the opportunity to put up posters around town for the upcoming Vermont Mountain Bike festival -- but also because, by any possible metric, my efforts in the social media sphere have been an abject failure: Not a lot of Facebook friends, not a lot twitter followers, and not a lot of traffic to this blog.

For me to integrate more successfully into this brave new, intensely conversational and borderline exhibitionist social media world, I think some sort of personality transplant would be required...an attitude adjustment of the highest magnitude.

I would have to suddenly become interested in sharing much more online than I am currently willing to share, and also invest in a smartphone and carrying an Internet connection around with me wherever I go.

Maybe a little reticence is a good thing, however. When I look at how some of these people use social media, I'm astonished, and not in a good way. Here is a screen shot (taken 6/9/2011) of the twitter stream of one the presenters:

My small brain does not comprehend the value of 43k+ "tweets"

Now, twitter is about five years old, so let's do some rough math: 5 years x 365 days/year x 16 hours of waking time = 29200 hours, so 44000 tweets / 29200 = 1.5 tweets per hour, 16 hours per day, 7 days a week.

And this back of the napkin calculation doesn't allow for weekends, holidays, or any personal downtime, nor did I waste time researching how long this person has actually been on twitter.

I am not sure where I am going with this, except that when I look at this activity, I don't see 43000+ bits of accumulated wisdom -- or even a man with a lot of friends -- I see triviality and distraction.

I don't think that 200 years from now some anthropologist will look at this digital record (if any record exists) for insight into the present age. It won't be a futuristic version of, say, Boswell's London Journal, for example (and this is an inherently unfair comparison). It seems to be something of no enduring value whatsoever.

If one pauses to consider that a 75 year lifespan is made up of 657000 hours, is tweeting 1.5 times per hour, 16 hours per day REALLY a good use of one's time? What did humans do to communicate prior to the existence of all this technology?

(Astute readers will catch that the post title is a Fight Club reference.)

Archilochus colubris

2011-06-03T09:52:00.002-04:00

Plagues. Floods of biblical proportions. Looming economic collapse. Endless wars. At least there is an endless free airshow outside the kitchen window as ridiculously cocky and aggressive male hummingbirds (average adult weight: 3.1 grams) engage in a never ending game of 'the feeder is all mine'.

This is despite the fact that 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water, boiled together, would probably feed a flock of these birds for a month or more...

When I first moved to Waterbury (2006) seeing these birds was something of an infrequent occurence, but now they are common. I wonder if succeeding generations have settled in the meadow out back, knowing that there is a reliable source of easy calories close at hand (or beak).

A few more recent images here.

Drink up, Vermont

2011-05-29T13:21:00.005-04:00

With one of my neighbors in tow, I ventured forth to Greensboro to the one year anniversary of the Hill Farmstead Brewery yesterday -- I have been to previous events at this location.

Edward / ? / Chantillion Iris (sour) / ? not my hand!

Beers of every hue and flavor profile were on tap... IPAs, sours, saisons & stouts. I tried to avoid the selections that show up in Waterbury with any regularity. The "Edward" pictured above was because by the end of the day the tap selection was getting a little thin...

When I initially showed up at this event, I was kind of disappointed, it was spritzing rain, there was a line to get in, and then an even longer line to get beer, and it was really crowded and kind of claustrophobic. Things opened up as the afternoon went along however, and the space seemed to become less jam packed and the lines more manageable.

The sodden ground and humid skies gave the event a vaguely Woodstockian feel -- some went shoeless in the mud. Thankfully rain fell only intermittently and thunderstorms did not blow through.

NYC-based band The Del-Reys played a hot set.

Last call at about 5:50 pm: Most of the beer was gone, and the crowd had thinned out considerably.

A small tent city for those who wanted to avoid driving home after an afternoon spent inbibing, but the ground was saturated and there were more storms on Saturday night, so I'm sure camping proved to be a damp experience. I was judicious in what and when I had to drink so I just drove home at the end of the day through the soaked Vermont countryside.

Postdiluvian Waterbury

2011-05-28T10:11:00.003-04:00

Record rainfall hit central Vermont on the night of May 26, as heavy thunderstorms stalled over the Winooski River valley -- some areas received over 5 inches of rain in a matter of a few hours.

Waterbury was relatively fortunate in that the town mostly stayed dry. The athletic fields were innundated, however.

The river overflowed its banks and flooded the surrounding fields. It has been an unusually wet spring and 2011 is shaping up to be a bad year for Vermont agriculture.

Though the sun was out in the afternoon, by Friday evening storms rolled in again, accompanied by wind, small hail, and more unwanted downpours.

The river was an ugly swirl of unclean debris-laden water mixed with sewage and petroleum products from the flash flooding upstream.

More dramatic images here (VTDigger).

"A New Course for Barre": 1st Barre Grand Prix

2011-05-23T18:29:00.002-04:00

So, there was a bicycle race in Barre yesterday - a first year event.

The local newspaper (which hides its entire website behind a paywall in an attempt to survive) proclaimed rather hyperbolically that the event drew "scores" to downtown.

As I was onsite from 5 am to 5 pm and walked many loops of the course during the day, I guess it would depend on the what the precise definition of 'scores' is... Thousands? No. Many hundreds? I don't think so. Were there some people out spectating and participating in various fitness-related related activities? Yes.

Sunday morning, 5 am. Setting up the course in the early morning stillness.

All quiet on Granite Street, with the Old Labor Hall. Cone & barrier placement by yours truly.

Later in the day, races staged on Main Street under sunny skies (very rare in VT this spring).

P1-2 Men cornered hard on the fast, swoopy course.

It was kind of ironic to work on putting on bike race on May 22, 2011 because when I got home, tired, dirty and baked by 12 hours in the sun mixed with lots of interaction with the public, Tyler Hamilton was on Sixty Minutes, giving his insight into what really fueled Lance Armstrong's seven year reign in the Tour de France.

Doping scandals and real tragedies aside (here and here), it was fun to work a new race and meet some new people. Barre is rough and downtrodden -- one of the reasons making the race easier to put on, was the number of vacant storefronts downtown... but many people put in many hours into planning the race -- trying to make something positive happen in the city. I think that the team behind the event succeeded in putting in a foundation to build on in future years: We don't want it to be 'one and done'.

Potentialities

2011-05-15T12:36:00.000-04:00

Through circumstance, I have been involved in the attempt to put on this event in downtown Barre, Vermont, next weekend.

Race flyer (see here)

I like Barre -- it's not gentrified and pretentious like some other places in Vermont. It's rough and down on its luck and the city gets lots of bad press.

Putting on this race and the concurrent fitness festival, I'm working with some very optimistic, forward thinking people who are trying very hard to put on a positive, upbeat event for the local community.

Depot Square & Main St. -- the race finishes on Main

That being said, and despite having considerable municipal support and a sufficient budget, success is by no means assured.

It's hard to raise enough volunteers to take care of all event needs (I've learned that the Boy Scouts are camping, and that the local Kiwanis Club is having flea market)... and then there is the fact that bike racers in New England live far south of Vermont. How many of these folks are willing to make the trip (or plan an overnight stay after racing in Sunapee, NH the day before) for a first-year criterium race?

Hoping for some similar scenes on May 22 (more race images here).

Follow this link to read why the race is the Charlie Semprebon Memorial.

If by some happy chance someone reads this post and wishes to help out at the race (May 22, 2011) please email me.

The night visitor

2011-05-05T07:29:00.000-04:00

I live in a rather suburban environment: lawns, patios, garages, barbeque grills. But nature isn't that far away...

A few more bear images here.

Double tap

2011-05-04T12:41:00.002-04:00

Monday, 5/2/2011

"Brothers, that was a dog's death." -- The Jungle Book (death of Shere Khan)

"Cold as any stone." -- Henry V (death of Falstaff)

Fabienne: Whose motorcycle is this?
Butch: It's a chopper, baby.
Fabienne: Whose chopper is this?
Butch: It's Zed's.
Fabienne: Who's Zed?
Butch: Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead. -- Pulp Fiction

Just a few quotes to mark this event, perhaps slightly more appropriate than congregating in the street chanting "USA! USA! USA!" like killing a mass murderer is the equivalent of a winning a hockey game or something. But to each their own.

I've already referenced "US Special Forces: Death is our business, and business is good" -- a bit of Southern fried bumper sticker wisdom -- previously here.

Gray April

2011-04-23T23:12:00.000-04:00

It has been a cold April, with only a few teasing warm days. It's been cold and gray and snow and sleet have been common occurences even as May draws near.

Thursday, April 21: Windy with showers of sleet and handful of birdseed tossed in the wind. I wrapped a camera in a sandwich bag to protect it from the precipitation and set it outdoors to capture the results.

Ice out, 2011

2011-04-13T20:49:00.000-04:00

It's a small thing but the snow is now gone from our small patch of front yard.

Things are still drab and gray and more snow wouldn't out of the question, but until very recently there was still feet of snow in front of our unit, oppressing the lilac and rhododendrons -- which look rather worse for wear. The change is for the better.

Like everything else on this site (wallowing in triviality), this occasion has been marked here previously: There's literally nothing new under the sun, even as the seasons change and years go by.

Summer will come... eventually.

2011-04-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

Bee on sunflower, August 2008

It's been a very long winter, and more snow fell last night. I may ski this afternoon -- we will see. But I would be happier if I could put the skis away and dust off my bike.

Waiting in LGA

2011-03-30T10:27:00.004-04:00

Exactly one week ago, traveling through gray, rainy and rather shabby LaGuardia Airport.

Although the woman at the window looks contemplative, in reality she was taking a photo with a smartphone of de-icing operations. . .

Spring has come late to the Northeast this year and more snow is in the forecast for Vermont this week.

Departures

2011-03-26T09:25:00.001-04:00

Daybreak over Clubfoot Creek, Havelock, North Carolina.

I'm back in Vermont after spending ten languid days in North Carolina, where I passed time reading Dashiell Hammett stories, walking on Wrightsville Beach (and here) in the unseasonably warm temperatures, and browsing at Saigon Sam's Military Surplus in Jacksonville. There are seemingly endless miles of sprawl peppered with innumerable chain restaurants and it is quite different from home.

But now I am back in Vermont where, in a cruel reversal of fortune, the weather is unseasonably cold -- pretty much full-on winter -- and I need to throw myself into the breach again.

Clouds, digital and otherwise

2011-03-17T19:29:00.004-04:00

In the terrestrial, physical world, I am traveling this week, seeing things that I usually don't see, eating foods I usually don't eat ("I'm Big with the Pig" read the T-shirts worn by teenage staffers at the local Piggly-Wiggly supermarket) and drinking beer that is markedly inferior to the brews that I have become accustomed to in Vermont.

Not seen in Vermont...

100% real Vermont cumulus clouds

But in another sense, I live in the clouds. Although I am 1,000 miles from home, I just login into my various online accounts using a borrowed laptop and presto much of my 'real' life seems to be close at hand: The same conversations, the same media flitting by. Even though outside the sun is shining and daytime temperatures almost hit 70 degrees -- not early spring weather in Vermont -- in many ways it is like I have never left.

There are many implications rippling outward from this life in the digital cloud, but two that come immediately to mind are:

While this situation is quite convenient, it also means that 'home is where the Internet connection is' and reduces any sense of dislocation caused by travel. There is less impetus to get out and experience new things when one's digital life is so close at hand -- and I don't even have a smartphone, so at least I don't carry my Internet connection around with me.
We are living in a uniquely self-centered, artificial world where we are the stars of our own individual show. This cuts us off -- as individuals, and as a society -- from the natural world, and from the reality that nature is absolutely indifferent to our life or death: We are not so special after all. We are shocked when the ground liquefies beneath our feet and the lights go out and don't come back on again.

I am in no means trying to make light of the situation in Japan -- a terrible, tragic situation -- just trying to point out it might be good to plant a garden, do some trail work, or sleep in a lean-to and not blog, 'tweet' or update facebook about it afterward.

And I know that I am guilty as charged.

From north to south

2011-03-13T11:03:00.007-04:00

Monday morning, 3/7/2011, 5 am: Full on blizzard conditions in Vermont. But the weather is warming so now the landscape is just a gray muddy mess marked by lots of potholes filled with dirty water. It will be a while before all the snow melts.

Carolina blue skies (from a previous trip in 2008).

So I am heading south again, fleeing depressing weather, a long running home renovation project, and a high degree of professional uncertainty.

I hope that when I return to Vermont I will experience a succession of soft warm spring days, a finished kitchen, and certainty about my career -- but all these things seem quite unlikely. But a few days of warm sun and some barbeque and shellfish shouldn't be a bad experience once I get through the TSA line at the airport.

The old college try: 2011 NCAA Nordic Skiing Championships at Trapps

2011-03-10T08:39:00.009-05:00

The 2011 NCAA Skiing Championships are being held in Stowe and I managed to attend Wednesday's Nordic Freestyle races at Trapps.

These events are a big production and the meadow was set up with all kinds of gear -- not just a lonely timing shack in a field.

After the big storm on Monday, conditions were perfect for the racers: Relatively warm temperatures made for fast snow.

Dartmouth's Sam Tarling, winner of the men's 10K race, powers to the finish.

Women racers climb while coaches radio time splits back to the start/finish.

Some men were cooling down after their race and one of the competitors was talking about having to sit down and write a paper very soon. Somehow I don't think that this will be as much of an issue for players in the college basketball tournament, especially for the teams that reach the final 16...

(Non-flash gallery here.)

Taking photos on snow is challenging -- reflected light makes getting correct exposure a hit or miss affair -- and my Pentax is about the least capable sports photography setup imaginable. The images in this gallery aren't the greatest, but there's a first time for everything, and this was my first time with a camera at a ski race.

Hunkered down

2011-03-07T08:42:00.005-05:00

An old-fashioned blizzard today, with snowfall measured in feet, high winds and falling temperatures: Spring seems a long way off.

Today's storm isn't quite as impressive at the 2007 Valentine's Day blizzard, which was colder and windier -- a true winter hurricane -- but the accumulated snow totals may end up being pretty close.

Snowy days in Waterbury

2011-03-02T09:10:00.005-05:00

February 25, 2011: About 10 inches of snow fell in the course of the day.

The 2010-11 winter season will go down as good year for snow: January and February were consistently cold and with few thaws. The cold weather made for great skiing (here, here & here, etc.) but now, as March arrives, most people are ready for spring and warmer days.

(Posted as a test of RSS Graffiti, an app I set up for work to bring blog posts onto a corporate Facebook page.)

Skytop - Dewey - Underhill - Ranch Camp ...

2011-02-27T10:21:00.008-05:00

A sugar day in the semi-backcountry (skiing mostly on blazed trails, and with signs at trail junctions) on the shoulder of Mt. Mansfield.

Stellar late winter conditions -- fresh powder on top of a nice firm base.

Skytop trail. There were many people out in the woods taking advantage of the great conditions.
I was the first person to ski around Lightning Knoll at the end of Skytop -- most people just skied off the ridge through the trees.

Heading back to the car via the Underhill Trail, before more tree skiing down to Ranch Camp.
The .kmz file may be downloaded here (use at your own risk).

It was a great day to be out, and this has been a good year for snow.

Algorithms don't think (and people are lazy)

2011-02-25T09:55:00.011-05:00

IBM's "Watson" trounced human Jeopardy champions... thanks to total, and near instantaneous, recall of terabytes of data. But sorting data is not thinking -- hardly an insightful observation on my part.

A search for "woodward mountain trail" on Google.

This site receives very little traffic. There are some valid reasons for this -- it's mostly just diffuse, repetitive self-absorbed rambling -- and also "blogging is dead", as described in the New York Times*.

Somehow along the way, however, I have written a few posts that rank reasonably highly in Google's search algorithm. As more people click through on a given search result, it moves up in the search results, and the higher it moves up in the search results, the more people click through. The process feeds on itself.

One of the posts that has achieved a high Google ranking is the record of my first ski on the Woodward Mountain trail back in 2008. When I wrote this post there wasn't much information available online about this trail, research was not productive... just vague rumors and hearsay.

Position number #2 on Google.

The problem is, that this highly ranked post is far from the only post on this site having to do with the Woodward Trail. There are seven posts addressing this topic, plus many more on my various misadventures in Ricker Basin -- a plethora of information (words, images, video, GPS tracks) on a relatively undocumented part of the world.

These shortcomings are a dual failure on my part -- a failure to create compelling, 'sticky' content that would entice readers to delve more deeply and spend more time on the site.

It is also an ontological failure, if the site was better organized and categorized, and more consciously optimized for the search engines, perhaps information would be more accessible -- and accessed.

But it's also a flaw in the algorithm: A post was written, it has become highly ranked, and that is that -- all other content remains hidden.

Finally, it's also a flaw in human nature, especially in this flighty, short-attention-span online world: Users want information fast and obvious. That which requires exploration and time to uncover is resolutely ignored...

I'm not sure what the point of this post is except to point out that Google has come to play a pretty big part of modern life, and yet, like oracles of old, it is quite capricious in its prognostications... and also to vainly implore visitors to this site to poke around a bit and explore because Midnight Modern Conversation is not entirely random or diffuse -- there's probably related information around if one takes a moment to look.

Finally here is a link to my posts having to do with the Woodward Mountain Ski Trail, which runs between Bolton and Little River State Park, Waterbury, Vermont.**

*If the NYT is describing a trend (death of blogging, etc.) there is a good chance that there's more to the story than what appears in the paper.

**A deliberately unsubtle example of SEO copywriting.

Fight Club: "Only after disaster can we be resurrected"

2011-02-21T08:48:00.004-05:00

Narrator: This is crazy...
Tyler Durden: People do it everyday, they talk to themselves... they see themselves as they'd like to be, they don't have the courage you have, to just run with it.

AND --

Tyler Durden: Fuck off with your sofa units and string green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... let's evolve, let the chips fall where they may.*

A little Monday morning Fight Club: In my own small litany of struggle in this harsh cold world, "let's evolve, let the chips fall where they may" speaks to me as the next phase begins.

More juicy quotes from the movie here. Listen to the Pixies Where is my mind? here.

*This is the first time the word "fuck" has appeared on this blog -- in 4+ years of blogging. This is not because of any prudishness on my part, but was a quite deliberate authorial choice, I worked in an environment where the f-bomb was used very causally and frequently, and consequently felt no need to use it when not at work.

Also the local Vermont "alternative" weekly prints this word on average 1+ times per issue, usually quite gratuitously, which I think is incredibly déclassé.

Views from high places: Owl's Head and Little Deer

2011-02-17T09:31:00.005-05:00

Some photos from ski touring through the woods and up and over a couple of stumpy little Vermont mountains near Lake Groton.

Sunday morning: Owl's Head to the left, Little Deer Mountain to the right. The previous afternoon I discovered that the bare summit of Little Deer isn't as open and gladed as it appears to be from a distance.

Saturday afternoon: Lake Groton from Little Deer.

Let's get erratic: A large boulder along the trail.

Sunday afternoon: Kettle Pond from Owl's Head, after snow squalls moved in.

Out and back in the Waterbury backcountry

2011-02-12T19:21:00.018-05:00

Blue skies and lots of untracked snow.

It's been a great season for snow in Vermont. Long stretches of cold weather and persistent snowfalls have left many feet of snow in the glades and bowls along the ridgelines, it's great for exploring, although backcountry rescue teams have been kept busy by lost skiers calling 911.

So even though I have a pass at a Nordic center the siren call of the untracked glades has been calling me. In my old age I find it much more satisfying to pick a route through some trail-less patch of land than it is to do laps on prepared trails wondering if my wax is right or if my heart rate is in the right training zone. I guess I am something of an anarchist at heart.

Last Saturday I made a long out and back journey on the Woodard Mountain trail. Snow conditions were awesome and the morning was brilliantly sunny with clear blue skies -- though by afternoon it had clouded up and another snowfall was beginning.

I have been here before.

Here is the GPS track of the trip in Google Earth. I wanted to ski a particular glade that is just about at the halfway point of the trail -- ie, it's quite hard to get to. I'm not spilling any secrets by posting this -- it's a marked, blazed trail, and someone had tagged a route in the glade with fluorescent orange tape.

Who tagged this glade? And for what purpose? It's a long way from anywhere, and there are no logging operations around. Shame on whoever did this (and they used a lot of tape, like every 100 ft or so). People like this carry cell phones into the backcountry, get lost, and call 911 wanting to be rescued.

(May not work in MS Explorer, tested OK in Firefox and Chrome)

Lots and lots of climbing: About 2700 feet of elevation gain.

Russian girls looking for you! More bike racing in the news today

2011-02-08T20:19:00.014-05:00

Ever consumed leftovers that have sat in the refrigerator for too long?

Apparently Italian cyclist Ricardo Ricco did this, only by transfusing himself with 25 day old blood, with disastrous and almost fatal consequences.

These days, to follow professional cycling is to wallow in sleaze. To paraphrase Lance Armstrong, "it's not about the bike" -- it's about pharmacology, phlebotomy, legal maneuverings, etc. Any spectacular athletic exploit in a race will be met, not with praise and approbation, but rather doubt and suspicion.

So it's entirely appropriate that the ads popping up on pirated video streams of cycling coverage feature absurdly voluptuous "Russian" women allegedly seeking companionship (these screen shots are from 2010).

Corruption, human trafficking, degradation: There's not a lot of glory here.

The only further comments I would make on this topic are:

1 -- Back when I moved from Burlington to Waterbury I tossed out a stack of yellowing copies of Velonews from the mid '90s into the '00 decade -- the height of the doping era (and, coincidentally, the time of Lance Armstrong's rise to worldwide fame).

I wish I had saved these fading and rather uncritical publications -- they could have been used to produce an annotated history of the pharmacological assist.

2 -- Somehow along the way, a post I wrote about Tyler Hamilton's (another guy who knows something about blood transfusions) ex-wife became the most viewed page on this site. Strange but true.

This isn't the first time Ricardo Ricco has turned up on this mostly unread blog -- see this post from 2008.

Mundane Sunday (too busy to blog much)

2011-02-07T08:54:00.005-05:00

It's been a long cold winter... and that's just on the inside of our condo. Hopefully the conclusion of the new kitchen project is in sight.

Sunday:

Saturday, I did manage to ski, and thoroughly wrecked my legs, which made standing on a ladder for hours on end the next day somewhat of a challenge, the fatigue was still rippling through me as I sanded, primed, and painted.

Another day on skis

2011-01-29T19:49:00.008-05:00

I could stay inside on a Saturday concocting a blog post that would remain almost entirely unread.

Or I could go skiing instead:

It's late January and though winter is far from over -- another artic blast is forecast for the coming week -- but the sun is higher in the sky and the days are growing noticeably longer.

Oddly, though I was never much into time trialling on a bike, but I find that I enjoy pushing myself around the 7.5 km race loop at Trapps, it's a good way to get a good hard short workout in: Just start a timer and go, try not to blow up on the uphills and not crash on the downhills.

This GPS track is the race loop plus a lot of leisurely sliding around the lower slopes of the touring center instead of grinding up to the cabin and then experiencing the cold descent back down.

World without secrets: Backcountry skiing

2011-01-25T07:56:00.009-05:00

Mt. Mansfield through the trees on Saturday.

So, Vermont's declining arbiter of taste and fashion, The Burlington Free Press, ran an article "Backcountry Skiing is Booming in Vermont", describing how this activity is a hot trend and how new (and expensive) gear has made skiing off-piste more accessible and easier for the masses.

I can appreciate this trend because I find the idea of paying lots of money for lift-serviced skiing to be ridiculous. It presently costs $84/day at Stowe to stand in line or to dangle on a chairlift in a cold wind, while sharing the mountain with hordes of people from parts of the country where life is faster and more aggressive than Vermont.

But it is also discouraging, to read about the $500 bindings, $600+ boots, $800 (and up) skis, plus skins, poles, weather resistant clothing etc. that make up a modern Alpine Touring setup.

Until more pressing needs are taken care of I will continue to plod along on my backcountry touring gear -- touring skis with metal edges and fishscale bases mounted with old-style 3 pin bindings.

Using this old and battered gear, I ventured off-piste in the backcountry trails in Stowe on Saturday. It was a great day despite the cold.

As warm as it got. The thermometer at Trapps Cabin at about 1:30 pm, 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

On-piste: Brilliant blue skies and sun despite the cold. With the right clothing it was a great day to be out.

Off piste, breaking trail up Skytop. Climbing and traversing the ridgeline was fine but getting down via Steeple (a play, I assume, on 'steep') was a challenge as it was steep and totally skied out, a rough, challenging and awkward descent.

I signed up for a Garmin Connect account that lets me post GPS tracks (more online oversharing) so here is the tracklog from the trip:

My GPS unit is a Garmin Etrex, it is almost the most bare bones GPS available, and the time function doesn't to synch to the Garmin Connect site, but the other data is accurate. And since this trip was on marked, named trails I'm not spilling any secrets by posting this data here.

Ice-nine

2011-01-22T07:45:00.003-05:00

Ice sculpture outside The Alchemist in Waterbury, 1/21/2011. This object won't be going anywhere in a hurry because the coldest weather in several years is settling into central Vermont, with forecast nighttime lows well below zero for the next few days.

Big snow on a relatively little mountain: Noonmark

2011-01-18T08:09:00.003-05:00

On the list of the 100 highest mountains in the Adirondacks... Noonmark in Keene Valley sits in the exalted spot of #86, being about 3500 feet high.

Being number #86 does not mean, however that climbing Noonmark is an easy hike that can be casually knocked off in an afternoon, especially in winter conditions.

Red disks supposedly mark the trail -- if one can find them. Our small group spent at least an hour foundering around this trail junction, vainly trying to discern which way to go.

By mere chance, and higher up on the shoulder of the mountain, we finally found the trail, well marked and broken by an earlier hiking party.

By the time we found the trail and headed in the direction which we needed to go it was early afternoon and snow was falling steadily. We thought we were approaching the summit only to emerge out on a rocky ridgeline with some breaks in the trees.

In an opening we could make out the summit dimly looming over us in the snow, still a ways a way and with quite a bit of altitude gain remaining. So this became a hike where the journey was more important than the destination, as we decided to turn back.

Making the quick trip over to Keene Valley -- including the Rooster Comb trailhead, where I launched my first ever (and almost fatal) solo winter Adirondack hike -- made me think about the places I have been and the experiences I have had (bear encounters, hikes in the rain, mountains at sunset, etc.).

For better or worse in this solipsistic, narcissistic age previous Adirondack themed posts can be read here.

1st resolution of the new year: No more posts on Burlington Telecom

2011-01-07T07:55:00.005-05:00

Tim Nulty sez (BFP article here): "It's (the bankrupt, repo'd, special-prosecutor-appointed state of Burlington Telecom) not my fault... Not even a little bit."

As 2011 begins the Burlington Telecom death spiral continues. The magnitude of the problem now is such that the various actors in this tragi-comedy can no longer hide behind glib platitudes about "cash-flow-positivity" being imminent or fatuous claims about how a municipal telecom utility would actually contribute revenue to the city's coffers.

Instead, fingers are being pointed and recriminations fly. But, I really think that I have said all I have to say on this squalid situation -- there's "nothing more to to write", to quote the original, unredacted, unexpurgated version of Huck Finn.

As a parting shot, however, I would say that the various actors in this story are incompetent, reckless hacks who are not qualified to sell cellphone accessories at a mall kiosk. . . let alone trying to build a viable telecom utility.

From the time of its original inception, Burlington Telecom has turned out to be a heady, frothy bad-tasting cocktail consisting of dangerously naive and wishful thinking, arrogance and egotism, reckless disregard for unpleasant fiscal realities, bad governance, and voter apathy.

All that's left now is to clean up the mess and one hell of a pounding hangover.

Citizens of Minnesota, beware!

Finally, a recent Vermont Tiger post sums up this mess nicely, and my previous posts on this topic can be read here (thousands of words!). Enough is enough.

2011 -- already looking backward

2011-01-02T13:05:00.004-05:00

I tried to change up the look of this blog in 2010 -- and as usual, largely failed. Perhaps some more experimentation with the layout is in order in the coming year. I thought of using a collage made up images as a background but the concept proved to be too busy and distracting to be practical -- so this concept was never implemented.

In past years I have analyzed what content and posts drew the most attention in the past year, however, as nothing really stood out in 2010 -- this exercise hardly seems worth it.

I have observed two trends in the analytics reports of this site during the past year:

Increased traffic from mobile devices. This is not surprising as I have met several people who use smartphones as their primary Internet access device.
Traffic from image searches: This is somewhat gratifying because in some ways this blog is really a swollen, bloated, overgrown flickr stream. I still have a flickr account, but I hardly use it anymore, I prefer the freedom that comes with posting photos on the blogger platform.

I'm perpetually threatening to close down this mostly unread site but it will probably keep going in some form or fashion in the coming year: kind of like bedbugs, kudzu, or tabloid stories about Lindsay Lohan -- it won't just go away.

Kicking it old school at Stowe, c. 1951-52

2010-12-27T19:02:00.005-05:00

Prices for skiing at Mt. Mansfield (now Stowe Mountain Resort) for the 1951-52 season.

I particularly like how a season pass in those simpler days cost the princely amount of $85.00... which is the cost of a day ticket today (a season pass for the mountain costs over $1500 now). These modern prices are a big reason -- though not the only reason -- that I have little interest in alpine skiing.

Solstice light

2010-12-23T07:04:00.003-05:00

A white expanse of ice hemmed by gray sullen hills under dark December skies: Lake Groton, Vermont, in the morning of December 22. The eclipse the night before was not visible due to the persistent cloud cover and intermittent light snow.

The real skinny

2010-12-19T19:29:00.006-05:00

Ever since I fatefully moved to Waterbury in 2006, I have spent my winters plodding around Little River State Park on a pair of waxless, metal-edged backcountry skis. This setup has carried me way off-piste and up and down the nameless ridgelines near my home (see here for more info).

This focus on the backcountry has meant that my skate skis have sat untouched for more than four years, nestled in the rafters of the garage.

This season, however, I resolved to get out the waxing iron and get out on skate skis again: I purchased a season pass at Trapps Family Lodge in Stowe. The touring center is less than 15 minutes from my office and I have visions of sneaking in some blue sky mid-week afternoons on skis. I also hope to regain some fitness and to be stronger on the bike come springtime 2011.

The trail network at Trapps is cut into the side of a hill (some would say 'mountain'): consequently, there is very little flat, and getting to this point involves lots of climbing. . .which hurt me severely.

A wintery tableaux, but the snow cover isn't too deep as of yet.

And that's a wrap

2010-12-14T08:07:00.005-05:00

There are too much sports today. It's always some interminable season -- baseball plays 162 games plus multiple playoff rounds, the NFL is currently trying to expand to an eighteen game season, the basketball (and hockey) playoffs finally reach a resolution in distinctly unseasonable summer weather.

So I'm glad that the US domestic cyclocross season is short, starting after Labor Day and ending before Christmas -- though next year this will expand slightly into January, which will bring the domestic calendar more in line with the rest of the world.

More photos from day two of the 2010 Green Mountain Cyclocross weekend here.

A rare vintage: Heddy Topper 2010

2010-12-08T07:31:00.004-05:00

I have found that I enjoy living in Waterbury, Vermont. The town is quite prosperous and lively and the location is great. It's still relatively uncrowded compared to Chittenden County and the Perry Hill trail network is about 5 minutes from where I live.

Another upside to living here is that for a small town, there is actually a little bit of nightlife. The anchor of downtown is probably The Alchemist, a very (and deservedly so) popular brewpub located right in the center of town.

Belly up to the bar on an off-season Saturday night: One downside to the combination of excellent beer, good food and a growing reputation as a destination drinking/dining experience, is that The Alchemist is always crowded.

1 of 600: Heddy Topper in a bottle, displayed at another excellent Waterbury beer locale, the Black Back bar.

Anyhow, this past weekend, The Alchemist had a one off special small bottling run of one of their beers. This event drew people from far and wide and I understand that there was a pretty good line at 9:30 am for the 11 am opening (some photos here).

This is hearsay because I wasn't there, we are immersed in a condo renovation and I was preoccupied gingerly hauling debris to the dump before the first snow of the season.

I also heard, that someone showed up at this event, from Colorado (?!), in a rental car, and apparently was expecting there to be a line of people on hand the night before, and was hoping for some sort of street party at 3:30 am... Needless to say, this didn't happen, showing that most people (while willing to travel hundreds of miles for a $12 bottle of beer) do have a degree of common sense.

Burlington Telecom: The repo man comes calling

2010-11-30T08:16:00.006-05:00

In headier, more optimistic times, Burlington Telecom handed out tshirts as tchotchkes, packaged neatly in little single-serving cereal boxes, the conceit being, that Burlington Telecom was "Fiber-iffic!"

As recently as October 2010, you could still pick up useless items like euro stickers and pens at a Burlington Telecom booth at the Vermont 3.0 event... perhaps they should have been soliciting donations in a tin cup.

It's all over but the lawyering. Burlington Telecom's largest creditor, Citi Capital, has decided to repossess any and all physical assets (BFP) in an attempt to recover some of the funds borrowed to keep the doomed municipal enterprise alive.

I don't intend to write a long post analyzing this situation -- I have done this already -- previous posts of this topic can be read here. I always thought that this scheme was a bad idea, and suspected that the city of Burlington did not have the managerial acumen and entrepreneurial spirit to pull it off successfully.

And, while the economy remains very weak and the current administration in Burlington is inept and possibly criminal, it's my belief that Burlington Telecom was a bad idea right from the start.

Neither better economic times nor a more competent administration could have made it work: It cost too much, and has a small service area with relatively few potential customers, and operates in a very competitive marketplace.

But, on a more personal note, I am pessimistic by nature: torpor, gloom, and vivid imaginings of bad things come naturally to me. This can be a curse and a big limiting factor in all aspects of my life, and contributes to my long personal litany of, if not outright failure, missed opportunities.

Sometimes, however, a gloomy and suspicious disposition is a wonderful thing. When Burlington Telecom was originally proposed in the 1990s, I was living in Burlington and working in the Internet business. The concept seemed far-fetched and pie-in-the-sky then, so I voted against the initiative... my doubts have been proven by events over time.

And, for similar reasons, I view projects like the proposed redevelopment of the Moran Plant in Burlington, or the governor-elect's promise of single-payer heath insurance, with quite a bit of suspicion.

Gray November

2010-11-27T16:45:00.002-05:00

Groton, Vermont, November 26 2010.

Irony via Nissan: Lance Armstrong -- "Discover the science behind legendary performance"

2010-11-23T08:11:00.005-05:00

Reading cycling news sites these days is like reading a lurid tabloid newspaper blended with science fiction.

Stories of tainted steaks and the ongoing investigation of Lance Armstrong -- the FDA, WADA, Interpol, and various European agencies are involved -- fill up the online equivalent of many column inches.

Perhaps the proceedings will reach a definite conclusion, or perhaps things will just peter out and nothing conclusive will be proved. But I don't think that Nissan's banner ad from this past summer conveys quite the message that the copywriter intended.

Hop to it: Beer tourism north and south

2010-11-17T21:29:00.011-05:00

There's no place like home! There's no place like home! -- The Wizard of Oz

So, some beer magazine named Burlington a "Beertown U.S.A", and local Vermont users on twitter exploded in a frenzy of mutual self-congratulation -- there's a lot of that kind of thinking here, and 'social media' is just an echo chamber, where like associates with like, and herd-like behavior is to be expected. It's quite annoying -- but still I persist.

Anyhow it turns out that this magazine runs a regular feature and that Burlington is just one of several "Beertowns U.S.A.", and that other locales so designated include such hipster-friendly areas as Asheville, NC and Brooklyn, NY.

So let's not get too excited about some facile little article, shall we?

My recent trip to Florida, however, gave me a chance to expand my beer-drinking horizons, although one does not usually associate South Florida as a hotbed for good food and drink.

Close to home: October 2, 2010, the view from Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend, Vermont. (For an earlier version, see here.)

A chilly harvest celebration -- I was glad I had a hat and jacket at this event -- and a bonfire would have been nice as well. The last beer I sampled at here, was some sort of real Belgian quad, with an ABV of over 12%, it wasn't a full pour, thankfully, but I remember that it almost knocked me on my rear, it was strong stuff.

Ahh, Florida: Denny's, Wendy's, and the Mons Venus strip club -- making the turn into Cigar City Brewing.

By happy chance we arrived as the local Whole Foods store was sponsoring a beer and cheese tasting event... so we got to sample beer and nibble on fancy artisan cheese for free.

What every up and coming craft brewery needs: A minivan outfitted with built-in taps: Just throw some kegs in the back and drive to some hospitable venue.

Another brewery we visited -- the beer list at Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City.

Not shown: Our stop in a crowded, cheerless airport bar at the Atlanta airport. College football was on TV, Georgia-Florida on one screen, and Auburn was thumping some opponent on the other, and the various partisans of these schools, gathered round, and they were really into the spectacle -- watching with a passionate intensity not usually shown for pro sports.

But, as usual, I digress.

There are many times when I am fed up with Vermont and some of the tendencies of my erstwhile neighbors, and the shocking tax bill for my small, old and decidedly unluxurious condominium. But then I ride my bike on the Perry Hill trail network and then go out to the Alchemist (now too popular for its own good) or the Blackback bar, and then all's well in my world, for at least a little while.

Lazy days along the Withlacoochee River

2010-11-12T06:30:00.005-05:00

Way down upon the Suwannee River,

Far, far away,

There’s where my heart is turning ever,

There’s where the old folks stay.

All up and down the whole creation,

Sadly I roam,

Still longing for my childhood station,

And for the old folks at home.

Swanee River (with cleaned up and more contemporary lyrics)

The Winooski River runs through Waterbury, but it looks nothing like the Withlacoochee River as it runs through Nobleton Florida. Vermont lacks trees draped in Spanish Moss, cypress trees, buzzards, cranes, egrets and 'water turkeys'...

I didn't bother bringing the DSLR to Florida -- so these images were made with a little Canon point and shoot, and the quality isn't great.

The river was full of hundreds of turtles, they were everywhere. There were also lots of birds and the occasional glimpse of an alligator.

Deep in the still shadows of the cypress swamp.

Lost highways, Florida style. Many country crossroads would have a small rough cinder-block bar. Typically these establishments would open early in morning... and draw a crowd of locals. Despite some curiosity about the ambiance we did not stop to sample their wares (Bud, Bud light, Busch, etc.).

Postcard from the edge

2010-11-08T08:11:00.003-05:00

Tampa, Florida, November 2010.

It was depressing to drive through the Florida Gulf Coast region, the economy was based pretty much solely on real estate and retail, when the real estate bubble popped, it took down the retail with it: A shabby and desolate place.

Swine, beer, and elections

2010-10-28T07:47:00.007-04:00

It's election season in Vermont. It would be a gross libel on swine, to compare these creatures (Swift, in Gulliver's Travels, referred to pigs as the "sweeter quadruped", contrasting them with the depravity of the yahoos) either to politicians or to the feckless, unhappy and inconstant electorate.

It has been a new style campaign in Vermont, with outside interests from both the left and right pouring millions of dollars into media efforts disparaging their opponents.

Lowlights (and there were many) included an ad showing the Republican candidate as Pinocchio, and fear-mongering spots asserting that the Democratic candidate, if elected, would empty Vermont's prisons of pedophiles and child pornographers.

And, despite participating in ten-plus face to face debates, both candidates managed to resolutely dance around the fiscal problems facing the state.

The Democratic candidate (Peter "fiscal conservative" Schumlin) in particular has run a campaign based on broad promises (expanding pre-K programs, implementing the public option for health insurance, etc.) without specifying how these programs are going to be paid for.

"A chicken in every pot" (ironically, Herbert Hoover used this slogan) kinds of promises are dangerous to make, especially considering that Vermont is already hundreds of millions of dollars in the hole, and the economic recovery -- probably too strong a word -- remains tepid at best.

I suppose it comes down to: Is the glass half empty or half full? Vermont's fiscal position is precarious, and jobs are hard to come by, and generally ill-paying, but at least I don't live in New York, Nevada, California, Illinois, etc. where the problems are even more overwhelming.

And -- trying to be positive -- there's plenty of excellent local beer on hand to dull the stress of living in these anxious times. (More beery photos here.)

Not Lance Armstrong

2010-10-24T11:41:00.011-04:00

So, the recent brief visit to Waterbury by cycling and cancer-fighting superstar (in some people's eyes, anyway -- my own view is a bit more nuanced) Lance Armstrong was big news in this small Vermont town.

The presence of a major celebrity drew the local media like moths to a candle. Print and television reporters turned out in force to cover the event -- would that they showed the same level of interest in events such as the Green Mountain Stage Race or the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival... but I digress.

So, the "Armstrong ride" was the lead, above the fold story in the Waterbury Record this week:

And the Record's written story is a straight-up, non-ironic description of the ride (unlike this bit of reportage from the all-ironic-all-the-time, too-cool-for-mere-plebs -- and hence, ceaselessly annoying, Seven Days).

Lance Armstrong on a Cannondale? I don't think so.

The photo the Record used to illustrate their story, however, is most emphatically not Lance Armstrong, caption non-withstanding. The photo is just some skinny guy in a mostly black kit riding a Cannondale: I could have told them that.

I know I shouldn't complain about cycling getting some relatively positive press because pieces like this ("Arrogant, naive bicyclists dangerous on roads") appear with some regularity, and the comments left by 'readers' make one wonder about the pathologies loose in society these days.

Southbound

2010-10-20T22:35:00.008-04:00

Geese heading south for the winter.

... roots!
the funny limbs that grow underground
that keep you from falling down
don't you think that you'll need them now?

just find a place where no one knows of
your redneck past
yeah, you can easily dispose of your redneck past
you'll show them all back home
Ben Folds, Your redneck past

It's stick season in Vermont: The leaves have fallen off the trees, leaf-peeping tourists no longer crowd the roads, and it is a generally bleak and subdued time of year. It is also a bad time to hike or mountain bike because it is hunting season which means that there are lots of heavily armed and sometimes inebriated people roaming the woods.

So we are going to Florida for a week. Not the Florida of gated communities, theme parks, manicured golf courses and broken real estate dreams, but interior Florida: a remote, flat, languid, humid place populated largely with alligators and water moccasins.

And, I suppose, there's a slight chance that this trip could lay the groundwork for relocating out of Vermont altogether - though this would be a be a long term project, and several things would have to break just right for it to happen.

Lance Armstrong in Waterbury

2010-10-13T22:42:00.006-04:00

Lance Armstrong stopped in Waterbury, Vermont today. I could try and come up with something ironic, snarky or sarcastic... but I don't have the impetus. For my rather mixed take on Mr. Armstrong, see here.

This is about as close as I got: The celebrity is somewhere under that scrum of cameras.

Hundreds of cyclists heading out of town on Route 100 under brilliant blue autumn skies. It was quite dangerous with lots of erratic riding.

Later the field was pared down a bit by a couple of miles of steady climbing.

I did this on my battered Redline mountain bike, with 1 x 9 gearing, so I was not well equipped for a group ride at a brisk pace on a paved road. The story of why I don't have a functioning road bike at this time is too lengthy and discouraging to go into here.

The road less traveled: I bailed at Stevens Brook Road and enjoyed a very quiet ride back to town on Class IV Cobb Hill Road. The foliage is past peak and there is a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground.

Keep on truckin'

2010-10-02T22:10:00.005-04:00

A battered old truck sits in the woods off of Route 14, Craftsbury, Vermont.

When I first caught a glimpse of this in the woods, I thought it was a derelict, abandoned vehicle.
On closer inspection, it was still being used by some thrifty -- or (more likely) down on its luck logging operation as a crude skidder.

Apparently, no need for a radiator -- or registration tags.

These images have been heavily post-processed...reality was more prosaic.

32 x 34 on a 1 x 9 29er: A new set of pie plates

2010-09-28T08:06:00.011-04:00

A new SRAM PG-980 cassette and a new chain installed on my battered Redline Monocog.

Late this summer I could feel a roughness in my left knee while walking -- though not while riding the bike. I'm hoping (probably vainly) that adding two extra gear teeth on the low end will make climbing slightly easier, and save my aging knees.

A quick initial ride to the top of Perry Hill in the late afternoon gloom on Sunday seemed to confirm that the bike climbed a little easier and that it was possible to carry more rpms instead of painfully grinding up the steep sections... but these impressions may have been largely psychosomatic.

If my situation allows, I may build up a new bike over the winter. My Redline proved to be a great purchase (only only $900 slightly used -- less than a fancy wheelset!) and has carried me through many misadventures on local trails, but it is also -- as is to be expected -- a bike with some limitations.

The questions I need to decide, are how much suspension do I need/want, and what gearing to use? Some suspension is probably attractive, but I feel no desire to ride with a triple front crank... perhaps some version of a 2x9 drivetrain.

Still subdued

2010-09-25T21:32:00.004-04:00

Waterbury Reservoir this afternoon, looking up into Ricker Basin. Peak foliage is still a little time away (maybe next weekend?) and it was a dark and cloudy afternoon. See here for a similar view in a much colder season.

The image is a failed attempt at HDR photo processing using Picturenaut as software (and the failure is not the program's fault). I will have to try again while putting the camera in full manual mode to try and get a wider range of exposures on the stacked images -- autobracketing didn't give me the result I was looking for.

Let no moment go unrecorded: Green Mountain Cyclocross (Sunday) images posted

2010-09-22T22:01:00.004-04:00

As I noted, there were lots of cameras in evidence at the recent cyclocross races at Catamount. Even though I feel like this is a futile and rather pointless exercise, I posted some images from Sunday afternoon's race here:

Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend, Verge New England Series Race #2, 9/19/2010

Number 1 with a bullet: Tim Johnson racing at Catamount, 9/19/2010

2010-09-21T08:37:00.007-04:00

I went to the second race of the Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend (Verge Series race #2) this past Sunday.

After a cloudy morning the skies cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful early autumn afternoon, though with temps of about 70 degrees, it was hot for the racers on the hilly and largely shadeless course.

Current US national cyclocross champion Tim Johnson crushed the field and rode what amounted to a long time trial for most of the duration of the 60 minute race.

Kicking up dust on an uphill turn with the Green Mountains in the background.

Riding the 'run up' -- which proved to be not much of an obstacle for the elite men.

Over the barriers near the end of the race. While this was a dominating performance by Johnson, I have to admit, it was not the most exciting race to watch.

There were more spectators carrying DSLRs at this event than at almost any other public gathering I have been at lately: I saw cameras of all shapes and sizes -- ranging from new 4/3rds systems to full-frame professional setups with long, fast lenses. I have some more images that I will post at some point...but it seems kind of pointless.

Game on: Cyclocross at Catamount this weekend

2010-09-17T06:44:00.003-04:00

Justin Spinelli over the barriers in 2009.

The 2010 Green Mountain Cyclocross races will be held this weekend at Catamount. The weather forecast looks promising and I will probably show up for one of the days with my camera.

More race images from 2009 here.

2010: Random Photo Content #9: Vermont foliage

2010-09-14T07:14:00.002-04:00

It won't be long now: Autumn is here, the leaves are just beginning to change. This image is from October 2009, more here.

2010 GMSR Burlington Criterium photos

2010-09-09T08:43:00.009-04:00

For one day a year, Main Street in Burlington looks like this.

Images from the Dealer.com Burlington Criterium, held September 9, the fourth and final stage of the 2010 Green Mountain Stage Race.

Kristin McGrath waits for the start of the Women's race, she finished safely and won the overall.

Ted King, pensive on the start line of the Pro-1 race.

After finishing the critierium and protecting his overall race lead, Jeremy Powers chatted with announcer Alan Cote. In the background, crack volunteers can be seen already breaking down the course -- which was all gone and trucked away within 90 minutes of the race finish. Riders make the race, but volunteers make the race happen... thanks to all that helped out.

Image gallery posted here.

So, there was a bike race in Burlington yesterday

2010-09-07T08:49:00.009-04:00

Category 3 men stream by the SRAM pit on Main Street.

A few images from the 2010 Dealer.com Burlington Critierium. The day went really smoothly and the racing was fast and furious, especially in the Juniors, 3s, 2s and Pro-1 events.

Masters on the start line.

SRAM mechanic takes it all in.

Race leader Jeremy Powers chats with Will Dugan under gray late afternoon skies in Burlington.

Pro men cutting it close turning onto Church Street.

Ted King diving onto Church Street.

Going fast up Main Street.

I will post more images later this week. It takes a while to sort through things and I was on vacation during most of the race, so there are things I need to attend to.

Ten years, thousands of racing miles: 2010 Green Mountain Stage Race

2010-08-29T07:33:00.007-04:00

Criterium action: The Pro1/2 men charge up Main Street in Burlington in 2006.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Green Mountain Stage Race. I think that I have participated in all ten editions of the race in some form or fashion -- as a inauspicious rider in its early years, and then as a volunteer.

Ten years is a long time for any volunteer-run event to keep on keeping on and the history of the criterium race in Burlington goes back even further -- back to the late 1980s.

Through the years I have done a good many of the non-leadership tasks involved with putting on a bike race: Course setup and take down, marshaling, prize distribution, moving stuff, recruiting volunteers. This experience has given me a pretty broad understanding of what's involved in putting an event of this magnitude.

Despite ongoing economic bad news (2010, the year of the 'pessimism bubble') it looks like registration at this year's race is comparable to previous races. As I always, I hope for a safe event without any bad car-rider interactions... a good, competitive race held under sunny skies and on quiet local roads with patient, friendly drivers (sarcasm).

Previous posts about the Green Mountain Stage Race here, take a look (lots of images).

Wedding Photography, 2010

2010-08-23T21:49:00.007-04:00

A week ago, I was a volunteer wedding photographer for a small wedding in Barre. It was an interesting test of my skills with my camera... perhaps there is a potential market for low-budget events like this one... or maybe it's only an opportunity for stress and aggravation for comparatively little money.

This image is nothing like reality (and the colors are deliberately 'off').

The original image. If nothing else, this exercise did expose my lack of skill at post-processing and pointed out areas where I need more learning and experience. I also used a very basic camera (Pentax K100D Super) and one 17 x 70 mm Sigma lens the entire time.

I wasn't paid for this project, which meant there was little stress. At the event, however, I discovered that there at least four other volunteer photographers roaming around with DSLRs and also that many other attendees had brought compact digital cameras. When the ceremony started it was like a firing squad, only with cameras, not guns... the click click click of shutters both mechanical (SLR mirror slap) and electronic was clearly audible.

With so many competing photographers roaming around, I made the conscious decision to be radically contrarian in my approach to this assignment: When the herd went one way, I went in exactly the opposite direction.

Maybe this technique worked, or perhaps I just wound up with lots of photos of people's backsides. (More conventional wedding photos here, from another ceremony in 2008.)

I am not particularly interested in weddings -- usually too staged, formal and contrived for my taste -- most of what I do with a camera is either in nature, or as a kind of documentary, trying to explore social and economic changes as they happen, we are living through a 'great crumbling', and I try and post photos as old assumptions are torn away.

But this is difficult and there are many others that are far better at this style of photography than I.

Lies politicians tell me

2010-08-17T21:36:00.016-04:00

In Vermont, the Governor's term is only two years duration, which is silly, and means that it is almost always election season... as if we didn't have enough problems already.

As the incumbent and (surprisingly) Republican governor is not running for re-election this cycle, there are many Democratic candidates seeking to fill the seat. The Republican candidate, Brian Dube, is not facing a primary challenger for his party's nomination.

The primary election is next week, where the field of Democratic gubernatorial candidates will be remorselessly winnowed from five to one. It is predicted that the percentage of the electorate that will be involved in making this potentially momentous decision will be very small.

Anyhow, Vermont twitterati (/irony) that I am, and with 'social networking' being all the rage with campaigns these days, some of the candidates have "followed" me -- a very lemming-like metaphor -- me on twitter. This despite the fact that my main use of twitter, is to promote this blog -- truly a lost cause, and also to get real time results from bike races.

I took a look at candidate Peter Shumlin's twitter profile out of curiosity. Now, twitter is inherently shallow, self-aggrandizing, and not a venue for nuance or deep thought, but I discovered that Mr. Shumlin's twitter page describes the candidate as (and I quote):

"Socially liberal and fiscally conservative Democratic Senate President from Windham County running for Governor of Vermont."

Now, "socially liberal" makes perfect sense, I won't address that here.

"Fiscally conservative," however, is a lie.

It's not quite as absurd as saying "on a clear day the sky is not blue" but it's almost up there with "2 + 2 = 5" in my book. It would be a strange parallel universe indeed, a down-the-rabbit-hole kind of world, where Peter Shumlin could be accurately characterized as a "fiscal conservative".

Perhaps this sentence was tossed off without thinking by some campaign worker. Maybe it is of no importance whatsoever, making it perfect fodder for this unimportant and unread blog.

I, however, find it emblematic of the mess we are in.

As a proud member of no political party, I have tried to follow the campaign, vainly searching for distinguishing characteristics among the five Democratic candidates. I have tried -- and failed -- to identify a candidate grounded in reality, and not in the thrall of various regressive special interest groups.

Instead, the five candidates have assiduously refrained from criticizing one another and managed to speak in airy platitudes, flattering established constituencies while not addressing the need for serious structural changes by state government.

It has been a dispiriting experience that leaves me with little hope for serious, thoughtful debate in the next two months until the general election in November.

*Candidate Susan Bartlett did state something to the effect that "government does not create wealth", which probably qualifies as the most commonsensical statement by any Democratic candidate in this election cycle, as this is a dissenting opinion in Vermont.

Life and death along the river

2010-08-09T08:03:00.005-04:00

Images from a walk along the Winooski River, Waterbury, Vermont on Saturday 8/07/2010.

It is high summer in Vermont and there is already a sense that things are past peak and that autumn is coming. The transition starts slowly and almost imperceptively but speeds up as August progresses.

This image was captured while standing in dense, tangled weeds (goldenrod, honeysuckle, various vines) almost as tall as I am -- a jungle, and I was not appropriately dressed.

Hundreds of grasshoppers were underfoot.

Along the river, six deer vertebrae were neatly arranged in the sand, a stark gray monochromatic scene after the bright colors of the meadow.

There were no other bones or connective tissue present. It was a strange, antedivulian scene, a fragment of a story of death and dismemberment. More images here.

In flight

2010-08-06T22:26:00.005-04:00

I like this image: It is, however, a very imperfect reflection of nature, and has been cropped and cleaned up considerably.

The nice even gray background (actually, a paved sidewalk) made it comparatively easy to remove the feeder from the lower right-hand corner of the cropped image.

More hummingbird photos here and in my Facebook account, in an album that is visible to 'everyone' (at least until the next time facebook changes privacy settings.)

Go gently into that good night (and please stay gone)

2010-08-02T07:08:00.010-04:00

"In four or five days... Lance Armstrong is over." -- Lance Armstrong, after stage 16 of the 2010 Tour de France.

"You can't pray a lie." -- Huck Finn

The 2010 edition of the Tour de France ended a little more then a week ago. For the first time in my life, I had cable coverage (on the Versus network) of the race, so I spent quite a bit of time watching the race live on television, instead of watching blurry, pirated online video streams of European broadcast coverage.

The race was, on one level, a somewhat exciting duel between Alberto Contrador and Andy Schleck, and was very close, as only seconds separated the racers even after multiple tough stages in high mountains.

On another level (especially on Versus, the defacto LANCE/team radioshack channel) it was Lance Armstrong's last appearance at the Tour de France. A succession of mishaps and errors meant that Armstrong did not figure in the race and rode quite anonymously. The coverage, however, still focused extensively on Armstrong and his team, which did suceed in winning the 'best team on GC' competition.

I have followed, with varying degrees of interest, the Tour de France since the late 1980s and I can state with certainty that the amount of coverage lavished on the team competition in 2010 was unprecedented -- and highly annoying.

Returning to Lance Armstrong, I hope he retires and stays retired. I personally believe that he -- and his teams -- engaged in doping practices, cheating and intimidation and that at least some of the Landis allegations are true. I wouldn't mind, either, if litigation forces some secrets out into the open and if stories about what really went on during Armstrong's career become common knowledge.

I rest assured, however, in the knowledge that pro sports (not just cycling) are not pure and I don't doubt that lots of cheating went on at other teams and by other riders during the Armstrong era. I look out on the economic ruins of early 21st century America (and the obscene wealth and continuing freedom, of those responsible) and I really don't think that much would be served by the US Government engaging in a long drawn-out court case to uncover what went on. I think it would be bad for the sport to have Armstrong tossed in jail like Marion Jones.

I never saw Armstrong race except on television/video (he was supposed to race in Burlington, VT in the early 1990s, but missed his flight... story here). Two stories I'll remember involving Armstrong are:

Back in the mid-1990s, when I was participating in the Killington Stage Race, the club I was involved with, would stay in ski condos at at the mountain - lots and lots of bike racers (10+ people in one unit). In this crowded, communal (and sometimes stressful) environment, a VHS tape of Armstrong's 1993 Worlds victory was the smuttiest of smutty bike porn, something furtively passed around, and watched repeatedly. This was in the pre-Internet, pre-YouTube era, when information still struggled to be free. Now you can watch obscure events like the Tour of Poland live online and video highlights are available the day they happen.

After Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 there was a giant homemade "Get Well Lance" poster at the now defunct Craftsbury Mountain Bike* race for the assembled riders to sign. This was coordinated (if memory serves) by local MTB pro Audrey Augustin and Daria Bishop, wife of one of Armstrong's former teammates.

*My palmares are pretty thin (non-existent) but I did win the Masters category of this race three times. Just sayin'.

Greetings from Perry Hill

2010-07-24T21:26:00.006-04:00

Just an alternate "Postcard" treatment of a photo from the Vermont Mountain Bike Fest (original here).

I am trying to become a little bit more sophisticated with digital imaging and post-processing. It's a very much trial and error process but with patience I have been able to learn a few tricks along the way.

I use Gimp as image editing software and for the most part it gets the job done and the price (free/donation) is right.

No photoshop here... My usual (very amateurish and cobbled together) digital workflow tools include:

Camera
Download image into Picassa for sorting/previewing
If images are in RAW format (like the action shots from the mountain bike festival), UFRaw takes care of conversion and initial image adjustment - and it functions hand in hand with Gimp
Gimp for more edits including sharpening, saturation, scaling, etc.

I still have a lot to learn about basically everything (from using the camera to digital post processing) ... but it's only an investment of time. I did receive some positive feedback from people who have seen the photos from the recent mountain bike festival so which was somewhat gratifying.

Just ride: Vermont Mountain Bike Festival images

2010-07-19T07:54:00.014-04:00

Some images from the recent Vermont Mountain Bike Festival in Waterbury this past weekend. Well over 200 attendees enjoyed two days of fine summer riding on varied trail networks in central Vermont -- well attended rides were held in Stowe, Waterbury, Waitsfield and Hinesburg.

Riders shuttled to Waitsfield on Saturday morning.

Some images from chasing various groups around the Perry Hill trail network in Waterbury.

Not racing -- a big change in mindset for me.

Joe's on Perry Hill.

Sunday morning I went for a ride in Stowe so that I could check out the new trails there. Trapps is spending almost $6 per foot to build trails on their property. Two consequences of this investment in infrastructure are:

The trails are nice and are very well built.
There are not miles and miles of trails (yet).

Here is a slideshow of images from the event.

All in all the event was a success and I'm glad I helped out.

The 2010 Vermont Mountain Bike Festival approaches

2010-07-13T20:43:00.005-04:00

I have been playing a very small part in planning for the 3rd annual Vermont Mountain Bike Festival, which will be held this coming weekend in Waterbury and featuring the area's excellent riding opportunities.

VMBA director Patrick Kell explains how beer makes event planning fun.

Back in late 2009, a small group of volunteers got together and started planning the event. The previous two editions (post on 2008 event here) had been decidedly low-key, ad-hoc affairs and for 2010 it was resolved to make things a little more structured and planned out.

Meetings were held in a local bar and consisted of conversation mixed with beer. Lots of time was spent determining festival price points, menus, music choices, and a myriad of other details. Most of my cycling event planning experience comes from helping to promote the Green Mountain Stage Race and putting on a mountain bike festival requires a quite different mindset.

Even though these are gloomy, recessionary times, the bike industry has been very supportive of the event and there will be a tremendous amount of shiny bike bling on display and for demo. Perhaps for an hour or two over the course of the weekend I may get the chance to tool around on a fancy rig and pretend that I have the money to acquire such an item.

So if by happy chance (or through fortuitous SEO blogging) someone out on the internets stumbles upon this post -- highly unlikely, I know -- and is interested in the some classic Northeast singletrack riding please check out this website and note that onsite registration will be available on Saturday morning.

2010: Random Photo Content #8: Ganesh images, Nepal

2010-07-07T06:35:00.010-04:00

Lord Ganesh is the elephant-headed God, who is known as Lord of Beginnings and the Lord of Obstacles. He is regarded as the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The image of the Lord has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His charioteer is a tiny mouse, which shows a unique combination of wisdom, intelligence and presence of mind. Lord Ganesh is worshipped before starting any new venture. (More information here and here.)

In the two images above, the deity's trunk points to the right, symbolic of renunciation of worldly things.

On this old calendar image, the trunk turns to the left, pointing the way towards worldly success. The various items associated with the deity all have various symbolic meanings.

Images from my trip to Nepal, Autumn 2007.

Hummingbird sequence, June 2010

2010-06-28T21:43:00.007-04:00

These days, the world seems to be uneasily perched on the edge of some great catastrophe, one can read speculation, that the Deepwater Horizon situation, will not be resolved, and will only escalate with time. (Basically, the leaking well won't be capped, it's too shattered, and the endless stream of oil will kill the plankton -- bottom of the food chain -- and everything else will follow, like dominoes.)

But, as usual, I digress. I am very fortunate to live in a place that is still lush and green and where the environment is still pretty clean. There's plenty of bird life around and the aptly named ruby-throated hummingbirds still appreciate the feeder hung under the walkway to our condo unit.

Through the years (and possibly succeeding generations), the male perches on this same branch in a pine tree.

The mighty hunter surveys his domain. Considering their diminutive size these birds are not that shy and can be aggressively territorial.

Even when it feels like we are collectively inducing the end of nature (if something catastrophic does happen, it will be well deserved) I'm glad that a little 4:1 boiled sugar solution keeps these small (1/8 oz weight) creatures going.

Earlier, less refined humming bird sequences can be viewed here (2009) and here (2007).

A moment in time

2010-06-25T22:02:00.005-04:00

I got married last Sunday, at Seyon Lodge, Groton, Vermont. But Facebook was the main 'social media platform' I used to share impressions and images of the occasion with friends and family, and I really have no interest in sharing photos of the event or thoughts on my newly acquired state of step-grandparenthood here.

Enjoy the small things

2010-06-19T16:29:00.004-04:00

...because you never know when you will be turned into bacon -- this hog will be slaughtered in a month or so. Applecheek Farm, Morrisville, Vermont.

The weight: The Levon Helm Band at the Flynn, 2010 Discover Jazz Festival

2010-06-15T07:54:00.000-04:00

Standing next to me in this lonely crowd

Is a man who swears he’s not to blame

All day long I hear him shout so loud

Crying out that he was framed

I see my light come shining

From the west unto the east

Any day now, any day now

I shall be released...

Bob Dylan, I Shall Be Released*

The Flynn Theater marquee as the 2010 Discover Jazz Festival wound down, the Levon Helm Band was the final show of the week-long event.

Levon Helm -- of The Band, and who played behind Bob Dylan on the 1966 'electric' tour of the UK documented in the film Don't Look Back) might seem an incongruous choice for a jazz fest. The Levon Helm Band, however, is really an American roots music big band of made up of 12 very good musicians, including a full horn section and organ, so it actually wasn't too far removed for a jazz festival.

I have been to shows, where I think, "this is nice, but enough, I'm ready for it to be over" but this was not one of those events. The Flynn was sold out and the crowd was very enthusiastic (multiple standing ovations during the show). The large band was tight and played a very eclectic set that included some classics -- always well received by the crowd -- but contemporary numbers as well.

Levon Helm is no longer young and has battled cancer and the vicissitudes of a life lived on the road but he is still a consummate showman and a fierce drummer. It was a very enjoyable show with lots of good energy and we were fortunate to have seen it.

*I Shall Be Released was the one encore the band played on Sunday.

Vermont is wet

2010-06-12T08:26:00.005-04:00

Some quick images from the garden. After a short, happy burst of warm, dry summer-like weather in late May, (trails in the woods were unnaturally dry and dusty) the weather has reverted back to the gray and soggy summer norm.

Bleeding heart

Peony

Day lilly

Big circles: KSR 2010 in my mirrors

2010-06-09T06:39:00.006-04:00

Out of the smoky mists of time: The Pro1/2 field rolls up Route 4 on Memorial Day.

I did not start racing a bicycle until after I had graduated college and was living on my own. I remember watching Greg Lemond and the first American successes in the Tour de France in the late 1980s...but that's another story.

As I hesitatingly and haltingly started racing I was too intimidated to participate in the Killington Stage Race (KSR), one of the biggest races in New England. So for a couple of years I volunteered as a pace car driver for the race, this was back in 1991 and 1992. Vehicles were provided -- brand new Saab convertibles -- I recall taking the plastic covering off of the leather seats and sliding the car through turns on descents.

The those heady early days, the KSR was five days long (time trial - three road races - and a criterium) and held on Labor Day Weekend -- an ambitious schedule and a considerable logistical and public relations challenge. Bike racers' penchant for relieving themselves in public, tendency to litter, and the extensive traffic tieups caused by the race, meant that the event was far from universally loved in the Rutland area.

Eventually putting on a five day event proved to be too much of a hassle and the KSR shrank to just three days and then disappeared altogether. In 2010 the same team that puts on the Green Mountain Stage Race launched a reconstituted KSR and over 500 riders participated -- a very good turnout.

I volunteered to drive a pace car in the 2010. This was a real trip into the past for me as the only association I have with the Killington area is from bike racing. I was assigned to drive for the Women's 3/4 race -- a small and not very aggressive field, and the last race on the course.

The women 3/4 field staging at the start.

The field all together on Route 100.

A cemetery all decked out for Memorial Day.

The small lead group approaching the mid race QOM point.

Another cemetery, more American flags.

The very tough finishing climb.

The last kilometer: I remember this view all too well from my days participating in the KSR.

A short video (55 seconds) showing a little of what it's like to drive a pace car. Most of the time I was driving at less than 20 mph... It takes patience.

An American tragedy

2010-06-07T07:16:00.008-04:00

Happier, cleaner times: Pelicans, Cedar Key, Florida, March 2009.

The birds lived a carefree, Jimmy Buffet kind of life, hanging out on the town fishing pier and living off of the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico. It was probably an easier environment for the birds than humans -- there were not a lot of job opportunities at Cedar Key.

Now, of course, everything has changed: Horrifying pictures of birds in oil here (Big Picture).

BP CEO Tony Hayward infamously and impolitically said that he "wants his life back" -- yes: Don't we all? (And what about the 11 workers who died when the Deepwater Horizon exploded?)

From media reports, it sounds like the usual capitalistic impulse to maximize short term profit potential was a contributing factor in the accident. The well was behind schedule, it was costing a lot of money, the job needed to get done, consquences be damned. Also, the oil industry has deep influence at the agencies that supposedly regulate it -- the fox watches the henhouse.

So on one hand BP is a deserved target of the public's scorn and contempt: There would be a certain poetic justice, if the company's board and key decision makers were publicly tarred and feathered (the fate of the Duke and the King in Huckleberry Finn -- Huck describes the rascals as looking like a couple of "monstrous big soldier-plumes") on some fouled Gulf Coast beach.

But the larger fault is in ourselves: It's easy to tweet about, or post on Facebook, about boycotting BP. It's even pretty easy to follow through and not purchase their products.

But would take real commitment to radically rethink energy consumption and reduce miles driven by car. How many Americans are prepared to do this? Will there be any follow through?

Blog years: Twilight of the golden age of online oversharing

2010-06-04T07:05:00.008-04:00

Bereft of new ideas, and hitting the content creation wall in 2010.

Every Memorial Day marks something besides the sacrifices of America's servicemen and women: It marks the start of another year of this inconsequential, unimportant and largely unread blog.

This anniversary always sparks thoughts like "this would be a good time to pull the plug" and "don't I have better things to do with my time?", but for some unfathomable reason I keep this blog going, though I have noticed a steady decline in my posting frequency.

When I launched this site in May 2006, Facebook was still a 'students only' network and twitter had not been created yet. Smartphones (Blackberries, not Iphones) were still a 1.0 technology and the 'mobile web' was in its infancy.

Now 'social media' is ubiquitous, and as contrarian technology blogger Nick Carr suggests, being surrounded by all this networking technology and bits of content without context has rewired our brains in new and flighty ways.

In this context, long-form blogging on the distinctly uncool blogger platform now seems quaint and old fashioned. On one hand, I know what shows up here is trivial, self-absorbed and unimportant. On the other hand, however, this blog is a veritable work of genius, insight and wit when compared to some of the dreck flitting by:

This blog may be trivial and self absorbed, but not this trivial and self-absorbed.

So I guess I will keep "Midnight Modern Conversation" going, I know that it is by definition inconsequential and unimportant, but I take it for what it is -- which isn't much.

Greensboro (VT) skyline and beer

2010-05-31T21:20:00.012-04:00

Greensboro Bend, Vermont, on Saturday afternoon: winding dirt roads and fields of yellow flowers. As I was taking this photo I could hear a band playing in the distance, alerting me to the fact that I was close to the grand opening celebration of the Hill Farmstead Brewery.

Craft breweries are common in Vermont and brews that once I thought were good (Magic Hat, Otter Creek) I now consider commonplace. The Hill Farmstead Brewery has already won some gold medals at a major brewing competition and promises to bring finely crafted small batch brews to select local bars and restaurants.

Beer #1: "Abner" -- triple dry hopped, naturally carbonated....

People came from far and wide to sample the brews, eat, and listen to a band. The brewery itself is a small and unassuming building the size of a large garage, so the event was held in a field.

Beer #2: "Edward" -- double dry hopped, naturally carbonated... I preferred this to the Abner.

The keyboardist seemed pretty unhappy to be passing the glass to the horn player.