I make no bones that watching Lance Armstrong (and the rest of US Postal) is what lead me to pick up cycling in the first place.  I watched that 2004 TdF while I was in transition between jobs.  The stage where Landis and Azcevedo set such a brutal pace and the time trial up Alpe d’Huez were the memorable points of that tour.  It made me sad to think just a few years later that Landis was caught doping. 

For awhile, I liked to believe that he was right.  But when his B-sample came back positive, that sealed the deal for me.  I scoffed with other riders at the amount of time, effort, and most importantly, money, that he pumped into his defense. 

Fast forward to the start of the Tour of California this year, when Landis made his claims of systematic and routine doping practices within US Postal.  Lance’s camp fired back with a series of emails between himself and Floyd that paints Floyd in an even more negative light. 

So – question #1: Why wait until then with these claims? 

Floyd had “returned” to cycling the previous year, still maintaining his innocence.  Hell, even up until the ToC, he claimed innocence.  Look at other riders who have served suspensions.  Very rarely did they combat their positive B-sample as vigorously as Floyd.  Most of the time, they issued a public apology.  Even Ivan Basso, who won the Giro d’Italia this year (which happened in the same month as the ToC) has admitted his wrong-doings. 

Question #2: Why have so many former riders for US Postal tested positive after their time with USPS?

This one bugs me.  Hamilton, Landis, Heras are the big guns here.  All of them top riders while with US Postal, faithful lieutenants to Lance.  Yet, put them on other teams (CSC, Phonak, Liberty-Seguros respectively), they provided positive doping tests. 

What’s more, Levi Leipheimer has been implicated in a book by his former Gerolsteiner manager of blood doping (Levi rode for USPS early on, switched, then “came back”). 

The evidence is overwhelming against some sort of practice at US Postal based on this criteria. 

Question #3: What happens if there was some sort of program discovered?

Reality – I doubt much in terms of concrete problems.  RadioShack might pull sponsorship, TRS might not get invited to the big races – but it’s all speculative at this point.  Holding a license guarantees them entry to a race.  So they’d have to lose their license, which is a possibility, but you’re talking about them pulling a license that isn’t necessarily for “current” transgressions against the team. 

Perhaps the biggest issue is the loss of face for Armstrong, Bruyneel, and any others involved.  I doubt that the ASO would go against the precedent of stripping a former winner without a positive test  (Riis’ 1996 Tour as an example).  But suddenly, there’s an asterisk from 1999 to 2005. 

But I still wonder what Landis gets out of this.  He’s likely deeply in debt, no one is willing to sign him. 

I have to also question the almost “witch hunt” atmosphere that Novitzky is pursuing this with.  Sure, it’s all fine and good to be thorough, but he’s cutting deals for testimony?  That just reeks of witch hunt  (or red scare, take your pick). 

In the end, without physical proof of transgressions, it’s a case of “he said, she said”.  The facts are that Lance has been tested like a zillion times.  He probably has more blood in the test centers than his own body anymore.  During the 2009 Tour (his 2nd comeback year), he was tested 11 times.  Out of 23 days.  Let’s not forget the pre and post-race samples taken as well. 

I’m not sure that any case has been decided in the negative without physical proof.  It would be a miscarriage of justice if it was. 

But regardless, where I believe in my heart that Lance is clear, there’s still just this little question in the back of my mind: “What if he isn’t?”

It’s put the main bosses here into a bit of a panic.  Roles are sure to be tossed around.  My boss, however, hasn’t exactly approached me with any news yet.  Which leads me to believe that behind closed doors, he’s playing the “me first” card.

With the impending upheaval that this is bound to bring, it’s high time I stepped up my search.  I’ve been a bit on the quiet side, looking for the “perfect” opportunity, but I think now it’s time to expand a bit and consider a few things that I might not have wanted to otherwise.  True, it didn’t help when I found out that even though I have a 3,0 in-major, just because my overall is slightly below that, they won’t grant my Master’s, I slowed down, trying to re-assess my options.

Looks like I might be the last one standing when the dust settles.  With two out, it’s likely that the 3rd staff member might be leaving too.  The two newer admin assistants, one of whom isn’t working out that well, might be out.  The other one – most of this is over her head.  Not good.

While some might say it’ll be fun to watch the carnage unfold, I don’t think so.  Everyone already expects me to be the “IT guru” – I don’t need to be the “training guru” either.  I dislike simple questions where people could take two minutes and learn it for themselves.  That’s how I learned.  No one took me by the hand and said “this is how to do it”.

I still maintain that if you’re going to be a reader, go for e-Ink as opposed to LCD (such as the iPad and the upcoming clones).  There are actually some studies out there that suggest that reading an LCD screen before bed can actually screw with your sleep.  Not to mention that e-Ink is a ton easier to read in the sunlight than LCD.

I digress.  I came across an article posted a few months back by CNet that reviews the Kindle and Nook side by side.  Pretty fair review – http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-3508_7-537.html

It’s worth noting that Kindle recently released a firmware update that moves us in a step towards addressing the major gripe of Kindle owners since day 1 – folders.  They’re called “Collections”, and while not 100% like the folders on the Sony, still pretty darn cool.  You can also pan and zoom on PDF’s, plus some other social features.

To say that this round is a fiasco of epic proportions would be an understatement. Seems like everything hinges on Notre Dame this time around. But the fact that conferences are considering expanding to a 16-team league seems beyond laughable, if not downright ludicrous.

Who knows what this will all bring… we have to wait and see. But in the meantime, it provides for a good laugh because there’s no real news – all of it’s generated by message board loons and fanatical bloggers.

Toyota – brake/acceleration problem
Chevrolet – loss of power steering
Hyundai – door latch problems
Nissan – brake/guage issues
Mazda – seat heater

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amusing that a loss of power steering is considered a real safety hazard (as posted in the comment replies on CNNMoney)?  Cars continue to function without power steering (although I love my powered steering, I can continue to drive without it being a large danger).  Then you’ve got issues with cars randomly accelerating or won’t stop.  Let’s think about that one for a second.  Or the malfunctioning seat heater might burn your ass.

Suddenly, a relatively minor inconvenience is “proof” that GM is a shitty manufacturer?  Puh-lease.   Give me safety before convenience.

It’s required a bit of extra work on Matt’s part to get it working (editing a lot of post info).  But it’s there.  =)

The site is heavily enabled with javascript (to hide some elements and make others “pop”).  I was going to actually add a few other things, one cool one would have been a script that would automatically add in a google map based on any location info within the page.  The problem though, would come when the page itself had multiple cities on it (like the list of all posts).  Bit of a pain given their setup, but would have been workable.

I came across a brief article the other day that asked the question “Is the iPad a game-changer?” (CNNMoney.com article)  The article lists a few valid points about the ultimate question of where the iPad fits into the computing scheme of things.  After taking some time to digest the specs and capabilities, as well as read some of the drivel (for everyone’s sake – there have been a few good ones out there) that many reporters have spouted about the iPad, I don’t think that it will be some huge seller or success like the iPhone is.  (see this CNNMoney article for the analyst’s predictions.)

First off, I think that these analysts are over-estimating the appeal of the product.  They’ve been bitten by poor ratings and projections over the past few years, and as such, are willing to give Steve Jobs the benefit of the doubt.

(I should probably take a second and say that while I’m not an Apple fanboy, I do own an iPod and an iPhone and love both products. )

As far as the iPad goes, however, I just find myself questioning the ultimate use of this product.  Whereas the iPhone and iPod both serve a legitimate purpose, the iPad, in my eyes, is more targeted towards the “netbook” crowd – people who crave an ultra-portable computing platform bigger than a smartphone.  Unless you purchase a keyboard and other additional accessories, it isn’t meant to be a full productivity option.  While I can tap out a quick email or text message on my iPhone, i wouldn’t want to type an entire document on a touchscreen.  There’s a tactile feel that’s missing from the keyboard.

What also concerns me about this being a long-term and viable computing solution is the fact that it’s not based on the OsX operating system, but the iPhone operating system.  As I understand it, it’s an entirely different ballgame.  Programmers need to develop specifically for that code, and then to distribute the software, you’ve got to be approved through Apple.  Not exactly the panacea of functionality.  Sure, there’s plenty of silly little apps for the iPhone/iPod touch out there, but nothing is terribly robust for the price point.

Not only that, but have you ever tried to actually get into the filesystem and work with the files on an iPhone (or iPod)?  Not terribly straightforward, is it?  Makes it hard to drag and drop files.

Added to that is an article I read earlier today about how supposedly Apple is going to be more selective with application development for the iPad.  I don’t recall where I read this, so don’t quote me on it.  But that reeks of a worse proprietary system than Microsoft or even the Amazon Kindle.

Speaking of the Kindle, of which I also own (the Kindle DX), many writers and fanboys have pegged the iPad to be a “Kindle-Killer”.  I find that hard to believe.  The DX is roughly the same dimensional size as the iPad.  It weighs half a pound less than the iPad.  And it doesn’t have that neat LCD screen so you could watch movies.

But where the Kindle excels is the simple task of reading.  Since having purchased my Kindle, I haven’t looked back.  I grab fanfiction from web, do a quick conversion through an open-source software program (Calibre), upload, and bam, I’m reading.  I read a book and a novel-length fanfiction on my DX at Thanksgiving without my eyes bugging me.  And, I never had to recharge either.  (I usually turn the wireless off unless I need to sync what I’m reading or buy something.)  I don’t have to worry about losing my bookmarks, and the thing is easy enough to carry.  (The “original” Kindle, as well as B&N’s Nook and Sony’s e-reader are more portable though).  One-handed reading is possible with the DX, but not for great lengths of time.  I’d imagine that the iPad, with 1/2 pound more weight to it, as well as the necessity to drag your finger across the screen to page flip, will mean that reading will be uncomfortable.

As nice as that LCD screen surely is, reading at-length on it, especially after a long day in front of the computer at the office, has got to be uncomfortable.  LCD’s require a coating which increases the glare exponentially.  Sure, you can read in the dark, but what’s the point?  And LCD’s have never fared that well in bright light (sunlight, exactly).

As Jobs said during his introduction, the iPad is a multi-function device.  But realistically, is it going to be something you’ll keep in the living room to browse the web or do emails while watching American Idol?  Maybe.  Photo-editing?  Doubtful.  At least with a netbook or notebook, you can do virtually anything you want from anywhere in the house.  Sure, it’s a little bulky, but at least you can do it.  And, at least with a PC-based solution, you can find tons of free software (much of it extremely comparable to its commercial counterpart).  I’m sure that there are “open source” developers for OsX, but they can’t be as abundant as they are for Linux (the ultimate open-source platform) and Windows.

The rest of the e-Readers aren’t without their shortcomings either.  As a Kindle owner, I’m disappointed that there’s really no advanced content sorting (folders, for instance).  Also, the web-browser is usable, but hardly a decent replacement.  And the inability to get books published in anything other than the Amazon format or mobipocket format.  And while it’d be nice to see the screen in the dark, it would lose its usability and desirability.

Apple’s agreements to provide “enriched media” at a premium price don’t really concern me that much.  I got the reader to read, not watch videos or have other ancillary content.  I don’t think that many who buy the iPad will care much for not only having to drop $10-$20 for a usable piece of software, but then pay money for the additional content that they may never use.  That $500 entry price gets a whole lot steeper to actually make use of the iPad.

But where I see this product fitting in is exactly what Apple is known best for doing – forcing the industry to make changes to keep up.  I’m sure once the news broke, Amazon’s development team began looking at enhancements to the Kindle and its content/agreements.  Amazon may find itself forced to make changes on a quicker timetable than what it had originally planned.  It will have to drop the price of the Kindle (again), and will need to introduce enhancements (hello, filesystem, sharing, epub format?) sooner.  Just like the iPhone forced other manufacturers to consider touch-screen displays and app stores, the iPad and content agreements will force the re-thinking of similar products.

So is the iPad a game-changer?  It could be.  Apple’s got work to do on their end to make this thing a bit more competitive (hello USB port?) and deliver on the promise.   Not only that, but in today’s economy, it has to prove itself as a stout competitor to the netbook market (which a lot of college students get these days).  But, it’s really going to depend on its competitors.  If Amazon doesn’t evolve the Kindle two or three steps beyond their original timetable, they may lose market share quickly.  Will I be getting one?  Nope.  I still can’t even justify a netbook since I already have a good notebook, desktop, AND home server.

Maybe I’ll be wrong a year from now.  It doesn’t really matter to me at the present time, since it’s just the product.  But if it starts to affect what I’m already doing, then I’ll be worried.

Running three different CMS softwares over the last year and change, I’ve come to some basic conclusions about the two most prevalent – Joomla and WordPress.  I can appreciate each one for the differences and likenesses they possess.

Quite frankly, WordPress has to be the most designer-friendly site.  For obvious reasons, it’s geared towards the more “simplistic” use of a blog (the application seen here).  To do anything though, such as manipulate menus to show specific data, you’ve got to hand-edit the theme files.  Not a terribly difficult thing to do if you understand what’s going on, but not fun in the least.  There’s a lot of plugins and such to add functionality, but it’s still somewhat limited, I think.

The last two weeks, I’ve been working on the re-design for my friends over at halftonreviews, and I’ve had to delve deeper into manipulating the base code to accomplish the look and feel they want.  I’ve had to work with them to re-think their application of the data they have so that it looks less like a blog and more like a real site.  (The validation came last night when a professional designer friend of mine had to ask me if it was still a WordPress site!)  The re-design’s about done, there’s a lot of little things left on the table to do.  But I’m pretty pleased with where it’s at so far. (I’ll post again when they go live with the template)

In contrast, Joomla is a site that’s geared towards the true nature of a CMS – content management.  The code is designed in such a way that no one with any inkling of markup and coding can create a content-rich site.  However, to accomplish anything more with the overall design is really an exercise in frustration.  To re-theme the site is a pain (if you aren’t using a professional theme).  But that’s what makes it so great for sites such as the alumni association site I maintain.  There’s so much flexibility and ability to really manipulate the content without needing to edit the theme files.  You just download a mod, a plugin, or a component.  Expanding the site is a breeze.

I have another project to work on after I finish up the halfton design and ship it off to the twins.  When I ordered the new game server for the upcoming season, I went with a small group of guys that have been working to manipulate the Source Server binaries to create the ultimate gaming environment.  Their servers are able to maintain a stable framerate, which is the panacea of the FPS gaming community.  When every bullet you fire needs to hit where you aim, they’ve managed to tweak the server so that each shot rings true.  But anyways, one thing I suggested to help them drive sales was a custom MOTD (message of the day) that pops up on a new server sold when you initially join.  I’m researching how to use html or php or something else to actually query the server, get a value (such as sv_hostname) and return it in the html.  My idea was to have the header line say something like “you’re playing on *server name* hosted by padgaming”, give a little spiel about how special their servers are, and then the price list.  What’s going to make it unique is that it’ll use the same type of language behind a CMS – querying a database to update the data as needed.  So, the file itself would be minimal, just referencing the database values to return, and then all the text would be in the database.  I’ve had to learn how to do PHP/mysql coding, and it’s nowhere near complete, but that’s the plan.

After that, it’s either another new theme here, or I start to delve headlong into Joomla templating.  God in heaven help me.  That’s going to be a rough time.

http://halftonreviews.com/?p=423

All I have to say is “wow”.  I mean seriously – it’s the college’s fault that you can’t find a job in this economy?  Last I checked, career services is to assist you in your search, not do it for you.  Not only that, but you’ve got a degree in a field that’s been known for outsourcing the last decade.  Oh, and a 2.7 is supposed to be great?  It’s decent, sure, but last I checked, business degrees need a 3.0 or better to be seriously considered for a job.

Talk about a litiguous society.  *faceplam*