Annotated Bicycling Links

  • Map My Ride.com MapMyRide.com is a site where you can easily plot maps of your rides without a GPS, search for rides or routes globally, keep track of your routes including distances, and even calculate how many calories you’ve burned on one route versus another.  There is a companion iPhone app, and perhaps for other mobile, GPS enabled apps, too.
  • Bikes Belong Coalition Bikes Belong’s mission is to put more people on bicycles often by working with the federal government to maximize federal funding for bicycling, awarding grants to help create more and better places to ride, sponsoring programs to help cities and towns become more bicycle-friendly, promoting bicycling to get more people riding and cultivating cooperation throughout the bicycle industry
  • Bicycle for Humanity began in September 2005 with the simple aim of enabling people to raise funds and collect unwanted bicycles to send to reliable partners in developing countries. 
  • Rails to Trails Conservancy a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.
  • Pedaling.com Free self guided road bike routes and mountain bike trails including maps, cue sheets and trail descriptions. Resources for local bicycle shops, bike safety information and community bulletin board for cyclist to share trail, road and cross country bike trip knowledge. Information about guided bicycle tours, cycling gear and bicycles.
  • Cape Cod Bike Guide.com one-stop resource for road cycling and mountain bike information for the Cape Cod area with detailed Cape Cod trail listings, a searchable database of Cape Cod bike shops, links to popular bicycle resources etc.

Do you know any other good sites?

Tell My Momma I Miss Her So

Indulging my inner redneck, I present this from Ryan Bingham‘s new album Roadhouse Sun. I’ve talked about Ryan in the blog before.  He’s fast becoming a favorite!  If you like this and want to buy the album, consider using the link provided.  A portion of this and any other Amazon.com purchases made through this blog will go to support the work of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies.

YouTube – ryan bingham fm94/9.

New Book: Africa’s Islamic Experience

Africa's Islamic Experience

Africa's Islamic Experience

Please allow me a bit of shameless self promotion. A new book has been published, and I am one of the editors: Africa’s Islamic Experience: History, Culture and Politics. The title is self explanatory. It is a collection of essays that I had the pleasure of working on while a graduate assistant at the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University.

I received my copy in the mail today, totally by surprise. It was sent to me the Institute’s director and founder, distinguished, renowned and sometimes controversial scholar, Ali A. Mazrui. I am sure that professor Mazrui wouldn’t mind my including the adjective “controversial” in a description of him, as he very rarely shies away from taking a stand when he is convinced of its truth.  One adjective I didn’t include in that description because it doesn’t define him so much as a scholar as it does a man, is gentlemanly. He showed that countless times since I have known him, and receiving this book today is evidence once again.

I was only involved in this book in the early stages, but I put in a lot of work, both on the conference and on the essays, and was very proud of that work.  Anyone who has ever been a graduate student knows that many, perhaps most professors, would not acknowledge a graduate students work in this way, especially so long after he has finished his degree.  But Dr. Mazrui is generous in that way.  Because he allowed me and other graduate students to participate so centrally in the activities of the Institute and so closely with him, I dare say that my brief time at IGCS was as central to my intellectual development as any course I took and my interactions with most of my other professors.

MacBreakz: I’d Swear by this Program!

MacBreakz Screenshot

MacBreakz Screenshot

As someone who endures the effects of a poor ergonomic setup and a failure to take regular breaks when I get wrapped up in a project, I strongly recommend that if you, too, have this problem you set up something to remind you on your computer. There are several ways to do this. Many calendaring programs can send regular reminders.

If you own an Apple computer, however, I can recommend an excellent program. Go to this page http://www.publicspace.net/MacBreakZ/ and download a trial of MacBreakz. MacBreakz is a wonderful program that allows you to program the length of time you want between breaks, can provide you recommended stretches, can force you to take breaks by locking the screen, etc. But only if you enable it.

It is highly customizable, as well. Among various pre-programmed settings with pre-chosen time between stretches and lengths for breaks, it also has a “recovery” in which you can have the program start with frequent and long breaks and gradually shorten both over a set period of time. So you can start with 10 minute breaks every half hour and by the end of 2 months have the program work you down to a 3 minute break every 2 1/2 hours. But don’t take my word for it. Go to the site and give it a try.

It’s only available for Mac OS, but there are simial PC programs, but I hesitate to recommend one, not knowing them well.

Cities Go Blue for Colon Cancer New National Awareness Campaign Launched

This is the first part of a press release announcing a new initiative form the Colon Cancer Alliance which reports on its site that

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the US.

But perhaps because it is one of those cancers that we don’t like to talk about, it doesn’t get much attention.  It certainly got my attention by coming into my family, though.  Here is the announcement.  Full text at this link.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 10, 2009) – The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) today announced the launch of its national awareness campaign, Cities Go Blue for Colon Cancer.  Philadelphia, PA has been selected as the inaugural host city with events kicking off on September 26-27, 2009.

“The purpose of the nationwide Cities Go Blue for Colon Cancer campaign is to promote awareness about colorectal cancer, by encouraging people to get screened and providing information and support to survivors and caregivers,” said Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance.  “Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the country and we need to make sure that everyone who should be screened is getting screened and those living with the disease have the information and support they need to improve their quality of life. Philadelphia has been selected as our kick-off city and we’re excited to work with community partners on a series of informative and fun events geared toward increasing knowledge of colon cancer and saving lives in the process.”

via Colon Cancer Alliance.

Are liberals seceding from sanity?

Check out this paragraph from a piece I just read.

Blacks and Latinos, it appears, are allowed to hold conventionally conservative social views about gay rights, abortion and (in the case of blacks) immigration without being mocked and denounced by elite white liberals in the pages of the Washington Post and Mother Jones, as long as they vote for the Democratic Party on the basis of other issues. This strategic logic should lead liberals to seek out and welcome the vote of white social conservatives in the South and elsewhere, as long as they vote for Democrats for reasons other than the social issues. Indeed, socially conservative white voters helped to create and to maintain the new Democratic majority in Congress. But many liberals, it would appear, would rather have a smaller Democratic Party than one that includes more white Southerners with typically “black” or “Latino” views about sex and reproduction.

via Are liberals seceding from sanity? | Salon.

It’s a provocative but perceptive quote from a very interesting article on Salon.com by Michael Lind.  If you want to know what he means by “black” or “Latino” views you have to read the article.  It’s worth it. Lind is spot on, however.  I find that a lot of New Englanders understand the American South only slightly better than many Moroccans I met understood what life was like in Europe. This is a sad state of affairs. 

iMix from Last Week: Where to Buy those Tracks

About a week ago wrote a post called I have strange tastes in music. I had created an iMix of that list so that you could hear samples of all the tracks on iTunes, but I forgot to post it.  Here it is:    Through that box you can listen to and purchase any of the songs.


If you really like any of them and want to purchase the whole album, please consider doing so from the links in my blog post.  All proceeds from those sales will benefit the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, a museum, research, cultural and community service center in Northern Morocco, the country with which the United States has its oldest friendship treaty.  Learn more about it on our website.

Arlene J. Toler, An Extraordinary Woman

Arlene J. Toler and her son Michael

Arlene J. Toler and her son

Today, August 7, is my mother’s birthday. When she was alive I probably would have remembered, but I might well have forgotten. Since her passing, however, it seems I never forget, not only her birthday, but the anniversary of her marriage to my father and anniversary of her passing.

My mother was not an extraordinary woman by the standards of History with a capital H. She didn’t change the course of civilization or impact the lives of millions. But she was an extraordinary woman. My mother and father both worked very hard to make sure that we were happy and successful.  They gave everything they could to ensure our success, but it is only now I realize how much.

I don’t wish to canonize my mother. She was far from perfect. For example, there was a time when I began to assert my independence that she found that difficult and it strained our relationship.

My mother grew up poor, yet she did all she could to make sure we had every advantage she didn’t. Both of my parents did, and every success I have in life I owe to the opportunities that they created for me.  All of my failings stem from my inability to take full advantage of them.

Even more than all that my mother was my moral support, my friend and confidant. Whether it was sitting at a table with me working on an elementary school report, defending me to my junior high school teachers, cutting out and sending me Doonesbury from our local paper while I was overseas, or supporting life choices after I left home, she has been there for me.

Both mom and dad have. I have been VERY lucky in that regard. So this is in loving memory of Mom on her birthday. Mom, I love you, I thank you, and I know you will always be with me.

This is Why I Like That City

Austin at Night

Austin at Night

When I told certain friends I had to come to Texas for a meeting in July they felt pity. When I told them I was staying an extra day, they felt bewildered. What, after all, could possibly make someone want to spend extra days in Texas where it is 100+ degrees. Well, let me begin by dismissing the weather concern. Yes, it is hot and yes it is unpleasant. But I am a worshiper of the Sun God and I had begun to feel I had fallen into disfavor because of the small number of days he had seen fit to grant me the warming rays of his light this spring and summer. Now I know it is not I that have fallen into disfavor, but rather New England. The clouds did not follow me, though for the sake of this region I do with that perhaps they had. It is parched. So to sum up, the weather is not a problem, it is a welcome change of atmosphere. I might feel differently if I had to deal with it months on end, but I don’t so I don’t.

Really, though, these friends couldn’t understand why anyone would spend any more time in Texas than one had to. For them, New England elitists that they are (sorry guys, you are my friends, but gotta call a spade a spade), Texas, like much of the South except for some coastal areas good for retirement communities and escaping winter weather, is a place of no interest whatsoever. Texas is not only the South, it is the worst of the South. Ain’t no way it’s got any culture.

Well, my friends, you don’t know what you are missing. Here, in no particular order, are 6 things I love about Austin. They are random and it is not a top 10. Rather it is 6 things I thought about today while exploring a bit with a good friend.

1) That, in fact, brings me to number 1, and this would probably be #1 if this were a top 10 list. I like the people here. They are polite, friendly, helpful, courteous and just great. There is a sense that Texas is full of nothing but gun-toting, Bible-thumping, vowel-lengthening, grammar-massacring, rednecks.  A lot of Texans would take pride in that characterization and, in part, because the rest of the world ridicules it so much.  Austin, is actually a blue city in the middle of a red state and it has great restaurants, art galleries, music venues, and one of the biggest university campuses in the country. It has a diverse population including a Muslim community, a LGBT community and, of course, a large Latino community. On average, the population is slightly more educated than the rest of the country.

Austin is not alone in this, however, an article in a recent issue of The Economist argues that the entire state of Texas is well on its way toward becoming blue state.

The elected sheriff of Dallas County is a lesbian Latina. The leading candidates to become mayor of Houston in November include a black man and a gay white woman. The speaker of the House of Representatives is the first Jew to hold the job in 164 years of statehood and only the second speaker to be elected from an urban district in modern times. In this year’s legislative session, bills to compel women to undergo an ultrasound examination before having an abortion (to bring home to them what they are about to do) and to allow the carrying of guns on campus both fell by the wayside; a bill to increase compensation for people wrongly convicted sailed through. Lakewood, in Houston, the biggest church not just in Texas but in America, claims to welcome gays. As Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” might have said, we’re not in Texas any more.

Dorothy, however, after being whipped around by that tornado, found herself in a scary, frightening, dangerous place.  Austin isn’t so much so.  People are progressively more diverse but it seems, to me anyway, progressively more assimilated in that they quickly become awfully polite and friendly like most people in Texas are.  Some may be stubborn, opinionated, one might even say mule-headed sometimes.  But they are nice about it.

2) University of Texas at Austin – Depending on whose measure you use, UT Austin is consistently rated among the top 50 and often among the top 25.  Check the US News and World Report ratings, for example.  More than a few of its programs are consistently top 10.  Its programs are renown internationally, as well.  The Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks UT Austin among the top 50 universities world wide

3) Galleries and Shops – Keep Austin Weird is a slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to encourage people to shop in locally owned businesses rather than big national and multinational chains. Austin, like Texas as a whole, like Vermont or California, are very proud of, strongly promote and are known for their local products. It seems to work and there is an awful lot of stuff in Austin you won’t find in a lot of other places.

Love Conquers All by Brad & Sundie Ruppert

Love Conquers All by Brad & Sundie Ruppert

On my most recent visit I explored, for the first time, the SoCo shopping district for the first time, discovering yet more riches. Austin Art Glass had some amazing glass art. I wanted a glass gavel to slam down when I wanted attention. Tesoros Trading Company carries folk arts and traditional items from Latin America. There are some amazing thrift stores. Parts and Labour carries clothes designed by over 100 Texas designers. Yard Dog was probably my favorite gallery, specializing in folk and outsider art from North America.

4) The Arts – That brings me to my next point. Austin has a very lively arts scene. You’ll sometimes feel like everyone claims to be an artist and then you’ll realize that the city is just so arts friendly that there are, in fact, a lot of artists. Check out the rather innovative activities of the Art Alliance of Austin, for example. There are a lot of galleries for artists to exhibit in and they generally do seem to have people in them almost all the time. Perhaps they are only tourists, but someone is interested.

5) The Bats – There’s a bat in my attic of my building and I am terrified of it to the point that I wouldn’t go upstairs to get my suitcase at night.  But the bats under the bridge in downtown Ausin are cool.  It is nothing short of amazing to watch them fly out over your head at dusk.

CD, La Musica de Tejas

CD, La Musica de Tejas

6) Music – If this were an ordered list, this would be near the top, probably number two.  But it is last on the list here because there is a lot to say.  Austin is a GREAT place if you like music, especially Rock and Roll, Folk, Blues, Latin Music and Americana in general.  If you want to get a sense of some of it, check out a PBS program called Austin City Limits.  Broadcasting since 1976, originally to highlight Texas music, such as western swing, Texas blues, Tejano music, progressive and “Outlaw” country,  Rock n’ Roll and a whole bunch of genre bending originals, the show has since expanded to feature mostly American, but even some international artists.  There is a nice CD/DVD series as well.

The city has at least two great music festivals every year, Austin City Limits, inspired by the series, and South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (SxSW).  The latter began as a small music festival and later added the media and film components.  It is not a week long must attend event.

Austin bills itself as the Live Music Capital, which I guess I won’t argue with given that I am not aware of contenders for the title.  A Google search on “live music capital” didn’t bring any up.  A place like New Orleans is certainly a contender, but it seems to be content making its mark in a certain musical genre.  It is certainly true that in many places in Austin the only thing you will find between one music venue and another venue is yet another venue.  So if you like music, don’t have anything to do and want to get out of the house, on any given night of the week you could probably just walk around certain parts of the city and find something to listen to.  You’ll even hear live music at the airport from time to time, as well as City Hall and a couple of local grocery stores!

That’s because the city supports its musicians.  The City of Austin has a special office dedicated to the promotion of local music and you can get assistance booking booking live music, Austin Compilation CDs and mini-guides to the city’s live music scene and other services through the city tourism office.

Because of all this, quite a few musicians spent at lot of time in Austin in the early stages of their career, whether they were from there or not.  A very short list includes Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nanci Griffith, Spoon, Charlie Sexton, Alejandro Escovedo, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Willie Nelson, Ryan Bingham, Butthole Surfers, Guy Forsyth, Asleep at the Wheel

Below are a few videos. Also check out Austin’s Jazz scene at www.austinjazz.net

I could go on. Austin has a great airport, a beautiful lake, some great restaurants, etc. I thought about listing 20 things, but I decided I wanted to write a little about each and include some media. So then I was going to do 10. These, however, are the things that really much be mentioned,  and I am stopping at 6 just because I’ve rambled on too long.  I believe blog postings should be short, MUCH SHORTER than this!  Guess I have a lot to say about Austin.

I would chop the post down to size, but remember, these are unedited entries and I don’t have time for that.  So if you have had the patience to read this far, enjoy the videos!

A Week in the Fog

It has been such an odd week!  Literally on the flights back from London I came down with some sort of respiratory virus that caused a sore throat and a nasty cough.  Not H1N1, thank heaven.  It was relatively mild, no fever, and the sore throat and other nasal/head symptoms went away quickly.  The cough is still with me, however, and it got worse.

So I have also not been feeling well, and I am drowsy most of the day, in part because of the medication and in part because of the sickness.The cough can leave me quite breathless.

Settling back to work has been a bit strange, too.  I came back from vacation, but now my boss is on vacation, as are a few of my colleagues.   And, of course, I left, I had just finished my last major event of the year.  Everything else is now in planning. It’s that time of year.  So while I have been at work, busy, and managing to catch up, it has been an odd week, a week of transition!

Then there is the fact that the weather has been so nasty.  Drizzly and gray all day.  Noon looks like dusk and it almost feels like perpetual twilight.  As someone said to me yesterday, it almost feels as if summer has been canceled in New England.

So this whole week has been surpassing strange.  Nine days that feel at once like a one long night and like a month.  It’s been busy.  I’ve gotten a lot done.  And yet it feels like I’ve done nothing but sleep.  So very odd!