{"id":4482,"date":"2010-11-19T10:52:50","date_gmt":"2010-11-19T14:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/?p=4482"},"modified":"2010-11-19T10:52:50","modified_gmt":"2010-11-19T14:52:50","slug":"friday-notes-rock-dodge-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/2010\/11\/19\/friday-notes-rock-dodge-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Notes: Rock Dodge Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of everything I have on my to-do list today, getting down the “rock dodge” drill for a cycling instructor course<\/a> is probably the most difficult. \u00c2\u00a0The result isn’t particularly challenging (dodging a rock), it’s the method by which you’re required to do it (a seemingly unnecessary bit of countersteering). \u00c2\u00a0In any event, if that’s the\u00c2\u00a0toughest\u00c2\u00a0part of the day, it should be a good day, no? \u00c2\u00a0Now on to bits and pieces collected over the week:<\/p>\n

30 airports in 30 days<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0I remember wishing I could do this, when I saw the JetBlue pass on sale. \u00c2\u00a0It’s been at least 5 years since I last did a “mileage run” (something you do to push yourself just over the line for the next medallion status in a frequent flier program), and quick travel appeals less than it used to. \u00c2\u00a0But this? \u00c2\u00a0Sounded like a bit of fun.<\/p>\n

Travelling at a slower speed is what’s gained my interest, lately, and this piece on a significant uptick in bicycle touring<\/a> makes it sound like I’ve got some company. \u00c2\u00a0A proper cycling tour has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I think Taiwan cemented my decision to make it happen soon. \u00c2\u00a0 It’ll probably start with a long weekend’s out and back along the C&O, to sort things out. \u00c2\u00a0Then maybe a SF-LA (via the PCH) week trip? \u00c2\u00a0After that, who knows? \u00c2\u00a0I should probably stop reading this site<\/a>, if I want to keep it reasonable . . .<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of interesting pieces on control in the marketplace. \u00c2\u00a0The first is about the differing approaches between Facebook and Google on the matter of who controls your data<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0You know you’re doing it wrong when you make Google look unthreatening by comparison. \u00c2\u00a0(I keep trying to kick the Facebook habit, but it’s tougher than you might imagine. \u00c2\u00a0Serious network effect going on, there.) \u00c2\u00a0 The second is a post by a San Francisco restauranteur, and why he doesn’t use OpenTable<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0It’s really quite interesting, the amount of leverage that OpenTable (with its dominance of the market) has on metro area restaurants. \u00c2\u00a0 I’ve been using OpenTable since they arrived in DC (2003?), but this (and, well, this<\/a>) makes me hope that a competitor will be arriving shortly.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

I admit that, despite the rather large rhetorical role that it’s played in Virginia’s politics, I’ve never taken a close look at “clean coal” (or the veracity of a million claims about it). \u00c2\u00a0So while I realize that it’s just scratching the surface, I felt like I learned a fair bit from the always-informative James Fallows in this article<\/a>:<\/p>\n

To environmentalists, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clean coal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is an insulting oxymoron. But for now, the only way to meet the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy needs, and to arrest climate change before it produces irreversible cataclysm, is to use coal\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddirty, sooty, toxic coal\u00e2\u20ac\u201din more-sustainable ways. The good news is that new technologies are making this possible. China is now the leader in this area, the Google and Intel of the energy world. If we are serious about global warming, America needs to work with China to build a greener future on a foundation of coal. Otherwise, the clean-energy revolution will leave us behind, with grave costs for the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s climate and our economy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If anyone has rebuttals to this article that I should check out, do pass them along.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Michael Turton, a Taiwan-based blogger, highlights what I think is a\u00c2\u00a0compelling political ad<\/a> explaining why it’s important to care about politics. \u00c2\u00a0Watch it:<\/p>\n

[youtube]http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Q_ywQ8G1XlI[\/youtube]<\/p>\n

Yes, it’s in the context of Taiwan, but it struck me as hitting universal truths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of everything I have on my to-do list today, getting down the “rock dodge” drill for a cycling instructor course is probably the most difficult. \u00c2\u00a0The result isn’t particularly challenging (dodging a rock), it’s the method by which you’re required to do it (a seemingly unnecessary bit of countersteering). \u00c2\u00a0In any event, if that’s the\u00c2\u00a0toughest\u00c2\u00a0part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,6,468,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cycling","category-content-distribution","category-policy","category-taiwan","category-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4483,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions\/4483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}