Cheating Americans!

I just noticed that none of the riders being withdrawn from the Tour are Americans. I guess this means that Americans are either less likely to cheat, or better at hiding it.

Le Tour de France

For the past couple of weeks, I've been putting off posting an entry giving my predictions for this year's Tour de France and encouraging my huge, huge readership to tune in. My predictions would have gone something like this:

• First place: Jan Ulrich (Germany, T-Mobile)
  
• Second place: Ivan Basso (Italy, CSC)
• Third place: Floyd Landis (USA, Phonak)
• First-place team: CSC

I also would have predicted/hoped for strong performances from Levi Leipheimer (USA, Gerolsteiner), George Hincapie (USA, Discovery), and Dave Zabriski (USA, CSC).

Well, I guess it's good that I never got around to posting, because the 2006 TdF has been dealt quite a blow. Fifty-something riders have been accused of blood doping. There is no proof, but blood doping is very difficult to prove. Because of a pre-existing agreement between the teams, these riders have been "voluntarily" withdrawn from the race. By the same agreement, the riders cannot be replaced. Thus many teams will be racing short-handed. One team, Astana-Wurth, which has lost 5 of its 9 riders, has withdrawn the entire team, including the non-accused Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan). Check out the most recent, though probably not final, roster here.

The upshot of all this is that it's a wide-open race. I guess, based on my would-be predictions, I should be predicting Landis as the winner, and I should still be expecting strong performances from Leipheimer, Hincapie and Z-man. But with all these changes, I don't know what to think. Those of you who've only known the Tour as a foregone conclusion* would have seen a much more competitive field even without these withdrawals. With them, the race should be quite exciting to watch.

The TdF will be broadcast on the Outdoor Life Network everyday from July 1 through 31. There'll be live coverage at 8:30 AM EDT and, for those of you with jobs or lives, "enhanced" prime-time coverage at 8:00 PM EDT. You should tune in, if for nothing else, for the entertaining commentary by Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Bob Roll.

* See 2000 through 2005.

Spider-Man 3, Venom 1

Spider-Fans in the audience may want to check out the new teaser trailer for Spider-Man 3. (You can stream it from here here and stream or download it from here.) Those familiar with Venom, will be heartened to see that the references to that character, or at least the symbiote, are overt. Those not familiar with Venom should probably not poke around on the interweb for information about him.

I've Been Waiting for this News for a Long Time

Researchers at the University of Alberta at Edmonton have announced that they have developed a technique for regrowing teeth. This article gives few details, so I'm skeptical but intrigued.

Men Are From Krypton

Anyone who has endured eating out with me may enjoy the latest Penny Arcade comic.

I'm the Best There is at What I Do

Fans of Homo superior will be glad to know that Fox has just announced that the long-speculated-about Wolverine movie, staring Hugh Jackman, will hit theaters in 2007.

Barform

Alison and I have call to use this neologism very frequently.

barform, noun. Food in bar form, especially Clif, Luna, Pria, or other energy/protein/nutrition bars.

Example: Since we're planning to hike for three hours, we should be sure to take some barform with us.

There's a Lab in my Lab

I'm sure Alison will be very happy to hear about the growing trend of pets in the workplace.

This Car Really Cooks!

You may think that cooking on your auto's engine block is crazy, but it's actually an efficient use of time---you cook while you drive---and energy---you use otherwise wasted engine heat. Plus, it provides an entertaining distraction for those of us who are easily bored by long trips in the car.

Chef's note 1: Shuaib and I found that cooking times will be a little longer in a tiny-engined Honda.

Chef's note 2: You may not want to try this on hotter days, especially if your automobile overheats easily. (This wasn't a problem with the tiny-engined Honda.)

Chef's note 3: Alison, we are totally doing this on our next road trip.

It's a Disc, Not a Frisbee

Here's a funny article---rant, really---on a topic that has fascinated me for some time: disc golf. I just hope there's a sequel on ultimate.