Tuesday, July 30, 2002

Anti-gravity ... it's not just for science fiction novels anymore. Anti-gravity research on the rise [New Scientist] 5:14:30 PM

Just got a new toy -- a Concept 2 Indoor Rower. But it's not like the shiny new one you'll see on that link. It is actually a model B rower, about 10 years old, much more like the one on this link. It showed up tonight around five o'clock, and I immediately pressed it into action. Since I am just starting out, I started slowly. First I had to sort out the drag settings. There are two different sprocket positions, and there is a baffle box outboard of the flywheel/fan assembly. An interesting factoid is that rowing at 5000 feet creates much less air drag than at sea level. The readout device includes a double-secret key combo to pop up the drag display. I was not seeing numbers anywhere near what the manual says one should see with a brand new rower. After switching the sprocket and adjusting the baffle to wide open, I obtained a drag that was "within normal limits." I rowed three 10 minute sessions this evening, falling just shy of 2000 meters with each try. It was quite a pleasant 5k row for my first go. The newly downloaded electronic music in the background helped a lot. 1:11:29 AM

Now this is fascinating. If you don't want to devote the time to reading the books (I don't), have a look at this review. Kind of make a little bit of sense about what's going on in Washington. --rgm Fundamentally unsound. Left Behind, the bestselling series of paranoid, pro-Israel end-time thrillers, may sound kooky, but America's right-wing leaders really believe this stuff. [Salon.com] 12:35:33 AM

© Copyright 2002 Bob Messerschmidt.