Well are you finally fed up with the price of gas yet? Would you also like to help clean up the environment as well ?

Well now YOU can with the technology I'm presenting to you right here.. ( the same technology I currently use on my 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT 3.9L )

What would you pay to be able to get at least 35% better gas mileage on your current vehicle without making any major changes to it's engine ?

Think about it.. if you currently get 26mpg you could raise that to 35mpg or more by installing a hybrid water-conversion system.

That's a major difference in fuel economy ! In fact just think how much money you could have saved in the course of just 1 month and that's not to mention the fact that you would have polluted the air we breath 35% less all at the same time !

OK at the time this is being published the price of gas here in Florida is $4.20 a gallon for 87 octane.

So if you travel 50 miles a day, to-and-from work 5 times per week, that's 250 miles and 1000 miles per month. Let's add another 50 per week for weekend travel. Now were looking at 1200 miles per month.

Let's take that 1200 miles and multiply it by that $4.20 per gallon @ 26mpg. We end up spending $194 per month in fuel and $2520 for the year in this example.

With the system being installed we would have spent about $126 per month and only $1638 for the year.

Wow that's a huge difference of $882 for the year and that's at current gas prices !

So how much would you be willing to spend in order to get that better mileage now ?

You can see the example video and FIND OUT MORE BY CLICKING HERE

Gambling is too risky. I hate risk. Why not bet on sure things? You could bet on the sunrise to Win, Place or Show. That's my kind of bet. Imagine crowds of people staring at the horizon before dawn. A stir goes through them at the first glimmer -- excitement mounts and breaks into laughter and cheers as the edge of the sun pops up. Now picture the ones who aren't cheering: the sorry bunches of slump-shouldered mopes turning their backs on the morning and dejectedly tearing up their tickets. Ha ha ha! What idiots! Let's get a hot dog.

Are you fed up with the rising price of gas ? Want to help clean up the environment as well ?

Well now YOU can with the technology I present you with right here !

( the same technology I currently use on my 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT 3.9L )

What would you pay to be able to get at least 35% better gas mileage on your current vehicle without making any major changes to it's engine ?

Think about it.. if you currently get 26mpg you could raise that to 35mpg or more by installing this hybrid system.

That's a major difference ! In fact just think how much money you could have saved in the course of just 1 month and that's not to mention the fact that you would have polluted the air we breath 35% less all at the same time !

OK at the time this is being published the price of gas here in Florida is $4.20 a gallon for 87 octane.

If you travel 50 miles a day, to-and-from work 5 times per week, that's 250 miles and 1000 miles per month. Let's add another 50 per week for weekend travel. Now were looking at 1200 miles per month.

Let's take that 1200 miles and multiply it by that $3.95 per gallon @ 26mpg. We end up spending $194 per month in fuel and $2520 for the year in this example.

With the system being installed we would have spent about $126 per month and only $1638 for the year !

Wow that's a huge difference isn't it ?

So how much would you be willing to spend in order to get that better mileage now ?

You can see the example video and FIND OUT MORE BY CLICKING HERE

If the above sounds familiar, then a) we have a lot in common; and b) you've probably dreamed once or twice about giving it all up and becoming a professional gambler.

Today's interview is with a "punter" from the UK, Matt of punt.com, a fascinating gambling blog that I've been enjoying a lot lately. While Matt primarily makes his income from online sports betting, his site is a great resource for learning more about the theory and psychology of all types of gambling.

Cool Jobster Matt is here to give us a peek into a world that so many of us have thought about, but so few of us have actually entered: the world of the professional gambler.

When people ask you "what do you do?" how do you describe your job?

I say I am a 'day trader', just to make what I do seem an ounce more normal (and acceptable) than what I really do, which is I'm a professional gambler. For those people that are interested after that I usually fess up and describe more accurately what I do, which is bet on various sports while they are happening. This sounds risky and many people are probably thinking right now, this guy is a chancer! Well, I am, but I also really know what I'm doing (I hope) and that is I trade back and forth betting on both players (in the case of a tennis match) at various points in the match to trade a profit as the odds move. Confused yet ? That's why I say I'm a 'day trader', because what I do is exactly the same as anyone trading the stock exchange... it's just my market, is tennis matches instead of the Nasdaq. Believe me when I say it is all maths, probability, statistics and a numbers game, not at all betting and hoping to win. Some will be wondering how I can compare the stock exchange, I use a 'betting exchange', I exchange bets with other people on these exchanges, some of which handle more transactions than the stock markets.

What are the things about your job that you love?

I am my own boss, I work from home, I take time off when I feel like it and there is plenty of downtime to take holidays... I'm a master of my own destiny, I'm lucky to be in such a position.

What are the things about your job that you hate?

I might copy and paste in some of my answer to number 2 ! hehe I work alone, at home without much contact with other people. It's a solitary job, sometimes you are working for hours on end and you lose money - you have to deal with this is a way that is professional and not in a way that 99.9% of people find natural, which is to try to get it back. Because I work at home, it's difficult not to stay on the job 24/7, you have to manage yourself really well. I have to say, it's quite boring in fact and maybe not as 'cool' as many would think.

What education, training, vocation or just plain luck would someone have to
have in order to get a job like yours?

You need good maths skills, you need knowledge of how to trade financial instruments and most importantly the psychology of doing so. You need some money to begin with that you don't mind losing, and then you need focus, concentration and discipline.. very, very few people ever get to a point where they can do this professionally.

What is the funniest story you can think of that involves your professional
training or your job?

Hmmm, this is a tough one. Probably when I was still working in my old job, but trading at the same time, at work! Sometimes it was quiet, so my boss would allow me to trade and he would watch... I have him to thank for getting me involved in this, I was always better at it than him however. One morning I was trading and got incredibly lucky, in literally 2 minutes I made 2 months of my old salary while my boss was watching! He was quite sick at what I had just done, me - I was jumping around the shop we worked in scaring off the customers :)) Not long after that I gave up my job...

I want to also say that to anyone ever thinking about trying this job out, don't! Seriously, it is incredibly difficult to accomplish psychologically without a lot of training... gambling is not something I recommend anyone to ever do, most people do not understand the maths of it or the risks beyond just the money they are putting on their first bet. Leave it to those that do it for a living and be happy in the fact that you can't lose !

Within hours of Saturday's freak fatal breakdown of Eight Belles, the lone filly entered in this year's 134th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville and aired world-wide on NBC, the attention-loving, hypocritical airheads at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wasted no time in attempting to grab a few headlines and tug on a few heart strings by faxing a list of hysterical "demands" to the offices of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (KHRA). Endlessly seeking media exposure, PETA sends out numerous press releases every week.

The despicable and self-appointed do-gooders and supposed animal-lovers, who are hell-bent on denying the world meat and dairy, and who also, in essence, oppose aquariums, circuses, hunting, fishing, fur, leather, medical research using animals--and even the use of seeing-eye dogs--attempted to inflame the Eight Belles situation and prey upon the emotional reactions of those who witnessed or were upset or traumatized by the unfortunate injuries sustained by the second-place-finishing Thoroughbred. In its letter, PETA accused the horse's jockey, Gabriel Saez, of intentional cruelty, claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish." PETA also asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated.

Saezwas riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was immediately and humanely euthanized on the racetrack.

PETA's letter to the KHRA also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.

But while PETA and their packs of vocal and vacuous poster-waving, fax-forwarding, partisans would have you believe that horse racing is the most horrific happening since Hitler, the truth is the PETA organization is itself a house of horrors that trumps any tragedy ever associated with racing horses.

According to a Newsweek report appearing on Newsweek.com on April 28, the PETA organization has practiced euthanasia for years. In fact, according to Newsweek, since 1998, PETA has killed more than 17,000 animals, nearly 85 percent of all those it has rescued. PETA may want to change their name to PUTA: People for the Unethical Treatment of Animals.

Attorney Nathan Winograd, quoted in the Newsweekstory, summed up PETA's hypocrisy best, saying, "(PETA has) become (the) leading killers of cats and dogs, and the animal-loving public unwittingly foots the bill through taxes and donations."

No wonder PETA is constantly attacking and harassing others. The best defense is a good offense--especially when the animal carcases are piling up at your own backdoor. So pardon me if I don't dash off my membership dues to the PETA people anytime soon. Besides I don't own nearly enough sandals, caftans, or pitchouli to be an official plackard-carrying PETA member, and more importantly, I prefer to think for myself.

I am not saying that horse racing is without fault when it comes to the sad and shocking and sickening situation that happened moments after the running of the "most exciting two minutes in sports." In reality, for the horse racing industry, horses breaking down is a matter that should not be easily dismissed or deflected. It is absolutely a very complex issue and deserves immediate and exhaustive investigation. But another reality is that a mainstream audience isn't interested in hearing that or waiting for the facts to unfold. The public-at-large demands answers now or demands that horse racing be no more. A silly and knee-jerk reaction that is not unexpected, but nevertheless dangerous to the many good, honest, and caring people and horse lovers who make their living in the industry.

But when a majestic, innocent, obliging animal like Eight Belles is euthanized in front of an audience of millions, set against the backdrop of a perceived subculture of aristocracy and gentry, the reaction is going to be one of swiftness and assured outrage--regardless of why it actually happened. For the price of fame, prestige, and widespread exposure, horse owners and the horse industry as a whole now wear a very large bullseye on their collective back.  

It may be days or weeks or even months before we know the full story of what really happened to Eight Belles--and we may never know with 100% certainty--but for now, we do know this: The only filly entered in this year's Kentucky Derby on Saturday made a magnificent showing against 19 male competitors before an adoring audience of millions and then unexpectedly, inexplicably, unbelievably, fell down after crossing the finish line in second place and suffered condylarfractures of both front ankles and ultimately and sadly she could not be saved.

I have attended numerous horse races for over two decades and until Saturday had only seen a horse break down on the track one time in all of those years. And as of this posting, I am unaware of a single person coming forward to say that they have ever seen a similar occurrence on the racetrack as what happened to Eight Belles. Horses do not finish races, gallop out another half-mile while cooling down, and then, while slowing down, suddenly and mysteriously break both front legs. It just doesn't happen like that, except that it did on Saturday. I was there. And I pray that it never ever happens again. The horses don't deserve that. The horse racing industry doesn't deserve that. No matter what the people at PETA say to the contrary.

So before PETA casts the first stone at the Thoroughbred racing industry, they should look inward and be outraged over their own hypocritical practice of killing thousands of animals each and every year. After all, just because PETA doesn't euthanize their animals before a national viewing audience and instead prefers to do it quietly out of sight in a backroom lab somewhere in Virginia, it doesn't make it any less real or troubling.

Photo copyright Associated Press (AP). All rights reserved.

Todo esto con la intención de que los usuarios se enamoren a la fuerza de Vista, está previsto que el sistema operativo llegue hasta junio, aunque se mantendrá el soporte técnico del mismo hasta abril del 2009. Es una estrategia casi desesperada y hasta podría decirce perversa, pero, es su sistema y con el pueden hacer lo que les venga en gana.

El problema es que Vista a pesar de tener ya más de un año en el mercado, no a logrado establecerce como su predecesor, y hacerlo al parecer le costará mucho.

Racetrack

La empresa fabricante de computadoras IBM anunció el desarrollo de una nueva especie de memoria informática que podría incrementar 100 veces la capacidad de almacenamiento.

Este nuevo dispositivo está basado en una nueva tecnología conocida como 'spintronics', que utiliza la nanotecnología para manipular el spin de los electrones para crear campos magnéticos en los que pueden ser almacenados datos.

Si se utilizara la memoria 'racetrack' en un reproductor MP3, se podría almacenar alrededor de medio millón de canciones o 3.500 películas.

mas en

XPJunio

racetrack

• Check out that and more at Craftymind like some other good stuff like garbage collection in AIR with actionscript 3 (as3) and serializing classes to files in AIR with AS3
• Original 'Elastic Racetrack' Post by Ted on Flex in 2005

Before I started actually going to the backside of the track at Charles Town, I wasn't really sure what to expect- I had heard lots of stories about shady goings-ons at racetracks, and that there were lots of people who didn't "care" about their horses, and pretty much expected to be overwhelmed and out of place.  But after my very first visit, I found I loved the place. 

You'd be hard pressed to find friendlier people anywhere, for the most part (though some might argue that it has something to do with being cute girls in a predominantly male environment).  Everyone says hello and good morning- everyone.  It's almost sort of disconcerting, you'll hear, "hello ladies, good morning!" coming from stalls that appeared empty (ok, so that can make you a little bit jumpy), riders walking by on their way to and from the track stop to say hello, trainers with things to do and places to be will smile broadly and give you some updates on their favorites. 

If you're used to the hustle and bustle of the outside world, where everyone is on a mission, and too absorbed in their little electronic gadgets to actually TALK to other people, this can be a little weird at first. 

Then we get around to actually taking listings, which can be a little bit of a roller coaster of an experience.  One trainer might say the horse needs to go as soon as possible, to the first person with a trailer, which always makes me a little nervous and sad.  Another trainer might talk for what seems like hours about his favorite horse, and how he wants him to go to a good home, and how he has to have six peppermints every day. 

Occasionally we run into a trainer who has sold a horse, and if they've gotten updates- watch out.  Every horse that people get off the track to retrain as a jumper?  Is going to the Olympics.  As an aside to anyone with an off track horse, the majority of trainers seem to love updates, but any little accomplishment you might mention is very likely to get much bigger in the telling on the backside.  Crossrails become 5' fences, and successful trail riding can become 100 mile endurance racing really fast.

One of our favorite things to do on track visits is to stop up at the track itself, and watch a little of the morning workouts.  This serves two purposes- first, it alerts trainers who aren't in the barns that we're there, so we often get a lot of leads and a list of barns to visit.  Second... we just like to watch.  Really, there are very few things that get my heart beating so hard as a Thoroughbred racehorse does- even a not-so-fast one at Charles Town. 

On Saturday, standing near the rail, was a trainer who has listed horses with us before (and sold them successfully, she informed us with a grin).  A couple of horses worked by, and made me stop midsentence as I watched them, their feet pounding and breathing hard.  They sounded like trains, or some sort of otherwordly machines, it's sort of hard to describe the sound.  I said that I would like, just once or twice, to try that out and really feel what it's like to go all out- I've been close, but not quite.  The trainer turned and gave a knowing smile... "there's no drug in the WORLD that will give you that rush..."

After a brief discussion of exactly how it feels to ride a fast horse, we turned back to scope out a few more barns.  Along the way, we saw some "old friends" (like a horse who was listed once, but the trainer seems intent on keeping- and overfeeding), and also had a few sobering moments (one horse who needed to be gone ASAP as she was injured turned out to already be gone).  As much as I love going, it's not all sunshine and roses, and sometimes we find out things we'd rather not have heard.  But at the same time it still has an odd feeling of home.  And I've decided too that any place where you can find a goat dressed in pink kids' clothes is a place that on most levels is fundamentally good.

(as a brief kloninator update- someone may be coming to take a look at him tonight- keep your fingers crossed!)

• Científicos de IBM han presentado racetrack, un sistema que amplía las posibilidades del almacenamiento portátil

.

BLANCA SALVATIERRA, Público, Madrid - 14/04/2008

Los fabricantes se esfuerzan para crear nuevos sistemas que fusionen las posibilidades de los discos duros con las de las memorias flash, a la vez que eliminan los inconvenientes de cada uno de estos soportes. En un estudio publicado en el último número de Science, un equipo de investigadores de IBM encabezado por el científico Stuart Parkin describe la teoría de un nuevo sistema de almacenamiento que, según detalla, marcará un hito en la forma de almacenar los datos.

Los técnicos de IBM detallan que, aprovechando el movimiento de los electrones, es posible crear memorias más veloces, que se calientan menos y que consumen menos energía, a la vez que multiplican por 100 la actual capacidad de almacenamiento en el mismo espacio. El sistema, sin partes móviles (los discos duros sí las tienen), permitiría escribir en él de forma ilimitada (al contrario que en el caso de las memorias flash). El objetivo es la creación de un sistema de almacenamiento con el bajo coste de un disco duro con el rendimiento y la fiabilidad de una memoria flash. En cuanto al tiempo de escritura y lectura de los datos, sus creadores mantienen que será hasta 100.000 veces más rápida que las memorias actuales.

La aplicación final de este avance es que se podrían crear dispositivos con un sistema de almacenamiento capaz de albergar una mayor cantidad de datos, cuya batería durase semanas al consumir menos energía y que funcionasen a pleno rendimiento durante décadas, es decir, que el número de veces que se reescribe en la memoria no afecta a su vida útil.

Estas memorias, bautizadas como racetrack, aplican una tecnología llamada espintrónica para ampliar la densidad de los sistemas. La idea es almacenar datos entre las regiones magnéticas, haciendo uso de los campos magnéticos débiles que se producen por el movimiento de los electrones. Con ello, se añade una tercera dimensión a la capacidad del almacenamiento. Al no depender de la miniaturización de los sistemas físicos, sus creadores auguran que su aplicación también dará lugar a dispositivos más baratos.

Por el momento, los investigadores han demostrado las posibilidades de las memorias racetrack, aunque el proyecto se encuentra en una fase primaria de desarrollo. Este sistema, que se plantea como el almacenamiento del futuro y como una alternativa a los actuales discos duros y memorias, tardará una década en estar disponible, según han detallado los científicos. El prototipo no estará listo hasta, al menos, dentro de un par de años.

O estudo, publicado na última edição da revista Science, revela ainda que o novo dispositivo de memória consome menos energia, tem um custo de produção inferior, funciona durante semanas sem necessitar de recarregamento e é mais resistente, por não ter partes soltas.

A capacidade de armazenamento "abre a porta à criatividade para desenvolver suportes e aplicações inimaginados até agora", afirmou Stuart Parkin, director do projecto, acrescentando que este tipo de memória "lê 16 bits de dados através de um só transistor".

Isto permite interpretar e escrever informação cem mil vezes mais depressa do que as memórias flash utilizadas no presente.

Um leitor de mp3 ou um iPod poderão vir a armazenar meio milhão de canções ou 3.500 películas, quando o iPod Classic de 160 gigabytes (que é o de maior capacidade) apenas permite guardar até 40 mil músicas.

Chamada "racetrack", esta memória utiliza o movimento giratório dos electrões para armazenar dados, tecnologia cujo estudo deu o Prémio Nobel de Física 2007 a Albert Fert e Peter Grunberg.

Os autores da investigação agora publicada reconhecem que a "racetrack" ainda está em fase de desenvolvimento, pelo que decorrerão dois a três anos até ser fabricado um protótipo e cerca de uma década até que os primeiros artigos com esta memória cheguem ao mercado."

by Lusa.

Recently, computing giant IBM has announced that they have been working on what they dubbed "racetrack memory." I'm guessing you probably have between 1-2GB of memory in your computer right now. Well, according to IBM, within 10 yrs, memory will be able to hold 100 times more data than it's modern flash counterpart, and it will cost 100 times less. This means that by 2018, computers memory will be equivalent to modern hard disk capacity. That's a lot of memory. Read more here

New Nintendo DS @ E3?

According to Enterbrain boss Hirokazu Hamamura, Nintendo may unveil a new version of their ever-so-popular DS handheld at this years Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) Media and Business Summit. The popular trade show will be held this year July 15-17, 2008.To view a gallery of mockups of the new DS, courtesy of DSFanboy, click here.

GTA IV Multiplayer Modes Announced

The official GTA IV site has revealed a bevy of multiplayer modes that are going to be included in the upcoming addition to publisher Rockstar's popular franchise. These modes are as follows:

Team Modes:

• Team Deathmatch
• Team Mafia Work
• Team Car Jack City
• Cops'n'Crooks
• Turf War

Race Modes:

• Race
• GTA Race

To learn more about these modes, click here.

ストレージを飛躍的に増加させる技術がすぐそこまでやって来ているらしい。iPod に５０万曲いれることも可能だという・・・

→［Times Online | The new chip that will let an iPod store 500,000 songs］

Mobile phones, iPods and other consumer devices may soon be able to hold a hundred times more information than they do at present thanks to a breakthrough in storage technology.

Scientists at IBM say they have developed a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs - or 3,500 films - and cost far less to produce.

Technorati Tags: IBM, Racetrack, Storage

Ahora me encuentro con 2 noticias que me agrada mucho:

RaceTrack, el cual es una nueva forma de memoria que promete 100 veces mas capacidad que cualquier tipo de memoria hasta ahora usada.

Ve la noticia completa aqui.

El microprocesador mas rapido del planeta, puede procesar cerca de 5,000 millones de instrucciónes por segundo, sobrepasando a sus competidores de Intel o de Sun Microsystems.

Ve la noticia completa aqui

No por algo IBM significa International Business Machines

relacionadas

Microsoft office vs Lotus Symphony

IBM, el gigante azul, nos vuelve a sorprender con su tecnologia, la nueva es RaceTrack, el cual es una nueva forma de memoria que promete 100 veces mas capacidad que cualquier tipo de memoria hasta ahora usada. RaceTrack es una forma de escribir/leer informacion, que la forma mas sencilla de decirla, usando terminos comunes y corrientes, funciona con los giros de los atomos (woww).

Imagina un Ipod que tenga la capacidad de 500, 000 canciones, tu computadora tenga la capacidad de 20 YoyaBytes, con una memoria RAM de 2 Petabytes. Definitivamente el Hardware esta avanzando muchisimo mas rapido que el Software, ya que a estas alturas, con los procesadores de doble nucleo, no existen  muchos programas que usen al 100% las capacidades de estos microprocesadores, imagina con las nuevas formas de guardar informacion.

-------------------

Prediciendo el futuro desde CrunchGear

In a paper in the journal Science, the team at IBM's Almaden lab in California outline ways to make the building blocks of the novel storage medium.

The capacity of MP3 players could increase 100 times from present levels.

But the IBM team say racetrack memory is still seven to eight years away from commercial use. (link)

Before we knowit, we hear an announcement for a riders meeting. Steve films it and Mike takes some photos.

A few of the guys offered at dinner last night to change my tires with tire irons, since there would be no trackside tire service today. They put the bike on tire warmers and the new tires on warmers as well, to make the rubber more pliable. Here are my tires on their handlebars:

I help remove the wheels and Steve films the tire change:

Before getting on the track, we had to film several interviews. It was too bloody cold to ride in the morning anyway.

Me interviewing Pete, my voice is off camera

We also interview a guy named Tom. He is 70 years young and the nicest guy ever you could ever wish to meet. He has friends everywhere and is manic about riding, racing and motorcycles in general.

We rig a bike up and I film Tom and Pete for a session. Tom is just ripping! He is just an awesome guy.

Gary from BMW arrives and rides the 2nd Honda. I film him for a while. Then Pete films the both of us riding together (footage didn't turn out, Pete's suspension was so stiff the camera shook too much). Finally I get cut loose and can ride a few sessions. I have a blast running around with everyone.

Steve gets to ride later in the day, it's his first time on a 600 and second time at the track. He does pretty darn good considering. Pete leads him around and I film him for 4 or 5 laps, just so he can see himself and critic his own riding. In the last session of the day, he gets his knee down for the first time ever. He is ecstatic for the rest of the trip.

We ride until the very last session, then pack up and hit the road for home.

Of course the largest font on my author tag cloud in the horse fiction library is Dick Francis, who, as you most likely already know, was a champion steeplechase (or, more properly, National Hunt) jockey before he became an incredibly prolific writer. Having read all of his novels, I thought I had some idea as to what a National Hunt race is like, but it turns out I really didn't have a clue.

Wiola posted a video of the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup - a race Dick Francis never won but described many times in his novels - and I was totally amazed, watching it, to realize I had never seen a National Hunt race. For some reason, all of the imagery I had absorbed from reading tricked my brain into thinking I had actually watched steeplechasing - but seeing the real thing, it was completely different from what I had imagined.

Given the dramatic action of the race scenes in Dick Francis' novels, the pace seemed slower and the fences looked lower than I expected. I do realize that if I was riding the course - a completely and unequivocally absurd thought - it would most certainly be the other way around (and since Dick Francis writes in the first person that makes sense), but having adjusted my sense of speed from flat racing to harness racing, I still wasn't prepared for the initial circuit's lope towards the fences.

In reality, of course, the fences are at least 4½ ft. high and it's only the talent of horse and rider that makes them seem smaller, but perhaps because of the camera angle they didn't seem to loom above the horses as I thought they would. I know it's an optical illusion, but somehow Grand Prix showjumping has ruined my eye for what constitutes a tall fence.

The course itself seems to go on forever - 3 miles 2½ furlongs - and the fitness and stamina of the horses blew my mind, particularly with Cheltenham's famed uphill finish. It makes a flat racing course, even the most strenuous, seem like a sprint. Harness racing horses are jogged for miles daily to increase their wind, but the actual races are only a mile (longer in New Zealand and Australia.) I can't imagine the amount of work that goes into conditioning a 'chaser.

When the narrator in a Dick Francis novel describes a race, it sounds like the course is full of twists and turns, dark alleys where misbehavior can't be seen by the stewards and hidden pockets out of sight of the cheering crowd where a bystander could be lurking to string something across the jump to fell horse and rider. It's a testament to the skill of his writing that the atmosphere of his suspense novels is nothing like the cheerful, endlessly green course of the real race in the clear light of day.

It's interesting how the mind works. I've had memories of things that seemed much larger, or imposing, when I was a child, only to find as an adult that they weren't intimidating at all. I just never realized that the same dynamic could occur with memories that were, literally, fiction.

California Adopts Steroid Testing Levels

by: Debbie Arrington February 29 2008, Article # 11422

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) took a major step towards banning supplemental anabolic steroids with the adoption of testing levels for four major substances during its meeting Feb. 28 in Arcadia.

"It's the first step in regulating anabolic steroids in California horse racing," said Rick Arthur, DVM, the state's equine medical director. "This is the most important action the board will take on medications this year."

Due to their copyright policy, I can't reprint more than that on this site, but I do feel I can add a few quotes:

Punishment for overages has yet to be finalized. In the meantime, the CHRB intends to send warning letters for any overages.

and

CHRB chairman Richard Shapiro noted that the timing is right for regulation. "Anybody who reads the news knows this is something obvious," he said. "We need to move forward. This is something that will help the whole industry very quickly."

Hmm... really? From working on horses at the track, I can tell you that the ones on steroids - most commonly 'Equipoise' (a misnomer if I ever heard one) - are so tense, both muscularly and mentally, that it's totally unpleasant to be around them. Even the grooms avoid them, and do the minimum to care for these horses. I have seen horses literally grinding their teeth like a methamphetamine addict on a three-day run.

Trainers come up with all kinds of good reasons to give their horses steroids - "She's too moody to race otherwise", "He's not aggressive enough to get out front", "He's not fast enough without" etc., etc., but the bottom line is, if you have to drug your horse to win, it's not the right horse or you are not the right trainer. Performance-enhancing drugs are just that - drugs. Just ask Marion Jones.

And who will be doing research into the long-term effects of use in horses? No one, I presume, since, after all, they're just horses, who can easily be converted to cash once their winning streak is over. (I'm hoping those who eat chevale aren't disturbed by the idea of inducing who-knows-what drugs into their system along with a horseburger du jour.)

And those warning letters? Those will really put the fear of God in 'em. Especially since any testosterone level in non-gelded horses will be acceptable. Your man-eating, fire-breathing, totally unmanageable stallion is always like that, right? And gee whiz, he sure races great, especially if you can keep him straight so he doesn't get distracted by the impulse to beat the crap out of every other horse on the homestretch.

The racing industry is dogged by constantly churning whispers of unfair play on every level. Surely the powers that be can see that the confidence of the gaming public - something that no one can deny has slipped, and slipped badly on every racing day other than the Derby - is imperative to the continued health of the sport. So why the hell is it a "major step" when they announce "testing levels" but don't actually announce banning the drugs, testing for them, or consequences?

Get with it, guys. If an Olympic medalist can be taken down, what's the dilemma about a $3000 claimer?

We've been very fortunate to have a really excellent chiropractor in our area who is very experienced working with horses. (Dr. Stevens is also my personal chiropractor, and in the last two weeks he has treated my knee so that I am no longer using crutches to walk.) While I have seen the benefits of chiropractic care on pleasure horses, with the racehorses it's much more obvious, because their performance is measurable. With a combination of massage, photonic laser stimulation of acupuncture points, and chiropractic, we've seen horses go from finishing dead last to being in the money week after week. It's pretty simple, really - if something, such as a rotated pelvis, out-of-adjustment pastern, or compressed vertebrae is causing them pain and/or the inability to stride correctly, they are unable to perform at their innate capability.

One thing's for certain - the trainers at the track almost without exception fall into an old-school attitude about anything new - training methods, feed, health care, whatever it is, if it's new, it's automatically suspect. Prove it, is the general response. I think it says a lot about chiropractic care in general and Dr. Stevens in particular that we have been able to develop a steady clientele for him at the track.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a horse perform excellently, and knowing you had a hand in it. Being open-minded is a good place to start.

I am sitting in a wood shack, perhaps 6'x4' and barely large enough for two people to stand in if they happen to be very good friends, with a portable heater running to chase away the wind that is finding its way between the cracks in the wood. There are three small windows: One out to the parking lot, so I can see anyone approaching and check their racing license, one looking out at the soupy, muddy mess of a racetrack, and one looking into the paddock, which is enclosed on two sides by a high hedge and covered by a massive tent. The tent is ripping in the wind.

Actually, the last few storms have already ripped the tent, which has about 36 florescent light fixtures attached to its ceiling, and the tent is being held together - somewhat optimistically, in my opinion - by tie-downs. There are about 20 horses in the paddock at any given time, along with grooms, trainers, drivers, the state vet, and the farrier. The tent is making me uneasy, and the horses don't think much of the situation, either. The wind is supposed to pick up as the night goes on. Right now it's settled at 23 mph, and the horses head straight into it as they come down the homestretch.

It's also cold, but I can't complain about that because as I am walking through the grandstand on the way to the coffee stand, one of the monitors is showing a track in Chicago, where they're racing on packed snow. Coffee in hand, I weave my way through the huddled groups of gamblers, so intent on their tickets they can't see that I'm walking with a limp. The cold and damp are having a real effect on my knee tonight and it hurts to feel the pressure of the asphalt and concrete under my feet. The track has been scraped to try to dissipate the runoff and slop, leaving a bare, compacted surface that echos the sound of hooves all the way from the backstretch to the grandstand. It's a hard, hollow, metallic sound and not one you want to hear when your horse is running. No doubt their knees aren't feeling so hot, either. I wonder if there's a single working individual, man or beast, on the grounds tonight who actually wants to be here.

The grooms pull the hoods of their raingear tight around their faces as they ready themselves and their horses for the trip across to the backstretch and the work that's just begun once the race ends. The drivers' colors are indistinguishable with all the mud, and as they walk off the track, pushing their race bikes to the paddock once the grooms have taken the horses away, they spit mud from their mouths and wipe their faces on their sleeves, revealing skin underneath. I can see my reflection in the glare of the window to the track, my head seemingly floating above the horses as they go by, the wheels of the bikes just a blur.

I reach for my coffee and turn the heater up a notch.