I’ve been cycling a few mornings a week for the past few months. Its done wonders for my energy and health. I love riding in the morning since its not so hot, I can do it upon waking because it doesn’t require much thought, and its too early for drivers on the road to be yapping on their cellphones.

This is the first Tour I’ve been following while actually doing my own rides. I was disappointed to hear that American Floyd Landis ran out of steam on today’s climb up La Toussiure in the 16th stage of the race. Landis was to be the new hope for American cycling but likely won’t achieve that as he needs hip replacement surgery immediately after the race.

I hope Landis’s setback doesn’t diminish the growing popularity of cycling here in the States. So if not Landis, who will be the next American wearing yellow at the finish line?

(I was going to ask who will be the next Lance Armstrong, but that will never happen.)

The show here in Atlanta is going. Lots of quality leads. It actually beats the response I’ve seen a shows many times larger. Not bad for a two-man table!

The flight here was smooth, too. I flew Delta because, well, it’s Atlanta. After hopping off the plane, I decided to forgo the tram in favor of walking to baggage claim. I was treated to a nice invigorating walk (seemingly across county lines) and a nice display of African stone artwork.

My walking actually beat the tram, since I was one of the first to get to the baggage carousel. My bag was just rolling around when I arrived, so I scooped it up and turned around. Approaching me was a well-dressed African-American man wearing a Bluetooth headset and followed by a large gaggle of relatives.

I recognized him instantly. It was Emmitt Smith, arguably the greatest running back in NFL history. I was amused to watch this same athlete who once navigated blocks on the way to the NFL’s all-time rushing record now navigate the menu of the luggage-cart machine.

Man, I thought he’d have people to do that. Even if he still collects his own luggage – and he seemed pretty down-to-earth to me – I’m guessing he didn’t leave on the MARTA the way I did!

Today is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far. Days like today naturally make me want to squeeze all the energy efficiency out of my house as I can. That’s when its apparent that some of the things society is doing now are just plain wrong.

Take the electric dryer, for instance. It ranks second only to the air conditioner for eating up electricity, ironic since the air conditioner and dryer work against each other. The dryer uses a huge amount of electricity, and for what? Why do we use electricity to heat up clothes inside when its 100 degrees outside? The engineer (or miser, take your pick) inside me just thinks this is wrong. I say its time to bring back the clothesline.

In the past, when you wanted your clothes dry, you hung them out. And you know what? That works just fine. Hang out the clothes and on a day like today they’d be dry in an hour. Heck, they’ll even smell fresh. And you get a bonus of not using a watt of electricity, avoiding the smog that generating that electricity would have caused. What’s wrong with that?

Well, people are squeamish about having their skivvies in plain view of the neighborhood, for one. I can understand that, but still I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. If everyone did it people would get used to it. I bet they’d even feel pride in helping reduce our country’s energy dependence. For now, though, our misguided ideas of what’s acceptable keep the clothes inside.

On another note, why do I burn natural gas to heat my water to 125 degrees F when my attic’s temperature is 140 degrees F? Why not put a water tank in the attic and make use of that waste heat? I wouldn’t even have to put a solar water heater on the house, it could stay inside.

And speaking of solar water heaters, why do homeowner’s associations have such distaste for them? Why not use that energy productively? Seems to me a neighborhood with solar water heaters is a neighborhood of smart people. I’d want to live in a place with smart people.

There are so many ways to improve the “green factor” of the modern American household. Just a few simple steps it would make a huge difference in our environment.

Bonus: Nice to see The Independent Weekly is thinking like I am. It recently ran an article on steps you can take to be green.

Feedburner, the largest syndication feed management company, has announced its acquisition of Blogbeat, a Raleigh web analytics company. Terms were not disclosed.

I’ve used Blogbeat for over a year now and have really enjoyed the insight its provided me into the happenings here at MT.Net. It’s really a great way to keep up with your blog’s visitors.

This story has particular meaning to me because Blogbeat is my brother Jeff‘s company. I’ve watched as he’s worked very, very hard to make his site successful. I can’t say enough how proud I am of him, to take an idea and make it happen the way he did. Not to mention doing it with two young kids at home.

Congratulations, Jeff!! I know Feedburner will treat you and Blogbeat very well. Just don’t forget us little guys, ‘k? 🙂

I haven’t seen the ad that Hei Lin refers to, but I like Hei’s dissection of it.

(Maybe its because I’m one of the few who have willingly sat through a dozen or so zoning meetings.)

A look at the calendar shows that an important anniversary is approaching. September 5th, 1996 was the night Hurricane Fran slammed ashore at Wilmington and took I-40 straight through Raleigh. Many were without power for a week or longer. Among downed trees and powerless apartments, I invited friends over for a hurricane party. That night we grilled food and partied under one of the clearest, deepest night skies I’ve ever seen.

September marks ten years. Its time for another hurricane party! We’re hosting a party at our house the afternoon and evening of Saturday, September 9th, when we’ll recreate hurricane conditions. There’ll be grilling, drinks and fun, but no lights! We’ll make an exception for air conditioning and refrigeration (wouldn’t want any ham to go bad). Oh, wind, rain, and falling trees aren’t anticipated, either.

So mark your calendars! Look for more details when we get closer. The wind is building . . .

About 7:30 tonight, I grabbed the camera and decided to explore my old neighborhood on the south side of Charlotte. I’d driven by my old house once or twice, so its nothing new to see it. This time, though, I happened to be out front when the “new” owners drove up (“new” isn’t entirely accurate since they’ve lived there 14 years).

What does one say to the owners of the house you used to live in twenty years ago? I mean, I’m a total stranger to them but not the house. Fortunately, they were really very cool and happy to meet a “plankowner” of the house. After talking to John and Lynn for a few moments, they invited me in for a tour! I was so happy I didn’t know what to do with myself!

For the next hour, John and Lynn walked me through the house. The owners prior to them had done a bit of remodeling: some for the better, some …eh, not so much. A few rooms, like the den, looked just like it did when we lived there.

My room was now their daughter’s and was painted in a very tasteful pink and green. John installed some recessed lighting in the room that looked really nice. Standing there, I could imagine my twin bed facing the door. I saw the desk where I too often neglected my homework. Ah, the memories!

The house has held up remarkably well in its twenty-three years. The original roof lasted up until last year, the downstairs air conditioner is original, and some of the heavy appliances are still in place. The huge ash tree in the front yard is healthy and thriving, which really warms my heart.

Other things are not so good. The windows need replacing as they’re nearly painted shut. The front dormer window is rotting (though nearly every dormer rots eventually, it seems). The electrical wiring is very strange, with some circuits wired incorrectly. I marveled at how I could recall all the other little quirks of the house, twenty years after we moved out. The leak under the master bath, the settling in the front bedroom. How does that stupid stuff take up brain cells?

I would have loved to get pictures of the inside, but that is asking a little too much of total strangers. Still, they were very friendly and welcoming. Lynn joked that she felt she should have made cookies for me for my visit! I hope we can stay in touch because they seem like really neat people.

John and Lynn had bought the house from a couple who was in the midst of a divorce and who moved out so quickly they didn’t even empty the attic of all their belongings. Lynn half-jokingly told me this caused them to worry a little about the house’s karma.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured them. “This has always been a very good house.”

Yes, the house is like an old friend. Its nice to see that its aged so well.

When news broke about Warren Buffett donating billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, I sent a tongue-in-cheek email to the Foundation:

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 12:21:25 -0400
From: Mark Turner
To: info at gatesfoundation dot org
Subject: what about donating?

Savvy investors often follow Warren Buffett’s moves. How may *I* donate
to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?

Regards,
Mark

To my surprise, I actually got a response:

Subject: RE: what about donating?
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 13:43:24 -0700
From: “Info”
To: “Mark Turner”

Dear Mark,

Thank you for writing to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

I appreciate your generous offer of a financial contribution to support
the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, the foundation
is not set up to receive financial contributions from the general
public. There are many strong non-profit organizations that are in a
better position to receive this type of contribution and who do work
that is consistent with the goals of this foundation. I invite you to
visit our Web site at www.gatesfoundation.org for information
about some of our grantees.

Thanks again for your interest and your kind offer. We wish you all the
best.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Jones
Grants Inquiry Administrator

Very nice of them to respond to my ridiculous request.

(Note: Should you be willing to actually donate, here’s a partial list of grantees the Gates Foundation supports).

After watching Warren Buffett donate beeeeellions to his bridge partner BillG I’ve become inspired to get serious about investing. It seems like every picture I’ve been of Buffett, he always looks like he’s having the time of his life (well, most pictures, anyway).

The little dabbling (and I mean little) I’ve done in investing has been fun. Perhaps I’ll start an investment club and get some other people involved. If you think this sounds fun, drop me a note and I’ll include you in on the planning.