ROFLCON Usenet Panel video now available

The complete video of the ROFLCON "Heroes of Usenet" panel that I was part of is now visible online.

http://roflcon.org/2010/06/01/the-heroes-of-usenet-complete-video/

The video is in three parts. If memory serves, I did very little talking in the first half hour, but got to speak a bit more in the second and third half hour. Comments welcome.

A perfect evening

Tonight was a night that I'll remember for a long time. I worked from home today and didn't get away from my computer until after 6 because of a late meeting, thinking "I wonder if it's even worth it to go for a ride; it's so late already." But I hadn't counted on it being an absolutely perfect evening outside: gentle breeze, temperature around 72, mostly sunny with patchy clouds. And the route I wound up picking is one I definitely will do again: three miles along busy Route 2 to the middle of our little town of Richmond, then up Jericho Road and Browns Trace Road (and by 'up', I mean UP), then a turn east onto mostly dirt Nashville Road through pleasantly bucolic country and the sounds of chirping birds and distant lawnmowers, and finally a steep, steep descent down Stage Road back to Route 2 and home. (You can see my route here -- for fun, click the link at the left that reads "Bolton Loop (End)" and take a gander at the route profile -- which inexplicably shows elevation in meters and distance in kilometers -- especially the bit at the end.)

17 miles, all told, and except for the stretches on Route 2 there were almost no cars out; I had the roads almost to myself. Just the sort of perfect, quiet, lazy evening that one imagines every bike ride potentially being, but few actually turn into. The flowers are all blooming and each time a breeze turned my way the air was full of fragrance. In a Hollywood movie they'd probably have ruined it with a soundtrack made up of merrily uplifting and whimsical strings, but I got by just fine with the call of local songbirds.

I'll admit I made poor time, only averaging nine and a half miles an hour, but I really wasn't in a huge hurry. It was the sort of evening one wants to prolong. I should also mention that stretch at the end, coming down Stage Road, which seemed pretty much vertical at times. I try not to go 90 miles an hour on extremely steep dirt roads with loose dirt and gravel now and then. The rest of the ride was moderately hilly, especially the stretch up from Richmond to Jericho, but on my new bike and my stronger, more-in-shape legs, I had absolutely no trouble with any of it. If it's nice tomorrow evening (and the forecast seems to indicate that it might be), I might just go do it all again.

There are times I feel really, really lucky to live in Vermont.

A perfect evening

Tonight was a night that I'll remember for a long time. I worked from home today and didn't get away from my computer until after 6 because of a late meeting, thinking "I wonder if it's even worth it to go for a ride; it's so late already." But I hadn't counted on it being an absolutely perfect evening outside: gentle breeze, temperature around 72, mostly sunny with patchy clouds. And the route I wound up picking is one I definitely will do again: three miles along busy Route 2 to the middle of our little town of Richmond, then up Jericho Road and Browns Trace Road (and by 'up', I mean UP), then a turn east onto mostly dirt Nashville Road through pleasantly bucolic country and the sounds of chirping birds and distant lawnmowers, and finally a steep, steep descent down Stage Road back to Route 2 and home. (You can see my route here -- for fun, click the link at the left that reads "Bolton Loop (End)" and take a gander at the route profile -- which inexplicably shows elevation in meters and distance in kilometers -- especially the bit at the end.)

17 miles, all told, and except for the stretches on Route 2 there were almost no cars out; I had the roads almost to myself. Just the sort of perfect, quiet, lazy evening that one imagines every bike ride potentially being, but few actually turn into. The flowers are all blooming and each time a breeze turned my way the air was full of fragrance. In a Hollywood movie they'd probably have ruined it with a soundtrack made up of merrily uplifting and whimsical strings, but I got by just fine with the call of local songbirds.

I'll admit I made poor time, only averaging nine and a half miles an hour, but I really wasn't in a huge hurry. It was the sort of evening one wants to prolong. I should also mention that stretch at the end, coming down Stage Road, which seemed pretty much vertical at times. I try not to go 90 miles an hour on extremely steep dirt roads with loose dirt and gravel now and then. The rest of the ride was moderately hilly, especially the stretch up from Richmond to Jericho, but on my new bike and my stronger, more-in-shape legs, I had absolutely no trouble with any of it. If it's nice tomorrow evening (and the forecast seems to indicate that it might be), I might just go do it all again.

There are times I feel really, really lucky to live in Vermont.