Archive: March 14%2c 2011'

<<< March 13, 2011

Home

March 15, 2011 >>>


go DeeDee, episode VI

Monday,  03/14/11  12:32 PM

An update on our adopted musher DeeDee Jonrowe; she is still in 8th, presently resting at the Koyuk checkpoint.  The map at right is the live GPS tracker; the little numbers represent the competitors.  #53 is John Baker who is leading, and #30 is Ramey Smyth who is chasing in second. DeeDee’s #2 is under the TOT symbol at Koyuk, upper right; TOT means “Teacher on Trail”, a cool program wherein an elementary school teacher has been mushing along the trail giving video lessons all through the Iditarod.  This whole event is a big deal in Alaska even for schoolkids.

It appears that while DeeDee is still running strong with 10 dogs, she is not likely to win this year.  Most observers think this is a three team race at this point between Baker, Smyth, and Hans Gatt who is in third.  Still there are 150 miles left along a mogully seacoast and much can happen.

You may notice that the red track in the map above appears to extend across Norton Sound.  That’s because it does! – the mushers actually run over the sea ice far out from land in order to cut the corner.  That makes for a long smooth (cold, windy) run.  After Koyuk the trail is on land which has a bunch of rises and falls and inlets and rivers.  Not a superhighway :)

Once the mushers reach White Mountain they must take a mandatory 8 hour layover.  After that it is a 75 mile sprint to the finish.  It is worth noting that Lance Mackey, the defending champion who has won each of the last four years, was never first to White Mountain.  This account of John Baker’s stop in Unalakleet was fascinating, all the stuff a musher does to care for their dogs at a checkpoint.

Some of you have asked if DeeDee is the only woman left.  No!  There are about 10 other women left running, and 4 have scratched.  She is presently the top woman but Jessie Royer is in 9th place right behind her, so there’s a battle there too.

Cheers, stay tuned, and go DeeDee!

[ all episodes ]

 

irrational pi day

Monday,  03/14/11  08:02 PM

Happy Pi day...  hope it wasn't too irrational for you.  I must tell you, it was weird for me; after yesterday I'm still not sure how to feel.  Am I back to normal?  Am I completely different?  Somewhere in between, and not static but bouncing back and forth.  I took high energy into the weekend and multiplied it with my ride Saturday, and then yesterday spun me around a few times.  Who knows what trajectory I'll take?

Saturday night Shirley wanted to watch Avatar.  (If you know Shirley and know Avatar, you can deduce that yes, things are a little weird around here.)  And so I looked on iTunes, nope, no Avatar.  Netflix, nope.  Blockbuster, nope.  There did not appear to be any way to buy Avatar online, despite the fact this movie is over a year old.  So I launched Pirate Bay, found a torrent, and downloaded the movie; took about three hours.  And we watched.  Awesome. 

(Yes, that is my favorite scene, when he tames the wild whatever creature and flies it against the helicopters.  Makes no actual sense but what an excellent scene.  Made for showing off 3D I do believe.)

Here's one for Shirley: Jane Eyre movie adaptations, why are there so many, and which is best?  The appeal of this story is hidden to me.  Not made for showing off 3D :) 

Just read a great article about Sudanese entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim in the New Yorker.  Man, what an amazing guy.  Not only did he found the largest cellphone company in Africa, thereby enhancing communications all over the continent, he's using the fortune it gave him to incentivize good governance.  He and others like him are the real hope for Africa, not handouts and aid from the West. 

I've been looking for this forever: affect-effect.  Just when you thought there were two words here, you realize, there are five!  "When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it."  So be it. 

Lonnie Pogue starts off his iPad 2 review thusly: "'An utter disappointment and abysmal failure'.  'Consumers seem genuinely baffled by why they might need it'.  'Insanely great it is not'.  'My god, am I underwhelmed'.  Good heavens!  What a critical drubbing!  Whatever it is must be a real turkey.  What could it be?  Only the fastest-selling gadget in the history of electronics: the Apple iPad."  Yep, I too was fooled.  [ via John Gruber

Horace Dediu: the billion dollar smart cover.  Wow.  Apparently there are 31 little magnets involved, 21 in the case, and 10 in the iPad itself.  I'm sure this is the start of a trend, there will be magnets everywhere, with stuff jumping into place all around.  So be it. 

Aaron Quint: Flash Rules.  "I’m probably going to get in trouble for this, but I'll let you in on a little secret. Your hatred of Flash is wrong and misplaced."  I don't hate Flash either.  It's just a tool. 

In honor of pi day, a pi joke, courtesy of XKCD via Cory Doctorow

Prescription for a long life: Work hard, don't retire early.  I'm going to live to 100, easy :)

 

 
 

Return to the archive.