Posts

Countin' Cougars in Colorado

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So here I am in Boulder, Colorado, for the first time in my life, and direct from another Arizona Desert Camp . My Colorado Schedule I've already been treated to a couple of nights at the home of the Bike Friday Club of Denver leaders Tom and Dianna McDermott, who took me cougar spotting at the local Whole Paycheck on the first day. Cougar spotting? Git thee with the times or, for those too lazy to click: Cougar – an older woman who sexually pursues men at least eight years her junior.[12] The term has been used in (American) TV series, advertising and film. The 2007 film Cougar Club was dedicated to the subject. It is also featured in the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch "Cougar Den". There was only one possible sighting - a woman in a baby pink Chanel-cut suit, big glasses, blonde hair, beige pumps. Let's say, the kind of outfit you would not ride a bicycle in except for a Bond poster. "At 46, your qualify as a cougar you put on that flapper dress,"

Got my Greencard at last!

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Well here it is - some 8 years after landing in the USA on a temporary H1B work permit. In truth, I only started applying for it properly about 18 months ago, under the category National Interest Waiver, which I talked about here . The people I must thank include the referees I had to muster to build my case. Either that or get married, and we can't have me doing that, now can we? Thank you to the following people for providing glowing references: Fred Matheny, RoadBikeRider.com Alan Scholz, Co-founder, Bike Friday Dan Okenfuss, VP Public Relations, Little People of America Douglas Card, Adjunct Professor, U of O Eileen Lafer, Professor, U of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio Fred Iannotti, Life Member, Appalachian Mountain Club Gihon Jordan, Transportation Expert Jackie Huba, Principal, CustomerEvangelists.com Jeff Bernards, Bicycle Advocate Jerry Norquist, CEO, Cycle Oregon Jerry Segal, CFO, Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis, Inc. Jim Clash, "The Adventure

It's not a Junket. It's a Job - The making of my "Best Job in the World" submission

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This is my submission to the Queensland Tourism Island Caretaker Job , along with the 30,000 other applicants (including Dean Martin's son, the Edmund Hilarys and Jacques Cousteaus of the world, and even an hilarious Osama impersonator). I use it now as part of my bio/resume, to demonstrate what I can do in 1 minute with a pocket digital camera, a guitar, a Mac, and an old tatty straw hat. My friend and multi-award-winning Art Director downunder, Sue Carey, challenged me to defend my self-styled title as a Multimediaclast - so this is for you, Sue! Judging from the staggering caliber of applicants, I'll be surprised if it floats (ha!) but oh, I do so love a 1-minute creative challenge. I can also I console myself that I've been doing this exact same job for the past 5 years as the Customer Evangelist and chief content creator for Bike Friday. The only difference is my butt is planted on a bike saddle, rather than a boogieboard. For tech trivia buffs, here's

Dr Ruth Westheimer @ Bottle Rocket

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If anyone needs to watch their shekels in this recession it's probably the average New Yorker, according to a recent report from the Center for Urban Future which revealed, among other things: * A New Yorker would have to make $123,322 a year to have the same standard of living as someone making $50,000 in Houston. * In Manhattan, a $60,000 salary is equivalent to someone making $26,092 in Atlanta. My NY recession tip of the moment involves saving money on entertainment without really trying, thus: I get the just-expired TimeOut NY dumped in the lobby every week. The idea is that you get so engrossed flipping through it and 'awwww shucksing' over all the things you just missed, you subscribe. The real benefit is that reading it takes so much of your morning you actually feel exhausted like you vicariously partook - but your wallet is intact. But I was foiled: a friend got so tired of me recanting just-missed events he bought me a subscription. Watch out wallet,

The Handsomest Man still scrubs up well

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Pictured: Cheryl Lead took this shot of the coverguy admiring his cover! FIVE YEARS after the first edition of my book, Then Handsomest Man in Cuba , people are still somehow finding well-thumbed copies in doctor's waiting rooms (even a hostel bookshelf in Nepal!). It's gratifying to receive the occasional email from a reader who liked it - even a few who didn't . It's just been released in Germany as of 2009, thanks to my agent Peter McGuigan of Foundry Media - and I'm glad my German is rusty - I can't imagine how some of my Aussieisms like "threw a pickle in the cheesecake" came out of the Google Translator. Please ask for copies at your local bookstore - it really helps keep an author stay in the $1 bins inside the store rather than outside - soggy books are indeed sad. Dear Lynette, I just finished "The Handsomest Man in Cuba" and loved it, loved it, loved it!I THANK YOU for sharing such a wonderful adventure. I just wanted you to know

Good news for crunchy knees (and 3 bike Fit Experts you should know)

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Getting the full knee-down from bike fit guru  Andy Pruitt , knee guy to the cycling stars (including the US Cycling Federation).  A-fitting we will go...  Watch  VIDEOS See  PHOTO GALLERY TODAY I received some good news - and in this recession, any news is good news. My knees, which were starting to sound like I was hiking through granola when descending a stairs, are not falling apart after all. I merely have a relatively benign form of crepitus . Wiki it and you'll see it's a term for anything that leads to innoisy knees. In my case, no bones or diminished cartilege seems to be involved - just fluid. The ass-ometer measures, well... I consulted RoadBikeRider.com's Ed Pavelka on this last year, who wrote: Lynette -- you need to see a cycling medical specialist. The best in the business is Andy Pruitt at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine . If you can't go to Colorado maybe he can recommend someone in your area. Generally, pain beh

Just be thankful.

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This morning I switched on my Blackberry Pearl and clicked on a link a customer Leon in South Africa sent me. His email simply said: When we tend to complain how bad things are sometimes we do not know how fortunate we are. This is an article out of today's Sunday Times . The first thing displayed in my little handheld window onto the world was the above picture with this caption: No grocery deliveries: Food is much scarcer in Zimbabwe’s rural areas than in the cities. Kudakwashe Chiveura prepares to catch a cricket he has dug up to eat in Mutoko, northeast of Harare. Picture: AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi When I switch on to a news site from the west, like NYT or CNN, the first thing that's windowed is "Democrats set to offer loans to Carmakers". Even on a salary of $1 a year, think of how infinitely better off an auto exec is compared to the above gentleman about to breakfast on a cricket. How ever hard it may seem, we must try to be thankful. Thank you Leon for you