Harry Potter 7
Well I took a brief break from starting the business to read HP7 over the weekend. As it turns out I’m mostly waiting on other people at the moment right now anyway, so it was a fairly ideal window. I don’t expect to get another one, in fact August promises to be pretty busy. As usual people who wanted to schedule something during the summer invariably realize, right about now, that it’s just about over and so everything ends up in August. Complicating matters the Bells on Temple Square have just asked my wife to be a permanent sub for their December Concerts (One that just them and the one with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir), so that’s every Wednesday night. Other than sacrificing the one night a week I couldn’t be happier for her, it’s an awesome opportunity.
In any case Harry Potter. Well I’ve never seen more people afraid of being spoiled, which is in fact one of the reasons I read it so fast, so that no one could spoil me. So other than to say that I enjoyed it, and that it was one of the stronger entries in the series I won’t give any kind of review (my sister panicked when I mentioned that the book had a powerful ending). I got my copy at Midnight on Friday. I showed up to the local grocery store at 11:20 and was 8th in line. By the time I left at 12:03 there was a huge line. But I’d hazard a guess that everyone still got a book.
The tour has been interesting. I started cheering for Alberto Contador from the first mountain stage and he’s been awesome ever since. It’s apparent now that the race for yellow is down to him and Rasmussen, since no one else can hope to match either of them as climbers. I really hope he wins, because my sense of the situation is that if Rasmussen wins it will end up being bad for the tour, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. Also these allegations are fairly disturbing as well.
My dad reminded me (with no small amount of glee) of my prediction that Rasmussen was not a real contender. And I freely admit that, like most people, I completely underestimated his time trialing ability. But I’m going to make another prediction, which if it turns out to be untrue will, I’m sure, be once again gleefully brought back to me. Rasmussen will not do as well in the final time trial as he did in the first one. There are a few reasons for this:
First, the initial time trial had more slope to it, which obviously plays to Rasmussen’s strengths. Secondly, the rain hit in the middle of the day, so the roads just kept improving, meaning of all the main contenders Rasmussen had the best roads. Finally there wasn’t as much pressure. On the first time trial no one expected him to do that well, few even expected him to stay in yellow, and with the Pyrenees still to come he could relax a little. On the final Contador (and even Evans and Leipheimer) are going to be close enough that he’s going to have to do really well again to win it all, and there’s not going to be any mountains left if he does poorly. I think the combination is going to cause him to falter, not as badly as he did in 2005, but bad enough that he won’t be as close to the top as he was the week before. I’m not necessarily saying he’ll lose the jersey, just that he won’t do as well as he did the week before.
Finally on the work front, word is starting to get around that my time is short. Lots of people have offered their congratulations, some have started panicking, but mostly it’s been very positive. I will definitely miss this place, in general, there are some people who if I never see again, it will be too soon.
Harry Potter wakes up in bed with Suzanne Pleshette and discovers it’s all been a dream
In any case Harry Potter. Well I’ve never seen more people afraid of being spoiled, which is in fact one of the reasons I read it so fast, so that no one could spoil me. So other than to say that I enjoyed it, and that it was one of the stronger entries in the series I won’t give any kind of review (my sister panicked when I mentioned that the book had a powerful ending). I got my copy at Midnight on Friday. I showed up to the local grocery store at 11:20 and was 8th in line. By the time I left at 12:03 there was a huge line. But I’d hazard a guess that everyone still got a book.
The tour has been interesting. I started cheering for Alberto Contador from the first mountain stage and he’s been awesome ever since. It’s apparent now that the race for yellow is down to him and Rasmussen, since no one else can hope to match either of them as climbers. I really hope he wins, because my sense of the situation is that if Rasmussen wins it will end up being bad for the tour, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. Also these allegations are fairly disturbing as well.
My dad reminded me (with no small amount of glee) of my prediction that Rasmussen was not a real contender. And I freely admit that, like most people, I completely underestimated his time trialing ability. But I’m going to make another prediction, which if it turns out to be untrue will, I’m sure, be once again gleefully brought back to me. Rasmussen will not do as well in the final time trial as he did in the first one. There are a few reasons for this:
First, the initial time trial had more slope to it, which obviously plays to Rasmussen’s strengths. Secondly, the rain hit in the middle of the day, so the roads just kept improving, meaning of all the main contenders Rasmussen had the best roads. Finally there wasn’t as much pressure. On the first time trial no one expected him to do that well, few even expected him to stay in yellow, and with the Pyrenees still to come he could relax a little. On the final Contador (and even Evans and Leipheimer) are going to be close enough that he’s going to have to do really well again to win it all, and there’s not going to be any mountains left if he does poorly. I think the combination is going to cause him to falter, not as badly as he did in 2005, but bad enough that he won’t be as close to the top as he was the week before. I’m not necessarily saying he’ll lose the jersey, just that he won’t do as well as he did the week before.
Finally on the work front, word is starting to get around that my time is short. Lots of people have offered their congratulations, some have started panicking, but mostly it’s been very positive. I will definitely miss this place, in general, there are some people who if I never see again, it will be too soon.
Harry Potter wakes up in bed with Suzanne Pleshette and discovers it’s all been a dream
posted by DireKobold at 2:18 PM
3 Comments:
Is there a realistic chance Rasmussen is innocent? I mean, Armstrong was dogged pretty hard, and seems to have come through clean, AFAIK.
I don't know anymore, I used to default to taking the side of the rider, but I don't think the Tour can handle another disgraced champion. The second article seems to leave very little room for doubt, now of course that was in 2002, but I think it's just enough more fuel for the fire that for a sport and a race that's already knocked down, this is one last kick I'd rather it didn't have to deal with.
I thikn the Tour de France, or rather, cycling in America, is rather lucky now -- even with the new Vinokourov expulsion, it barely registers in the Sports page here in America, with Barry Bonds in baseball, the "Mafia Ref" Donaghy in the NBA, and Michael Vick in the NFL. Fortunately for Beckham, it really exploded after his debut in LA. Of course, now he's going to have to score 5 goals a game to top the headlines in other sports...
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