Did a loop today, and felt great. That still seems odd, somehow.
It was actually an odd sort of run. Odd in that my brain was working overtime. I had more of those weird ideations that I get from time to time during a run. I think maybe I've talked about that before.
Even more, though, I was thinking about Deneen and Steve. My pals in Antarctica. Had the most fun ever just a couple of nights ago. I was sitting here at the computer when my phone rang. It was late, so naturally I assumed that it was someone -- perhaps a son -- in trouble of some sort.
The caller ID said "Private Call." Even more ominous. I answered fearing the worst. But it wasn't the worst. t was the best. It took me a few sentences to realize that I was receiving an call from Antarctica! It was Deneen! I was totally shocked.
She and Steve and some of their cohorts were sitting around playing chess....
[Don't you love Renee Fleming? A real diva. Fleming doing an Ave Maria is perhaps the greatest.]
(sorry...)
... and no doubt significantly intoxicated, so they decided to call Patrick. It was really fun talking and catching up, especially considering that it was from the freakin' South Pole! (Or if not actually at the South Pole, at least within a 3 hour flight from there.) I found out that Steve had actually made it to the pole himself, a couple of weeks after Deneen was there. That's cool. It was interesting to hear about activities and work and the weather and light and dark and cold and yoga and population and on and on.
Anyway, today while I was running I was thinking about how it's starting to get a little warm. Upper 70s seems pretty warm. I had kinda forgotten about real sweat. (Sorry if this is gross.) You always sweat when running, but when it's warm out that is compounded. But sweat is not actually the point. I was thinking about how it would be if I were in Antarctica.
Yes, that would be an adventure. I'd get a kick out of it and I have no doubt I'd survive a season and have some wonderful memorable experiences. And yet I don't know how much I'd like never having warmth. And never having any green (outside of things growing in the fridge in my room). (Just kidding.) But being able to put on the shorts and t-shirt and shoes and go out without a heavy coat and boots for a walk or run or whatever is not, I think, something I'd want to miss for too long. I'm glad we have people like Deneen and Steve who apparently actually like being there providing the support structure for science that can only be done there. I just hope they (D & S) don't find themselves on the wrong side -- the mobile side -- of a huge slab of ice that breaks off and floats away.
[Familiar with Amel Larrieux? If not, I suggest you fire her up on Pandora and give a listen. All of you more sophisticated people have probably been listening to her for a long time, but I'm a recent convert.]
On another topic, I wonder what to do with a student who tells me that his father is sick, back home in Cambodia, so he's going to have to leave on April 5 and miss the rest of the semester, which ends May 8. He says he doesn't want to drop the class, and wonders what he can do about it. Huh? You're going to miss the last month of class, several assignments and the final, and you wonder what you can do about it? I'd like to tell him what to do. But rather than really tell him what to do, I think I'll just tell him to drop.
As always, it's really late, and I have a busy day tomorrow.
Later.....
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
One interesting thing...
Actually, there has been an interesting thing in my life lately. Interesting to me.
I've been thanked about 25,000 times in the last few weeks!
You want to get thanked? Just get on the e-mail distribution list for a presidential candidate.
I've signed up for Obama, Clinton and McCain e-mail updates, just to keep up with their official spin on items of the day. It's a rare day that I don't get at least a couple of e-mails from Barack and Hillary thanking me for the hard work I've done in the past, and prospectively for the hard work I'll surely do in the future, to bring about CHANGE!! by supporting their candidacy.
Less McCain stuff, for obvious reasons, though he's definitely around.
Oh, and every Thanks! is within clicking distance of a big red Contribute! button as well, of course.
I've been thanked about 25,000 times in the last few weeks!
You want to get thanked? Just get on the e-mail distribution list for a presidential candidate.
I've signed up for Obama, Clinton and McCain e-mail updates, just to keep up with their official spin on items of the day. It's a rare day that I don't get at least a couple of e-mails from Barack and Hillary thanking me for the hard work I've done in the past, and prospectively for the hard work I'll surely do in the future, to bring about CHANGE!! by supporting their candidacy.
Less McCain stuff, for obvious reasons, though he's definitely around.
Oh, and every Thanks! is within clicking distance of a big red Contribute! button as well, of course.
Motivation
I haven't really been motivated to post here lately. I guess there's not really much I want to say. Some people have regular specific items that they post about -- like weekly photography "exhibits" and such -- but I don't have that. Except for the endless droning about how I did 9 miles Friday and 13 miles Saturday (yesterday I ended up on a new route with a faster group and "had to" go faster than I normally would, with the result that I was sore for the rest of the day, and only did 4 miles this morning, thinking I should give myself a chance to recover), but how boring is that?
I could talk about school, but there's been nothing really interesting there, either.
Perhaps the world wants to know all about my private life outside of running? I don't think so.
A blog post I read just a few days ago confirms that to me. Somehow I got on a kind of notification deal when this particular acquaintance of mine posts to her blog. I only had a couple of conversations with her about not particularly personal things, and all of a sudden, out of the blue, I'm getting weekly notices when she updates her blog. Reading about how she hates her parents and what she does when she's lonely (remarkably explicit, intensely personal things that no sensible person should talk about, I'm sure, especially if her professional contacts read this blog, as I have reason to suspect they do) really do not interest me. They actually kind of disgust me. Perhaps that's a sign of how out of touch I am with popular culture. Her "Reality Blog" would, I'll bet, be just the ticket for a "reality TV" show. And that would interest me -- disgust me -- to at least the same extent. Sometimes I sincerely fear for the future of our culture. The wacky egocentrism (The spell-checker is underlining that word, but I'm going to leave it. It is right, right?) of our confessional society has got to be a symptom of some sort of systemic social disease that seems like it **must** be eating away at whatever "strength" we have as a society.
I haven't given that notion any thought at all. It just came out of my fingers. But it reflects the anomie that I believe I see and feel right now.
Anyway, if I can think of anything interesting or useful to say, I'll post again. I suppose I've publicly -- publicly as in this blog, though "the public" don't read it -- struggled with this before. Perhaps it's a sign of age that I really have a hard time remembering what I've talked about previously. This is one of those things I'm sure has come up before, though. Sorry....
Happy Easter, everyone, for anyone out there who ascribes meaning to the day. I'm going to Chad's house for dinner tonight (personal details!!) so that should be fun. Gumbo.
I could talk about school, but there's been nothing really interesting there, either.
Perhaps the world wants to know all about my private life outside of running? I don't think so.
A blog post I read just a few days ago confirms that to me. Somehow I got on a kind of notification deal when this particular acquaintance of mine posts to her blog. I only had a couple of conversations with her about not particularly personal things, and all of a sudden, out of the blue, I'm getting weekly notices when she updates her blog. Reading about how she hates her parents and what she does when she's lonely (remarkably explicit, intensely personal things that no sensible person should talk about, I'm sure, especially if her professional contacts read this blog, as I have reason to suspect they do) really do not interest me. They actually kind of disgust me. Perhaps that's a sign of how out of touch I am with popular culture. Her "Reality Blog" would, I'll bet, be just the ticket for a "reality TV" show. And that would interest me -- disgust me -- to at least the same extent. Sometimes I sincerely fear for the future of our culture. The wacky egocentrism (The spell-checker is underlining that word, but I'm going to leave it. It is right, right?) of our confessional society has got to be a symptom of some sort of systemic social disease that seems like it **must** be eating away at whatever "strength" we have as a society.
I haven't given that notion any thought at all. It just came out of my fingers. But it reflects the anomie that I believe I see and feel right now.
Anyway, if I can think of anything interesting or useful to say, I'll post again. I suppose I've publicly -- publicly as in this blog, though "the public" don't read it -- struggled with this before. Perhaps it's a sign of age that I really have a hard time remembering what I've talked about previously. This is one of those things I'm sure has come up before, though. Sorry....
Happy Easter, everyone, for anyone out there who ascribes meaning to the day. I'm going to Chad's house for dinner tonight (personal details!!) so that should be fun. Gumbo.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Three days off (from running)
It's too much. I miss it. And I worry that if I take very much time off I'll lose something. But tomorrow is a new day. After my classes tomorrow, I'm off until I have to go to REI for a clinic at 9:00 p.m.
(Seems a shame to have to go in for just an hour. I wouldn't do it except that it's a Garmin clinic, and I need some education.)
But I'll get in a long run in the afternoon. The rain is supposed to have stopped by then. Maybe I'll do a ride and run combo, as I like to do. We'll see how the time goes.
I've been thinking about memorializing (Now that I'm about to say this out loud it sounds kind of stupid. Oh, well....) the anniversary of my first run -- April 18 -- with something special. Today I even arranged to have the 18th off. I was actually thinking since I was not able to schedule a marathon this Spring I'd do a personal private marathon. Maybe even get really extreme and do a century on the bike and a marathon. That sounds kind of crazy. I don't think I'll really do it though. Just a wild hair thought.
On another topic.... Todd, the Dallas REI store manager, just got back from a week-long Leadership Conference, and in our first conversation he used the word "learnings." As in "In today's session you'll have 4 learnings." I almost choked him. When I went to Seattle last year for a week of training for my SPE position, the people in charge kept saying that word. It drove me nuts. So much so that at the end of the week when they asked for our comments on the week's experience, my only comment was "'Learnings' is not a word!" Apparently, though, "learnings" is all the rage among the training cognoscenti at REI corporate.
When I yelled at Todd about it, he first denied having used the word that way, but when I repeated his words back to him he relented. He then went away as he does (and as I frequently do when I experience an unanswered question) and googled it. He came back laughing with a printout and said the first hit he got was: http://blog.jeffreymcmanus.com/?s=learnings. Great blog post and great comments. Something that an English professor might be interested in. ;-)
Oh, it's late again. I always say that, don't I? But it's true!
Till next time....
(Seems a shame to have to go in for just an hour. I wouldn't do it except that it's a Garmin clinic, and I need some education.)
But I'll get in a long run in the afternoon. The rain is supposed to have stopped by then. Maybe I'll do a ride and run combo, as I like to do. We'll see how the time goes.
I've been thinking about memorializing (Now that I'm about to say this out loud it sounds kind of stupid. Oh, well....) the anniversary of my first run -- April 18 -- with something special. Today I even arranged to have the 18th off. I was actually thinking since I was not able to schedule a marathon this Spring I'd do a personal private marathon. Maybe even get really extreme and do a century on the bike and a marathon. That sounds kind of crazy. I don't think I'll really do it though. Just a wild hair thought.
On another topic.... Todd, the Dallas REI store manager, just got back from a week-long Leadership Conference, and in our first conversation he used the word "learnings." As in "In today's session you'll have 4 learnings." I almost choked him. When I went to Seattle last year for a week of training for my SPE position, the people in charge kept saying that word. It drove me nuts. So much so that at the end of the week when they asked for our comments on the week's experience, my only comment was "'Learnings' is not a word!" Apparently, though, "learnings" is all the rage among the training cognoscenti at REI corporate.
When I yelled at Todd about it, he first denied having used the word that way, but when I repeated his words back to him he relented. He then went away as he does (and as I frequently do when I experience an unanswered question) and googled it. He came back laughing with a printout and said the first hit he got was: http://blog.jeffreymcmanus.com/?s=learnings. Great blog post and great comments. Something that an English professor might be interested in. ;-)
Oh, it's late again. I always say that, don't I? But it's true!
Till next time....
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Grapefruit....
I can't get enough of it. But it's got to be good sweet Texas Ruby Red grapefruit. Those yellow California grapefruit are so sour that I don't enjoy them nearly as much. Anyone out there prefer sour California grapefruit? ... ... ... didn't think so....
Didn't run today. But did a good loop yesterday (Wednesday). And on Tuesday I went back to Brookhaven for a run, only to discover that 1/4 mile of the trail is blocked because of a construction project. It turned out to be fun, though, because someone named Howard had blazed "Howard's Trail" sorta through the woods on the edge of the campus. So you could still do it (run laps), but only by doing a couple of stream crossings and some rock hopping and semi-sliding down and up muddy stream banks. Fun, if a little slower than just running on the track. Ended up doing 3 laps -- 6 miles. Might have done one more, but it was starting to get darkish, and I couldn't have done the detour, so I just stopped. It was enough, anyway.
I thought I had created a problem for myself on Tuesday's run, though. Climbing up a slippery bank the second of three times I followed Howard's Trail, I slipped a little bit and twisted my knee. I walked a little to see if the pain would go away, and it did. But not totally. Several times I had a weird pain in my knee. It felt sort of like my kneecap slipped out of place and popped back in place very quickly. That happened 4 or 5 times. I kept running (I've said before that my main "lesson learned" about running injuries is that I'm better off just ignoring them. This probably just means I haven't had a real injury yet. I'm in no hurry. No hurry to have an injury, that is.) and the pain kept going away.
[Wicked is a great show. I've always liked Broadway. No, I'm not gay. Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel are both great, and Stephen Schwartz is great, and the story is great, and it's all, well, great.]
Then yesterday I was worried again that the knee would be a problem. Didn't turn out that way, though. Went 'round the lake with no trouble at all. It's always an effort to run 9 miles. But it's familiar effort. It really is fun. Once you get past the point where any running at all is really hard -- once you achieve a certain level of fitness -- it's fun. I think at least many people who are "scared" of running (and no, I'm not talking to any particular person here) should give it a try. It's hardest at first. That goes for each individual run, as well. Every time I go out, it's hardest for the first mile or 2 or 3. Then I "settle into a rhythm." The feet move, the arms move, the lungs move, and I enjoy it, partly for the running itself and partly because of my consciousness that I'm helping myself with every stride.
Way back when I started riding the bike (way back in 2000) the same thing was true. It took a while to get to a certain level of fitness, and then it was fun. I wonder if swimming would be the same way? I STILL haven't done anything about that. Stupid me.
I just deleted a whole paragraph I'd written about my feelings about riding and running. It sounded a little unseemly. I guess I will say, though, that I like riding and running and I like the fact that I can do it. If that doesn't make sense, that's OK. It makes sense to me.
And it's really, really late again. Seems like it's always late when I get this stuff typed.
'Nite.
Didn't run today. But did a good loop yesterday (Wednesday). And on Tuesday I went back to Brookhaven for a run, only to discover that 1/4 mile of the trail is blocked because of a construction project. It turned out to be fun, though, because someone named Howard had blazed "Howard's Trail" sorta through the woods on the edge of the campus. So you could still do it (run laps), but only by doing a couple of stream crossings and some rock hopping and semi-sliding down and up muddy stream banks. Fun, if a little slower than just running on the track. Ended up doing 3 laps -- 6 miles. Might have done one more, but it was starting to get darkish, and I couldn't have done the detour, so I just stopped. It was enough, anyway.
I thought I had created a problem for myself on Tuesday's run, though. Climbing up a slippery bank the second of three times I followed Howard's Trail, I slipped a little bit and twisted my knee. I walked a little to see if the pain would go away, and it did. But not totally. Several times I had a weird pain in my knee. It felt sort of like my kneecap slipped out of place and popped back in place very quickly. That happened 4 or 5 times. I kept running (I've said before that my main "lesson learned" about running injuries is that I'm better off just ignoring them. This probably just means I haven't had a real injury yet. I'm in no hurry. No hurry to have an injury, that is.) and the pain kept going away.
[Wicked is a great show. I've always liked Broadway. No, I'm not gay. Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel are both great, and Stephen Schwartz is great, and the story is great, and it's all, well, great.]
Then yesterday I was worried again that the knee would be a problem. Didn't turn out that way, though. Went 'round the lake with no trouble at all. It's always an effort to run 9 miles. But it's familiar effort. It really is fun. Once you get past the point where any running at all is really hard -- once you achieve a certain level of fitness -- it's fun. I think at least many people who are "scared" of running (and no, I'm not talking to any particular person here) should give it a try. It's hardest at first. That goes for each individual run, as well. Every time I go out, it's hardest for the first mile or 2 or 3. Then I "settle into a rhythm." The feet move, the arms move, the lungs move, and I enjoy it, partly for the running itself and partly because of my consciousness that I'm helping myself with every stride.
Way back when I started riding the bike (way back in 2000) the same thing was true. It took a while to get to a certain level of fitness, and then it was fun. I wonder if swimming would be the same way? I STILL haven't done anything about that. Stupid me.
I just deleted a whole paragraph I'd written about my feelings about riding and running. It sounded a little unseemly. I guess I will say, though, that I like riding and running and I like the fact that I can do it. If that doesn't make sense, that's OK. It makes sense to me.
And it's really, really late again. Seems like it's always late when I get this stuff typed.
'Nite.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Just a quickie...
All is well. The Levee Run times were posted on the DRC site. They put me at 50:30. Two seconds slower than I thought. Tragedy! ;-)
Interestingly, I would have finished higher ranked in some of the younger age groups. There seem to be disproportionately many fit men between 50 and 54 in the Dallas Running Club. Oh, well. I'll never be an age group winner. I was 6th out of 12, and the guy before my was almost two full minutes ahead. A big margin. If I were in the Male 35-39 age group, though, I'd have been 4th of 14. 30-34, 7th of 18. 20-24, 7th of 14. Interesting.
On another topic... Are y'all out there in blogland Ry Cooder fans? Just now listening to Tattler, on the Paradise and Lunch album. Cooder does such a great job with traditional music. And in "my" style. And I love Boomer's Story. Fantastic CD. But (having asked around) I'm forced to admit probably not for everyone. Why is that? How can you not love that music? I suppose not everyone can enjoy the same things. Their loss.
It is not my wish (changing topics again, as quick as a flash) to turn this blog into my personal political soapbox. Blogs like that mostly just sound pretentious, and generally don't strike me as particularly insightful. I hope you'll forgive my previous post with the Bush outburst. It can be tough to set aside all my political instincts. All the years (well, it was just 6, so perhaps "all the years" is excessive) I spent doing that stuff for a living seem to want to burst out of me sometimes. People know I'm a government instructor and worked for a Congressman, so I get asked 10 times a day who I'm going to vote for. Students pester me constantly. I always dodge. That's private, unless I want to go there. I do love criticizing, though! ;-) It's more fun to kvetch about what's wrong with all the candidates, isn't it? And there's plenty wrong with all of them. Unfortunately, it seems we have only humans from whom to choose. That makes it harder to achieve perfection.
Well, it's late again, and I need to go.
Has anyone out there seen Rashomon?
Interestingly, I would have finished higher ranked in some of the younger age groups. There seem to be disproportionately many fit men between 50 and 54 in the Dallas Running Club. Oh, well. I'll never be an age group winner. I was 6th out of 12, and the guy before my was almost two full minutes ahead. A big margin. If I were in the Male 35-39 age group, though, I'd have been 4th of 14. 30-34, 7th of 18. 20-24, 7th of 14. Interesting.
On another topic... Are y'all out there in blogland Ry Cooder fans? Just now listening to Tattler, on the Paradise and Lunch album. Cooder does such a great job with traditional music. And in "my" style. And I love Boomer's Story. Fantastic CD. But (having asked around) I'm forced to admit probably not for everyone. Why is that? How can you not love that music? I suppose not everyone can enjoy the same things. Their loss.
It is not my wish (changing topics again, as quick as a flash) to turn this blog into my personal political soapbox. Blogs like that mostly just sound pretentious, and generally don't strike me as particularly insightful. I hope you'll forgive my previous post with the Bush outburst. It can be tough to set aside all my political instincts. All the years (well, it was just 6, so perhaps "all the years" is excessive) I spent doing that stuff for a living seem to want to burst out of me sometimes. People know I'm a government instructor and worked for a Congressman, so I get asked 10 times a day who I'm going to vote for. Students pester me constantly. I always dodge. That's private, unless I want to go there. I do love criticizing, though! ;-) It's more fun to kvetch about what's wrong with all the candidates, isn't it? And there's plenty wrong with all of them. Unfortunately, it seems we have only humans from whom to choose. That makes it harder to achieve perfection.
Well, it's late again, and I need to go.
Has anyone out there seen Rashomon?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Good day/Bad day
Well, my day started out great. I found Trammell Crow Lake easily enough and on time. Ready to volunteer at 6:45, as promised. Helped set up and run registration. Actually, after setting up tables and the awning, I mainly just handed out T-shirts. Then the run was really fun. It was just what I want those runs to be. Fast enough that I feel good about it, but not so much that I kill myself. Results are not posted yet, and because it was officially a City of Dallas event, I'm not even sure they will be. But as I came across the finish, it looked like I was at 50:28 (8:07 pace -- I'm getting to the point where I could maybe do a race like this in the 7s. That would be pretty cool. Actually I think I could do that now, but only at the cost of working too hard.). I'm happy with that. It's over a minute faster than the last timed 10K I did back in February. And this was on a rough gravel/dirt/mud surface having to run up and down the sides of the levee 4 times. If it had been flat on a hard surface I think I would have been under 50 minutes. That would have been fabulous.
A cool part of the day was that the race included a contest between cadets in the Dallas Police Academy and the Dallas Fire Department Academy. The cadets all ran the race. Then based on the top four male times and the top female time for Police and the same for Fire, they averaged the times to see who was the fastest. The Fire Department won. Boy, were they excited! And it was fun dealing with the cadets at registration. They seemed like a great group of people. Men and women, all colors, they were bright, seemed happy, called me "sir" (which I'm not sure I really like, but I know they meant well), and all-in-all seemed like they would be a positive addition to the public safety of Dallas.
I have to say that I've had several occasions to interact with Police officers in the last couple of years, and have heard stories from a couple of other people who've also had interactions of various kinds, and every one of these experiences has been entirely positive. At least in the sense of "reasonableness" and willingness to exercise judgment rather than leap to conclusions or be excessively deferential to "the book." Yes, I know about the "Fake Drug" scandal, which was atrocious, and I've read stories in the paper that tend to reflect poorly on the Police. But speaking personally, I have been very impressed by the maturity, level-headedness and professionalism of the officers I've had direct or even second-hand experience with.
Then, this afternoon, I went for a nice (but still cold) bike ride. More fun.
So that was the good day part. What was bad? I hate even to get into this. George Freakin' Bush. Vetoes a bill that would have outlawed torture. While in the same breath denying that "America tortures." I just don't know what to say. Except that George Bush needs to go away. He needs to put himself out of our misery. He's a disgrace. An unmitigated disaster. I'm just glad that I didn't hear his public statement. I'm afraid I would have thrown something at the radio. How does he rationalize this stuff?
The U.S. military banned waterboarding decades ago. In my class I show an image and talk about how the Army court martialed and dishonorably discharged several soldiers for waterboarding Viet Cong prisoners during the Viet Nam war. I'm convinced that George Bush simply does not have the intellectual capacity to understand the implications of things he does. Does anyone think that the Viet Nam era Army would have banned waterboarding -- regardless of its "distastefulness" -- if they believed it consistently produced useful intelligence? And....
Oh, well.... That's enough. Sorry. I'm going back to writing about running.
And I'm actually feeling a little better. Listening to Pepe Romero playing guitar transcriptions of Bach. He's so good. Both Romero and Bach.
One more thing: For a while I've been making these great fruit smoothies. Some fresh fruit and orange juice, some ice, blend it up and drink. Fabulous. But fresh fruit is so darned expensive. I've paid $2.75 for a tiny (I had written "tiny little" there, because it felt natural, but I decided it was redundant. I mean, it couldn't be "tiny big." Right?) container of blueberries. And I seem regularly to have to throw some of it away because it gets fuzzy before I use it. The other day, though, I had a brilliant, totally original, unique idea. How 'bout frozen fruit? MUCH cheaper and I never have to worry about using it in a frantic hurry. Brilliant, huh? And original, huh?
Don't forget to Spring Forward tonight!!
See y'all tomorrow.
A cool part of the day was that the race included a contest between cadets in the Dallas Police Academy and the Dallas Fire Department Academy. The cadets all ran the race. Then based on the top four male times and the top female time for Police and the same for Fire, they averaged the times to see who was the fastest. The Fire Department won. Boy, were they excited! And it was fun dealing with the cadets at registration. They seemed like a great group of people. Men and women, all colors, they were bright, seemed happy, called me "sir" (which I'm not sure I really like, but I know they meant well), and all-in-all seemed like they would be a positive addition to the public safety of Dallas.
I have to say that I've had several occasions to interact with Police officers in the last couple of years, and have heard stories from a couple of other people who've also had interactions of various kinds, and every one of these experiences has been entirely positive. At least in the sense of "reasonableness" and willingness to exercise judgment rather than leap to conclusions or be excessively deferential to "the book." Yes, I know about the "Fake Drug" scandal, which was atrocious, and I've read stories in the paper that tend to reflect poorly on the Police. But speaking personally, I have been very impressed by the maturity, level-headedness and professionalism of the officers I've had direct or even second-hand experience with.
Then, this afternoon, I went for a nice (but still cold) bike ride. More fun.
So that was the good day part. What was bad? I hate even to get into this. George Freakin' Bush. Vetoes a bill that would have outlawed torture. While in the same breath denying that "America tortures." I just don't know what to say. Except that George Bush needs to go away. He needs to put himself out of our misery. He's a disgrace. An unmitigated disaster. I'm just glad that I didn't hear his public statement. I'm afraid I would have thrown something at the radio. How does he rationalize this stuff?
The U.S. military banned waterboarding decades ago. In my class I show an image and talk about how the Army court martialed and dishonorably discharged several soldiers for waterboarding Viet Cong prisoners during the Viet Nam war. I'm convinced that George Bush simply does not have the intellectual capacity to understand the implications of things he does. Does anyone think that the Viet Nam era Army would have banned waterboarding -- regardless of its "distastefulness" -- if they believed it consistently produced useful intelligence? And....
Oh, well.... That's enough. Sorry. I'm going back to writing about running.
And I'm actually feeling a little better. Listening to Pepe Romero playing guitar transcriptions of Bach. He's so good. Both Romero and Bach.
One more thing: For a while I've been making these great fruit smoothies. Some fresh fruit and orange juice, some ice, blend it up and drink. Fabulous. But fresh fruit is so darned expensive. I've paid $2.75 for a tiny (I had written "tiny little" there, because it felt natural, but I decided it was redundant. I mean, it couldn't be "tiny big." Right?) container of blueberries. And I seem regularly to have to throw some of it away because it gets fuzzy before I use it. The other day, though, I had a brilliant, totally original, unique idea. How 'bout frozen fruit? MUCH cheaper and I never have to worry about using it in a frantic hurry. Brilliant, huh? And original, huh?
Don't forget to Spring Forward tonight!!
See y'all tomorrow.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Levee Run tomorrow
How long has it been since you listened to Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto? Well, that's too long. It had been a long time for me. Till just a few minutes ago, when it ended. It used to be one of my favorites. Still is. I'd just forgotten why.
I've said before that I'm a re-reader and a re-listener. I don't know what that says about me, if anything. (I actually have a couple of ideas that I'll keep to myself.) But when I listen to that Rachmaninoff I am sure that whatever else I could be listening to that I've never heard before, could not possibly be more enjoyable. Like Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, or Turandot, or Time Out, or even (to be at least marginally less an old fogey) James Taylor’s astounding new CD “One Man Band.” Yes, I know, even that is pretty fogeyish.
I know there’s a lot that I just don’t yet know I’d like to listen to. (If that sentence made any sense.) I just can’t conceive that I could enjoy it as much as the stuff I already know. Perhaps that simply means that I need a new person in my life to “force me” to listen to newer things. I don’t know. As I’m listening to the canned music at REI there is occasionally a song that strikes a chord with me. One recently was Patty Griffin singing “Oh Heavenly Day.” Now, I know that’s not exactly what my 24 year old colleagues are talking about when they tell me I should listen to newer music. But it was new to me, and I've now got the CD. And it's pretty fun.
Anyway, all of you out there should go right now and fire up "Rach 2" and give it a listen. I hope not for the first time. You'll be glad you did.
On to the title topic, though...
Tomorrow is the annual "Levee Run." We'll meet just on the southwest side of downtown and run a 10K loop on the levee tops. I've never done it, of course, but I'm looking forward to it. A little off-road running. Should also be notable because it's supposed to be in the mid to upper 20s at start time. And it will still be wet from the rain/snow in the last few days. Brrrr..... I'll definitely be wearing the tights. Not something anyone really wants to see (me in tights), but it's the price they have to pay. If I do say so myself, though, as bad as it is, me in tights is probably not the worst thing they'll see tomorrow. Some people dress (by my lights) completely inappropriately. One specific thing I’m talking about: I've definitely decided that men should be just as required to wear shirts as women are.
I don’t know really what shoes to wear. Not that it really matters, only running a 10K, but it will make a comfort difference. I think I’ll wear the Hardrocks, if that helps you. ;-)
Now, though, I really need to hit the hay. I’m volunteering for registration before the run, and have to be there at 6:45. And I don’t actually even know exactly where I supposed to meet. So I’ll leave early.
Hope I don’t freeze!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Ouch II
Don't ya love these sequel posts?
I can't raise my arm very well this morning. It's not "hurt." It's just bruised. And it's weird, because it's an invisible bruise. The way it feels, it should be all black and blue and purple. But none of that.
I was going to go for a ride this morning, because I don't have to be at work till 10:30, but I decided the responsible thing to do was stay home and do school work. So naturally, what am I doing? Reading about the election and now doing a blog post. I'd have been better off riding.
So, Hillary's staying in it because she thinks that although she'll lose the popular vote, she can get enough support from Superdelegates to win the nomination. That's the only thing she can be thinking. She can't possibly win it outright. There are not enough delegates left. Or, rather, it's not conceivable that she could win enough of the remaining delegates to win on the basis of pledged delegates. She thinks she'll lose, but win. Just like George Bush. (And no, I do not think he **really** lost the election. (All those people still bitterly claiming that Bush "stole" the 2000 election need to get a life and an education, or perhaps some objectivity, or at least some honesty (all those politicos who actually know Bush won, but are still stirring the pot for some imagined political advantage).) Bush did, however, receive fewer popular votes and yet won the election. Is it ironic that Clinton is now pursuing a strategy to accomplish what she and others castigated Bush for?
[It's always a little creepy typing things like that that smack of defending George Bush. But reality is reality.]
Oops. I'm about to be late. Gotta go.
I can't raise my arm very well this morning. It's not "hurt." It's just bruised. And it's weird, because it's an invisible bruise. The way it feels, it should be all black and blue and purple. But none of that.
I was going to go for a ride this morning, because I don't have to be at work till 10:30, but I decided the responsible thing to do was stay home and do school work. So naturally, what am I doing? Reading about the election and now doing a blog post. I'd have been better off riding.
So, Hillary's staying in it because she thinks that although she'll lose the popular vote, she can get enough support from Superdelegates to win the nomination. That's the only thing she can be thinking. She can't possibly win it outright. There are not enough delegates left. Or, rather, it's not conceivable that she could win enough of the remaining delegates to win on the basis of pledged delegates. She thinks she'll lose, but win. Just like George Bush. (And no, I do not think he **really** lost the election. (All those people still bitterly claiming that Bush "stole" the 2000 election need to get a life and an education, or perhaps some objectivity, or at least some honesty (all those politicos who actually know Bush won, but are still stirring the pot for some imagined political advantage).) Bush did, however, receive fewer popular votes and yet won the election. Is it ironic that Clinton is now pursuing a strategy to accomplish what she and others castigated Bush for?
[It's always a little creepy typing things like that that smack of defending George Bush. But reality is reality.]
Oops. I'm about to be late. Gotta go.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Ouch!
Well, I was off today after my classes this morning, so I went for another ride and run. It was going fine until it happened. I haven't had a fall in a long, long time. It's no fun to fall off the bike. The ground -- actually the pavement, of course -- is, if you hadn't noticed, hard. And falling on it hurts, as I was reminded today.
I was rolling along at the top of the Winsted hill recovering from the climb and looked down at my computer to check my heart rate. When I looked down I realized I was on the wrong page so I had to hit a button to get to the heart rate. I'd been telling myself for 3 weeks now that I need to reset the computer so that heart rate is on my main page, but hadn't done it. Anyway, while I was fiddling with the computer I lost track of how close I was getting to a car parked on the street. When I looked up I was right on top of it. I slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel to avoid hitting. I didn't hit the car, but I did go over the handlebars of the bike -- I did an endo. I'm sure one of those ridiculous "Funniest Videos" TV shows would love to show the crash.
(I HATE those shows. I don't understand why people want to watch other people get hurt. Yes, I know I'm in the minority, and people call me a stick in the mud for not laughing at those things, but they just make me cringe. And yes, I've been told it (being entertained by the misfortune of others -- schadenfreude) is just a normal psychological reaction of relief that it's someone else getting hurt or humiliated. "It's not really malicious, and doesn't mean you're a bad person." But that doesn't make it OK. Not to me.)
Anyway, I went flying over the handlebars and came down hard on my right shoulder. Fortunately I didn't break anything. I've had two broken collarbones from similar crashes. This time I've just ended up with a sore shoulder, so far. It seems like I landed on the fleshy outer part of my shoulder (that's where it mostly hurts now) instead of the bony top. I think that's what saved me.
[Listening to Pandora's "Genre" station Classical: Choral, Baroque, and it's really good. Calm and well-performed so far. Whatever you may think of religion, one unquestionably positive impact it has had on the world is the wonderful music.]
I went ahead and finished the ride -- fortunately, the bike was OK as well -- and did the run I'd planned. The run started out really slowly, but I loosened up after a while. For the first mile I was afraid I was going to have to stop. It was 3 miles before I started feeling right. Falling is a shock, physical and emotional, and it's tough to recover. It's tough for me, anyway.
Remember my friend Chad? He raced bikes for 16 (??) years. Had numerous falls, of course. But about 2 years ago he was almost home after a long ride when he lost focus for an **instant** and caught his front tire in a crack and endoed. He wasn't really hurt, I'm glad to say. He didn't have to go to the hospital, anyway. But it really shook him up. And after spending decades riding his bike, he essentially quit. Because of that one crash. I suppose it was just one too many, and -- he says -- he's now "old" (he was, I think, 34 then). I guess the point is just that falling off a bike is tough on the body and the mind. Anyway......
On another topic.... Had a conversation with June yesterday, and she's slotted me in to a May Term class. I was glad. I'll be the only non-full-timer teaching in May Term. So I'll have a May Term and a Summer I class, but not a Summer II, at least not yet. I think that'll be OK. The income would be nice, but the time off will be nice, too.
Plus, I'm doing the AP Government and Politics exam reading this year. So, Spring ends on May 8th, May Term starts on May 12 (long weekend in between) and ends on Friday, May 30. I fly to Daytona Beach on that Sunday, June 1, and return on Monday, June 9, which is the first day of Summer I. So I'll miss the first day. I hope I don't get fired....
And I hope the AP thing is not too bad. We'll see about that. I was surprised they asked me after I backed out of doing it last year. It'll be an interesting experience, anyway.
And speaking of experiences, the experience I need now is sleep. I'm beat. I was up late last night watching election returns, and today ended up being a kind of hard day.
Till next time....
I was rolling along at the top of the Winsted hill recovering from the climb and looked down at my computer to check my heart rate. When I looked down I realized I was on the wrong page so I had to hit a button to get to the heart rate. I'd been telling myself for 3 weeks now that I need to reset the computer so that heart rate is on my main page, but hadn't done it. Anyway, while I was fiddling with the computer I lost track of how close I was getting to a car parked on the street. When I looked up I was right on top of it. I slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel to avoid hitting. I didn't hit the car, but I did go over the handlebars of the bike -- I did an endo. I'm sure one of those ridiculous "Funniest Videos" TV shows would love to show the crash.
(I HATE those shows. I don't understand why people want to watch other people get hurt. Yes, I know I'm in the minority, and people call me a stick in the mud for not laughing at those things, but they just make me cringe. And yes, I've been told it (being entertained by the misfortune of others -- schadenfreude) is just a normal psychological reaction of relief that it's someone else getting hurt or humiliated. "It's not really malicious, and doesn't mean you're a bad person." But that doesn't make it OK. Not to me.)
Anyway, I went flying over the handlebars and came down hard on my right shoulder. Fortunately I didn't break anything. I've had two broken collarbones from similar crashes. This time I've just ended up with a sore shoulder, so far. It seems like I landed on the fleshy outer part of my shoulder (that's where it mostly hurts now) instead of the bony top. I think that's what saved me.
[Listening to Pandora's "Genre" station Classical: Choral, Baroque, and it's really good. Calm and well-performed so far. Whatever you may think of religion, one unquestionably positive impact it has had on the world is the wonderful music.]
I went ahead and finished the ride -- fortunately, the bike was OK as well -- and did the run I'd planned. The run started out really slowly, but I loosened up after a while. For the first mile I was afraid I was going to have to stop. It was 3 miles before I started feeling right. Falling is a shock, physical and emotional, and it's tough to recover. It's tough for me, anyway.
Remember my friend Chad? He raced bikes for 16 (??) years. Had numerous falls, of course. But about 2 years ago he was almost home after a long ride when he lost focus for an **instant** and caught his front tire in a crack and endoed. He wasn't really hurt, I'm glad to say. He didn't have to go to the hospital, anyway. But it really shook him up. And after spending decades riding his bike, he essentially quit. Because of that one crash. I suppose it was just one too many, and -- he says -- he's now "old" (he was, I think, 34 then). I guess the point is just that falling off a bike is tough on the body and the mind. Anyway......
On another topic.... Had a conversation with June yesterday, and she's slotted me in to a May Term class. I was glad. I'll be the only non-full-timer teaching in May Term. So I'll have a May Term and a Summer I class, but not a Summer II, at least not yet. I think that'll be OK. The income would be nice, but the time off will be nice, too.
Plus, I'm doing the AP Government and Politics exam reading this year. So, Spring ends on May 8th, May Term starts on May 12 (long weekend in between) and ends on Friday, May 30. I fly to Daytona Beach on that Sunday, June 1, and return on Monday, June 9, which is the first day of Summer I. So I'll miss the first day. I hope I don't get fired....
And I hope the AP thing is not too bad. We'll see about that. I was surprised they asked me after I backed out of doing it last year. It'll be an interesting experience, anyway.
And speaking of experiences, the experience I need now is sleep. I'm beat. I was up late last night watching election returns, and today ended up being a kind of hard day.
Till next time....
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Election (primary) Day II
Well, I've voted and caucused. McCain has won all the elections on offer, and Huckabee has dropped out. At this red hot moment, Obama has won Vermont and Clinton has won Rhode Island, and Ohio and Texas have not yet been called by the networks. (Though Hillary is way ahead in Ohio and Barack is marginally ahead in Texas.)
McCain is making what is sounding like a pretty good speech. I kind of like it, because he's being moderate.
Huh? He just said "We are the captains of our fate." What was the name of the poem? I was raised in a church where it was preached that "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul" was evil. (I may have masters and captains mixed up there....)
OK. Sorry. I had to go look up Invictus. I hope that doesn't make me seem illiterate. Just couldn't remember the name of the poem. And I had masters and captains right, by the way.
[Vince Guaraldi -- "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" -- there's a LOT of great music out there.]
Anyway, back in Memphis, TN, preachers used that poem as an example of godlessness. I suppose I'm too sensitive -- does anyone else out there have a similar experience? -- but I think that may not be the best line for McCain to be using. Sort of like when George Bush 41 talked in a speech or two about creating a "new world order" as if he didn't understand that his most conservative supporters rail against exactly that, and suspected GB was part of the global Illuminati/Bildergerger/UN/NWO/CFR, etc. conspiracy all along.
Another delay....
I just googled and learned that McCain has been using that line regularly in his speeches. I can **guarantee** you that some of Huckabee's continuing support has been among people who think McCain is a heathen because of using that line.
OMG!! ;-) (Does saying "OMG" make me seem young?) I just looked at results, and Clinton has pulled ahead of Obama in Texas. They've called Ohio for her. According to a map on CNN, it looks like in Texas, Obama has won Dallas, Austin and Houston, and Clinton has won almost everything else.
I just don't know what to think. It's going to be a dead heat for the Dems after tonight. Even deader than it was before. How are they going to choose their candidate? Can they REALLY go all the way to the convention without a candidate? No Way!! Fascinating. But neither of them is taking control yet. Clinton today was making big noise about Obama's Canada screw-up. Obama is not looking nearly as good as he was just a few days ago. Either as a candidate or as a president. Stick around. There are going to be lots of fireworks before Barack or Hillary bows out.
McCain is making what is sounding like a pretty good speech. I kind of like it, because he's being moderate.
Huh? He just said "We are the captains of our fate." What was the name of the poem? I was raised in a church where it was preached that "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul" was evil. (I may have masters and captains mixed up there....)
OK. Sorry. I had to go look up Invictus. I hope that doesn't make me seem illiterate. Just couldn't remember the name of the poem. And I had masters and captains right, by the way.
[Vince Guaraldi -- "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" -- there's a LOT of great music out there.]
Anyway, back in Memphis, TN, preachers used that poem as an example of godlessness. I suppose I'm too sensitive -- does anyone else out there have a similar experience? -- but I think that may not be the best line for McCain to be using. Sort of like when George Bush 41 talked in a speech or two about creating a "new world order" as if he didn't understand that his most conservative supporters rail against exactly that, and suspected GB was part of the global Illuminati/Bildergerger/UN/NWO/CFR, etc. conspiracy all along.
Another delay....
I just googled and learned that McCain has been using that line regularly in his speeches. I can **guarantee** you that some of Huckabee's continuing support has been among people who think McCain is a heathen because of using that line.
OMG!! ;-) (Does saying "OMG" make me seem young?) I just looked at results, and Clinton has pulled ahead of Obama in Texas. They've called Ohio for her. According to a map on CNN, it looks like in Texas, Obama has won Dallas, Austin and Houston, and Clinton has won almost everything else.
I just don't know what to think. It's going to be a dead heat for the Dems after tonight. Even deader than it was before. How are they going to choose their candidate? Can they REALLY go all the way to the convention without a candidate? No Way!! Fascinating. But neither of them is taking control yet. Clinton today was making big noise about Obama's Canada screw-up. Obama is not looking nearly as good as he was just a few days ago. Either as a candidate or as a president. Stick around. There are going to be lots of fireworks before Barack or Hillary bows out.
Election (primary) Day
Well, I hope all of you out there in blogland have voted and are planning to attend your precinct convention/caucus this evening. It's less important for those of you who are Republicans, but still something you should do. For Democrats, though, it's an absolutely critical part of the process. Really it's almost as important as voting in the first place. Up to 25% of the total delegate allocation is determined in the caucuses. You've really got to represent your candidate.
I'm just leaving for the caucus now. I'll report in after I return.
And, just for the record, I think even if Clinton loses Texas and Ohio, she's not dropping out yet. Even though most of the commentators are saying it's all or nothing today. My sense is that they're wrong. We may or may not find out if I'm right....
I'm just leaving for the caucus now. I'll report in after I return.
And, just for the record, I think even if Clinton loses Texas and Ohio, she's not dropping out yet. Even though most of the commentators are saying it's all or nothing today. My sense is that they're wrong. We may or may not find out if I'm right....
Monday, March 3, 2008
Snow!
It's snowing outside. What's up with that? It's not supposed to snow in Dallas in March. But it's OK. I'm inside where it's warm. Sitting here listening to Dave van Ronk sing "Sunday Street," eating a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal (one of my favorite guilty pleasures) and drinking an espresso (decaf). What more could a guy want?
And I've got a new weird project. Maybe project is the wrong word. It's more like an experiment. If it works the way it **could** it'll be a surprise and a real boon. What is it? Well, I think I'll keep my powder dry on that for a little while. Somehow it feels right to be mysterious with the snow falling and Dave growling.
Looking forward to primary day tomorrow. Has everyone out there selected their candidate? Is everyone planning to go to their precinct convention? (That's an important event, which is usually more or less ignored, till this year when Obama and Clinton both need delegates.)
I think I'm going to go spend some time on this new deal. Probably a total waste. But stranger things have happened....
(Interesting to hear Dave van Ronk singing "Matchbox," which I learned 40 years ago as a Beatles song. It sounds different now.)
Stay warm.
And I've got a new weird project. Maybe project is the wrong word. It's more like an experiment. If it works the way it **could** it'll be a surprise and a real boon. What is it? Well, I think I'll keep my powder dry on that for a little while. Somehow it feels right to be mysterious with the snow falling and Dave growling.
Looking forward to primary day tomorrow. Has everyone out there selected their candidate? Is everyone planning to go to their precinct convention? (That's an important event, which is usually more or less ignored, till this year when Obama and Clinton both need delegates.)
I think I'm going to go spend some time on this new deal. Probably a total waste. But stranger things have happened....
(Interesting to hear Dave van Ronk singing "Matchbox," which I learned 40 years ago as a Beatles song. It sounds different now.)
Stay warm.
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