Come see what’s up in the Ciramella realm!

Should I write a unit test?

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:02:28 -0500

Thank you @hudsonci && @jasonrudolph

Cannot wait

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:08:25 -0500

So I’ve always dreamt about having a full leather suit for riding and trackdays. I’ve come to love Dainese gear for its quality construction, flexibility and design. So I finally pulled the trigger.

This past Sunday, my friend Adam and I took a trip to Seacoast Sport Cycle in Derry, NH (see below). Seacoast is to me what the MFA is to art lovers. I get to see all the beautiful machinery that someday I’ll own (I’m convinced no one can own just ONE motorcycle at a time). They have tons of excellent riding gear, accessories, street wear and offer dyno services. Amazingly, they even have a Desmosedici for sale - who doesn’t need a $50K motorcycle?. If your jaw is still on the floor, Desmo’s were originally closer to $80K new. Too bad Ang doesn’t see this as a bargain. I’d feel like an idiot storing $50K worth of hot Italian machinery in a shed.

Sigh. If you want great Italian engineering, this is the place to go. Period.

Our main purpose for this trip though was mainly just to look (my personal museum remember?), but a few of the deeply discounted suits caught my eye. I tried on a Rev’it! suit but found that the crotch construction totally limited my leg movement. So I (reluctantly) tried on a Gold (they call it Titanium) Dainese Laguna Seca suit in 54 and in 56. The 56 flopped all around on me, not a good sign. The 54 fit really well, but I could barely get in and out of it (all of these were in the $600 price range).

From there, I looked at what else would be in my price range. There was a new Dainese “Stripes” suit hanging and Pat took it down for me (I was beginning to feel like I had overstayed my welcome). While I loved the look of the suit and how it was white (I love the Storm Trooper look), the liner wasn’t removable (not something you want in a $1000 suit), so I was disheartened a bit.

On the way out, I decided to take one more look at the “sale” rack and spotted a Steel suit. That image was burned into my mind for the next few nights, and today, I went and got it.

I gotta say, it fits PERFECTLY. There are no issues with rubbing or pinching (there’s some bisection going on if I stand upright, but hey, who does that on a bike other than Valentino Rossi?) and just walking around, I can feel cool air rushing against my legs and chest (very good). I can get in and out because of all the flex panels - I’m super psyched!

Thanks again Pat for your time and patience!

An EPIC weekend

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:24:21 -0400

If racetracks were planets, all of them were perfectly aligned this weekend, granting Yamaha victory on all of the various world stages (well, at least the ones I was watching).

WSBK -

Starting with World Superbike (because TiVO tells me so), Ben Spies came out HOT in race one. Setting a record with Superpole positions for the season (11 out of 14 races), I’m sure everyone knew within the first lap this was going to be a special double-header. With Haga losing the front, Spies had some breathing room heading into race two. Spies went on to win by two seconds over Jonnie Rae. I held my breath when JR got close to Ben, as in the past, he’s been quite a wildcard (over cooking corners, crashing, etc) and I would be heart broken to see Ben’s rookie year go up in smoke because someone was fighting for 5th position in the championship.

While I wasn’t in the garage with Yamaha between the races, I’m sure the tension was as thick as celebratory burnout smoke. I’ll also be willing to bet my R1 that Ben and Co. also decided a bit of restraint in race two would be required to haul in all the chips.

Sure enough, race two was a real nail biter and it seems like no one actually knew who won the championship out right until we came back from the commercial break (and I had a quiet moment with a calculator) and Ben was anointed world champion (462 to Haga’s 456).

Step back from the champagne foam and think about what this guy from Longview TX just did. In his rookie season, he not only won, but dominated just about every race; sometimes Ben ran away winning by 10 seconds like he did in race 1 at Miller Motorsport Park. I think all the other tracks (except Portimao) Ben never saw in person (DVD/PS3 only). Think about what the final would have been like had Ben exercised a bit of restraint early on in the season, or if Fabrizio hadn’t taken Ben out in Brno:

I also want to point out that I feel REALLY bad for Haga. Haga seems to be the consummate sportsman, always smiling and mugging for the camera. My heart goes out to him - I saw him duck out of the camera frame after his crash in race one this past weekend, and he looked (understandably) gutted. He’s played the runner-up twice before and third three times. I can’t wait to see him take on Honda, Yamaha, Aprilia, BMW and KTM next year as all but KTM will have two years worth of data.

I really can’t wait to see Ben race as a wild card at MotoGP in Valencia. He says he’s not going there to race James Toseland (I think JT is just touring at this point), but I’m sure he’ll beat him without trying. Not that JT can’t ride, but because it’s just in Ben’s nature to win.

While I didn’t follow world SuperSport - I do plan on following it next year. I’m not sure where Cal Crutchlow (pictured above in the lower left winning WSSP this year) is headed. I’ve read Moto2 (replacing the 250 gp class) and have read he’s staying with Yamaha in WSSP. Wherever he goes, I’m sure he’ll rule the roost.

MotoGP(arade)

Finally onto MotoGP and Rossi’s rainy Sepang clincher. I have to agree with all the other critics out there these days who call MotoGP “processional”. No kidding. When people regularly have “lonely rides to Nth place”, it is very much like a parade. Held at 200 mph. Either way - it was really good to see Rossi lock up the rider championship (his 9th) as well as the constructor championship. Rossi regularly plans celebrations, the more special (100th win for example) the bigger the celebration. This year was no different, with a big gag featuring a chicken in matching Rossi gear (including helmet). The saying on his shirt was something about “an old chicken making the best broth” (usually because they can no longer lay eggs). It’s a wink at his competitors who are four years younger than him (Casey Stoner at 24), yet he can still lay “eggs” (win championships). What was really impressive this year was the three who were constantly at the front. If Rossi wasn’t leading, then Jorge Lorenzo was. If neither of them were, then it was Stoner (and occasionally Pedrosa). But to see two Yamaha’s duking it out was extra special (even if I was constantly terrified one would take out both).

As an aside, getting the title “world champion” in WSBK or MotoGP isn’t like baseball. Guys that play in the WSBK/MotoGP leagues travel ALL over, including tracks in Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, Italy, Germany and of course, the good old U.S of A. That’s a world champion! It takes me at least a day to get my head on straight if I fly to California - forget about waking up on the other side of the world.

About the hardware -

While the R1 is a beautiful bike, I’m starting to think that Ducati is an every-man’s superbike. In WSBK, Ducati won the Manufacturer’s championship with 572 points over Yamaha’s 505. World Superbike motorcycle builds are MUCH closer to what you see in the dealer’s showroom and while teams can choose which bikes to run, it seems many sponsors put their money on the 1198 vs. the flat plane crank’ed R1. And the results echo this - Ben’s teammate Tom Sykes was 9th at the end of this year (and didn’t race at Portimao due to an injury sustained at Magny Cours) but between him and Ben, there were three Ducatis (one even a non-factory ride piloted by the ever-talented Shane “Shakey” Byrne) and three Hondas (again with one non-factory ride). After Sykes, there are another 9 dukes in the roster for the year - and it doesn’t end there. Now I’m not saying it’s easy to ride fast, I’m just suggesting that some manufacturers make a bike that is more in tune with a larger range of riders.

Yamaha, however, hasn’t blinked and has released a “Rossi edition” R1. It appears to be $1500 worth of stickers. ZZZZZZ. They should have given it trick mono-to-duo seating options or traction control or Brembo brakes. Oh well, it appears that Ducati is still the only factory that knows how to make a repli-racer.

UPDATE - here’s the chicken:

Message from the Gyre

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:49:40 -0400

A grim reminder kids - please make sure you do your part to get everything you touch every day disposed of properly (recycled or otherwise).

This kind of thing absolutely revolts me to the core and makes me think that when all the animals that choke to death on our garbage (simply because they don’t know better) die out, mankind will die a lonely death....

Chris Jordan.......

Stuffed

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:14:35 -0400

Wow - where to start?

I spent this Sunday watching the last series of races at Loudon. I don’t really recall my times at the end of the day at my one and only trackday, but I can say I wasn’t even close to what these guys were churning out.

With my rudimentary stopwatch (built into my iPhone), I timed the laps of the leader of each race. I started to notice that the “fast” guys were hitting the straight about 34 seconds after coming out of the bowl. One can tell when the Supersports or Superbikes hit the straight as their engines truly come on song. Bouncing off of the empty “NASCAR” bleachers, you can hear every beautiful note. One thing that really struck me this weekend is how much the Ducati testastretta engine seems to be loafing around the track. While the GSXR’s seem to be screaming for every last degree of throttle twist, the ducks just seem to be very “ho-hum, out of the bowl I come”. But you know that isn’t truly the case.

More about the timings - I saw an acquaintance of mine (Eric Paquette of DAS Performance here in Dracut #764) churn out 1:22.9 - 1.28.7’s (backed up by the race results). Which is stunning on a RC 500 (I think). What was absolutely mind blowing was race four, the amateur/expert middleweight supersports. The race winner was running in the 1:12’s. Here’s a quick bit from the opening lap of the motard race:

There were far more exciting races to watch, but the motards are always fun to watch.

Next up was the exciting return of Casey Stoner. While his actual diagnosis seems to still be out for much debate, some are chalking it up to yuppie flu. Either way you slice it, he did a great job shutting up the media (and Kevin Schwantz) who had written him off saying he’s burnt out. While I’ve never been a huge Stoner fan, I have a great deal of respect for him. I think MotoGP was lacking something in the few races he skipped in order to heal. Welcome back Casey!

I’m still reeling, however, at the Doctor’s poor performance. Supposedly he first suffered some suspension problems then during the race had some really bad traction issues. Valentino had a decent start but within four or five laps, he settled into fourth place. This allowed Yamaha to get the constructors championship locked down but it also made the race for the championship MUCH tighter between him and Lorenzo. Lorenzo and Pedrosa both are excellent riders, I’ll never doubt their skill level. Just look at how Dani did when his front tire gave up the ghost at Motegi. But both of them just seem like little robots that were cranked out of the MotoGP machine that is Spain. While Lorenzo can crack a smile, Dani’s inflection never changes. Lorenzo only made matters worse with his “moonwalk” celebration in the kitty litter post Estoril win. Moving robotically versus in zero gravity, he only looked MORE like a little robot.

Now to World Superbike where the bridesmaid (never the bride) “Nitro” Noriyuki Haga wrestled with Ben “Elbowz” Spies. For those uninitiated with Mr. Spies, here’s a good shot of how he got his nickname:

The only other current racer with that much body language is (in my opinion) Toni Elias:

Maybe John Hopkins:

Anyway - you get the picture. So I’m cheering for Ben this year for a few reasons.

1 - I didn’t like Matt Mladin - Sure, top notch racer, but what a dink.
2 - He’s from the U.S. - Gotta love seeing the U.S.A represented on an international stage.
3 - He’s on a Yamaha

Heading into Magny Cours, Ben held a three point lead over Nori, but only just. In the first race, Ben marched off into the distance to what I thought was going to be a dominant win. With maybe 6 laps to go, Nori got past Max Biaggi and started nipping into Ben’s lead. Sure enough, on the last lap, Nitro was in full effect and had closed up the gap to maybe 3/10ths of a second. With three corners to go, Ben disappeared off the camera and instantly I thought, “Dammit, he pushed it too far” only a moment later, he popped back up in frame, ahead of Nori and took the win.

Ang and I looked at each other in disbelief.

So with the rear tire slipping and sliding all over, I’d have guessed he would have returned to the pits and loosened up the rear suspension a tad and stuck with the same tires. Apparently, in addition to the suspension changes, it seems they also changed to a harder set of tires. Those changed didn’t help Ben and he wound up circulating in (and finishing) fourth under crosshairs of Leon Haslam.

Now the lead has changed hands with Haga taking a 10 point lead to the final two races of the season at Portimao in Portugal.

Before ANYONE discounts Ben, let’s think about the following:

1 - Ben has seen very few of these tracks.
2 - The few he has seen have come as pre-season testing.
3 - Most research these days come in the form of video games and DVD footage.
4 - This is the first year for the Yamaha R1 with the cross-plane crank.
5 - This is the first year for this team and rider.
6 - Ben has crashed, but he’s also had a bunch of mechanical/fuel DNFs.

You see, Nori has seen these tracks year in and year out (albeit on various bikes) since 1999 and on a multitude of different bikes. This is Ben’s first crack at most of these tracks and he’s ON POLE
nearly every race. If there had been a dash more fuel at one race and Simoncelli hadn’t dive bombed Biaggi off the track at Imola, it’d be a VERY different story right now. At least Nori has the constructors title in the bag.

And a final hats off to the Discovery channel for broadcasting (in HD I might add) the 2009 WRC calendar (even though it’s mostly over now). Many HUGE thanks to Discovery channel for also broadcasting (even though it wasn’t actual LIVE or maybe a day old) HD coverage of the Isle of Man TT races this year including the cameo by not one, but two VERY special Italians.

While the WRC to me is lackluster since Mitsubishi and now Subaru bowed out, McRae and Burns passing, Gronholm and Saints retiring; it’s still VERY exciting to see the top drivers in the world give them the beans on roads you’d be afraid to walk on. This year the competition is VERY tight with just two points separating the Sebastian Loeb (going for his sixth consecutive title) and Mikko Hirvonen. It’s also nice to see an American car manufacturer knock the snot out of the European competition.

While sliding a car around on tarmac isn’t the fastest way from point “A” to point “B” - it’s hella entertaining:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vntsdFcNv1k
http://www.youtube.com/user/wrc?blend=1&ob=4#play/all

Watch how calm Grist is turning the pages of his pace notes. Try getting your car sideways at 35 on an off ramp with your wife in the passenger seat....

So before everything is in re-runs or off the air for the winter break, catch a race:

MotoGP - October 11th
MotoGP - October 25th
SBK - October 24th

For local listings, check out TV Racer.com

WRC - World Rally Championship
MotoGP
SBK - World Superbike
LRRS - Loudon Road Race Series

Plastic world

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:48:00 -0400

On and off over the last year or so, I’ve regularly found postings on various sites covering the horror that is the North Pacific Gyre, commonly referred to as “Plastic Island”.

Today I saw an info graphic pop up on digg and it drew me in. From that page I saw a link to vbs.tv’s documentary on the subject that I think everyone should watch instead of catching up on Heros or Vampire Diaries or the latest sports coverage or what ever drivel we melt into our living room watching.

Every night, Ang, Josie and I walk to our mail house (we don’t have individual mailboxes here in Primrose village) and each night I marvel at the trash people just can’t be bothered to keep in their car until they get home. Each sewer drain now is clearly marked “Do not dump! Drains to river”, yet I find soda bottles jammed into them.

I try and do my part and pick up what trash I can, but it’s infuriating that people don’t know or care or even register that what they do today - what short cuts they take, what massive vehicles they drive, effects us all. Choosing to recycle bottles versus just throwing them away - even if that means putting it into your recycling bin because you’re too lazy to take them to the redemption center, can have a striking impact if we all do it.

Before skipping directly to the embedded video, how can we fix this? No one has any silver bullet, but there are things we can do to help prevent the situation from getting any worse.

1. Bring your own dam bags to the store - Stop using paper or plastic frickin’ bags at the grocery store. It’s 2009 - get with the program.
2. If you don’t need a bag, don’t take one - Just because you just got chips with your sandwich, don’t be a dip - just carry it by hand.
3. Get a single bottle to drink from - I suffer from this at work, but why not just get a wide-mouth bottle like this one from Sigg?
4. Make sure you put plastic where it belongs - Get your recycling going, don’t just chuck stuff in the trash. If you’re ill-equipped, go to your town hall and ask where to get more/bigger/better recycling bins. Staples takes back old cellphones, chargers, cables, computers, etc. Grocery stores will take back their plastic bags.

If anyone can think of others, please do post them in the comments.

Here are the videos:

Part 1 -

Part 2 -

Part 3 -

How I do it by Ben spies

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:24:46 -0400

Best Yamaha spoof yet (watch until the end):