Weapon of Choice!

it never occurred to me that all this posting of of my re-found interest of BMX freestyle that i never introduced my bike to the world. well, here it is;

my 1999 GT Tour 2. factory original. no aftermarket parts. and yes the seat post is reversed on purpose to move the nose of the seat closer the ends of the handle-bars to pull off Trackstands.

more pics to come.

peace,
@riel

Second Casualty

honest, i'm not trying to make a habit of getting hurt, but these things happen when you attempt BMX freestyle.

this happy abrasion on my right shin is brought to me by my bike's studded pedal.

however this can be prevented. i went out to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a set of shin-guards. although it wasn't an easy task. i wanted to get a set that i could slip on like a sock and keep under my pant legs. something simple and inconspicuous. unfortunately they don't sell shin-guards over at the bicycle department so i found myself over at the soccer isle. and after looking through dozens of them i found a set i think is going to work out well. it's simply called the Ultra Shin Guards by Shock Doctor. the set consists of two neoprene slips and two plastic shells that are inserted into the pouch of each slip. the profile is low enough that i can wear them under each pant leg.

i don't know why i never took the time to find these, but i got them now. i just have to wait until my left knee heels after almost hyper-extending it following a failed attempt at a Peg/Dork Wheelie.


peace,
@riel

I’m On Twitter.

my friend sean planted this idea to get on board with twitter. my first thoughts about it was, why? it seemed like such a useless social web tool. all it is a condensed version of blogging. you’re only allowed to write small summaries of your thoughts or actions within 140 characters; but when you really look into it can serve the practical purpose of announcing updates to those who follow ones blog or YouTube channel. so i drunk the kool-aid and opened up an account for this reason. especially now that twitter announcements can be available on every mobile device or web page with the use of HTML codes.

let the twittering begin.

twitter.com/arielistix

peace,
@riel

New Kicks.

i've been meaning to get a of pairs of shoes for work and play. i had my mind set on getting a pair of Vans cause i used to wear them during my younger years and i remember enjoying them. it started out during my BMX phase when i wanted to really get in to california freestyle culture. so i started buying a lot of Airwalk and Vision Street Wear apparels from the shop where i would get my bike parts.

i bought three pairs of Airwalks there and all three lasted less than eight months cause the soles would wear out fast. then i switch to a pair of Vans just to try something different. a year later and a half later i was still wearing them. i was so surprised that the soles were still intact that when they finally decided to give-up i bought another pair. same thing; they lasted for a year later and a half.

the following pair of shoes that ultimately replaced my Vans were my Dr. Martens. ten years later i'm still wearing my Martens cause they wont give up. during those ten years i did buy a pair of Nike running sneakers, and a pair of Adidas court sneakers to play hand-ball. i used my Adidas to BMX in the beginning. i dug them out recently to get back into BMX'ing, but there's not a lot of grip on them anymore. every time i attempt a fork glide, or an infinity roll, my Adidas would slip off the tires. this is what happened when i attempted that double tail-whip. on the second revolution my foot slipped off the front tire which led to my tragedy.

so i embarked on a mission to buy a pair of black Vans with the only criteria that they wouldn't be too loud or busy in design. i visited several stores and was almost successful. ultimately i found what wanted, and for $40 it looked so good i bought a pair of brown ones too.


simple and sweet. can't wait to start kickin' it.

peace,
@riel

Joseph Acaba, NASA Astronaut

NASA shuttle Discovery STS-119 crew member and mission specialist
Joseph Acaba is the first American of Puerto Rican descent
to fly into space.



God-speed, Joseph.


@

First Casualties

it's early in the season, but i'm taking advantage of the good weather to get some BMX time out there. it's still a bit cool out with temps in the 50's, but it beats riding in the heat with bugs flying in my face.

the following pic documents what happened when i took a chance to unsuccessfully pull a double tail-whip.


this happy contusion is a direct result of the getting nearly impaled from the blunt end of the handle-bar. i'm sure i'll really feel this in the morning.


also - on what i'm sure is completely unrelated, perhaps even coincidental - i started coughing up blood, but i'm sure that will go away soon.

no, but seriously, i can taste something like blood coming up my throat.

peace,
@riel

Getting (needlessly) picky with Apple.....: The Mac Mini, Part 2

WHAT THE HELL, APPLE?!!!!

$599 and the Apple Remote is not included anymore?

you cheap bastards!

>:(

@

Getting (needlessly) picky with Apple.....: The Mac Mini, Part 1

first off let me apologize for my absence. i have been not been updating my blog for quite some time due to the fact that i have started the spring semester at Quinsig - doing my best to keep up with my studies.

that said, i want to begin with the recent announcement of one of Apple’s latest products. by now the world knows about hardware updates made to the entire Mac line-up, including the Mac Mini (MM). being an owner of two MM’s, i was very impressed with the updates Apple made to the MM line-up such as:

• faster front-side bus
• higher capacity memory
• faster Core 2 Duo
• the addition of an extra USB port
• a better graphics processor

to name a few.

it would seem that Apple made some real progress with the MM, except for one confusing thing; why did they include a mini DVI port connector along with the newer mini DisplayPort? that does not make any sense to me?

when the MM progressed from the Core Duo to the Core 2 Duo, it would have seemed like the best time to ditch the full size DVI connector in favor of the mini DVI port. this way they could have squeezed an extra USB or Firewire connector. the iMacs and Macbooks at the time included a mini DVI port, so why not the MM? well, it seems that Apple’s MM is late to the trend. the latest iteration - which contains the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated video chipset - includes both the mini DVI port and the brand new mini DisplayPort. both ports are active allowing the MM capable of dual displays. which is really cool. yet for some reason having these two video ports together seems really tacky.

looking at it purely from a practical view, it does not make sense to pair up a newer display connector with an older version especially when Apple has been pushing for this mini DisplayPort as a industry standard. they have included the mini DisplayPort in all other products including the Mac Pro. none of these products - specifically the MacBooks and iMacs - utilizes the mini DVI anymore, or at all in the case of the Mac Pro. if Apple is successful in pushing the mini DisplayPort as a industry standard, that will mean future displays from other vendors will conform to it. and why shouldn't’t they? the mini DisplayPort is ideal for all notebooks and desktops alike. it’s less time spent having to screw anything down.

why include the mini DVI port with the new MM?

i don’t see any advantages of including the mini DVI port. from what i understand the mini DisplayPort can do everything that the mini DVI can do. in fact they are identical with respect to the digital signal scheme. the only difference is their physical appearance.

what about those adapters?

Apple manufactures adapters to connect a VGA or DVI monitor to the mini DVI port. they make similar ones that connect to the mini DisplayPort. so either way you're covered. but here's a slap in the face for users of the previous generation iMacs or MacBooks; what they don’t or have yet to manufacture is an adapter to connect a mini DisplayPort enabled monitor - such as the 24” LED Cinema Display - to the mini DVI port.

if you're covered either way, why remove the mini DVI port?

if there is currently no such adapter to connect a mini DisplayPort enabled monitor - such as the 24” LED Cinema Display - to the mini DVI port, then having dual mini DisplayPorts on the MM gives a user the added advantage of connecting - you guessed it - two mini DisplayPort enabled monitors. can you imagine driving two 24” LED Cinema Displays on a MM? i know that would be overkill, but having dual 24” does not make it any less sweet; just the opposite. if the MM is capable of handling them both, then why not? you’d think Apple would go with this if it could mean additional sales of their LED Cinema Display. plus if you look at the mock-up below, there’s enough real-estate back there for Apple to squeeze in another USB or Firewire 800.

why am i being so picky over this?

i guess it’s because i sometimes don’t get Apple’s reasoning over their design strategy, or the features they decide to add or take-away with every new revision of their products. in this particular case it's natural progression of technology; you know, going from 2GB to 4GB of memory, from DDR2 to DDR3, from 667 to 1066MHz FSB, from FW400 to FW800, etc. i figured Apple’s take on the MM to be all about progress; completely ditching all current standards in favor of something new and fresh, the latest and greatest.

bottom line?

if you’re going to make a point of promoting something as "new", why continue on with something old?

peace,

@riel