Yes, an extended silence means a scatter-shot post on various and sundry things.

The World Cup…Yes, the U.S. squad was absolutely embarrassed in the opener v. the Czech Republic. At the moment, they are knotted with Italy at 1-1 at the half. Apparently, they’ve turned things around, but the Azzurri will happy to take advantage of a mistake and counterattack for a goal. With Ghana beating the Czechs today (2-nil), the group is a bit more wide open, but the U.S. has to win its net two matches to have a hope of advancing.

Bike Fest approaches…It kicks off Friday night at the Oval with track races. I’m very tempted to head down, as I managed to beg off racing last summer, but we’ll see how the week goes. There’s also an alleycat on Saturday (the War-Haul), which, if I do race at the track, would likely become a leisurely stroll instead of a proper race for me. I can’t imagine having the legs to ride hard after a full week of commuting, plus an evening hammering around the Oval. All in good fun though, so it shoud be worth it. My event runs the following Saturday. I’m still waiting on prize donations from a few sponsors, but it looks like I should have a nice prize list, and should be able to donate most of the entry fees to Bike Pittsburgh.

On the neighborhood…As I type, the (former) teachers of the public grade school across the street are gathering their things. The school was closed by the district as part of a massive overhaul of the local system. This leaves us (Morningside) with an empty building on our hands. Apparently, the school board has been trying to sell it, and I can only hope that perhaps some developer would like to convert it to apartments. I just hope they don’t lock up the playground for the short term.

Posted on 17 June 2006