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

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Zamboni Ride
SUN, 30 APR 2006
I knocked off another "things to do in life" item earlier this month. I got to ride the Zamboni.

Back on April 6 at the Kings v. Sharks game, I got to ride on the Zamboni during the first intermission at Staples Center.

Kings v. Sharks: April 6, 2006 on Fox Sports Net West. Intermission. ADM rides the Bud Light West Coast Choppers Zamboni at Staples Center. ADM entertains the crowd while riding the Zamboni during the Kings game intermission. ADM ponders if he'll get to drive the Zamboni.

Earlier in the season, I'd enter the drawing every game to win a ride. About a month ago, I got an e-mail from a rep at AEG saying I'd won and that I'd get to ride. YESSSSSS! Along with the ride we also got 2 tickets so we invited my parents and they came with us to the game and sat in our regular season seats.

I had to go down to the Zamboni half-way through the first period. The Kings were already down 1-0 after Cheechoo scored just three and a half minutes into the game. I didn't miss any more scoring on the way down. I watched the last three minutes of the period from the tunnel and then was directed to take a seat on the West Coast Choppers / Bud Light Zamboni. I waited a few minutes while "Human Bowling" got underway at the start of the intermission, and then my Zamboni driver jumped on, said hello, revved up, and started out onto the ice.

What an experience. Staples Center sure looks a whole lot bigger from the middle of the ice as compared to anywhere in the seating area. It was fun waving to the crowd, especially the little kids. It's kind of like a parade float obligation to wave to people, but I did get tired of it about half way through the ride. I talked with my Zamboni driver about how long it took him to learn to operate the Zamboni (6 months) and other stuff. He was really cool about answering questions while still being able to do his job of making the ice ready for the new period.

Unfornately, the game wasn't a winner like my Zamboni ride was. The Kings stunk up the joint and got shut-out, 5-0. Again, it seems like every time we bring people to a game, the Kings lose. People must think we're crazy being behind this team.

Jule snapped photos from the lower bowl. We recorded the game to DVD, so when we got home, we checked it, and sure enough, coming back from commercial break, I got a few seconds of TV time as the camera shows me enjoying my Zamboni ride.

Check out the video here. [4MB, MPEG-2, 0:07. You might have to watch this with Windows Media Player, so if it doesn't launch in your browser, right-click the link and save the file to your hard drive using a Save As... and then open it.]

-adm
Zamboni = Fun at 5 MPH

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Save The Internet
THU, 27 APR 2006
I'm all about free markets and capitalism but have grown to understand the need for government to maintain balance. I could go from here on all sorts of political rants but I'll stick to one simple point.

Save The Internet.

Please read more and get involved at SaveTheInternet.com.
Save The Internet!

-adm
Network Neutrality Is Your Friend

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ADM Conquered by The Canyons
MON, 24 APR 2006
Well, the good news about me and the Conquer the Canyons stage race is I finished. The bad news is I finished nearly ten minutes after most of the field. I suppose I can look at it on the bright side and say at least I didn't lose as much time as I did in the time trial over just four miles. If that was the case, over the 64 miles I'd be behind something like 24 minutes.

I knew I was in trouble early. When we hit the long climb, the one we'd see seven more times that day, the pace was brisk and I felt my legs resisting. I made it over on the tail end of the pack. On the next lap I faltered near the top but was far enough up in the pack that I recovered and latched on to the tail end again. On the third lap I was in even more difficulty but crested the top just off the pace and made up the little gap with a few others on the long downhill. Through the rollers, something possessed me to follow a Chris Walker attack. I sat on as Chris did his thing but it seemed to take a lot more out of me than it did him, because when we got to the big climb the fourth time, I sputtered just half way up and couldn't keep on (while Chris rolled on and eventually took 4th). I tried making ground on the downhill again, but this time the gap was too great and I was left behind.

I was really hoping everyone else would wear down like I was. Sometimes, that's the case. Fast up the hill the first time, then a bit slower each lap afterward as people tire. Of course, I don't know how laps 5-8 were with the group, but there was no slowing the first four. I didn't even have enough breath to yell, "Hey guys, wait for me!"

And so, I rode half the race, 32 miles and four laps, pretty much alone. I passed only one rider from my group the rest of the day. Everyone else either finished with or close behind the main group, or had the sense to call it a day as soon as they fell off. Me, I decided I'd keep going to get my money's worth from the race and to get in some training, if nothing else.

Nate ended up finishing very well, getting 11th on the day. Steve was just four seconds behind at 22nd. Steve wound up earning our team's best GC, moving from 19th after the TT to 15th. Nate improved from 36th to 23rd. I wound up 36th out of 38 finishers.

Yeah, I wasn't last!

-adm
If it was golf, I'd be 3rd!

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ADM at Conquer The Canyons Stage Race: Day 1
SAT, 22 APR 2006
Yet another time trial confirms what I already know: I suck at time trialing. I did the ITT for the Conquer The Canyons stage race (the one with the website with yours truly on it) and was two minutes off of the best time for only a 4 mile uphill course. I was something like 49 out of 70 overall. Yuck.

There was a time back in the day I rocked uphill ITTs. That was back when I weighed 135 lbs., ten less than nowadays. I thought cycling was entirely about suffering, too, making for great ITT material. But now, I'd much rather be cunning and suffer less, making me better suited for the crits.

And so, when the crit came around later today, I worked hard for the team making sure the attacks were covered and even doing a couple attacks of my own. Nate and Steve put down great efforts on the last two stretches, setting up Chris and Gil very well for the finish. They led out the sprint but were zapped at the line by Adam Livingston (Successful Living) and Jacob Erker (Symmetrics). Chris ended up 3rd, Gil 4th, and there I was just far enough behind for yet another 11th this year.

I need to add 11 to my regular set of Lotto numbers.

And maybe take up bowling full-time. This ad was calling my name! They have Lotto at the bowling alley, don't they?
Bowl In Case of Emergency

-adm
Eleventh = 10th loser

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RSS Feeds for IMADM.com
FRI, 21 APR 2006
Subscribe! IMADM.com RSS 2.0 FeedsI don't think there's anyone hanging on my every word out there but I do know I get a few regular visitors. That's why I feel so progressive to offer RSS feeds.

If you know what an RSS feed is, use the icon to the upper-right to get the feed (it's also on the main page). If you don't know, here's a link to the Wikipedia definition. Or contact me if you wan't to know more.

Also, I added search functionality to the site, powered by Google. For now there's only a search bar on the main page. Scroll down - it's on the left. Or click here.

That's it for now.

-adm
Making Internet bytes and bits since 1994

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Website Story, History
THU, 20 APR 2006
I've been "online" since 1994. I started out with an e-mail address at CSU Fullerton and quickly learned to Telnet, Gopher, and enjoyed playing MUDs, often skipping classes to do so. But it was Mosaic (one of the first web browsers) that was inspiring.

No sooner did I start surfing the graphical web did I want to become part of it. In early 1996, I put up my first site, a few pages with free host Geocities. I bought a book on HTML and hand-coded everything. Later that year, I stretched my then simple skills by creating the CSU Fullerton Cycling Website as a sub-directory of my Geocities site.

My first site was pretty much my only site up until July 2003. It was then I finally made use of my ISP's free webspace. The address: http://mysite.verizon.net/res19qi1 or http://mysite.verizon.net/toegnix. In August 2005, I purchased my domain name, IMADM.com, but still used my ISP webspace for hosting. All traffic to IMADM.com was forwarded to the Verizon.net webspace.

At the end of last month, after dealing with Verizon.net reliability issues, I finally decided to pony up some more cash to get a true webhost (I may also be changing my DSL provider soo, so that's one more reason not to rely on Verizon webspace). Upgrading to a true webhost allowed me to ditch the domain forwarding and some issues that come with that, gave me a lot more webspace and bandwidth, and meant reliability and plenty of new features.

After about 10 years since I first tried, I wanted to spend time on my own web project to fully design, layout, and publish my website.

Of course, websites are ever changing and I already have ideas about how I want to tweak this one. But for once, I'm satisfied with the effort.

-adm
Making Internet bytes and bits since 1994

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Something Wonderful Is Here!
TUE, 19 APR 2006
Okay, it's here! I finally sat down and worked on my own website. I'm not completely done, but I got most of it worked out and up and more will happen as time goes on. Do you like it?

Now you know what I've been up to for almost two weeks. There's a hard drive crash that happened, too. I'll tell the story later.

-adm
Something Wonderful Is Here! What Do You Think?

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Something Wonderful Is Coming
WED, 05 APR 2006

DAVE
Hal, do you read me?

HAL 9000
Yes, Dave, where are you? I cannot see you on any of my monitors.

DAVE
That isn't important now. I have new instructions for you. I want you to point the AE-35 antenna towards Earth.

HAL 9000
Dave, that will mean breaking contact with the Leonov. I will no longer be able to relay my Jupiter observations according to program.

DAVE
I understand. The situation has changed. Accept priority override alpha. Here are the AE-35 coordinates. Please do it now.

HAL 9000
Instructions confirmed, Dave. It is good to be working with you again. Have I fulfilled the mission objectives properly?

DAVE
Yes, Hal, you've done very well. Now, there is one final message for you to transmit to Earth. It is the most important message you have ever sent. I want you to keep repeating it as many times as possible.

HAL
What is going to happen, Dave?

DAVE
Something wonderful.

HAL 9000
I'm afraid.

DAVE
Don't be! We'll be together.

HAL 9000
Where will we be?

DAVE
Where I am now.

HAL 9000
Lock confirmed on beacon terra one. Message commencing.

end

I Race, Therefore I Crash
MON, 03 APR 2006
I drove out to Las Vegas Friday afternoon for my brother's bachelor party. On a good day, a law-bending citizen can make the 270 mile trip in 3.5 hours. On a bad day, like Friday afternoon when everyone is on the road and trying to get home or to Vegas, it takes 5-7 hours. I was lucky to be on the low end of the bad day scale but it doesn't make me feel any better. Traffic sucks. Especially in SoCal.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so I can only tell you I finally got to sleep on Saturday morning for about five hours, then had lunch, took a 30 minute power nap, and eventually headed back home. The rest of the gang was staying until Sunday, but I was driving back home in order to be able to race in Ojai the next day.

I got home in 4 hours, around 8 PM. I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to do it in the morning, so I got all my cycling gear ready and packed into the car so I could just wake up and go. I got into bed around 10 PM. Already tired from 9 hours driving the past two days, lack of sleep, and no lack of intoxication after-effects, I felt spited by life that daylight savings time was also kicking into effect. My race in Ojai would go off at 10:40 AM and the estimated travel time was two hours. I figured I needed to be on the road by 7:30 AM so I set my alarm for 6:45 AM (effectively 5:45 AM before the freakin' time change).

Waking up wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I fought drowsiness all the way to Ojai. When I pulled up to the race area around 9:00 AM (hardly any Sunday morning traffic), I parked and took a power nap for 30 minutes. What a difference that made! I felt better.

The race was the 3rd Annual Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix. Garrett Lemire was a 22 year old cyclist killed while racing the Tucson Bike Classic in 2003. A resident of Ojai, his family and community pulled together the race in downtown Ojai in his memory. It's a nice circuit featuring a curvy downhill stretch followed by a shooting uphill right turn, a quick right and then left, and another uphill stretch to the last right turn and short sprint to the finish.

As a National Calendar Race (NRC), the Elite 2 race was separated from the Pro/1. I figured I'd have a better chance than usual to get a good finish with the extra fast guys out of the way. However, I also questioned how I might perform given my hectic two days before. Once the race started, it turned out okay. I wasn't as sharp as I felt at Redlands the week before (where I finished 19th in the Pro/1/2 crit), but I wasn't feeling terrible like I had presumed I might.

I did this race last year with terrible result. On just the fourth or fifth lap, turning into the first uphill, someone ran into my rear derailleur and my chain dropped. I didn't fall over but I had to click out and then fix it. A race official who was right at the corner failed to see the collision and was quick to say "no free lap", saying I had just dropped my chain from shifting. I argued briefly, realized it was futile, and then remounted my bike and tried to chase. I got close early but then I lost steam and never got on. I was pulled, off the back, with about four laps to go.

So, this year I wanted redemption. At the gun, I got up near the front and feeling okay. For most of the race I was top 10 or 20, keeping within reach of attacks but not making any moves of my own. With just 50 minutes of racing, I figured it unlikely any breaks without my team and several others would stick. This turned out to be true.

With one lap to go, I was tiring but certainly not in difficulty. On the downhill, I got caught in the middle as riders came around on the left and right. I knew I had slipped too far back, some 20 or so deep. I had been making up lots of spaces on the two uphills so I hoped to be able to pull it off here. Then, as we'd just come around the corner, two guys tangle up and one of them flies right into the path in front of me. I had enough time to hit the brakes and took off most of my speed. My front wheel went over the guy but my rear wheel caught him somewhere in the mid-section and I took a somersault header over the bars and to my right shoulder.

Somehow I kept the handlebars in my grip. On instinct, I jumped up to keep going but realized immediately my race was over. Even had I not taken a tumble, having to brake and lose speed pretty much ensured I would have no chance of being in good position for the finish. I fought the desire to kick the two idiots writhing on the ground and instead moved over to the sidewalk to catch my breath, heavy from the exertion and the adrenaline of the crash.

I won't bother with a "Crash Log" entry for this one. I barely scuffed my right calf and got a bruise on my inner right thigh, presumably from being hit by my saddle somewhere along the way down. I haven't inspected the bike thoroughly but I rode it to get back to the car and for a short cool down and noticed no problems. My helmet never touched pavement. Lucky me. I'm getting so good at crashing.

It's all my fault, really. Sure, blame the guys who tangled up and went down, but what was I doing so far back in the pack? The truth I know and must admit is I'm not sharp and strong and not fighting for position well enough late in the races to be avoiding this kind of junk. Crashes happen to everyone who races at some point, but the chances increase dramatically if you're further back in the pack with the guys who are struggling to stay on.

[Looks at self in mirror.] Get stronger, faster, and move up, idiot!

-adm
Ojai Hates Me

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Quick Stuff
SUN, 02 APR 2006
1. I use Yahoo Mail for e-mail and Yahoo Calendar for keeping track of some events. I noticed two of my Yahoo Calendar e-mail reminders ended up in my Bulk/Spam folder. How funny is it that Yahoo's own messages get flagged as spam? Alas, this is why I usually browse my Bulk/Spam folder before deleting messages; because something useful ends up in there once in a while.

2. On Thursday I tried a "High Performance Pre-Workout Supplement" called Driven. It nearly drove me to gag.

I was given a couple of samples of this drink powder at Interbike. I put it in the cabinet and kept saying I'd try it but only got to it on Thursday. I figured trying something new and different for a short training ride would be the safest. This, in contrast to trying some new drink or food just before a long road race, only to find out it works like a super-laxative.

Driven didn't upset my stomach but it sure tasted terrible. The flavor on the package says Raspberry Lemon Tart. It was tart and I guess it was kind of like raspberry. But from the moment I sipped the drink, I knew it wasn't great. I tried finishing it, but with each try I kept recoiling from the tart, bitter taste, and struggled with trying to figure out what other bad experience it reminded me of. On one last try to finish it, I finally figured out what drinking Driven was like.

The taste of Driven was like the taste you get in your mouth when you take a shot of cheap tequila and it doesn't go down right and then you kind of cough and heave and get a little tequila+bile vomit in your mouth.

Next week I will report if the flower bed I dumped the rest of Driven into is dead or alive.

Send me an e-mail if you want the other, unused packet.

-adm
Driven to Hurl

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