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This was originally written on 7/31, but Blogger was on the fritz and wouldn't let me post it. Here it is, a few days late.
So, how's everyone doing? I've been keeping up on your blogs (for those who've commented here and have a blogger profile that links to such) so it sounds like everyone's doing quite well. Congrats to Jason for damn near doubling the amount of miles I got this month, all the while driving your car ZERO times in July. Crazy guy. That's an awesome achievement.
I've had a pretty exciting day.
I went ahead and took the bus to work, like I have been for a while. 5.5 miles every day. Blah. But you know what? I feasted upon beans, rice, pasta, and cheaptastic food for the last week. I spent a mere pittance on survival. And today was pay day. I got the plane ticket for the convention I am going to. My wife and I still need to survive till next payday, and the budget will be kind of tight, but we're in the clear for the most part.
This afternoon, the bug bit me. I had to ride all the way home. The temperatures were in the 80s, which seems pretty cool given some recent hot days. The wind wasn't bad. The air was calling to me to ride. I caught up with Karen by the brewery. She got back from RAGBRAI and has been riding solo the past few days while I take the bus. My cameraphone takes some pretty trippy motion pics:
I got home and the legs were still itching for some miles. I couldn't hold back. No, I had to do the Brookside Ride. I got there plenty early and tested out the PDA I'm planning on using at the convention. It works fine.
It was kind of funny, a stretch of road buried in Mission Hills was torn up for resurfacing. A lot of the riders took it pretty slow, Some of us (like me, with 32mm tires) just kept rolling right along. For me, that meant something in the neighborhood of 12-15 MPH -- I'm NOT fast. All the people who didn't bother slowing down went very wide around the slower folks, who were pretty much sticking near the right gutter. When we got to the first re-group, one lady began scolding every last one of those (me, too) who passed her without an "on your left!" Sorry, I don't think warning is needed when you're passing with a 10-foot berth and at a speed differential of 5 MPH.
I laughed. One of the roadies took it pretty personally, and it almost came to fisticuffs. Eff-Bombs a-plenty, finger pointing and beating of chests. I kept laughing. I almost apologized to the lady after getting scolded, but as I was riding over to her, all hell broke loose and I really didn't feel like getting in her crosshairs. "If you can't follow the ettiquite, don't come on this ride!"
I'll tell you what. If proper ettiquite for the ride is all about picking fights and calling people names, perhaps I *wont* go on that ride. Way to lead by example, curmudgeonly lady. My new troll, "Weston" is going to comment on this, as it's a great example of how I belittle people who are not me. Watch the comments. If you haven't seen his work, it's second to...well, okay. It's snarky, full of misinformation and easy to dismiss, but still good for a chuckle.
I somehow got tangled up between two group rides. On Thursday, the Brookside ride and the Blue Moose ride both cruise a lot of the same roads. The Blue Moose crowd is usually made of riders much faster than I -- or most of the Brooksiders for that matter. I ended up following some Blue Moose stragglers (the slow ones that I could keep up with) back to their start point. That's fine with me, because Prairie Village is closer to home than Brookside. I chatted with JCBC's president (who leads that ride) for a while, then went along my merry way.
Somewhere just past 85th street on Santa Fe Drive, a 1990's Blue Ford Explorer decided to ride my ass while laying on the horn. I chortled merrily without looking back, and pointed to the desolate left lane, where no one was driving. The klaxon remained engaged. After about a whole minute of constant horn, the motorist pulled alongside me, driving between the lanes. Horn is still wailing. I finally paid him a courtesy glance to see what in the world could be so important as to warrant nearly two minutes of honking. The man, was pointing to something. me? No. Well, kind of. I kept my line and began formulating this very part of my blog post in my mind, JUST for Weston.
Oh yes, much loathing of another person who is conveniently NOT me was happening again. It's an epidemic, I swear. Then, I started to get crowded between the SUV and the curb. This had gone from an entertaining but annoying motorist to a dangerous and malevolent one. Once stopped, I was called all sorts of names and understood the word "sidewalk" through a very thick accent that I can't place. "Do you have a driver's licence? Did you read the state handbook? I am supposed to use the road." I said calmly, pretty much at the same time as he continues to scream obscenities at me, now honking intermittently. The light turned green. I laughed. He kept ranting.
Eventually, a few people behind us honked, and he took off, cutting over as if to get in my way. I wasn't going anywhere until he'd gotten past me. Big surprise: he went straight for the liquor store, and I was already on the phone with 911. One Overland Park Police station basically shares a parking lot with that strip mall. I was informed to come to the station since talking to an officer directly would be easier. Before I rode there, I got a good snapshot of his vehicle. I wish I would have thought to stop and show that it was parked at the liquor store.
Anyhow, one police report filed. He'll get a visit from someone tomorrow. If he's stupid enough to admit he harassed me, he'll get cited for road rage. Either way, he'll be briefed first-hand on Kansas laws by an officer, and that's all I really want. It WOULD be epic if this guy said "Yes, that moron was on the road, I kept honking..." to the officer. I'll keep an eye on the case number. :)
No harm done at all, and I was ready to hop up on the curb if I had to. I just don't feel like being victimized anymore. One broken face is enough. Rather than flex my vocal cords or retaliate, I'll just keep letting the boys in blue do their jobs.
I wrapped up today with a little more than 50 miles. And I feel a lot better. I'll probably ride to and from work tomorrow, since it's the first friday of the month. That means it's 2600 time at "The Maul" - We gotta get our geek on!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Exciting! Drama! On Your Left!
This was originally written on 7/31, but Blogger was on the fritz and wouldn't let me post it. Here it is, a few days late.
11 comments:
- Jennifer said...
Must be nice to have the police on your side.
- August 02, 2008 2:40 AM
- Dan said...
That's a great way to handle an idiot like that. Sounds like he has some aggression issues.
- August 02, 2008 5:28 AM
- Chuong Doan said...
Dude I was wondering why the hell she was yelling at him in the church lot. Some people are really cranky about getting passed. I think if you can't ride straight without getting overtaken at 12 mph then you are the one who needs to stay away from group rides. Man this "on your left" shit is for the bird.
- August 02, 2008 9:16 AM
- mark said...
Noah, good for you for checkin' in with the cops. Lots of law enforcement types can identify with cyclists, their are a surprising amount of O.P., Lenexa, Shawnee and JOSheriffs that ride.
I think the 'on your left' bit is situational myself. It's a courtesy for sure, but based on your description of the 'incident' didn't sound critical. We might hear a bell in Europe when being overtaken at a slower speed, but mostly people just flow and try to be flexible. I think American may still be in our 'uptight' phase of bicycling. Road anxiety.
- August 02, 2008 1:16 PM
- amidnightrider said...
That poor woman may have just graduated from one of those "Urban Bike" courses.
- August 02, 2008 2:17 PM
- Apertome said...
Sometimes I'll say "On your left" or whatever is appropriate, but a lot of times when I do that, people turn to look and end up in my way. Sometimes it's better just to pass them, if they seem to be holding their line. It's weird that lady was being so anal about that.
I'm glad you called the cops on that aggressive motorist. Hopefully something will come of that.
Those action shots with your cell phone are crazy. There's some kinda time warp going on there.
- August 04, 2008 8:48 AM
- Jason said...
Must be the heat!
- August 04, 2008 8:54 AM
- The Unabashed Blogger said...
Glad to hear you were able to capture all the information and that something will be done about your overly excited motorist. Last time I did that the local PD stated there was nothing they could do but have me fill our a report that wasn't going to do anything but be a legal document that something happened. I'm not in this for revenge or spite. I only want education...from someone they will listen to...who typically is not me. Imagine that.
- August 04, 2008 9:48 AM
I had a similar situation occur last Thursday on my ride in the morning (check my blog for details). I was incredulous as this was the first time I experienced an indignant driver since becoming a bicycle commuter.
- August 04, 2008 9:53 AM
- Noah said...
Apertome: Article on Wired.com about distorted iPhone Photos. Essentially though, any scanning camera will produce this effect, from low-tech Slit-Scan Photography/Cinematography to the scanning CMOS camera in my LG Chocolate, the iPhone or cheap toy-aisle digicams.
- August 04, 2008 10:04 AM
- Warren T said...
- August 05, 2008 3:22 PM
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(Adds background and comments)
By Dan Levine and Rory Carroll
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday refused to revisit a ruling which upheld California's low carbon fuel standard aimed at reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to a court filing.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld California's regulations last year. In a decision released on Wednesday, the 9th Circuit refused to rehear the case before a larger panel of judges. The case could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state's low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) requires reductions in carbon emissions for fuels to be measured throughout the lifecycle - including production and transportation as well as ultimate use. Out-of-state fuel producers argue that it discriminates against their products and favors California-produced fuels, which are not transported as far.
Out-of-state oil and ethanol producers sued the state over the standard and a federal judge in Fresno, California agreed with them in 2011, but that decision was eventually overturned by the appeal's court last year.
Writing for the majority, Judge Ronald M. Gould said California is within its rights to implement laws designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"While a state may not mandate compliance with its preferred policies in wholly out-of-state transactions, it may regulate commerce within its boundaries even if one of its goals is to influence the out-of-state choices of market participants," he said. "This is what California permissibly has done with the LCFS."
In a strongly worded dissent, seven judges said California was that the LCFS threatens to "Balkanize our national economy."
"Our federal system grants states substantial discretion to remedy perceived local problems. But the Constitution sharply constrains their power to do so at the expense of other states," said Judge Milan D. Smith.
Plaintiffs in the case said they will be evaluating their legal options in the coming weeks. An appeal is expected.
"Although the LCFS clearly discriminates against fuels produced in other states and violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals chose to deny our petition and uphold this biased law," said Richard Moskowitz, general counsel for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
(Reporting by Dan Levine and Rory Carroll; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Meredith Mazzilli)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

subset: commoncrawl


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From the best-selling world of King Rolen's Kin:
The King's Man
by Rowena Cory Daniells
An ebook exclusive
Available from 6th December
Epub ISBN: 9781849974721
Kindle ISBN: 9781849974738
Return to Rowena Cory Daniells' best-selling fantasy world
"Page-turning, plot-twisting, breakneck adventure." – SFX on The Kings' Bastard
"Pacy and full of action and intrigue." – Trudi Canavan on The Kings' Bastard
Returning to the world she created for the best-selling series The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin, Rowena Cory Daniells has crafted a brand new novella – available next week from Solaris!
In the Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin trilogy everyone believed Garzik had been killed. This ebook exclusive reveals what happened to him.
When Dovecote estate fell, Garzik, younger son of Lord Dovecote, was captured and sent back to Merofynia as a prize of war. Feeling responsible for the fall of his father's estate – and therefore, ultimately, the fall of the Kingdom of Rolencia – Garzik must set things right before he can return home.
He decides to turn his misfortune into opportunity, to spy for the rightful king, Byren, who yet thinks him slain at Dovecote. With fortune on his side, he may learn something that could change the path of the war, then escape, return home, find Byren and redeem himself. For Garzik is and always will be the king's man.
With its explosive mix of political intrigue and magic, The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin remains the best selling Solaris series. Discover for yourself why with this new and exclusive ebook from Solaris.
About the series: The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin
Only seven minutes younger than Rolencia's heir, Byren has never hungered for the throne; he laughs when a seer predicts that he will kill his twin. But the royal heir resents Byren's growing popularity. Across the land the untamed magic of the gods wells up out of the earth's heart, sending exotic creatures to stalk the wintry nights and twisting men's minds, granting them terrible visions. Those so touched are sent to the Abbey, to learn to control their gift, or die. At King Rolen's court, enemies plot to take his throne, even as secrets within his own household threaten to tear his family apart.
The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin
The King's Bastard
The Uncrowned King
The Usurper
About the Author
Rowena Cory Daniells has been involved in Speculative Fiction for over thirty years -- as a reader and fan, independent press, graphic artist, bookshop owner and writer. She is published in both children and adults' fiction. Her award-winning fantasy trilogy The Last T'En was published in Australia, the US and Germany. She also writes short stories, which have appeared in magazines and anthologies including Dreaming Downunder which won World Best Fantasy, and Dreaming Again. Rowena has a Masters in Arts Research and has taught creative writing to all ages. In her spare time she has devoted five years to studying each of these martial arts, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido and Iaido, the art of the Samurai sword.


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Parents concerned over privacy after school releases email
Email contained student health information
Some parents said they were concerned that a local school revealed too much information about their children.
A teacher at Helen Tyson Middle School sent an email that lists the name of every student who needs a tetanus or diphtheria vaccination to get into the next grade to all the parents of students in the sixth grade.
District officials said it was a mistake, but not against the law.
"There's nothing against the law or against the rules about what she did," said Rick Schaeffer, communications director for Springdale Schools. "But, it was her effort to almost plead with these parents. Please get this done, because you have to do this before you can be in the seventh grade."
Schaeffer said he checked with the Washington County Health officials to make sure no privacy laws were broken, and said none were. He said the mass email was not the first time the school had tried to reach parents about these important vaccinations.
"There have been individual letters sent out, phone calls made, visits made," he said.
In total, officials sent out six letters. The reminder is also on the front page of the school website.
"The frustration is when you deal strictly with the parents and still are not getting results," Schaeffer said.
Some parents say the list was a privacy invasion. Maria Bello received the email earlier in this week. She said it was a privacy invasion because it shows every child who needs a vaccination, which she said is no one else's business.
Schaeffer admitted the mass email was a bad idea, but said the school hasn't received any complaints. He said the teacher who sent out the email was trying to help parents.
"Even though this may not have been the best way of doing it, it was one teacher's way of saying, 'Hey, I just want all these kids to be ready to be enrolled in the seventh grade,'" Schaeffer said.
The Washington County Health Department said the shots cost $5 and are free for parents with Medicaid. Schaefer said the teacher will not be punished for sending out the email.


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The Duchess of Cambridge is just weeks away from giving birth to her and Prince William's first child.
Kate is expected to give birth around mid-July, and when the baby is born the world's media will be waiting outside the hospital hoping to catch a glimpse of the new heir to the throne.
As the Duchess' due date approaches, we catch up with Royal protocol expert William Hanson on how he believes the Duchess of Cambridge has become one of the most skilled, and well dressed, royals in the world.
How do you think the Duchess of Cambridge has dressed for her pregnancy?
She has dressed very well – the same demure choices as before yet still on trend and stylish. Some women descend into looking dishevelled when pregnant, but thankfully the Duchess of Cambridge has yet to do that!
Kate has spent two years now as a member of the royal family, how you feel her royal role has changed?
Her Royal Highness is beginning to carve out her own niche within the family. Every member of 'The Firm' has their own specialities and areas of interest and Catherine is beginning to find hers and get very skilled at Royal duties. You can see she is a lot less nervous than 2 years ago. I think she's done just great.
When the baby arrives, how do you think Prince William & Kate will react with the media attention?
With their usual decorum! They will know it will be there – they've had nine months to prepare for both a baby and a flood of media attention. I hope the media will leave them in peace immediately after the birth as child birth is known to be incredibly tiring for the mothers, and press intrusion will not help.
The baby will become third-in-line and our future monarch, how will Kate prepare the baby for their royal life?
I think the Duchess having joined the Royal Family as an outsider, will be best placed to guide her child into the spotlight when the time is right. She knows what is expected and what is right/wrong and so will be at a strong advantage for Royal motherhood.
What kind of protocol education will the royal baby take?
There is unlikely to be anything formal, a lot of it will be instruction here and there from family members or just learned through observation. Children are great mimics and if they see their family do something, they will copy.
Prince William & Kate have often been credited with modernising the royal family, do you think this is true?
Yes, I think this is true, but we must not forget that The Queen has modernised the Royal Family too. The Monarchy 61 years ago was very different from what it is now. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh stopped the presentation of debutantes at court, abolished the 'don't turn your back to The Monarch' rule, opened their homes to the public in order to levy some of the costs from the tax payer, and even allowed the Royal Household to go online on Twitter, Facebook & Flickr. Whilst the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are helping in this process, it is The Queen who is really to be credited.
How important do you think protocol is in today's royal family?
It is and always will be – however modern the Royal Family get. They entertain world leaders, fellow Royalty and diplomats on behalf of the state and so protocol will and must be in place to ensure that there is no international faux pas. It is very easy to forget to look past sensationalist tabloid journalism, which can blur the real role and duties of the Royal Family.
Would you like to see Kate be styled as a Princess?
Yes, and this will probably come when her husband moves to be Prince of Wales. We shall wait and see.William has his own website. williamhanson.co.uk


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The Department is committed to carrying out state-of-the-art research across a number of areas of physics and closely related areas of science and technology. With approximately 20 research active faculty members, approximately 60 graduate students are mentored in research, making substantial contributions and leading projects themselves as they progress towards completion of their degrees. Many opportunities also exist for undergraduate research participation, for example, through senior thesis projects. With these strong student involvements, the Department's research activities support and compliment student education and professional preparation.
Research in the Department is concentrated in seven principal areas:
- Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
- Astrophysics
- Complex systems and non-linear phenomena
- Ion beam analysis and modification of materials
- Optical materials, photonics, and biophotonics
- Materials modeling and materials science
- Plasma science
Supporting these seven principal areas are a number of facilities and theoretical and observational programs:
• Astrophysics research using ground and space-based telescopes
• Atomic, molecular, and optical theory
• Atomic scattering physics laboratory
• Complex systems science
• Condensed matter theory
• Ion beam modification and analysis laboratory
• Nano-Plasmonics and Nano-Optics Laboratory
- Nanoscale materials synthesis and characterization laboratory
• Plasma science
• Polymer gels and hydrogels laboratory
• Precision atomic physics measurements laboratory
• Remote access and public astronomical observatories (LINKS)
• Scanning tunneling microscopy laboratory
• Semiconductor materials and devices characterization laboratory
• Sputter-initiated resonance ionization spectroscopy laboratory
• Two and three dimensional photonic materials synthesis & characterization laboratories


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Mannequins This Week In London
I love seeing how shops merchandise their window and how they dress and what kind of mannequins they feature. This week my favourite windows were Zara on Oxford street. Punk and 80's inspirations – loved the pin curl wig – very Givenchy A/W 13 Loved the oversized cards at Beyond Retro. 90's grunge and oversizedContinue reading


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So Sarah invites Staci and me to go with her, and some friends, to Zanies, for a showcase. It was my first time at the Chicago laugh stop and we had a great time! Those guys and gals on stage should get big props for getting out of their comfort zone in pursuit of their dream.
Stand-up is hard. Trust me. I've tried it.
So we go to the packed show and then we skipped on down to Fireplace Inn where I enjoyed some great food, a cold beer and a fun chat with K-von. He's fun and funny!
PS: Kvon just likes to go by Kvon. You know, no last name. Which is fine by me. (Although, I DO get him to spill it in the video.)
For more funny videos, check out JenChicago.com!
Find me on Facebook! (Search: JenChicago)


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English outdoor planter 19x19. Handcrafted of shorea hard wood using mortise and tenon joinery, shorea furniture will last for years to come. Shorea wood is a tropical hardwood comparable to teak which is very resistant to water, sun and outdoor elements. Dimensions: 19 inch × 19 inch × 17 inch.
Shorea wood has a high oil content which makes it very resistant to water and rotting. It is highly resistant to bug infestation, rain, wind, sun and snow. If left untreated it weathers naturally to a beautiful silver gray over period of 1 year. Natural wood color can be maintained longer with seasonal application of teak oil and protectors.


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MY RIDE- Doug Smith: 1995 Ford P-1000
The boxy brown UPS truck is a fixture on Downtown streets, and driver Doug Smith is naturally just as ubiquitous.
The always-cheerful 33-year-old Smith says he loves his job– every weekend off– and the truck is surprisingly easy to maneuver. His company sees to the maintenance, so that's no worry either.
Who's the most interesting person he's met on his rounds? "Everybody's interesting; that's what's so great," says the ever-affable Smith.
What's the best thing about his job? "People are always happy to see me," he says. "They know they're getting a package!"
No downside at all? There we had him.
"The Downtown Mall is ridiculous," he concedes, "the whole situation– parking, narrow streets..."
But back to a happier note, he sums up his truck's appeal: "I like it just because it's brown."
What drives you? Call 295-8700 ext. 239, then pull up in front of Hook headquarters at 100 Second St. NW, and tell us why you love your ride. Each week's featured driver will receive a free car wash courtesy of H&H Quality Car Care.


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MSA Stars and Stripes Hard Hat
- MSA Stars and Stripes Hard Hat
- Item #: 2000024292
Product Details
Let Freedom Shine! Hardhat wearers can express their patriotism and protect their heads by wearing one of MSAs new special series of Freedom helmets. The bright designs are exceptionally attractive, with a superior shiny finish, on the V-Gard shell. The Freedom Series helmets, which come with MSAs Fas-Trac suspension, are lightweight, durable, and comfortable. They meet all applicable requirements of ANSI Z89.1 for a Type I helmet (Class E). The helmets accessory slots accept all MSA V-Gard accessories. Also, your logo can be custom-imprinted on top of the design, if desired. Another way Americans can express their solidarity is with a special United We Stand hardhat, which is a white V-Gard Cap with Fas-Trac ratchet suspension, and the United We Stand logo.
- Class E type ANSI Z89.1 rated
- V-Gard shell
- MSA FAS-TRAC Susepiosion
- Durable and lightweight
- Slots for V-Guard accessories


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Date Night: Olea
Spots for every kind of date.
All day we had been craving creaminess, so we eagerly ordered the trio of dips ($14) at Olea. Oozy and unctuous, these three spreads were even more satisfying in corporeal form than in our imaginings. Usually it's the opposite: the experience almost never lives up to the dream. Something about this Brooklyn restaurant makes fantasies become real. You know that life isn't actually as great as it is here, yet, for a few moments, great it is.
For us, this effect started with the dips. The spicy feta, the color of an aging hardcover book, could have used more heat and more feta; it resembled hummus too much in looks and taste. The brick red of the romesco testified to its heavy base of red peppers mixed with almonds and oil, for a sweet, easy finish. The green pea, with its powerful squirts of lemon and shreds of Parmesan, smoothed over any problems. That's food worth dreaming about.
Olea rightly calls itself a taverna. White-washed walls, turquoise trim, and seahorse motifs evoke Greece, while the embroidered pillows, metalwork, and colorful inlaid tiles around the bar say Turkey. In the evening, with candlelight gleaming along the broad-beamed ceiling, the restaurant is just plain handsome. Like the decor, dishes are mix-and-match Mediterranean.
Entrees, such as the grilled ribeye steak ($25), arrive on huge plates. However, as if to emphasize the joy of sharing, these behemoths are also available in an appetizer size. In total, we split five tapas, none as mind-bogglingly good as the green pea dip, though all some degree of pleasant. The fried chickpeas ($3.50) had been tossed with Spanish paprika, producing a meaty heat. Beer and soda makers could up their sales by attaching little packets of these savories to their bottles.
Least successful were the chicken empanadillas ($7.50). Although each had a ridge of precisely folded pastry, the insides were dry and pungent, with an echo, somehow, of whitefish. The avocado-esque sauce helped but didn't hide the dismaying flavor. Pass. Better was the sangria-marinated hanger steak ($10). Pickled onions picked up what remained of the alcohol's sugariness, and the portion was generous. If we'd had any of the freshly made semolina bread or spreads left, we might have made a very smart sandwich.
Falafel-crusted artichoke hearts ($7) came with a Turkish eggplant salad, a chutney-like concoction of tomatoes, peppers, and, of course, eggplant. Everything got a swirl of tahini-yogurt sauce. Slivers of the hearts were nestled within a mass of moist, mashed garbanzos, almost a croquette.
Although Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays offer specials and live music, Sunday night had its own pageant. We drank mango-white sangria ($8) and watched. Four elderly folks celebrated the start of a new week.
A young woman sipped white wine while taking her toddler on a tour of the wide-tiled brown floor. Holding hands, a couple in color-coordinated cardigans waited for a table to open up outside. At the bar, a man highlighting a Richard Rorty book with two different pens struck up a conversation with a guy reading Gilles Deleuze. We could have been on a photo shoot for a Fort Greene-based real estate office.
Plenty of people know about this restaurant, located on a leafy street a few blocks away from busy Fulton and DeKalb. Nevertheless, the other diners heightened, rather than detracted from, our sense of cozy comfort. With its sunny disposition and easy-to-like cooking, Olea is best for: a relaxing, tranquil date.
171 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11238 (map)
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Anyone who was watching the right spot in the sky on March 19th got to witness what may have been the furtherst object ever visible from Earth. The event that produced the light took place roughly 3 billion years before the Sun and Earth coalesced; at 7.4 billion years, the light has been in transit for about half the age of the universe. Despite the age and distance, the object was briefly as bright as Supernova 1987A, which took place in our galactic back yard about 160,000 light years away.
Nobody's sure whether anyone was looking, but NASA's robotic Swift observatory did what it's supposed to when it detects a gamma-ray burst, and swung into action (it was actually imaging a nearby burst that cooked off a half-hour earlier). Telescopes around the globe followed, and the fading afterglow was observed across wavelengths that spanned 11.5 orders of magnitude. The results of the observations of the event, GRB 080319B, will be appearing today in Nature
The long reach of the optical emissions is the product of relativistic jets that result from the formation of a black hole from the core of an exploded star. Those jets crash into returning shock waves of the explosion, then the outwardly expanding shell, triggering further optical emissions. These observations captured and separated all three components, providing key information.
For example, the first optical output originates from the same location as the gamma-rays, indicating that the initiation of the jets themselves produces optical emissions, which eliminates some models for the production of this optical output. It also suggests that jet formation involves a lot more energy than indicated previously by the models. The picture generated using the data suggests a two-component jet, consisting of a narrow (0.4°), ultrarelativistic core moving within a few ten-millionths of the speed of light, surrounded by a broader jet of material moving somewhat more slowly. The gamma ray bursts are triggered by internal interactions in the core jet, while the remaining emissions come from the wider jet interacting with the various shockwaves.
Rendering of the gamma-ray burster.
NASA/Swift/Hrybyk-Keith & Jones
Unfortunately, the authors calculate that the extremely narrow beam of the inner jet means that we'll only wind up having one point in earth's line of sight every three to ten years, meaning it may take a while to confirm this model.
Also in this issue is a paper on the star voted "most likely to go supernova nearby," Eta Carinae, if your definition of nearby includes 8,000 light years. Back in the 1800s, people watched as the star burped a whopping 12 solar masses of matter in an eruption that was visible as a supernova-like outburst. The new work identifies a dim, fast moving shell of material that has sped away from most of the rest of that mass.
The new material suggests that the energy released in this earlier event was far higher than estimated earlier, and actually falls within the range of what's commonly expected from a supernova, and probably resulted from an event deep in the star's core. And yet, somehow, the star still exists (or, if it doesn't, the light from its demise hasn't reached us yet). The author of the paper suggests that supernova events may not be the all-or-nothing explosions we tend to view them as, and may occur across a spectrum of energies, some of which are compatible with the star's survival.
Nature, 2008. DOI: 10.1038/nature07270
Nature, 2008. DOI: 10.1038/nature07269


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Among the thousands celebrating New York's legalization of gay marriage on Friday night: Actor Neil Patrick Harris, who will marry his fiance of many years, David Burtka.
But the pair didn't just become engaged Friday night when gay marriage became New York state law. They'd done that five years ago.
"We've been wearing engagement rings for ages, waiting for an available date," Harris said on Twitter.
U.S. & World
The "How I Met Your Mother" star and his actor/chef mate didn't wait for New York's state government to get around to recognizing their bond before starting a family, though. They're raising eight-month-old twins now.
Harris, who hosted this month's Tony Awards, had been vocal before the vote about his hopes the same-sex marriage bill would pass.
The bill to let same-sex couples wed passed in New York's Senate 33-29 late Friday night with the help of two last-minute Republican votes in favor. It had already cruised through the Democratic-controlled Assembly.
Once the Senate passed the measure, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who had made the issue his cause celebrate, immediately signed it into law.
That made New York the sixth and by far the largest state to let gay couples marry—and the first state to do so through a Republican-controlled legislature.
The law will go into effect within 30 days. Assuming Harris and Burtka are among the first in line, they could be husbands by the end of July.
Selected Reading: E! Online, PopEater, The Hollywood Reporter


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Day 1, Mixed Bag
by, April 27th, 2012 at 05:24 PM (969 Views)
Mixed bag on day one. No sleep last night and AF arrived this am. Disappointing start to the meet. The same thing happened at Auburn, where I swam fairly poorly. As a result, no power. That's how it goes sometimes.
100 fly, 1:02.2
I was solidly in the lead at 15 meters after going 14.5 underwater. I tried to swim the race very conservatively to avoid a big piano. Splits 29.3/32.8. These are good for me. I really didn't die the last length much. Execution, meh. Breakouts mediocre and turns glidey. Still, I was perfectly happy with this time considering. It's my second best as a master, best without the floaty suits.
100 back, 1:02.6
I'm sure no one will be surprised I'm disappointed with this time. It's much slower than my coverted time from the Albatross meet. Legs were dead and I didn't execute well. My left foot slipped on the start and I flopped a bit, though I recovered pretty well and went about 14 meters underwater. And I couldn't stay underwater nearly as long as I did in the Albatross 100; my kick count was way off. Last time, 15/15/15/10; this time 14/12/10/7-8. No leg power. Not how I envisioned this race. Almost an even split, factoring in the start, which may partly be due to the slip. Out much slower than in March. But still it was slightly under the NR and my second best time after my Jaked swim in Atlantain 2010. . I'm sure I'll be more psyched about it later.
The pool and facility are VERY nice. My only slight quibble is that the lanes were not very wide with the course set up as 10 lanes. They're wider at Mason. I grazed my hand on the lane line on the 100 fly.
It was fantastic hanging out with everyone, meeting some new folks and watching the fast swimming!
I am really hoping for some sleep tonight. I have some real accumulated sleep debt and feel cruddy. I think I'm scratching tomorrow and hopefully will feel better on Sunday. I think it is also possible, given my reduced cross training, that I'm slightly overtapered. Too many confounding factors to really know though. Peace love, swimming.


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Johnny Depp's hard times continue as 'Lone Ranger' bombs
- %27Ranger%27 is his latest under-performing film after %27Dark Shadows%2C%27 %27The Rum Diary%27 and %27The Tourist%27
- Depp also broke up with his girlfriend of 14 years%2C Vanessa Paradis%2C last year
- His new relationship with his much-younger %27Rum Diary%27 co-star Amber Heard is raising eyebrows
Johnny Depp has gotten plenty of practice in the art of rising from the ashes.
In the past year, he's seen two highly anticipated films under-perform at the box office. And, on the personal side, he just went public with much-younger girlfriend Amber Heard after a buzzed-about breakup with his long-term partner, French actress Vanessa Paradis.
The 50-year-old actor's most recent disappointment is The Lone Ranger, which bombed big at the box office last weekend. So big, in fact, that The Hollywood Reporter estimates that it's set to lose $150 million for Disney, the studio behind the critically maligned film, which took a beating against record-setting animated flick Despicable Me 2.
"Outside of Jack Sparrow (from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), he's not a huge box-office draw," says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations. "Everybody knows that if you just look at his box-office record. He's probably offered just about every role out there still because his name does carry weight, but he chooses to go that road-less-traveled path."
The very thing that made him may become his undoing, though, says Brian Balthazar, editor of POPgoesTheWeek, a pop-culture blog.
"I do think there may be some audience fatigue in the type of character Johnny Depp plays. He played quirky Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, and then he was the quirky Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland,and he was quirky Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He actually needs to play an ordinary guy. The public has seen him play a quirky, madcap character so many times."
Critics' distaste for Ranger repeatedly noted that Depp's Tonto was not far off from his twitchy, affected Jack Sparrow performance. Ranger, with a $225 million price tag and Depp's name attached, was expected to be a summer blockbuster yet pulled in a paltry $49 million over the July Fourth holiday weekend, making it one of the biggest flops of the year so far.
"It's not a good film. It's tired, it's lazy filmmaking, and he plays his oddball role well, but it's not enough to make up for everything else about it that is been-there-done-that," Bock says.
This latest cinematic failure is another entry on Depp's now-spotty résumé, which had gotten a golden boost a decade ago with the phenomenal success of the launch of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Back then, Depp was a leading-man-in-the-making hunk with a knack for playing eccentric characters in mostly under-the-radar movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Blow and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
But when Pirates became a global smash in 2003, Depp's profile rose, and he found himself firmly entrenched on the A-list. He followed the success of that box-office home run with three more progressively diluted Pirates sequels and a slew of collaborations with his longtime friend, director Tim Burton. (Since 2005, the pair have collaborated on five films with mixed success.)
"The strange thing about his career is, from the get-go, he's picked strange roles. It's almost like he doesn't want to be a star," Bock says.
Yet he is a bona fide star now, and the failure of The Lone Ranger has cast a deep shadow over the actor, whose last non-Pirates hit was 2010's Alice in Wonderland (directed by Burton). Last summer's Dark Shadows, also a Burton collaboration, fizzled, and before that, The Rum Diary, The Tourist and Public Enemies all came and went without much notice. (Save for The Tourist's much-mocked 2011 Golden Globe nominations for best comedy/musical and acting nods for Depp and co-star Angelina Jolie.)
"Most actors couldn't sustain having that many misfires, (but) Johnny Depp is a rare talent," Bock says. "Before Pirates, he had one film, Sleepy Hollow, that had made over $100 million. He was an unknown commodity until Jack Sparrow took him to new heights."
And, as if his career weren't worrisome enough, , Depp's love life unraveled last summer, too. June 2012 marked the the end of his 14-year relationship with Paradis, with whom he has two children.
"The last couple years have been a bit bumpy," he admitted to Rolling Stone in its July 4 issue. "At times, certainly unpleasant, but that's the nature of break-ups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved. ... Relationships are very difficult, especially in the racket that I'm in because you're constantly away or they're away and so it's hard. It wasn't easy on her. It wasn't easy on me. It wasn't easy on the kids. It doesn't stop the fact that you care for that person, and they're the mother of your kids, and you'll always know each other, and you're always going to be in each other's lives because of those kids."
He has, however, rebounded with his Rum Diary co-star Heard. The new couple stepped out publicly June 27 for the premiere of Ranger after months of buzz about their are-they-or-aren't-they relationship status. The pairing raised eyebrows, not only because of their 23-year age difference, but also because some fans felt Heard, who had been in a serious relationship with a woman when she met Depp on the Rum Diary set, precipitated his split from Paradis. Depp and Heard have yet to officially comment on their relationship.
Despite the drama and the movie missteps, Depp still has plenty to smile about. Consider, for instance, that he's positioned to rake in a salary close to $100 million for his role in Pirates 5.
"Johnny Depp will be fine," Bock says. "He has a big budget sci-fi film that he's shooting now (Transcendence) and he has Pirates 5, which is his safety net. It will probably make a billion dollars worldwide, like the last one, and that was probably part of the deal for getting The Lone Ranger green-lit. 'You do your big budget film and you give us Pirates 5.' I don't think he'll ever stop doing these oddball roles."


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Much has changed for urban gays in the 21 years since William Friedkin's Cruising. That controversial serial-killer thriller--set in the leather bars and after-hours sex clubs of New York's West Village--was derided by gay rights activists as a piece of cheapjack sensationalism leading only to trouble, seemingly designed to exacerbate the perceived divide between the straight "us" and the gay "them." Since then, serial killers gay and straight have become the staple of cable infotainment programming, and the fabled darkness of the gay underworld has been completely overshadowed by the genuine abyss of AIDS and the organized homophobia of the "religious" right.
Moreover, Matthew Shepard's murder has humanized all the overlooked lynchings of gays that came before it. Consequently, the gay/straight divide today seems more a sidewalk crack than a sinkhole of Grand Canyon proportions, and all of this is reflected in Jon Shear's brilliant new film Urbania.
Adapted by Shear and writer Daniel Reitz from the latter's play Urban Folk Tales, Urbania revisits many of the same West Village streets through which Friedkin lurched so awkwardly. Instead of a Mondo Cane-style peepshow, it offers the Long Dark Night of the Gay Soul for urban everyman Charlie, who--as popular parlance would have it --"just happens to be gay." Dan Futterman (best known to audiences as the straight son in The Birdcage) plays this most sympathetic fellow, who appears to be nursing some deeply personal hurt from a love affair gone awry. But as we follow his comings and goings, we learn there's much more to this gay "lonely guy" than meets the eye. Because of the supremely artful way Shear and Reitz have pitched the story, it reaches into places few films, gay or straight, have gone. For as Jean-Luc Godard would say, it has a beginning, middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order.
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At first, it would seem, Charlie is looking for a new love to replace the one he has somehow lost. A neighborhood tough guy named Dean (Samuel Ball) appears to have caught his eye, and a sympathetic bartender (Josh Hamilton) gives Charlie the lowdown on him. But our hero is equally attracted to another similarly butch type named Ron (Gabriel Olds). However, that would-be encounter comes to naught. Moreover, there are other people, places, and things crossing Charlie's past. A visit to his friend Brett (Alan Cumming) stirs tender memories of his lost love Chris (Matt Keeslar). Then there's that strange woman with a cell phone (Paige Turco) who keeps popping into view, not to mention the half-mad street tramp (Lothaire Bluteau) lurking in every doorway. The sense of eerie interconnectedness Shear gives these seemingly disparate scenes underscores the fact that we're a long way from Cruising and much closer to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.
What holds it all together is the running nongag of urban legends that appears in the plot. Like the one about the man whose kidney was stolen by a casual pickup. Or the one about the woman (Fassbinder goddess Barbara Sukowa) who is willing to pay an unheard-of amount of money just for one glance at a man's penis. And let's not forget the poodle in the microwave. They're all here, held together by Charlie's obsessive refrain: "Heard any good stories lately? I've got a good one. And this one really happened. Give me a second to figure out the ending." The ending that Charlie has to figure out has nothing to do with any story, but everything to do with what happened with his lover Chris--something viewers of Urbania would be best left to discover for themselves. It also has to do with the edginess of city life, and the soupçon of threat--real or perceived--that haunts all sexual desire.
Shear accomplishes all this by turning his back on the machinery of the mainstream: Urbania was shot on Super 16mm and processed via digital video. The result is a film of extraordinary visual intimacy. We're this close to the characters at all times. As a result Shear can evoke marvelously subtle tension in a scene where Charlie verbally assaults a smug straight couple (Gabriel Olds and Megan Dodds) and can let a skilled performer like Cumming (who does a stupendous Glenda Jackson impersonation) work wonders in a seemingly casual scene. More important, Shear can get onscreen things that haven't been there--the way gay men who aren't lovers relate to one another, the aching loneliness of AIDS underscored by the pile of dishes in the friend's apartment, and, most striking of all, the meaning of love between people who just happen to be of the same sex. All of this, plus a climactic nighttime prowl of gay trysting places, in which we find the illicit thrills Friedkin sought in vain. Shear never shirks from the horrors of gay city life--but he doesn't ignore the tenderness either. By doing so, he gives the love-story film a new--and bracingly queer--lease on life.