Posts from — July 2016

I have absolutely no idea how Drumpf can expect to be accepted as the ‘Commander in Chief’ when he has repeatedly demonstrated his total lack of respect for members of the military.

I have a lot of differences with Senator John McCain but to minimize the courage required for the service the Senator rendered while in the US Navy should have eliminated Drumpf from any consideration for the Presidency. Senator McCain is permanently disabled as a result of his service.

Now Drumpf is attacking the parents of an Army officer killed in Iraq. You don’t attack Gold Star mothers, and you can’t compare organizing the Miss Universe pageant with patrolling streets in a war zone.

The daily temps have been 5°F higher than normal with daily thunderstorms possible and heat indices in the 110-115° range. Yesterday I had the choice of being killed by the heat, UV radiation, or my allergies with a 12 out 12 pollen level.

The Presidential selection process is finally over so we can get down to being annoyed by the state primary for all of the other offices. Let the yardsigns sprout.

After an extended lull we have two areas of interest out in the Atlantic. Not a lot of enthusiasm for their chances of becoming more than low pressure areas.

I’m thinking about how to write about Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Kathryn Harris, the 2000 election in Florida, the 2008 Democratic primary, and why I have never voted for Barack Obama, and will never vote for Hillary Clinton.

I started voting for Democrats in 1964. Unfortunately the party hasn’t nominated any Democrats lately.

As long as the Greens will nominate real liberals or progressives I will vote Green. I’m here and I vote in every election. Give me someone I can vote for in good conscience and I will do it.

Chantilly to Paris Champs Élysées

Distance: 113 kilometers.

This is the final ‘parade’ that begins with chanpagne and ends with an eight lap sprint in Paris. There is the Cat 4 Côte de l’Ermitage halfway to Paris, but the only real racing will be among the sprinters for the stage win.

André Greipel took his second straight Champs Élysées finish, Peter Sagan was selected as the Super-Combative rider and Chris Froome won his third Tour, the first Briton to do so.

Tony Martin had to drop out because of knee pain from an earlier injury, but 174 riders finished the race.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 89h 04′ 48″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 470 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 209 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 4 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: André Greipel ( GER – LTS – 161 )
Super-Combative: Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Red numbers]
Φ Sam Bennett ( IRL – BOA – 135 ) + 05h 17′ 14″ [La Lanterne Rouge]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 05″
3 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 04′ 21″
4 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 04′ 42″
5 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 05′ 17″
6 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 06′ 16″
7 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 06′ 58″
8 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 06′ 58″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 07′ 04″
10 Roman Kreuziger ( CZE – TNK – 036 ) + 07′ 11″

The Rest of the field:
[Read more →]

Megève to Morzine-Avoriaz

Distance: 146.5 kilometers.

The last mountain and truly competitive stage of the Tour. Four climbs and a long downhill finish. The climbs are the Cat 2 Col des Aravis, the Cat 1 Col de la Colombière, the Cat 1 Col de la Ramaz, and the HC Col de Joux Plane. After cresting the Col de Joux Plane there is a breakneck twisting flight to the bottom on bikes geared for hard, slow climbs to the top. A little rain and all bets are off.

At the end of the stage the Jersey wearers are all breathing easier. Froome maintained a lead of over 4 minutes on the challengers; Bardet and Quintana are still on the podium; Sagan and Majka of Tinkoff won the Green and Polka Dots, respectively; in spite of the dire possibilities of the Alps it was a whimper, not a bang.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 86h 21′ 40″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 440 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 209 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 4 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Ion Izaguirre ( ESP – MOV – 017 )
Combative: Jarlinson Pantano ( COL – IAM – 079 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 05″
3 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 04′ 21″
4 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 04′ 42″
5 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 05′ 17″
6 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 06′ 16″
7 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 06′ 58″
8 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 06′ 58″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 07′ 04″
10 Roman Kreuziger ( CZE – TNK – 036 ) + 07′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

The CBC has been covering the epic liability law suit in the making: the shooting of Charles Kinsey in Miami.

In Episode One we have bystander video of Mr. Kinsey, a caretaker at a group home, lying on his back with his hands up asking the police not to shoot, while he, Mr. Kinsey, attempts to get his autistic client to comply with police orders. The client had left the group home and was playing with a toy truck in the middle of an intersection. Mr. Kinsey was shot.

In Episode Two we learned Mr. Kinsey asked the officer why he was shot and the officer said he didn’t know!

In Episode Three we have the local police union saying that the officer was actually trying to protect Mr. Kinsey from his autistic client, and hit Mr. Kinsey by accident.

Enter Thomas Matthews, a retired local resident who spends most days sitting outside with his binoculars filled a lot of gaps: The two officers armed themselves with rifles and were in the prone position covering Mr. Kinsey and his client. Mr. Mathews used his binoculars to see what the autistic man had in his hands and saw a toy truck. Mr. Matthews tried to tell another police officer that it was a toy truck, but was ignored.

The officer who fired three rounds from a prone position with a rifle and missed his supposed target was a member of the department’s SWAT team.

The police department should just throw as much money as they and their insurance company can afford at Mr. Kinsey and hope it is enough.

Albertville to Saint-Gervais

Distance: 146 kilometers.

A mountain stage in the Alps with four climbs. The first is a Cat 1, Col de la Forclaz de Montmin, then a downhill to the start of the Cat2 Col de la Forclaz de Queige. They were the warm up for the HC Montée de Bisanne with a Cat 1 summit finish on Le Bettex. Lots of opportunities for break-aways, but not much chance of doing major damage to the General Classification.

Romain Bardet was the first French stage winner in this Tour and gained 2nd place by knocking 46 seconds off his deficit to Chris Froome. Quintana cut 10 seconds off his deficit and moved into 3rd. Froome crashed on the descent from Montée de Bisanne in the rain and finished on Geraint Thomas’s bike.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 82h 10′ 37″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 425 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 209 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 4 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 )
Combative: Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa ( POR – LAM – 151 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 11″
3 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 04′ 27″
4 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 04′ 46″
5 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 05′ 17″
6 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 06′ 00″
7 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 06′ 20″
8 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 07′ 02″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 07′ 10″
10 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 07′ 42″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

Sallanches to Megève

Distance: 17 kilometers.

An uphill time trial – how evil can they get? About 4 kilometers of level road at the start, then climbing for over 10 kilometers, before a slight downhill to the finish.

Chris Froome showed the form that keeps him in the Yellow Jersey by winning the stage and increasing his lead by over a minute. It is going to take a lot of hard work and luck to make up time on Froome in the remaining stages.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 77h 55′ 53″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 425 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 173 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 03′ 52″
3 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 04′ 16″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 04′ 37″
5 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 57″
6 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 05′ 00″
7 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 06′ 08″
8 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 06′ 37″
9 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 07′ 15″
10 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 07′ 18″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

Bern to Finhaut-Emosson

Distance: 184.5 kilometers.

A mountain stage in the Swiss Alps. A pair of Cat 3s, Côte de Saanenmöser and Col des Mosses, warm up everyones legs for the ending: Cat 1 Col de la Forclaz and the HC summit finish at Finhaut-Emosson.

Ilnur Zakarin won his first Tour stage as the General Classification riders rode a very conservative race. Chris Froome managed to pad his lead.

Mark Cavendish chose to leave the Tour to prepare for the Rio Olympics, assuming they will still be held.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 77h 25′ 10″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 425 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 173 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Ilnur Zakarin ( RUS – KAT – 149 )
Combative: Jarlinson Pantano ( COL – IAM – 079 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 02′ 27″
3 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 02′ 53″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 03′ 27″
5 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 15″
6 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 04′ 27″
7 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 05′ 19″
8 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 05′ 35″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 05′ 50″
10 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 06′ 07″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

On July the 7th I noted that as a result of the efforts of several people we had a 30-year-old piece of software up and working out in California. Then over the weekend M$ updated Windows 10 and rebooted which turned the box into a brick.

The client was torqued and wants the Win 10 machine retroed to Win XP. In order to do that you have to update the BIOS to a version that permits you to disable secure booting so you can boot off of a CD/DVD or flash drive. I noticed that the newest BIOS version came with installers for DOS, Windows, and Linux. This computer shipped with Windows 10.

My own Win 10 box is even flakier after the weekend. I have my original Win 7 Pro CD and will be using it if something ‘magical’ doesn’t happen soon.

Moirans-en-Montagne to Bern

Distance: 209 kilometers.

Officially this is a sprint stage, but the profile is a bit hilly and there is the Cat 4 Côte de Mühleberg before the cobblestones of Bern. Dry cobblestones are a bit iffy, but wet ones are a definite hazard to rider and bikes.

Peter Sagan took his third stage win, but it required some high tech equipment to decide and he thought he was second to Alexander Kristoff. The picture on the web looks like a tie.

Tomorrow is a rest day before the Alps.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 72h 40′ 38″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 405 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 127 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 )
Combative: Julian Alaphilippe ( FRA – EQS – 182 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 01′ 47″
3 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 02′ 45″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 59″
5 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 03′ 17″
6 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 04″
7 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 04′ 27″
8 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 04′ 47″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 05′ 03″
10 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 05′ 16″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz

Distance: 160 kilometers.

Officially this is a mountain stage – no doubt about that. Cat 1 Col du Berthiand, Cat 2 Col du Sappel, Cat 3 Col de Pisseloup, Cat 3 Col de la Rochette, HC Grand Colombier and Cat 1 Lacets du Grand Colombier. This is not a kind stage.

The Colombian, Jarlinson Pantano, won the stage and Rafal Majka took back the polka Dots, but the leaders played it safe and moved as a pack.

It is odd that we haven’t had a French, Spanish, or Italian stage winner yet.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 68h 14′ 36″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 340 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 127 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Jarlinson Pantano ( COL – IAM – 079 )
Combative: Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 01′ 47″
3 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 02′ 45″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 59″
5 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 03′ 17″
6 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 04″
7 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 04′ 27″
8 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 04′ 47″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 05′ 03″
10 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 05′ 16″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

The Harper government left a surprise for Trudeau: the new payroll system doesn’t work

Speaking to CBC’s Ontario Today, Rosanna Di Paola, the associate assistant deputy minister responsible for Phoenix explained that the problem lay not in any technical flaw with the automated system, but in the flow of data that’s being fed into it.

The problem, Di Paola explained, is procedural, not technical. “The system is working.”

But for scores of public servants, the system is not working. It’s failed them completely.

You do not go live with anything as major as your payroll system until you are absolutely certain that the people inputting the data, actually know how to do it. GIGO!

You don’t use the people who wrote the code to test a system, you get the people who are going to be using it to test the system.

The system has not produced a proper payroll for months, so the system most definitely isn’t working!

Apollo 11

Commander:

Neil A. Armstrong

Pilot: Columbia Command Module

Michael Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Pilot: Eagle Lunar Module

Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., Colonel, USAF

Launched: 16 July 1969 UT 13:32:00 (08:32:00 CDT)

Landed on Moon: 20 July 1969 UT 20:17:40 (15:17:40 CDT)

Landing Site: Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility (0.67 N, 23.47 E)

Returned to Earth: 24 July 1969 UT 16:50:35 (11:50:35 CDT)