New bike to play with. Wow. This is just silly.
List of National Magazine Award nominees, with links to stories. We're nominated three times at Wired, which is very, very gratifying.
Everything you need to know about parenthood: Funny funny from my friend Marybeth.
Here's a test from MarsEdit, which is a cool program.
What's the point of having a blog tool if it's a pain in the ass to use. Seriously, I can't even figure out MT anymore.
My attempts to answer that question, courtesy of KPIX-TV in San Francisco.
Been active on the public radio front for me recently.
I was on Here and Now on WBUR in Boston on Black Friday, talking about the best gadgets for the holidays. You can check out the Real Audio stream if you're looking for buying advice.
Then this morning I was on KQED's Forum program, talking about Verizon's move to open up their cellular network. You can download it as an MP3.
Was on NPR on Friday, talking about Google and their cell phone plans. We had a fun discussion -- you can check it out at NPR's website.
Maka-Maka, Hulu, Imeem, OnTargetjobs, JobLoft.com, Zoomr, Zazzle, IMThere, MadeIt, Flixter, Bug.gd, Meetro, TrialPay, SearchMash
PodTech, CrunchBase, Wuala, Gigapan
BOOMj.com, JackBe, Yappd, EchoSign, Pixsy, Hulu
Sohu, Zango, Memorandum, ProQuo, Bountii
Hey there. Long time, no blog.
Today's news that an arbitration panel has found Floyd Landis guilty of doping in the 2006 Tour de France is a tragedy.
To be up front, I have met and interviewed Landis. I liked him a great deal. I would like to believe that he didn't dope, but I don't know if he is innocent or not. But none of that matters.
The case against him simply wasn't strong enough, and the fact that the panel voted 2-1 to convict him shows that the system is hopelessly rigged against athletes. The mere opening of a proceeding seems to be evidence enough to declare guilt.
Never mind that the lab work at the LNDD, the French lab involved in the case, was somewhere between laughable and horrifying. Never mind that the chain of custody wasn't maintained. Never mind that the testing wasn't anonymous.
Those who believe Floyd to be guilty will say that those are technicalities, and don't address guilt or innocence. But technicalities are the only basis that athletes can argue in the current system. And technicalities are important -- WADA has rules that they are supposed to follow. They're there for a reason. And if they are allowed to break them, well, it's a farce.
Like I said, I don't know if Floyd doped or not. But if you're going to destroy a man's career, you better have a buttoned-up case. And this one doesn't even come close. Doping, especially in cycling, is shameful. Even more shameful is a willingness to bend or break rules in one's zeal to fight doping.
heading to la...so early
installing twitterrific -- how long will I deal with Twitter?
getting ready to do an interview on attack of the show
No, not Floyd Landis. Bijarne Riis, the winner of the 1996 Tour de France, admitted that he was doping when he won the race:
"The time has come to put the cards on the table," said Riis. "I have done things which I now regret and which I wouldn't do again. I have doped. I have taken EPO. For awhile it was part if my life."
Sad news, but hardly shocking. What is shocking is that the code of silence that's surrounded drug use in cycling seems to be breaking down. Riis is now the director of team CSC, the top professional team in the world -- we'll see what effect this admission has on his current career.
One question: was EPO even on the banned list in 1996?
Spent a little time on the phone with NPR yesterday, talking about the collecting and hording instinct that leads to all the crap I have downloaded and saved. Check it out, if you like.
following ASME results