too funny

I finally figured out how to understand a Sarah Pallin speech.

TdF pics

These are some really great pics and capture some of what's amazing about bicycle racing.

bikes versus motorcycles

I thought these pics from today's TdF stage were pretty cool. The pics were obviously taken at the same corner and the motorcycle is throwing sparks going through the corner. Obviously we don't know the relative speeds but typically the motorcycles are either leading or following the cyclists and going roughly the same speeds. I wish they would play more sound during the races because its cool to hear the cars squealing their tires to follow the bicycles down the mountains.

Crash at the TdF

Worst crash I have seen in a long time. Reportedly they were doing 70kph. Looks like he hit a dip in the road that caused him to lose control of his bike. Hope Jens is alright.

working out

Some days you have to do your push-ups:

Other days you have to wear your goggles so you can hula-hoop in the rain:

couple of cool videos

How to go downhill fast? Try and follow Fabio Cancellara!

This is the best Michael Jackson tribute. It was done at Toolic Lake in Northern Alaska. I did some work there a while back, and the mosquitos are that bad!

Le Rouleur

Camilo had his 2 month check up this morning. He is doing great, but I think he will be a rouleur rather than a grimpeur (french cycling terms). He weighed in at 15 lbs, and was 25-1/4" long. That puts him in the 97th percentile for weight and the 98th percentile for height.

Ecuador/Galapagos etc.

Hola,

Haven't posted for a while, been negligent. I will try to be better about this. Since the last post, lots of things have happened. I was granted tenure by Virginia Tech! I also spent the better part of a month in Ecuador/Galapagos with my study abroad class. I have since returned and am helping care for Camilo as best as I can. So far he seems to be easier to take care of than Amalia was, however it might just be that we have a bit more experience. Either way, its not easy as we wake up multiple times per night and change lots of diapers, etc. But its all good. Amalia is very happy and lots of fun to play with. She loves to run and may even end up being fast, we'll see. Lisa just heard she got a grant funded by the NSF! Thats a huge relief and means she can concentrate on doing research, not just proposing it, for the next few years.

Here are some random pics from Ecuador, things that I thought were interesting.

Here are pics from the Amazon basin.

Giant cicada:

Cool tree frog:

White-lined monkey frog (Phyllomedusa vaillanti)

Ornate snail eating snake (Dipsas catesbyi)

Cool frog:

Ruby poison frog (Epidedobates parvulus)

Mating cicadas

Giant caterpillar (~8cm long)

Big green walking stick

Sculpture of Darwin on the island of San Cristobal where he first landed on the Galapagos. It is worth noting that 2009 is his 200 birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species".

Galapagos hawk harassing nesting pelicans

Land iguanas