I posted this about a month ago, but I've finally made some of the improvements and changes that I had wanted to make to my interactive map of mountain bike trails in and around Austin, Texas. I think it just got a whole lot more usable.

Right now, the list of trails includes: Barton Creek Greenbelt (360, Hill of Life), Bluff Creek Ranch, Cedar Hill Park, City Park (Emma Long), Flat Creek Crossing Ranch, Lost Creek, McKinney Falls State Park, Muleshoe Bend, Reimer's Ranch, and St. Edwards Park. I'd like to include more trails, but the limiting factor is finding latitude/longitude coordinates for each trail location.

Today is the last day of Interbike, and the cycling sites are sarting to show lots of highlights from the show. I'm following the coverage on cyclingnews:

September 28: part 1, part 2

September 29: part 1

September 30: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

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Not much to say about this. It's a gigantic In 'n Out cheeseburger. More pics here.

Featured on this week's Onion, FEMA Disaster Survival Tips. Awesome.

Recent events have underscored the importance of being properly prepared to deal with the effects of natural disasters. With that in mind, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has prepared the following guidelines.

• State and local governments should notify FEMA a minimum of two weeks before a natural disaster strikes.
• In the event of a disaster of "biblical proportions," FEMA may not be your best option. You may wish to consult your Bible instead.
• In a time of crisis brought on by a natural disaster, remember to focus on the task at hand—survival—and don't waste mental energy thinking about who did or didn't cut this or that funding for levee repairs.
• Find a way to pass the time and take your mind off the situation. For example, see who can count the most bodies in a minute.
• Write charming and folksy yet moving pleas for help on sheets of plywood. Example: "Please!!! help Old lady in here! she Very sick!!! please help!!! us"
• Try to steel yourself for the prospect that some Kevlar-vested prick with an automatic rifle might try to take your cat away.
• Children should try to decide on which stuffed animals they don't want to die of starvation, disease, or exposure.
• Please cover your "safe area" with thyme, sage, or other fragrant herbs to mask the stench of decomposition when rescuers finally find your bodies.
• When taking refuge in gigantic sports arenas, do your best not to open fire on the aircraft coming to fly you out.
• In any disaster, bodies will usually be stacked like cordwood before FEMA can respond, so remember that a "cord" of wood is 8 feet high by 12 feet long by 4 feet wide, and stack accordingly.

Hopefully, another one of these crony bastards might get what he deserves if they can follow through with a conviction. And of course, DeLay and his crony lawyer are complaining about this being a "witch hunt" by an evil Democrat. That makes sense, right? I mean, come on, this is America, land of the free, where a congressman should be allowed to pay his wife and daughter $500,000 for providing "big picture, long-term strategic guidance and helping with personnel decisions" and "assissting in arranging and organising individual events"!

If those are the going rates for "strategic guidance" and "event planning", I think I need to switch careers.

Details from Jury indicts top US congressman:

The Republican majority leader in the US House of Representatives Tom DeLay has been indicted with criminal conspiracy by a grand jury in Texas. The charge relates to a campaign finance scheme in which two of Mr DeLay's associates also stand accused. Mr DeLay, the second-highest ranking member of the house, said he would step down temporarily to answer the charges. He is a key fundraiser for President Bush and is seen as yielding immense political influence. Three of Mr DeLay's former aides had already been charged with illegal fundraising.

my original freeway photo
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I was contacted a little while ago by a member of Kasablanca Boulevard, a rock band in Canada. They were looking for a photo to use on the cover of their new cd, and they had found a picture I took of an Austin freeway at night (try googling for "freeway at night").

So they wrote me a super nice email asking for permission to use my photo on their upcoming cd. I said "hell yeah, just please send me a copy of the cd when it's done!" The cd hasn't come out yet, but they've incorporated my freeway photo into their website, and given props to me for taking the original photo.

This is one of the things that makes the internet so cool. I'm not a professional photographer and haven't done anything to pimp this photo to interested parties, but they found it online and now everybody's happy.

snipped from Coffee a good source of antioxidants:

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee emerged as the biggest source of antioxidants [in the typical U.S. diet], given that Americans do not eat sufficient quantities of fruit and vegetables. Black tea came second, followed by bananas, dry beans and corn.

Helping to rid the body of free radicals, destructive molecules that damage cells and DNA, antioxidants have been linked to a number of benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer.

The research is the latest in a number of studies to suggest coffee could be beneficial, with consumption linked to a reduced risk of liver and colon cancer, type two diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.

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Tom Boonen has had an amazing season, capped nicely by winning the World Championship road race. With his talent he ought to do well next year and hopefully avoid the "curse" of the rainbow jersey that plagues so many world champions, including 2004 winner Igor Astarloa.

Roberto Heras, one of the greatest cyclists of our time and the winner of this year's Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain, arguably the second biggest bike race after the Tour de France) has donated his Vuelta-winning golden bicycle to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's an extra-special bike since Heras is the only rider to win 4 Vueltas, and he broke that record on this bike.

From cyclingnews:

The personalised gold bicycle on which Roberto Heras rode the final stage of his fourth victory in the Vuelta a España will be auctioned via the internet to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Liberty Seguros-Würth team director Manolo Saiz and Heras thought of the idea to auction the bike for charity, enabling them to show their solidarity with American-based sponsor Liberty Mutual in a time of hardship for some Americans. Next week, several Liberty Seguros-Würth riders, led by Heras, will travel to Boston, Liberty Mutual's central headquarters, to take part in a cyclo-tourist race. While there, Alberto Contador and Luis León Sanchez will also do aerodynamic tests in a wind tunnel facility.

The bike, which celebrates Heras' record of four Vuelta victories, will travel next week to the US to be exhibited at the Las Vegas Bicycle Show, before being auctioned on eBay. The day bidding begins, scheduled to be October 7, Heras and Saiz will hold a press conference in Madrid to announce the details of this initiative.

Microsoft has a well-established history of producing buggy products that miss their release dates. It's an easy joke to make: Microsoft usually takes at least 3 major versions before they produce what should have been "version 1.0". But that's all changing with the work to build Windows Vista (aka Longhorn). Battling Google, Microsoft Changes How It Builds Software talks about what went on behind the scenes to change the way they build software products in Redmond.

I happily left Windows for Mac OS X more than 3 years ago, and I have absolutely no intention of ever, ever going back. But I'm looking forward to the eventual release of Windows Vista (in 2006? 2007? even later than that?), where we'll be able to see if they pulled it off.

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This satellite photo of hurricane Rita was taken at 11:15am EST Friday.

From hurricane updates at www.nhc.noaa.gov:

WTNT63 KNHC 211955
TCUAT3
HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
255 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005

DATA FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT RITA HAS REACHED

CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY WITH ESTIMATED MAXIMUM SUSTAINED SURFACE

WINDS OF 165 MPH.  THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN THE 4 PM CDT ADVISORY.

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All kinds of data out there tracking hurricane Rita and its projected path. This one shows the storm moving inland just to the east of Austin, and it's pretty likely that we'll see at least 50 mph winds on Saturday as a result of Rita. More info at crown weather.

We're definitely over the half-way hump, inching closer and closer to the big day. According to the info web pages, the little one weighs about 1.5 pounds and is just over a foot long.

Google map link to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tuscon, Arizona, where old military planes go to retire.

For residents of Austin, Texas, you probably receive junk mail in your postal mailbox, and it's coming from several different companies. But you can make the junk mail stop with a few minutes of phone calls (one call per company). Legally, each company must honor your request to stop sending junk mail. By the way, if you have made a request and waited the required period of time, but the junk mail is still showing up from that particular company, you might be able to file harassment charges against them. Call 311 (the non-emergency number for the Austin Police Department) and ask if they can help.

• Junk mail company #1 - Austin Statesman

  About: the Statesman sends weekly bulk mailings containing local advertisements for things like what's on sale at HEB. It doesn't matter if you subscribe to the Statesman or not, they send their junk to every street address in the entire city, and they won't stop until you tell them to.

  To remove yourself from their list: Call (512) 445-3500 and ask to speak with Bill Ellis. Whether you get Bill, his voicemail, or somebody else, here's what you need to say: "I do not want to receive advertisements from the Statesman. Please remove my address from your list. My street address is ________ and my zip code is 787__. Thank you.". They say it will take 1-2 weeks for the junk mail to stop.

• Junk mail company #2 - ADVO

  About: these guys are based in Dallas, and they're responsible for another big pile of bulk junk mail, including the little flyers about missing children. You'll be able to identify any of their junk mail when you find the fine print saying "ADVO" and a 214 phone number.

  To remove yourself from their list: Call (888) 241-6760 and ask to be removed from their mailing list. They'll want your zip code, street number, and address, in that order. They say it will take 6-8 weeks for the junk mail to stop.

• "Complimentary" newspapers from Austin Statesman

  About: you don't read the Statesman, you don't subscribe to it, and you don't want it delivered to your house (free or not). Unfortunately for you, the Austin Statesman doesn't care whether you want their newspaper or not, and they'll deliver them to your house several times a week. Thanks for the trash, guys.

  To remove yourself from their list: this might not be the best solution, bit I sent email to editor@statesman.com and asked to be removed from their complimentary newspaper delivery list. They'll want your name and street address, and the changes should take effect pretty much immediately.

  What to do if they keep delivering newspapers: speaking from experience, the Statesman is liable to start delivering newspapers again, even after you've requested they stop (for me, there was a 2 week break before the newspapers started showing up again). So what do you do? This is where your friendly Austin Police Department comes in: call 311, explain that you've requested to be removed from the list yet they continue throwing unwanted garbage on your private property, then ask to open a harassment case against the Statesman. Perhaps it seems a bit over-the-top, but come on, after you've asked them to stop throwing newspapers on your lawn, what the hell else can you do?
  

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This is a bad day to be allergic in Austin, Texas...

Recent polling data shows that support for Bush is dropping, even among those who used to support him. Interesting bits snipped from the article:

• about 60% said Bush does not share their priorities for the country
• about 60% said they were uneasy about Bush's ability to make the right decisions about the war in Iraq
• about half said he has strong qualities of leadership
• about 60% said the country was "pretty seriously" on the wrong track
• about 40% approved of Bush's overall performance

The main principle of junk mail is to flood the population, because only a very small percentage of you will respond to the ads. I'm kinda guessing, but it's probably on the order of 2-4% who respond. The rest of you put the ads straight in the trash.

This post is for the rest of you.

Here's a quick quiz:

• True or False: Your mailbox is constantly packed with advertisements, flyers and other junk mail, and this happens weekly if not daily.
• True or False: You do not like receiving advertisements and junk in your mailbox.
• True or False: You do not know what to do, or who to call, to make it stop.

If you answered True to the above 3 questions, and you live in Austin, Texas, you probably did not know that the local newspaper, the Austin Statesman, generates much of the junk mail that makes its way into your mailbox each week. (If you do not live in Austin, Texas, find the website for your local newspaper and contact them about advertisements, because odds are your local paper is doing the same thing that the Statesman does to residents here in Austin.)

To get yourself off the Statesman junk mail recipient list, all you have to do is make a 60-second phone call and ask to be removed from their advertisement list. They are required by law to remove you from their list. Within a week or two, the junk mail will stop.

Here's a step-by-step guide to make the junk mail stop:

• Call (512) 445-3500 Monday through Friday between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm. This info is also available on the Statesman's contact page.
• Ask to speak with Bill Ellis about advertisement mailings. If Bill is unavailable, ask to leave a message or speak with somebody else who can assist you.
• Whether you talk to Bill, his voice mail, or another person, say the following: "I do not want to receive advertisements from the Statesman. Please remove my address from your list. My street address is ________ and my zip code is 787__. Thank you."

Note: please, please, please make an effort to be courteous to anybody you speak with. I know as well as any of you that it sucks to receive junk mail every week, and you might find it tempting to vent your frustrations with the people you talk to. But be nice to them, because they're the only people who can help you out! Yelling, swearing, or insulting Bill or anybody else at the Statesman won't help you out, and might make it harder for other Austin residents to get off the junk mail list.

How do I know the Statesman is behind this?

Simple: it's printed on the advertisements themselves.

You don't have to take my word for it though. The next time you find advertisements in your mailbox, get out your magnifying glass and look at the fine print on the outer-most advertisement. It might change locations on the page, so be prepared to look around for it. The print will definitely be small, but it will clearly read "Austin Statesman" in at least one location. You'll also notice there is no other contact information printed anywhere on any of the advertisements (I know, I spent 10 minutes reading through all of it). To be sure, they don't make it easy for you to get yourself off the junk list.

We're about one month away from the biggest change in bankruptcy law in more than 25 years. Nolo posted a good article about the coming changes. Here's the high-level info:

After eight years and three failed attempts, the credit card industry has finally got the bankruptcy law "reform" changes they've been lobbying for. Signed into law on April 20, 2005, most of the new law will take effect 180 days later, on October 17, 2005.

The new law, which marks the biggest change to bankruptcy law since 1978, prohibits some people from filing for bankruptcy altogether. And for those who manage to qualify for bankruptcy, it makes it harder to come up with manageable repayment plans and it has fewer protections from collection efforts than the prior law.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Release #05-267
Firm's Recall Hotline: (888) 780-7690
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Firm's Media Contact: Rick Heineman, (310) 854-4812, Rheineman@bncpr.com

CPSC, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Announce Recall of Certain AC Adaptors Sold with Slim Version PlayStation(r) 2 Systems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Certain AC Adaptors sold with slim version PlayStation(r) 2 Systems

Units: About 843,000

Importer: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., of Foster City, Calif.

Hazard: The recalled AC adaptors can overheat and melt. This poses the risk of fire, burn and shock injuries to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Sony Computer Entertainment America has received 38 reports of adaptors overheating, including 19 reports of melting. There have been four reports of minor property damage, two reports of minor burns and one report of a minor shock.

Description: The recall involves AC adaptors with the following date codes: 2004.08, 2004.09, 2004.10, 2004.11 and 2004.12 and serial numbers beginning with "F3". The date code is located in a white box on the lower right hand portion of the adaptor's label. Just below the date code box is a serial number beginning with "F3" followed by a series of digits. Adaptors with other date codes and without the "F3" serial numbers are not included in this recall. The AC adaptors were sold with slim version PlayStation(r) 2 consoles with model number SCPH-70011 or SCPH-70012. The PlayStation(r) 2 model number is located on a label at the base of the slim console.

Sold at: Electronics, toy and computer game stores nationwide, as well as Web retailers, from October 2004 through August 2005 for about $150 for the complete system.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled AC adaptors immediately and contact Sony Computer Entertainment America to receive a free replacement adaptor. Consumers should carefully unplug the recalled adaptors from the wall outlet and allow to cool before handling.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Sony Computer Entertainment America toll-free at (888) 780-7690 between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. PT Monday through Saturday, and between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT Sunday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.us.playstation.com

To view this recall online, please visit our website at: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05267.html

BBC.co.uk posted these illustrations showing how the flood waters are spread through the city of New Orleans, and how the drainage plan will work. They're kinda high-level, not a too much detail, but still informative.

Michael Brown, director of FEMA, said the victims in New Orleans are responsible for their own situation. Specifically, according to CNN, he said, "Unfortunately, [the death toll in New Orleans] is going to be attributable a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings. I don't make judgments about why people chose not to leave but, you know, there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. And to find people still there is just heart-wrenching to me because, you know, the mayor did everything he could to get them out of there."

So let's get this straight: the director of FEMA is telling the world that it's the peoples' own fault for getting caught in this situation. Everyone got that?

Now we'll go back to November 2004, when Shirley Laska published a column discussing the potential outcome if Hurricane Ivan had hit New Orleans. She cited specific details about what would have happened, including:

• huge storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain (her prediction was correct, Katrina caused this),
• levees between lake and city break and fill the city with water up to 20 feet deep (again, correct prediction, Katrina caused this too)
• flooding of suburbs with water pushing as far as seven miles inland (I don't have exact numbers on this, but I think this is either correct or really close to what Katrina caused), and finally
• inundated areas south of Mississippi River (again, correct, Katrina caused huge destruction all over the area)

Less than one year ago, Shirley wrote: "Up to 80 percent of the structures in these flooded areas would have been severely damaged from wind and water. The potential for such extensive flooding and the resulting damage is the result of a levee system that is unable to keep up with the increasing flood threats from a rapidly eroding coastline and thus unable to protect the ever-subsiding landscape."

Additionally, she points out that researchers had already estimated that 40% of the New Orleans population (1.2 million total, so we're talking about 500,000 people) would not evacuate if "the big one" threatened and an evacuation was ordered.

Her column goes on and on, and it's absolutely frightening that she wrote all of this nearly one year ago. You could almost believe that it had been written yesterday, after Katrina had already devastated New Orleans.

So Michael Brown, who's fault is it?

Is it the citizens' fault for not leaving, even though researchers already knew a large percentage would not follow an evacuation order?

Or could it possibly be the government's fault for being informed about scenarios such as this, with fully detailed articles such as Shirley Laska's, only to follow it up by doing absolutely nothing to prepare for this situation? (And by the way, hers was not the only voice that warned officials of this scenario.)