jfleck at inkstain

A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico

When Arroyos Run

It was pouring rain when I left the office this evening, so I took surface streets rather than the messy freeway. The concrete arroyo by my work was running high as I passed, so I started slowing and watching every time I went over one. They were raging and roiling and doing their best to [...]

Mayo

Not much lost in the translation: Le coureur espagnol Iban Mayo a été contrôlé positif à l’EPO sur le Tour de France durant la journée de repos du 24 juillet.

Wim!

From Sam Abt: In a battle with no prize and slight prestige, Wim Vansevenant, a Belgian with Predictor, finished as the lanterne rouge, or last man in the pack, for the second successive year. He thrashed his nearest rival, Geraint Thomas, a Briton with Barloworld, by six minutes with a sterling 134th place in the [...]

Monsoon Variability

I got a note last week from a California resident thinking about moving to New Mexico. She had a lot of great questions, including wanting to know more about this “monsoon” thing. I tried to explain that it’s not a big massive raining all the time in all the places sort of thing. Here’s the [...]

The Value of Water in Alternative Uses

The Value of Water in Alternative UsesOriginally uploaded by heinemanfleck. I recently scored a fascinating volume at the used bookstore: “The Value of Water in Alternative Uses, With Special Application to Water Use in the San Juan and Rio Grande Basins of New Mexico.” Published in 1962, it’s the result of a study of the [...]

Why Not Just Let ‘Em All Dope?

If you’re in anyway following Le Tour, you’ve almost certainly had a conversation over the last week about whether it would make sense to just let ‘em all dope. Joe Lindsey from Bicycling magazine has a thoughtful guest post over on the Freakonomics blog making a pretty persuasive case that it’s a bad idea. A [...]

The Simpsons and Nuclear Energy

The blogger known as Kite String and Key thinks Matt Groening is partly to blame for U.S. opposition to nuclear power: For almost 20 years, Matt Groening has perpetuated the fear of nuclear generation in the United States. Also, I think, our disdain for fat white guys. And rascally kids. Groening’s very likely to blame [...]

Axel

What Dave said. It’s just sport, just a game, completely meaningless as compared to the plague of development on Albuquerque’s west side or that Darfur thing. But there it is, unfolding like a gut-gripping soap opera that you know is playing out in real time with no safety net. So Vinokourov must be dead to [...]

Water in the Desert

I’m still on the steep lower slopes of the learning curve regarding the relationship between development and water, so I don’t have much to say about this except to say that it’s fascinating: Development of the 6,500-acre Quail Ranch is dead, at least for the time being. Sandia Properties has dropped plans to develop the [...]

Dopage

Romance and bike racing scandals both just sound better in French: Tour de France – Dopage RASMUSSEN QUITTE LE TOUR !

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