Geof Harries

The smartest thing you will do today

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:24:05 PDT

...is to switch your web browser's default search engine from Google to DuckDuckGo.

Not only will you avoid Google tracking, compiling and monetizing all of your movements online, but you'll also be supporting "the little guy" whose search results are just as accurate and helpful as those from Google.

If you, like me, use Firefox, follow these steps to regain your independence:

Add DuckDuckGo to your Firefox address bar

Type "about:config" into the address bar.
Search for "keyword.url".
Change it to "https://duckduckgo.com/?q=".

Make DuckDuckGo the search engine used when you select text and right click

Type "about:config" into the address bar.
Search for "browser.search.defaultenginename".
Change it to the name of the DuckDuckGo plugin you use, e.g. "DuckDuckGo".

Facebook Is Going To Be Even More Annoying

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:41:39 PDT

Facebook Is Going To Be Even More Annoying

I'm pretty sure that we'll look back on the privately held Facebook as the good-old days, when it respected our privacy and didn't go too far into tracking everything we did, everywhere we went. And that makes me kind of sad. And really scared.

Also, I promise this will be my last post/link about the evils of Facebook. Now that my account on said social network has officially been deleted (or so I've been told) my interest in it will likely wane.

2012 Giro d'Italia: Final push to the line in Assisi

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:29:37 PDT

The amazing scenery in this year's Giro d'Italia makes me want to grab my bike (along with the family, of course) and get my butt over to Italy, pronto.

Remembering My Brother: Jacob Yoskovitz

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:51:50 PDT

Remembering My Brother: Jacob Yoskovitz

A heart-wrenching story that's sure to make anyone - a parent, sibling or otherwise - cry. I know it made me choke up.

Gullibility Test

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:55:57 PDT

I laugh and look away but then look back and laugh again.

Frozen toes and muddy faces

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:05:16 PDT

The result of last night's group ride in 3 degrees and rain. What happens at 52km/hr in a paceline of 15+ guys in these conditions? Mud and grit, everywhere.

One heckuva bike: Gaulzetti Corsa

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:00:34 PDT

Gone are the days where pro riders used to secretly, or not-so-secretly in some cases, have custom bikes made for them and rebadged with their official sponsors' logos. Sponsorship contracts have become so large and important to the bottom lines of teams that this practice is now economically impossible.

With this in mind, the Gaulzetti Corsa is designed to be the bike pro riders would ride if they had a choice of frames. It's a race machine in the purest sense; built for pure function, and designed with a keen understanding of all the rigors encountered by racers, from early season training miles in horrible winter conditions, to the longest, most grueling summer road races. In short, if the job is training and racing, the Corsa is the ideal tool for that job.

I'd be so much faster on this bike. Clearly, so much faster.

Chris Cole: Still got it

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:01:57 PDT

Old video, but Chris Cole kills it.

Has the Smartphone Killed Our Sense of Wonder?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:08:18 PDT

Has the Smartphone Killed Our Sense of Wonder?

I used to have conversations about movies, books, countries and cultures where the only source of information was what all of the participants had actually experienced and pondered themselves. Now everything is someone else’s opinion, searched for, read and regurgitated in our voices.

So how long will it be before we decide that it’s easier to just regurgitate rather than form our own opinions at all?

The fearlessness of kids

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:04:21 PDT

Until tonight, I thought I knew about fear.

I've done a lot of dumb stuff in my life, risking my own safety (and others; sorry). I've overcome my personal fears too many times to count and have come out relatively unscathed. Some broken bones, blood and bruises, but nothing too "major".

But tonight, out for a bike ride with our kids, with me on my skateboard, I learned that fear is much, much scarier when it's not yours to control and conquer.

Our five-year old son learned how to ride his bike without training wheels less than a week ago. He's already riding faster and doing crazier stuff than his seven-year old sister who's been riding a bike for years.

Tonight I watched him barrel down a busy road, skid in the gravel, bounce up and down curbs, and generally be reckless but miraculously stay in control. All I could do was watch from afar and yell "Slow down!" or "Use your brakes!" and hope/pray that he'd come out the other side.

It took me almost an hour afterwards to calm down. Him? Off to play with toys and read a book like nothing ever happened.

Boy, oh boy. This should be fun.

Peloton entering Schoten for 1st time

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:10:29 PDT

Beautiful.

I miss riding in a big pack. Also, being fast enough to keep up with said pack.

Original photo source

Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:14:06 PDT

Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

Social interaction matters. Loneliness and being alone are not the same thing, but both are on the rise. We meet fewer people. We gather less. And when we gather, our bonds are less meaningful and less easy. The decrease in confidants—that is, in quality social connections—has been dramatic over the past 25 years.

This reason, and for the sake of our kids, is why I'm no longer on Facebook.

Hand-drawn monkeys on felt

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:39:40 PDT

An Easter gift to me, as drawn by our daughter.

The moment

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:56:17 PDT

There's not much else that makes you feel more alive than the moment where you narrowly escape major bodily injury (or death, for that matter).

This morning's near-disaster on my skateboard - upon approaching a curb, one of the rear wheels hit a rock and immediately stopped the board's progress, but I kept flying forward and somehow, miraculously, landed on my feet - reminds me of this fact.