Anthony D. Morrow
ADM
http://www.imadm.com/
Cerritos, CA 90703
USA

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Computer Geek Tip: Word Contextual Menu
THU, 23 FEB 2006
I love it when I can tweak my computers and software to go a little faster or perform a little better, especially customized to my needs. Heck, that's why I'm still runnin' the PowerMac G3 350--because it's so tweaked and customized that despite its age and relative slowness, its great in my workflow. Today, I came up with a new tweak, one so cool I thought I'd share it.

SET-UP STORY: A long time ago I got irritated that Microsoft Word didn't have a menu or button command to paste unformatted text. I use this command often, especially when copying stuff from e-mails or the internet. With a normal paste (keyboard shortcut Control-P or Right-Click > Paste, all the formatting and junk gets carried over, often contrasting with what I've already got going in my document. The traditional way to paste unformatted text is to go to the menu bar, select Edit > Paste Special... and then pick the type of paste you want, in my case, Unformatted Text, and then click OK.

I got around the traditional cumbersome method by creating a macro that did the same thing, then assigned it a keyboard shortcut and also assigned it to a customized button I added to my existing tools. This was pretty good and held me off for the last few years, but I was still irritated by having to go to click the menu button or moving my fingers around on the keyboard to envoke the shortcut. What I really wanted was to be able to right-click an insertion point for a contextual menu where I could then select the option.

SOLUTION: The solution came in two parts. The first was getting the macro right to truly paste unformatted text and the second was adding the command to the contextual menu. After searching online, I melded information I got from two places to come up with the following Macro Module.

To use it, simply add it to a new macro module to your Normal.dot template, save and exit, and the next time you launch Word, you've got it!

Option Explicit
Sub PasteText()
'
' PasteText Macro
' Macro recorded 2/23/2006 by Anthony D. Morrow
' This macro simply pastes unformatted text
' at insertion point.
'
Selection.PasteSpecial Link:=False, DataType:=wdPasteText
End Sub


Private Sub Document_Open()
' SOURCE: http://www.jfitz.com/tips/rclick_custom.html
' Added by ADM on 02/23/2006
' PART 1 OF 2 REQUIRED TO ADD MACRO TO CONTEXTUAL MENU
' CAN BE USED TO ADD ANY MACRO BY ADJUSTING .OnAction
' COMMAND AND OTHER MINOR MODIFICATIONS
Dim NewControl As CommandBarControl
' Add the "Paste Unformatted Text" command to the right-click menu
Set NewControl = Application.CommandBars("Text").Controls.Add
With NewControl
.Caption = "Paste Unformatted Text"
.OnAction = "ThisDocument.PasteText"
.BeginGroup = True
End With
End Sub


Private Sub Document_Close()
' SOURCE: http://www.jfitz.com/tips/rclick_custom.html
' Added by ADM on 02/23/2006
' PART 2 OF 2 REQUIRED TO ADD MACRO TO CONTEXTUAL MENU
' CAN BE USED TO ADD ANY MACRO BY ADJUSTING .OnAction
' COMMAND AND OTHER MINOR MODIFICATIONS
On Error Resume Next
CustomizationContext = NormalTemplate
' Remove the "Paste Unformatted Text" command from the right-click menu
Application.CommandBars("Text").Controls("Paste Unformatted Text").Delete
End Sub

-adm
Thank You Sir, May I Have Another!?

end

Winter Olympics, Winter Storm, Anger Management Crit
MON, 20 FEB 2006
Three things:

1. Winter Olympics

  • Interesting stuff for sure, but how the heck is curling a sport? Why do they need to separate the men and women in this event?
  • I saw Lindsey Jacobellis, with a killer lead, hot dog with a backside method at the last jump of the women's snowboard cross event. She crashed the landing and lost the gold medal she was sure to win, instead recovering enough to get silver. This is a fate she deserved for not making the right choice to finish the race and then celebrate, but I was annoyed by how jubilant Tanja Frieden was after being handed the win. I'm sure it felt great to win, but how could she celebrate a win that wasn't really hers? Sure, she crossed the line first, but it just didn't seem right.

    I was in a two-man break in a race a couple of years ago and the guy I was with was clearly stronger. However, we knew we needed to work together to stay away and he knew he'd need my team to block in order for us to have a chance. So, our agreement was we'd work together to keep the break and that we'd roll toward the line together, but that I would take the win. Sure, it was nice to win, but it was a technical win and I sure as heck didn't celebrate and do a dance at the line or anytime after.
  • USA Hockey - Pro men are 1-1-2 (wins-ties-losses). Bad. Women recover from shootout loss to Sweden to win bronze.

2. Rain in L.A.

A cold and wet winter storm rolled through here over the weekend. It started Friday night bringing rain to lower elevations and long-sought snow to local mountains. It was cold enough to bring snow levels down to 2,500 feet. Being the dedicated fool I am, and never trusting the weatherman, I went out on Saturday morning for my usual ride, only to get rained on lightly on the way out to the marina, and then totally drenched passing through Newport. The skies seemed to unleash their full wet fury on me there. It was a cold, lonely ride, but I stuck to my plan and got my time and miles in. My feet weren't too thankful, though. When I got home, it took several minutes for me to have any feeling in my toes and they hurt like heck when I jumped into a warm shower.

3. Anger Management Crit

Yesterday was another 100 kilometer criterium called the Anger Management Crit. The race started at 2 PM, so it was dry by the time I got there even though it had rained pretty hard early in the morning. Starting at 2 allowed me to sleep in, have a nice filling breakfast, and relax for the first half of the day. The race is also close enough that I only need 20 minutes to get there.

For the second weekend in a row, my team was in full force for the race. It's nice to have a strong set of guys in the race because we can spread out the work of attacking and covering and can put together a leadout for finishes. Unlike the race three weeks ago, I was far more confident in my legs this time and was at the front most of the race blocking, attacking, and countering.

Early on, Rob was away with another rider, so most of us got to the front and tried to get him a good gap. We were also hoping a few strong riders would bridge up to get a good size group to really take off. We have confidence in Rob's strength that if he's away with a group, he'll have a good chance at the win. But Rob's break only lasted a few laps and it was back to attacks and counter attacks but nothing was sticking.

About half way through, a $100 prime came up and Chris went like a rocket to win it. Some other rider actually crossed the line first, but it was later discovered he had such good legs because he'd been sitting out a few laps. He was relegated and Chris got the cash.

Somewhere around an hour and a half into the race a group of six got up the road and we had nobody in there. That's a team oops, big time. A secondary attack was made and I made sure I was there, not wanting to let two groups get away without us represented. The group was about 10 guys and it was going well early, but then everyone kept looking around and not doing enough work. At the rate we were going we were likely to be caught, but it turns out a crash in the main pack caused it to slow and our break of 10 was able to keep away.

My break came close but never caught the lead group. At two to go, two guys from our group of 10 jumped and stayed off, making it 8 ahead. On the last lap, my legs in pain and ready to lock up, I sucked it up and hammered with the remaining guys towards the finish. At turn four, a CBR guy jumped on the outside and another guy got behind him. I was third and we sprinted to the line, finishing in that order.

At the time, I though there were four up the road, so doing the math, I figured I was 9th for the finish. Alas, I was disappointed to find out there were six in the lead break, the two who jumped, and then two ahead of me in the sprint. MATH: 6 + 2 + 2 = 10. ADM = 11th. DARN IT! Another 11th. At least I'm a model of consistency.

-adm
Tell Me A Joke

end

St. Valentine's Day Massacre Crit
FRI, 17 FEB 2006
The Roger Millikan/St. Valentine's Day Massacre Grand Prix (a criterium) was last Sunday (02/12). This is the race that usually kicks off my season, but this year, I had already gotten three races into my legs before this one. Pretty soon we'll just race every weekend all year round. Luckily, the weather here in SoCal almost allows for it.

My entire team made the race and it appeared just about everyone else did, too. Every race seemed to have full fields. Aaron Olson (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Kyle Gritters (Health Net) were present just as they were at Boulevard last week, but what surprised me and somewhat intimidated me, just as I'm sure it did most everyone else, was the strong presence of the newly announced Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team. They brought about seven guys including Tony Cruz, Mariano Friedick, and the eventual race winner and second place finisher Juan Haedo and Ivan Dominguez. I guess they we're warming up for the Amgen Tour of California. Also in the race, in town for something like a month now, was the Polish National Team.

The race used a new course that's in the same business park area as the old one. I was apprehensive about the new course because I always liked the old one and seemed to do well on it. As part of my warm-up, I circled the course and was pleasantly surprised by how fun it looked. On the back stretch, just after turn two, there's a mild chicane that requires attention. The stretch from corner three to four is a short but tiring uphill. All around, the course was wide and pavement was good except for some cracks on the outside stretch between turn one and two. It looked fast and fun.

The race went off on time and was scheduled for an hour and thirty minutes. Toyota-United was at the front and sent riders off trying to get a break going but an anxious and able field, including riders from SuccessfullLiving.com, kept everything in check. My teammates and I rode smart and conservatively, keeping good positions and covering the essential moves.

The race was fast throughout and very fast at times. I made it a point for myself to sit in early to assess the race and then progressively move forward as it went on. I was comfortably holding top 20 for the last 30 minutes, making sure I was within striking distance of any serious moves. I wasn't feeling super fast or strong, so I wasn't looking to initiate, only to react.

By the time the race was down to five laps to go, no breaks had stuck and it was clear a field sprint was going to decide the day. Toyota-United guys went to the front to lead it out for their sprinters and the race became nervous and more dangerous as racers began to seriously jostle for position. I kept fighting to hold a top 20 position and had the most success on the uphill stretch where a lot of guys started to fail.

At one to go, the Toyota-United train was in full effect and everyone was scrambling to position behind them. I found a spot behind my teammates Chris and Gil. Chris put in a monster effort on the last lap, making up spots on the back stretch and really moving up the inside on the uphill. He turned the corner and went crazy, sprinting strong for sixth. Gil kept going, albeit not as fast as Chris, and I followed his tow, unable to go around. We both got picked at the line by friend and former teammate, Gary Scott (Team Velocity). Gary took 8th, another rider snuck in for 9th, and Gil and I got 10th and 11th.

Jeez, another 11th. I was bummed not to crack the top ten, but at least this race paid 12 deep. We later found out that the prize list was top heavy, so in spite of having three riders in the money, we barely made $150 in prize cash.

-adm
Tell Me A Joke

end

Not-So-SuperBowl, Kings Ups and Downs
SAT, 11 FEB 2006
SUN, FEB 04 - Boulevard really took a lot out of my legs so I decided to skip the Red Trolley Crit the next day. I didn't like letting down my teammates who were expecting me there, but I knew my legs were in no condition to be very useful.

Instead, I stayed home, slept in a bit, didn't ride, and kept my legs propped up on the recliner and read the newspaper. We kind of watched the SuperBowl but it wasn't that great of a game so it was easy to walk away and check e-mail, read the newspaper, or watch the grass grow in the backyard instead. I thought it was just me, but I was glad to see in the newspaper and hear on talk radio the next day other people thought the game was flat, too. I am glad the Steelers beat out the Seahawks. GO BUS!

WED, FEB 08 - Tonight's loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets is the Kings' 7th in a row. They've gone from being near the top of the conference and division to just barely hanging onto the last one or two playoff spots. *SIGH*.

MID-WEEK - I put in good hard efforts at both Heritage and Hughes. My assessment of my fitness right now is that it's good, probably better than this time last year, but that it's also more climbing skewed than last year. I also seem to be missing strength. One way to get it is to go out and do long, hard efforts, and then do 'em again, and then do 'em again, and then do 'em one more time and try to hang on to the finish and then do it one last time.

SAT, FEB 11 - With just two games left before the Olympic break, I hoped the Kings could get back home and win them to break their losing record and get the ship turned in the right direction. Chicago Blackhawks have a terrible record so this was a good team to pin turnaround hopes on. Mission accomplished. It wasn't as exciting as most games, and the Kings needed an overtime period to get it done, but they got the goal and won 5-4.

Coming up next, Roger Millikan/St. Valentine's Day Massacre Grand Prix and Kings v. Dallas. And whatever I feel like.

-adm
Tell Me A Joke

end

Hard Boulevard Road Race
TUE, 07 FEB 2006
More catch-up...

FRI, FEB 03 - Gil, Chris, and I headed south to Oceanside where we would stay overnight before Saturday's Boulevard Road Race. Chris arranged for us to stay with Mike and Linda, close family friends and former neighbors. What hospitality! Mike and Linda were great hosts and Linda made a killer dinner. I ate to the point of being full, literally, and was oozing brownie after stuffing down a second helping. One thing would be for sure, any lack of ability at the race the next day would not be due to having enough fuel.

SAT, FEB 04 - It was tough leaving the welcoming and beautiful home of Mike and Linda, but we had work to do at the UCSD Boulevard Road Race. It was out in south San Diego, east of El Cajon and very near the border with Mexico. This would be the first big race of the season. It is certainly a tough one, no matter the time of year.

In attendance was just about every major SoCal racer and a few bigger names like Aaron Olson (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Neil Shirley (Jittery Joes), Kyle Gritters (Health Net), and all of the SuccessfullLiving.com crew (formerly SeaSilver). We could see it was going to be a challenging race, but we psyched up and got ready.

It was a big group to start: about 80-100 guys. Just 5 minutes before we were to rollout, I noticed I had a soft front tire. My first instinct was to quickly get a tube from somebody and change it out myself, but then I remembered the race had neutral support for the Pro/1/2s. I rolled up to the Wheels on Wheels trailer and looked at the tire. A thorn had punctured the tube from the sidewall. But no worries! The mechanic quickly and dutifully changed it out and I was back to the start in time.

The race starts out with a long downhill. It turned out to be not so good for Gil. His hub failed just 10 minutes into the race. He was forced to go back to the support vehicle for a swap and got a wheel quickly, but he hardly had a chance to catch back on to the group having to fight the wind solo. He told us later he caught back on just before the climbing started but was too tired to stay on from there. Me and my other two teammates in the race, Chris and Steve, questioned whether we should have waited to help Gil get back on, but the decision at the time, affirmed in our conversation, was the resulting effort would have simply exhausted us as a team and jeopardized any real chance of any of us having a good result.

The first lap was fast, but not wicked, until we came up on the start/finish and feed zone just beyond. Someone lit it up and the race was on and I barely got over to the right of the road in time to take a bottle from Anne, Ken's girlfriend, who was kind enough to be giving me my feed. A break of about 6 was up the road but the chase was on and closing fast. Back down the hill we went, faster than the first time, and then climbing again, faster than the first time, too. This time, nearing the top, a gap formed between my position and the front 20 riders. Luckily, it was small and the guys I was with put in efforts to get back on quickly. The break was also caught.

Down the hill on lap three I could feel my muscles starting to resist the efforts. We were going downhill fastest yet, and by this time, it was only Chris and I left in the race for our team. As we turned to start climbing lap three, my inner-right thigh muscle locked up and I let out a groan of pain. I had to stop pedaling. The group rolled on and I was idle for 15-20 seconds, waiting for my muscle to release. It finally did, and I tried to make up the gap, but it was too great and I was in too much pain to do it. I suffered all the way through the climb, getting to the start/finish trying to decide if I should finish the four lap race.

A group of five caught up with me there, so I decided I'd roll with them and finish the race. On the downhill, I cramped again. I had to sit up and stop pedaling again, and the group rolled off without me. I kept going and surprisingly started to feel better as I worked my way up the climb for the final time. I think my legs finally realized I wasn't going to stop so there was no reason to be cramping any more. Stubborn idiot.

I rolled across the line and to the car. I was tired. Final results: race winner - Neil Shirley. Chris beat out his groupmates like Kyle Gritters and Erik Saunders for 22, and I rolled in at 38. It wasn't a great race for me, but I was glad to finish the four laps/90 miles and it was excellent training, if nothing else.

-adm
Tell Me A Joke

end

100K Crit, Neverwonder CD.
MON, 06 FEB 2006
Playing catch-up, once again...

SAT, FEB 11 (7:30AM) - I went out to hammer my legs for three and a half hours despite the 100K race the next day. Why? Because that's training! I joined up with Velo Allegro to start and kept going south to Newport Coast. Brad went up with me to the top (beating me by about 30 seconds) and then he headed off for some caffeinated refreshment while I added the bonus climb. Brad let me pull most of the way home, into the wind, but he wasn't going to let me think he wasn't boss, so as we approached the end of the 4000m at Bolsa Chica, he lit it up, 30+ into the wind, while I sputtered off. Good times.

SAT, JAN 28 (1:00 PM) - Kings v. Ducks, round 5. The Kings had just played the Ducks on Monday. They meet 8 time this year, part of the NHL's attempt to boost regional rivalries. Well this game was a disappointment, not just because the Kings lost, but because of how they got totally handled by the quackers. Kings got the first goal, and then the Ducks seemed to score on every power play. Final score: Ducks 6, Kings 2.

NEVERWONDERSAT, JAN 28 (9:30 PM) - Whisky A Go Go for NEVERWONDER's first full-length CD release party. NEVERWONDER has put together a great sounding 10 track album. Sample some of their tunes and buy the CD at their website. Not only will you be buying great independent artist music, but you'll also be supporting yours truly since I'm the computer geek behind the CD layout/graphics.

SUN, JAN 29 - CBR's 100K Pro/1/2 Crit. I wasn't sure what to expect from my legs after the hard day before but it all worked out... sort of. We did the 100K in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I played the odds and sat in near the back, hoping nothing at the front would get away. And if it did, I had five teammates who were feeling frisky and willing to go. I'd work for them but not work hard otherwise. It ended up no breaks stayed off and it came down to a field sprint for the finish. I hesitated around the last two corners, not sure how solid the legs would be after 2+ hours of right turns, so I had terrible position for the sprint. It showed in my result: 12th. Gil got 8th, Chris was 16th, and Rob, Jared, and Nate weren't far behind. The SDBC crew got the win and were impressive in how they set up the last few laps.

More catch-up tomorrow...

-adm
Tell Me A Joke

end

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