id
int64 5.11k
4.34M
| gender
stringclasses 2
values | age
int64 13
48
| topic
stringclasses 40
values | sign
stringclasses 12
values | date
stringlengths 2
18
| text
stringlengths 4
790k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 12,June,2004 | It's 4:15 A.M on my clock Wow its been like a few days now. I'm off the Mariah Carey PsYchO TouR. I saw my ex yesterday and we just talked and chilled and just bouncin off the walls. I miss him alot. I wrote a note down and gave it to him. I think I'll call him later and find out what he thought. He gave me my first......FInALLY I'm wearing it with honor. Mad people asked what it was....i said mosquitoe bite n someone twisted n pinched my skin...LOL Today i went to sleep at 5:30 in the afternoon, i just woke up an hour ago cause my friend Tierra who move to Jersey text my phone and i was like omG where have u been! She is greatly missed by me and so many otha pplz. MondaY, I hung out with my COuZzIn aT the MaLL. Oh SHieT, wE is CraZy anD i BougHT heR A LiL GrAduAtioN PreSenT...ShirT DaT seZ 'SHoPPinG MaKeS mE FeEL BetteR' YuP, MonDaY n THurSdaY waS GoOd!!! |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 06,June,2004 | Ya I re-wrote that piece of literature in the last blog. I like both versions and they were just minor changes. This is what I came up with: Heart's Exit (remix) To feel the numbness in my heart, To feel the darkness from within, To release the love that was inside, To remove what was once To feel the hardening that I call for My love be gone and this suffering no more No longer the one to love again No longer the one to hope and then To forget my heart and leave it unturned Is to give me peace and be unburned To banish what I thought I'd find To banish you from my mind I banish you so maybe I'll find my way back to me *i PraY that iT fiNds a PurPosE' |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 05,June,2004 | My digital clock just flicked to 7:58. I had a nice night last night. I bought myself 2 pairs of jeans and a trucker hat. I'm gonna wear them on Thursday. I called my ex and he was sleeping so he wanted to go. He didn't sound like he was sleeping. He sounded like he was getting of someone. I just asked him if he could make it on Thursday. I heard two answers. No point of raising my hopes. I feel emotionally numb. I don't think I can feel anymore nor do I want to. I don't want to risk anymore. I don't think love is worth it anymore. I shall go back to the spitefulness heart-hardened AJ. He never got hurt, he moved at a pace that it was a miracle to see him. He moved so quick that nothing had time to stick to him. The AJ that was once is the AJ that must be. True love's embrace won't mean a dime to me. I wrote a poem/incantation or whatever you kids want to call it. Heart's Exit To feel the numbness in my heart, To feel the darkness from within, To release the love that was inside, To remove what was once To feel the hardening that I call for My love be gone No longer the one to love again No longer the one to hope again To forget my heart and leave it unturned Is to give me the peace I deserve To banish you from my heart and my mind To banish you from my sands of time To forget you ever existed And I shall roam an empty vessle But that is the price to return to me *Maybe love isn't what it's all hyped up to be* |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 05,June,2004 | It's early Saturday morning as my clock strikes 4:36 A.M I haven't written in two whole days! Thursday was an ordinary day and it was BLAH! Friday was well it would have been...um would have been 2 months. I just wanted to speed up that day because I'm still not over it. I slept that whole day and I woke up around 10 P.M, only to fall back asleep and wake up at 3 A.M. I'll have this whole summer to think about it and find a way to get over it completely. I'll never be completely over it, but I'll proboly be enough just to live through the day with a happy face. Here's the blog song. It's Avril Lavigne - Naked He really did make me feel comfartable about being myself. 'I wake up in the morning Put on my face The one that's gonna get me Through another day Doesn't really matter How I feel inside 'Cause life is like a game sometimes But then you came around me The walls just disappeared Nothing to surround me And keep me from my fears I'm unprotected See how I've opened up Oh, you've made me trust Because I've never felt like this before I'm naked Around you Does it show? You see right through me And I can't hide I'm naked Around you And it feels so right I'm trying to remember Why I was afraid To be myself and let the Covers fall away I guess I never had someone like you To help me, to help me fit In my skin I never felt like this before I'm naked Around you Does it show? You see right through me And I can't hide I'm naked Around you And it feels so right I'm naked Oh oh yeah Does it show? Yeah, I'm naked Oh oh, yeah yeah I'm so naked around you And I can't hide You're gonna (you're gonna) see right through, baby you're gonna see right through, i'm so naked around you, and i can't hide, you're gonna see right through, baby' *What iF........?* |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 02,June,2004 | It's 1:30 P.M as told by my classmate's digital watch. OMG i have to get a better cellphone. Anywayz, it's been a mellow day. I went crazy for awhile. I'm going to see my ex to go get my webcam back. Hopefully I can hang out with him today. I also want to get a McFlurry. School was crazy today. So much negative energy and backlash. I can't stand to be there anymore. I think it's the reason why I go see my ex. He's the only sane person in my social life. It's 8:27 P.M on my digital clock. I went to see my ex. He look real good all dressed up and shiet. We just hung out at McDonalds. It was coo. I did find out he was going to R.I for real to go to school. I was happy for him, but inside I was like: 'Man, I'm gonna miss him like shiet.' I mean its 3 hours drive, but the fact that he's not in the city anymore is a fucken reality check. He's gonna be livin it up, up there. I'm not going to say don't go because that would be selfish of me. I mean you know experiencing the whole college thing. We still young, but I just want to make memmories with him. I have a few with him, but you know I don't know how long memmories will last me. Hey, i got a phone, he's got a phone, so we should be good. Long as he don't lose contact, I might not get that part taht I want back or I may wait for a long time, but hey I'm hoping for good friends. I'll tell him the truth one of these days. Here's the log song, Avril Lavigne - Fall to Pieces It's self explanatory. But hey I don't know. 'I looked away Then I look back at you You try to say The things that you can't undo If I had my way I'd never get over you Today's the day I pray that we make it through Make it through the fall Make it through it all And I don't wanna fall to pieces I just want to sit and stare at you I don't want to talk about it And I don't want a conversation I just want to cry in front of you I don't want to talk about it Cuz I'm in Love With you You're the only one, I'd be with till the end When I come undone You bring me back again Back under the stars Back into your arms And I don't wanna fall to pieces I just want to sit and stare at you I don't want to talk about it And I don't want a conversation I just want to cry in front of you I don't want to talk about it Cuz I'm in Love With you Wanna know who you are Wanna know where to start I wanna know what this means Wanna know how you feel Wanna know what is real I wanna know everything, everything And I don't wanna fall to pieces I just want to sit and stare at you I don't want to talk about it And I don't want a conversation I just want to cry in front of you I don't want to talk about it And I don't wanna fall to pieces I just want to sit and stare at you I don't want to talk about it And I don't want a conversation I just want to cry in front of you I don't want to talk about it Cuz I'm in Love With you I'm in love with you Cuz i'm in love with you I'm in love with you I'm in love with you' *EverYthinG AbouT HiM wAs LiKE WoaH!* |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 01,June,2004 | It's 8:38 A.M as the digital watch on a classmate says so. It's a new day with old worries and old intentions. I'm trapped in my own personal hell as I battle my feelings and my inner ambitions and let go of the past. I have had 2 substitutes teachers in a row. It's the Monday after the what started to be good, but I believed ended in a crappy way Memorial Day. I have to get my webcam back. Everyone in school today was in a crappy mood and Jasmin was sick as hell. She's having one of those flu with the cold and it was so so unpretty. Hope she feels better soon. I look at my clock and it's 9:00 P.M Right now, I'm watching the series premeire of Summerland . Not too bad. Tomorrow I am making an appointment with my ex to get my webcam back. Hopefully I can get him to stay with me for a little while to talk or something. I just like being around him. I know he's got a cold, but hey that doesn't matter to me. Doesn't matter to me as in he's still the same person and I'd kiss him and other stuff since it's just a cold. I do care about his health; don't get me wrong. LOL he knows I'm crazy and hey sometimes its things like that, that keep people together. the craziness of one person. He puts a balance in my life. I'm going to call him in a few and then try to webcam with him. Here's the log song. It's Avril Lavigne - Who Knows. It's just saying anything can happen and just be happy about today because something new will happen tomorrow. It's things in life like that, that keep us looking forward. We don't know what tomorrow will bring us, but hey, it's the anticipation that drives us. 'Yeah, yeah Yeah-eah, yeah Yeah-eah, yeah Why do look so familiar I could swear that I have seen your face before I think I like that you seem sincere I think I like to get to know you a little bit more I think there's something more, life's worth living for Who knows what could happen. Do what you do, just keep on laughing One thing's true, there's always a brand new day I'm gonna live today like it's my last day Yeah, yeah, Yeah-eah, yeah, Yeah-eah, yeah How do you always have an opinion And how do you always find the best way to compromise We don't need to have a reason We don't need anything We're just wasting time I think there's something more, life's worth living for Who knows what could happen. Do what you do, just keep on laughing One thing's true, there's always a brand new day Who knows what could happen. Do what you do, just keep on laughing One thing's true, there's always a brand new day I'm gonna live today like it's my last day Find yourself, cause I can't find you Be yourself, who are you? Find yourself, cause I can't find you Be yourself, who are you? Who knows what could happen. Do what you do, just keep on laughing One thing's true, there's always a brand new day So you go and make it happen Do your best just keep on laughing It's all on you, there's always a brand new day Who knows what could happen. Do what you do, just keep on laughing One thing's true, there's always a brand new day I'm gonna live today like it's my last day' *ToDaY waS a SicK DaY* |
3,332,027 | male | 17 | Student | Cancer | 05,August,2004 | I decided that I'm moving on with my life. I'm actaully sitting here just reassessing my friends. After I looked, I realized that most of them don't matter to me. Of course, family numbers I saved. But as far as friends..... All I saved is all I need and the only ones who really mattered. Maria, Sonny, Lisa, and Veena are the only numbers that I need and the rest I deleted. No more numbers of ex's, no more numbers of fans, no more numbers of people that I don't need. My life will be just fine. Sometimes solitude is all you need and a couple of friends. I'll eventaully meet new people, but atleast I deleted the clutter in my life. This is a big step for me since I usally hold on to things. I'll spread my wings And I'll learn how to fly Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye I gotta take a risk Take chance Make a change And breakaway Out of the darkness and into the sun But I won't forget the place I come from I gotta take a risk Take a chance Make a change And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 30,June,2004 | Yes, at this late hour I sift around the net for things that interest me about Delaware County. Just do a Google search on 'Gil Spencer Delaware County' and you'll get some interesting results. F. Gilman Spencer Polk Career Award Winner F. Gilman Spencer has done much more than preside as editor over major newspapers around the country — he also inspired and encouraged a generation of journalists and raised tabloid journalism to new heights. In his wake, he left a trail of top journalism honors won by the newspapers he edited, having won his own Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing while editor of The Trentonian in 1974. He went on to become editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, from 1975 to 1984, and editor of the New York Daily News, from 1984 to 1989. He served as editor of The Denver Post, from 1989 to 1993 and received a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Colorado in 1994. This brief history, however, hardly begins to describe the journalist who helped ignite the careers of many reporters, columnists and editorialists and energized news coverage in the cities his newspapers served. Some comments, excerpted from letters by those who worked with him over the years, shed more light on his accomplishments. 'Spencer is a writer’s editor, also an editor’s editor. Much of his career was spent on tabloids, and he was a genius at jumping on local news stories, covering the local sports teams, reaching out to the reader with grab-ya headlines, provocative editorials and terse chiseled prose. But unlike some tabloid editors, he never tried to pass off rumor as fact, and he liked substance and specialized in making it readable. Here’s an example: an obscure University of Pennsylvania scientist won the Nobel Prize. And the [Philadelphia] Daily News served it up to its readers in sports-crazy Philadelphia under this headline: ‘Phillies Fan Wins Nobel.’' Gene Roberts, former managing editor of The New York Times, former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and now professor of journalism at the University of Maryland. 'The Philadelphia Daily News, where I followed him as Editor, exists today because of Gil. He battled the ownership when it imagined a Joint Operating Agreement that would have driven the News out of business. More importantly, he created a formula — blending serious journalism with provocative opinion and pure fun — that kept readers and talented young journalists coming to the newspaper. All these years later, when the Philadelphia Daily News does something right, I attribute it to Gil.' Zachary Stalberg, Editor, Philadelphia Daily News 'Gil was the mythic kind of editor who stands behind his people and also prods them to go into the difficult places that enlighten the readers while inevitably creating headaches for management. Gil never dodged the headaches: he also made sure the staff never noticed when he got them.' Gail Collins, Editorial Page Editor, The New York Times 'In the mid-1980s, Gil led the New York Daily News to something of a golden era. He took over a demoralized paper that had been starved for resources by a distant corporate owner, restored its confidence and built it into the city’s dominant voice. Among the hallmarks were aggressive local coverage, unflinching editorials and an unparalleled stable of columnists. 'A tumultuous and high-energy city room became a Petri dish for talent. The alumni and alumnae include Marilyn Thompson, the Washington Post’s Pulitzer prize-wining projects’ editor; Gail Collins, The New York Times editorial page editor; columnists and commentators Jimmy Breslin and Jack Newfield; and Debbie Krenek, who rose to become editor of the News and now serves as Newsday’s presentation and multi-media editor.' Arthur Brown, Editorial Page Editor, New York Daily News 'I would walk through fire for Gil Spencer. Hell, I would even cover a zoning board hearing for Gil Spencer. Gil is the kind of editor who inspires reporters and editors, who gets more out of a staff by turning them loose to do their best work.' Richard Aregood, Editorial Page Editor, The Star Ledger 'If you were romanced by newspapering, then you were drawn to Gil Spencer, for his cocky self-assuredness, his style, his perfect wit…. Spencer was one of the titans of his era and, absolutely, the best tabloid editor of the last 50 years…. He was an editor of great consequence in two of the nation’s most important cities. The newspapers he ran performed with great distinction. And he did all of that in an enchanting manner. Gil Spencer is the stuff of greatnesss and worthy of the Lifetime Achievement Award. So what's the 'F' stand for? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 28,June,2004 | Interesting.... urlLink Brenner ADL Foxman Article |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 28,June,2004 | Re-posted from The Haverford Blog Vito Corleone Guest Idiot Unsafe Drivers « on: Jun 2, 2004, 8:39pm » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I didn't know what thread this would fit into, so I decided on the 'Hall of Shame' It concerns me that I see numerous situations of very dangerous driving within the township. People blowing stop signs with blatant disregard (even w/kids present on the street) speeding all over the place (I've seen vehicles as of late on Darby Rd before the Skatium reaching 50 mph in a 35 zone) drivers ignoring one way streets (as my street is w/kids present) I know that our police dept is quite busy writing up drivers quite frequently but there is a real need for more aggressive enforcement. At the rate of being flamed (I really don't care though, this is the truth) I see quita lotot of 'Housewives' driving around in over sized SUV's and family vans who are on cell phones gabbing away and are completely distracted from what's going on with the road in front of them (some even have 3 or 4 kids in the car and a dog while still gabbing on the phone!) yet they gab away on the cell phone and are not fully aware of what they are doing behind the wheel. How about this, anyone else care to get in on the horrible drivers in and around Haverford Twp? There are plenty of them, all accidents waiting to happen. I can relate to the Soccer Moms barreling down the road gabbing on their 'cell phones'. As an electrician based in Havertown, (Bellemead AveToto be exact)I get so pig biting mad at these women. Furthermore, just try to pull into the WAWA at Darby & Manoa Rds. They cut in front of you, are rude, and best of all they think their hot shit and that they have a bigger vehicle than you attitude. Basically what I'm saying is Women driving SUV's should be BANNED from the road. Give em' a Ford Taurus or something! In Defence of the ladies, I came across this: Today, in two or three minutes of your reading time, we will cover the resentment and rage of soccer-mom drivers; the resentment between stay-at-home moms and moms who work outside the home; the resentment of divorced moms; the resentment of small-car drivers against SUV drivers; and we will consider the advice of one woman reader, who told me to get the book, 'The Bitch in the House,' and get a clue. This all started last week when I wrote about a driving experience that is more and more common: Meeting up with a soccer mom, or maybe it's a baseball or basketball mom, who's driving that minivan or 2 and a half ton SUV. I told about having one such mom honk her horn at me at a four-way intersection stop because I hadn't moved fast enough. When the road changed from one to two lanes, she gunned it and screeched past me. A few blocks later I saw the very important destination. She was going shopping at a supermarket. What's the deal? Is a one-second delay such a big thing? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that between 1975 and 1998, the number of women in fatal crashes increased by 60 percent. It's true that the number of women drivers went up, but a 60 percent increase in fatal crashes? And this while the number of men in fatal crashes dropped 11 percent. Here is Laurie Wick, a Bellevue mom whose soccer-driving days are over now that her daughter is in college. Want some reasons why that soccer mom is honking her horn? 'While I don't condone self-indulgent, immature, angry behavior, I believe these women are stressed to the max. A typical day is non-stop rush-rush-rush until they collapse into bed totally exhausted,' Laurie told me. 'Why aren't the dads doing more of the schlepping kids to their various after-school and evening classes and sports? Or picking up more of the load of running a household, like constant housecleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking?' Which brings us to that book, 'The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage,' (William Morrow & Co., 2002). Editor Cathi Hanauer put it together after late-night Internet chats with other women who'd tell her things like, 'I'm fine all day at work, but as soon as I get home, I'm a horror.' I'm sure you guys will be rushing to order that book on Amazon.com., because guys love reading about how women really feel. A divorced mom e-mailed this: 'Next time you write about soccer moms and road rage, write about their kids being orphans ... victims of divorce ... ' Here is Ann Smith of Graham, another former soccer mom, divorced, who has an extended family at home. She remembers what it was like 'trying to survive on my meager salary, always one step ahead of the bill collectors.' Aggressive driver? Ann said that's her. Now she's helping raise her grandkids. 'With football practice, missed buses, picking up and dropping off friends, and grocery stops, I find myself always in a hurry. So when I get behind some guy in his pick-up truck, going the speed limit, with nowhere to go except to work, I find myself passing him at the first opportunity!' she said. 'The most irritating are guys in the morning, driving like they have all day to get there.' You know, I've met Ann, and she's a very nice, seemingly calm woman. I also happen to own an old pick-up, and I do drive the speed limit, so I'm planning to get to know Ann's driving schedule and stay out of her way. Let's continue with our resentment list. Here's a Mill Creek woman reader with her explanation about the soccer mom's hectic schedule, and the ensuing road rage: 'I also believe that Society's Working Moms put pressure on the Stay At Home Mom to prove that she's actually 'doing something' during the day and not just sitting around watching soap operas and eating bonbons. 'Thumb your noses at these Working Moms! They're just jealous that they've chosen not to do the same because they want more expensive clothes and a 'better' lifestyle. Don't burden us with your guilt!' Oh, the resentment, the resentment. 'You really don't get it, do you?' a mom/software developer asked me. It's all about power trips, she said, and by printing comments from SUV owners, 'you, my friend, help fuel it by providing these arrogant snobs with an arena in which to show off.' She had a few more things on her mind about SUV women drivers: 'Nevermind that these moms are busy, even though most of them are elite members of that perfect 'stay-at-home' group. We who drive modest cars and actually have a job AND kids (so I guess I have two full-time jobs, uh?) are a whole lot busier, but we somehow manage to go about our busy day without mowing down everyone else on the road.' I started thinking that maybe I should start taking the bus everywhere. Then I heard from a bus driver. He told me about merging onto the freeway when a woman in her SUV accelerated so the bus wouldn't get in front of her. 'This woman went totally out of control by swerving from lane to lane, flipping me off, and this from a woman who appeared in her 30s,' the driver said. So, that's today's traffic report, which concludes with this question for you drivers, men and women: What's wrong with a little peace, love and understanding? On the highways, plenty, I guess. And it's only Monday! |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 25,June,2004 | So, Still collecting money for an election that has been a few months old? You lost so take down the donation page... Federal election law requires political committees to use best efforts to report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year. An individual may not contribute more than a total of $2000 per election to the committee. Federal law prohibits contributions to the committee from the general treasury funds of a corporation, labor organizations or national banks (including corporate or other business entity credit cards), from any person contributing another's funds, from a Federal government contractor, or from a foreign national who lacks permanent resident status. Contributions are not deductible for Federal income tax purposes. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,June,2004 | urlLink Stop Specter! And why? Arlen Specter is a top Jew. I respect him for the man he is and that he Knows Politics inside and out. Seems that the guy running the helm at http://www.stopspecter.com is none other than Dimitrios Stefanidis, from Newton Square. So Dimitrios, who would YOU want instead? (Even though Toomey lost...) Well? ANSWER! I know you read this blog. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,June,2004 | I have been following him in the Daily Times now for over 3 years. The guy is PRO Bush and Pro Republican. At every chance he gets, he slams anybody and anytrihng opposed to the chimp. More on this later, I need to go to Thomas's and get a stiff one. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,June,2004 | urlLink Google Search: An asteroid is going to hit the Earth in Delaware County |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,June,2004 | urlLink Yahoo! Groups : debunkingchemtrails Join in if your interested in what's going on above your heads... |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 21,June,2004 | Last week (Sunday 06/14/2004)I bought an AFX SEMI on ebay. I paid via paypal and waited for it. After 2 days I e mailed the seller (supes1) about shipping it. No reply. E mailed 4 more times, no answer. Then I receive an e mail about a plate and feedback, (Or so in my delusional state of mind I think I did)Now realize that it was a sent e mail, one that I posted months ago. So I reply with my yahoo e mail account in a nasty way. See Below. First of all, I am, not 'Lisa'. Second of all, I never received my item 'The AFX Semi' that I fucking paid you for 7 days ago. Now, lemme tell you something about me. I have a popular web site that deals with dead beat rip offs.. Want to join the list? Either respond to this e mail and ship me what I paid for or I'll make your name EBAY Id mud. Piss me off enough, and I'll visit you in person. P.S. Where the fuck is MY positive feedback? i paid your sorry ass 16 minutes after the auction ended.... Your a CON artist. YOU have 24 hours to make good or your feedback will point to my web site with a lengthy slamming of you with the ability of others joining in. YOU SAID.... Lisa, Could you provide some positive feedback for me? I hope the plate was what you expected. Happy Holidays :-) Fran Ward ebay id: antiques_and_other_stuff Ok. now me thinking that I just e mailed the seller who in my mind ripped me off a good nasty letter, I receive this e mail: TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN, I AM PATROLMAN RICK SCHIAZZA FROM THE CITY OF LEWES POLICE DEPT. LEWES DE. 19958. I AM WRITING THIS LETTER REGARDING YOUR E-MAIL TO [email protected]. APPARENTLY YOU SENT E-MAIL TO THAT ADDRESS THAT WAS INTIMIDATING IN NATURE. ACCORDING TO xxxxxxxxxxxx NOTHING WAS SOLD TO YOU. I NEED YOU TO CONTACT THE CITY OF LEWES POLICE DEPT. AT 302-645-6264 OR 302-645-6154. HOPEFULLY THIS SITUATION WAS A BIG MISUNDERSTANDING AND THIS CAN BE CLEARED UP IMMEDIATELY. I MUST CAUTION YOU THAT xxxxxxxxxxxx DOES NOT WANT TO BE CONTACTED BY YOU ANYMORE. PLEASE ALSO BE AWARE THAT ANY FUTURE CONTACTS MADE BY YOU CAN BE AT THIS POINT BE CONSIDERED HARRASSMENT BY COMMUNICATION. ONCE AGAIN I BELIEVE THAT YOUR THIS SITUATION WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING AND NEED YOU TO CONTACT ME ASAP. IN ORDER TO VERIFY THE POLICE TELEPHONE NO YOU CAN GET ONTO THE www.yellowpages.msn.com AND AUTHENTICATE THE POLICE DEPT TELEPHONE NO. I HAVE TYPED IN ABOVE. THANK YOU. Sent via the KillerWebMail system at lewespd.state.de.us Now, wondering if I really screwed up or this is also a con I checked out the mail headers and it seemed to come from the Lewes Police Dept. (BTW, I love the ferry.) So, being that I have egg on my face and do not have long distance calling and also seemed to be a little intimaded myself by the letter I sent this: Patrolman Schiazza, This was a misunderstanding. I'll explain. I bought an AFX SEMI through ebay over a week ago. Paid in Full through paypal. I repetedly e mailed the seller to ship me the item and NEVER got a reply. Then I receive this email out of the blue about a plate. I belived that [email protected] was the one who ripped me off. I was wrong. Tell her that I am sorry for the confusion. Apparently I had either sold her or she bought something off of me on ebay.com and I got her e mail address confused with the con artist. I am not in the business being mean to people, I hope she understands that. Fran Ward Well I sent it and Yahoo replied with an 'Undeliverable' reply. So now what? Will the jackboots come crashing through my door and arrest me on being stupid? Do I call this guy from work? Ignore him? The person I sent the e mail to by misteak bought a royal copenhagen plate off of me called 'The Stag'. back in December of 03. Comments about this are more than welcome.. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 20,June,2004 | I here one is coming on June 27th. Will an asteroid hit the Earth? Answer: A number of recent movies have been about this subject. It is important to remember that they are just movies and often times do not represent good or true science. Sometimes, however, there is a tiny seed of truth behind a movie, although it may be hard to tell what is true and what is fiction. This is the case for the movies about asteroids hitting the Earth. Let us say right away that at this moment, we know of nothing currently on a collision course with Earth. Last year, it was announced in the news that an asteroid was on a collision course with Earth and would hit in the year 2028. We now know that the calculations were in error and that asteroid will miss the Earth completely. You can read more about this at http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/news/1998/jun/12.html. Keep in mind that the Earth has been hit before by asteroids and will be again someday. We don't know when, but we do know it is not in the immediate future. Why are the chances of us being hit small? Our solar system is very big compared to the size of the Earth, which means that the chance that the Earth will be hit by another solar system object such as an asteroid is very small. Once in awhile, it happens. But not very often. Think about this, most of the asteroids in our solar system are located in the asteroid belt. Yet we have been able to send spacecraft such as Voyager I and II, as well as others, through this belt without any problems. Why? There is more 'empty space' in the belt than asteroids! How often do we expect the Earth to be hit? The asteroids capable of causing a global disaster if they hit the Earth are extremely rare. They probably would need to be about a kilometer or more in diameter. Such bodies impact the Earth only once every 100,000 years on average. Other objects of a similar size, such as comets, impact even less frequently, perhaps once every 500,000 years or so. If we discover an object that will collide with Earth's, what could be done about it? If astronomers find such an object, there would be plenty of time to track it, measure its orbit precisely, and plan a system for deflecting it from its current orbital path. There would be no great hurry and no great panic. It would be a project for all the world's nations to take part in. Because we will have found it long before it actually intersects the Earth's orbit, it probably would take only a small push (perhaps from chemical rockets we land on the surface of the asteroid) to divert it from a threatening path. Who is watching the skies? There are agencies, NASA among them, which realize that although the Earth is in no immediate danger, an asteroid impact is something that will pose a problem sometime in the future. It is in the world's best interest not to ignore this, but to be watchful in .... |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 19,June,2004 | Well tomorrow that is. I wonder what I'll get? Maybe the grass will be cut? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 17,June,2004 | The Bush Landslide of 2004 By Charles Cutter May 6, 2004, 20:38 Email this article Printer friendly page By connecting the dots, we can see into the future that’s envisioned by George W. Bush’s corporate sponsors. Control the media; control the vote; control the military. Conspiracy theory? Not really; a good portion of it is being done right out in the open. It’s being done with a double-edged arrogance, with the conviction that most people are so disinterested or propagandized they won’t care anyway - call it a 'coup d’etat of the willing' - and that those who do care are helpless to prevent it. Control the media: The FCC is working to consolidate the power and reach of media conglomerates. As this issue unfolds, we witness the eagerness of these conglomerates in striking down voices of dissent. Clear Channel Communications fires Howard Stern (following the FCC’s partisan demonstration of selective enforcement). The Disney Company refuses to distribute Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911, a documentary film critical of Bush & Co. Sinclair Broadcasting Group forbids its ABC affiliates to air a Nightline episode honoring America’s fallen soldiers in Iraq. Executives at Sinclair - Bush supporters, of course - refer to the episode as a 'so-called tribute…designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.' Senator John McCain calls Sinclair’s actions '…unpatriotic…a gross disservice to the public, and to…the United States Armed Forces.' It’s not necessary that a media conglomerate hew to a right-wing agenda. For effective control, it’s only necessary that a company’s vested interests be threatened. In the case of Disney, for instance, Moore’s film is small potatoes compared to the risk of losing tax breaks for their other ventures in Jeb Bush’s Florida. This is the problem with large companies - there’s always a branch somewhere that can be threatened. Governor Bush (and Disney) deny this is a factor, but they can’t deny that extortion works best when it’s unspoken. Nor can they deny what Richard Clarke, Valerie Plame, Paul O’Neill and many others know so well - that those expressing criticism of this administration can expect retribution. Control the vote: Why rely on the Supreme Court to prevent a ballot recount, when right-wing corporations can do it much more efficiently? Walden O’Dell, chairman of the board of Diebold Election Systems - one of the largest suppliers of touch-screen voting machines in the country - is a huge Bush supporter. He claims he is 'committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to [George W. Bush] in 2004.' Certainly he’s just offering donations and activism, right? Let’s forget that, in 2002, Senate Democrat Max Cleland went from a 49-44 lead in the polls to a 53-46 loss a week later. Diebold fraud? We’ll never know. 'Computer experts say that software at Diebold and other manufacturers is full of security flaws, which would easily allow an insider to rig the election…And here’s the crucial point: even if there are strong reasons to suspect that electronic machines miscounted votes, nothing can be done about it. There is no paper trail; there is nothing to recount.' (Paul Krugman, 'Democracy at Risk,' New York Times, 1/23/04) Control the military: The second largest military force serving in Iraq (after the United States) consists of corporate soldiers. Many of these mercenaries - provided by Titan, Blackwater, etc. - reportedly make in excess of $100,000 per year (compare that with salaries paid to U.S. soldiers). Bush’s war for 'freedom' is - to a large degree - being staffed by soldiers of fortune; hired killers. We’ve moving well beyond the 'military-industrial complex' that President Eisenhower warned about. The future now holds an added threat - not only will the armored tank be the product of private industry, but the soldiers inside it will be working for a private corporation as well (with the companies themselves funded by - and this is the kicker - American taxpayers). In which direction does a corporate soldier point his gun, when conflicted between defending the Constitution and defending a mission statement? This unfolding future - it’s called a 'capitalist theocracy,' where the object of worship is money - will not be stopped simply by replacing George W. Bush. It is, however, an essential first step, which forces us to confront two difficult questions. First, is there any way to persuade a solid majority of the American public of the true damage this administration has wrought on this country, and on the world? Putting some faith in polling results, there is evidence of erosion in support for Mr. Bush’s policies; but this erosion has not translated into support for his opponent, Senator Kerry. At the moment, we’re looking at a dead-even presidential race. So this first question is still undecided. But the second question is by far the more disturbing: If so inclined, could an activist electorate successfully vote Mr. Bush out of office? In other words - to face our worst fears - has the presidential election of 2004 already been 'fixed?' Certainly Mr. Bush’s supporters have both the means and the motive to steal another election. How can we - with less than six months remaining - guarantee a legitimate outcome? Suppose that pre-election polling shows an imminent Kerry victory, but touch-screen results deliver the election to Bush. How do you prove (or disprove) charges of fraud and corruption? As we’ve seen, these issues are difficult enough to resolve under normal circumstances. But without a paper trail, it’s like trying to match a pistol to a crime scene - when the bullet used was made of ice. Charles Cutter can be reached at http://cuttersway.com. © Copyright 2003 by Magic City Morning Star |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 17,June,2004 | What a shame... Haverford Taxpayer Alliance at vanguard of protest LOIS PUGLIONESI , Times Correspondent 06/16/2004 MEDIA COURTHOUSE -- Although a number of local political groups joined the fray, the Haverford Taxpayer Alliance was the catalyst in organizing Tuesday’s rally of about 15 protesters at the county courthouse. A mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents, the taxpayer alliance claims it’s leading a campaign for honesty, accountability and reform in local government and the judiciary, as well as an end to wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. The group was born out of protest to a covert $600,000 payment made to Haverford real-estate consultant Jeffrey Rotwitt last December. Members have also expressed criticism of current plans for developing the Haverford State Hospital site, and the majority commissioners’ controversial reapportionment plan, currently before the Board of Elections. Launched by a core membership of 10 to 12 community activists, the alliance has grown rapidly, using an extensive email list and the Haverford Blog. Tom Broido, a founding member, said he believes 'people who accept the public trust should behave in the best interest of the public who elected them and not treat it like a feeding trough.' Broido thinks jobs, favors, contracts and even district justice jobs are going 'to people who are connected' while 'a lot of the connections can usually be traced back to Clouse ..I’ve lived in the township 24 years and I’ve had it. This isn’t going to go on in Haverford anymore.' Before he became a judge, Clouse was a Republican commissioner in the township and led a group of rebels who were often at war with party leaders. While Broido was dismayed by the allegations leveled at Clouse, he said he is more troubled by the judge’s silence. 'In refusing to answer questions ..Clouse is putting himself above the law, beyond reproach and the need for explanations. To me that is unforgivable because of the position he’s in,' Broido said. 'Something’s got to be done. The president judge should be held to higher standards, said Jeff Heilmann, a Republican committeeman and taxpayers alliance founder, displaying a sign that read, 'We won’t relax until Clouse pays the tax.' Republican committeewoman and alliance member Pat Biswanger pointed to 'the waste of tax dollars ..caused largely by a group of people who have taken hold of our government and think there’s one set of rules for them, and one set of rules for the rest of us ..When we see what appears to be a judge ..who doesn’t think he should have to pay the same taxes we all do ..we figured it was time to take action.' ©The Daily Times 2004 |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 16,June,2004 | Unbelivable. This guy steals a four year olds foul ball. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 15,June,2004 | I am curious to know if anyone who reads this blog has web sites of their own. If you do, how about responding? Sites from Havertown, Radnor, Upper Darby, and many other towns are already listed on our site. Personal websites are welcome. Anyone? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 15,June,2004 | I 've been trying to establish a web cam that is pointed out our back window. I call it the Alley Cam. Anyway, I was checking out The Head Nut web site The Head Nut urlLink and they have a streaming Windows 9 Media broadcast. I tried to do the same here using port 8080 but cannot get it to work. I think that RCN (Our internet provider) is blocking port 80 and 8080. I know they block port 25 for outgoing e mail (Thanks to Spammer Bastards) So i'm at my wits end. Any one out there know how to solve this? Please respond. Thanks. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink Please link to us : ' ' |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | Good old GOP in Delaware County. This crap has got to stop. And Gil? your Neocon views are not as widely accepted as you think. urlLink The Daily Times |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink Totally Delco Web Portal - Web Links |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink The Historic Grange Estate |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink I live in Delaware County |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink Please link to us |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | Date: Sun, 13 June 2004 05:00:53 -0700 From: 'Coopertowner' To: [email protected] Subject: [I live in Delaware County] 6/13/2004 08:00:52 AM I would like to see other communities start their own blogs. It's fast and cheap. I won't say it's easy because I am not one of the Blog Team and I know they work very hard, but I think they'd agree it's worth it! With so little meaningful press coverage, and with the cost of direct mail so prohibitive and people so unlikely to read it anyway, blogging is a good, cheap, reliable way to spread the word about what's going on in your local government, and to hold accountable those who need to be held accountable. Don't let them tell you it's wrong to post things anonymously! The people who are out there spending our money wrongly hate this, and that's their first attack, that we are wrong for blogging anonymously. But remember the Boston Tea Party, caused by excessive taxation, and the anonymous pamphleteering of the Revolutionary period. It's part of the great American tradition of free speech and our exercise of our First Amendment rights, and more people should do it, not fewer! As Justice Stevens wrote in an anonymous political speech case just a few years ago, 'under our Constitution, anonymous pamphleteering is not a pernicious, fraudulent practice, but an honorable tradition of advocacy and of dissent. Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority.' Posted by Coopertowner to I live in Delaware County at 6/13/2004 08:00:52 AM I also agree with Cooper. The government at all levels should be held accountable and answer to their constituents... |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | urlLink Totally Delco Web Portal - Web Links |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | Testing... Ok. Cannot edit my profile. Someting is wrong with Blogger. Trying some good old html TESTING TESTING TESTING |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | Note to self: ALWAYS write down your usernames & passwords on disk (Encrypt of course) so you do not have to re do something all over. Below post was one of my lost blog posts. Difference is that someone commented on it. Feel free to comment again. Wednesday, June 09, 2004 Haverford Blog I feel that this web site/Blog has done wonders for the citizens of Haverford Twp. I also graciously thank the Webmaster for putting a link to my web site. Maybe other blogs from people from Delaware County should be listed. Ideas? Haverford Blog posted by Living In Delaware County at 8:46 AM | 1 comments Laura Dune I belive ... |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 13,June,2004 | I just tried to reply to a post about the haverford blog and it asked me for my password. Anyway, It's all gone now. I have to start over. Arrrrgh! |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 29,July,2004 | urlLink Icemans Blog Cool blog Mike. Now tell me just what 'TA' means again? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 27,July,2004 | Why Dion? Well he is the one who owns the web site urlLink www.findlori.com . What makes me curious is that she went missing as he says on the 19th, and on the very next day, he buys the web site name. a little background on this: 07/27/04 06:14:48 whois findlori.com .com is a domain of USA & International Commercial Searches for .com can be run at http://www.crsnic.net/ whois -h whois.crsnic.net findlori.com ... Redirecting to MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE whois -h whois.melbourneit.com findlori.com ... Domain Name.......... findlori.com Creation Date........ 2004-07-20 Registration Date.... 2004-07-20 Expiry Date.......... 2005-07-20 Organisation Name.... Dion Davidson Organisation Address. 1240 Crestridge Rd Organisation Address. Sandy Organisation Address. 84094 Organisation Address. UT Organisation Address. UNITED STATES Admin Name........... Dion Davidson Admin Address........ 1240 Crestridge Rd Admin Address........ Sandy Admin Address........ 84094 Admin Address........ UT Admin Address........ UNITED STATES Admin Email.......... [email protected] Admin Phone.......... +1.8015727750 Admin Fax............ Tech Name............ YahooDomains TechContact Tech Address......... 701 First Ave. Tech Address......... Sunnyvale Tech Address......... 94089 Tech Address......... CA Tech Address......... UNITED STATES Tech Email........... [email protected] Tech Phone........... +1.6198813096 Tech Fax............. +1.6198813010 Name Server.......... yns1.yahoo.com Name Server.......... yns2.yahoo.com Now, call me crazy, but listen to me. What kind of nut buys a web site name on the bet that a local woman who disappears the day before will become big news? Either the guy has a savvy eye or is truly heartbroken about this woman. Relative maybe? The timeline is what has me curious. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 25,July,2004 | I have acute bronchitis and pneumonia. Last winter I had the same thing and cracked a rib coughing. Still smoking these damn cigarettes though. It amazes me that people like me can be so addicted to something even knowing that the product is killing them. The last time I quit smoking was in 1981, and only for 2 years. But I did it cold turkey, with no support other than Gods. So, when you factor in that a pack and ½ a day for twenty one years at an average of 3.00 a pack at 365 days plus those weekend binges and buying the girl friend’s and wife them adds up to about $12,500.00. And I’m not even including all the Budweiser in all those same years either. I try to quit, and then within a few hours go nuts. Literally. Nicotine to me is probably like heroine to a junkie. I have tried the patch, gum, and cold turkey and nothing helps. It doesn’t help that the wife smokes either. So, I pose the question to ex smokers. How did you do it? Were you just sick and tired of being sick and tired? Did the doc warn you that you were heading for trouble? At this very moment, I am puffing and hacking away. I really need to contact urlLink these people. A WAWA coffee in the morning to me just won’t cut it if my Winston’s aren’t included. All that money. Speaking of money, what ever happened to the billions of dollars the states (including ours) received? Did I, the nicotine junkie see any? Just who received that cash? Well, it’s time to head out to WAWA. Have a smoke free day. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 24,July,2004 | urlLink Yes, the site is back up. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 23,July,2004 | Bush To Screen Everyone For 'Mental Illness 'All 'Disruptive' Children To Be Forcibly Medicated? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,July,2004 | I wonder if Budweiser has this crap in it? * Food Additives that ALWAYS contain MSG * Monosodium Glutamate Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Hydrolyzed Protein Hydrolyzed Plant Protein Plant Protein Extract Sodium Caseinate Calcium Caseinate Yeast Extract Textured Protein (Including TVP) Autolyzed Yeast Hydrolyzed Oat Flour Corn Oil * Food Additives That FREQUENTLY Contain MSG * Malt Extract Malt Flavoring Bouillon Broth Stock Flavoring Natural Flavors/Flavoring Natural Beef Or Chicken Flavoring Seasoning Spices * Food Additives That MAY Contain MSG Or Excitotoxins * Carrageenan Enzymes Soy Protein Concentrate Soy Protein Isolate Whey Protein Concentrate Also: Protease Enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins. Aspartame - An Intense Source Of Excitotoxins Aspartame is a sweetener made from two amino acids, phenylalanine and the excitotoxin aspartate. It should be avoided at all costs. Aspartame complaints accounts for approximately 70% of ALL complaints to the FDA. It is implicated in everything from blindness to headaches to convulsions. Sold under dozens of brand names such as NutraSweet and Equal, aspartame breaks down within 20 minutes at room temperature into several primary toxic and dangerous ingredients: 1. DKP (diketopiperazine) (When ingested, converts to a near duplicate of a powerful brain tumor causing agent) 2. Formic Acid (ant venom) 3. Formaldehyde (embalming fluid) 4. Methanol (causes blindness...extremely dangerous substance) Common Examples: Diet soft drinks, sugar free gums, sugar free Kool Aid, Crystal Light, children's medications, and thousands of other products claiming to be 'low calorie', 'diet', or 'sugar free'. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,July,2004 | urlLink sunglasses Ray-Ban Oakley Maui Jim Revo |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,July,2004 | The Mind Altering Abilities of Chemtrails by Anonymous http://educate-yourself.org/ct/ctsmindalteringability29jun04.shtmlPosted June 29, 2004Original Posting Sept. 15, 2000 Original title: The Great Dying; The Real Reason Behind ChemtrailsWatching the debates over (and phone taps to my line here) since sending you my email of yesterday, it occurred to me that I should get this last email out to you regarding and expanding upon the reasons for CTs, as well as dealing with issues sure to be discounted by the agents of the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence, the agency in charge of the Chemtrails Ops.) Taking each issue in turn might help shed some light upon this problem. The overall scope and agenda behind Chemtrails (Operation Clover Leaf, Operation Red Sky, Operation Rain Dance, the code names for these ops, BTW) intertwines several overall objectives deemed imperative by the real power in DC, which is the NSA [Natioanl Security Adminsitration]. It should be noted that most of the intel groups that are involved in domestic control are, in varying degrees, 'in the loop' on this business and are actively working with the ONI and NSA in seeing this program succeed. Listing all the agencies would be moot and pointless. What would anyone do with the knowledge anyway? The reason I say this has to due with STO vs. STS [Service to Others vs. Service to Self spiritual orientation]. Here's what we mean: By conservative estimates, there are over 300,000 people in the USA alone that are chemtrails aware. Of those, only about 125 people have undertaken an active campaign to educate and inform the masses about this 'final solution.' Do the math. How many of you know what the word apathy means? The agencies are counting upon this apathy and in fact, helped create that state of consciousness to begin with way back in the late 1950 (Fluoridation, Aspartame, street narcotics.) If such a small percentage were actually doing anything about the phenomena, then wouldn't these same agencies be correct in their analysis that 'they don't have anything to worry about?' The facts speak for themselves. They will in fact succeed, because they are at the 80% completion point in these CT operations. They will be finished by March of 2001. Main and ancillary operational objectives of Chemtrails as outlined in Operation Red Sky, Phase One: Main objective: Creative cleavages in spatial perceptions. Creating a blockage in the brain of the interaction of various amino acids that relate to higher consciousness and the increase of dopamine in the brain producing a listless, euphoric state of lower, reactive mind. This, though most cannot (won't?) process this perception, is their main objective. It has many layers to it, and the salts found in these CTS are the prime indicators of just why they use such a vector to create this state in the human brain, the physical repository of and connecting point between the real and the unreal. To understand this goal necessitates an understanding of the human soul, the Self (Christ or God within, if you like) and the connection between the two as related to the endocrine system functioning within each human host. Pay close attention to these last words, as 'host' indicates that there is a parasitic relationship to be established. Many UFO abductions are part of this op. To begin with, we must understand that our intelligence agencies are operating at a very high level of OCCULT SKILL AND AWARENESS, as taught to them by their progenitors, the Nazis of old who were brought here in 1947 through 1953 via various operations, the most common known being Operation Paper-Clip. In short, any Intel agent of a G20 rating is a practicing black magician entirely 'sold out,' soul-wise, (via rites, satanic rituals, and esoteric training in Long Island, Florida, and California) and are, speaking plainly, functioning black Adepts with a complete and unquestioned license to kill. These are the top-level agency personnel. Make no mistake. These are the very same men and women who run the Mind Control Ops (CIA), the abduction of children (FBI) on a staggering global level, are involved in and are the contactees between the Ets (USAF, ONI, NSA, etc) and our government, ad nauseam. In short, to understand Chemtrails we must understand the personnel who have the power to do what they want, whenever they want, and we must also understand their needs. They need the following: 1. The overall 'frequency' of each of their charges (human beings in each country) to function at a specific rate below the threshold of awareness. The study of brain-wave, Remote Viewing techniques, and other related research holds the key to this. As we know, a physical brain functioning at 12 to 14 cycles per second is agitated and cannot, therefore, become perceptive of any cycle not within the same frequency, especially if that brain is ARTIFICIALLY STABILIZED to that frequency. How can one perceive love, when the brain can only register impatience, anger, etc? (Remember, their goal has to do with our souls in dimensions humanity has never, ever, considered.) It is because of the occult nature of our covert agencies (and the real powers running them) that most cannot even begin to research in the right direction to begin with. 2. The immune system of the host must be depleted. This relates to control, simply put. If the slightest breeze makes you dizzy, what kind of defense can you be expected to put up if you can't lift your arms above your head without getting a headache? The many outnumber the few. This is the main reason for much of the desiccated red blood cells found in chemtrails: biowarfare. This also allows the parasite to latch onto the human host with little resistance from the organism so attached. 3. They need agreement. This last statement is by far the MOST CRUCIAL STAGE of all. It isn't enough to make us slaves, we MUST WANT TO BECOME SLAVES. Food scarcity, low wages, false idealism as propagated via network commercials, all create a state of low-level dependency to a state system, but it is not enough. To win (want to know what winning is to the CIA?) these ruling covert agencies need our permission to do what they will to us (Universal Law, no getting around that one and they've known this since 1847.) The system of this biosphere has one final gate that only each of us can open or close and it is, in fact, free will. Free will. Such a concept. That alone would take another ten pages, but there's no time. Once we understand their needs, their objectives become easily understandable and quite discernable. The real questions never-NEVER-asked in any chemtrails discussions is A) What do they want? B) How must they achieve it? Ancillary objective: create and maintain a lowered immune system, for use by phase three, which is the execution of their binary weapons systems, to be triggered by microwaves. Know what a urlLink GWEN tower is? Better find out and soon, as you can see them everywhere from your homes and offices. Ever wonder why we have so very many cell phones practically given away for free right now? Know what a burst transmitter is? Does anyone have even the remotest idea of what a low-watt microwave transmission does to the cerebellum when the human brain is within three feet of such a device? If you lack this knowledge, then it is to your detriment. The information is out there. Get hip. The great side benefit that even the NSA didn't predict (their estimate was a little over 3%) is the 12% reduction in population chemtrails are giving our 'masters.' That's right - 12%. In the distant future, the 1990s and beyond will become known as 'the great dying.' In August of 2000, the sky over Los Angeles was actually blood red for two days. (They over-sprayed, due to fucked up orders at Edwards AFB.) The morgues were packed solid for a week and over-flowing. There are still hundreds of thousands reeling from that two-day period. Many hospitals and clinics ran out of antibiotics overnight. Binary weapons need to be triggered and they will use FM, AM, and Microwave GWEN towers to do it. It's all setup, op completed in 1998. Why do this? Wake up! Can't control 6+ billion people - too many. Got to thin them out to keep them in line. I can see the squeemers now as they read this. How and when will they go to Stage Two on this op? Can you say urlLink fake alien invasion , with millions dying and getting sick overnight? The test for this will be a planned (already complete staged op, in fact, West Nile Virus [WNV]) biowarfare incident on a major US or European or Australia (the latter most likely, as they are already completely disarmed down under.) This will give them the final test data they need to go to Stage Two, which is the alien invasion occasionally hinted at once and a while on the Internet. Now I must be crazy, right? At least, when I die, I will know who and why. That's more than I can say for most. Tough love. It seems the only way to reach you people. Culling of the Biosphere: Many folks will rightly say that 'the culling of the elderly, et al' is flat-out nonsense urlLink because Chemtrails affect the sprayers as well as the civilian population . That assertion is essentially correct, but the following should be noted: 1. A virus can only affect you if you are not immunized from it. Think these folks are up to date with their 'private cache' of vaccines? Sure. You don't send out a binary weapon until you are damn certain it won't kill you, the killer. This reaction of 'the sprayers breathe it in, too!' is grasping at straws that don't even exist in any reality. Simply put: it is denial. 2. They simply don't care who they kill, even their own pawns and puppets in the military -- 'fuck 'em.' That's the CIA way. Get used to it. Too hard for you? Don't like the words? They use them a hundred times a day, just ask anyone who has ever been debriefed by these agencies; they have the foulest mouths on the planet. Red Grid/Blue Grid In the end, the how, the who, the when of chemtrails is just so much smoke and mirrors. Just because you've identified the UH1H helicopter, the KC-135 tanker, and the use of Boeing 737s in Chemtrails is really, again in the end, meaningless. We all know who were the shooters in Dallas, but so what? That knowledge doesn't change anything. Find out who is giving the orders and why and then you've got something. To Be Continued if possible NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST --------- Michael of World-Action, November 2002: My main intention of posting this is to remind us of the abilities of chemtrails to confuse us about what is real and what is not real. According to the above, their aim was to come to a level of completion of chemtrail spraying by MARCH 2000 - this was right at the beginning of the reign of the NWO's new main puppet: George Bush Junior - essentially George Bush Senior and his shadowy oil, power & world domination people. Very soon after March 2001, the world's credulity was started to be stretched to the limit, with strange and insane policies by the Bush Administration. Then came the thumping great lie and world rape and traumatisation of '9-11'..... and Chemtrails had been sprayed intensively over the previous two to three years, circulating to every breathing entity on Earth due to global wind currents. THE GREAT DYING --The Real Reason Behind ChemtrailsRe: CT Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 12:21:44 |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,July,2004 | Jul 23, 1:32 AM EDT 9/11 Panel Urges Intelligence Overhaul By TERENCE HUNTAP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's leaders failed to grasp the gravity of terrorist threats before the devastating attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, taking actions so feeble they never even slowed the al-Qaida plotters, a national commission said in a blistering report Thursday. The panel warned 'we are not safe' - and called for major intelligence changes. Its work is sure to reverberate across the presidential campaign. In an exhaustive investigation of the deadliest attack in U.S. history, the commission noted numerous government missteps but did not cast blame on any official and stopped short of saying the hijackings could have been prevented. While the panel did not fault President Bush or former President Clinton, it did say both failed to make anti-terrorism a top priority. 'We do not believe they fully understood just how many people al-Qaida might kill and how soon it might do it,' the 10-member, bipartisan panel said in its unanimous findings. 'We also believe that they did not take it as seriously as it should be taken. It was not their top priority,' Thomas Kean, the Republican chairman, said at a news conference with members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 'We do believe both presidents could have done more in this area.' The final report, available on the commission Web site and at bookstores, largely mirrored the preliminary reports released during the commission's 20 months of investigation. Coming less than four months before the election, the politically sensitive report could be trouble for Bush, who has made his handling of terrorism the centerpiece of his campaign and has insisted he fully understood the threat. Family Members React to 9/11 Report The report comes on the heels of House and Senate reports that documented U.S. intelligence failures and undermined the major claims cited by Bush to justify the war against Iraq. The commission report repeated its earlier preliminary findings that Saddam Hussein did not have a close relationship with al-Qaida and had nothing to do with the attacks. Still, in the days after the hijackings, some in the Bush administration were seeking to make that link, the commission found. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in a Sept. 17, 2001, memo to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, wrote that if there was 'even a 10 percent chance' that Saddam had a role in the attacks, 'maximum priority should be placed on eliminating that threat.' Despite Wolfowitz's arguments, Rumsfeld issued a memo to Pentagon commanders on Sept. 19 that addressed only al-Qaida, the Taliban and Afghanistan. Bush welcomed the panel's recommendations as 'very constructive,' although his administration has reacted coolly toward a key proposal to establish a Cabinet-level national intelligence director. He said that 'where government needs to act, we will.' Bush initially opposed the creation of the commission, resisted the release of some documents and fought against letting national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testify publicly under oath. Still Kean thanked Bush for allowing 'unprecedented access to documents and cooperation from your administration.' Democrat John Kerry, campaigning for president in Detroit, said disputes within the Bush administration had delayed the commission's work and improvements to the nation's security. 'Nearly three years after terrorists have attacked our shores and murdered our loved ones, this report carries a very simple message for all of America about the security of all Americans - we can do better,' Kerry said. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., expressed doubt that lawmakers would have time to consider sweeping reforms this year. But efforts began in both the House and Senate to build bipartisan coalitions of support for the recommendations. Relatives of Sept. 11 victims said they would lobby, too. 'The families know that this is an election year. We're going to hold these people's feet to the fire,' said Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of the hijacked plane that struck the Pentagon. The report portrayed the Sept. 11 terrorists as sure-footed and determined while the nation they were preparing to strike was unprepared, sluggish and uncomprehending of the imminent danger. 'Across the government, there were failures of imagination, policy, capabilities and management,' the commission concluded in a 567-page indictment that documented a series of missed opportunities by the CIA and FBI to uncover the Sept. 11 plot. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 Arab hijackers flew airliners into New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania countryside. Three years later, Americans are safer because of improvements in homeland security and the war against terrorists, the report said. 'But we are not safe.' 'Every expert with whom we spoke told us an attack of even greater magnitude is now possible and even probable,' Kean said. 'We do not have the luxury of time.' The commission's report said that as the Sept. 11 plot advanced, the U.S. government was bogged down in an outdated Cold War mentality, lacking imagination to deal with new threats or recognize the looming danger. 'What we can say with confidence is that none of the measures adopted by the U.S. government from 1998 to 2001 disturbed or even delayed the progress of the al-Qaida plot,' the report said. Commission co-chairman Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said a key finding was that no one in government was in charge of insuring that intelligence agencies pool resources, avoid duplication and plan jointly to keep America safe. To unify efforts, the commission recommended creating a national counterterrorism center. It also recommended a Cabinet-level national intelligence director to centralize efforts now spread over 15 agencies in six Cabinet departments, including the CIA. The report said Congress, like the executive branch, responded slowly to the rise of global terrorism. But the panel found that the 'most important failure' leading to the Sept. 11 attacks 'was one of imagination. We do not believe leaders understood the gravity of the threat.' The commission identified nine 'specific points of vulnerability' in the Sept. 11 plot that might have led to its disruption had the government been better organized and more watchful. Despite these opportunities, 'we cannot know whether any single step or series of steps would have defeated' the hijackers, the report concluded. Some members have speculated the attacks could have been stopped. 'We do not know,' Kean said. 'We think it's possible. But we have not drawn that absolute conclusion because we don't believe that absolute conclusion is justified by the facts.' The report detailed contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida, noting that Osama bin Laden began exploring a possible alliance in the early 1990s. The report said that an Iraqi delegation traveled to Afghanistan in July 1998 to meet with the ruling Taliban and with bin Laden. While there were 'friendly contacts' between Iraq and al-Qaida and a common hatred of the United States, none of these contacts 'ever developed into a collaborative relationship,' the report said. That question has been the subject of intense political debate, as critics accuse Bush of exaggerating the contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq to justify the war. The panel said it did not find evidence that Iran, Iraq's neighbor, had advance knowledge of bin Laden's plans, or that Saudi Arabia's government had a role in the terror conspiracy, which involved 15 Saudi hijackers. So... what does all this mean? Read my previous post. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 22,July,2004 | I heard the dreaded news this afternoon on my way home from work. RAIN this weekend. How can I enjoy the $700.00 plus membership and bond fees for the Clifton Swim Club when it rains and is cold on weekends? Hot as a griddle today, sweated my kuhunies off. Now, this weekend? 78 and rainy. I think that there is something sinister going on. Really. Off to better things... Here's something that makes me conclude that the Federal government and others got away with MURDER. 9/11 Commission Releases Final Report : The September 11th Commission concludes that a 'failure of imagination,' not governmental neglect, allowed 19 hijackers to carry out the deadliest terrorist attack in US history. The panel calls for an intelligence overhaul to confront an al-Qaida organization intent on striking again. While faulting institutional shortcomings, the bipartisan report ' does not blame President Bush or former president Clinton for mistakes' contributing to the 2001 terrorist attack. The report, which is the culmination of a 20-month investigation into the plot that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, describes the meticulous planning and determination of hijackers who sought to exploit weaknesses in airline and border procedures by taking test flights. Coincidentally?, a surveillance video that surfaced Wednesday shows four of the hijackers passing through security gates at Dulles International Airport in Washington shortly before boarding the plane they would crash into the Pentagon. In the video (left), the hijackers can be seen undergoing additional scrutiny after setting off metal detectors, then being permitted to continue to their gate. White House officials and congressional leaders were briefed on the panel's findings, and Bush was presented a copy about 9:30am by the commission's chairmen, just before the 11:30am public release on the commission's web site and in bookstores. The president said he looked forward to reading it. He also said Wednesday his administration was doing everything possible to combat terrorism, a major theme of his re-election campaign: 'Had we had any inkling whatsoever that terrorists were about to attack our country, we would have moved heaven and earth to protect America. I'm confident President Clinton would have done the same thing. Any president would.' One administration official said the 575-page report concludes that Bush and Clinton took the threat of al-Qaida seriously and were 'genuinely concerned about the danger posed by al-Qaida,' but didn't do enough to stop the terrorist organization headed by Osama bin Laden. There was a 'failure of imagination' to provide either Bush or Clinton with new options -- particularly military approaches -- to deal with al-Qaida, the official said. There also was a failure to adapt to the post-Cold War era, and people just kept trying the same kinds of things that didn't work, the official said. As expected, the report will propose a national counterterrorism center headed by a new cabinet-level national director of intelligence. The director would have authority over the CIA, FBI, and other agencies, while congressional oversight also would be strengthened. Out of all of this I get 575 pages of LIES and deception. It took all of 30 hours for the MEDIA to brand this magical group called Al- Quidea or whatever from 'Credible' sources to tell the sheeple that 19 'Arabs' caused this. I tell you that it took millions of man hours and millions of dollars to catch the unibomber. To the 911 commission I say BULLSHIT. And here's another FACT. I am NOT one of those 'Conspiracy Nuts' that the media and those in politics are quick to label anyone who questions the government. There is too much proof, and hopefully those who read this post will search the internet and find these FACTS that YOUR government is trying to hide or twist. Look. I care about my community here in Clifton Heights. And also the whole of Delaware County and the state of Pennsylvania. Go farther and I care about the whole of the United States. Just think of those words for a minute or two. 'United States'. So, why then if were so united does the federal government seem to pit each against the other? Why are 'Lobbyist' allowed? To me they are legalized whores spending YOUR tax dollars and kissing up to these so called senators who only 'care' about you when it's election time. Ok. As always, I have to stop. But think about it. Don't put your religion or party affiliation in front of your fellow man or woman. Cheers. P.S. Vote wisely in November. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 21,July,2004 | Yes, for three days now I've been steadly getting worse. A flu in the middle of the summer is not what I expected. I am so tired as of late, I cannot sleep at all. The meds do nothing for me. I am going to try to get some work done today for sure. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 20,July,2004 | THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS By Jay O'Three WASHINGTON, DC - 7/11/04 Today, Tommy Ridge of the Fatherland Security administration and John ASSCROFT of The Department Formerly Known as Justice proclaimed that we are not even entitled to an election next November 2. Although we predicted this eventuality on April 1 of this year, the two of them have now actually begun exploring the legal means to prohibit Americans from voting The MORONARCHY out of power. They claim this stems from their intense fear of a terrorist attack, even though President MORON insists every day that 'Amerkins are safer today than ever before.' Well, them's fightin' words. There will be an election, or there will be an insurrection. Either way, The MORONARCHY must end. Well, I am divided on this site. Part of me laughs at this late hour, the other cringes at the prospect of it being the truth. But I am comforted by the fact that Delaware County is full of devoted conservative people. Translated: If things locally are ok, what the hell, vote for Bush. After all, it's the delconian thing to do you know... And while were on the subject of conservatives, Gil Spencer is losing it. This guy is so right wing it's pathetic. But then again, look who he works for... The Chimp has got to go. Sign on McCain and We'll vote. Niters. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 18,July,2004 | In the week before 911, there was a 1200% increase in trading activity of orders to go short on the stocks of American and United Airlines. Going short is betting the value of a stock will go down. 98% of the activity came from one investment firm - Deutsche Banke /AM Brown -The former CEO and Chairman of that firm -----George Tenet Posted on yahoo message boards... Well let's talk about 911 for a moment. We were all horrified that day to what was transpiring in front of us. I remember driving on the Blue Route going to an estimate in Radnor. I arrived and my fellow master electrician Anthony Tori told me what was going on. It was about 10:00. We walked into the building and watched the 2nd plane hit the building. A wave of panic hit me. We were under attack. I was numb and didn't know what was going on. Were schools in Delaware County next? I left and went to Super Fresh in Manoa where my wife Liz was working. When I arrived, she was out back sitting in the car listening to KYW. Like me, she was worried and fearful for our children at school. I told her that I was going to pick them up as her boss Bob Witt told all the employees they couldn't leave. As I arrived at Garrettford elementary school there were other parents already in the lobby. I went in and had to sign a 'emergency sick leave note' to get them out. One teacher (I won't mention her name) said that we (the parents) were 'Over Reacting'. Well, if we were next to be attacked, I wanted my sons with me at home. Anyway, as we left the school, my younger son Nicky asked me what was going on. I told him nothing was. The first lie. We went into WAWA and bought some coffee and candy and smokes. went home and watched the TV all morning and afternoon. Liz came home from work later and the rest I won't go into as you all experienced it in your own way. So, here are some facts concerning 911. The night before, on September 10th, President Bush and his staff stayed at the Colony Beach Resort an upscale and relatively pristine tropical island enclave located directly on the Gulf of Mexico, a spindly coral island ... Off Sarasota, Florida.' [ urlLink AP, 07/29/01 ] . After a private dinner with various Florida politicians (including his brother Jeb) and Republican donors, Bush went to bed around 10:00 p.m. [ urlLink Sarasota Magazine, 11/01 , urlLink Washington Post, 1/27/02 ] Surface-to-air missiles were placed on the roof of the resort [ urlLink Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 9/10/02 ], and an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane circled high overhead. [Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism - From Inside the Bush White House, by Bill Sammon, 10/02, p. 25] It's not clear if this type of protection was standard for the president or whether security was increased because of possible threats. Since when does the President's staff go around placing AA guns of roof? Is that standard procedure? The next day, at Booker elementary school, President Bush seemed perplexed as he was told about the aircraft hitting the second building's what did the Commander in Chief do with the knowledge that the United States was under attack? He did nothing. Bush did not say one word. He did not ask Card any questions. He did not give any orders. He did not know who (or which country) was attacking, whether there would be more attacks, what military plans had been taken, what military actions should be taken - indeed, he knew virtually nothing about what was going on outside the room. He just sat there. If we were 'Under Attack' like we all thought, then why the null responses? The Pentagon, Norad, and standing down: Now why when our government knew about four aircraft being off course, and after the first impact, did they do nothing? Over an hour with not one fighter being scrambled. I could go on here, but I just get upset about all of this. More questions in a nut shell. Who shorted the stock the day before? How do buildings 'Collapse' like that? Why was the Media so quick to label Al-Queida? Why were the five Israelis in New Jersey let go? Who had the most to gain financially? Enough rambling... And I welcome all replies. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 17,July,2004 | I finally figured it out. All you have to do is put the words urlLink Delaware County like this in your blog and hope other people with blogs link to yours. It also helps if you list things to do in Delaware County, such as go ice skating at the urlLink Skatium . Or maybe go to the urlLink Media Courthouse and watch a trial. Any word that you link to your homepage will work. Even if you think that urlLink George Bush urlLink is an Idiot , and will never win against urlLink John Kerry in November, its safe to say that with the urlLink GOP leaders in urlLink Springfield , like urlLink Charlie Sexton , and urlLink Gil Spencer (My old buddy) at the urlLink Daily Times , urlLink President Bush WILL be Re Selected, er, I mean Elected. So, what else is new? Oh yeah, I didn't go to the urlLink Clifton Heights Swim Club today because of the urlLink Chemtrails . Ha Ha. Lets see if by next week urlLink Google and urlLink Yahoo search engines move my link up any when you type in the search urlLink Delaware County . Cheers. P.S. Mike, Give me a call tonight or tommorow on the urlLink land line . |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 15,July,2004 | Pay no mind to this. I am trying to get google to place my web site number one with the words ' urlLink Delaware County '. Currently, The Court House in Media has it. I am no where to be found. I wonder what I did wrong? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 15,July,2004 | Seriously... Lately it is getting out of hand but thank God the Admin's are intellegient . Some Excerpts... BackRobertGuest urlLink Re: Evil, Clues, and Ephemera« Reply #158 on: Jul 14, 2004, 6:19pm » we can have free speech but we should have the right to edit content of non residents.i know you are now alligned with this dangerous person and you also take your marching orders from andy lewis but even you must admit that we have a right to demand order on here.it's like the commissioner's meetings where we control not what is said but the order of how it's done.i demand order on here and i demand that a non resident like that who only wants to make trouble be controlled.do you think she would get away with what she does here at the commissioner's meetings?lets see if this blog is really a free speech medium or as many say it's owned by Andy Lewis and is run out of a law office in Philadelphia.Maybe the owners should be forced in court to reveal where the server is for this website and who is paying for it. IP Logged BackRobertGuest urlLink Re: Evil, Clues, and Ephemera« Reply #159 on: Jul 14, 2004, 6:32pm » urlLink urlLink everyvoter5-4 so you can't take the heat?you liked it when no one was on here defending the republicans but when someone comes and stands up to fight you tell people to ignore the person.you little coward.can't you fight your own battles?you can't fight back because you can't match our arguments.you fear us and you should because most of us have been doing this for 30 years.we know this town and its people and that's why we win elections.what election have you ever won? we will crush you people and the republicans will increase our votes on the board next year.Andy lewis and you and all the democrats can go lick your wounds.Sure go ahead make believe i am not here but that won't help you little scared person who is afriad to fight.the fight is real and if you won't fight step aside before we run over you.you make me laugh you blast a good boy like robert for weeks you spread vile rumors about all of us and now when i walk up and slap you in your face you run away crying.you are nothing.you couldn't carry the Judge's gym shoes.Go away little coward and let the adults work out the problems. IP Logged urlLink cfqgop YaBB Junior MemberIndependents minds always succeed!!! urlLink urlLink Gender: Posts: 10 Re: Evil, Clues, and Ephemera« Reply #160 on: Jul 14, 2004, 10:45pm » 'BACK ROBERT' - You want people like Donna Lewis to be banned for using names to describe the 5 Commissioners. She is not far off what she is talking about I agree with her comments. However you go along and call her a COWARD. Isn't that in violation of what you stand for. I do not know how you can defend Clouse/Robby C./Lynne C./Judge Lisa/George/Carol/Fred/Steve/Joe. Especially Lynne Cohen she is pulled nothing but bad moves such as the illegal petition in May 2003 in the 7th ward, the Absentee ballot of her mom, and she'll get away with everything b/c of Clouse. The Clouse days are going to come to a quick end. And than what will Robby, Judge Lisa, and Lynne do then. Keep up the good work all you bloggers keep the Clouse/Cohen problems in the media show them how corrupt the Haverford Township government is b/c of them and the 5. IP Logged Donna LewisGuest urlLink Re: Evil, Clues, and Ephemera« Reply #161 on: Today at 1:07am » Back Robert:All 23 of you! Can you tell us how hard the taxpayers will be hit when the bill comes due for da birdboy's health care costs? BlogAdmin 4 edit: malicious, unsubstaniated innuendo. Word is little Leo wants to do right by the avian boychild. Please tell 'Da Mamma'to order edit generic brands so the taxpayers can save a little money. IP Logged urlLink Reality_Check YaBB God urlLink urlLink Posts: 111 Re: Evil, Clues, and Ephemera« Reply #162 on: Today at 2:47pm » Quote: I also want a rule that only haverford residents are permitted to write on the blog.Non residents would have to submit their post and then a group of residents which would include both sides would review the submission and edit it if need be. I certainly don't agree with this - not to mention that I'm sure it would be hard to implement (and review submissions from non-residents? I guess that is an attempt to shut down the Blog - can you imagine how time consuming that could be?) I do think it would be a good idea if posters were required to register. And can't it be set up so only one blog name can be used on a given computer? (i.e. if you try to log on your computer using a different 'shill' name, your post is automatically denied because it recognizes you as being already registered under your original name.) This could help prevent someone from using multiple aliases. Sheesh... Can't we all just get along? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 09,July,2004 | Well now, it's quite early in the morning and I am awake. Yesterday, while at work at one of the schools installing lights in a new classroom, I spotted the below. (Thanks for the picture Mike) Now, I ask you. Is Dan Quayle working there? Really. I try my hardest to spell check everything I publish, but this coming out of a school is hard to belive! The good thing is that with a utility knife and whiteout, it can and will be fixed the next time I visit. For curiosity sake I did a google search on the word 'potatoe' and what comes up fourth? urlLink You guessed it. Moving right along, I am reading the urlLink Daily Times at this early hour and see that an Ex-Nun has been convicted of molesting a then 10 year old student back in 1970. I attended a catholic grade school and never had any nun make a move on me other than to slam me into a black board or whack me with one of those pointers. (Lucky Me.) Needless to say, I hope the old perv gets what's coming to her. There has been a rash of pedophiles in the area lately. Most members of our web portal (All three of them)know about the old man behind my house who is a convicted child rapist. They also know that I have had words with him a concerning my younger daughter. What amazes me is that most pedophiles do NOT believe they are doing anything wrong. This asshole behind me will strike again, and until then he supossedly has rights. Yeah, you read it right, RIGHTS! Enough about this guy, he ain't worth the effort. That's about it, my coffee is ready. Have a nice day. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 09,July,2004 | I have a Chemtrail group up on yahoo if anyone is interested. Don't belive in them? Join and post why. On a lighter note, I found a picture that I took of my wife Liz. Very chilling to see those once beautiful buildings standing tall. I won't go into why I belive that they were imploded and such things today. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 06,July,2004 | It's been 7 years since my Dad passed away. Funny how it still bothers me. I thought that I was over it but find that I have a heavy heart. My Dad was 74 years old when he died of Pancreatic cancer. I remember him being in terrible pain. My Dad and I were close as father son relationships go, but in the early years, he was always out drinking. It got so bad that he wound up in the VA hospital in Coatesville and then to Haverford Mental hospital for alcohol treatment. I guess after serving in WW2 where he was a POW in Germany and Korea where he was wounded would make anyone abuse the stuff. Finally, in 1970, he quit. I remember going out to Liberty Bell race track and then dining at the Mari Nay diner. Boy he gambled a lot! My summers consisted of working for him cutting grass on the main line. He had over 60 lawns, but I remember one on Coopertown Rd. The residence was the Millers. They were about the nicest people to my Dad, and he appreciated them as he would remind me just about every other week. He was most off all well know in the Irish community as an excellent violinist and accordion player. He loved his music, and the people he played with. Mary & Kevin Mcgillin, Barney Boyce, Pat Collins, and Vince Gallagher come to mind.. I had good memories of my Pop. Rest easy Dad. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 05,July,2004 | Seems that this 'WAR' will never end. Haverford Marine injured in Iraq 07/04/2004 By KATHLEEN E. CAREY [email protected] HAVERFORD -- Two days after three members of the Marine Corps Reserve Unit from Folsom died and two others were injured in Iraq, a Marine from Haverford was seriously injured after his vehicle ran over a land mine. Cpl. Jason Michael Simms, 26, was serving with Delta Company, Third Platoon, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,stationed outside Fallujah on July 1 when he and three others riding in a light armored vehicle drove over the mine. One Marine from Tennessee died. One suffered minor injuries, and the other two, including Simms, continue to be treated. 'We don’t know the extent of his injuries,' his dad, Jim Simms Jr. said. Jason Simms’ parents do know their son is stabilized after surgery in Iraq. They said he has shrapnel in the left side of his body and has been quarantined to prevent infection to his burns. On Thursday, the Simms’ were told Jason would call. 'We still haven’t heard from him,' Jim Simms said Saturday. 'We should have heard from him by now.' The family waits by the phone. 'It’s like all this going on with the Folsom guys and then this the next day,' Simms’ mom, Mary Jean, said from her Grand Avenue home, as two Marine Corps flags flew outside. The Simms said their son will be moved to Germany once he’s stabilized. 'He could be on his way there now or it could be in 24 hours,' Mary Jean said. 'We don’t know when. From Germany, he’ll come back to the states.' The 1996 Haverford High School graduate joined the Marines that following January. 'He said he was interested in the challenge,' his father said. 'He mentioned he wanted to serve the country. And, because ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine.’' Simms’ parents were surprised, but they supported his decision. After serving in Hawaii, Jason signed up for another tour last September. 'He missed it,' Jim said. 'He liked the camaraderie.' In February, Simms went with his unit to Iraq to replace the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, rejecting a Jacksonville, Fla., assignment. 'He had a chance to get out of it,' his mother said. '(But) he’d rather stick with his unit.' Before he left, Jason encouraged his parents to get passports so they could go to Germany in case he was injured. And although he is en route there, his parents have been told to stay in Haverford in anticipation of his homecoming. His mom remembers learning of his Iraq deployment. 'Just like everybody, you think he’ll be fine,' she said. 'You don’t expect him to get hurt.' His dad said, 'It’s where he wanted to be.' In a letter to his sister, Lindsay, Jason wrote, 'You don’t know how lucky you are to live in America.' When American troops went door-to-door looking for Saddam Hussein, Jason saw a woman with four children and a baby lying on the floor in a house the size of his Haverford bedroom. Ascertaining that the baby was in bad shape, Jason gave them whatever food and water he had. Jason last talked to his parents on Father’s Day, wishing his dad the best and aching to be with his 4-year-old son, Jason Jr. 'Obviously, we are hoping to hear from Jason pretty soon,' Jim said. 'It’s something you always thought about. It was no consolation for me to hear him say, ‘Don’t worry about me.’ That’s like saying ..‘Don’t snow.’' If he could see the second of his four children, Simms said, 'I wouldn’t say anything.' All he would do is embrace his Jason, to envelope him, showing him the love and pride a father has for a son. ©The Daily Times 2004 |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 04,July,2004 | It's been a few days since my last post. My pc caught a few viruses via port 135 and since I didn't have Zonealarm on, they got in. Needless to say, I've spent over 2 days formatting the HD and re installing XP. On Saturday we had a parade. Clifton Heights always throws the best parade and fireworks. A cool picture of the cannon being fired. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 15,August,2004 | I read the urlLink haverfordblog every day and lately it's turning into a soap opera. Grown Men & Women acting like little kids slinging mud and saying shit about ' this one is no good ' and such... Cripes, maybe someonme could write a book about it and make some money! Now I realize that the webmasters of the blog have good intentions about it, but it pains me to see it turn into nothing more than a Storm Drain. Good debates are worth reading and interacting with. but what we have here are lawsuits, threats, and just general nastiness. They all abound on the blog. But, hey! I enjoy reading it. Am I sick or what? I don't even live in Haverford but have worked there for over 20 years.Btw, I was in PEABODY'S on Friday. So, Why don't all the concerned bloggers of the Haverford Blog all get together at say the old Iron Gate or hell, WAWA for the teetotallers i.e (teetotal adjective never drinking alcohol or opposed to the drinking of alcohol teetotaller UK, US USUALLY teetotaler noun {C}and just have some fun! I just posted this reply to two combatants. Re: Curt Weldon's mailer - week of 8/9/2004 « Reply #2 on: Today at 1:16am » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll be quite honest with both of you. Both Bush AND Kerry are losers. America is controlled by corporations, lawyers,and our 'Friends' abroad. WE are all sheep, who instead of banding TOGETHER, fight and argue over being a Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative,White or Black, Gay or Straight. I consider myself to be an AMERICAN, one who was revered in the world as being the most generous, outgoing people in the world. Peace to all you HT'ers. Ok. Bring it on! No, really guy and gals, lighten up. It's the weekend. Cheers. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 14,August,2004 | She asked me tonight to shoot some more pictures. I had the camera,(an A-40 Canon)set at 1600X1200. The shots were not as good a clarity as I would expect. I am learning about this slowly! Well, you be the judge. (I reduced them a bit to 320X240 for my blog in Photoshop.) I think personally that if you knew her, you would agree that her personality does more for her than her good looks... And to think that urlLink Main Line Models & Talent told her to drop five pounds... Hell, picky people, aren't they? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 12,August,2004 | Just remembering my Dad who I love dearly.. WTF, I'm Human with feelings too. How bout it? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 10,August,2004 | Vanessa saw the picture of her sister Erica the other night. She asked me to take some shots of her so I did. She's 21 years old and one of the nicest women you can meet. And She's single too! Beautiful Smile... Yours truly hamming it up with 'Nessie' Nice to see that through all the heartache both Vanessa and Erica and their family have been through concerning their brother Robbie, they still keep on Keepin' on. God bless all of you! Cheers Vanessa :-) BTW. Here is some pictures of their Brother Robbie Mac Neal. He was involved in a devastating car wreck in New Jersey on December 14th, 2003. He was in a coma for months and was first in Cooper Medical Center, then transferred to Jefferson , then onto Moss Rehabilitation Center. Many people have been touched by Robbie's resolve, one that's far greater than the 'Chimp' that currently resides in the White House. Robbie had been in that wheel chair now for 9 months, something to think about. The Accident involved no booze, no drugs, no speeding... Just some rotten black ice doing 50 M.P.H. coming home from a job he and his friend got selling discounted phone services while attending his freshman year at Neumann Collage. My heart has gone out to the kid who used to come up into my garage at 3 AM to inquire what the hell I was doing on my computer at that time of night, (Yes, I was banished to the garage by my wife at the time because of over indulging in the use of the motherboard. And that's another story.} Anyway, I'm working on a tribute section on the Totally Delco website that will be available in a few weeks. Until we 01 again. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 08,August,2004 | A guest posts: Christians are called to emulate Christ. As He lived His life here on earth. That's all we have to go by. The suffering Christ, not the vanquishing one yet to come. We are to follow Him to the cross if necessary, and are commanded to love those who crucify us. 'Love your enemies' are His exact words. Jesus Christ did not 'fight back'. He did not 'kick ass'. He did not endeavor to destroy his enemies, or support those that were doing so. Rather, He COMMANDED us as Christians to LOVE them. UNCONDITIONALLY, as He loves us. Jesus Christ did not bomb women or children for any reason whatsoever. Nor would He ever condone or support such behavior. Jesus Christ abhored the behavior of Pharisees who prayed publicly and exploited their faith while doing evil behind the scenes. Nor would He have anything at all to do with, or support any kind of 'War on Terrorism' whatsoever. Tough words. Tough commandments. Hard to live by. Even harder to die by. But undeniable. IF you're a Christian and believe in what the Bible says about Jesus Christ's life. Jesus Christ also warned of those who would come after Him, come in His name, claiming to be doing good in His name, but instead doing unspeakable evil. He warned all Christians against these people, telling us that they would come as 'Angels of Light'. He didn't go into specifics, but if He had, He might have said that they would promise to appoint judges to end abortion, promise to fund 'faith-based' ministries and schools, and cast stones at rivals who 'wanted to destroy the family by supporting abortion, voting against parental notification rights, give the 'morning-after' pill to our children,' etc., etc. I hope you get my point by now. The AntiChrist will not come saying 'I am evil, follow me'. On the contrary, he will say 'I am good personified, I will make the world a better place and give all that believe in me and support me everything they want that is good. I will protect the weak and innocent and make peace, and destroy all evildoers.' I'm not saying Bush is THE AntiChrist, but he certainly qualifies as an antichrist, because every single thing he says, and most importantly, does, goes DIRECTLY AGAINST EVERYTHING that JESUS CHRIST taught, lived, believed, and DIED FOR. It is time for the Moral Majority and all who identify themselves as 'Fundamentalist Christians' to decide what they really are; followers (emulators) of Christ or members or supporters of a worldly power-seeking political movement. YOU CANNOT BE A MEMBER OR SUPPORTER OF ONE and BELONG TO THE OTHER. Jesus Christ eschewed (avoided to the greatest extent possible) politics and political power at every turn in His life, and His own people turned on Him as a result, desiring a 'strong' leader who would come as a conquerer and throw off the occupation of the Romans. There was a reason for this and He said it over and over again in His life; that the world of the Spirit was more important than the world of Man and that the world of Man would fall away and amount to nothing. Suffering to prove you loved your enemies was far more important than vanquishing them. But aren't we expected to make the world a better place? Absolutely. And Jesus told us how, by LOVING OUR ENEMIES. How do we do that? Find out what they want, why they want it, give it to them, and then give them more. If they ask for our shirt, to give them our cloak also. If they ask for our life or the lives of our loved ones, so be it. First Century Christians went to their deaths in the arena singing and praising God, rather than fight the Romans. How does this make the world a better place? By letting Christ's love so shine through us that all come to Him, by choice and free will. Not by coercion, and certainly not by force, murder, destruction, and worst of all, revenge. Unconditional Love is the only way to true lasting peace. Those First Century Christians' witness converted first a handful, then an emperor, then an entire empire, and eventually the entire world came to know of Jesus. Would this have happened if they died fighting against overwhelming odds? How many other ethnic or religious groups that died fighting the Romans do we know anything at all about today? Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I do NOT want you to stand before God at the final reckoning and have to experience the following: God asks you what you were doing when Bush was bombing women and babies (whatever Bush's reason; it doesn't matter) and you tell God 'We were fighting to keep a hunk of rock in a courthouse' or 'We were fighting to keep doctors from killing unborn babies' or worst of all 'We were fighting to keep what we thought was a Man of God in the White House doing your work, Lord.' A Christian can never lose their salvation, but they can lose their soul when they do what they feel is the right thing for all the wrong reasons. Or actually doing the wrong thing for all the right reasons. Jesus told us how to do the right thing for all the right reasons. It isn't easy. In fact, it's the hardest thing in the world to do. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. But He also said He would help us do it, if we took the first step. May God grant you the power of discernment and the power to see 'Angels of Light' for what they are. Know them by their works, not by what they claim to be. And may you never be blinded by much lesser meaningless works of seeming good, while abominable acts of unspeakable evil occurr immediately behind them. May God bless you and keep you, Leslie Bell P.S. You might say 'What about the military? Doesn't somebody have to fight for freedom? What about our Christian young men and women in uniform?' My answer is going to be very hard, but it is going to be what Jesus taught. As Christians, we aren't to worry about or ever partake in 'fighting for freedom' or for anything else; there will always be men and women who will take any opportunity given them to kill for any reason whatsoever. As Christians we aren't to join them, period. God will decide their fate. We are commanded to LOVE OUR ENEMIES. This doesn't ever include bombing, maiming, or killing them for our freedom, their freedom, or anything else. For those that already have done these things, there is complete absolution and forgiveness for all those that ask. Killing is sin. If we have done so, we are called to stop. As individuals and AS A GOD-FEARING NATION. Then what course of action is there left to take? Crying out the Truth, loud and long. That will be more than enough. Contributed by urlLink Leslie Bell |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 08,August,2004 | What is it with this chick? First off, she seems to be a crybaby. Waaaaah! Waaaaah! I just saw her on TV. Unbelievable! She has her own Fragrance... It's called Curious Britney Spears. Well, I'm curious Brit. Just what are you going to think of next? Like those Hilton sisters, especially the one who looks like an Ethiopian. All that money, and Paris has to do porn movies like some low life crack whore from Darby. Oh.. Before I go. You know there is a Britney lookalike? Yes. lookie here. And here is 'Her' without her makeup on. It's a guy.... A dude. A sausage. A male. A human being with penile reproductive organs. Now you see Brit, you have some comptition that even Mr.Marcavage could learn to like. Off to bed. It's late. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 07,August,2004 | While reading the Daily Times this morning I came across an article sent in by Michael Marcavage, a man who lives in the borough. He proceeds to attack Kevin Lee, an openly gay man who recently was appointed to borough council. He cites from the Bible, (Romans, Chapter 1,) that 'God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.' He goes on to explain that the laws of our nation were founded on the Bible, that it is of a moral foundation, one that dates back to the beginning of time itself. Well Mr. Marcavage, I agree with you, but only to a point. Yes I believe that God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Men and Women are unique, and best physically equipped for intercourse with each other. Mr.Marcavage goes on to quip about the borough soon requiring children to read amongst other things, Books entitled: 'Heather Has Two Mommies' and 'Daddy's Roommate'. Good Luck, you'll need it but please quit driving around in a bus with posters plastered on it showing aborted fetuses. That's where I draw the line, such as when the governor was in Lansdowne certain people showed up and in front of these same young children, exposed graphic posters of aborted fetuses. If I were present, I would have grabbed the posters, tore them up, then proceed to punch out them all. I probably would have landed up in jail, but it would be well worth it. That's why I love America. Again, good luck with taking on the powers that be in Lansdowne. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 06,August,2004 | And Good Morning WAWA coffee! Seeya later. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 05,August,2004 | Here I sit with Erica, our 17 year old neighbor. Her brother is urlLink Robbie , the young man who was tragically injured in a car accident in December of last year. Erica would like to become a model. I think that she has the potential to do it. In fact, tomorrow or over the weekend we will be doing a photo shoot (A portfolio?) of her for people to look at. Hopefully, someone who isn't a con artist and is REALLY connected with a reputable modeling agency will see the pictures and contact her thru me. Hey, free publicity is better than paying $300.00 dollars to those so called Modeling agencys that tell you that scour the papers looking for couples with newborns and contacting them saying that thier kid is soooo cute, now gimme money to put them on a commerical that never happens... Yes, and two things.. 1.Dont even think it and 2. It's not that I'm not a happy guy, it's just that I have really horrible crooked buck missing teeth and am embarrased. I need an extreme makeover. Vote for me on T.V. to get it done. I'm game. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 04,August,2004 | Liz, Eric, Erica and Michael all went up to the Eagles Training Camp at Lehigh University. This one picture stands out. (No offence Terrell...) Pick me a winner... |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 04,August,2004 | A fellow Delconian gets hacked by some asshole. Makes me wonder. To Tom, I'll continue to post anything you want on this blog, and the several web sites that we own. E mail me at [email protected] and I'll gladly help in anyway I can as I really enjoy your factual information that seems to be a target lately. (I wonder why ?) BTW, to the readers, here's the specifics of the offending ISP that hacked Tom Flocco. 08/05/04 01:32:10 whois [email protected] whois -h whois.arin.net !net-24-116-0-0-1 ... OrgName: CABLE ONE OrgID: CBL1 Address: 1314 N THIRD ST Address: FIRST FLOOR City: PHOENIX StateProv: AZ PostalCode: 85004 Country: US NetRange: 24.116.0.0 - 24.117.255.255 CIDR: 24.116.0.0/15 NetName: CABLEONE NetHandle: NET-24-116-0-0-1 Parent: NET-24-0-0-0-0 NetType: Direct Allocation NameServer: NS1.CABLEONE.NET NameServer: NS2.CABLEONE.NET Comment: RegDate: 1996-09-25 Updated: 2002-11-14 TechHandle: EB12-ARIN TechName: Billeter, Eric TechPhone: +1-602-364-6462 TechEmail: [email protected] OrgNOCHandle: LPA2-ARIN OrgNOCName: Andrews, Lee Phillip OrgNOCPhone: +1-602-364-6901 OrgNOCEmail: [email protected] OrgTechHandle: LPA2-ARIN OrgTechName: Andrews, Lee Phillip OrgTechPhone: +1-602-364-6901 OrgTechEmail: [email protected] # ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2004-08-04 19:10 # Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database. Now this doesn't mean that they did it, it means that SOMEONE who used thier internet hosting came up on Tom's referrer logs. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 04,August,2004 | The above link was obtained from my referrer log file on the server. Now just where do you see me posting links to escorts from Delaware County? Honestly, Delco Women on the whole wouldn't stoop to that level... Well, I do know one, right Mike? I wonder how old 'Secret' and her pimp daddy are getting by these days? Still selling pizza's in Folcroft? |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | To the people who were flooded out in Upper Darby & Darby, e mail me and I'll post links to any relief fund addresses. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | urlLink I Feel Fine |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | I am kind of depressed about our web site www.totallydelco.com. I feel that it needs major help, new ideas from fresh minds. I started it mainly to provide links to businesses and such in and around Delaware County. I also wanted people to join the Web Portal so they could interact with the site. I will continue to work on the community pages and publish them in the next few months. Any ideas are gladly appreciated. Thanks. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | Yes... Think about it. I'm tired of this 'Fear Factor'. Just WHO does control the 'government' anyway? In Delaware County, you have Tom Judge, Charlie Sexton, Nick Micozzie, and My favourite: John McNichol. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | Well I just cannot believe this! I went to visit my Mom down in Stonehurst. I couldn't get near her house because of the massive flooding at Marshall Rd and S. 69th. (Church La. To me.) Anyway, She has no power at all. While I was there, I went down the crick and lo and behold, my best friend Pete was there. He lives in Ridley but grew up with us down the park... Here are some pictures of what I'm talking about. The local news says that Upper Darby had over 4' of rain. And I believe them! |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | No, not the Avalon in New Jersey, this Avalon is in Nags head, North Carolina, the best place in the United States to vacation. My first visit there was in the Summer of '88, while Liz and I were going out for about a year. Her family had been going there since the early 70's and she told me what a wonderful place it was. She was right. After getting over the initial nervousness of crossing the Mason Dixon line for the first time, I felt like I was back in time. The first thing we did was to stop at a 7 Eleven in s. Nags Head, right before you go into the national seashore drive. When I walked in, the clerk (A young girl) greeted me with: How y'all doing today? May I help you ? I was floored! try getting that greeting at a sev in Philly! Well, needless to say, our week there was great. two people in love alone in a sound front home was heaven to me. I didn't want to return. Avalon's Pier's live web cam We made several trips down to Nags Head, the last being last year (2003.) For some pictures, urlLink Click Here . Any way, there are three main piers that I have been on in the Outer Banks. One, Jennette's Pier, started feeling the effects of Hurricane Isabel a few days after we left last year. It was totally destroyed. The second, Nags Head Pier, was also extensivly damaged but the buildings and pier remained standing. The third, urlLink Avalon Pier , in Kill Devil Hills, was also heavly damaged. In all, these three piers are excellent places to fish from, or just sit on all night. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | Yep. The roof is still leaking, right over Liz's side of the bed. She let me know about it about an hour ago. Leaking like it was taking a leak. (It's Sunday). As I sit here listening to the rumbles of thunder heading towards New Jersey, I had to re boot my machine. The router (A new linksys) also had to be rebooted. This crazy weather we've been having in the Tri State area is the result of mother nature being pissed. Notice the non use of the word Chemtrails. So, here's what I want to accomplish today. 1. Do the electrical work around the house that has been half done now since the ground outside was frozen. 2. Call somebody to check out the roof. (Fat chance on a Sunday) 3. Fix leak in ceiling of work van. 4. Install new hose bib and hose holder out front. 5.Visit mom and see what she needs done, if only to keep her company. |
3,621,730 | male | 43 | Construction | Aquarius | 01,August,2004 | urlLink Google Search: Nags Head Pier |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 25,July,2004 | (yahoo) The 2004 Tour de France will always be remembered as the tour where Lance Armstrong won his sixth tour. Ullrich's performance, Basso's, even Andreas Klöden's shocking second place, will all be afterthoughts. Virenque's seven KOM wins will be relegated to a footnote. All because Armstrong won his sixth tour in 2004. If he wins seven? Six will still be remembered in all the glory and fanfare. Of course there were other stories. The unknown Frenchman, the young Thomas Voeckler. The boy who may be the next big thing for France. The Fassa Bortolo team that won without Petacchi. Cofidis' much needed stages wins. Jakob Piil and Jens Voigt in all of those breaks. The ever-changing green jersey competition. The fighting for the white jersey. These things will be remembered, but none so much as Lance's sixth tour victory. --- As for the 20th stage? The first part of it was pretty much like all other 20th stages. The only real difference was Dominia's Simeoni who decided to attack at least three times throughout the day. None of them were effective, for one reason or another. But other than that, the race to the Champs-Elysées was less than exciting. The real racing began as the peloton started onto the Champs-Elysées. The pace started to speed up and a few breaks went off the front, but none of them were successful. At least until a group of about ten men, including Thomas Voeckler and Axel Merckx, gained what eventually ended up being a 40 second lead. They lead for most of the circuits, until Jan Ullrich and T-Mobile took over the pace making. But the break kept fighting capture, and then Juan Antonio Flecha jumped off the front. His attacked was the last straw for the peloton and they were captured. Eventually Flecha was too, right before the line. The race for the green jersey was magnificent. The first sprint was won by Robbie McEwen, the second by Thor Hushovd. The final sprint to the line was at least sixteen sprinters long and, in the end, it was the young Belgian, Tom Boonen, who powered himself to the win. In a few years, maybe even next year, he'll be a real contender for the green jersey. (cbs sportsline) Boonen was part of the 'revolution' of young riders at this tour. From Fabian Cancellara taking the prologue and the first yellow jersey to Thomas Voeckler riding for 10 days in yellow to the 23 year old Russian, Vladimir Karpets, who not only earned the white jersey, but ended up 13th in the final general classification, to all of the young riders making it through those 23 days. This tour has given the cycling world something to look forward to. The 'old men' are still around. 37 year old Scott Sutherland (Alessio-Bianchi) was in the Champs-Elysées 10-man break and Lance's team mate, 38 year old Viatcheslav Ekimov, finished his 14th tour. But this tour was all about then young guys. Aside from Lance's victory, the most inspiring story is that of 25 year old Thomas Voeckler. I know I've waxed poetic about him, but he deserves it. He proved us all wrong, he proved that a little known French cyclist and his team without a strong leader, could dominate, in one way or another, the peloton. Sure, he didn't make it to Paris in yellow -- but then again, he didn't need to. At least, not this year. This tour was exciting in it's own way. Sure, last year's was closer, but this year had a lot more tension. Lots of crashes, lots of stories and lots of records breaking or almost breaking. If Zabel had won, he would have held the record for the most green jerseys. But, in the end, it turned out that everyone who came in wearing one for the four jerseys completed the race with them. (cbs sportsline) Robbie McEwen managed to keep his green jersey, in spite of all of the competition. Lance, of course, is in yellow. Record breaking Richard now has seven KOM wins to his name. And the new boy on the block, Karpets, took the jersey from Voeckler in spectacular fashion. It was fun writing about the tour these 23 days. I can't wait until next year to write all over again. Perhaps one of these days, I'll be in France and reporting from the 'front lines.' But until then, I'll be watching on my TV. As for next year? Lots of questions remain unanswered. Will Ullrich finally have the team he needs? Will Basso improve his time trialling skills enough to compete on every stage? Will the tour be dominated, as it nearly was this year, by the young guns? Will Voeckler be the next tour winner for France? Will Virenque retire or try for eight? And, of course, the real question. Will Lance be back for a seventh win? Who knows, but next year promises to be just as exciting. (cbs sportsline) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 24,July,2004 | One more stage left. (cbs sportsline) It was certainly more exciting than yesterday's stage. The weather started off poorly, but unlike last year the weather completely cleared for the top half of the classification. What happened? Well, barring disaster, Lance will be riding into Paris in yellow. He'll be breaking that record. But enough of that talk, he said in an interview with Craig from OLN that there's still one stage left. My guess? He'll be fine. But you never know. As for the stage, well, there were a lot of impressive rides today, many of them from the Americans. Although the rest of the USPS team, as well as Jens Voight, Vladimir Karpets, Andreas Klöden, Ivan Basso, and Jan Ullrich (among others), were amazing. The top 15 looked like this: 1 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 1.06.49 2 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.01 3 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.27 4 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 2.25 5 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 2.48 6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.50 7 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 3.19 8 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears - Banesto 3.33 9 Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 3.40 10 Jose Azevedo (Por) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 3.49 11 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 3.56 12 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank 4.06 13 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 4.17 14 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Fassa Bortolo 4.33 15 José I.Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 4.53 Although USPS had a high number of riders in the top 15, they're still 2 minutes and four seconds behind T-Mobile for the team classification. I suppose since Jan won't make it onto the podium in third, the team win will have to do. Oddly enough, the same thing happened to Tyler Hamilton last year. He was fourth behind Vino and CSC won the team classification. I wonder how common that is. As I said before, there was some amazing riding. Although Christian Vandevelde (Liberty Seguros), didn't make the top 15 (he was 24) he started the American 'take over' of the time trial. But, aside from Lance, the two most impressive rides of the day were by Bobby Julich and Floyd Landis, who appears to have the potential to go win stages, maybe even next year. Bobby was the first man that broke the one hour and ten minute mark. And then Floyd flew through the course and blew away all of Julich's times. For a brief moment I thought Floyd might have a chance to come in second or third. (gettyimages) But, of course, the four strongest men of the race still had to finish. And Lance, Jan and, surprisingly, Andreas sent Landis down to fourth. Which, all things considered, is still excellent. Speaking of the top four, Ivan Basso's time trialling skills were much improved, even compared to earlier in the tour. I think he should have been praised for coming in as high as he did. I thought (and secretly hoped -- as I wanted Jan on that podium) that he was going to lose a lot more time. Instead, he just slipped (by a few seconds) into third. I have to admit I was rooting for Lance to catch him, but in the end it didn't happen. As for the man who is now in second? Andreas Klöden continues to impress me, as well as live up to the national champion jersey on his back. He is being heralded as the new leader for T-Mobile, but (as I said in the previous entry) that's something I'll talk about later. His ride today, though, was just beautiful. (cbs sportsline) Near the end of the stage, I thought (as did Phil and Paul) that Klodi was going to overtake Jan. He didn't, which is probably good for both of them, but it was close. 26 seconds between Jan and Klodi. I had no idea he was that good of a time trialist. But it was obvious he'd set his sights on second and he wasn't going to stop until he got it. And somehow he did. Although he is six minutes and thirty eight seconds behind Lance, he's only twenty one seconds in front of Basso. It was some ride that Klöden did today. Richard Virenque came in at a respectable 36th and will ride to France tomorrow with his seventh (record breaking) KOM jersey. As for the green jersey? We'll see where that leaves us tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Robbie with take it, but you never know. The race is tight. Thor could surprise us all. And what does that leave us with? The sad story of former race leader (and French darling) Thomas Voeckler and the white jersey. He had 45 seconds to lose and he did, in dramatic and heart wrenching fashion. His two closes rivals, Sandy Casar and Vladimir Karpets, beat him to the line in spectacular fashion. Casar came in six minutes and four seconds behind Lance, Karpets was three minutes and thirty three seconds behind Lance. Thomas came in nine minutes and forty one seconds behind Lance. It's not fair at all, but Karpets certainly deserves that jersey. As for Thomas? There's always next year, for yellow anyway. And I'll be there (at least metaphorically), cheering him on. (gettyimages) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 23,July,2004 | Today's stage was possibly the least interesting stage of the tour. I was a really bad fan and only paid half attention, I don't plan to repeat that tomorrow or Sunday. But today? I don't know. (yahoo) There was a break that eventually ended up almost 12 minutes ahead of the peloton. For a brief moment, before OLN's coverage began, Lance Armstrong and Filippo Simeoni (Domina Vacanze) bridged the gap to the break for reasons that I don't quite understand as I'm not sure of the complete story (more can be found at urlLink cyclingnews ) and then sat up and waiting for the peloton. We saw tape of the two catching up with the gap, but that was about it. Apparently one of the riders in the break asked Lance to drop back, and he said he would, only if Simeoni (who is suing Lance) did. And eventually they were captured. That was, of course, the most exciting thing until the final sprint for green jersey points. The scenery was nice, but the stage didn't really catch my interest, except for a few times. Of the boys in the break, only Sébastien Joly (Crédit Agricole )and Marc Lotz (Rabobank) caught my interest. And, of course, neither of them won. Instead, Juan Miguel Mercado (Quick Step-Davitamon) beat out the more experienced José V. Garcia Acosta (Illes Balears - Banesto) for the stage win. Acosta just got caught in a bad position and Mercado moved at just the right time. He sat on Acosta's wheel and then launched himself. It was a somewhat exciting win. (yahoo) I'm not sure how many wins Quick Step has now, but it's at least three. Tom Boonen won, then Richard and now Mercado. About six minutes later, Sandy Casar attempted an attack off the front of the peloton. He wanted to gain time for the white jersey on both Thomas Voeckler and Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears - Banesto). It was an excellent attempt, but Karpets' team put pressure on the front of the peloton and brought Casar back after a few minutes. Then the sprinters' teams took over and there was a short race to the finish. (yahoo) I was screaming for Zabel, of course. But once I saw he'd gotten himself boxed out, I was yelling for Hondo, Stuey, and Hushovd. Thor did, in fact, take the highest sprint points. But he was followed by Robbie, Hondo, Stuey, Carlos Dacruz (FDJ) and Zabel. Unless something horrible happens to Robbie, his teammates will probably protect him well enough on Sunday that he'll ride away with the jersey. But the numbers are close enough that it will be exciting. Robbie: 238 Thor: 227 Zabel: 221 O'Grady: 215 Hondo: 201 Thomas still has his 45 second lead for the white jersey, but anything can happen tomorrow. My fear is that Karpets is going to wipe Thomas off the charts during the time trial. But we'll just have to wait and see. And, of course, Lance is still in yellow. And, barring disaster, I believe he'll remain in yellow tomorrow and wear it into Paris. As for second and third? It'll be Jan and Klodi, I just don't know which order. It is time for the time trial yet? I'm so ready. (yahoo) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 22,July,2004 | Three more stages left. I was reluctant to post right away for three reasons. One: There usually aren't a lot of good pictures so soon. Two: My emotions were running high and my personal bias would have shown through a lot stronger that I would have liked. Three: I was (and still am, for the most part) completely exhausted. Yes, I woke up at six am to watch live cycling. Granted, it didn't start until 6:30, but that's another story. Anyway, I'm finally ready to tackle this stage. (yahoo) My personal bias was/is related to Andreas Klöden ('Klodi'). I don't know why, but as soon as the final group was thinned to Landis, Armstrong, Ullrich, Basso and Klöden; I knew that Andreas was going to do something. I actually pegged him for the stage win, and I really thought he had it. Then again, I thought Carlos had it, too. And, even earlier, I thought either Gibo or Richard was going to get it (or even Christophe if I was lucky). Turns out I was wrong on all counts. It was really disheartening and I was kind of annoyed with Lance, but I've since overcome it. People have been calling Lance selfish and I am not sure what my feelings are. Sure, he just won four stages, but Jan Ullrich himself said that 'Lance is too strong' ( urlLink BBC Sport ). Again, I have to confess that I really wanted Andreas Klöden to win. I'm not sure why (thought I've provided urlLink April with a bit of fun -- she's been calling me a traitor the past two days), but I think it has something to do with my irritation with Jan Ullrich (although that's changed -- something I'll probably address in urlLink Wannabe at some point in the near future). Also, part of it was the whole 'he's finally going to be able to prove himself' idea. But, in the end, it was Lance who pounded out the win. Not to say that I wasn't impressed. Or that I would have been happy of Landis (or even Ullrich, really) had won the stage. Just not Lance. I almost feel bad saying -- especially since I think the final time trial will determine the winner of the tour (not as tense as last year, but it'll be something not to miss) that. But it's true, I would rather have seen someone else win the stage. Anyway. There were several men of the day, including Gilberto Simoni and Christophe Moreau (and Richard, but I'll talk about him later), but the man who impressed me was Floyd Landis. In the past week, Jose 'Ace' Azevedo has been the man at the front of the peloton. He's been the guy driving the pace, keeping up with Lance until the end. Today? It was none other than Floyd Landis. I have never seen him ride so well, and it was my impression that neither had anyone else (with the exception of Lance and the other Posties, of course). Before Andreas made his move, we (my family and I) were all rooting for Landis. It would have been amazing if he'd won, and I'm still a little upset about that as well. I know Lance wanted him to win. (yahoo) But he didn't. Though it was incredibly nice of Lance to dedicate his win to Floyd, and the rest of the team. They deserve the phrase. This morning I loved OLN. Why? Right at 6:30 am I got to see cycling. Live cycling, none of the Bob and Al show for at least 20 minutes. And not only that, but it was the first mountain. And then? I got to watch the amazing wonder that is Richard Virenque. The man is amazing. He and Christophe bridged an almost six minute gap to get to the leading group. And, although Simoni tried hard and shook up the break, there was no stopping Virenque. I have to say that when people ride with Virenque, they do amazing things. Watching Virenque, Simoni and Christophe riding up those mountains was like watching art in action. It was also interesting to compare the styles of those three to non-climber Rolf Aldag. The three climbers were sleek and smooth, graceful even. But Aldag? Not so much. He was struggling and you could see it in the way he rode. I was impressed, though, that he stayed with them for so long. But, in the end, they proved stronger and the mountains did him in. It wasn't enough to help Team CSC in the overall classification, but I hope that changes tomorrow. Since I predict T-Mobile will get two podium places. Back to Virenque for a moment. One of his most impressive feats of the day was being able to ride up the Col de la Madeleine and fight the points out with Simoni. I am a tiny bit sad he didn't win them, but he's pretty much wrapped up the KOM, so it's all good. (yahoo) And last, the saddest note of the day. Thomas Voeckler was only just able to hang onto his white jersey. The Russian Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears - Banesto) is 45 seconds down from Thomas. Sandy Casar is a minute 56 down. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but tomorrow's not necessarily easy either. Though certainly not as hard as today's stage. It was nice to see that Thomas didn't get dropped too far back. And the scene between Casar and Virenque sharing a water bottle was nice. But, oh Thomas, I want you to hang onto that jersey. (yahoo) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 21,July,2004 | (yahoo) That picture illustrates what might end up being the defining moment of the 2004 Tour de France. Lance, after starting two minutes behind Ivan Basso, flies past him. He climbs that mountain, all 10 miles of it, in just under 40 minutes. The man is insane. And if anyone is going to win six, Lance seems like the guy to do it. Not that I'm counting out the others. Basso is only down 3.48, Klöden - 5.03, and Ullrich dropped down to 7.55. So you never know, tomorrow, after all, does bring more mountains. I have to say the rider of the day, after Lance of course, was Jan. He never looked like he was riding well, he looked, as Basso did, like he was laboring up that hill. But those time checks obviously told a different story. He, too, was flying up those mountains. And it landed him in a quite respectable second for the stage. But, the real surprise of this tour (besides the French darling, Voeckler) was Andreas Klöden. For those of you not watching OLN, every time Andreas shows up on the TV, Phil or Paul mention how he did so well when he was younger (he's not that old, born in '75) and how he's just never done well. They always seem shocked to see him. (getty) Me? I think the jersey he's wearing must mean something . Overall, the stage was exciting. I managed to tape all four hours of it for urlLink April and then had it shipped next day (via USPS). It was that good. And exciting. Although I was kind of annoying by the sporadic coverage of the riders. It seemed as if we were only watching five or six riders for long periods of time. And the only time we got to see a lot of the others was when they were crossing the line. Now, I know it's hard to show everyone, but this seemed to be a little strained to me. Oh well, maybe it'll improve next year. I do agree with Lance, though. The stage seemed dangerous. I know he (Lance) suggested that some German fans were making the trip up hard for him, but I didn't really see that. Granted, we didn't see all Lance the whole way up. But it wouldn't surprise me. Lots of drunk and loud fans. I was worried someone would get hurt, but thankfully that didn't happen. Even the sprinters (including both Thor and Robbie) made it across the line. Robbie even had the energy to do his trademark wheelie. It was amusing. But I'm still rooting for Erik. My favorites? Mostly didn't fair so well. Matt came in dead last -- well, not completely. Only after Davide Bramati and Aart Vierhouten didn't make the time cut. Sylvain was 25th - which was good, but as CN said, he looks exhausted. Richard came in 38, which was good, but not great. He didn't even look winded when he crossed the line. Probably saving himself for tomorrow. And as for that boy in white? He came in 88th. Struggling and pushing and getting one of the loudest cheers. (getty) Here's hoping he can keep the white jersey. He's 3.33 ahead of Vladimir Karpets and 4.24 ahead of Sandy Casar. I hope he can find the last bit a strength to fight his way through the mountains tomorrow. I want him on that podium in Paris. Can Lance do it? Or, has he done it already? I know lots of people (Phil included) have suggested (or outright stated) that it's over. That Lance has taken the sixth and the next few stages are but a mere formality until Sunday. I don't know. I think he's probably won his sixth, but I'm not being preemptive. There's still a long way left to go and another time trial. I think that Lance got the boost he needed and the USPS camp can sleep easier tonight, but I don't think the race is over yet. I'll give you my final predictions, and I have two. 1. Lance 2. Andreas/Jan 3. Jan/Andreas It all depends on the time trial. 1. Lance 2. Jan 3. Ivan This one is less likely, as Basso doesn't appear to have the strongest time trialling skills, especially compared to Lance. Either way, I'm happy with Lance on top and Jan second. But we'll just have to wait and see. (getty) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 20,July,2004 | I am not bitter, I promise. Just a little sad. I know, maybe I was disillusioned, but I really wanted, as Phil said, to see Thomas start last for the TT tomorrow. But it was not to be. Instead, he finished a full nine minutes and 30 seconds behind stage and new race leader, Lance Armstrong. Thomas somehow hung onto the white jersey, even though Sandy Casar crossed the line ahead of him. That boy never gives up. I hope we see him in white all the way to France. He is by far the best 'rookie' on this year's tour. (getty) Maybe next year, Thomas. The stage itself. Well, I called it. Even if he didn't make up much time, he started to climb up the classifications. Who, you might ask? Why, Jan Ullrich. urlLink Yesterday in my rest day recap, I suggested that T-Mobile might be playing us. And I was right. Everything appeared to be set up for Andreas, but really? It was for Jan. And, get this, I actually feel bad he didn't do better. Although, he needs to learn how to descend a mountain better. I was worried, at least twice, that he was going to go off and down. I really hoped Richard was going to get his second stage win. But Jan, man, once he got going, there wasn't much anyone could do. I think that's partly why Thomas lost the jersey. The pace was tremendous and most of the peloton was struggling to keep up, most were just barely hanging on. I am most impressed, though, by Levi, Jens, Carlos and Andreas. Andreas not as much, because we've seen what he can do. And Carlos did some great rides last year. But Jens and Levi? After all those breaks, I still can't believe how much energy Jens had to help out USPS chase Ullrich and his mini-break down. And Levi. I keep hoping he'll do better. He was the other person I wanted to win the stage. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Lance played it safe, although he managed to scare Phil and Paul when he dropped to the back of the leading break near the end of the stage. I figured he was there for a reason, and he was. Just waiting until the right moment. And then he just shot by Basso. It even impressed my father, who doesn't like cycling. As much as I wanted Thomas to win, it was fun to watch Lance. The man is just amazing. Tomorrow. Almost as bright and early as Saturday, but not quite. I'm excited, but I think the OLN staff is even more excited. They've already put their 'Alpe d'Huez TT' commercials out in full force. It's kind of scary, really. It should be interesting, especially if the weather's bad. I hope that Thomas has the ride of his life and stays in white. And Lance? Now that he's in yellow, I want him to stay. As for the green jersey? I'm not evil, really, but if Lotto's worried that Alpe d'Huez might take out Robbie, then who am I too complain about that? Stuey, Thor or Erik for green. And, of course, Baden for Paris - 'Mission Paris' as the FDJers are calling it. I think this picture sums up the day. I wish it was Thomas in yellow. (yahoo) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 19,July,2004 | (yahoo) My top ten (since I really did ten last week as well) list: 1. Thomas Voeckler Oh, come on, like you totally didn't see that one coming. He was first on the previous urlLink rest day as well. Why? The kid (even though he's just about a year younger than I am) is amazing. He never quits. Watching him climb those mountains -- especially on Saturday, was amazing. Inspiring as well. Even Richard Virenque agreed, he said something to the effect of Thomas 'putting ants in their [French cyclist's] pants.' He's proving to be a strong rider. And, of course, now Thomas (and Sylvain) are going to the Olympics. What a way to round a good year. And, of the record, I knew who Thomas was before this tour. 2. Brioches La Boulangère Again, not really a surprise. They're called the 'baker boys' for obvious reasons, but really? They're just damned impressive. Over the past week and a half or so they've been working harder than any team out there -- even USPS at some points. They know how to drive the peloton. And they know how to support Thomas. Especially (and I know I wax way too poetic about him, forgive me) Sylvain Chavanel. He is Thomas' right hand man, and he is almost always there. And if you look at the results for those two mountain stages? Sylvain comes in right around Thomas' time (either before or just after). Why? Because he's right there, helping. I said it before (and if someone can find out where I read it, I'd really appreciate a link) and I'll say it again, Sylvain said he'd give everything to keep Thomas in yellow -- and he is. The whole team is. It's a pleasure to watch. 3. Ivan Basso Phil (or Paul) said that Lance and Ivan are some sort of friends. And Ivan, like so many others in the peloton, is wearing a yellow bracelet. His mother apparently has cancer, so that win? Must have been so amazing for her. Like Thomas, Ivan is young (26) and really just coming into his own. Part of why he's so high up is because of his DS, Bjarne Riis. I swear that man works miracles. Just look at Bobby Julich (well, not now -- poor guy and his wrist). And now, Ivan. Taking full advantage of his talent. I know why so many riders flock to CSC. Working for Bjarne seems to be really rewarding. Part of me thinks Tyler never should have left. But anyway, back to Ivan. It was really fun to watch Lance and Ivan fight out both wins. I don't know if Lance gave Ivan that stage win or not, nor do I care. It doesn't matter. It was fantastic to see someone else up there, pushing right up next to Lance. I hope Ivan can take second on the podium (that is, if Thomas can't keep himself in yellow). 4. Lance Armstrong I don't know if you've heard of him ... Doping scandal aside, this man is amazing. Just watching him (and USPS) pushing up those mountains blows my mind. And it makes me smile to think that people kept saying 'Lance is so far down, he'll never make up that time' and then he flies back up the classification in just two days. I know, not surprising to most cycling fans, but still fun to watch. 5. Breakaways. Every single one. Even if they don't make it, don't play it just right, or if they win the stage. Regardless, they're usually a pleasure to watch. It's always fun when they do win. Like Phil says, when they've been out for that long -- you feel they deserve to win. And it's always sad when they all can't win the stage. Some of the best sprint-finishes have been in breaks. But I must confess that my favorite break was the one with Virenque. He took charge and dropped poor Axel and then won the stage. My kind of break. --- 6. Tyler Hamilton All I really have is 'poor Tyler.' Those photos of his back hurt to look at. Sometimes I wonder if he'd been better off with CSC still, but we'll never know. I'm so sad he had to abandon. I was hoping he'd make it all the way through. Next time, as I think I said before, Tyler needs to fall before the tour. Maybe next year, Tyler. 7. Iban Mayo Those Euskaltel riders like to ride in the mountains, it's too bad we didn't get to see it. One of the most heartbreaking scenes as Iban when he wanted to quit. And then, when his teammates, fans and riders from other teams pushed him along? One of the most amazing sights ever (just like when people were helping Thomas up the mountains). As April said to me, one day they'll have their tour. Just not this year. 8. Jan Ullrich and T-Mobile Obviously Vino was a huge loss, as was leaving Cadel off. I don't know what's wrong with Jan -- perhaps nothing. After all (again as April said), he's only down by about seven minutes. It's not the end of the world. Sure, Andreas is doing well, but whose to say this isn't just a ploy? Get everyone thinking that Andreas is team leader and then, when they're not paying attention, Jan will come creeping back up the classification. Don't count that boy out just yet. 9. FDJeux.com Some many problems with the team. Lost form, losing riders, sickness and, well, Bernhard has a problem with his bottom. At least Sandy's doing semi-well. I'm still (as I bet they are, too) hoping Baden'll pull out a win. Paris it is, I guess. It's hard to watch and think about last year. They did so well (even though Matt didn't make it past stage 11) and Baden won the green. And this year? Not their year. I'm crossing my fingers, though. At least Matt's still riding. 10. Everyone who has abandoned so far. From Sven to Haimar (Zubeldia) to Jakob (Piil). Nothing's harder, I guess, than abandoning (or not staring). Of course, Sven's was the hardest, emotionally. He broke down by the side of the road. Sebastian Hinault and Rene's were the hardest to actually watch. Major crashes always are. I wish everyone speedy recoveries. The good, the bad and the painful. I am looking forward to the last week of tour. Then I'll pack up my room and move out. I'm heading to an apartment without OLN, such a travesty. I think I've accepted my fate of missing la Vuelta. Hopefully I'll have OLN in time for the Giro next year. I've enjoyed my cycling watching and don't intend to be without for that long. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 17,July,2004 | (yahoo) For the first time I'm actually bitter that OLN doesn't cover the whole stage. Most of the time I'm just grateful that I can watch it at all. But today's stage? I hear the best part was the first two hours. Of which we so absolutely nothing of. Not even (that I can really recall) the little flashback things that they use when someone crashes. Nothing! Not that I minded watching the last two or so hours, but still. Lots of Thomas and Sylvain. I like to see the boys having a good time on the stage. And it was nice that there wasn't a lot of pressure. The break that finally worked was interesting to watch, but I really would have liked to see the earlier attempts -- and not just because Matt was in one of them. But OLN decided, for whatever reason, that we didn't need to see it. So we watched what seemed like five minutes of then ten minutes of commercials. Eventually, near the end of the stage, the amount of time they spent showing the race seemed longer than the commercial break. Sad day for me, though. I'd picked either Christophe Mengin or Peter Wrolich to win. But for some reason, once Aitor Gonzalez got away, the Euskaltel riders seemed to stop helping the remaining 7 members of the break try to catch up to Gonzalez. In the end, he had too much of a lead out for Mengin and Nicolas Jalabert. Jalabert came in second, even though Mengin gave it a good go to the line. Very good riding in the break, but I'm still surprised that Gonzalez won. Perhaps the Euskaltel riders stopped working on purpose, or maybe they were just exhausted from keeping Mayo in the stage yesterday. Regardless, Gonzalez road well for the win. (yahoo) And then we had to wait thirteen minutes for the peloton to catch up. Six of those minutes were spent watching commercials. Then about two minutes of racing, more commercials, then the final sprint. Way to go, OLN (when I said I was done complaining about them? I may have lied.). Anyway. I was pulling for O'Grady or Zabel (or even Hushovd or Hondo). That Robbie McEwen, though. He just comes out of nowhere and takes the win. The sprint was exciting. Especially the beginning of it, because no one was quite sure what was going to happen. Robbie had a great lead out, then Stuey had one. Thor was pushing himself up, as was Hondo. And I still think it looks like Hondo beat them both to the line, but it seems I'm wrong (not surprisingly). (yahoo) All in all it was an uneventful (compares to both the mountains and the first two weeks) stage. Good for Armstrong, Basso, and, of course, Thomas. Rest day tomorrow. And then the Alps. > What do I think will happen? Jan will try his comeback, Lance will take yellow and Thomas will do well in white. > What do I want to happen? Thomas, Thomas and Thomas. We'll have to wait and see. Enjoy the jersey, Thomas. You deserve it. (yahoo) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 17,July,2004 | No more pretense, I was all out cheering for Thomas. I know he can't hear me, in fact my TV can't even hear me, but that didn't stop me. I am totally biased, I wanted Thomas to keep that jersey. I probably would have been upset if he hadn't. My story of the day is Thomas and, of course, Sylvain. There are others and I'll talk about them, but first, Thomas and BLB. (yahoo) He deserved it. 22 seconds isn't a lot and he probably won't keep it in the Alps, but you never know. I'm not about to stop cheering and, flat/windy stage or not, I can't wait for tomorrow. Thomas worked so hard and part of me I kept thinking 'this is it' while waiting for him to crack completely, but he never did. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he could do it, I had faith. And, well, he did. I woke up at ten to seven am this morning to watch this stage on OLN. And for someone who (for a variety of reasons) doesn't usually get up until nine or ten, that should tell you how much I love this sport. I didn't turn on my computer until about one pm, so I had no idea Sylvain was in the break. It was a really great surprise. I was really sad when he started to crack in the break -- for two reasons. One: I wanted him to win the stage and take more mountains points. Two: If he's out of energy, how is he supposed to help Thomas? Well, I was wrong on both counts. He didn't win the stage, but he did everything he could to help Thomas. And it worked. He spent a lot of time after the break taking care of Thomas, mostly letting him draft. But still, it was amazing. I'm so proud of both of them -- and so glad I got to watch it. And those last four minutes and 42 seconds were agonizing. But when he (and we) finally figured out that he was going to keep that jersey (if only by 22 seconds) it was all worth it. I just don't really have the words. I'm so completely involved in the tour this year. Even more than last year, when I got all worked up about Lance and Tyler. Speaking of Lance and Tyler. For me, this day was fabulous. The only way it could have been better is if Sylvain (or Thomas) had won the stage. But hey, sometimes I can be realistic. And we all know that I would be happy with either Thomas or Lance winning. So watching Lance take Basso almost to the line was exciting and fun. The crowds though, man. They are always something else, makes the stage even more stressful to watch. But, yes, such a great day for me. Not so much for my friends, April and Katie, though. April's boy, Fabian Wegmann, abandoned and then Tyler Hamilton -- Katie's favorite -- did as well. My favorites? All still there. It's not fair, but then again neither is life. I don't know exactly what happened to Fabian. April mentioned that he was having breathing problems. I imagine he's not the only one, poor boy. I hope he gets better soon. As for Tyler? I feel horrible for him. I was shocked, but someone mentioned that earlier in the stage Tyler was riding and holding his lower back. And then when someone working for OLN (I think) interviewed him, he said that he couldn't ride well because he couldn't really use his lower back. He also said that he had never once thought of abandoning, but once someone mentioned it, he realized (and I'm paraphrasing big time) there wasn't really any way he could go on. I mean, how do you ride without your lower back? Honestly. (yahoo) Cyclingnews pointed out that 'Somewhat ironically, Hamilton's abandonment coincided with the day that the Tyler Hamilton Foundation arranged for movie theaters across the USA to screen today's stage live.' If it wasn't so sad, it'd be funny. Ahh, Tyler. You should have crashed harder before the tour. Toughened yourself up. Other things? Matt came in (with the autobus) 42 minutes later. He's now 2.02.03 behind Thomas. At least FDJ's not the worst team and Sandy Casar is doing okay. He was 21st in the stage -- the kid is good. Iban Mayo. After Tyler's abandon, that was probably the most heartbreaking thing to watch. He was off his bike, ready to quit, and they talked him back onto it. They being teammates, DS, and fans. Then, as riders streamed past him, they'd put hands on his back to push him along. I agree with Phil when he says that it's more mental with Mayo than physical. He wanted to do so well and everything has just gone wrong. Speaking of things going wrong, poor Roberto Heras. Crashed and lost even more time. What a way to be a team leader, sometimes the pressure is just too tough. Good things? That Ivan Basso is damn impressive, as is T-Mobile's potential new leader, Andreas Klöden. As long as Klöden keeps staying up front, the more I believe he earned that National Champion jersey. Other impressives? Gerolsteiner's Georg Totschnig, who is now in 6th, 6 minutes and .02 seconds behind Thomas. And, after Thomas, one of the most impressive rides of the day was done by Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole). He had that flat on the mountain (I think it was the Plateau de Beille, actually) and had to change tires with a man on his team. The tire didn't seem to fit right so they spent about 30 seconds (probably -- it did seem like longer, though) adjusting his bike. And what'd he do? Road himself into eighth, 2.51 behind Lance. Of course, Thomas will remain the most impressive to me. He just doesn't quit. But a lot of credit has to go to BLB for taking really good care of him. Walter and Sylvain have spent themselves on him and I'm sure they'll keep doing it. Teams. Whoever said (either Paul or Phil) that Lance had the best team in the tour was right. They've got it figured out and you can't even tell that they lost Roberto. Jose is amazing. He just cranks the pace -- turns the screws -- and the rest of the peloton -- what's left of it -- just collapses. Except for Ivan Basso. But today? Lance was having none of that. He said he couldn't shake Basso, and it certainly looked like it, even though Basso seemed to be suffering a lot. But then again, it was the Plateau de Beille. I was happy when Lance finally blew away (not that it was that far away) from Basso for the win. I was thinking 'it's about time!' And then I started watching the seconds tick by. Fingers crossed. Waiting for Thomas. And he came through, much to my delight. So, Thomas is still in yellow -- for at least one more stage. And Lance won the day. I wonder what's in store for next week. I'm excited. (yahoo) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 16,July,2004 | Almost every article you'll read this afternoon/evening will state that the man of the hour is Lance Armstrong. Some will even include the stage winner, Ivan Basso. But I am not one of those people. I'll admit that this stage was extremely exciting to watch and I expected Lance to pull out all the stops and take the win. Of course, I wasn't really surprised when he didn't. After all, today was all about gaining time. People will also be saying that stage twelve was when the 'real tour' started. And, in a way, I agree. But not because USPS, in the end, couldn't pull Lance over the top. Not because Ullrich, Hamilton, and Mayo were all but dropped. Not because Ivan Basso beat Lance for the win. And not because Lance gained five minutes -- although that's probably the most realistic reason I can agree with. What, you might ask, have I learned from this stage? Well, lots of things and most of them have to do with racing in the rain, cameras and helicopters, and how to break apart a peloton. But, what I learned, what ended up being most important to me was the fact that I learned who I'd really like to see win. And, much to my suprise, it wasn't Lance. But, watching Thomas Voeckler struggle up that mounting, I was yelling like the Basque fans, for him. 'Go Thomas!' and 'Allez Thomas!' were a few of the cheers that my TV (and my parents) had to endure. I was also yelling at Sylvain Chavanel for not helping Thomas (but, it turns out that wasn't the case. Sylvain finished -- though about a minute back from him -- next after Thomas. He was there.). I learned that while I think it would be cool for Lance to win, Thomas -- the little French boy who came out of nowhere -- is the one I want. Now, I know that's not probable, and I'm almost certain he won't be in yellow after tomorrow's stage. But it didn't stop me from caring more about him than Lance. It didn't stop me from wanting to know where he was, even though everyone else was watching Lance and Ivan. Even while I was cheering for Lance (because, if not Thomas, then Lance) I was worried about Thomas. What I learned from today is what kind of fan I am. Something I've known, but occasionally forget. I get lost in the all the hype of Lance on OLN ('only lance network') and forget that I'm the type of fan who goes for the underdogs (with a few exceptions -- Richard Virenque being one of them as well as, tennis-wise, Andy Roddick -- I still don't understand that one). And while many people believe Lance is the underdog, I do not. He is the clear favorite and I believe he'll win. But that doesn't mean I have to constantly root for him. I was all about Vino earlier. Anyway, I'm completely off my point. Today's stage proved to me that I take cycling personally, that I love this sport, and that, when it comes right down to it, I know where I stand. I want Thomas to win. I want to keep that jersey. To keep going. It's part underdog and part the fact that he's just working so hard. So. The men of the day for me? Richard Virenque and Thomas Voeckler. Why Richard? It's easy. Even though he attacked a few times, he, too, was dropped. He ended up in a small group with Thomas. What did he do? Attack? No. He talked to Thomas, he spent a lot of time -- more than he needed, more than he was ever obligated to do -- helping Thomas. He tried hard not to let Thomas lose too much time. And that, right there, that impressed me. (getty) Ok. I feel better. Now, for the rest of the stage. No big crashes, but man, the weather was shocking. It was really sunny, then Phil and Paul started talking about thunderstorms and about 10 minutes later bam the tiny breakaway of four were covered in rain. And, before we realized it, so was the peloton (and, of course, the autobus -- chugging along). As I said before, this is what people like to call the 'real tour's' beginning. But I have to confess that I've really enjoyed the past fourteens days, especially stages 5 through 11 12 where Thomas Voeckler has worn that yellow jersey. Not that today's stage wasn't exciting or that Ivan Basso wasn't riding like a man possessed, because he was. (lycos) And I was quite impressed with him (and Lance, but not so much USPS). I was happy he won. As for Mr. Armstrong? I think he'd rather win the stage to put on yellow (which I believe he'll attempt to do tomorrow) than just win the stage. He would have wasted energy on a win without gaining even more time if he'd tried to take down Basso. So things went. Oh, Jan. I don't know what Andreas Kloden was thinking. Maybe he got the go ahead. Maybe he was trying to pull Lance back. Maybe he decided to screw Jan over. Or maybe Jan's playing us all. I don't know what to think. And I should probably end this, as it's about to storm here and I don't want my computer to get fried (alas, the storm came before I had a chance to post and then I left town). So a final parting thought and picture, then I'm out. At the end of the day? It stacks up like this: General classification after stage 12 1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 51.51.07 2 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 5.24 3 Sandy Casar (Fra) Fdjeux.com 5.50 4 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon 6.20 5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 6.33 And that boy? That darling BLB boy. He's still in yellow. Good luck, Thomas. I'm rooting for you. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 15,July,2004 | Before I talk about this stage, three things. Hey urlLink CN , remember urlLink this post of mine? Thomas Voeckler is 25, not urlLink 24 (look for 'Voeckler gets by'). The other two. I mentioned Matthias Kessler of T-Mobile and Sebastien Hinault of Credit Agricole yesterday, and I wanted to follow up. CN posts the medical communique in the evening (EST) after each stage. Here are their notes for Matthias and Sebastien. > Sébastien Hinault (Crédit Agricole) - Brief loss of consciousness after crash at km 180. Sustained back injury and was taken to the emergency room in Saint-Flour for examination. X-rays revealed a fracture of the fifth vertebrae without neurological complications. He will remain under observation in hospital. > Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) - Injured back after crash at km 172, taken to Saint-Flour hospital after finishing stage for further examination. X-rays revealed a fracture of the ninth rib on the left side and a bruised lung. Although Matthias finished the stage yesterday (I still have no idea how he managed it), he obviously couldn't start today. The other 'causality' of the day? Magnus Backstedt of Alessio-Bianchi. He abandoned a little over half-way through the stage. It wasn't long, just on the hot side. He hadn't been doing too well since his unsuccessful day in the break (the same break that brought such good fortune for Stuey and Thomas). Now, onto the rest of the stage. A three-man break again. Phil and Paul and I were all wrong about this one. Phil and I, I believe, both picked Flecha (who as at it again, he must be taking lessons from Jakob Piil and Jens Voight) while Paul (I think) picked Martinez. Flecha attacked Martinez while the third member of the break, Moncoutie (from the bedraggled Cofidis team), seemed to be barely hanging on. Martinez jumped on Flecha's wheel and they settled in. No sooner was Flecha's attack under control, when Moncoutie came out of 'nowhere' and road right by them. He didn't stop, opening up a 30 second gap that eventually ended at just over two minutes when the two Spanish riders crossed the line. Yet another great day for the French. And for Cofidis, who so desperately need all the good news they can get. It was a really great move by Moncoutie and it caught all of us by surprise. (lycos) There were more mountains today, but nothing like what starts tomorrow (everything is a half hour earlier for those of us watching OLN). Even so, Richard got more points and Fabian Wegmann (check out my friend April's urlLink fansite for Wegmann), who won the green mountains jersey in the Giro D'Italia this year, put his name on the board. Voeckler didn't appear to suffer as much as yesterday, and the cows (pictures anyone?) that briefly divided and disrupted the peloton provided much needed entertainment for the cyclists. (lycos) BLB had another great day on the front. They pushed the pace when they needed to and kept it in check the rest of the time. There wasn't too much running the peloton into the ground today. Although I don't expect that to last once USPS (color me optimistic) gains control. Will Thomas keep the jersey tomorrow? It's a good question, I think he might be able to. I certainly hope he does. And if he does? He might keep it even longer. The big worry, though, is that when he finally does (that is -- if he does) run out of steam, it'll be a big fall. Which makes sense, because he's been riding under the weight of the jersey, and if he cracked, that's a lot of pressure on the shoulders of that 25-year-old boy. I'm holding out for a few more days of Thomas in yellow. Then? My guess is that Lance will take over. But I'm not counting Mayo out just yet, or Tyler and Jan, of course. Tomorrow should be even more interesting, entertaining and fun. I look forward to stage 12. Oh, and one last thing. A year ago on Stage 11, Matt Wilson didn't make the time cut. This year? 164th. Good job Matt! 2004 Tour de France Prologue. (gettyimages) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 14,July,2004 | Happy Bastille Day! And I'm finally back on track. Today's stage? It was fabulous. I didn't sleep through the pre-race (although I managed to get mad at Al again, but I can't remember why. I think it had to do with him implying, yet again, that the first few stages of cycling weren't very interesting. Phil called him on it. Thanks, Phil -- saves me from having to send my letter.). It was fun to see Richard Virenque, who has become a favorite of mine, taking those first few climbs (and, eventually, all of them). And then he, and the great Eddy Merckx's son Axel, were pushing up the mountains. I guess they'd talked about what they were going to do ( urlLink cyclingnews ) but Richard just went for the win and tired poor Axel out. As bad as I feel that Axel didn't get up to fight for the stage, I'm really happy Richard won. I want him to win the KOM jersey and break the record. Hell, I wouldn't mind Erik winning the green for the seventh time, as long as Lance can win the yellow for the sixth (unless Baden can some how come out of nowhere ...). But now I'm totally off topic. Anyway. It was great that a Frenchman won the stage today. (yahoo.com) Not everything was great today. T-Mobile's Matthias Kessler had a horrible crash, but somehow managed to complete the race. He was 168th. Liberty Seguros' Angel Vicioso Arcos retired, it was sad to watch. He was barely even riding and I turned to my mother and said 'he should just abandon' in a joking voice and then he did. I felt somewhat bad. But he'd fallen a few too many times. I hope he makes the team next year. Poor Roberto, though, losing a rider just when he'll need it the most. I don't know what happened to Saeco's Mirko Celestino, nor did I see Credit Agricole's Sebastien Hinault crash. But I did see the aftermath of Hinault (Kessler and Hinault were involved in a descent crash, but I don't think it was with each other). For about five minutes no one, not even the race radio, knew who had fallen. I was worried it was a BLB rider or Mattias again. Obviously it wasn't, but that didn't stop the worry. Poor Sebastien was lying in a ditch (similar to a Fassa Bortolo rider -- Marco Velo I believe it was -- who crashed early on). His bike was not in good shape and neither was he. Eventually the race doctors got him onto a stretcher. Cyclingnews reports that 'Kessler had cracked a rib while Hinault had a fractured vertebrae.' (yahoo.com) Sad day all around. For me, the most impressive (ignoring Richard's 200+ km break and win) part of the day was watching Thomas Voeckler. I know, I probably praise him too often, but I can't help it. He's only about a year younger than I am and he's just doing some great stuff. He made the break with the likes of Lance, Jan and Tyler. And a lot of his team did too (like Sylvain, who spent a bit of time at the back of that leading peloton helping Thomas out), which was great. But the highlight was watching him attack for time bonuses at the end of the stage. He didn't get them, but he came in fifth, right in front of Lance. After the stage, Frankie interviewed him for OLN. And, in his lovely English, he was quite humble. He thanked his team for doing so well, but he had this slight bittersweet tone in his voice. Either Phil or Paul remarked that he was probably saying good-bye to the jersey in that interview. It was sad, because I was hoping he'd have it for at least one more day. I'm not holding my breath, but I'm not giving up hope, either. He's done incredibly well so far, it'd be a shame if he lost it before the Pyrenees. (gettyimages) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 13,July,2004 | So, Robbie won. Yeah, I'm not really happy about that. I know I should be, since I'm a big Aussie supporter. But I was rooting for, well, anyone that's not Robbie. Mostly Baden. Well, up until he was caught, I was cheering for the Euskaltel rider who'd never won anything. But, alas, he's still never won anything. And that Robbie, just coming out of nowhere. I slept through the pre-race yesterday so I didn't know that Phil and Paul had tipped him as the winner of the stage. For a moment I'd thought either Steuy or Thor had won, but upon watching the replay (numerous times) and then seeing the photo finish, it was clear that Robbie had just powered his way to win. I don't know how he does it -- and apparently a lot of people don't like it, including Quick.Step-Davitamon and Credit Agricole. According to urlLink cyclingnews , Quick.Step's DS Serge Parsani said 'Work doesn't pay. McEwen got a nice present really. Don't work and still win, that's what you should do.' I have no comment, really, except that Robbie takes wins when he can and know show to take advantage of other teams. He's a good rider, I just don't like it when he wins. Go Baden. (yahoo.com) One of the things I noticed was that the Euskaltel rider accidently got in Tom's way as the sprinters finally caught up with him. And thus Tom wasn't able to contend and his frustration was so obvious. It was disheartening to see him work so hard only to fall short. But I guess when you're a sprinter, that happens a lot. I'm just glad he's got a stage win. But really, how frustrating. I thought the stage was exciting. I was shocked by the crash near the end (and by Jaan's abandoning, but such is the way of an 'old' tour rider, especially a sprinter) of the stage. I mean, how could you miss the little roundabout thing? The poor rider wasn't paying attention, I guess -- probably waiting until the last minute to decide which direction to go. Poor Kurt, it seems that all he does is fall (and get caught in breaks). Hopefully he'll be able to start (and he did). The rider just ran right into Kurt as both of them crashed and flipped over their bikes. Good things. Thomas finished the race still in yellow and there was only one really big crash. I guess it's sad when you're happy about having just one big crash. Tomorrow should be interesting. We'll find out what both Thomas and BLB are made of. As well as how the 'big guns,' as Al calls them, are doing. Mountains, yay! Not to say that I haven't loved the flat stages, because I have. Exciting all around for me. (yahoo.com) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 13,July,2004 | In lieu of a post about Stage Nine (I'm still a little bummed about the results, so I'll sit on it a bit longer), I'll make up for my lack of posting yesterday. Ten days of the tour and so far I've found it to be exciting, worrisome and irritating. There are things that tick me off, but I'm not going to go there. I'm sure there will continue to be annoying things and I'll will probably keep complaining about them. But this entry? I'm going to talk about the things that make me happy. The Top Five: 1. Thomas Voeckler The 25-year-old French National Champion has won my heart. He didn't expect the jersey, he's fallen for it (so beautifully, I might add) and he's still a little surprised each time he puts it on. As if he doesn't quite believe it's real. That first day, after the amazing break, you could just see how unbelievable it was. He's even quoted as saying that the jersey 'just fell into his lap.' And, even more impressive, is the fact that his team -- even though they don't have a contract for next year -- has backed him up the whole way. They've done their stint at the front and continue to do it. I'm proud of them. 2. Matthew Wilson How could I not mention him? After all, he is my favorite rider. The first few days after the prologue were tough. He spent a lot of time helping Brad, even tough, in the end, Brad just couldn't go on. Nothing says teamwork like spending your days at the back of the race helping out your teammates. Then, after spending himself helping Brad, he manages to get up front in at least two of the past four stages. He's been pushing the speed and doing a great lead out for Baden. His positive and optimistic attitude is catching. One of these days, Baden's just going to beat them all. 3. Thor and Tom. I have to say that they are two of the strongest sprinters out there. Both had caught my eye long before the tour started, but it's been nice to see them both win stages. Especially Tom. I know he badly wanted to win in Belgium and I was sad that he didn't that chance. But it's nice to see the team still working for him, leading him out until they have to start helping Richard. As for Thor? What a go for the boy from Norway. I was proud when he got the yellow jersey, and then green. And now that he's won a stage? So impressive. I hope he keeps giving Stuey and Robbie a run for their money. A good day for the champion of Norway. 4. Fassa Bortolo As much as I wanted Petacchi to win one stage, I'm almost glad he's gone. Though I'm not happy that he might not make the Olympics, but that's for later. It gives these young boys a chance to kick it into high gear. But, how lucky for his teammates that they've been able to pull out these wins. Most impressive performances from Fabian and Pippo. There was a great picture at urlLink cyclingnews of both boys together. Making FB proud. It would have been nice if Flecha and Kirchen had been able to hold their own for the wins, but it was not meant to be. Such is life. 5. USPS and Phonak Again giving a new meaning to team (although in my eyes, no one is as much a team as the FDJ Aussies). Both teams have come through when it counted. Both during the team time trial. USPS during the crashes and the cobbles. And, of course, Phonak through the crashes and all of their bike problems. I wish Tyler and Lance and their teams the best of luck. I hope Lance makes it to six and that Tyler doesn't fall off again. Oh yeah, and Tyler is so winning a mountain stage this year. And that's all, except for the runners up. 6. CSC - Jens, Jakob and the team time trial. 7. Sandy Casar - the boy never gives up. He's giving hope to FDJ. I hope he keeps that white jersey. 8. Rene, Sven, Sam, and all the other crash victims - My heart goes out to them. As for Rene? It turns out he has internal injuries as well. I hope he gets better soon. 9. Paolo (and hopefully Richard) - The KOM jersey looks good on him. I hope it goes seamlessly to Richard. Seven, baby! 10. Paul and Phil - For putting up with all that crap from Al. And for entertaining me endlessly. Oh yeah, and for overusing the word 'undulation.' They must have said it at least 10 times on today's stage. Well, that's all. I'm sure I'll have an even longer list during the next rest day. And sometime tonight I'll post my reaction to stage nine. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 11,July,2004 | I've been putting this off all day. I like Thor, I really do, I just didn't want him to win today. I wanted Baden to win, but, more than that, I really wanted the break to work and for Ronny to win. It's about time Gerolsteiner got some good news, then FDJ. So, the capture of the break put me in this grumpy mood. (yahoo.com) And Al. Oh, Al. I swore to myself I wouldn't complain about OLN's coverage again. But I lied. I'm sorry, but after the race ended and Paul and Phil went to talk to Bob and Al, the lack of respect for the majority of the cyclists displayed by Al really irritated me. I couldn't believe that he just wanted to talk about Lance and company -- even when people were talking about other things. And how he brought up all that shit about how this first week was really boring. I know I wasn't the only one offended because both Paul and Phil were talking over each other telling him it was exciting. So, this is my open letter to Al. --- Dear Al, I know you'll never read this, but I need to tell you something. There are a lot of us out there who are watching the tour OLN. Some of us have favorite cyclists. And, even though I know you find this hard to believe, our favorite riders aren't always major contenders. In fact there are some people in the states who aren't even cheering for Lance. Now, I want Lance to win, but I just think you should know that those of us whose favorite riders aren't Lance or [insert other 'contenders' here] have (in spite of all the Lance-centric coverage) enjoyed this first week of the tour. I, for one, while dismayed at the lack of coverage of one of my favorites (Sylvain Chavanel) was happy to be able to see my favorite rider (Matthew Wilson) racing. Next time, just remember that not every one wants to know where Lance is every second of every day. There are other riders. And it's those cyclists I'd like to know about. I know there are a lot. But really, you have three weeks of cycling. I'm sure you could fit those stories in. Please don't stop covering cycling, OLN. Thank you, Sarah --- I feel much better now. Moving along. Thor. He won, he was wearing a yellow bracelet. The end. Okay, not really. (yahoo.com) I was cheering Kim on, even though Fassa has a lot of wins already. But, I have to tell you, it was kind of fun to watch Thor just fly (kind of like Tom, really) past Kim. And when we got to see the aerial view? There was no way (and Thor actually said) that anyone was going to catch him. When I was actually watching the final sprint (if you could call it that), I was sure Thor had thrown his hands up way too early. The angle (watching as if they're riding toward me) made it look like Kim was a lot closer than he really was. I am glad he hung on for second though. And I'm also glad that there weren't too many crashes. Although, poor Samuel Dumoulin (AG2r). It was like watching Sven all over again. (yahoo.com) IT was this crash at the back (not the one with Cofidis, I don't think. It might have been, but I think that was the second. Though the Cofidis riders always seem to be involved.) and all we really saw was Samuel sitting in the middle of the road and a Liberty Seguros rider off to the side. The Serguros rider got back onto his bike, but Samuel took a really long time, and we followed him as he tried to get going again. It took him an additional 10 minutes, but he finally made it. According to urlLink cyclingnews , he has a 'serious contusion on left elbow' and 'will undergo further examination.' I hope he gets better tomorrow. Not all of the stage was bad, although for a bit it looked like Jakob Piil was gunning for the yellow. But BLB put in a huge effort and kept the chase up. I hope they can make it through the mountains, because Sylvain (who, as I've already established, is a favorite of mine) is reportedly still having problems -- possibly with his back. It makes me sad. I suppose that's also why this stage put me in a bad mood (and the lack of Matt). Sometimes I'm just really picky. I've been good up until today, never really getting bummed when my boys didn't win. But, man. Maybe it's good that tomorrow is the rest day. It's one day Thomas won't have to fight for his jersey. I hope he keeps it until the mountains. At least it's good to see that he enjoys it. (yahoo.com) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 10,July,2004 | For those of us (by us I mean me) who like flat stages (in addition to everything else) and breakaways, today was another great day. I have to confess that the highlight was watching Matt, after getting stuck in the wrong half of a peloton split, rejoin and then get back up front to work for Baden. If only there had been an actual sprint. Not that 16th is bad for Baden, but still. I was hoping (though I'd picked Erik Zabel for the day, little did I know ...). The lack of major crashes was good, except it hurt to watch Sven Montgomery. I don't really know what happened, except that it sounded like Sven and a Cofidis (can't they stay out of trouble?) rider crashed. We (the OLN audience) got to watch poor Sven be examined (his collarbone, of course) then get back on his bike, ride for less than a minute, and then wave his hand for the team car. He pulled off the road in tears, unable to continue. It was (to overuse my favorite word) heartbreaking. He's started the tour four times and never finished. Rene and Sven seem to have such bad luck in the tour. Although maybe it's just stage races for Sven, as I believe he also crashed out of the Giro this year. Well. The rest of the race was fun to watch. I liked CSC cranking the peloton and splitting it with help from the wind. The second break contained (besides Matt, of course) the green jersey, Stuart O'Grady, and I was worried that Stuey wasn't going to make it. But Cofidis and Credit Agricole, with a little help from Saeco (I still can't believe Gibo didn't quit, but that's for another entry.) pulled the peloton back together. And therefore Stuey had enough time over Robbie to keep the green. (gettyimages) I didn't get to see a lot of the early breaks, which is frustrating because I think two FDJ (including Bernhard) attempted. But it was still fun to watch Dekker and Marichal go at it. Although, I wasn't really rooting for the breakaways, not even for Fabian Cancellara's, and I like him a lot. But, eventually, one of the breaks stuck. And there, almost out of nowhere, came Filippo 'Pippo' Pozzato. I thought Iker Flores was going to take it (and was all bummed because my mom really likes Euskaltel - Euskadi), but there was no stopping Pippo. (yahoo) Before I go on, I'd like to point out that Pippo is wearing a yellow bracelet. Mine should be coming in the mail soon, and you all (if you don't already have them) should urlLink buy some . When I get mine, I'll write up why I have one. But yes, urlLink Livestrong . Anyway. It was a good finish, not at all dangerous, which made me really happy. I think if the final break had been riding a bit more conservatively, there would have been more risks taken by the peloton to catch them and might have resulted in some crashes. But the weather was good and the peloton, while not organized, it was controlled. Speaking of organized. A lot of the sprinters' teams did a good job, just not enough. CA and FDJ in particular. I noticed Fassa up there too, which made me miss Petacchi even more. Happy note of the day? Even though he struggled a bit on the short (really short) mountains during the stage, Thomas kept his jersey. I hope he keeps it for a while longer. (yahoo) PS. Would it be too much to ask for an FDJ stage win? Please? |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 09,July,2004 | Good racing, good breakaway, though not good enough. Brioches did a fine job of protecting Thomas and chasing after the breakaway. I was happy that, in the end, Thomas came away in yellow again. (lycos.com) Most of the stage was made up of BLB putting the hammer down and the breakaway trying to be stronger than the peloton. They managed a high of maybe almost 5 minutes, but eventually they were caught. Although, by that time, BLB had secured Thomas in yellow of the next day and were sitting back. The sprinters teams, man. They totally took over. It was fun to watch the breakaway try to keep away. From six down to four, and they were jumping all over each other's wheels. I would have liked to see FDJ's Carlos Dacruz come away with the win, but the peloton was having none of it. One winning flat-stage breakaway seemed to be enough. And poor Juan Antonio Flecha. He did the same thing last year, though I believe it was on a mountain stage, and ran away with the win. It was not to be, this year. He, too, was eventually caught. Gerolsteiner, Lotto, Quickstep, FDJ, and others were putting a lot of pressure on the front of the peloton and Flecha's 50 second gap was eventually overcome. In the end, it was a great day for most of the sprinters. Steuy almost came away with his second win, but Tom Boonen just ran away with it. (gettyimages) Sad notes of the day. Cipo and Petacchi both didn't start. Rumor has it that this is it for Cipo. As for Petacchi? He had a hard crash yesterday: 'I'm really sorry I can't continue,' he said. 'It's a big disappointment to me, and basically it's because I just cannot raise my arm. Last year I came here and I was in worse condition but I managed to be a protagonist in the Tour. Now I'll just have to see what happens.' And then, argh. With about 10km left, I was going to tell my mother that I'm glad there hadn't been many crashes (just one at the beginning when Lance fell) but I didn't say anything, I didn't want to jinx it. In the end, though, it didn't matter. The race was almost over when suddenly there were a handful of sprinters (thankfully Baden and Hondo were among them) and no one else. The cameras panned back and there was a massive pile-up. When we finally got to see the replay, it reminded me of the footage of the crash on Stage One last year. Oddly enough, it happened right under the 1km to go, so everyone got the same time. But still. And the cause of the crash? Most likely the peloton pressing too hard and the poor Gerolsteiner boy (who crashed hard in last year's tour as well), Rene Haselbacher. They have him finishing the race in 179th, but I assume he never really made it. I have no idea how he'd have been able to walk. From cyclingnews: Gerolsteiner sprinter Rene Haselbacher crashed hard into the left side of the barriers, smashing his left leg and chest and head at 60km/h. Haselbacher was taken to Angers Hospital after the stage, where a medical exam revealed a broken nose and three broken ribs. (lycos.com) And now I'm caught up and looking forward to tomorrow's stage. I really hope Baden can pull out some wins. Matt's no longer working for Brad, so he'll be able to be the lead-out man. And Baden only needs to win a few stages to catch up to Stuey (in green now, as Robbie crashed and didn't make it to the sprint). Allez FDJ! |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | As if the weather could get any worse ... Rain for most of the day and crashes everywhere. (lycos.com) Most people didn't find the stage exciting, even many of the OLN crew. But I did. I think that it's because I watch cycling for cycling (among other things). I just like watching them ride down the road. It's probably why I need to be able to watch the race from the end of each stage, instead of out on the road. I like to see the whole thing (not that French TV does that great a job -- I'd blame OLN, but it's not their video, just a feed). But I didn't mind so much today, because, among other things, I like Brioches La Boulangere and, of course, FDJeux.com a lot and since Sandy and Thomas were part of the break (see above picture), it was exciting to be able to watch them. Ahh, the break. They worked hard. They already had a 15-minute advantage by the time OLN's coverage started, so it was fun to watch them get down to something that would have been reasonable to catch, and then escape again. And, oh, the crashes. So many. I was shocked and worried. People just kept falling and falling. And, even at the end, just when you thought everything would work out, BAM and down they all went. So painful. Phil and Paul said that it was probably like riding across sheets of ice. Poor Robbie went down as well, but still managed to hang onto the points classification for just one day. Among the sad events, Maryan Hary just couldn't make it before the time. He was following Brad McGee at the back of the peloton for part of the race. Which leads me to the other heart breaking event, poor Brad. He finally gave up. Back injury and, probably, semi-bad form just did him in and he abandoned. So sad, and so bad for the morale of the team. He said, on his urlLink site that I never imagined I would ever quit the tour. Finishing the tour is like breathing......you just do it. Yet here I am, on my way home after 5 stages. . Makes me sad. I'll miss Brad. But, not all was lost. Sandy Casar was in that long breakaway and is third overall, which is quite nice. And, oh, the story of the day, though. The lovely Thomas Voeckler. His wildest dreams came true, along with a great day for France. The young (25-year old) Frenchman did wonders and managed to get a 10 minute gap over our race leader, Lance. I'm so proud of Thomas. French National Champion and now wearing the yellow jersey. I hope he keeps it until the mountains. (lycos.com) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | The team time trial. It was exciting and completely not what I expected. The rainy conditions contributed to what I thought would be a relatively normal (if there is such a thing) day of team time trailing. But, alas, that was not to be. For me, the highlights of the day were CSC, Phonak, and, of course, USPS. Most people pick Phonak and USPS as being the best. But CSC came through more than any other team. We knew that Phonak was strong, that Tyler could drag them on. And USPS? They wanted to win. But CSC? They fell and regrouped so many times that I thought it was all over. But somehow they crossed the line in 4th and ended up in 5th. And, to me, that's the most impressive. I know people have said 'well, they didn't end up first, did they?' And really, all I've got is that they probably didn't even expect to end up that high. T-Mobile got screwed, which was just fine with me. I was completely proud of BLB for not crashing as well as of Tyler's team. Crossing the line with only five riders was extraordinary. And as for USPS? Wow. They fly. The pictures of poor Benjamin in tears, though, were heart breaking. I'm glad he wasn't eliminated, though. But, oh, the worst was my boys. My poor FDJ. They were last (EDIT: Turns out they were just trying to survive and not get eliminated). It was sad to watch them, and then horrible to see them get passed by Robert Heras' Liberty Seguros team. My poor boys obviously didn't get it together. Let's hope things improve. (from cyclingworld.dk) |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | I did not get to see this stage live. I was on the road, on my way home from Ohio. And, sadly, after I discovered that Baden hadn't won -- I didn't pay much attention to the stage. Except, of course, for the cobbles. They were something else. But that crash, right before the cobbles? Not at all something I expected. Poor Iban Mayo. He fell and never regained those four minutes. Not that I really cared, but it's always frustrating and sad to see a top contender go down. Although, I'm not so sure how good his form was, considering he's just come off a huge win. But now we won't really know. And that, I suppose, is just too bad. Yet another day filled with proof of how good USPS really is at taking care of their own. Eki and George got Lance through without any problems. Although, personally? I would have liked to be in the break -- the two riders didn't have to worry about crashing (and there were some minor cobble-related crashes, including poor Baden. Is nothing going right for FDJ?) into anyone but each other. Eventually they were caught and there was a sprint at the end, but oh, man. The break in the peloton put a lot of people behind. Baden was stuck at the back of the second break and never got back up to contend for the stage win. As for the sprint? Robbie just comes out of nowhere. He almost won, but once again Jean-Patrick Nazon goes in for the win. But Robbie has the yellow jersey, finally getting his place in history. Even though I'm not that fond of Robbie, I do like the Aussies, and so it's nice to see them at or near the top. Now if only FDJ can get their acts together tomorrow ... |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | Another long stage. More Matt, mostly up helping Baden (I think). I am curious as to where he ended up (EDIT: 15th). I was wrong about yesterday, apparently Nick Gates finished five minutes behind the time cut and couldn't start today (due to a crash, as well). So Brad and Matt weren't completely last. And it seems I am confused with the number of riders, someone just said the peloton has shrunk to 178 riders (EDIT: Not true. The day started with 187 and ended with 186 as Gian Matteo Fagnini of Dominia didn't finish). Today was surprisingly crash-filled. That poor broken Dominia rider (see edit above). And then, right in the middle of the final sprint, Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) and Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) had such a painful crash. I'm happy that both of them finished. Hopefully they'll both start tomorrow. What impressed me the most (besides watching April's Seb Lang (Gerolsteiner) pushing in the break) was Thor and the CA team. He crashed and still managed to get up to the front to get just enough time bonus in the sprint to take both the green and yellow jerseys. He looked so happy and he should be. I totally didn't think he'd make it. Speaking of the sprint, I (unlike Paul and Phil) predicted Petacchi for the stage. And it almost happened, but those CA boys just pushed up there. And then Robbie, coming out of nowhere to win. Impressive, even if I kept shouting for Baden. One of these days I am ready for Baden in green. What I want to know, though, is what's up with Brad. I'll just have to wait about 16 hours, less if I'm lucky. Then I'll probably write about it (EDIT: It took longer for me to find out about his back, as most of the articles I read and the commentators didn't know until Wednesday). I've mentioned it before, but I can't explain how much it surprised me. The large number of crashes in the stage. No one on OLN really addressed it, so these are just my wild guesses (side note: I think I just saw Matt in the rerun. Sad that he is the easiest to spot. Matt and Thor (and later, Thomas Voeckler) actually). I believe that the good weather caused some of the crashes: overconfident riders. And because of that, some nervousness. One more complaint about OLN (a common theme, I think). Not enough updates on the speed of the peloton and breakaways. Lots of time distances, names (in breaks) and kms to go, though. Oh well, I'll be home soon enough for my 'full' coverage. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | I can't go without mentioning all the unintentional Matt (Wilson) coverage. I am saddened because Brad looked like shit (and Phil, I believe, even described Brad as being broken). But, so much Matt! I know I'm horrible, really. But I enjoy seeing my favorite cyclist on national TV. The word of the day is not Lance (okay -- it is OLN-wise, but not me-wise), but instead, it's 'ouch.' Tyler, Mario, Bernhard and others. All the different peloton breaks were really interesting to watch. Granted, though, at the end there were only two: the main peloton and Brad and Matt. This is the first time I've seen a tour from the beginning. Before last year, I'd only watched highlights. And then, last year, I started watching on Stage 12. I do have some complaints about OLN's coverage. With tennis, even ESPN can tell you all the completed matches. But OLN? Apparently they find no need to tell me where all the riders are after each stage. The only way I knew Matt was 181st was because they showed a little (two lines) summary of him while he was helping Brad. Although I know that Matt is probably 187th of 188. And, sadly, Brad is 188th (EDIT: I learned when I finally got home, that Matt was actually 186th and Brad 187th, because poor Nick Gates didn't make the cut.) Although my TV watching has been split between the Wimbledon finals (Gah. Roger. I wanted Andy to win) and the stage, I fully enjoyed and appreciated the rain-filled racing. Also, if Al complains one more time about the lack of Lance coverage, I'm going to write an email (EDIT: Oddly enough, he never did). I wish they would show a little more respect for the other 187 riders. Enough complaining. I truly enjoyed the final sprint. I must admit that I kind of expected Petacchi to win, but it was almost clear that the Fassa Bortolo train was not completely in control and thus didn't allow enough of a leadout for Petacchi. (Quotes: The virus of cycling - Al. Ride to live, live to ride - Bob) Other things I liked? The Thor-Tom-Fabian points fight. Jaan Kirsipuu (if only because his name is so much fun to say out loud). All the Matt (sorry Brad). Getting to see April's boys: Hondo and Baden. Fighting-Erik (don't give up, Erik!) Robbie losing (I am evil, I know). And, well, the rain. I'm a sucker for bad weather. I totally enjoy the excitement. Though, after Benhard's crash, I spent a lot of time praying that Matt wouldn't crash. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | Notes from the couch: 1. OLN still covers too much Lance. 2. Fabian Cancellara - was he also at the Giro? 3. Who, besides Mick, crashed? 4. Mario's kit = o.O 5. Thor! Brad! Right, so OLN's coverage is not complete. At least not what I've seen, though I missed the very end of the live coverage. I watched just enough to see the adorable Fabian put on that yellow jersey. Things I liked: The actual weather in Belgium -- well, most of it. Being able to see a lot of cyclists I don't normally get to see. The whole prologue (minus the crashes). Things I disliked: Not enough information about the other riders. Too much Lance. The crashes. And sick-Brad. I am not sure how I'm going to write this diary. So this entry is full of different styles. I'll probably try several before I finally get comfortable. --- - Jan: I am always surprised by how many people both respect and dislike him. I suppose I, too, am guilty of this. Thought I am more annoyed with him than most. He did ride well, though. As did Tyler. - Sylvain: 30 seconds of Sylvain (Chavanel) is not enough. He's French, you'd think they'd want to show more of him. - Tyler: I wish he'd done better, really. I mean he did well, but ... - Lance: People keep saying how Lance didn't expect to win the prologue, etc. But watching him cross that line two seconds behind Fabian, it was easy to tell how unhappy he was. I have faith, though, that Lance will come through. So close and so frustrated, though. - Fabian: I have to admit that seeing Fabian cry and put on that yellow jersey was totally worth Lance coming in second. Overall it was a good day. I'd really wanted Brad to win, but obviously something was wrong. I hope he figures himself out soon. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 08,July,2004 | urlLink Wannabe Bike Girl is a blog about cycling, not just the Tour de France. Wannabe Bike Girl's TdF Diary is just that, a diary about my experiences watching the greatest race in cycling on OLN. Or, as my dad called it 'the Wimbledon of cycling.' Essentially, this is just a place where I can rant, compliment and otherwise fangirl after each stage of the tour. I am five stages behind, but hopefully within the next two days, I'll have caught up. For those of you who want to avoid tour spoilers, avoid this site until after you've watched the stages. And so it begins. |
2,140,894 | female | 26 | indUnk | Pisces | 30,May,2004 | The Giro is over and that makes me sad, though it also reminds me that I have other things to do. Like, oh, get a job. But, seriously, if I could do something with cycling for a living? I'd be happy. So happy. Anyway. I should talk about the stage. No live!Giro for me and I actually had to tape the stage coverage because my sister and I went out to see The Day After Tomorrow (lots of fun). But I watched it when I got back and, oh, I do love Petacchi. One of the best things was watching him stop peddling before he crossed the line. He looked back, that one look, and then he knew he had it. It was so much fun to watch. And it was replayed so many times. I think the best views were when you could actually see how fast he was going, how he just flew off the front of the pack. That man is something else. And now it's over. Gibo lost (I'd like to be sad about it, but...). Damiano won. Fabian won, and if I wasn't so lazy, I could look up the other guy. But I'm feeling lazy. I'm mostly pleased about Fabian and Petacchi. It was fun to watch (most) of the Giro. It just reaffirmed my love for cycling. Fed the obsession, kept it going. I suppose I have more, but my mind is all over the place. This damn cold has clogged my ears and my concentration is mostly nonexistent. I think I'm supposed to talk about the TdF next. Ahh, yes. My picks. Well, this is complicated. I pretty much want Vino to win. Something like Vino, Jan, Brad or Vino, Tyler, Brad. Now, I wouldn't be disappointed if Lance won (and, when the tour finally rolls around, I might even be cheering for him, who knows?), but I'm more of a Vino kind of fangirl than Lance. Maybe it's the blond hair and good looks, maybe it's the underdog style of his, or maybe it's fact that he did so much last year with so little help from his team. Whatever it is, Vino is my tour pick for 2004. And I guess that sums it up for me, for now at least. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.