Rantings by Nick Buraglio

Tonight while walking our dogs Rebecca and I saw the giant Garcias pizza balloon flying really, really, really low around our neighborhood. It came within a few feet of our house and the house across the street. It was kinda surreal to watch so I recorded it and took several pics with my Treo. Video can be found here and here.

I had to do a double take at a lunch with Juniper networks yesterday. I could have sworn that the person sitting across from me at a nearby table was the late, great Joey Ramone. But alas, I believe I was mistaken….

Some of Team Remarkable:

Well, the MS150 is done. Day 2 started pretty crummy. Rain, cold and general lack of enthusiasm on the general rider population was obvious. I was trying to be pretty upbeat, but it’s my belief that many riders (with the exception of team remarkable) just didn’t go out. We started a little late, around 0730 or so, about 15 minutes in the rain cleared and it dried up, but it stayed overcast mahing for a really nice ride. We opted for the 75 miles on day 2 as well, there wasn’t much wind at all and the 75 mile route had sparsly placed riders. Many that ride opted for the 35 mile route. Rebecca did the 35 mile route as well and I think she sprinted through it because she was done in a really quick time. When we stopped in Rollo, I decided that I would partake in the “famous” burgers with a fried egg on top. WOW! I don’t eat a lot of red meat but that burger with an egg was GREAT. I took a pic of it. The ride laster a little longer since we all had ridden the day before. One mile before the finish, SAG came by and told us that because of lightning that had been sighted (dark clouds had rolled in) that we had to be SAG’d in. My cousing Jeff tolf the guy that we only had 1 mile left and we were going to ride it. He said “I can’t force you” so we all rode right around him and into the finish as it started to rain. It was a great experience and I plan to raise money and ride as long as I am able.
Special thanks to all who donated!

Next year I’m planning on doing the century (100 miles) on day 1 and none on day two. If my fund raising goals are met, I’ll be riding with a RED mohawk. Stay tuned!

the first day was beautiful. Weatherwas great, no wind and low humidity. All of the volunteers did a bang up job. One can really teL how much they care about supporting those raising money to help cure MS. Rebecca had a tire blow out in the first 3 miles but got it fixed and finished the 35 with no problem. I did the 75 as did Jeff, Scott, Vic and Jeff’s friend. John did the full century, everyone else did the 35. Now we’re off for dinner and sleep and do it all again tomorrow.

Well, after my whirlwind trip to Tampa for a SCinet meeting and several hours of delays in the airport, including a delay that should-have-but-somehow-didn’t cost me my connecting flight back to C-U, I’m rested and ready to ride the MS150. My back is still a little stiff and crooked from the muscle I pulled like 2 weeks ago, but I did a few 35 mile training rides and everything seems to be ok.
I’m curious about staying in the NIU dorms, I never lived in a dorm in college (thankfully) and neither did Rebecca. we’ll see how well that works out. Weather is looking fairly good for DeKalb for the weekend, with cooler temperatures and a slight chance for a shower on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. All systems are a go, I just need to give the bikes a “once-over”, get a new pair of cycling gloves and pack everything into the vehicle. All systems are a go. More to come as the weekend shakes out.

I have not been to florida in june in several years. It’s certainly as hot as I remember. It’s no qonder that the baseball game SCinet took us to was in an enclosed, air conditioned stadium. I never knew that baseball could be like that! Traveling for 2 days, returning just in time to drive to the ms150 in DeKalb, IL. It’s (been) a busy week.

Sweet! I love beer. I also love coffee. Hopefully it’s true! This article claims
“Coffee may counteract alcohol’s poisonous effects on the liver and help prevent cirrhosis, researchers say.”
The article also claims:
“The same study found coffee drinkers had healthier results on blood tests used to measure liver function, whether or not they were heavy alcohol users. Coffee’s effect on reducing liver enzymes in the blood was more apparent among the heavy drinkers in the study.”
I was always afraid I drank too much coffee, even though I drink a ton of water. I won’t worry quite as much now.

Drink up.

Overall, Robot Chicken is a pretty funny show. When it’s on, it’s REALLY funny. When it’s off, it sucks HARD. I complertely missed this episide, but here is a clip of a pretty funny Star Wars spoof.