What I Learned This Week - 7/11/14

1.  I cannot recognize three quarters of my teammates when they are wearing wetsuits, cycling gear or are standing in a crowd three feet from me. 
2. I’m fairly certain the Ironman M-dot tattoos are a legal form of ID.
3. According to my oldest, Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek movie series (IE Star Trek, Into Darkness) is referred to as “Captain Cute Guy”.
4. My favorite shark, the scalloped hammerhead, is the first shark species on the U.S. endangered species list.
5. The National Emergency Phone Number, 9-1-1, was implemented in 1967. 25 years after it was implemented (1989) only 50% of the US had this number connected to local emergency services. Surprisingly, as of today 99% (not 100) have this connection.
6. A local gourmet cheese shop, “Cured”, is educating customers about their products using the Tour de France. They are offering paired wines and cheeses that match the region of France the cycling race occurs that week. Suddenly I’m kind of hungry.
7. Tour de France racers are complaining about the extraordinary amount of spectators standing in the middle of the race course with their back turned to oncoming cyclists just to get a selfie with the peloton approaching. 
8. A handlebar mustache is not the painting of a cyclist on your nose with arms grabbing your mustache, but that is pretty awesome.
9. Actor James McAvoy not only plays the beloved X-Men character “Professor Charles Xavier” but also the goat-boy, “Mr. Tumnus” in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. All X-men movies are now ruined for me.
10. Wil Wheaton of Star Trek The Next Generation fame makes my day when he tweets photos of himself standing against a green screen and dares people to use their powers of Photoshop. If only I had free time.
11. Angry nerds tweeting about a NASCAR rain delay interfering with a LOTR marathon will have me laughing for hours. It appears Gandalf is not a fan of the “lucky dog”. 
12. YouTube can teach you anything. Yes, anything.
13. Whenever I say the band name, “Bombay Bicycle Club” I sound like Apu from the Simpsons.
14. One of the most popular roads in Yellowstone National Park, Firehole Lake Drive, is closed......because the geothermal areas adjacent to it are causing the road to melt.
15. Cheesecake was invented in Ancient Greece and served to athletes at the very first Olympic Games. 
16. I am a white shirt's worst enemy. I cannot keep one clean for more than five minutes.
17. My young lab is a great alarm clock. I just wish her method of waking me wasn't a paw to the eye.
18. Words cannot express the joy I get from photos a recently retired friend sends me every day of a random place he is currently traveling.  It's like "Where is Carmen Sandiego?" but with motorcycles.