An 85 Mile Bike Loop

View 85 Mile Bike Loop in a larger map

I stumbled on this loop today while out riding around. It's 85 miles the way I did it, but I accidentally got on the highway for a bit down by Sugar Land - I wouldn't recommend that. If you want to give it a shot, here's the route:

1. Starting from Rice University, head south on Shepherd
2. Take a right on Bray's Bayou, and follow that until you reach S Gessner Rd
3. Go West on W Airport Blvd until you reach Highway 6
4. Follow Highway 6 up to George Bush Park, then follow the Bayou over the top of the park
5. Take a left when the Bayou trail terminates, and head through the park
6. At the end of GB Park, go straight on Highland Knolls Dr until you reach Roesner Rd
7. Follow Roesner to Katy Mills Mall
8. Get a snack at Sun and Ski Sports
9. Coming out of Katy Mills, follow Kingsland Blvd back to Barker Cyprus, and then take the Bayou trail back over the top of GB Park
10. Follow Memorial Drive to S. Shepherd Drive
11. Follow Shepherd back toward Rice

Looking at the map, there may be some good roads to avoid using Highway 6. Highway 6, however, does have a wonderful shoulder for the entire ride.  

Let me know if you try this route. I'd like to get someone else's impression.

Guide to Voting in Harris County

If this is your first time voting in Harris County, or you just need a little help choosing candidates, you may want to spend a few minutes researching where you need to go, & what to bring, on November 3rd.

First, head over to the county clerk's website: http://harrisvotes.org/.

There, you'll find a plethora of useful information. Among them, a link to "Find your Election Day Poll and View Voter Specific Ballot" - you'll be able to use your address to pull up a customized ballot with what to expect on election day. After the election, this site will tell you who won the election.

Once you know your precinct number and voting location, head over to the Houston Chronicle's customized voter guide. On "My Election" enter your address or precinct, and you'll be presented with a list of candidates, and other ballot items, that you can click to bring up a summary of the issue or candidate. If you want to have a little more help making decisions, you can always look up the endorsements.

Since this is a Joint Election, the candidates will not be labeled (R) or (D), and you will not have enough information to make a decision on the issues with the minimal text provided. You really have to do your homework before arriving at the polls - especially since it's illegal for anyone at the polls to provide you with assistance in making a voting decision.

If you are not registered, and would still like to vote, the official Election Day Polling Location Administration Manual states that, "At all elections, the following individuals shall be eligible to cast a provisional ballot: [...] * A voter who feels he/she has the right to vote." As long as you're a valid resident, "the Provisional Voting form also acts as a Voter Registration Application" if the voter is unregistered.

Enjoy the election!

Recommendations for 2010 Democratic Countywide Judicial Candidates

Harris County has an election coming up. In preparation, the HCDP had a Precinct Chairs meeting tonight for party business, along with signing petitions for the election.

After several hours of research, personal recommendations from experienced members of the community, and the opportunity to meet most of the candidates in person, I've compiled a list of candidates I believe deserve your vote in November. If you believe I've made a mistake, or have additional information or recommendations, feel free to leave a comment below this post.

My recommendations:

Civil District Court

• Christina Bryan
• Andy Pereira
• Tanner Garth
• Charles Spain
• Donna Roth

 Criminal District Court

• Darrel Jordan
• Trent Gaither

Family Law Court

• Chip Wells
• Julia Maldonado
• Judy Dougherty
• Steve Herskowitz

Juvenile Court

• Anthony Referente
• David Longoria
• William Thursland

County Civil Court at Law

• Steven Reilley
• Damian LaCroix
• Damon Crenshaw

County Criminal Court at Law

• Mary Acosta
• Silvia Pubchara
• Cheryl Diggs

Probate Court

• Joellen Snow
  

How to connect an iPhone to the Rice VPN

On your iPhone, go to Preferences -> General -> Network -> VPN -> Add VPN Configuration

Choose "IPSec"

Configure the account as follows:

Description: Rice VPN
Server: 128.42.247.200
Account: (netid)
Password: (Ask Every Time)
Use Certificate: (Off)
Group Name: RiceNet
Secret: (contact me via email for the shared secret)

This service brought to you by your friendly neighborhood egghead.

A relaxing 50+ mile ride in Houston

(click the image to enlarge)

Starting from Rice University, take S Shepherd Dr north to Memorial Parkway. Hang a left, and stay on Memorial Parkway until you reach W Beltway 8. Take another left onto the sidewalk. The park entrance will be well marked; go under Beltway 8, then follow the Terry Hershey bike trail. When you reach the parking lot, follow the trail around to the left. When it splits again, hang a right and follow the trail until you get tired.

When I did this ride, I made it a 50 miler. Staying on the bayou a bit longer gets you into George Bush Park, where you can extend the ride significantly. This is not a loop, however, so be prepared to backtrack when you're ready to head home.

Pandemic Preparation

My Flu Kit

With over 120 students at Rice already infected with flu, it's probably a good idea for all members of the Rice community to prepare themselves for a possible run-in with this season's most fashionable illness: H1N1. 

If you don't know the symptoms yet, head over to the Center for Disease Control site and read up. 

While not a replacement for advice from your physician and the CDC's updates, this post will touch on a few key points based on emails sent out to the University of Washington community (courtesy of Julia Herbert), and the Rice community (from Dean Paula Sanders).

The flu virus can live on surfaces for up to eight hours, so anything you touch can transmit the flu - especially in a university setting where people live like sardines in shared offices. You should wash your hands frequently, and make use of the instant hand sanitizer Rice has placed all over campus. Try to avoid touching your face, eyes, and mouth.

To protect yourself from the regular flu, you should also get the regular seasonal influenza vaccine as soon as possible. The vaccine is only $25 at Walgreens, and you don't need an appointment between 10 AM and 4 PM at most locations.

It would also be wise for students (and others) to prepare a self-treatment kit for the flu. When I put mine together today, it ended up costing ~$70. That may seem like a lot to spend now, but the kit will stay good for a long time. Store it in the corner of a closet, and you'll be ready when you do get sick. A good flu kit should include:

1. Sudafed (the real stuff that you have to get with your driver's license behind the counter)
2. Mucinex DM (green and white box)
3. Thermometer, with sanitary covers
4. Anti-fever medication (such as Tylenol™ or acetaminophen)
5. Hand sanitizer
6. Surface disinfectant wipes
7. Tissues
8. Electrolyte packs to mix with water
9. Throat lozenges

The CDC is not currently recommending any medical treatment for a typical flu, including antiviral medication, so most people who get sick should not need to see the doctor.

Also, for the sake of your friends and colleagues, please stay home if you get sick! I promise that your professors and TAs will be very understanding if you offer to not infect them. Once you've been without a fever for 24 hours, without medication, you can return to work.

And now, for a Flu Pandemic ditty:

UPDATE (October 27, 2009) - Flu Kits Available to Grad Students at Rice

Flu kits are now available to the graduate students and these are the points of distribution: RGA, RVA, OISS, and GPS.  The cost is $1.  Each flu kit contains 4 oz. hand sanitizer, reusable digital thermometer, pocket Kleenex, Tylenol and flu info. The $1 needs to be in cash.

This is a great deal - if you haven't got a flu kit yet, and you're a Rice grad student, you may want to take advantage of this offer.