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So are the days of our lives...

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So are the days of our lives...

Old 11-03-15, 12:52 PM
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Sounds like you're crushing it at life, WR!
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Old 11-03-15, 12:58 PM
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just found out about a re-org here at work. It affects me, slightly, I guess. It's a stupid idea that will end up in more silos of management for a physical plant that is not silo'd at all in real life. Sigh.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:05 PM
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I hate to hear of these road deaths. I hope that it is not anyone's friend.

Fudgy, embrace the incompetence of modern management and make it your *****.

Great to hear from you WR.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
Fudgy, embrace the incompetence of modern management and make it your *****.
Yeah, pretty sure I will at least apply for the position being created above me. Might as well try and surf if there are waves.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:15 PM
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Some of you already know this, but since WR posted his update, I might as well post mine. I have decided to retire from racing effective immediately. The glaucoma in my left eye has continued to take away peripheral vision despite four surgeries. It's OK for work, driving (although I cannot get a CDL), and recreational riding, but it is too risky to myself and everyone around me to have compromised vision in the peloton. It does not affect me as a cycling referee or judge, or as a race director. I am going to continue to participate in this sport as a rider and official. Throughout the years, I had more success than most, made many friends, and have a clear future. I could never give back what this sport has given to me, but I am going to try.

As for the 33, I'm not going anywhere.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Ygduf
Yeah, pretty sure I will at least apply for the position being created above me. Might as well try and surf if there are waves.
I suggest the long board.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by waterrockets
I'm coaching 3 teams
Wow, good on ya!

I just finished coaching my son's 6th grade team for the fall season. Was so stressfull - trying to leave work and get to each practice and planning things out. I really enjoyed it but it's not easy. That's great that you're doing it.
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Old 11-03-15, 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
Some of you already know this, but since WR posted his update, I might as well post mine. I have decided to retire from racing effective immediately. The glaucoma in my left eye has continued to take away peripheral vision despite four surgeries. It's OK for work, driving (although I cannot get a CDL), and recreational riding, but it is too risky to myself and everyone around me to have compromised vision in the peloton. It does not affect me as a cycling referee or judge, or as a race director. I am going to continue to participate in this sport as a rider and official. Throughout the years, I had more success than most, made many friends, and have a clear future. I could never give back what this sport has given to me, but I am going to try.

As for the 33, I'm not going anywhere.
Best of luck with that. My dad's been fighting with glaucoma all his life. Long ago ran out of drugs to treat it and has been dealing with various surgical interventions ever since. Last 10+ years, they've put a little valve in his eye covered by a slit of skin and the doctor takes a stitch out or puts a new one periodically to adjust the pressure.
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Old 11-03-15, 02:18 PM
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Wow, lots going on here.

@sheibo, sorry to hear, that's rough. I had a similar experience 2 years ago, riding into work after some intervals on Fiesta Island. The cops had blocked off Balboa Ave at the 805 on-ramp on were directing traffic onto the hwy, but he waved me through. "Be careful out there" he said - but he didn't explicitly warn me about what I was about to see as a crossed the bridge. I was pretty shook up from that one for sure.

@merlinextraligh, sorry to hear about your layoff, but it sounds like your bases are covered and that you'll be OK. Glad to hear.

@waterrockets, nice to hear from you, glad that life is rad for you right now, and that you're getting back on the bike!

@shovelhd, sounds like quitting racing may have been a tough decision to make, but you seem to have a good, positive attitude about that. Thanks for giving back so much to the sport - too many riders just have their fling with racing and never put anything into it.

On a separate note, I miss the mentoring and leading that I used to do on the intercollegiate cycling team during my last few semesters. Developing new talent was something that I took a lot of joy in. There was always one or two new riders each semester that exhibited real talent, and became faster then me within a couple seasons, not that I'm anything that special or anything.
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Old 11-03-15, 03:30 PM
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I've also had a job related change. I've been in a long term sub position at a middle school (in-school detention teacher) since the start of this school year but had applied for a position at the attached K-4 school. I started today. It's still a behavior intervention position but the younger kids should be easier to deal with. It will still require excessive amounts of patience but I won't miss breaking up fights between 8th grade gangsters!
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Old 11-03-15, 04:14 PM
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group ride today went right past the scene of this morning's accident. We had to wait 5 minutes as they were using a firetruck to wash the blood off the road. Literally.

Hard to pretend it is anything less than real, faced with riding through that.
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Old 11-03-15, 04:19 PM
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sorry
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Old 11-03-15, 04:30 PM
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Originally Posted by gsteinb
sorry
Thanks. It's just stupid.

We were all standing there waiting and I'm looking around. I don't think cycling is necessarily a sport for people who exercise real solid judgement. And yet, there we were and no one was turning back.
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Old 11-03-15, 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Ygduf
group ride today went right past the scene of this morning's accident. We had to wait 5 minutes as they were using a firetruck to wash the blood off the road. Literally.

Hard to pretend it is anything less than real, faced with riding through that.
Ugh. I'm so sorry! A cyclist V car accident is probably the worst thing I have ever seen.
Very sad to hear about another!
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Old 11-03-15, 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Ygduf
Hard to pretend it is anything less than real, faced with riding through that.
the most troubling thing is that if I woke up 5 minutes earlier it could very easily have been me. pretty chilling. hopefully someone rethinks that section of road to be less sketchy.
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Old 11-03-15, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by himespau
Best of luck with that. My dad's been fighting with glaucoma all his life. Long ago ran out of drugs to treat it and has been dealing with various surgical interventions ever since. Last 10+ years, they've put a little valve in his eye covered by a slit of skin and the doctor takes a stitch out or puts a new one periodically to adjust the pressure.
That's a trabulectomy, which is what I eventually had done after three laser treatments that failed. My pressure is very low, but if another stitch is added, it's too high. I just have to deal with it. Th downside to the trab is that whenever I exercise in the VO2Max range, my vision gets a lot worse. It clears up a few hours later, but that won't work for crits.
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Old 11-03-15, 07:56 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
That's a trabulectomy, which is what I eventually had done after three laser treatments that failed. My pressure is very low, but if another stitch is added, it's too high. I just have to deal with it. Th downside to the trab is that whenever I exercise in the VO2Max range, my vision gets a lot worse. It clears up a few hours later, but that won't work for crits.
Oh wow, yeah.
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Old 11-03-15, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
Some of you already know this, but since WR posted his update, I might as well post mine. I have decided to retire from racing effective immediately. The glaucoma in my left eye has continued to take away peripheral vision despite four surgeries. It's OK for work, driving (although I cannot get a CDL), and recreational riding, but it is too risky to myself and everyone around me to have compromised vision in the peloton. It does not affect me as a cycling referee or judge, or as a race director. I am going to continue to participate in this sport as a rider and official. Throughout the years, I had more success than most, made many friends, and have a clear future. I could never give back what this sport has given to me, but I am going to try.

As for the 33, I'm not going anywhere.
I'm glad I'll continue to see you at races, and thanks for your dedication!

Originally Posted by Ygduf
group ride today went right past the scene of this morning's accident. We had to wait 5 minutes as they were using a firetruck to wash the blood off the road. Literally.

Hard to pretend it is anything less than real, faced with riding through that.
Damn.
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Old 11-03-15, 08:46 PM
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On the lighter side, I didn't realize that my work "underling's " middle name is: "I accidentally unplugged the server (again)"
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Old 11-03-15, 09:05 PM
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No plug locks? Or is he just a dumbass?
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Old 11-03-15, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
No plug locks? Or is he just a dumbass?


Good thing it was just the reporting server, which isn't used much in late afternoon.

Most servers are locked away at a hosting facility.
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Old 11-03-15, 10:26 PM
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Gad ... lots of bad news out there today. After hearing about the Page Mill accident, I rerouted my ride to minimize traffic encounters and still had a close call with an oblivious commuter.

Bummer to hear about the vision @shovelhd
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Old 11-03-15, 10:37 PM
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Thanks all. Busy times for sure. For clarity, not all of my coaching is soccer (that would be crazy). I've got a First Lego League team too (Lego robotics).

The job thing has been great though. I am back with some game studio colleagues from before I went into defense. This company makes games for defense (largely simulations in Unreal Engine 4). In the defense software industry, game developers look like magicians. So nice to be on the cutting edge again, and now I'm heading up the engineering org.

Originally Posted by Ygduf
I don't think cycling is necessarily a sport for people who exercise real solid judgement. And yet, there we were and no one was turning back.
I still struggle with this, after all these years. With the new schedule, I'm out at 5:20 every morning. Riding in the dark is just another risk factor on top of everything else. <sigh>

Sorry you had to see that tragedy.

Originally Posted by shovelhd
That's a trabulectomy, which is what I eventually had done after three laser treatments that failed. My pressure is very low, but if another stitch is added, it's too high. I just have to deal with it. Th downside to the trab is that whenever I exercise in the VO2Max range, my vision gets a lot worse. It clears up a few hours later, but that won't work for crits.
Really sucks, but you certainly made the right decision, rather than waiting for the first wreck caused by vision issues.

In one really hot race (114F), I bridged to the winning break, but when I got up there, I couldn't get my left eye to look where I wanted, so everything went double vision. I figured that the heat and the effort had taken their toll, so I sat up. I was really happy to return to normal after a couple of minutes in the shade.
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Old 11-03-15, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
Some of you already know this, but since WR posted his update, I might as well post mine. I have decided to retire from racing effective immediately. The glaucoma in my left eye has continued to take away peripheral vision despite four surgeries. It's OK for work, driving (although I cannot get a CDL), and recreational riding, but it is too risky to myself and everyone around me to have compromised vision in the peloton. It does not affect me as a cycling referee or judge, or as a race director. I am going to continue to participate in this sport as a rider and official. Throughout the years, I had more success than most, made many friends, and have a clear future. I could never give back what this sport has given to me, but I am going to try.

As for the 33, I'm not going anywhere.

Sorry to hear about the forced retirement from racing. Glad you are sticking around in the sport and in the 33. And glad you can keep riding bikes.
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Old 11-04-15, 12:17 AM
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Originally Posted by waterrockets
I still struggle with this, after all these years. With the new schedule, I'm out at 5:20 every morning. Riding in the dark is just another risk factor on top of everything else. <sigh>
I feel more visible at night/in the dark than during the day. I use good lighting and wear a reflective belt and refelctive ankle bands in the dark. There's no way a driver overtaking me is going to miss me in the dark. To oncoming traffic my lighting makes me look like a motorcycle so they actually give me the right of way. I still think riding in the dark isn't as safe as the day but getting creamed by a driver is less likely after dark IMO if you take the right precautions.
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