Brent Koppenhaver

On Monday, Sara and I headed to Lake Macbride State Park for a leisurely bike ride along the North shore of the lake. We rode the multi-use trail, which has a crushed limestone surface and runs for about 5 miles from the Macbride parking lot trailhead to the Solon recreational fields. The majority of the path winds along the edge of the lake, past boat docks and fishing piers, and is generally wooded on the eastern end. Our trip took a little over an hour to ride out and back from Solon, although the sky was overcast and sprinkling on and off along the way. Sara and I both enjoyed the ride, and it was a nice relaxing way to wrap up the holiday weekend.

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What do the TV shows Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Greg the Bunny have in common? Both were canceled by FOX due to low ratings and ended up as reruns on HDNet! Naturally, I also think both shows are great.

Favorite character on Andy Richter: Keith (also known as Brett, the Desperado/not the Farbman! guy from Seinfeld) because he’s supposedly the cool guy in the office, even though he looks funny and seems to be really lazy. On Greg the Bunny, I really like Warren “the Ape” Demontague, who enjoys performing Shakespeare, drinking, and other outrageously inappropriate activities for an actor on a children’s show. I also like Count Blah, the stereotypical Dracula-type character from Romania, who is in no way related to the Count from Sesame Street, blah.

Both shows are definitely worth watching if you’re bored, especially if you are looking for something half-decent to watch on one of the HD channels. Little known fact–the Andy Richter theme song is sung by Jason Cropper, the original guitar player for one of my favorite bands, Weezer.

I’ve been watching Planet Earth on the Discovery HD channel for the past few weeks now, and it’s pretty good. According to Wikipedia, the 11-episode series required four years to create and is considered the first nature documentary filmed entirely in HD. The show first aired on BBC HD in 2006 with David Attenborough as narrator, although the Discovery Channel version features Sigourney Weaver. My favorite episode is “Fresh Water,” and I especially like the scenes covering Angel Falls in Venezuela and the aquatic life of the Amazon.

The visuals are the best part of the series and really show off the potential of HDTV. The producers often use time-lapse and slow-motion camera techniques to show plants growing or animals attacking. Unfortunately, there seems to be a shadow of death hanging over quite a few of the scenes. I found myself wondering which animals were going to starve to death or be killed next, which is an unsettling reality of the natural world. In spite of this, Planet Earth in HD is definitely worth watching. Even if you don’t have an HDTV it’s worth a look, especially if you like nature documentaries.

Rob Cockerham has done some semi-scientific research concerning drinking and blood-alcohol levels on his website Cockeyed.com. (He was forced to buy a breathalyzer for the testing after the State of California refused to let him borrow one of theirs.) The article makes some good points about not being able to accurately determine BAC without a detector. I especially like his chart about how to determine if you’re speeding based on the distance you’ve traveled over the past few minutes–the best way to make sure you’re not speeding is to not drive at all. It’s informative and entertaining, and it sounds like his party was a lot of fun. Reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Onion articles: New Study Finds College Binge Drinking to Be a Blast.

The MotoGP series is really starting to grow on me. Although I haven’t paid much attention to motorcycle racing in the past, the action so far this year has been exciting and entertaining. The races have been very competitive with lots of passing (way more than F1) and the crashes look spectacular and painful. At this point in the season it’s a two-way battle at the front between Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) and Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team).

A few years ago Rossi switched from the dominant Honda to the slower Yamaha bike. He was able to increase his new team’s performance through sheer ability, winning the last two of his seven World Championships with the Yamaha squad. Rossi is a lot like Michael Schumacher on track, very fast and consistent, and able to manage races. Off the track they are complete opposites. Schumacher is very quiet and controlled, while Rossi is flamboyant and energetic. Another major difference is that Rossi decided to challenge himself by switching to Yamaha at the height of Honda’s dominance, while Schumacher has remained loyal to Ferrari through his retirement. In any case, despite their differences these two individuals have been able to completely dominate their respective categories.

Back to the action. Last weekend’s race was in China where Stoner took the win and Rossi finished second. The Ducati is serious rocket on the straights, able to blow past the Yamaha without even using the slipstream. Meanwhile, Rossi is really good in the corners and under braking, allowing him to turn similar lap times to Stoner. The Australian has won three of the first four races and leads Rossi 86-71 in the Championship. The next race will be on the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans on May 20th.

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