May 2005 Archives

Training

Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic: Ride Information and Description. It's getting close, here is last minute information on the STP.

There is a rough training schedule on the stp site not bad to take a look the real issue is two fold that looks like this for the coming weeks one day training

Getting to speed. That's means doing the flying wheels century june 18th at a average of 15mph including stops. 15mph let's you finish in 14 hours or so.

And there is the really important issue of training your behind to sit on that saddle. This is a really long endurance ride so nows the time to experiment with nutrition. Many folks end up switching to new drinks, food etc and end up feeling sick during the ride. So here are some tips from the pros. First, don't change what you are a eating in the last week. During the race in particular there are zillions of free goodies (really) so be careful not to chow down and then yuke it up later. Fwiw I'm settled down to cliff bars, hammergel and haven't foudn the right electrolyte replacement yet but will experiment in the next week.

The course

A couple of folks asked davema and I about this. We'll actually try to ride the first 70 miles in the final long run before. Gives everyone confidence at least at the start. I'll figure out the time but probably right after flying wheels and before the last week taper down.

To summarize the scoop. The first 100 miles are the flattest you'll ever see there is one hill before you get to the half way point. (Erik, I don't know nyc well enough to know what's analogous, but its like the nj turnpike from nyc to philly literally in terms of hills).

The trick is not to go too fast that first 100. Many people fly thru at 85% max rate and then bonk the second half. It also has the most accidents as there is a tricky railroad crossing and also lots of people who have never run a paceline. It is also all about finding other groups to hookup with to create ever longer pacelines. Takes a while to find a group to tuck into.

There is a big stop at centralia where folks rest and there is food. As a gadget geek it the opportunity to see the lastest in biking technology lying on the ground in the hundreds. More carbon fiber and titanium than the space shuttle has.

The second half features rollers and most importantly the wind really picks up. This is where you get to see guys on $8k bikes who haven't trained give up and are passed by folks on $600 schwinns. So if we grind it out at low heart rate and find a good larger group to paceline in it will be fine.

The final 50 miles is actually the most deceiving part. You go over the longview bridges into oregon and think you are dne. In actually this is usually the hardest part. These last miles are down the columbia river (hey guys it is windsurfing capital of the US there) and it is typicaly late afternoon when winds are the strongest. So hopefully we have been saving energy till then.

Support

Btw the ride is incredibly well supported. The gold wings motorcycle club runs the route with pumps and tubes. And every 20 miles or so there are stops and bike support. Also lots of small town folks with brownie sales etc. Folks are remarkably supportive of the event although there are always a few bad apples.

Food and drink etc.

That being said I personally try to bring everything that I need. This includes food bars, gu, etc. Two tubes etc. Clothingwise hopefully it will be a good day. Most folks carry a light jacket. The temps should be mild in the 70s but we'll see when we get there. The perfect weather btw is overcast, 60s and not no wind ironically.

Folks ask me all the time where to buy things. Most of the good sites are indexed by google, so you just have to manually search them. Here are some of the ones that I use with comments:

• Local Bike Shop. Patronize these folks if you can but many times they just don't stock all the wierd things that I need. They are a dying breed. In Seattle, I use Montlake for years. They are a great shop and very local, so support them. The other shop in town is Gregg's Cycles. I particularly like hanging out at the Bellevue shop. Lots of hard core bikers there. But, if you can't get it from them, then there is online
• http://www.wisecyclebuys.com/. These guys have low prices are a local shop that also sells online. I've had good success with them and their prices on FSA can't be beat.
• Lickton's. They are a small shop in Chicago, but I love them. Bob Lickton is a great guy who is very busy. Now they even have online ordering.
• Total Cycling and Sdeals. When the Euro was low, the prices from Europe were wonderful even with the extra shipping charge. Now, the prices are about the same as the US, so I use these folks less. Sdeals is really Steve and they mainly have tires. Again, prices are OK, but not great particularly when shipping is included.
• Bike Tires Direct. They have good prices on tires, but also lots of other stuff now.
• La Bicicletta. These guys are in Niagara falsl and have good prices on certain things. Tires for instance.

And then there are the big guys:

• Excel Sports. A huge store online and offline. Prices are higher. Typically list, but they stock a lot. Also on the phone, these guys know their parts, so good for novices.
• Colorado Cyclist. These guys have a big store and more often than Excel they will have things they buy in bulk and then blow out.

So here is what I finally got to get ready for the STP. Lots of miscellaneous last minute things:

• Campagnolo Record C10 Ultra Chain. Biketiresdirect has them for $48 plus a flat $6 shipping per order. A good price. Slightly lower than $50 from Colorado Cyclist if you hit the $150 minimum for free shipping, then go to Colorado. Otherwise Biketiresdirect. These are 20 grams lighter than the older Record Chain.
• Campagnolo Record Crank CT. Finally decided to just get the stock Record instead of the FSA mainly because I already have a Record bottom bracket and it will all fit. Colorado Cylist has a $440 price for that. The alternative is the FSA SL-K Compact for $319 from Wise Cycle Buys or if you don't need to save the half an ounce, the Chorus CT is just $410 from Colorado Cyclist
• Campagnolo Chorus CT Front Derailleur. Colorado Cyclist has them for $80. These are shaped differently and according to Bicycling, they will shift better with these. Although others report just lowering the front derailleur 10mm does the trick as well.
• "Campagnolo Record Bottom Bracket. This is $94 at Wise Cycle with free shipping over $200. It is $103 at Colorado Cyclist. Alternatively, you can get the Phil Wood bottom bracket which is practically indestructible for $200 or so. It weighs just 140 grams vs. 190 grams for Record Bottom Bracket or 220 grams for Chorus.
• Veloflex Open Pave. Got these for $39 from La Bicicletta even with the $6 charge still cheaper than $45 from Colorado Cyclist.
• Castelli Ypro3 Bib Shorts. $150 from Getfitsports. The best shorts out there for the money. Been using for years.
• Hammergel. Mine was way too old. Still top rated for gels. You need the gels after the bars just won't go down. Montlake Bike Shop has them or get them online from E-caps. Endurance Zone by the way also charges $7 for shipping but it will give you the first order with free shipping and Trails Edge throws in shipping if you order more than $25 worth.
• Macalu Bar Tape. I go through so much of this bar tape, I wonder if the $7 stuff from Excel Sports works as well as the $10 Cinelli I normally use from biketiresdirect.

Timbuk2 -- Messenger Bags. Now this is great customer service. If you lose a little part to your Timbuk2 bag, they will send you another strange widget like the reflector tail or the red key fob for the cost plus $2 shipping. Gotta like that.

Roadbikereview.com has a pretty decent list of great tires. I've been using Veloflex Open Pave for a while now. Just 180 grams and super fast. They have been pretty durable now. They only last about 2,000 miles for me in the rear mainly because if you hit glass with them, they cut fast. You can get them for $45 from Colorado Cyclist (or you can get the identical Veloflex Black which are all black in color and that is the only difference). Or you can get them from labiciletta for $39 with $8 flat shipping.

Unfortunately, I hit some glass and torqued the front, so now is a good time to see what to use. I still have Vittoria Corsa around and even some old Michelin Axial Pros.

I used Continental GP 3000s and they are nice and heavier at 240 grams and so more durable but feel slower.

Net, net, I think I'll stick with the Veloflex Paves for now.

Other tires that have good reviews are the Michelin Pro Race 2 or at least the Pro Race did. 210 grams and fast. Also the Specialized Mondo that weigh 210 grams or so.

Kool Kovers - Bike Shoe Cleat Covers. Another insanely useful but hard to find item. These are covers for your biking shoe cleats.

Acura Order Form. Hard to find, but this is where you can order updated Acura Navigation System DVDs.

HandsFreeLink : Frequently Asked Questions HandsFreeLink is standard on the 2004 and 2005 Acura TL models, the
2005 RL, and any 2005 MDX equipped with the Touring Package.

This feature lets you connect any Bluetooth mobile phone to the onboard speaker system and microphone of an MDX. A great feature never discussed. Here is how to do it with a Blackberry 7100:

1. Power on the phone and ensure Bluetooth® is ON. Please refer to your phone's user guide for steps to turn on Bluetooth.
2. Press and release the Talk button on the steering wheel and wait for the "beep" before you speak. Repeat this step before all spoken commands.
3. Say "phone setup"
4. Say "pair"
5. Say any 4 digit PIN code for pairing. Remember it as you will need to enter it into your phone later. HandsFreeLink will now instruct you to begin pairing process in the phone.
6. On the Blackberry select OPTIONS
7. Select Bluetooth
8. Press Scroll Wheel
9. Select ADD DEVICE
10. Select device from list
11. Enter 4 digit PIN code from earlier step
12. After pairing is complete, press Scroll Wheel
13. Select DEVICE PROPERTIES
14. Select TRUSTED and press Scroll Wheel
15. Select CHANGE OPTION
16. Select YES
17. Press Escape key
18. Select SAVE

New Balance® KJ 745 NB Grade School. Alex is pretty picky about the shoes that he wears. The New Balance's fit well, so here they are. _As an aside, this is the first time that froogle has found something really valuable. So they are getting better.

They are also up on pricegrabber although the stock is thin and it goes for $65 list.

Zappos does seem to have them for $65

The 745 is a performance running shoe that offers the young athlete cushioning and stability.

* ABZORB® in Heel and Forefoot provides exceptional shock absorption.
* Medial Post offers higher-density compression molded EVA for pronation control.
* Solid Rubber Outsole makes for long-wear and durability.
* Synthetic/Mesh Upper is lightweight and breathable.

Also note that you should get this one size larger than your typical street shoe size. New Balance runs a bit small.

Zappos also has these. The offical model number by the way is KJ 745 Youth.

! These aren't made anymore at least according to the office New Balance site. The nearest equivalent looks like the KJ766NG which has the same look and features:

• Solid Rubber Outsole: Provides long-wearing durability
• Medial Post: Provides pronation control
• Abzorb in Heel and Forefoot: Provides maximum shock absorption * C-CAP Midsole: Provides lightweight cushioning and flexibility * Synthetic/Mesh Upper: Provides lightweight comfort and support

PORTABLE PODCASTING RECORDING EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS | The Sound Professionals, Inc.. I've been getting things from Sound Professionals. They are great. Now they are pre bundling equipment for podcasting which is great.

Unlike trying to mate an iRiver iFP-799 with a microphone, these are more dedicated devices. I actually think while more expensive these will ergonomically work better. For instance the Edirol R-1 recorder is way bigger but has controls that actually make snese. It records directly into MP3 as well. Unlike the el cheapo products, it looks well made. It records into a compact flash. Expensive for sure, but interesting if you are serious.

They also have other accessories including a Level Meter for the iRiver. Remarkably when you are recording with the iRiver, you have no idea what the sound levels are. $99 so expensive and less portable.

They also stock the iRiver iFP-799 which you can get for $180 at low cost places or $229 from them. I've found this thing only OK. It does record, but the user interface is terrible and battery life isn't good (it uses a AA battery). Also, because you can't see levels not can I find a way to change levels during recording, it works just OK in real life. What you want is a level meter and the ability to adjust gain or have some sort of automatic gain control. It probably is in the product, but I can't find it in the documentation.

Another more expensive option is the iRiver H320. This is a 20GB hard disk device, but it also does MP3 recording too. I haven't tried it to see how the user interface is.

The Vaio VGN-T350, Sony’s new WiFi/Bluetooth/EDGE laptop - Engadget - www.engadget.com.. After having some hardware trouble with my Sony T-140P/L and getting a new motherboard, I've been super happy with it and lots of folks at Ignition have it.

But, computer lust continues. Now Sony has announce the latest edition to the T-series T-350P/L. About $2000 street. What's new, well, it includes an EDGE modem so that on Cingular, you get for $80/month unlimited data and automagic switching between Wifi and EDGE (this gives you about 80-100Kbps).

Not yet quite available, but the upper models now come with 60GB driver, DVD dual layer RW drives etc. About $2,200 according to Pricegrabber.com

There is the similar T-340P/L which is about $2000 according to Pricegrabber which is similar but doesn't have the fancy DVD drive. A better buy really since I'm pretty sure most folks won't be burning many DVDs with these things for those who want the Edge. Get the T-360P/L if you want 1GB of memory. List for $2400.

Otherwise, the Sony T-250P/L by the way is the same model line but without the EDGE technology and so a little cheaper at less than $2000 according to Pricegrabber. The T-140P/L is a little slower and only has a DVD/CD-RW but is just $1500 according to Pricegrabber

CAMPAGNOLO Record CT Carbon Crankset. Wow, these compact cranks are on sale at Colorado Cyclist. Just $440 down from the eyepopping $600.

Maybe all that competition from FSA SL-K Carbon Crankset with Mega Exo Bottom Bracker with their $350 cranks that include a bottom bracket was having an effect?

Enrique reminded me how important sitting properly in front of a computer (ugh, almost said terminal, thus dating me!). His best tips are covered in Healthycomputer.com.

Position the top of your screen level with your eyes.

The ideal viewing height is to have your eyes level with an imaginary line across the screen, about 2"-3" below the top of the monitor. This can be accomplished in one of two ways - either by either lowering your monitor or raising your chair.

Make sure the height of your keyboard allows you to keep an "open angle" with your arms.

In the proper position, the keyboard should be placed just above the level of your lap. This is lower than most people normally place their keyboard, but lets your arms tilt downward while using the keyboard, leaving your elbows at a comfortable "open" angle. This by the way is the one I often break. Most desks I use don't have a way to get the keyboard that low.

BicycleFit Northwest. Les is a great guy and now has a fitting operation that he runs out of North Bend. Used to talk with him often at Gregg's, now he has a precision laser fitting system.

Check him out.

SDOT Bicycle Program. If you are tooling around Seattle, there is a free map you can get. Also, they have PDFs of lots of areas plus inserts for U-District, downtown, etc. Very useful.

www.cyclingnews.com news and analysis. Cyclingnews also has some great bike reviews. Here's one of an ultralight bike, lust factor!

The first thing you need to know is this is, unarguably and unequivocally, a light bike. On our scales it comes in at 6850g before you add pedals, which means it would be relatively easy to build this frame into a UCI-illegal, sub-6.8kg bike. Lighter wheels and tyres, latex tubes, a carbon bar and maybe some Zero Gravity brakes and you'd be there, figuring out how add weight to keep the commissaries happy.

And for those of you who live in Seattle, Bothell Bikes carries these. Pretty cool. Streets for about $4500 so not for the faint of heart!

My three pairs of Castelli Y2Pro's are wearing out. Two have been just great, but one has a hole in the pad, the later one I got started unraveling the minute I had it. This was an ebay purchase, so caveat emptor applied. So what bib shorts to get:

Assos FI.13 S-2 Bib Shorts. I have used Castelli's for a long time, but many folks think these are the best shorts in the world, but they don't wear very well according to roadbikereview. Heck, guess that $260 from Biketiresdirect They are 90 pounds from Totalcycling or $160. Mediums fit 30-34" waist.

Castelli YPro3 Bib Short. Lists for $175. Excel has the YPro3 which doesn't use YFuso for $175. Large fits 32-36" waists.

Castelli YFuso. Totalcycling. gets you last years Castelli Yfuso for 75 pounds or $137 for the 2004 model, although these YFuso's have been less popular on Roadbikereview" because they are thicker.

Finally, cyclingnews.com has a bunch of reviews of shorts I've never tried including the

Cannibal shorts which I might get just because the name is so amazing.

Giordana Tenax. Another short that fit well for him. Got 4 1/2 stars.

Louis Garneau Power Bib. This big also got 4 1/2 stars but is more expensive than the Giordana

De Marche Contour. Like them, main complaint was they seemed to thin to be durable. 3 1/2 star because he suspected the durability.

Canari which is a speciality brand that they found very comfortable. 4 stars.

Sugoi Evolution. Super thin chamois, but he liked the fit. 4 1/2 stars.

Well, my trusty dusty Sidi Genius 4's are finally fading. The velcro straps are wearing out and of course carbon fiber soles are all the rage, so what to get. Here are some choices:

Rocket 7 Super Stock. Heck, these shoes are made in Puyallup, so I have to give them a try. Main virture is that they are super light. The Shimanos are just 620 grams, but these are 400 grams for the pair. $400 list with a $640 custom option.

Sidi Ergo 1.."Excel":http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Ergo+1+Carbon+Road+Shoe&vendorCode=SIDI&major=5&minor=1 is $400 which is amazingly expensive even for these very nice shoes. Totalcycling has them for $292. BTW, the the lines are a little confusing, but basically, best is the Sidi Ergo Carbon 1 with full carbon fiber, better is the Energy Hi Tech Carbon with 40% carbon fiber and good is the Genius 5 Hi Tech Carbon with 40% carbon fiber and less fancy buckles. I'd expect these to fit well since my Genius 4's were great for my feet, but they are expensive.

Shimano R215. These get good reviews and are light. Totalcycling":http://www.totalcycling.com/Templates/frmTemplateP1.asp?CatalogID=793&Zoom=Yes&SubFolderId=113 has for $192. The R151 is cheaper with the same sole. 4 1/2 stars at cyclingnews.com

DMT Ultimate RMX. Another shoe that weighs 630 grams and that cyclingnews like as much as the Sidi and Shimano. Also all carbon fiber. 4 1/2 stars.

Specialized Pro Road. Another comfortable carbon shoe.

The rest of these are lower rated mainly because they aren't truly carbon fiber:

Sidi Genius 5 Hi Tech Carbon. I have had the Genius 4 for four years now and they are great. These are a slight update that have a little carbon fiber in them, but aren't as stiff as the $400 Ergo 1's. $250 for the Genius 5 from Biketiresdirect. . This is the lowest end Sidi that is carbon fiber. Excelsports sells the Genius 5 Carbon for $280

Sidi Energy Hi-Tech Carbon. Totalcycling has the Sidi Enery Hi-Tech for 120 pounds or $219. This gets you the same shoe with carbon fiber sole. You are supposed to replace your shoes every other year or so, so it is about time.

Seattle Pony Baseball Schedule. Thank goodness for the Internet, here is the baseball schedules. A great example of using the Internet.

University District StreetFair. A great fair and fun on this rainy day. Check it out. There are lots of these kinds of things in Seattle now.

It was howling rain today when we went, but lots of interesting shopping. They didn't have many street performers and music as I remembered so it was more like lots of cool curios and fun food.

Best food was from the folks selling corn dogs. They had curly fries that for $5 were a solid block of french fries. Not very artful, but amazing how five kids can devour that.

Probably good for grownups, but the kids got a little bored. The best thing was a guy named David Lowell (?), he's from Bainbridge and lets the kids for $3 layout glass fragments on tile. Kind of fun to make.

Folklife is coming up though and that is really quite fun.

MovableType lets you have a set of templates that it uses to generate actual files. Here's a list of mine so folks can see how this site is constructed. With MT tags being so complicated, this seems pretty useful to me. So maybe others like John could do it.

By the way, these are .tmpl files, so your browser may be very confused about to handle them. Don't despair, just treat them like text files and do a file save as...

Main Index. This is generates the index.php file

Master Archive Index. I've no idea what the generated file actually does

Category Archive. This generates the category archives in places like Outdoors

Individaul Entry Archive. This generates an individual entry

TEMPLATE TAGS. It has taken quite a bit of time, but I finally have gotten my categories right on this site. Now that I've resolved the mt.js problem, I resorted the categories logically.

But, the big change is learning about this wonderful tag MTEntriesWithSubCategories

In your category archive, you replace the MTEntries container that gives you all the entires in a given category. For instance, I now have a category called outdoors, but with MTEntries, it only shows entries for Outdoors, but not for subcategories like Skiing withint Outdoors. With the MTEntriesWithSubCategories, you now get entries for Outdoors, Skiing and everything else under outdoors. check it out on Outdoors

By the way, I wish there was some sort of template library for folks to find templates like this. Mine are on my server, but not linked to, so I'll do that next, so folks can at least see how this site works.

Buttons don't work for some functions. Wow, this is a case where tech support really does work. Sent a note to the folks at sixapart because I couldn't get some things to work, quite a subtle bug and hard to find since this help item isn't indexed well and I was sure where to look.

Question: Whenever I click certain buttons in the interface, such as the Delete button, nothing happens, and I also see a Javascript error.
Answer

Answer: Many of the functions in 3.0 are controlled by the mt.js file. Make sure you have uploaded this file to your server in ASCII mode, and to the location you have designated for your static files.

The confusing thing about it is that by default most FTP clients will think a *.js file is binary and then the javascript in it won't work. Also explains why when you compare files, everything looks right, that is the file length of mt.js is the same and most important the actual offending MovableType page is the same because it is mt.js which is called.

Final amazing thing is that the email stream I had with the person at sixapart.com, Sarah was at 10PM and she answered within seconds. Thanks Sarah!

Also, she mentioned that if you have more problems, make sure the *.tmpl files go up as Ascii too.

https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=1271. I've been struggling to get my ATI 9800 Pro to connect to my Mitsubishi 73509 television. It is an older thing, but supports 1080i, 540p, 480p and of course 480i.

But, I can't seem to get it going. This is one of those $30 products with DIP switches. You connect one to the DVI output of the adapter and then you get three component output (YPrPb). Nothing seems to come out.

It didn't come with a manual and the manual is very hard to find on the ATI site (see above). The net of it is that you have to install the latest ATI Catalyst drivers. These support HDTV modes.

Then on the little thing, you set to ON, all the modes that your TV supports (how does a none techie know this!). In my case, that is setting to ON, switches 1, 2, 5 and 6 for respectively 480i, 480p, 1080i and 16:9 aspect.

Kind of hilariously, the manual says, never set 540p since that mode is never supported by the little gadget (why do they have it then, you might wonder).

Other strange thing is that when you start, you have to have a regular PC monitor in place since Windows doesn't boot into the right video mode. This has to be plugged into the VGA output side of the 9800.

Then, when the PC boots, you set the HDTV stuff from the PC monitor. Now here is the really magical part:

1. Install the latest Catalyst drivers from ATI
2. Go to the Catalyst Control Center
3. On the Display screen, there is something called the display wizard, you can use this to set resolutions and it will autodetect them.

On a Mitsubishi WS-73903, its an old monitor, announced in 1998 (when it was the cat's meow by the way) and is gorgeous with 9" CRTs, but very quirky in its electronics. Specifically, it has two HDTV inputs, the first is the DVD input, this only takes 480i and 480p and then there is a HDTV input that takes 480i, 480p and 1080i. Also, this is a 16:9 display so it locks at full screen when it goes to progressive, so you I actually need the ATI driver to go to 480p anamorphic to work properly. Good luck figuring that out!

Right now, I have my Motorola DCT-5000 settop box hooked up to the HDTV input, so it can display 1080i on HDTV and it is gorgeous, the problem is that with only one 1080i input, I need to figure out use by trusty Denon DS-TX939 reciever. Sigh, this means a bunch of rewiring and reprogramming of remotes, so that I can finally get to:

1. DVD input from a dedicated DVD player that shows up as 480p
2. Shared 1080i input for the set top box and for my HTPC which is the whole point

Last thing to figure out is how to get 5.1 digital output from my HTPC to the AVR. Right now, it only has 2 channel output, and I'd love 5.1 for all those computer games!

d2r: how to reboot an iPod photo. Well, the things aren't perfect, I got the "Black Screen of Death" on my iPod Photo yesterday. Had it and it was working fine, put into my pocket and then got ready to play in the car and it sat there completely blank. No Apple logo, no nothing. Trying the reboot sequence below didn't help. It was like it wasn't awake.

Ed told me, "Heck Rich, this has happened to me, you just need to put your iPod away and let it rest." What he meant is that sometimes the firmware gets so confused you have to wait for the battery to completely drain, then the power on software takes over. The issue is that there is no "hard" power off with an iPod. That is, there is no way to really shut it off, so if the firmware gets confused, you have to wait for the battery to completely drain.

Ironically, recharging the thing actually is a problem since the hung firmware stays around, you need a hard power down to restart everything.

He was right. Waited day for it to drain and then plugged it in, got to the Apple logo and all is fine.

If your's isn't so hard hung that you can see the Apple, logo or some strange screen, then here's how to do soft reset on an iPod Photo put the Hold switch in ON, then back to OFF. Then press MENU and SELECT simultaneously and hold for a bit, and on release the iPod should reboot.

Also, according to the missing manual it is
possible that the iPod is misbehaving due to battery charge confusion (not sure how that would happen, but anyway...) and for that you can plug it to the charger so that you can rule out that problem.

Jem Biography on Yahoo! Music. OK, who would have thought Jem is from Wales and when she ended up in London, one of her first collaborations led to one of our other favorites songs, Nothing Fails by Madonna. Who would have thought? Alex has great taste in Music.

Two days into her first writing session with acclaimed electronic producer Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Frou Frou), the song "Nothing Fails" was born. This collaboration between Guy, Jem and subsequently Madonna, appears as track 6 on Madonna's 2003 album, American Life.

MtInlineEditor - Movalog Plugins - Trac. What a great idea. This is an inline editor, so that you can look at your blog and if there is a typo, you can directly type into the entry.

CHSAFE: Getting into Windows Safe Mode. I always forget the exact key sequence to get Windows into safe mode. I need this quite a bit when I switch monitors since Windows can lock into a higher resolution than an LCD can display (for instance right now I have a machine that is at 1280×1024 while the monitor only does 1024×768).

The screen goes blank after the startup screen which is how you can tell.

The easiest way out that I've found is to get into Safe Mode and reconfigure the driver there.

To get there, press and hold the F8 key when Windows startups up. With some older computers you'll get an error if you do this during the boot up sequence so if it doesn't work try rapidly tapping.

BeSweet. This is the tool for transcoding audio. In my case, I have MP3s that are encoded from CDs at 44.1KHz, but to use it for DVD, you need to transcode it to 48KHz. There are lots of tools for this, but the most common one that is a standalone utility is besweet. You download besweet and then besweetgui.

Then, you click on the input as whatever MP3 file that you have and then make sure to click on the SSRC checkbox for Downconvert Sample Rate. This lights up the SSRC button in the Setup Screens section.

Click on the SSRC button and click on Set Sample Rate and fill in 48000. Finally click on MP3 to MP3 and it will transcode it into an MP3 that can be used in Video Explosion.

Interesting to see that for my blogs, I've got gigantic activity logs, I've never looked at them and they are filled with errors. With Firefox, I found that it just thrashes with gigantic files. Gets to be 500MB of swap and then just seems to slow.

This is one area where Internet Explorer is better, it gets big (300MB) for a gigantic text file, but finishes in a reasonable amount of time.

Main lesson here is that particularly if you have add-ins, it pays to go to your MovableType console and view the activity log. The bummer is that the reset activity log button is at the bottom of the page, so you can't just clear it you have to browse all the way down a massive file.

By the way, what it shows me is that MT Moderate doesn't work on either tongfamily or geekfishing. There is some sort of include error with MT Moderate 1.1.2. It can't seem to find some directory.

Don't Back Down - Moderate Archives. Just a reminder to folks that most of the time, when you upgrade from say 3.15 to 3.16, the plugins are fine.

That isn't true with MT-Moderate because it modifies one of the standard templates, the list_ping.tmpl, so when you do a dumb upgrade, you overwrite the file and that is bad.

In general, MT is getting complex enough that you can't just copy over things, you need a tombstone somewhere reminding you about gotchas like this.

Media - Club CD Freaks - Worlds Largest CD/DVD Community. This is where the hard core folks who study the various CD media live. Interesting that google doesn't index any of it, so there is still reason for blogs like mine.

An interesting factoid on CD Freaks poll is that 39% of all hard core CD nerd favor disks made by Taiyo Yuden. MCC or Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (which is Verbatim) at 16% was second. The main problem is that Taiyo Yuden is hard to get in the US.

The main issue is that different brand names sold at retail package different CDs from different vendors. For instance, the Verbatim DatalifePlus CDs that I have come out being made by MCC or Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.

From their FAQ)1

Q: How do I know who made my discs?

A: There is a code written on every disc, called the ATIP. This contains information about dye type, possible maker of the disc, length of the disc (size) and type of disc. (R, RW, audio, video, etc.) Many programs can read this information. Nero, Nero InfoTool, and the LiteOn utility: SmartBurn Media Checker are all widely used. DVDIdentifier is a popular tool for checking information on DVD media and drives. Many of the other burning programs are also now reporting the ATIP/ADIP information on media. The SmartBurn utility also reports the max speed that the disc can be burned at, on a LiteOn drive with SmartBurn enabled. Some of these "readers" of ATIP information may report different disc makers, on the same disc. The codes are not always reliable, and are sometimes "faked" by unscrupulous media sellers. But with well-known media sellers and brand names, the codes are usually reliable.

But, the Verbatim non-Datalifes come out as being made by CMC which probably why the DatalifePlus CDs are twice as expensive. Many times, different CDs are sold with different specifications than what the manufacturer says, so read the forums carefully expecially cdfreaks.com if you really want the best quality. Of course for most music, it doesn't matter that much since a few errors you won't hear.

cd-rw.org: Software: CD-R software: CD-R tools and CDMediaWorld. In trying to figure out exactly what CD media I've bought, I bumped into some pretty cool tools.

Here's a list of fun things on this page:

• Alcohol 120%. This is a CD drive emulator. Let's you mount CD images you have on your hard disk as a virtual drive. I've used this before for convenience on some games.
• DVD Identifier you exactly who made your media. This is called ATIP information.
• ClonyXXL. This thing scans for copy protection on your CDs.
• Nero Infotool. This identifier just about everything including who makes the CD, etc.

Welcome to Verbatim. Just beware that I got the wrong Verbatim CD-Rs. They used to have 100-pack DatalifePlus, but now only make 50-packs of these high-end CD-Rs. The product number is 94523 and it needs to say Super Azo Dye on the outside and also the words DatalifePlus. Pricegrabber is confusing, but has this SKU for about $15 from radiogear.com and some other online stores.

There are 100 CD packs that some sites say are DatalifePlus, but aren't. These use the product number 94554. These are cheap at about $25 for a 100. So don't be fooled as I was on Pricegrabber where I found the description said Super Azo Dye, but upon looking at the Verbatim site it doesn't say anything about that.

Editing for Everyone. _Looking for a better product, there are so many now that finding one is hard, Adobe used to only make a $700 product, but now they've done a consumer version that looks like the one to try...as noted in the review. You can also download a 30-day trial at Adobe

There are many good consumer applications to consider: Apple iMovie 4, Canopus Let's Edit, CyberLink Power Director 3, Intervideo WinDVD Creator2, MacXware MediaEdit Pro, Magix Movie Edit Pro, MainConcept EVE 2, Microsoft Movie Maker 2.1, NewSoft Presto! VideoWorks, Nova Development Video Explosion Deluxe, Pinnacle Studio and Dazzle, Sony Media Software Vegas Movie Studio+DVD, and Ulead Video Studio 8. These are among the best of the consumer video editing software packages available. Having acknowledged these applications, I want to introduce you to one that may soon be considered the best of breed for Windows-based consumer video editing.

The new Adobe Premiere Elements software is my recommendation for Windows-based consumer editing. This application has been streamlined for consumer use. The design focus is clearly ease of use, with many tasks automated.

Haven't done this in a while, but to remind folks here is the workflow that I use and here is the work flow

1. Video Explosion Deluxe. This is an old program, but I use it to capture the video from the DV Camera and to build up the scenes. It is underneath really Sonic Foundry, now a Sony tool. Use this tool to do the video capture and also the basic editing. That is selecting the clips that you want. You can then pikc
2. Besweet. I like to pick up music behind the scenes. Makes it seem more professional. Besweet is a freeware tool that can take just about any audio format. In particular the CD format which is 44.1KHz and convert it to a 48KHz Wave file suitable for adding to Video Explosion Deluxe and then use that program to output a DV output AVI file.
3. Tmpgenc. The Tempest video encoder. This is the most efficient amateur MPEG2 encoder (the format of DVDs) that I know. They have both a freeware version for 30 days then you have to go to Pegasys and pay for it.
4. DVD-Lab Standard. This is a DVD authoring tool. It is from a small guy, but I like supporting them. Right now on its v1.33. From Media-Chance. Once you have the
5. Nero Express. This tool actually does the burning of the CD.
6. PowerDVD. You need this to play DVDs and also to get the MPEG2 Decoder. Usually, you can get this with your DVD drive.

There are some integrated tools now. I've heard good things about Nero's production tool for instance and also Adobe Premiere Elements

Finally, there are some good utilities as well including:

• GSpot. This you can point to a video file and figure out exactly what codecs it needs
• Encspot . Same idea but for audio files.

So after talking with Brad, here is what I'm going to get to update my bike and get ready for the 2005 STP:

• Lickbike.com | FSA Carbon Pro Elite Compact Road Crank. He uses these and confirms they are just great. $280 from Lickton's as part number 0086-72. Discontinued now, so Excel Sports has them for $290 also. Replaced by the SL-K Compact Mega Exo which has its own bottom bracket integrated for $350. It weighs 765 grams including the bottom bracket, so effectively the bottom bracket is 220 grams and it is proprietary which is good for FSA, not so good for me :-)
• Phil Wood Titanium'0158-25'. OK, I'm splurging but I need as ISIS bottom bracket and these Phil Woods wil last forever plus they weigh just 139 grams. The 0158-08 is the 108mm width version. $125.
• Phil Wood Bottom Bracker'0168-16'. OK, you also need special locking rings $30 as part number 0168-13 for English threads (most common type these days). You also need blue Loctite to get them in and keep them in
• Phil Wood Bottom Bracket Installation Tool'2487-00'. $11 for a little magic part. You really need a pair of these to make it easy to install.
• Campagnolo Record Chain'0286-04'. $60 for a chain!!!? They do weigh 259 grams though for part 0286-04. Or you can get for $48 from Biketiresdirect.com or $52 from totalcycling.com. If you a cheap, the Shimano Dura Ace 10 speed chain'0297-00' should also work, no guarantees on how shifting is. It weighs 304 grams though but is just $33. This is regularly $50 from Excel Sports
• Superlink'0338-08'. If you are getting a chain, get this tool-less chain connector. $7 as part 0338-10.

Then as usual, there are the consumables that matter including. Note for that sdeals.com and totalcycling.com, they charge from the Portugal and the UK respectively and it is $6 per order from biketiresdirect.com, $4 per item for Sdeals and $22 for the whole package from totalcycling.com:

• Veloflex Pave. I've had great succes with this ultralight tire. Only 180 grams and wears a long time. $45 from Biketiresdirect.com. It is made in the same factory that used to make Victorios before those got sent to Thailand. Totalcycling also has these for $41. Sdeals has them for $40 plus $4 shipping.
• USE Alien Carbon Road Seatpost. or USE Seat Clamp. I've had the same post for five years now, but I've worn through the little screw on the head. $111 from totalcycling.com now. $125 for a new one. Hard to assemble the head, but the lightest post around. 27.2mm/270mm long fits nicely. Pricepoint also has them as does Performance.
• You can also get the clamp itself since that is all that is broken for about $22 from Chain Reaction. There is a new seatpost adjustment called the USE Alien Cyclops that you can get for $30 that is easier. You get by calling ibexsports.com. It is not listed on their website but phoned in my order (603-431-3023). Or Wiggle.co.uk has it for 15 pounds plus shipping.
• "Campagnolo Bike Computer 31mm bar": This lists for $31, but you can get for $12 from totalcycling. I've current ziptied my smaller mount and it keeps moving.
  Ergolever Hoods. My hoods got all ruined in a crash and at $30 it wasn't worth it to replace it, but it doesn't look great. 12 pounds at totalcycling.com
• M5 Titanium Bolts. I never had time to get new titanium bolts for my Time Monolink, but Totalcycling has them for $7 each. Don't know if 12, 15 or 18mm is right though. I'm guessing 15mm.

mpesch3 audio tools. I've got to say this utility is just awesome. Not spyware, etc. and it is amazingly fast.

Since it edits MP3s directly, it is amazingly quick to do. On Windows XP, you don't even need a playback driver. It does need LAME if you are going to do encodings. Here are some great uses of it including editing down iRiver recordings.

I recorded the kids singing with my iRiver iFP-799. It is a little difficult by the way doing this kind of recording, because setting levels with the iRiver is pretty hard. You can monitor the sound output and you can direct encode at 192Kbps, but to change the record input levels, they don't have a real time sound meter, so you listen and guess if you are clipping. The menus deeply embedded setting record levels.

The net is that mp3DirectCut is very useful. You basically record a hugh entry then use the Set Begin and Set End buttons to highlight where you want to record. Then you select File/Save Selection... and that piece that is highlighted is cut out as its own MP3.

Now you can open taht MP3 with File Open, then you can look at the overall gain. See if it needs to be higher or lower, then choose Edit/Select All and then Edit/Gain. Click on Lock Sliders together and then click on the up and down arrows to lower the gain and choose OK. I normally raised the gain +6 dB in low passages. This is nearly instantaneous and you can listen to it as well.

Then choose File/Save All... and you get the properly leveled MP3 file ready to be written out with Nero or whatever.

The only slight bummer is that it only supports MP3 Tag v1.1 and MusicMatch which I use for tagging does version 2, so versions get out of sync.