Protest against $4/gallon gas

(Alternative title was: I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars). I am surprised to learn that song is not Cake, but merely a Cake ripoff.

I have been telling myself for a few months that I would start bicycling to work as soon as gas hit $4/gallon. I had held off for the last couple of fill ups by going to Arco, but my mileage is considerably crappier with Arco gas than any other major brand (with the possible exception of Valero), so I decided to spring for the $4.089/gallon at Shell (premium). That is the last time I am spending $60 to fill my pseudo-economy (maybe I could have done without the turbo charger?) car.

Note to Nico: We will be bicycling up to Napa next weekend.


Reader Poll: Am I underdressed for a meeting with the vice president?


Nostalgic cycling story: I used to bicycle to school with my hands in my pockets; I'm sure I fell over a lot, but I do not recall ever crashing with my hands in my pockets. Today, my balance must be much worse, as riding with no hands has become exceedingly difficult (especially when the person sitting behind you is yelling at you to stop swerving).

As seen on TV

Alternative title was: "For when you have absolutely nothing to do"

So you've already taken "The OC" tour of Newport Beach. [Did my tax dollars pay for that pdf?]

Maybe you followed that up with a tour of the real "The OC". Did we really do that? I think we had taken the tandem to the world famous Venice Beach Boardwalk, or something...but I can't be expected to remember anything from Season 3.

But you most certainly have not done the Magical Arrested Development Tour (or the Magical Arrested Development Tour Part II).

It's April 21st, and everybody says today is Earth Day...

I must admit, I also thought this song was "Green"...I guess it's anti-environmentalist, and not anti-environment. That's sort of green.

…“What Are We Gonna Do?” parodied late–period Beatles pop to cynically skewer the bumper-sticker mentality of all-too-many armchair environmentalists. “I still don’t think people get it,” notes [frontman] John Easdale. “Environmental people listen to it and think, “Wow, this guy is really ‘Green’!” It disturbs me to think that there really are people who believe that they’re ‘spokesperson for a generation.’”

Easdale recalls the song’s genesis: “We played at the festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. Forget about the last 19 that nobody celebrated; ‘It’s the 20th anniversary, let’s have a party!’ And they did, at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Linda Gray from Dallas is in our trailer smoking cigarettes and drinking beers, and there’s a quarter of a fucking million people in front of us! When everyone left, we looked at all the garbage left behind and wondered just what we were celebrating.”

Wondering why John Easdale used April 21st, instead of April 22nd...I had thought Earth Day was always celebrated on a Sunday, but it appears I was incorrect about that, as well. 4/21/1990 was a Saturday; that sounds like a good day for a party in Golden Gate Park. I suppose you cannot expect anti-environmentalists to know when Earth Day is.

Side Note: Anybody catch the Dramarama Bands Reunited? You may have noticed: John Easdale and my mother are neighbors...you may have also noticed that Jodn Easdales house is crappier than my mother's.

At least I don't have to train for a marathon...

3 weeks to get ready for our 100 mile tandem ride, and Nico has not been on a bicycle since Christmas. (The 25 or 30 miles I have ridden in the last few months is not worth bragging about, either).

Here are my mileage totals:
Wednesday: 20 miles (with hills)
Thursday: 15 miles + 24 miles on tandem (we'll give Nico 24 miles, though I don't think she was pedaling for most of the ride).

This just in: Iraq war more popular than expected.

Sure, the weather was not great, but still: The circumcision protesters outnumbered the war protesters by a 10 to 1 margin.

Questions most commonly asked of the Laskos while in Washington, DC:

1) Are you here for the cherry blossoms?
2) Have you seen the cherry blossoms?

Questions most commonly asked of the Laskos upon returning home (from DC):

1) Were the cherries blossoming?
2) Did you see the cherry blossoms?

I have been to DC 3 times, and all 3 times the cherries were indeed blossoming. I do not know what DC looks like without cherry blossoms...


PS: The caption for these photos was going to read: "What our nation's capital would look like if the apes were running things", but I would have to look up whether it should be "capital" or "capitol", and that takes too much time. Also, I do not want anyone to know that I saw the Planet of the Apes remake.

PPS: I don't think I saw Planet of the Apes in the theater, if that counts for anything. Also, Danny Elfman wrote the score; that's reason enough to see a movie, no? Also, also: I'm a huge Mark Wahlberg fan.

Escape From DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Official results for marathon #6:

Guntime Nettime Pace
3:51:44 3:50:11 8:47

More Las Vegas Observations

Running on the Las Vegas Strip is impossible...at least on a Thursday afternoon.

Unless you're running a marathon in 3 days, you can file this info under wwywt [In case you don't have a good acronym finder, that's "why would you want to".]

I ended up running from the Monte Carlo, to the Hard Rock, to the Airport, and back to the Monte Carlo. Was that only 7 miles? It felt longer because my Bluetooth headphones do not work in Las Vegas. Were there too many other people using up all the Bluetooth bandwidth, or were those giant casinos intentionally jamming me? At any rate, I am never running the Las Vegas Marathon.

Las Vegas observations:

1) If you give a cocktail waitress a $25 tip the first time she comes by to offer free drinks, she will come back very often...so often, that you can easily collect a 12 pack of beer on your ledge at the craps table. (Note to wife: I did not tip the cocktail waitress $25, and I did not drink a 12 pack of beer while playing craps. In fact, giving a cocktail waitress $25 so that you can start a warm beer collection seems very, very silly to me.)

2) The Dude has it right. From now on, I'm drinking only White Russians...and, I would like for everyone to call me the Big Laskowski. (FYI, my great grandfather's last name was shortened at Ellis Island from Laskowitz [or possibly Laskovitz--the paperwork is a little smudged], not Laskowski).


3) I can make about $10/hr playing low limit poker...unfortunately, I cannot take advantage of free alcoholic beverages while playing low limit poker, or my earning potential drops off considerably.

Pretty cool...



Try this link if that didn't work: http://www.dothetest.co.uk/