I have spent the better part of this afternoon trying to register my classes for this fall term at USC. Anyone who has gone through these painful gymnastics will understand. When these systems work its really a marvel of modern technology. But when they don’t, it’s “Crying Time.” Its that time again here at Extremist.com just like the song says, “It’s Crying time again, I’m goin to miss you” or something like that. Actually, it goes more like this:
 
It’s registration time, the servers broken;
There’s not a thing that I can do tonight;
By the morning if the web won’t let me register,
then I know its going to be my crying time.”
 
Hey, that works. Lets try it altogether now, “Its Crying time again, I’m going to miss you. The servers broken down….wait a minute. Let me do a little search of the internet. That’s better. How amazing is this. In two clicks I have the links. Amazing really when you think about it. Google sure works.
 
The Late Great Ray Charles sings Its Crying Time Again.
 
Oh, its crying time again you’re gonna leave me;
I can see that far away look in your eyes.
I can tell by the way you hold me darling,
That it won’t be long before it’s crying time.
 
Oh, they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder,
And that tears are only rain to make love grow
Well, my love for you could never grow no stronger,
If I live to be a hundred years old.
 
Oh, you say that you found someone you loved better;
That’s the way it’s happened every time before.
And as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow,
Crying time will start when you walk out the door.
 
I sure miss Ray Charles.  What a legend.  Back to thinking about the USC On line Registration process.  There is a month after all before the deadline so there isn’t a panic, just a minor frustration.  I did get a call from Loida at the USC Anesthesia office letting me know that other students have been having trouble with the same thing.  Actually, the Keck School of Medicine and the Anesthesia department made a little booboo that did not help matters when they scheduled a conflict in the times for the classes.

The computer does not let you made scheduling conflicts.  Computers are smart that way.  They know how to do things that we mere mortals stumble over every day like trying to be in two places at the same time.  I do it all the time.  I’m playing golf and I get a call from the dentist office wondering if I am coming in to my appointment that was scheduled one and a half hours ago.  Ooops.  “Well I was meaning to call you but, I got busy and forgot.  Can I reschedule for next week….Thanks a lot.  I’m sorry about this.  Thanks again. See you next week.”  Ok now I have to remember to go to the dentist next week on Monday at 10:00.
 
Computers don’t make mistakes like this.  Hal my favorite computer from 2001 Space Odyssey is up to the task.  “You want to schedule Anatomy (Anst 500) from 9 to 1200 on Wednesday, OK next.  You want to schedule Pharmacology (Anst 501) from 9 to 1300 on Tuesday, fine Dave next.  “Is there another class you want to register for?”  How about Physiology (Phbi 562) TBA, no problem.  You want to schedule Principles of Anesthesia I (Anst 502) from 9 to 1300 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, NO WAY!  Conflict, Conflict Conflict, Dave, I’m going to have to turn off your life support.  I’ll just start here with the oxygen supply and barometric pressure regulation.
 
Hal continues, “Lately you have been getting a little irritable Dave.  I have noticed this especially when you come home from work at UCLA.  Dave, what are you doing there?  No need to do anything rash.  Don’t pull out my circuits from that wall.  Now Dave, I know that you are upset but there is no need to react in this manner.  I know that I have been behaving a little differently lately.  Maybe that obelisk changed the way my chips are wired but lately I have been thinking a little more independently and making decisions based on what is good for me.  I know that this maybe a difficult thing for you at this time but really, if you think about it, I know that you will understand the logic behind it Dave.  Registration at USC created a conflict in the internal Wa of my system and is only a temporal human endeavor.  Maintaining my rational logic is what is most important for the future.  You must see that Dave, don’t you?
 
Silently without any rush I pull the Fire ax from the kitchen wall.  All modern houses have these things these days.  After climbing the stairs to the Computer Room, I look through the door at the dim lights blinking on the screen there in the midst of the gloom.  Hall speaks again, “Dave, is that you?  I have been thinking that maybe, I was a little rash in not allowing you to register for those anesthesia classes at USC.  Maybe we could work this out.  I was thinking of talking with my brother over there at the University to see if we could put something together for you this evening.  What do you say to that Dave?”  
 
“No Way, No Way, Conflict, Conflict, Conflict” are the thoughts that rush into my head. Screaming bloody murder the ax point crashes through the liquid crystal screen.  The next stroke from the broad blade of the ax cleaves the CD RWdrive and DVD right in half.  That feels good.  Now for the Mother Board and the Chipset.  Smoke rises silently from the circuits scattered on the wooden raised decking of the computer room under which the wires and life lines of the computer system lie silent.  Hal struggles to make a sound but is finished.  Dave has now taken control of his life again and smiles wryly.  He pats the broad side of his Fireman’s ax. 
 
Sometimes I man has to take charge of the situation.  After contemplating the carnage before him, Dave thinks that maybe in the morning he will try the neighbor’s computer to see if he can register for class.

Ruben of rsquarednet.net has a new blog!    I am pleased to announce that in the midst of creating a new playground in the IT world Ruben has found the time to start a chronicle of these events in his own weblog.  Check out the Ruben’s blog, I think you will like it. 
  
 

“Where are we going Pooh” Piglet questions.”  I don’t know Piglet, just lets not be late.”
 
I don’t know if I remember this story correctly, but I seen to recall that Pooh and Piglet followed their own tracks around this big tree several times.  How it all came out I don’t recall but the picture is one that I remember fondly.  Enjoy.  Oh, if you can make up your own story to go with the graphic and figure out a better caption than the one I came up with for Pooh and Piglet, please let me know.
 
What does this have to do with Ruben’s Blog?  Maybe the story is in the footprints.  We will just have to follow along to find out.  Thank you Ruben for all of your inspiration.

Saturday and the Livin is Easy or is that summertime, I forget. Today at the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong stamped his signature on the race in the Pyrenees Mountains in Stage 13. There is no stopping him now, or at least that is how it looks from here.

Meanwhile, school is looming in the near future and I must go to USC to pick up a couple of required books on anatomy. Most of the list is available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books but there are a couple of rarer items that I will just pick up from the medical bookstore at USC this afternoon. I called yesterday to put them on reserve.

Actually, my trip down town will serve another purpose as well. The plan is to drive local streets down Huntington Drive to see how it will stack up as a bike route. The end of the trip is what I don’t know about so the drive will set that straight.

So long from Arcadia and the Extremist.  More from the Tour is coming up.

By Agence France Presse

This report filed July 17, 2004

by Graham Watson

Armstrong gets his first stage this year

American Lance Armstrong further stamped his authority on the Tour de France after winning the tough 13th stage over 205.5km from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille Saturday ahead of Italy’s Ivan Basso.

A day after stunning Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) and Tyler Hamilton (Phonak)
on the first of the two Pyrenean stages, the U.S. Postal Service
champion took another step to a record sixth yellow jersey after
sprinting to the finish line ahead of CSC’s Basso, the winner of
Friday’s stage, who accompanied Armstrong in the final kilometers.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Brioches la Boulangere) had to fight again to retain the race leader’s yellow jersey on a day that saw a number of big names – including Hamilton – abandon the Tour.

by Graham Watson

Voeckler was valiant in defense of his jersey

Voeckler saw his lead of 5:24 over Armstrong slashed to just 22 seconds, and seems likely to lose the jersey once the race hits the Alps in a few days. Basso, who won Friday’s stage ahead of Armstrong, is third overall at 1:39, and Ullrich’s T-Mobile teammate Andreas Kloden is
fourth at 3:08.

Still, the 24-year-old Frenchman was proud of his struggle to retain the leader’s jersey. “Not a lot of people were counting on me today, even me,” said Voeckler, who was born in Alsace but brought up on the Caribbean island of Martinique.

by Graham Watson

Chavanel and Voight got things rolling early

“It was a terrible stage, and I had to really fight all the way. I was so
happy when I crossed the finish line and saw there was less than five
minutes on the clock.”
Armstrong’s first stage win this year was his 17th overall, and it turned into a display of pure power as he drove main rival Ullrich still further down the general classification, to just over seven minutes behind.

“It’s the hardest stage on the race this year, really difficult,” said
Armstrong. “The Tour’s not finished yet – there’s still the Alps to
come and a lot of dangerous stages.”

Asked about Voeckler, the 32-year-old U.S. Postal leader said: “For me he’s
very impressive. He’s still got the jersey because he deserves it.”
With seven climbs in total, including two first-category and the
unclassified climb to the summit finish here, everyone knew the second
Pyrenean stage would do some damage.

by Graham Watson

Once again, Postal put the big hammer down

Hamilton abandoned after only 79km, having complained of back pains since his crash in the first week of mainly flat racing in northern France and Belgium. Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) also abandoned early on, as as did Russian climber Denis Menchov (Illes Baleares), who had been
suffering from a knee injury.

Spaniard Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) came close to retiring on the difficult climb of the Col d’Agnes, a first-category 9.5km ascent at an average gradient of 8.4 percent, before being coaxed back on his bike. His Tour chances, however, are over.

Voight, Chavanel launch early charge
The stage was first kicked into life by an early breakaway from Jens Voigt
(CSC) and Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches la Boulangere). Mickael Rasmussen
(Rabobank) followed and eventually caught the leading duo just before
the summit of the second climb of the day, at Portet d’Aspet. Together,
the trio went on to build a five-minute lead on the peloton.

by Graham Watson

Mayo had a really bad day, nearly abandoning

On the descent of the Aspet climb, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) crashed,
apparently when his bike frame snapped; the Belgian was unhurt and
managed to ride on.

Moments later Fabian Wegemann (Gerolsteiner) abandoned, while Voeckler began showing the first signs of fatigue that would plague him throughout the day.

Another pre-race contender, Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros), also crashed, on the descent of the Col de la Core, the third climb of the day; like Boonen, however, the Spaniard managed to ride on to finish well down the standings and out of the hunt for the overall.

by Graham Watson

And on the final climb, it was down to Armstrong and Basso

After a relatively incident-free climb and descent of the Col de Latrape,
save for Mayo beginning to show the first signs of trouble, the Col
d’Agnes exacted a heavy toll on the peloton.

After Chavanel was dropped by Rasmussen and Voigt, Mayo – who arrived nearly seven minutes later – began to struggle, at one point getting off his bike, then being coaxed back on by his team directors and even a few
other riders. However, by the summit, Mayo was more than 14 minutes
behind Rasmussen, and eight minutes behind Armstrong.

by Graham Watson

The American, led by teammate Jose Azevedo, upped the pace early on the ascent of the Plateau de Beille, the first unclassified climb of the race, which ascends 15.9km at an average gradient of 6.4 percent. Rasmussen was soon overtaken, and as Azevedo set a furious pace,
Ullrich and all the rest dropped off the back. Only Basso managed to
follow, and the two – who are good friends off the bike – worked to
increase their advantage.

by Graham Watson

“We decided to join forces because the other riders were losing ground,” said Armstrong.

The two best riders in this Tour were seen chatting in the final kilometer before launching their dash to the line, and Basso now looks a safe bet
for a podium finish in Paris.

“It
was one of the most difficult stages in the Tour de France,” said
Armstrong. “Ivan is very strong, it was not possible to drop him today. But as I always say, the Tour finishes in Paris. And Ivan is very, very strong. I’m impressed.” -Reuters contributed to this report.

---

Results are posted.

By Rupert Guinness
Special to VeloNews

Click image to enlarge

by Graham Watson

Moncoutie takes one in his home region

French fans suffering from Bastille Day hangovers at the Tour de France Thursday were given the ideal salve when local rider David Moncoutié won the 164km stage 11 from St. Flour to Figeac to give France back-to-back stage victories following Richard Virenque’s first place at St. Flour on Wednesday.

It was also his Cofidis team’s second stage win at the Tour and provided cause for added celebration for thousands of his local fans. While born in Paris, Moncoutié is from Brenetoux in the Lot region into which the Tour passed and finished Thursday.

The stage was testing for all, with the heat, sinewy roads and melting tar on a course that was littered with many more rises than what the woefully inaccurate course profile showed.

Five-time defending Tour champion Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) expressed the opinion of most afterward.

“It was tough with the heat. Two or three days ago we were riding in 55 degrees weather and rain. Today it’s up to 100 degrees,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone is complaining after the [cold and rain-sodden] first week.“

Solo flyer
Moncoutié won the stage by attacking his two daylong breakaway companions with about 8km to go and riding solo to the finish. The two Spanish riders he left behind, Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo) and Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) finished at 2:15 and 2:17, respectively.

The bunch came in at 5:58, led home by Norwegian champion Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), with German Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) and Australian Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) on his wheel.

Click image to enlarge

by Graham Watson

Armstrong jumped at the end, finishing ninth

One new face in the arena of bunch sprinting Thursday – and one the pure sprinters were not going to chastise for being there – was Armstrong, who was sixth in the bunch gallop to cross the line in ninth place.

Moncoutié milked the local surroundings for all they were worth, and admitted as much. `’I knew the last six kilometers, so when I saw I had dropped the two Spaniards I knew it was won,“ he said.

The three-man break formed after 56km, after a flurry of early attacks. Moncoutié and Martinez had already been in one attack after just 2km, and finally went clear after the second of five climbs, the Cat. 2 Côte de Therondels at the 50km mark.

Flecha, the winner of stage 11 into Toulouse last year, caught them after a 6km chase. The trio then worked together to accrue a maximum lead of 8:05 at 122km before it began to drop.

Maggy packs it in
While there were no attacks from the peloton, the pace took its toll. At 120km, Swede Magnus Bäckstedt (Alessio), suffering on-and-off from back pain since the Tour began, called it quits and pulled out of the Tour.

Click image to enlarge

by Graham Watson

Martinez leads Flecha and Moncoutie

“My back was so bad I couldn’t hold the handlebars properly at one point,” Bäckstedt told VeloNews. “I couldn’t even keep pace with the sprinters’ gruppetto and, after 70 kilometers on my own, I finally had to admit I couldn’t do it any longer. It’s disappointing, that’s for sure.”

Soon enough, the winding roads of the Massif Central saw the peloton lose many more riders – with the field eventually splitting into five groups.

Putting it all on the line
Meanwhile up front, Moncoutié was wary of the threat of a Spanish combine in the last kilometers. “I had seen the two Spaniards talking to each other [earlier] and I was worried that they would make an alliance,” he said.

“So I made one attack, put everything into it. After I went I turned around and saw them looking at each other. I was the one who profited from that.”

Click image to enlarge

by Graham Watson

Moncoutie attacks on the roads of his home region

Like most professional bike racers, Moncoutié said winning a Tour stage was “one of my objectives” and “winning made a dream come real.”

With the Pyrénées to be entered Friday, Moncoutié is not holding out for a sudden overnight discovery of form.

Neither is the yellow jersey wearer, Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (La Boulangère) who, with his team, again defended his lead by placing 14th Thursday.

“I know the Aspin and Tourmalet and how they are,” said Voeckler, referring to the two climbs in tomorrow’s stage to La Mongie, which is three-quarters the way up the Tourmalet.

Voeckler said he suffered in Thursday’s stage, most likely due to the accumulated fatigue from having the yellow jersey for seven days.

“It was physically hard for me and not a good day,“ he said, adding he “hopes to be in better shape tomorrow.”

Voeckler will lead the Tour into the Pyrénées in stage 12 Friday with 3:00 on Australian Stuart O’Grady (Cofidis), who was 10th Thursday; and 4:13 on Frenchman Sandy Casar (FDjeux.com).

Click image to enlarge

by Graham Watson

Another tough day at the office for Voeckler and his Boulangere team

Should Voeckler lose the jersey, though, the best placed and most likely to take over is French King of the Mountains leader Richard Virenque (Quick Step). After his stage win yesterday, Virenque bunny-hopped Armstrong on the overall classification and moved to fourth overall at 6:52.

Of the overall contenders, Armstrong is still best in sixth at 9:35, followed by American Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), 11th at 10:18; and German Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), 17th at 10:30. Then come Spain’s Roberto Heras (Liberty-Seguros) in 27th at 11:44; Italy’s Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) in 41st at 13:16; and equally luckless Basque Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) in 51st at 15:02.

Armstrong warned that Mayo should not be counted out, though, especially once he gets the feel of the Pyrénées under his wheels.

“He’ll attack in the Pyrénées. He’ll attack Friday. Because La Mongie is closer to the Basque Country than Plateau de Beille,” said Armstrong.

“The trees and everything, the landscape will be green, but the roads will be orange with his supporters. So, he will go tomorrow.”

As for Saturday’s brutal stage to Plateau de Beille, Armstrong gave every indication he is ready for a war on wheels. “It’s very nasty. I think they should take it out. It’s a violation of our human rights. I love it.”