power kiting: ur doing it wrong

I bought a 2-meter quad-line power kite, to practice for kite surfing. I didn't do enough research before taking it to the park, and my typical learn-by-experimentation strategy failed me. I ruined my lines so badly that I had to throw them away. Replacements will arrive in a couple weeks.

I learned:

• Bring kite stakes (or tent stakes), particularly when you are flying alone.
• Tying knots on unsheathed spectra lines causes them to break. Don't do that.
  
• Replacement lines cost $80.
  

tarte tatin: take 4

She made tomato soup. I made dessert. While these simmered we opened my most fragrant bottle of olive oil, added fresh-cracked black pepper, and snacked on sourdough and brie.

My fourth attempt at tarte tatin was much more successful than the last three:

zoom-zoom

Saturday afternoon, I didn't suck at go-karts:

• Monza Hot Laps (2nd)


• Monza Qualifying (1st)


• Monza Race (1st)


• Yokohama Hot Laps (1st)

shooting with Kemi

Spent part of Saturday at a shooting range with Kemi, firing 300-400 rounds with her 22. It was my first time firing anything bigger than a BB gun, but it seems I'm a decent shot.

From fuzzblog

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economic crisis for dummies

Three episodes of This American Life, spaced 4-5 months apart, attempt to distill the economic crisis in layman's terms.

2008-05-09: The Giant Pool of Money

2008-10-03: Another Frightening Show About the Economy

2009-02-27: Bad Bank

Go-Kart Offsite

A work-sponsored recreational event. I've been burning the candle at both ends for a few weeks, in order to meet an ambitious deadline. I desperately needed this chance to blow steam. That the offsite occurred the day of my deadline was sheer coincidence. Serendipity at work.


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For fun, I recorded a trail of my races with the "My Tracks" feature on my Android G1. The indoor GPS resolution was too poor for an accurate map, but did produce an impressive squiggle.