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News and notes
Jul. 23rd, 2005 08:33 pmWatched the live coverage of stage 20 of the Tour de France this morning. Since stage 21 is largely ceremonial for the top riders, this was the last real stage of competition for Lance Armstrong, who finished in style turning in the day's fastest time.
Not to take anything away from his accomplishments, which are indeed amazing, but I marvel over the sport itself. Today was the twentieth day of racing, and at the end of it Lance's cumulative time is 82 hours, 34 minutes and 5 seconds. Ivan Basso is in second place behind him by 4 minutes and 40 seconds. By bike race standards Lance has a huge lead. Yet Ivan Basso's time is one-tenth of one percent slower than Lance's time. Such a tiny fraction separates the athletes at the very top of the sport.
Reading: SCARDOWN by Elizabeth Bear![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
matociquala. This book picks right up where the last one left off and I'm have a great time reading it. The action has shifted away from the city of Hartford, so I'm no longer distracted by the "Oooh, been there, seen that" reactions.
Watching: Went out to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie last night. Made a wise choice to go to an evening showing, which avoided the hordes of kids who crowd the matinees. Johnny Depp was disturbingly creepy as Willy Wonka. The special effects were perfect-- amazing but never distracting from the story.
Not to take anything away from his accomplishments, which are indeed amazing, but I marvel over the sport itself. Today was the twentieth day of racing, and at the end of it Lance's cumulative time is 82 hours, 34 minutes and 5 seconds. Ivan Basso is in second place behind him by 4 minutes and 40 seconds. By bike race standards Lance has a huge lead. Yet Ivan Basso's time is one-tenth of one percent slower than Lance's time. Such a tiny fraction separates the athletes at the very top of the sport.
Reading: SCARDOWN by Elizabeth Bear
matociquala. This book picks right up where the last one left off and I'm have a great time reading it. The action has shifted away from the city of Hartford, so I'm no longer distracted by the "Oooh, been there, seen that" reactions.Watching: Went out to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie last night. Made a wise choice to go to an evening showing, which avoided the hordes of kids who crowd the matinees. Johnny Depp was disturbingly creepy as Willy Wonka. The special effects were perfect-- amazing but never distracting from the story.
