The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

As a lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, it has been hilarious to read all the stories in the Chicago newspapers about the destruction of the infamous Steve Bartman baseball. Cubs fans are under the delusion they are the best fans in baseball, but if they really were the best fans in baseball, they wouldn't have to resort to goofball antics such as blowing up a baseball.

As a Cardinal fan, I'm concerned that it will be the managerial skills of Dusty Baker -- not some lifting of a billy goat curse or annihilation of a baseball -- that will bring the Cubs' curse to an end. Personally, if the the Cubs have to win the World Series -- and I really don't think they have to win the World Series -- I would like to see them wait until 2008 or later so I can stage my "100 Years of Cubs Futility" celebration. I would invite all my friends who are Cubs fans so they can take some good-natured abuse about cheering for a team known as the "Lovable Losers."

But I guess the Cubs fans' way of getting back at the rest of baseball is to subject us to stunts like the destruction of the Bartman baseball. This is my way of keeping the spirit of the Steve Bartman ball alive!

GO CARDS!

Roger links to this post 12:32 PM

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Here's a good column about having too much faith in what you read on the Internet: "Lies! Lies! and Suckers" by John C. Dvorak of PC Magazine. While the Internet is a valuable tool for me as a copy editor in verifying facts, I realize not everything on the Internet is the truth. Some things are minor inaccuracies. Other things are flat-out lies.

I encourage everyone to look at everything you read with a skeptical eye -- including my Web site. While I try to make this Web site as accurate as possible, keep in mind that the articles on the site are based upon my experiences and my opinions, and therefore subject to fallibility. Other people have different opinions, and I encourage you to check them out. One prime example is the Great Arizona Bicycle Adventure. The year I did the ride, there were some serious issues with rider support and food. But many of the problems were specific to that year, so that's why I encourage people to check with people who have done the ride more recently than 1996 before making a decision on whether to do the ride.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:44 AM

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

The reviews are coming in for "The Passion of the Christ." Most of the ones I've seen on our news wires have criticized the violence and bloodiness of the film, while praising the technical aspects of the film. They've docked the film a star or two because of the violence. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, however, has given the film four stars. You can read his review here. Regardless of what one thinks of the movie, this is the most thoughtful review of the film I've read so far.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:45 AM

In today's Lifestyle section of the Belleville News-Democrat, we have a little preview of the St. Louis Science Center's new Omnimax movie, "The Human Body." Along with the story, we have a lot of neat photos taken with thermal cameras and other good stuff. Here's one of the photos from the story:



I'm sure you cyclists probably will get a kick out of this photo, but I hope to post an even better photo later today or tomorrow!

Time to go to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow to do some volunteer work at the state unemployment office here in Belleville. I signed up as a tutor for Southwestern Illinois College's Project Read program, and the folks there assigned me to that office to help people with computers, resumes and other job-search related items. Because I work on computers eight hours a day and use them extensively at home, I take a lot of basic computer skills for granted. But there are people out there who aren't used to the Internet and have difficulties with things like pull-down menus on forms. I wish those folks luck in their job search!

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:32 AM

Sunday, February 22, 2004

Just a quiet Sunday evening here in beautiful Belleville, Ill. I decided to play around with the Blog page to make it look a little more interesting visually. Hope it works in all the main browsers.

Speaking of browsers, I'm trying the new Mozilla Firefox browser. I like it, and it has tabbed browsing, a very nice feature. Too bad Internet Explorer doesn't implement it in its program. I have several browsers loaded on my computer because I like to test pages in them before I post them on the Web site.

In a little bit, I'm going up to Three-1-Three, a Belleville night spot, to see Rodney Branigan perform. He's supposed to be a fine guitarist, and his claim to fame is that he can play two guitars at the same time. That should be interesting!

I'm looking forward to seeing "The Passion of the Christ." I'd like to see it Wednesday if possible because I think I would be a great way to start the Lenten season, along with an Ash Wednesday Mass. But I may put that off because of the big crowds expected in the first few days. I'd like to see it with someone who takes his or her religion seriously and then discusss it over dinner or coffee. From all I have read about it, it will be an intense experience. There are lot of concerns about the film -- the violence and the fears it may cause a rash of anti-Semitism -- but I'm going to hold off judgment until I actually see the movie.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:15 PM

Friday, February 20, 2004

Well, I did get out on the bike Thursday, but only for five miles. The tendonitis did kick in during the ride, so I cut it short. I decided it was time to visit the doctor to see what was wrong. My appointment was this morning, but fortunately, the doctor only found minor damage. Hopefully, some anti-inflammatory drugs and ice will solve the problem. The good news is that the doctor said I could walk and bike, so as long as I don't overdo it, I should be OK.

I was disappointed to find out this week the other major bicycle club in St. Louis scheduled a ride for May 1, the day of the Tour de Stooges. It is beyond comprehension why the two major bicycling organizations in St. Louis can't work together to avoid ride conflicts like this and others over the course of the cycling season. It's also bizarre that the other club's ride and a two-day ride being conducted by a St. Louis-area bicycle shop chain are being conducted the same day in the same community, Ste. Genevieve, Mo. The good part of the competition is that it will force us to work harder to make Tour de Stooges a success, but it's still discouraging to work hard on a ride only to know that it can't live up to its potential because of the competing rides.

Anyway, we hope to see you on the Tour de Stooges on May 1.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 3:10 PM

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Just looking at the forecast for today, and the high temperature is supposed to be 67 degrees! Not bad for Feb. 19. I better get on that bike today, but first I have to air up my tires. I hope the tendonitis that has kept from doing a lot of hiking this winter doesn't bother me on the bike. It hasn't done so on the exercise bike at the YMCA, but indoor and outdoor cycling are two different things.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:50 AM

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

You're probably wondering why I'm doing a Blog page. In reality, the Cycling Forum page had been a blog of sorts, but I want to keep that more of a guestbook page and put more of the personal stuff on this page. I actually started the blog last year, but I didn't publicize it at all. When I decided to make it part of the main Web site, I cleared off the old garbage and started from scratch.

I also wanted to provide links to some of the big cycling headlines from throughout the world. As we all know, finding cycling news in the United States is difficult, unless it is about Lance Armstrong. I work at a newspaper, and I would prefer to have more cycling news in the paper. But being a realist, I know the bulk of the people who read our Sports section care more about baseball, football, hockey, basketball and NASCAR, so that's what we cover.

I hope to update this blog regularly, so come back and visit often!

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:36 PM

So why are you seeing a photo of the Outer Banks here? Well, I'm helping my friend Janelle, who is moving to Myrtle Beach, with a couple of things on her Blog page, Lo que sea. Janelle's a talented copy editor who did her internship at the Belleville News-Democrat, and she'll do really well in her job at Myrtle Beach. I hope she takes my advice and visits the Outer Banks. I can't believe its been nearly four years since I took this picture.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:48 PM

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

For those you who may have missed the news, Italian cycling great Marco Pantani was found dead Saturday, Feb. 14,in his hotel room. To read the latest news, check the articles at Google News at http://news.google.com/.

Cycling journalist Phil Liggett has an article about his troubled career at the British news site Telegraph.com.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 3:27 PM

Welcome to my new Blog and News Page! Instead of posting the my daily stuff in the Cycling Forum, I will post things here. You also have an opportunity to comment on my posts. In addition, you can read the newest headlines in the world of cycling right here.

Hope you enjoy this new page!

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:39 PM