Surly Tragedy

I finally got around to taking my Surly into the bike shop to get the bent hanger fixed. Good news was that the derailer is fine. Bad news is that the shifter is broken. For those of you unaware, Shimano integrated shifters are so mechanically complex, you can't take them apart to try to fix them so when they break, you have to replace the entire unit. They are also expensive. I must have knocked something loose inside of it because when the hanger was fixed and the chain back on, I only had 8 gears instead of 10. Anyways, next Wednesday and $220 poorer I should be back in business with the Surly.

Route Decided

So I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do in Europe. From Sofia, I'm going to fly into Paris, maybe hang out there for a day, then ride to Amsterdam. I might go through Brussels, but maybe not, depends what info I find on it. I've got a couple of books coming, so I'll put a firmer itenerary together once I get them...

Help Me Visit Europe

So, as I mentioned before I'm headed to Bulgaria in October. I'm planning on taking about 10 days after the conference is over and checking out the sights. I have no idea where to go, so those of you who have been, give me some recommendations.

I am also seriously considering bringing my bike and some panniers to tour around with. I could go from Bulgaria and take a train to somewhere, bike to another city, and fly out. Or I could forgo the logistics of the bike and just max out a city/country. Give me some advice!

Also, if anyone wants to come with I will meet you in any city in Europe on October 20th and we can check it together...

Bulgaria Here I Come

It appears as if my conference paper in Bulgaria has been accepted and that they are covering my hotel and meals while I am there! My advisor will also pick up the cost of the flight, so it looks like I'm set to travel to Bulgaria and hopefully will be able to spend week or so in Europe! I can't wait!

Jaw Dropping

I found this youtube video rather shocking:

The Pickup Artist

So I was doing my standard Sunday morning routine this past Sunday, which envolves me sitting on the couch in my undies, drinking coffee and watching some bad television. The show I ended up watching was on VH1 and is called The Pickup Artist. The premise is that these three suave guys are going to teach socially awkward men how to become "pickup artists" throughout the season.

First, let me introduce the instructors Mystery, Matador, and some other guy who I can't remember. You can see how awesome they are below:







Now maybe its me, but I don't see how these guys could pickup ANYONE. Amazingly, they had a clip of them in a bar picking up women. Their strategy seems to be to find the drunkest women and let them play with their accouterments. They would then grind up on these women who were too inebriated to notice. Needless to say, it was spectacular! I am 99% sure the women were paid off to make these dudes look good, but if not, I am going to get a velvet cowboy hat, leather jacket, bling in my ear, a fur, and dye racing stripes in my hair.

Studying Away

Well, the studying for my upcoming analysis prelim exam has started, its not particularly fun to study for. On the other hand, the material does make a lot more sense the second time around and I feel pretty good about my odds on passing. Can't wait to be done with these exams!

Besides studying and working, I did some karaoke, or roke'n as myself and Paul Rudd like to call it, last night with Pete. We seriously blew the house away after renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody and Mr. Blue Sky. There was also some shuffleboard played and I got my ass kicked pretty bad in it. If the Outback Saloon was a little closer to my house, I would frequent it all the time; not only does it have shuffleboard, pool, darts, and karaoke, it also have a large customer base of cougars.