Ranohira, over the hills
Today could have been a tough day with wind and hills but we cut it short with a sag to Ranohira and a relaxing afternoon. When we awoke the power was out. Soon enough it was so daylight so we … Continue reading →
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Sakaraha, riding from the coast
Today was a long ride, 127km/79 miles from Toliara heading inland. When we woke up, it was still dark. We packed our belongings and had a breakfast in the hotel. Turns out we had picked a nice hotel and had … Continue reading →
It’s a long way to Toliara
Uneventful travels have brought us to the starting point: Toliara on the Southwest Coast of Madagascar. For me this included 22 hours of flying time: two hours to Atlanta, eight hours to Paris, ten hours to Antananarivo and two hours … Continue reading →
Paris and a test
On my way to Madagascar. Photo below from the Paris airport. This is also a test to see that I can create blog posts and get them included in the Madagascar page by setting the right category. This makes it … Continue reading →
An experiment using Gemini Deep Research to investigate a problem
AI assistants continue to grow in capability. I am particularly intrigued by recent additions of “deep research” that essentially do web searches to collect information and then create an overall summary. Below is my experience trying to use Google Gemini … Continue reading →
Bicycling from El Paso to Santa Fe
April 2025 and time for another bicycle trip. This time I decided to take a week of vacation to bicycle in New Mexico. I have a condo in Alto (near Ruidoso) and planned trip with that in mind. In particular … Continue reading →
Reflections: US Foreign Assistance, US AID and politics
From the seat of a bicycle one can get a unique view of the world. You stop in places others might quickly bypass or miss. I’ve been reminded I was still a strange curiosity by the dozen people in south … Continue reading →
Alamogordo to Lubbock bike ride
The Plan A bicycle ride from Alamogordo New Mexico to Lubbock Texas in April 2024. Why? This seems to be about the right time of year to ride this segment and several things also come together. It lets me “connect” … Continue reading →
Can AI write blog posts?
I received a prompt from Microsoft co-pilot as an introduction. So I tried it with the following prompt: Write a bicycling blog in the style of Mike Vermeulen Here is what it created: Definitely a few things that are incorrect … Continue reading →
What brought me to Texas
On March 22, 2012 AMD employees in the Portland office were gathered for a mandatory meeting. It was announced the office would be closing by end of the year. It was a surprise to most, though as a manager I … Continue reading →