A book about THE oldest existing working-artist's studio (40 years and counting) in quite possibly the oldest surviving artist enclave in the United States!

Extra thanks for continued efforts helping us avoid a situation such as illustrated in this South Park video clip:

It is midterm summer, so the newest round of pretend "artists" are finished making trouble for the local economy and are now blasting off to their next adventure where they will continue adding to the trope of an "arts community" without artists.

Maybe one of them will succeed at turning their life around and qualify for the Sugar Loaf University
PhD Program in Studio Arts.

Everybody else buckle down and get ready for the next onslaught, in which fresh arrivals will again fail at becoming the new boss same as the old boss.

Why do startups always assume we are idiots (and broke) then refuse to listen to how they could get rich beyond their wildest dreams (like the rest of us) by just doing the right thing, following three simple steps:

1) make it yourself
2) open studio to public
3) keep full time hours

Maybe Botanical Rain will help them get it.

Mary, Strava sucks!

Well, not totally, but we now have more than enough objective data from our reliable repeatable source to confirm absolutely Strava (mostly) sucks ... at least in terms of precision training.

The on-bike data from your Queening of the Belching Widder segment today offered another clear confirmation.

The worst part of Strava is the bullshit wattage typically reported, and today was no different.

Usually Strava overstates wattage by 20 to 100 watts.

Such as for your last recorded Lake Station segment; the watts were calculated by Strava as 227 while your Powertap measured only 205.

The main thing to remember is that Strava "calculates" while Powertap "measures".

For your massive Queening today Strava reversed its standard nonsense by under calculating.

Strava calculated only 182 watts while your Powertap measured 223.

This is part of the reason you are going to eventually dust every other competitor on these segments.

They will be relying on bullshit data.

Fortunately for Cranky, she already saw the writing on the wall and has taken her ball and gone home.

Good riddance; she only ever won by using group rides and cheating anyway.

On the other hand Jocelyn seems to be doing it just right, so when the two of you get done with these segments the Queens will be unreachable for every other woman in the world ... pro or not.

Of course, you know we are still a long way from the days you could maintain a 7 minute effort at the level of Cat 3 (for MEN), but that goal is certainly retrievable, and will be surpassed!

That was an incredible improvement you showed me today on the FMS hurdle test.

As your next step for the Belching Widder and Wid's Dem segments, you will pin down your current spin cadence and make sure it is smooth, plus do some strength workouts.

We'll do the spin tests on Hicks in order to get your spin bursts back up to 180 rpm.

We'll do the strength work on Wid's Bel which was established for that purpose.

The fact that you were able to power up to 24 mph at the bottom of this doubly Queened hill implies that with just a little work and coming onto the hill at 24 instead of under 16 like today (plus a little work on your spin), you will power past the first bump (with a 125 rpm average cadence goal), and getting over the first bump with less effort will leave you a reserve for the next bump; then at the top of the first step of the double-step you will have extra power to re-pace ... and so on and so forth.

My prediction is that by attacking the turn a little faster (now that you saw the site distance is much better than expected), you should minimally be able to take 5 seconds off Wid's Dem and 10 seconds off Belching Widder all in a single blow, and you could do it tomorrow morning if required.

But let's do a little spin and strength work first.

I am sorry I couldn't get out with you to watch your performance (and judge the smoothness of your spin), but somebody had to stay home and keep the studio open.

On the other hand, I fully understand why you had to run out on the spur of the moment to burn off the anxious energy after your successful two day effort completing that $4,000.00 custom watercolor job.

How 'bout buying me a fancy new bike with that quick down payment?

Ok, so Strava sucks for us, but it is about to start sucking a whole lot more for all those other riders (men included).

In any case, Powertap is also not without its problems which is attested by its missed recording of the 24 mph spin-up, despite your old Polar CPU showing it in real time as you tucked and started working.

I look forward to the day I find somebody who is actually using power meters for serious training, so I remain open to suggestion and maybe you're the one.

What are all those strands of ride loops called?

You never know when you're gonna step on a sticky one, get stung, and 'eht.

Here is why (as for my religion) that I am a proud Edu-byterian, or possibly an Episcollegian.

Yesterday while looking for running psych-ups, I ran across this study maxim.

"Don't study until you get it right. Study until you can't get it wrong."

Thanks to Sugar Loaf I had forgotten that I'm not the only person in the world who knows this stuff.

During your transition from athlete to academician (it's all the same thing), you might keep in mind:

"Don't train until you win. Train until you can't lose."

It's hot and humid like I love it (an odd September 90°), so I'm hitting the trails in Goosepond and running the 4 mile course with rock scramble.

Once we began getting a handle on the true meaning of cadence, torque, and watts as it relates to power (speed), 99.9% of the old paperwork was merely an exercise to keep you focused and thinking rationally (productively) about your rides.

All together the process gave you insight into performance results that otherwise would appear to be totally random.

You may not have enjoyed the paperwork, but it was like the requirement of being open every day and putting up with assholes in order to sell your paintings.

If you stopped riding because of it that is unfortunate [I'm sure it was the compartment syndrome that put you out]; but, if you want to continue beating those who refuse to do such work plus are ignorant of the true function of cadence, torque, and watts even if they do, you will resume logging your rides.

It should be easier now that we can add what we know to the fairly solid data summaries taken from the rides of others.

Though STRAVA data is hopelessly flawed by imprecision, tracking segment results will at least get rid of any residual "Oh my god, they have gotten so fast, and I am so old!" bullshit excuses.

We will focus on only one segment at a time.

It will drive them crazy.

Bring the old log sheets upstairs, and I will work through them to give you an updated simplified tracking shorthand.

Never get on your bike without a goal and a plan.

And after taking only one Queen of the Mountain while posting in the top three of several others plus beating numerous men (again).

Not to mention continuing to hold top honors on Kain!

Widder has finally recovered from her last injury (compartment syndrome triggered by a 10+ mile pace for 4 miles in Goosepond in deep snow), so she's back in business.

First on the docket is beating her current Kain STRAVA time of 7:53, just to make sure she doesn't get bumped off her 2nd spot for Kain Climb Queen of the Mountain.

She's been working on Kain repeats, and thanks to seeing Greg Tsoucalis out on the course (and some other but unknown rider) she is invigorated and raring to go.

Although I have no love for computers and digital technology, I am very much aware there are millions of people who would kill to have the same opportunity that I have had to own the tools and time to build the websites and processes that you have given me the opportunity to construct ... and in that way express my ideas about community and human potential by publishing them as functional illustrative concrete first hand examples.

I never lose sight of my fortune.

Thanks. -b

I've been riding for only 3 years, but I'm still in my 30s, so maybe I'll be fast when I'm your age.

2 questions:

1. dead spot myth. Trying spinning crystals, both legs slow down at 12 o clock. Question is: why does this really matter? When one leg is at 12 my other leg is at 6 and pulling backwards, which will push the other forward through 12 o clock.

2. estimated watts.
Right now I can't afford a power meter, I've been using my phone GPS and Strava, and using the power estimates Strava does to compare wattage after I ride. Curious if you have used Strava and compared to the real deal power meters, and if it is accurate.

Nobody using a real power meter has ever needed to ask a question about the book.

A couple of moments with valid, immediate, reliable feedback regarding perceived exertion versus actual power output, and it is all just too, too simple and obvious.

I can remember when the first CD recorders cost $85,000; and, considering the advantage, I almost bought one for my recording studio.

Just as I started to write the check, I noticed the price had dropped $5,000 in less than two months, so I decided, "Well, maybe give it a couple more months. I mean laser printers are already supposed to be dropping under 5k soon, so who knows?"

A few years later every new laptop computer came with a Red Book compliant recordable CD already installed ... almost for free.

I expected the same price drop would be true for power meters, and that by now they would be cheap standard equipment on every bicycle sold ... considering the advantage.

I have stopped holding my breath waiting for that day to arrive.

In any case, why would you not want to have both legs totally involved and doing the best they can at every point in your stroke, much less adding resistance with one that must be overcome by the other?

I hope you are not just trolling me ... : )

After you wrote in the Cycling Performance Simplified forum I have been pleased to see you returning to check info and use the calculator, so being more comfortable that you are not just trolling me, here is some unfinished business for this project that you might like to investigate yourself.

Whereas I have confirmed numerous times that a 20 mph pace is less than the effort required to pick a full cycling water bottle off the floor and place it on a table, I never acheived a baseline 200 watts for 20 mph on a loop outside.

Though it has been obvious that stop and go is the problem, not the hills.

I came very close, but blew out my hip from too many rides too close in a row, while not understanding the dysfunction of my hip.

My hip is now much better, but in the meantime I am now too fat and out of shape to begin the testing again.

Also, I was trying to do it on our Saturday fast ride course which is 36 miles with lots of odd aggravating intersections with traffic, so I had dropped back to a shorter time trial course of 8 miles, but only realized after my hip failed that the shorter course actually has more intersection turns, so the percentage of stop/go was actually far greater than for the longer course.

All of which points to the major calculation I was trying to approach but also never confirmed.

Here is the question.

For a given number of watts which will of course reslove to a given speed (all things considered), how long does it take to acheive terminal velocity?

The useful extension of that calculation will provide insight to the real problem with the 200 watt / 20 mph loop.

What is the minimal amount of "over wattage" that will be required at intersections to recover pace?

More or less, of course, not an ultra-precise absolute; just an easy to remember rule of thumb.

Thanks for using the book, and I hope your cycling is progressing as you would like (ok impossible, but at least progressing then).

I recently accepted the position of Assistant General Counsel and chief litigation attorney for the Florida Department of State. Our offices just happen to be in the R.A. Gray building that houses the Museum of Florida History. They actually let us choose artwork for our offices from the paintings that are not currently being used by the museum, but – thanks to Aunt Mary – I didn't need the help.

The picture shows what I see when I sit at my desk. So Mary's paintings are still my 'happy place'.

Endico paintings
special arrangement

BTW, getting back to our much earlier discussion about 'walking yourself well' I have continued to improve so much in my back, neck, knees, etc., that I have taken up backpacking again. Since June I have walked over 80 miles on the Appalachian Trail with a full pack. With zero neck, back or knee issues. It's like a freakin' miracle as I had pretty much given up backpacking for life. I just got back from an overnighter on the AT with my middle son and his wife (the one getting a doctorate in physical therapy) and their trail dog (see pic). We did 27.3 miles, most of it in the rain, and had a blast. The picture is from the second day on the lookout tower on top of Wayah Bald in North Carolina.

Wayah Bald
special people

Anyway, just wanted to check in with you and let you know what Mary's paintings have been up to here in Tallahassee.

Take care.

D. Fugett

You keep hanging out with those people.

One of the women we walk our dog with in the local parks has been winning her age group in races and just placed 4th for her age and 167 overall in her first 1/2 Marathon of 1500 people ... she left it up to us to calculate how many men she beat because she's "not competitive".

A while back she was telling me how she was doing one legged stiff-legged deadlifts and I tried one ... couldn't come close with my left.

"Hmmm," thought I and began trying one every time I picked up the dog's stick during park walks.

Eventually I expanded what was learned into climbing and descending stairs with groceries, standing up from chairs, and the toilet etc.

Long story short my left hip is like a new creature, and I can now feel this big puffy pillow (which is my ass and gluteus medius) catch my hip like a giant cupped hand and stop it from escaping to the left.

I never even knew there were muscles there before ... didn't know I was trying to hold my hip stable with my knee (small muscles on the wrong end of the lever do not do the job; just makes you wonder why a nail gun keeps hitting your knee in random spots periodically).

The new hip strength has given me a whole new more balanced standing position on my bike for hills ... stretch high and lightly toss my handle bars left and right.

Plus I have made inroads stopping my right hip rotating forward while riding seated.

And your cousin, John Mitchell, reports he avoids driving anywhere that he can ride his bike, and he was just not too long ago sitting in the canopy somewhere down in the Amazon after rope climbing up and into it with some friends.

Hearing all this stuff makes my life more or less complete!

If it is ok, I will drop your email (with name) into a few of my Forums.

BTW: Couple weeks ago Mary sold $14,000 worth of paintings in five days to random people who walked into her studio, so she has become extra feisty on her bicycle.

On the other hand, those sales are going to pale in comparison to her excitement seeing your more than perfect display of her work that you have crafted (or your wife did if memory serves) ... not to mention the story.

WOW!

-b

Now, put down your keyboard and get out on your bike.

Or as the great Twin Lynn once put it so perfectly, "Just as hard as you can push ... forever!"

It more or less boils down to your 1hr-Time Trial effort which I like to test by doing an actual 1hr-TT.

Once in a very great while this website does have to be all about Mary.

I know you had your doubts yesterday! But Wilma and I completed all our chores today. Maybe everything did not go where first planned. But, I am extremely happy with the results.

Endico painting
#6549

Since I took one of your favorites yesterday, I will start with that.

The sea is now just a small left turn of my head from my special spot on the couch. Never far out of sight….I consider this spot my home office……it is where I sit every day relaxing. NOW I have something special to look at other than a blank wall….

Endico paintings
#5782 & #6439

I rearranged a bit….this is the new look in the alcove to my bathroom…

Endico paintings
#2312, #6313, #664,
#6312, #5863

This is the new look in the bedroom….hard to take a picture with the shadows and glare from the sun coming in but…I love the new look.

Endico painting #6006

Lastly, the last item was put in the dinning area!!! The only problem is that it looks lonely. I will have to seek friends for this piece during our next visit!!!!

Hope you had a wonderful Happy 4th of July. See you soon.

Maggie
Sent
from my iPad

Actually, it was 2, or 3, or 4, or more, but who's counting?

"Open for Business" is not an adjective; it is a directive.

It means you must open if you want to do business.

Below is my edit of one of your website pages as a thank you for the house call.

A copy/paste of your current web page is on the left, and my suggested changes are on the right.

Hopefully, you can quickly copy/paste the changes to your website and get immediately back to the real job of doctoring patients.

Thanks again for the house call ... very uncommon these days.

So what do you say kids?

Have we all found our new primary care physician, or what?

Don't forget to ask Dr. Johnson about his new local currency based on a concept out of Cornell which for some time has been making the rounds in Ithaca.

Here in Sugar Loaf, NY we call the doctor's local currency SugarCoin.

You are an ecosystem. Microbes make up 90% of the cells of our body We share our bodies with 100 trillion microbes, living on our tongues, teeth and skin and in our intestine. While we have just over 20,000 human genes; our microbes have eight million. These microbes are quite small, with all 100 trillion weighing only 3 to 4 pounds in total, but, working together, they exert powerful effects. Modifications to our diet (with pesticides and antibiotics) and our environment (chemicals and unnatural hygiene levels) change our microbes.How are you caring for the ecosystem that is you?

This ecosystem develops right from birth. Infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria acquired from the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants. In one study infants were classified as excessive criers, significantly less frequently when randomized to receive prebiotic and probiotic instead of a placebo (19% vs 19% vs 47%, respectively; P = .02). In another study infants randomized to receive probiotics had NO Autism or ADHD at age 13, while the rates were 17% in those not given the probiotics. Perhaps the reductions in infantile colic, allowed better brain development.

The right balance of microbes is essential to good health and digestion. Obese and lean individuals have different gut flora composition. Obesity is associated with alterations in bacterial gut microbiota, with mainly a reduction in Bacteroidetes. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium may have a critical role in weight regulation. Odds of being overweight adults are 26% higher for C-section babies, possibly because they miss those healthy birth canal microbes.

Microbes are important in training our immune system on what to attack and what not to. Many of the diseases of modern life are caused by our own immune system attacking our body, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to diverse microbes can be protective. Autoimmune diseases like asthma, hay fever, Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis are much less common in the developing world and in children raised on farms or in large families. In contrast, asthma and hay fever rates are increased both in cities and in children given early antibiotics. The hygiene hypothesis says we need more exposure to the outdoors and dirt.

Antibiotics are a great innovation and continue to save countless live when used appropriately. Unfortunately, antibiotics target not only the harmful bacteria. When bacteria in our intestines are disturbed by antibiotics, a common side effect is diarrhea. One way to limit side effects and prevent a resistant organism is to be sure to take a probiotic whenever you take an antibiotic. Probiotics are available in pill form and in food. Another key is limiting antibiotic overuse both in human medicine and in livestock. Many factory farms rely heavily on antibiotics. Using antibiotics for viral illness like the common cold doesn’t help, but can upset your protective microbial ecosystem.

We are only just beginning to understand the complex working of our microbes. But this much seems clear — the healthiest microbes are grown when the major ingredient in our diet is a diverse array of unprocessed plants and fermented foods. Eat a colorful array of vegetables and grow your healthy ecosystem. I love the benefits of technology and am not heading back to full paleo living. But please pass the sauerkraut, yogurt and miso soup. They come with healthy bacteria and help tend my inner garden.

Nathan Johnson, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician

You might not have thought of it before, but you are an ecosystem.

Microbes make up 90% of the cells of your body.

Each of us shares our body with 100 trillion microbes living on our tongues, our teeth and skin, and in our intestine.

While we humans have just over 20,000 genes, our microbes have eight million.

These microbes are quite small with all 100 trillion of them weighing only 3 to 4 pounds in total.

Working together, however, they exert a powerful influence on our health and well being.

Modifications to our diet (with pesticides and antibiotics) and to our environment (chemicals and unnatural hygiene levels) change our microbes.

Which begs the question, "How are you caring for the ecosystem that is you?"

Consider this.

The ecosystem that is you develops right from birth, and infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria acquired from the vaginal canal at birth are more common in colic-free infants.

In one study it was found that the number of infants classified as excessive criers was significantly less among those randomized to receive prebiotic or probiotic instead of a placebo (19% and 19% vs 47% respectively; P = .02).

[Double, triple, quadruple check the changes I made to the previous paragraph. Plus, does P stand for range of assumed statistical error +/-?]

06/29/15: Dr. Dog replies - P stands for the probability that the difference is due to chance. So the 'P = 0.02' means there is only a 2% chance the results were due to chance rather than the effects of the probiotic. Generally a P less than 5% is considered significant. It is probably fine to leave P out of the article for a general audience.

And Bob (me) counter replies - Due to the fact that generally there ain't no audience on the three sites where I posted this edit, I'm leaving the P here as generally of great interest to my highly not so general audience while Dr. Dog will of course be wise to drop it from his own.

Everybody continue reading with my apologies for the green and orange text.

In another study infants randomized to receive probiotics had absolutely NO Autism or ADHD at age 13, while the rates were 17% in those not given the probiotics.

Perhaps the reductions in infantile colic allowed better brain development.

Additionally the correct balance of microbes is essential to good health and digestion.

Obese and lean individuals have differing compositions of gut flora.

Obesity is associated with alterations in bacterial gut microbiota — mainly a reduction in Bacteroidetes.

Levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium may have a critical role in weight regulation.

Odds of becoming an overweight adult are 26% higher for C-section babies, possibly because they miss those healthy birth canal microbes.

Microbes are important in training our immune system on what to attack and what not to attack.

Many diseases of modern life are caused by our body being attacked by its own immune system, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to diverse microbes can be protective.

Autoimmune diseases like asthma, hay fever, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis are much less common in the developing world and in children raised on farms or in large families.

In contrast, asthma and hay fever rates are increased both among people living in cities and in children who are given early antibiotics.

One theory called the hygiene hypothesis says we need more exposure to the outdoors and dirt.

Antibiotics are a great innovation and continue to save countless lives when used appropriately, but unfortunately antibiotics target not only the harmful bacteria but our good bacteria as well.

When bacteria in our intestines are disturbed by antibiotics, a common side effect is diarrhea.

One way to limit side effects while helping prevent antibotic resistant organisms is to be sure to take a probiotic whenever you take an antibiotic.

Probiotics are available both in pill form and in food.

Another key to preventing antibiotic organisms is limiting antibiotic overuse both in human medicine and in livestock.

Using antibiotics for viral illnesses like the common cold doesn’t help, but it can upset your protective microbial ecosystem.

Many factory farms rely heavily on antibiotics being given to their livestock, and those antibiotics are passed on to people through the food they eat.

We are only just beginning to understand the complex working of our microbes.

However, this much seems clear: the healthiest microbes are grown when the major ingredient in our diet is a diverse array of unprocessed plants and fermented foods.

Eat a colorful array of vegetables in order to grow your healthy ecosystem.

Personally I love the benefits of technology and am not heading back to full paleo living.

But please pass the sauerkraut, yogurt, and miso soup.

They come complete with healthy bacteria and help tend my inner garden.

Nathan Johnson, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician

You are an ecosystem. Microbes make up 90% of the cells of our body We share our bodies with 100 trillion microbes, living on our tongues, teeth and skin and in our intestine. While we have just over 20,000 human genes; our microbes have eight million. These microbes are quite small, with all 100 trillion weighing only 3 to 4 pounds in total, but, working together, they exert powerful effects. Modifications to our diet (with pesticides and antibiotics) and our environment (chemicals and unnatural hygiene levels) change our microbes.How are you caring for the ecosystem that is you?

This ecosystem develops right from birth. Infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria acquired from the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants. In one study infants were classified as excessive criers, significantly less frequently when randomized to receive prebiotic and probiotic instead of a placebo (19% vs 19% vs 47%, respectively; P = .02). In another study infants randomized to receive probiotics had NO Autism or ADHD at age 13, while the rates were 17% in those not given the probiotics. Perhaps the reductions in infantile colic, allowed better brain development.

The right balance of microbes is essential to good health and digestion. Obese and lean individuals have different gut flora composition. Obesity is associated with alterations in bacterial gut microbiota, with mainly a reduction in Bacteroidetes. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium may have a critical role in weight regulation. Odds of being overweight adults are 26% higher for C-section babies, possibly because they miss those healthy birth canal microbes.

Microbes are important in training our immune system on what to attack and what not to. Many of the diseases of modern life are caused by our own immune system attacking our body, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to diverse microbes can be protective. Autoimmune diseases like asthma, hay fever, Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis are much less common in the developing world and in children raised on farms or in large families. In contrast, asthma and hay fever rates are increased both in cities and in children given early antibiotics. The hygiene hypothesis says we need more exposure to the outdoors and dirt.

Antibiotics are a great innovation and continue to save countless live when used appropriately. Unfortunately, antibiotics target not only the harmful bacteria. When bacteria in our intestines are disturbed by antibiotics, a common side effect is diarrhea. One way to limit side effects and prevent a resistant organism is to be sure to take a probiotic whenever you take an antibiotic. Probiotics are available in pill form and in food. Another key is limiting antibiotic overuse both in human medicine and in livestock. Many factory farms rely heavily on antibiotics. Using antibiotics for viral illness like the common cold doesn’t help, but can upset your protective microbial ecosystem.

We are only just beginning to understand the complex working of our microbes. But this much seems clear — the healthiest microbes are grown when the major ingredient in our diet is a diverse array of unprocessed plants and fermented foods. Eat a colorful array of vegetables and grow your healthy ecosystem. I love the benefits of technology and am not heading back to full paleo living. But please pass the sauerkraut, yogurt and miso soup. They come with healthy bacteria and help tend my inner garden.

Nathan Johnson, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician

You are an ecosystem. Microbes make up 90% of the cells of our body. Each of us shares our body with 100 trillion microbes, living on our tongues, our teeth and skin, and in our intestine. While we have just over 20,000 human genes, our microbes have eight million. These microbes are quite small, with all 100 trillion weighing only 3 to 4 pounds in total; but, working together, they exert powerful effects. Modifications to our diet (with pesticides and antibiotics) and our environment (chemicals and unnatural hygiene levels) change our microbes. How are you caring for the ecosystem that is you?

This ecosystem develops right from birth. Infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria acquired from the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants. In one study infants were classified as excessive criers significantly less frequently when randomized to receive prebiotic and probiotic instead of a placebo (19% and 19% vs 47% respectively; P = .02). [what does P stand for?] In another study infants randomized to receive probiotics had NO Autism or ADHD at age 13, while the rates were 17% in those not given the probiotics. Perhaps the reductions in infantile colic, allowed better brain development.

The correct balance of microbes is essential to good health and digestion. Obese and lean individuals have different gut flora composition. Obesity is associated with alterations in bacterial gut microbiota — mainly a reduction in Bacteroidetes. Levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium may have a critical role in weight regulation. Odds of becoming overweight adults are 26% higher for C-section babies, possibly because they miss those healthy birth canal microbes.

Microbes are important in training our immune system on what to attack and what not to. Many of the diseases of modern life are caused by our own immune system attacking our body, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to diverse microbes can be protective.

Autoimmune diseases like asthma, hay fever, Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis are much less common in the developing world and in children raised on farms or in large families. In contrast, asthma and hay fever rates are increased both in cities and in children given early antibiotics. The hygiene hypothesis says we need more exposure to the outdoors and dirt.

Antibiotics are a great innovation and continue to save countless lives when used appropriately, but unfortunately antibiotics target not only the harmful bacteria.

When bacteria in our intestines are disturbed by antibiotics, a common side effect is diarrhea. One way to limit side effects and prevent a resistant organism is to be sure to take a probiotic whenever you take an antibiotic. Probiotics are available in pill form and in food. Another key is limiting antibiotic overuse both in human medicine and in livestock. Many factory farms rely heavily on antibiotics. Using antibiotics for viral illness like the common cold doesn’t help, but they can upset your protective microbial ecosystem.

We are only just beginning to understand the complex working of our microbes. But this much seems clear — the healthiest microbes are grown when the major ingredient in our diet is a diverse array of unprocessed plants and fermented foods. Eat a colorful array of vegetables and grow your healthy ecosystem. I love the benefits of technology and am not heading back to full paleo living. But please pass the sauerkraut, yogurt and miso soup. They come with healthy bacteria and help tend my inner garden.

Nathan Johnson, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician

Greetings from the Czech republic.

I read Cycling Performance Simplified a few years ago, and I have wanted to read it again, but I could not open the link.

There is a redirect to the following page ███, which is empty.

Is it possible to read your material again?

Regards,
Krystof

Thanks for the heads-up.

It seems a recent server upgrade broke some of my code.

I did some maintenance with a quick check, and it appears everything is back to normal.

Thanks again for the help.
Bob

06/20/15 update: Today noted somebody still experienced problem viewing Power Calculator Explained page, now fixed. Will keep reviewing logs and fixing errors.

He told me to post here in the Chatterbox (in case you get here before he gets home) in order to confirm you can stop by Endico Watercolors in Sugar Loaf to pick up your free copy of Egoscue with his How-To notes.

After 3 hours or so, I can really feel some discomfort that lasts for a day.

Do you think it is a breaking in period for my lazy ass or maybe seat adjustment?

One of our local bike shops keeps a big garbage can size wire bin full of used saddles of all sorts just so people can borrow them to try out.

Just rummage through the bin, bring it back and grab another when it doesn't help.

I have heard lots of group discussions about saddles, and when somebody decides one feels better, everybody tries it till it doesn't.

Try bike shorts and a race style hard saddle while avoiding the intuitive choice of a big cushy saddle because once your weight is on them, all saddles compress down to hard, and the big cushy ones just bunch up putting hard compressed surfaces in places you might not like.

There is a little toughening up period, but I think a lot of that consists of your glutes and upper hams building mass and strength to hold you off the bones and taint.

Get in the habit of standing for awhile periodically.

That is easier for us to remember hereabouts because of standing on hills, but on the flats in Florida we just had to remember to get out of the saddle.

Once you get your clips you are going to love standing up and "running" in the pedals.

And yes you are definitely going to forget to clip out and fall over at a few stops.

I have even given people extended lessons learning to clip out each foot from the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions ... they still fall eventually ... never get hurt ... just embarrassed ... despite every person around them having done it themselves a few dozen times.

Now for the good stuff.

You might want to keep track of what's going on with your nether parts because the place that can really get damaged doesn't have a lot of nerves due to being in places usually protected by massive sensitivity around them.

Humans haven't had millions enough of years to develop protective sensations to bike saddles hitting odd places.

I personally have lost all feeling on part of my right gonad, and my previously porn star grade erection is now more human sized, somewhat stilted and bent (and no, I'm not just old).

On the odd occasion I care enough to have an actual ejaculation, it burns like hell for a few seconds afterwards (less significantly of late).

When I first noticed it a decade ago, I thought it was temporary and would go away if I backed off the miles in the saddle.

My current theory is that I compromised a nerve somewhere and some soft spongy tissue somewhere else and crushed a delivery tube some other where else.

Good thing for me I am too old to give a shit about it.

Good thing for you you've got an uncle who will tell you these things.

Actually I guess it is up to you to decide how much of too much information is really way too much information.

Would I do it all again?

'prolly.

Maybe wouldn't tell you about it though. -b

Ok, I'm going to say this one time, and one time only.

Dr. Art

Here's a photo for the aesthetically minded.

Dr. Art

Peak Performance Chiropractic

In fact the only reason I am able to say it once, (never mind more times if I wanted), is very specifically because of Dr. Art.

And no I didn't just say it again because this time there was no web link, and everybody knows nothing is ever truly said unless there is a web link, so the record will show I said it once and only once.

I will explain knowing it will mean my revealing some very private and damaging information.

So be it.

Yesterday I was running in Goose Pond, preparing for the first Tuesday in April when I will be showing up uninvited to the Tuesday night ride and kicking Steve Jinks' ass.

I have been working on the project for 5 weeks, and all the data shows I am still on track: 1) my weight is down and getting downer, 2) left hip right and getting righter, 3) watts upper and upper.

My training spreadsheet confirms ETA for the Jinks' whupping is unchanged.

I maintain a fervent Fuck You Fondo Fever.

Except near the end of the 4 mile Goosepond loop things went awry.

Joe Straub rightly attests how that old steep and pocked marked washed out country road gets icy in Winter, but I was staying off the blacktop and running on the leaves and debris along the side.

With my Yaktrax snow cleats on, I was still taking extra precautions on the icy sections I could not avoid.

One of those spots was at the bottom of the next to last hill, just as the road flattens beside the open grassy moguls like field.

Due to the pitch in the road, and the deep frozen washout gutter, I found myself drifting to the left so followed necessity on over to the left.

Big sigh of relief as I settled into the hard smooth ice trough.

I pulled my stopwatch out of its little chest pocket and congratulated myself on a great run in the making when my left cleat rubber banded off my shoe and plopped 3 yards behind.

I thought, "Shit, I'm going to have to go back for it, just as soon as I can come to a ..."

Went down real hard backwards onto my elbow which gave me enough pain to prompt, "Great, now a broken arm. Bet Jinks is going to be real happy about this."

It wasn't until later that evening, when I started some work on the computer, that I realized the real problem was my left wrist.

I could barely type, and things were getting logarithmically worse, like pushing harder and harder into a strengthening headwind.

"Oh great, my arm is ok, but I broke my wrist!? This must be Jinks lucky year."

But that is enough writing in this column.

Everybody go over to the right side column and pretend that is me still writing.

You do want to know what Dr. Art did for me, right?

Well I don't know either, didn't count them, but there sure were a lot in a very short moment.

Otherwise, like I said, I didn't consider the wrist that I had landed on before slapping onto my elbow ... until later in the evening when I tried typing but couldn't.

Immediately I remembered what Widder said of her broken finger after sliding under the guard rail on Pulaski Highway, "I'm ok, really, it doesn't hurt," to which I replied, "Ok, if that's true, where is your knuckle?" and off we went, to Urgent Care.

I also remembered years ago how my broken collar bone only felt like I pulled a muscle, until people were looking at me like they had seen a ghost, so I took a look at my shoulder and found it down around my waist, so off to Urgent Care.

Therefore not wanting to sound stupid later, I took my untyping hand and got in the car, went to Middletown, and found Urgent Care was closed.

On the way home I was thinking how good that was, because I really did not want another round of medical cat and mouse, where nobody will offer even a guesstimate opinion without seven appointments and a roomful of massive equipment covering their ass while charging the government inflated prices (read: health insurance companies) for use of their system.

An hour or so later, things had improved greatly, and in the morning more greatly still, so I begunst to thinking.

I was wishing I had somebody to talk to about it, someone who knows something about some things, maybe even has seen a broken bone or two; you know, somebody like a combat medic (get me back in the war) or ... better still, DR. ART! [Again, no link, no harm, no foul, still mentioned one time and one time only.]

Of course I knew a lot of people would call me daft while telling me that I really needed to have an x-ray (from a big expensive machine), in order to be sure, not a mere chiropractor.

Now get this.

I hurried over to Dr. Art's (no link), and not only did he take a look at it, palpate it, ruminate and ask me questions, he put a tuning fork on it, testing several spots.

A TUNING FORK!

Turns out the peritoneum (sheathing) around a broken bone really hates being touched by a tuning fork, and it will bite you real hard (feels like a bee sting) if the bone it wraps is fractured.

Who knew?

Well, it was a pretty big tuning fork, so maybe big equipment will have to be acknowledged.

As an aside, I should mention that the fork was tuned to just below middle C.

I would say it was around 256 Hz, because in addition to my eidetic memory, visionary genius, and legendary business savvy (at least as pertains to foot traffic in Sugar Loaf), I also have greater than perfect pitch hearing wherein I can distinguish not only specific note values but all the microtones in between the notes.

So yes, it was 256 Hz (hum it), and Middle C is just slightly above at 261.6 Hz (hum it or look it up).

Probably somebody has already taken this very simple reality of the human body's response to an easily observable physical phenomenon and made some quasi-religious crystal type scam addition to an ongoing grift, imbuing the whole thing with magic powers beyond human understanding, all based on a tiny surprising grain of truth.

Guess that means (to make sure you know where the true knowledge is) I am going to have to say it again, despite my promise to say it just one time and one time only.

Dr. Art

Dr. Art

Peak Performance Chiropractic

Whoops, I almost forgot: the wrist is not broken (sorry Jinks), and recently Dr. Art used the same diagnostic technique on his very own daughter to find out her finger actually was broken ... but then, she is involved in real athletics, not the easy, pretend, only goal is to kick Jinks' ass kind.

And as for this writing, if Dr. Art had not so accurately tested and assured me that my wrist was not broken, I would be sorely put to endure the recuperative pain of typing, nor without Dr. Art's help in the past (with my back, knee, etc) neither could I be so certain of kicking Jinks' ass this Spring (along with all those other Tuesday night losers).

I did get to your site and listen to some of your tracks.

I like them; I got a sense of interlacing threads going in and out of each other and coloring everything (kind of like an audio painting).

Bike riders are usually in great shape (you'd have to be to pedal all those miles).

I generally walk miles and miles with my Beagle for exercise, then hop on my motorcycle and head up into the mountains (and some twisty roads) ... not as healthy as a bike but lots of fun.

Waiting for my Djembe drum ... I might have a question or two once I get into it.

Talk to you soon,
Tom

I used to go with Mary to her watercolor lessons with Whitney because I realized his discussions about color, form, and composition applied equally well to music.

He was describing my inner vision of music.

It was great reinforcement.

Composition: paintings, sculpture, pottery, dance, music, gourds, photos, woodcarving, jewelry, glass, literature, historic architecture, motorcycles, deli sandwiches, etc ... it's all the same thing.

These days I describe myself as a master musician whose main instrument is the written word.

And my concert hall is the inside of people's heads.

I leave out the part about me being a next generation digital performance artist so that people can discover it for themselves.

Those who won't get it on their own, will certainly never get it just from my mentioning it.

Bob Fugett describes
2 motorcyclists' attack

The photo of me above is two years ago, before jump starting all the Sugar Loaf Guild stuff again.

Most recently, you saw me in a much diminished (temporary) state.

I won't be back in top shape by April, but it will be plenty enough to kick the group ride's asses.

If you would like to take your motorcycle on a favorite cyclist course, start in the middle of New Paltz, go up past Minnewaska, cut over using 209 to Catskill Park, go up the right side of Roundout Reservoir, and at the end make a quick right, left, another left and go up Furman Glade Hill Road, loop around and come back down the other side of the reservoir then retrace your steps to New Paltz.

Eighty miles round trip.

We call it "The Mission". -b

I was on the Guild site.

There's a lot going on there (I'll be back in a day or two).

Mary's site (and work) is fantastic ... her soul lives in those paintings!

You're right about my needing to put prices on my website.

Plus (as Mary) I too have a number of pieces that are in museum collections, so I should probably mention that on my website as well.

I'll probably update my site this Spring (with some new work and other things) prior to my one man show.

I'm glad you like the Sunbeam; we'll go for a top down ride after things warm up a little (if I can get you out of the studio for a bit).

Do you have a site with your music on it?

Talk to you on the flip side
Tom

Here is a question for you.

Do you know the technical term for a one man show that is fulltime, 24/7/365, totally self-directed, no outside intervention, completely self sustaining and self supporting (and very lucratively so), where adoring collectors from all over the world make regular traditional trips just to see what is new in your work and take some home to become family heirlooms of personal significance with one-of-a-kind intrinsic cultural value (not for resale), and all of this completed amidst the very specific environment where the work is being created while not stepping on the free flow of the process in the slightest?

Do you know the technical term for such a situation?

No?

Well, the term for that is "Sugar Loaf".

Welcome aboard.

I am surprised you didn't find my music via a Google search, but the currently rather orphaned official website is at:

fugettsound.com

I really have not added to that website in a long while, too much other exciting stuff to get done.

Unlikely that you'll be able to get me out for a car ride, but a bike ride is another story altogether, and by "bike" I mean "bicycle".

I am currently working on a project for the Spring in which I will show up for a Tuesday night group ride starting at Key Bank in Florida, NY and lay waste to the whole damned lot of them for about an hour and a half's worth of big steep hills.

I certainly could use some help, however, because cycling is as much a team sport as is football or basketball, though most regular folks don't know that.

As soon as the group knows what I am up to (my reputation alone will tip them off), they will work together trying to stop me.

They always do.

Actually, I will be able to beat them on my own (have done it many times), but if you would like to get in shape and geared up, I sure wouldn't mind a little helping hand.

Otherwise, looking forward to your big move into Sugar Loaf.

Get ready to become rich and famous, buddy.

Or in your particular case richer and famouser!

In our own super secret dog park, the mountain bikers have a crew that shows up en masse to maintain the trails.

That is why nobody got upset at the bikers for scaring a skittish rescue Pit Bull.

Follow up to that story: Bill said that when Daisy found and circled their group near the end of the top field then bolted, soon afterwards the mountain bikers came by hauling ass.

That means Daisy got spooked by them, started following her mom's scent back up the trail they had been travelling, and probably decided the mountain bikers (following the same trail) were chasing her.

Daisy's prior experience with people would have lent credence to that belief.

The world is full of people.

Some abuse dogs, some tend trails, and some whine about their businesses they only show up for part time while believing that "just passing along goods" is an acceptable business model (Sugar Loaf).

I prefer to spend my time out amongst the trail tending types.

My advice: follow the trails of tenders, not the tales of trenders.

Will we have timed descents at the Fuck You Fondo?

The above in response to Widder's private email copied below.

   On Sat, Dec 20, 2014 at 10:13 AM, Mary Endico wrote:

"Congratulations!

"You are now officially registered for Fuck You Fever 2015 (based on Fondo Fever 2014).

"Your registration fees are covered under your American Road Cycling membership!

"Don't let Jinks know SlingShot is coming after his ass."

You didn't really think Jinks was ever going to get caught timing an uphill, did you?

Your plan would probably be rational if not for the fact Slippery Jinks will be back by early April, and he always changes the Tuesday Key Bank ride to the mountainous course.

Just so you know.

Twin

We should probably move this discussion over to American Road Cycling.

In Canton did you notice this guy?

Went to my high school, and I always use him to point out what great coaches we had, because I am myself not the best example of their work.

My home town.

I had a personal best 800 watts on one of my Flightcheck benchmarks yesterday, so I will probably miss that bike (with you on it) more than you will.

Looks like the rain's over, so I better get out there before you show up with a new one.

Added to watch list, but probably will not be seen again.

Has anybody reported with a description of the page?

Thank you guys for a great day of hanging out and helping me to vent and reinvent.

So glad to hear that Bratty Girl is on the mend.

1.5 mil is a joke to your worth in Sugar Loaf.

P.S.: I have been known to be "Out standing!"

Everything's great for us, so you might be seeing us on the roads soon but unlikely you'll be catching us.

No need to rush getting race fit; you've got a whole two weeks of race season left.

Luke, I am your father.

Hint: The last time I checked in it was post tax season 2013.

I was checking to see if you were going to make it to the hump today, but I couldn't roll out of bed on time.

See you on the road.

Hope all is well!

That post would be:

I didn't do the Hump today (got kicked out of the club for non-responsiveness to bullshit) but did the Hump yesterday on my own and frayed a cable, so I just got back from The Bicycle Doctor who charged me almost nothing to fix it though I had to endure hearing Keith tell me my time yesterday would have been just as good if I stayed on my couch.

Mary is finally recovering from a shin splint that got to the level of compartment syndrome and is beginning to kick my ass on mountain trail walks again.

One day she came back from Goosepond Park after finishing a 4 mile trail run in the deep snow and reported she had four (4) ten-minute miles in a row (after a couple months lay-off), and how her leg was hurting but she didn't want to stop because her time was good.

I had looked at her stopwatch, gulped, and said, "Well, this is not going to be good."

A couple days later on the same course I was walking with her, noticed she was off the back, looked around and saw her a hundred yards back in knee deep snow limping like a broken goose.

"Maybe I'll warm out of it."

I sent her home, and it has been till now before she could actually walk fast enough to hurt me.

Think I'll break her leg next time.

As for you, Mr. Toe Clip, sir — name your place and time, and you can try taming the new improved bigger fatter older Bob!

Oh, that's right, you probably have to start getting ready to coach soccer.

Now I am going out on my bike and try to beat a 14 mph average ... fuck you, Keith, fuck you very much.

The good news for Keith is that Andreas just won a time trial so people hate him most and Keith can have some friends again.

Otherwise, here is a classic from Feb. 28, 2007:

This is too easy. I don't have to guess who you are. I KNOW who you are. Using a number of proprietary programs and patented in-house processes (of my own design), I have easily confirmed your identity. Nothing to it really. Here's the quick (though partial) summary: You arrived at the web site via a google search for "americanroadcycling." However, the IP you came in on has never been here before. Therefore, it has never been assigned even a lowly UV (Unknown Viewer) number. Therefore, there is absolutely no mistaking your identity. You are a NOBODY! No really, Zirra... you are a nobody.

The post you mentioned was not removed, it was merely toggled off the American Road Cycling Forum in favor of posting it in the Guild Forum.

It is post: 6818

Also I am keeping track of your cycling results at: Connie's Rides.

Your FMS results are at: Connie's FMS.

This one should be too boring for both American Road Cycling and the Sugar Loaf Guild.

Dear Mary and Bob —

In case I didn't adequately express it — once again thanks so much to you and the esteemed members of the Sugar Loaf Guild for your generous donation to the Raina Ferraro Fund.

Thanks to you, the event was a great success and we were able to present a sizeable donation to the family.

I would also like to personally apologize for any of the inexcusable things I have said about you guys, or the people of Sugar Loaf, in recent memory. (Most were taken out of context.)

Love to all — Art.

If it is not ok, consider this a lesson.

Especially loved the send to address: Endico Water Coolers, Inc.

We have several of our lawyers at work securing the name.

And as for such things as correct movement becoming a lifestyle, I would caution you thus: A garden may grow on its own but is best tended every day.

Most are very resistant to the idea, are not nearly as smart as you, and some of them might have actual physical problems not so easily remediated.

Not to mention you will probably go through some periods of adjustment where pains reappear and popup all over the place like a pinball hitting bells and buzzers around a pinball machine.

Just stay on top of the changes and use the anatomy books and apps to figure them out.

From easiest to hardest to fix: 1) move more and better, 2) low salt, 3) low sugar, 4) low or no alcohol which is actually a sugar, 5) no cigarettes which are actually death on a cracker.

I am not so perfect in any of them except alcohol and cigarettes both of which I was cautioned against from early childhood.

As an aside, that book comes by way of Lauren Warren.

Oh yeah, and don't over do any of it ... like Mary over does all of it.

Oh hell, why wait.

Put down that cigarette.

We'll just leave this over here on ARC, so all those loser motherfuckers over at the Guild site don't get all the fuck fuckin' pissed as shit!

Thanks.

I'll show Babyclams and Humberto.

I am also writing a book about cycling, with a slant on the foibles and humor.

I have used many technically-informative internet based sites and wish to know whether I need your permission to reference your site and Fugett's work.

I make limited use of it and reference it of course ...

You may make use with appropriate attribution, and thanks for asking.

Bob Fugett

I guess they used the $1,000 Sugar Loaf Guild donation to good effect upgrading the music series facility.

Every time I think Connie has exceeded my wildest expectations, she does something even better.

She has not just broken the glass ceiling, she has jumped on top of it, smashed it to the floor, and fashioned a multicolored cathedral vitrine out of its shattered remains.

I just wanted to tell you that I am reading your book again, this time with much deeper attention, and it is now getting dog-eared and full of notations. It is somehow expressing gems of insight not only for my guitar playing, but my writing.

All is well with me, I am just winding up a large writing project and your book was winking at me from the shelf, and sure enough, it had just the insights I needed to re-center myself for the last portion of my project.

I will be east probably in 2015, if not sooner, so I promise to be in touch.

I mean hey, I am long overdue for a lesson!

I just bought a hard case for my guitar so I can travel with it.

Please pass hellos on to Mary. Hope all is well with you. Would love an update.

A big hug to you both, LC

Watch how lazy I can be providing an update:

And that page is only part of the trouble I am keeping myself in (it has a photo I think you'll like).

Thank you for the kind thank you; I am re-posting it into a couple forums (under the name LC) just to piss people off. -b

I was just thinking about my own customer service (Sugar Loaf style) that took place over the weekend.

Sunday afternoon a man walked into the studio; he was looking for the pottery gallery.

I explained that the store was in transition and wasn't available for viewing just yet.

However, what I could offer him (and I did), was to give him a tour of the working studio.

I asked about his interest in pottery and invited him to come to a class as a guest.

During our conversation he informed me that Sugar Loaf was dead.

"Really!!?" I said.

Then I gave him a Sugar Loaf Guild brochure.

I showed him on the computer the Guild website.

I let him "walk" into busy working studios via the 360 degree views.

I showed him picture after picture of successful shops/studios that have been in Sugar Loaf for decades.

Then I brought out a Sugar Loaf University T-shirt and told him about the artists that have been holding ongoing classes for years.

So as to not go on and on about I ... I ... I, let's just say he left town not only with artist made soap, candles and a leather belt (all made right here by successful artists living and working right here), but this man left with a new interest and perspective.

I believe he will come back.

He didn't want to leave.

Ready?

Now that you have had that experience, you have to try and get somebody else (anybody else) to believe it happened.

In any case, you have full Guild permissions to go on and on about I ... I ... I, all you want.

The best I say, the very, very best.

Good thing too, considering how quickly it was gone.

A mid-morning warm sun was finally starting to shine as the deep winter freeze began to break up.

Lifetime Sugar Loaf artist and working potter Connie Rose answered the question for about the hundredth time.

It seemed to be the only thing people were talking about in the little hamlet of artists.

A pottery student saw the new Sugar Loaf University t-shirt being worn by Connie and asked, "Where is Sugar Loaf University?"

Connie replied, ""Right here, you're standing in it. You're already a part of it."

"Sqeeaall ... I want one!"

The next logical question might have been, "Who is the president of Sugar Loaf University?"

However, Sugar Loaf University was not so much established as it was observed to exist.

Throughout the previous year Bob Fugett spent time in every studio in Sugar Loaf gathering information for the revamped Guild website

One of his main observations was how the large number of classes and workshops being held in Sugar Loaf (some by the best artists in their respective fields) were continuing to provide a strong and energetic positive presence for the arts.

But each studio providing classes seemed to be unaware other studios were holding classes of their own at the same time; plus Bob realized these were the kinds of classes that the best college and university outreach programs are always hungry to find.

Bob himself had taught music lessons for students to receive college credit as far back as 1988.

Clay Boone has students who have been attending his classes for more than 20 years.

Bob knew somebody had to say something about the situation, so Sugar Loaf University t-shirts were born.

Year round on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday there are a wealth of classes being held in Sugar Loaf (sometimes by second generation lifetime artists), and these classes are of such high quality that students can gain college credit through appropriate programs from any number of the best academic institutions.

Of course, you do not have to study for college credit, and most students in these classes are merely attending for the pure joy of learning and being surrounded by others who have the same interest.

There is something about the Sugar Loaf, NY artist community that defies description and cannot be repeated anywhere else.

To name a few ongoing classes there are: Art and Communication; Fashion Design and Assembly; French; Jewelry; Music; Photography; Pottery; Sculpture; Stained Glass; Website Design and Digital Arts; Yoga; Woodcarving.

All ages from beginner to college level and beyond.

For more information see the website: SugarLoafGuild.org

If you know of a publication that would like to run it, be our guest!

You can also grab images off the Guild website to go along with it (and if you need a larger file of any image, just ask and one will be provided free of charge).

THIS

Plus

THIS

And

THIS

All from

THIS

Was that Andre-ass?

Should I be doing repeats in the one session, if so how many, and I assume I would then do it again over subsequent weeks to test progress?

I have a nice 11 speed cassette with some closely spaced climbing ratios so that should mak the exercise easier.

Check with your coach regarding how many, etc to fit in with your goals and current level.

The important thing is to test the concept and understand what you are seeing.

And yes, you will want to return to the test periodically to check progress; that is exactly what it is for.

Don't forget your floor exercises, not to be underestimated.

Also test against results with the Quarq and see if you can't get coach to say, "That's cool!"

I can't wait to hear the results.

What I am talking about is not a way to derive wattage without a power meter but how to address the major training problem that power meters are supposed to address.

The problem is that of finding a reliable performance baseline to work from and then monitoring your progress in real time.

Beach Road is maybe a little too flat for this, and I am assuming it is also an example of the worst possible place to get reliable feedback, that is to say I am guessing it is often windy, with changeable winds.

So let me try to describe this in rather vague terms, because I am sure your coach already knows this and can help at your end.

My technique is to restrict variables by finding a climb steep enough to force you to work a little, long enough to challenge your heart rate, and covered from prevailing winds enough so that you have some hope of returning to the same slope again and again as you improve.

Whereas the Powertap does make a distinction between torque (at the pedals) and watts (at the wheel), it only does so in the software after download.

Therefore when I noticed the wildly wide variation in effort on the pedals that is possible to receive any given amount of wattage output (speed), I was perturbed to find the Powertap torque measurement is not available while on the bicycle (and SRM doesn't give it ever), so I had to figure out a way to get a reliable reference for my wife to use while she was riding, and once we established that system, I realized it could be done without a power meter, just a cadence counter.

It has to be a magnet and sensor absolute reading, not a derived from formula cadence.

I saw that the torque data was very consistent if looking at known wattages, on a known slope, at a given cadence, so I started having her watch her cadence instead of her wattage.

One can call the effort Watts, Newton Meters, or Shrimps on the Barbie for all I care, I just wanted a reliable, repeatable measurement, and cadence (in a given gear over the same slope hidden from the wind) does a perfectly adequate job.

Choose your smooth steady slope (where you can get a good 1 to 2 minute interval); find the gearing which allows you your highest comfortable cadence (your coach might take a look at that for you); then monitor using your Averaged Cadence Interval.

My wife uses two units, one showing average and one showing current cadence, but I am hoping your 810 can give you both readings at the same time.

The goal is to be able to increase your gear by one click higher while holding the same cadence over the same challenging interval on your known slope that is hidden from the wind (best it can be).

To work on your spin efficiency you might instead just try to increase your averaged cadence by 1 or 2 rpm.

The only thing that any of the current power meters will give you insight into beyond this use of cadence is how insanely variable the amount of effort on the pedals is required for any given wattage.

You can be pushing really, really, really hard for 200 watts, or really easy for 400 watts, and speed of cadence is a large part of that equation (given you have a smooth even balanced spin at the given cadence).

Wattage is of course more of an absolute reference to speed than it is to effort on the pedals.

I am sure your coach knows this, so I would be very interested if they can repeat the results I found with the Powertap using the Quarq.

If she ever has a minute, see if you can get her (or him) to go up one of the longer rollers, establish a smooth relatively high wattage, then click down two gears easier while increasing cadence.

The power meter should spike 10 watts higher (more or less, if it is responsive enough and the delayed reading inherent in all these devices is considered) while the effort felt in the legs will be less.

People used to be absolutely flabbergasted when they saw this happen, but with power meters available to more people (and my book pointing it out), it has probably become common knowledge.

In any case, thank you for allowing me to use you as my guinea pig

I haven't purchased the Vectors yet.

I thought it would be useful to pick a power meter which measures torque at the crank as well as watts given your advice in the book concerning the importance of efficiency as well as watts.

Given the Garmin measures watts through analysing force at the pedal crank it seems to me it is really measuring torque rather than watts and presumably translating to watts by a linear formula.

There is a Garmin speciality dealer near me, so I will invstigate through them.

I have been training using HR mainly and estimated power based on Strava charts, with my coach who has a quarq and swears by it.

The price for the Vector is down to $1250 AUD here now which is still more than want to pay, so I will hold off for a while.

That is if also you are in an area with some really good hills with one of about a quarter mile of a relatively regular moderate slope.

Though you might be able to do it on a stationary trainer as well.

By your IP# and your comfortable English, it appears you may live in Australia.

BTW: I am sure that by now you are aware Strava is routinely off by 1 to 2 tenths of a mile one way or another most of the time, making precise measurements impossible.

Otherwise I have been disappointed far too many times with regard to product promises vs actual product performance to even hazard a guess.

Last time I looked at the information Garmin provides, the pedals are the right idea, but it does not appear they have yet overcome the basic problems in terms of sampling speed, on bicycle reporting, and accuracy.

But neither has Powertap, SRM, nor anybody else.

I would caution Garmin that merely paying me to take a look at their pedals would not guarantee a positive review, and I would of course maintain control of my research to publish here.

In any case, I am not sure the correctness of the data is relevant to most riders as the main goal generally appears to be showing up for a group ride with the appropriate cycling bling.

On the other hand, I would be intensely interested in hearing about your own results with the pedals, Mark, so feel free to report here in the Forum.

I would add that given the number of people who use my online power calculator and read Cycling Performance Simplified, there actually does seem to be some interest in correct data, and your reading pattern of the book implies you are in that camp (as opposed to the bling for bling's sake camp).

So thank you for the question, and post here anytime.

What do you think?

The first crossing the finish line gets 1 free ice cream ... tail gating Danny will love this.

Only losers do Kain.

Oh, I guess you're right then; Danny would love it.

Is this an honorary title?

I've been sick in bed all last night and today, and I haven't been up Kain since Christmas Eve!

So, if someone has gone up in 2014, they haven't gotten the recognition they deserve.

Besides, the last time we mailed a T-shirt and water bottle to somebody for their accomplisment on Kain, they did not even bother to tell us they got it ... even after a follow up e-mail from Widder.

Then another rider didn't even forward their mailing address to get their booty after Mary timed him and took a photo.

At least we can count on you to complain about the medal if nothing else.

It is the last one that will be awarded, and you've got it, buddy.

No way out of it, so quit your weaseling.

Did you knowingly give the cup to Mr. F?

Did you change the rules after the fact because you were smitten?

Was he apprised of the rules beforehand?

Was he asked, but refused, to return the cup to Andreas?

Were you (bite my tongue) rude in asking?

Were you nice?

No matter.

Garcia does not do nice!

Mr. F was a ringer brought in from below the New Jersey line, not the first time somebody actually willing to do some work came up over a border.

The ringer was brought in to lay waste to my chirping about how strong, wonderful, and unbeatable my compatriots in climbing had become.

I changed the rules after the fact not because I was smitten but because I was beaten.

Fantoothful took the cup, brought it home, and when e-mails went out to hand it over to Andreas, those e-mails were met with dead silence ... not even so much as one single smiley face was returned.

My query did not go to Foodooful himself, but to his keeper, whom I assume knew better than to ask his climb monkey face to face to return the booty, nor had he the guts to respond to my very polite obsequious imploring.

In the meantime, Andreas got some hair brained idea that Mine Road is harder than Kain although any rider worth his salt knows that other climb has the hard part at the bottom so is much, much easier.

Garcia may do whatever she wishes, neither nice nor naughty is going to help.

Somebody showing up on the day of the competition might have helped.

Instead of the entire local club riding down 17A to the top of Kain, only to peer over the cliff watching a host of actual riders toiling up loop after loop on Kain (fast I might add), only to mumble en masse, "Interesting," before riding away.

That might have helped, somebody at least trying, but all that is in the past, and now the cup is merely legend while the New Jersey crew runs an actual benefit ride on Kain every year which local riders are still too scared to attend.

Flipdoozo earned the cup, has it, and that's it.

As for American Road Cycling we have taken the competition underground on a "by invitation only" adding a 40 mile warmup over Minnewaska and moving it to Fern Glade Road which although not so very much steeper than Kain, it is three (3) times as long ... not likely the locals will ever be seen on that inglorious slope even if given an invitation.

Of course I will never make that invitation, though I might call Widder down off Glade to reclaim her KOM if ever a woman gets the gumption to beat her Kain and be immediately dashed back down again.

I thought the rules say that in any given year the cup keeps passing to the fastest ascender.

What gives?

Now the local club will let anybody go up Kain (you don't even have to have any ability), and the old cup wars are lost to legend.

As a general rule of thumb, those stories take more than 12 seconds each to read.

Jimmy is a super nice guy, but he will have no problem taking you behind a building and kicking your ass.

Jimmy can take me behind any building he likes, and all's I will tell him is to save what little strength he has and forget it; Mary is ordering the Kain Baseline medal tomorrow.

Most local riders who would actually attempt it, rode Kain a week and a half early and are unlikely to try it again without ice cream on top.

What will the New Year bring?

The Kain baseline is reset from scratch the first of every year, so there truly is no defense of it ... one just has to do it and at the appropriate time.

As for the local riders: must I remind you that the day Fatusso grabbed the cup, it was only one (1) of his eight (8) loops down 17m, right onto Iron Forge, then back up Kain.

There were three (3) people in that scurrilous New Jersey crowd who did as many loops, plus two (2) women who each did three (3) loops plus one (1) woman who did two (2) loops.

I almost forgot: one (1) guy was in training so wasn't allowed on his bicycle ... he only did two (2) loops barefoot running.

Not only are the pussy local riders unlikely to do it again this year, they likely wouldn't go up Kain ever again, even in a trolley car with the promise of a free lifetime supply of ice-cream at the top.

Bunch of slow-assed losers for my money.

What will the New Year bring?

Nothing but trouble I'd imagine, same as always.

Was it Anthony Fatuzzo?

From what I can see from your leader board, that cup should be in the protective custody of Humberto.

So, give me a name, and I will take the message to Garcia!

"... should be in the protective custody of Humberto."

Did you say that because Humberto is currently so far down on the leader board I almost had to open up a whole new website just to hold the number of names of people over top him?

Of course Fat-Oozo (Oohpah) has the cup (see the tippity-top of the board).

He grabbed it, has it at home, and will probably kick Garcia's ass just because you mentioned his name.

Better tone it down a bit; things could get ugly.

I am in Florida training to go up KAIN, and the Trophy is mine.

BTW: Maybe you know this guy. >>>

Nobody likes him, ever since he called Paul Levine a Howdy Doody Douchebag.

I don't know what all the fuss was about; he was just saying what he believed.

Maybe people got upset because it was true.

Case closed.

I just did a search for your poem (in quotes), and that particular construction is unique on the Internet!

Linguistics is about observing how people talk to each other.

Did you know that in France to live is to see?

Actually see in the past and live in the present.

Ironically the simple truth of the matter can neither be stated in French nor in English.

If you ever did write it in French, even though it should be immediately obvious to every French speaker, you would only be told it is grammatically incorrect.

In English the concept itself seems impossible, or at least that has been my observation in Sugar Loaf ... where a large number of people live without seeing.

So how's about that, looks like I just wrote my first French poem.

"Tu vis est tu vis."

What I stumbled upon was the fact that some communities (Countries, to be more specific) actually go out of their way to draw a clear distinction between merchants, craftsmen, and industrialists ... and in so doing they establish a very simple comparison.

In fact it is a legal distinction and throws an obvious light on the reasons artisans always do better than merchants in Sugar Loaf.

Here are a couple of easy paragraphs in English:

In the meantime, I will go back to trying to figure out why it is that when I clear my throat around francophones they think I said something.

How are you? Hope you're well.

It's been a while, but the final piece has been published today for the John Markus short-form documentary video, and I thought you'd be interested in seeing it.

You are welcome to post it on the blog if you think that would be appropriate:

We hope you enjoy the piece.

All the best,
Pam

It was great to see John's mom and dad again, and the excerpts from the historic London, Ohio, video gives me a chance to point to a taste of the full length video available at the London Public Library.

[This is a follow up to London, Ohio posts starting at #6287-6371]

In any case, Peter was rather kind in accepting the money; most of our neighbors won't even speak to us.

It was something to behold, what with Mary being about 1/64th the size of Peter.

What was that all about?

Mary was trying to give Peter a check, and he was refusing it.

It was a custom made table that was constructed specifically to fit in the entryway of the Endico studio, and there was some question over what it was worth.

Negotiations began at zero, then quickly escalated to $100 dollars when Peter realized the gristly little old pygmy woman wasn't going to budge on writing a check.

Mary finally talked him up to $200 dollars after refusing his $150 dollar offer several times.

The table only went so cheaply because I had failed to clarify with Mary beforehand the bottom line.

Manon Von Uchtrup had shown up to deliver the table without a bill, but Mary remembered the table she pointed to as model for the custom job was marked $400 dollars.

So I told Mary to give them a check for $1,000 dollars (after all it was a custom job), and if they didn't take the money, I was going to carry the table back myself, but I missed telling Mary to accept absolutely no less than $400 if Peter tried to talk her down.

If 18th Century would charge what their product is worth, Manon might not have to be working five (5) other jobs (though I do suspect she just likes being out in the community doing significant work).

Just a miscommunication was all.

Whoops, I don't have a product.

Maybe I should have a product.

No, that sounds like work, and I would rather be on my bike.

In any case, thanks for the thanks ... now get out on your bicycle.

Fortunately they are also expensive; therefore I will not likely have to field any questions about them ... given the already proven total lack of interest by the local riders in power measurements overall.

My racer does not have a power meter as yet - but it is coming ...

The reference table t@P/W for 5s, 1m, 5m and FT particularly caught my attention. at 180W and 82kg, I manage 2.2W/kg "for a semi-eternal amount of time"... however, according to the table - and assuming I should check under FT - that basically means I have never been sitting on a bike, and am in reality an "untrained" 350lb couch potato barely able to breathe; which is not accurate... or not quite let's say...

Now - following Chris Horner's victory of the Vuelta yesterday, and widespread press-speak of possible doping, I came across his power meter transcript for stage 14, which he had released to the press earlier last week.

What I found is that his average power output on that mountain stage was 210W for 66kg of body weight.

This gives a 3.18W/kg performance over the stage's course... that puts Chris Horner somewhere in the lower stretches of that same table in the FT column... far away from the world-class athlete that he actually is.

So I wonder what this all means? I know you said it is all a bit relative, and we should look at our own performance instead of drawing comparisons. However, to me the FT column in that table just seems off.

I was almost relieved this morning when I realised that I was not alone, and that Chris Horner was in my team when it came to ranking oddly in that league table.

Thanks for shedding some light into my power cave :)

Best Wishes,

g

First off, there is no Bill here; I am Bob, so either that is a typo or somebody has figured out a way to put this forum on their own website and trick people into thinking they are me.

As for the numbers, it all means that a generalized averaged number over an entire stage race does not account for teamwork, drafting, and team strategies: "We can go pretty easy most of the time, so long as on that one climb we actually work and just long enough for a photo op with some commentator making it seem like we are all putting in never before seen superhuman efforts, then right back to meandering."

It means that you (and I, who can apparently easily beat you) would do well in such a race, if we could only convince everybody to ride it the way we want them to, push where we choose, ease off where we select, never jump too hard on a severe slope, etc.

Also you will note that the results were published in Watts, not Torque, and there is a big difference in turning 210W on the flat, and turning 210W on a 22% climb.

When you get your power meter (assuming you get one that is accurate and reports Torque at the pedal as well as Watts from the wheel), this will all make perfect sense to you.

If not, come back and ask a question.

What is a Gran Fondo?

The longest distance course today (and there are two shorter) is only 107 miles.

When I joined the local club, the annual published public ride had a 125 mile loop in it (over actual hills), but it was still just called a "ride" and lots of people showed up.

But that was back when there were cyclists in the club.

Sometimes you have to.

Also, performance numbers have steadily fallen from the late 90's for the majority of riders.

So I wouldn't be any faster if I used PED's for the past few years?

If EPO has such short term effects why would pro's take it in the off season then some stop or reduce it before racing?

From what you guys are saying EPO wouldn't benefit them in off season training. Not wanting to argue more interested in learning about it.

To address your final statement first with regard to "you guys":

There are no "you guys" here, only somebody who posted using the name "Charles Hodges" (easily spoofed), and the next posting by "A. Stute" which is my own posting using a made up name to address the fact that there is no way to verify the name provided by the post previous to it.

Whether or not you are the same person as the previous "Charles Hodges" is also not something that can be verified.

In any case, the first "Charles Hodges" post was certainly a joke, because the chart in question has nothing to do with anything except pointing toward a rational set of goals for cycling performance along with an indication of how to use the information derived from power meters to meet those goals.

The chart will never need to be updated, because it is only a dataset assembled at a certain point in time under a certain set of circumstances and provides a baseline for understanding the data provided by power meters.

Nobody wins or loses anything (certainly not money, fame, nor credential) by besting any number on that chart, while power meters (the correct ones) only provide a repeatable reliable way to overcome the massive variables and myth confronting serious riders who want to logically improve their performance ... based on their own performance.

One of the things I track very closely is the usage of this website, and while the information about power meters is read often, the IP# associated with the previous "Charels Hodges" post and the one associated with this current "Charles" are two separate numbers neither of which were observed reading much of anything regarding power meters either before or after posting.

Of course it is always possible that whoever posted both "Charles" were in fact the same person and that person actually did read a lot of the material provided on this website but arrived from another IP# or two.

However, that is very unlikely, because the person would then understand that nothing about this forum has anything at all to do with PED's or EPO's or any such acronyms.

Plus anybody serious about their long term health would not have the slightest interest in that crap anyway.

Not to mention anybody truly interested in their cycling performance would not be posting in forums but would be grabbing as much information as quickly as they can then getting out on their bike.

My own numbers have been steadily improving since the late 90's due to following that process.

Therefore, it is probably best for me to consider these types of questions and comments merely trolling and nothing more, so I will leave these posts here to put people on notice, but further such nonsense will be toggled off without comment.

There are people showing up here who actually want to learn something.

In fact, as far as I can tell, the person who posted that didn't even read the book before doing so.

I guess it will need to be updated, because as soon as top athletes stop doping themselves for short term gain, and destroying their bodies in the process, their careers will extend long enough for them to easily beat all the figures currently on the chart.

That combined with the removal of a multitude of "how to" myths power meters have revealed to be false.

On the other hand, why do you believe the sport will ever be cleaner ... just because somebody you admire tells you it will?

Have you forgotten already?

Baby Clams is saving his record of my Black Meadow climb for when I win the Hump.

Hopefully I won't have to pee in a cup after.

I may miss the ride though, because I cannot stop staring at this new splash of paint on my wall.

It's remarkable.

That way when you have to pee in the cup, you can use the empty water bottle instead and sell it to one of the losers coming in after you.

You can leave the label as is.

BTW: That splash of color on your wall is real; this ain't the 60's for kripes sake.

Bob was complimenting him (or so he thought) on the eight (8) new signs Clay did while out west.

Bob said, "Man Clay, those are beautiful. You sure brought wood working to a whole new level."

Angrily Clay cut him short with an almost spitting, "They're not wood workings, they're wood carvings! Don't you ever call them workings!"

Live and learn.

We were just talking about sending it even if you failed to post, just to piss you off.

Mary is off to get her hair cut, and Jim is off to who the fuck knows where.

Ever since Buckley won all his races, got too strong for his own good, stood to sprint on Warwick Turnpike (during a solo training ride), popped his chain and woke up on the side of the road with some motorist standing over him asking, "Are you ok?" the Harriman rides went to hell, and the whole Van Natta contingent left the planet.

Something about Buckley's broken ischium.

Get on the Blaster horn and try to roust Jim.

You might tell him he was just mentioned here a few days ago (6413) because his mild paces would be kicking all the locals asses in their little GPS nonsense competitions.

Jim Amels might like to come back and show 'em how.

Let him know I am currently fat enough to be had.

Mary will harass you about running on Farcebroke.

Our little Miss Polyanna could not believe it true.

Now she sees, albeit poorly.

The only thing saving me is the fact that people who know her understand it is obviously impossible for it to have been me.

I am still alive.

But the world being what it is, my only recourse seems to be to shoot myself and leave her trying to explain how she didn't do it.

At least she'll get a medal for it.

Just for kicks she tried one of those bullshit local QOM sections, kicked ass, but had to have it explained to her that she was screwing up her precision training ... and for nothing.

First off she used her STRAVA connection which automatically records the interval, but she herself doesn't know exactly where it starts or ends, just has a general idea.

Not very conducive to a precise performance.

Then there is the fact that STRAVA GPS is routinely 1 to 2 tenths of a mile off at all times; Humberto even reports a ride where somebody riding with him for the entire ride recorded 6 miles less at the end.

Plus the section that Mary did includes two right hand turns into traffic, both with less than perfect sight distance.

Way to go, whoever set that up, encouraging people to risk their life for a meaningless number.

Not to mention STRAVA doesn't show if you are drafting, on a motorcycle, or what; and Mary knows at least one section of the local "competitions" where in the past she has routinely ridden 31+ mph while drafting Jim Amels, and the current record is only 28.1+, so she knows at least one rider who would decimate that record even on the front.

Therefore, given the significant spread possible for the unknown variables, it is impossible to judge one's performance against any other recorded and reported performance ... stupid locals.

Nobody has even bothered to post the specific start and finish points: unlike the Kain climb which has been clearly marked and described here on the American Road Cycling website.

Happily, The Black Widow did not have to break a sweat (and disrupt her actual training) while laying waste to the current QOM, and she only came home sweaty because she did some Kain repeats before and after her victory.

Still, I have told her numerous times her goal is KOMs not QOMs.

As an aside, somebody should explain to Humberto that "young and pretty" does not equal "fast" though his eye would be clearly averted from that fact.

We have no idea what that's all about.

If I don't go immediately out for ice cream, the terrorist wins.

The trouble is Humberto gets to look that fat and then gets fast again; I only get older.

On the other hand these flyers have historically been a great help, maybe not the worthless current crop of them, but the old timey Jon Baugh versions like our newest is.

However, town flyers may be only a help to Endico I guess, because Endico is the only person in town who seems to need to make a living from people coming to town.

Nobody else in town gives a shit about Sugar Loaf; they just use it as a bedroom community for doing Renaissance Fairs and Religious Festivals or writing historic books from afar while hamstringing the local community in hopes of supporting their thesis it can't be done any other way.

Good luck to newcomer shop keepers finding out the truth ... much less outsiders finding out the true uniqueness of the hamlet.

So far our experience has been that even just picking up that flyer and glancing at it goes a long way toward revealing the truth of the matter.

Those flyers ending up on the ground afterwards will just be gravy ... and provide another economic recovery jobs program for clean-up services plus fodder for recycling.

We are just doing our part.

Did you know Nick Zungoli was spotted yesterday morning, shirtless and across the street from his studio, cleaning up the mess his neighbors have allowed to fester?

I hate the man, and even I have to state right out loud that was pretty impressive.

Somebody doing something more than bitching.

Finally someone who has never read American Road Cycling.

It is my sad duty to inform you that there are bicycle shops where applicants to employment have been warned, "You just have to remember one thing: during work hours no American Road Cycling.

Therefore I cannot say what I will do, but I can assure you what I won't do: make any money on it.

Like I said: been there; done that.

If I had to make a change (or changes), I would delete the caution paragraph.

Also I would omit paragraph three (also a disclaimer) plus I would take out, "The problem for visitors has ..." as well.

OK, delete too the "Sorry folks" (just those two words).

There! I said it. That's my edit.

Otherwise I like the honesty and realness of the description.

That's why I didn't like the sorry's or disclaimers so much.

Sugar loaf is what it is and those who know it love it.

Or ya know ... they go off to make a bajillion dollars somewhere else. :)

Nevertheless Connie is right, and I should have made all that clearer, but I didn't want to take the easy way out and use bad words.

Paragraph three is just there so the reader can sit down before being told, "Nobody is ever open, but that's a good thing."

Actually I just needed to fill up space that I planned to use for a photo of one of Connie's pieces, but I never could get a straight answer out of Boz about what he wants to do with his life.

Too bad it's already at the printers, or I could scrap that whole section and put in a picture of a loafing bog frog turtle wrapped in colorful banners being smoked in a blown glass bong full of magic crystals.

Maybe a few dozen display ads.

You know .... something to fit in.

Next time I'd better run it through committee and then let them put together a focus group to apply for a grant to pay for it.

That should smooth out the language.

Hope the way it is doesn't make people talk about it.

While reading your reply email, I laughed and breathed in the raw flax seeds I was eating.

I wish that in good conscience I could publish both your own email to me (for context which current readers have missed) along with my response to you (which contains colorful if not artistic language).

If this were the American Road Cycling Chatterbox, I could publish both with no thought, but over here at the Sugar Guild Website, I have to tone things down a bit.

First off, I would chance losing a large portion of my current readership.

Here is the math.

The Sugar Loaf Guild Forum has three (3) sometimes readers, so losing even one would be a major blow to the ratings.

Also there is the matter of the possibility in the future some actual person interested in Sugar Loaf might show up and be so offended they don't even bother coming to town to be disappointed by the lack of open shops.

They might have missed the brochure and understanding that having closed shops is a good thing.

I guess I am stuck.

Only you, Connie, will ever get to see that little bit of my best writing ever.

On the other hand, I have detected a couple spelling errors in your own posting here; I believe the correct spelling for "flax" is "hemp" and the correct spelling for "eating" is "smoking."

In any case drape yourself over an armchair with your solar plexus placed firmly against the back and have Yoga Girl (Boswell) jump on you.

That should dislodge whatever it is that got up your nose.

Anyway ... -b

I've been trying to explain to Randy how that kind of output defines what a true artist does, because the truth about what has made Sugar Loaf great remains a hidden treasure (to the steady stream of here today, gone tomorrow hangers on with pretend venues), and there are still remnants of that view in Randy's perception of Sugar Loaf, which he sees as a splintered group of trendy shops.

The underlying glue that holds it together has always been hidden by the flurry of activity of wannabees over top of it, so you can't blame Randy for seeing it that way.

He will eventually understand, however, because Randy is in fact a true artist himself.

I've been telling people he is Charlie Maninno Light, because he has that creative spark and also does a lot of work with found objects, except at the moment Randy is using a bunch of low quality junk purchased at A.C. Moore, so his work is crap — but he is still experiencing strong sales (his first month open) which should be a lesson to every shop in town who fails to open their doors, and treat people right, but complains about their state of affairs.

The fact is, if you MAKE it, they will not only come they will buy it.

But like I said, Randy is the real deal, and some of his found objects actually are repurposed goods from the real world, so there is hope for him.

I look forward to the day I can stop saying, "Yeah, Randy is Charlie Light, but right now his work is total crap."

It is an overstatement anyway.

I did tell Randy I thought you were showing up on the Guild site to grab images when I explained the only people coming to the Guild forum are you, Connie, and Randy.

I had noticed the odd attachments coming from your same IP area, but with a slightly different arrival footprint.

So you are working on files that are only on your laptop?

I have tried all kinds of variations on what I figured you might name the test files online but haven't found them.

Here is the caveat: Make sure to test everything online while you are working on it, because sometimes there can be a subtle difference in the way files are served to the web, and it is easy to do a great deal of work only to find you have to redo it once you take it live.

If you have a live version, tell me the page file name so I can check it out.

Too bad you've been busy, I so hoped to get you seated in Clay's studio (without an attack dog) so you could see how much business he is missing (even when he is here).

Randy himself went there several times when he was moving into town (before Clay went west), trying to get Clay to make a sign for him but never connected.

He ended up making his own sign (it is beautiful), and people are already asking him to do one for them.

I see that as a very, very good thing.

I am pretty sure we will have to clean the poop off Clay's floor after he returns, gets going on the new Firehouse table, and I bring Randy over to look at it.

I have been trying to explain the whole thing to Randy, but when he sees it first hand in real life he will be spilling his guts onto the floor so to speak.

Might also become Clay's new neighbor.

BTW: I really haven't done so very much work on Clay's sites, I am just better than anybody on this planet when it comes to automating repetitive tasks, and handling such things as project planning, management and follow through, online coding, databases, organization of information, and mostly the articulation and presentation of all this plus getting stuff to the top of Google, etc.

The truth of the matter is that it is not so much the amount of work, but the vision, basis, and presentation of that work that defines what I have done, but it looks like I will not live long enough for the rest of the world to catch up close enough to get even a glimpse toward understanding.

As long as I get to stay on my bicycle, I really don't care though.

Now do you understand my consternation about how long it took you to log onto your Control Panel and type in two names?

As for the thumbnail sizes, go and Right-Click, Save as... the thumbnails off of Clay's Sugar Loaf Guild profile for Esterbrook Church, Parson's Nook, and The Pawn Broker.

While you are working on that, I'll put together a bare bones Table for you to copy into a test page.

Ok, Brad here's your table (actually 2 of them); look at the source code and paste it below everything else in an indexDEV.htm:

As for resizing images yourself, find out if any of your co-workers use an image editor, and if so which one.

I use Photoshop CS2, but it is expensive and 4 versions behind the times.

Use the button (Submittal Form) centered near top of this page to post here.

In order to update that information:

1) Login to your Control Panel.

2) Click the Domains tab.

3) Click View/Edit for one of the domain names.

4) Update any of the fields that references me with your own info.

5) Repeat for the other name.

I'll hop on the computer tonight and check out if everything is situated on my end.

Mary, stop harassing Clay about Brad's whereabouts.

Apparently Brad went on holiday with Randy—who has also been missing from the daily readership rolls and claims a gone fishing exemption.

"Today that 27 year old guy did the ride again; he was super strong on the flats but couldn't drop that new Humberto guy.

On the last bridge he tried again to drop Humberto — after everyone else was dropped, but it backfired on him!

The guy had no fire extinguisher and Humberto burned him.

People were shocked that the 27 year old got beat, but I was just glad somebody finally did it.

In the parking lot Mr. 27 Years Old comes up to Humberto and goes, "I am not surprised. I know you used to ride with George Hincapie and Tyler Hamilton."

You should have heard it.

Humberto said, 'What the fuck? That was in 1988 and 1989; now I am old, fat, and totally out of shape.'

The guy left."

Maybe we should contact him and see if he wants Mary and me to come down and show those people how real riders turn the cranks.

1) Go to your WinHost Control Panel

2) Click on the "Sites" tab

3) Click on the Big Belly "Manage" link

4) Click on "Domain Pointer"

5) Click "Add" button

6) Type boonewoodcarving.com

7) Click "Create" button

8) Repeat for boonewoodcarvings.com

Done!

It happened near the beginning of the ride when I was in the back with Keith and we were preparing to make our move.

Keith was preparing to move off the front, and I was preparing to move way way way way off the back.

I said to Keith, "Keith, you look too fucking strong; are you on drugs?"

Keith (very proudly) said, "No I am not on drugs, but I was just in a race that was officially drug tested!"

I knew it was finally my moment.

I have now ridden with a rider who raced in a race that was actually drug tested.

This is the big time.

It is never going to get any better for me.

By the way, Keith and I both made our move successfully.

He did not seem to understand that search engines really don't look at the domain name so much as the content, and he wanted to be covered for somebody putting in either or the other.

I knew it was only a $10 one time deal, and I didn't have a real clear answer which he should choose in any case.

I guess I still don't.

Decide on 1, switch your site (now assigned as BigBelly) over to your final choice, then only renew that one and let the others disappear when the registration periods run out.

Shoot, Mary likes the BigBelly domain name so much, maybe you should just keep that one ... Clay's belly ain't likely to ever get any smaller.

On the other hand, the names do give a slight protection against somebody spoofing Clay's domain and hoping for spelling errors to bring searchers over to their own woodcarving website so maybe keep them all ... but that would imply the website is going to be worth anything to anybody anyway, and it isn't.

I almost ranted at them when I sent WinHost the question / response (sent them only one), but I decided I would only get the standard easy answer "security issue" while realizing they could not afford to have me fix their problem for them and that's why they have never gotten anybody else to do it either.

In any case, here is how this SHOULD have worked.

The same simple panel and process I used to transfer 36 domain names from Network Solutions over to WinHost should have been the exact same simple panel used to complete this transaction of ours.

Neither of us should have been provided, nor asked to provide, account numbers or security questions and responses of the other.

I mean, WinHost has a relationship with you; WinHost has a relationship with me; you should have been able to initiate the process (simply) at your end, and I should have been required to confirm it was acceptable at my end.

Actually either of us should have been able to initiate it, and it should have been the same process either way.

We should never have been pulled into the false logic of "email is more secure so use it" with me having to give up my address to you (even though you already had it).

That is exactly how it worked with transferring my own domains from NetworkSolutions (with the added step of confirming at Winhost's own provider - Tucows).

Of course, WinHost makes money if I transfer domains in, but not if I just shift one sideways, so they have no incentive to make that easy.

Old timey businesses (like Clay) would do that sort of thing because it adds to good singular customer relations, but these new "services" only care about a million at a time.

I mean this domain name transfer is nothing more than a tiny little nothing change in one field of a database.

Take my account number out of the field; put your account number into the field.

I could show you how to do that all day long and in fact do on this very website.

I could myself automate their whole process in an afternoon, and it would work for the next 80 gajillion (actually infinity of) users.

What BS and by that I mean BULLSHIT.

This is what I meant in the beginning by, "... this should be simple, but then lots of things should be simple that aren't."

Go to bed, Brad.

WinHost wrote back, and to summarize, they need me to pass them an answer to your security question: ██

They suggest you make a temporary change to that answer at your end, send me the temporary answer, then change it back after the transfer takes place.

There is also some nonsense about temporary fees being bounced back and forth between your account and my account during the overnight as the system adjusts to the changes then settles back down.

So make the change at your end (from your Control Panel), let me know the new answer, and I'll e-mail back to them.

Here's their full e-mail to me:

It is amazing how easy the real stuff works, and how hard they make the stuff that should be routine, so people are wasted stupid by the time they get to the real stuff.

First off, they never should have given me your account number nor the question you have chosen to answer for security.

No wonder corporate and government sites get hacked daily by 12 year olds with too much time on their hands.

However, people put up with it, so I am just glad I will never have to do this again and thankful I am reminded to never ever put anything with security sensitivity on one of these websites.

Sorry for the unholy inconvenience.

Change your security answer to a temporary one, hand the new answer over to me here (do not repeat the question), and cross your fingers.

If they end up charging you anything, I will pay you back.

I also believe I see where you hit Clay's site (1:05 am this morning) to confirm it is bumping browsers over to Big Belly; plus I see an instance (maybe) of you hitting the Guild site on your Android using a slightly different Google search than usual (near the time you posted questions).

The story with that final article over there, and why I want to keep it towards the top, is that I tried to explain those circumstances to the Canvas (1.5 hrs on the phone with them), and I am guessing they did not quite get it.

They seem to be going along with everybody else's take on why I am doing this stuff.

In general people treat me like a Carpetbagger who is trying to sell them website design.

They also seem to be putting together an article about me (stupid), so whatever mistaken impression they took away from our conversations might make it into their next "Guild Spotlight," so I am just heading it off at the pass.

After the next issue is out, I will copy that article to the Financial Statement page, giving it persistence and allowing us to move on with Sugar Loaf Business related posts on the Guild Forum.

In any case, in a couple hours we should get the first indication from WinHost regarding how easy it is going to be (or not) to deed over Clay's domain name.

BTW: Brad, I posted the (obviously composited image) of the newest Clay sign, and your Lobby page is already loading significantly slower because of the sizes of the three new images, so you can grab my smaller tweaked versions to replace the originals in order to make things zingy again.

Everybody should read about it, especially Todd who has complained in the past about similar symptoms.

In any case, the cyclist with the injury will be going in for surgery very soon.

You might mention to Mr. Do-Right that staying in the big ring 11 is not a requirement.

In the meantime I will update his Leader Board standing.

BTW: Had you NOT seen the CopperheadNOT series before?

He clocked in at 6:51 muttering something about not letting a foreigner hold the best time on a national treasure.

That's a little slow for Ryan.

All o' yuz better stop the fuck mutterin' an' get the fuck' crackin'.

As an aside you people just missed Widder who did 8 repeat intervals over there yesterday.

While being blown away with her paintings, I also saw your CD's with the note that they were not actually for sale there but said I could download.

I have not done so yet (only because I'm a musician too & it felt like it would be kind of like stealing).

But I do love your sound and just wanted to communicate that to you!

All the best,
Dorraine Scofield

I am sorry the CD's were not for sale in the studio, but it recently came to my attention that I only have 8 left, and the process with which I made them is not so easily repeated... long story involving gold substrate archival CD's and custom 200 year archival printing of the insert done with a printer that is no longer made, and mine is fried.

Thankfully, there is the Internet, so all is not lost.

Please enjoy the music as my special guest and forgive the couple spots where the master tapes were hydrolized by the time I digitized them.

Also, as a first time Sugar Loaf enthusiast, you qualify for a free copy of my book.

I will send you e-mail to get your physical address for sending a complimentary copy.

Extra thanks for taking the time to write and asking about the downloads.

I still have my old guitar book from our lessons back in 1980. I have shown my kids my trophy from the guitar competition that we went to. Now that's a blast from the past.

To catch up a little: We moved to Florida all those years ago. My Dad passed in August of 2007. My Mom, brother and sister all still live in the same area. My Mom still has Mary's paintings hanging in her house. I moved about 1/2 hour from my parents back in 1986 and still live in the same town. I have 2 kids. Wyatt is 15 years old and Madison is 11 years old. The kids keep my young. I divorced my husband back in 2009 and life is much better now. Besides playing my guitar, I love to ride my motorcycle. I purchased a motorcycle after the divorce and my boyfriend (Jr. high school crush) and the kids love to ride. It's another relaxing thing for me to do. Life is great!

Well, enough about me. How are both of you? How is Sugar Loaf? I have always told my kids that if we ever go to NY that we will have to go to Sugar Loaf so I can show them the town. When did you open a recording studio?

How did I make "Impulses and Strength" possible? I would love a copy. My address is: ██

Watch this.

With regard to how things are in Sugar Loaf, they are great.

Scroll down the page linked below for current photos of all the shops in Sugar Loaf with hot links to websites, Google Maps, and my own Walking Map:

You can click on any building on the walking map image (linked next) to view the shop that is currently housed there:

However, you might be surprised how many people in town are missing the fact how good things are, so take a look at these nine stories to understand why they are missing out. It starts with:

As a special side trip to see how the recording studio (now gone) developed see the flipbook near the bottom of the page at:

In answer to how you made the book possible: without students to confirm the validity of concepts, how could I know what works, what doesn't, and why?

Therefore your complimentary copy is in the mail.

So there you go, see how my process works?

With a few simple links, I have given you more to read than you are likely to, and I have also established an overview for the next thousand or so people who ask me how things are going.

Cool, huh?

Do you have a Facebook page? How have you been? I remember selling Jelly-Bellies at the store. At least, I think I remember that. Please tell Mary that I said hello.

A friend of mine went to NY and she stopped by last night to tell me about the trip. I pulled up a map to show her where I lived, and the next thing I know is that I was showing her a Google Map of Sugar Loaf and telling her all about you and Mary. Then, I saw that Sylvia passed. She was a sweet lady, and I still have the rock tumbler and the rocks that I bought from her. After that, I started looking for you and Mary. Wow!

Now they are everywhere except here.

No need to say hi to Mary, she's been reading along.

Also no Facebook...too restrictive (and insidious) for somebody like me who effectively owns the Internet.

In fact, I always tell people my websites are for the post-tweety-face-world, a statement that will make perfect sense in time.

In the meantime a search for Bob Fugett right now will provide more than anybody should ever want to know about it today.

Since you were one of the test cases that made "Impulse and Strength" possible, where do I send your free complimentary copy?

I remember giving you at least one lesson at your parents house on the corner of Lake View Drive and Pines Hill Road back when I had guitar, would travel for in-home lessons.

He was my guitar teacher many years ago.

I would love to re-connect after all of these years.

Please email me at ██.

P.S. Bob, I still play my guitar. You were an inspiration to me as a child, and I have never forgotten you.

Elizabeth Censullo

This reminds me of one of my favorite new theories.

I always hear people talking about how prescient they are because of how many times somebody they were just thinking about shows up or contacts them.

I finally got aggravated hearing it so many times, so I took a few extra minutes trying to figure out why it is such a common myth.

So here's the theory: what if people's inner mind has absolutely no perception of time?

By that I don't mean a "poor" concept of time, as in I missed that appointment by five minutes because I thought I had longer, but absolutely zero concept of time, as in 10 years, 5 years, 3 minutes, it's all the same to your internal perception.

Plus things you think about as "future" might hold the same timeless space in your mind and be easily transposed to proximity with any other memory or thought (with thoughts being indistinguishable from memories at that level).

Therefore whenever anybody shows up after a long time, you might have thought about them once 7 years before, but your mind's perception (at the basic internal source) could easily transpose it to, "Man, I was just thinking about them!"

So here is how that theory works in this present context: I was just thinking about you last week, and I know exactly when.

I was finishing up one of my bicycle rides that goes by your old house.

I thought, "It is strange how I have never stopped feeling like this is the Censullo house, and they are just gone for the day."

I continued, "What is really odd is how I have the exact same thought every time I ride by here, a couple dozen times each summer, not to mention the times I drive by here in the car (many more) as well."

"Looks like Tommy just finished barbecuing. I wonder if Elizabeth is still playing? She sure was smart and talented."

So thank you for confirming my theory.

I was just thinking about you, and any time you ever would have written I would believe the exact same thing, so it's great to hear you are ok.

That means you win a free copy of Impulse and Strength, but I'll get your physical address via e-mail.

Bob

Since Connie is not a cyclist, I have to preface this with: 20 mph on a bicycle will put you with the fast riders, but it is a lot easier than most of them think.

Connie only needs to read down to: force, and then she can go back to working on her book about pottery process—COCS for short.

But she probably would like to see how it all started at: THIS

She should at least pull down to the images of the snakes (Milk Snakes) that people tried to convince me were Copperheads, then compare them to the actual Copperhead shown in the first link.

So we're back to photo chronicling the tick bite.

As for me picking up vipers, I am fairly certain even a lowly Copperhead would kill me.

This morning things are even better, and my fever broke, and I am not so nauseous.

Mary just came and checked saying, "Well it is a lot better so now I'm not worried."

Yesterday she said, "It does look bad, and if I didn't know how your skin always reacts to such stuff, I'd be as worried as Connie."

Years ago I got poison ivy while we were cleaning out our back yard, had to be put on steroids, and when Don Duke saw my arm (which was a waterfall of ooze) he said, "Looks like a Steven King movie."

My current theory is that I had just iced it commenting to myself, "That's odd. The ice doesn't feel very cold," so I probably gave myself an ice burn.

And that is why it happened so fast and got everybody so worried.

Which reminds me.

As horrible as it looked, and as correctly concerned as you were about it, you do realize that your lungs look a lot worse and are significantly more necrotic, don't you?

Not to mention that the money you spend on cigarettes is probably more than enough to rent Boz's space and begin your lucrative teaching career.

I can see the ads already: Journeyman Sugar Loaf Potter Now Offering Master Classes to a Select Few Students - Not Just the Experience - The Essence of Improvement - Get Good at It - Apply Within.

Of course in order for people to understand what they are getting, those classes will have to be very expensive.

Somebody might have to skip a nail appointment.

BTW: No photo of the poison ivy but here is my most recent bee sting. >>>

For note keeping Mary talked to her iPhone and here is what Siri heard:

Six intervals on Wendy's hell the first very he had two-minute restaurants the last three had three minute breasts started with a minutes six my best was 52 seconds ended with a minute five

Afterwards Mary could not decide if calling the hill Wendy's Hell was Siri's mistake or the more precise description.

Next Generation Hobbies was the perfect complement to artisan shops in Sugar Loaf.

It was not in any way an instance of the Sugar Loaf Four Step but merely collateral damage of the hamlet's recent lack of advertising focus.

And, Bob, stop weeping about how wonderful that shop was and how much better than you could have even imagined...after you finally went in.

Kudos to "The Artist".

It is a sales pitch.

She just took another twelve seconds off her mile time (now at 8:23 in the