THE RUN
The run was educational.
I took Good Friday off from work. (for no particular reason other than we were given half the day off as a holiday, so I decided I wanted a whole day. So I took it.)
I spent Friday installing new brake pads on my car (this took about thirty minutes) and sanding the two tables I am building for the church sound room (which took a couple of hours).
Even though I took a nap Friday, I went to bed Friday night a bit sore and tired.
This did not bode well for the planned Saturday festivities.
Sure enough, Saturday morning I woke up still a bit sore and tired.
But a plan is a plan, and the Coach in me said, the deal was still on, let's get to it.
So I dressed for the run.
The temperature was in the mid 40's so it was the full set of double layers top and bottom (I will be SO glad when it warms up. 8-( ).
As soon as I took my first steps my left hams and glutes began mumbling about all the effort they had been through the previous day and how they needed more time off, etc.
The Coach would have none of this.
Running Central was instructed to ignore all communications from the left leg for the duration of the party.
And, wonder of wonders, after a couple of minutes in run mode, the left leg joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons all shut up and did their jobs.
Knowing I was tired from my efforts of the previous day, I was expecting some diminished performance ( speed/time, accelerated breathing, etc.), I just did not know how it would manifest itself.
Hill one went fine, though I could feel my sub-prime strength.
But my breathing remained comfortably elevated.
Hill two went similarly well, much to my surprise.
Mile two usually is uneventful (assuming the police leave me alone) and this day was no exception.
Mile three sometimes is where my weaknesses make themselves known.
But today, in spite of my cautionary expectations, I only felt a little more fatigued.
As I wound my way through the parking lots of the office center in my final quarter mile, I felt tired but not desperately so.
And then an amazing thing happened.
I forgot I was tired.
As I approached my finish line/crack I was chugging along thinking about something not related to running (I forget what), and when I came up to the line - I did not want to stop.
Amazing.
My time was forty-two minutes.
I was pleased and surprised.
This leads me to again consider extending my course a few more thousand feet.
Or perhaps go back to the Cotton Row course and run Bankhead hill and the roads on either side again.
SOME COMMENTS
As I mentioned last time, I find the statements of "Reverend" Jeremiah Wright most revealing of his theology and his political inclinations.
While I simply formulated some questions about those comments broadcast by the media last time, I will now present those statements and my comments about each of them.
It has been argued by some who seek to defend Reverend Wright, that the broadcast statements were taken out of context, one wonders how any context could change the meaning or interpretation of those words.
Judge for yosef......
Wright's comments include the following:
"The government gives them [African Americans] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.
No, no, no, not God bless America; God d*** America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people.”
It is a statistical fact that 25 percent of all Negro men in the United States either are currently in or have been in jail.
While some percent of these people have been falsely accused, they are still significantly more prone to lawlessness than any other racial group in this country by a wide margin.
This makes them less innocent than Mr. Wright's assertion.
“God d*** America for treating our citizens as less than human.”
He is probably referring to the 3/5's compromise when the Constitution was being drafted, where slaves in the southern states were counted as 3/5 of a person for purposes of representation.
While it was a dehumanizing action, it was not the only dehumanizing act by a nation.
It was a reasonable compromise in the circumstances of the time.
Those times are long gone.
The United States has not had any slaves in over 140 years.
All Negro people in this country are protected by numerous laws and several amendments to the Constitution to ensure their “humanness” and equality with other citizens.
While some unfair and ugly things have been done to black people in this country since the freeing of the slaves, they are becoming more rare.
I suggest Reverend Wright and his sympathizers get over the civil war.
“God d*** America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."
If he does not likes the way “America” - whatever that is in his mind (the government, the white population, what?) acts, one has to ask, how should “America” act to please Reverend Wright?
And if God were to condemn America, what exactly would that accomplish?
If God were to condemn America, what would happen to Reverend Wright and his sycophants and followers?
Does Reverend Wright feel that he and his sycophants and followers are not Americans?
Does Reverend Wright feel that he and his sycophants and followers would somehow escape the condemnation of America by God?
“We Bombed Hiroshima.
We bombed Nagasaki.
We nuked far more than in New York and the pentagon, and we never batted an eye.
Yes, we did.
It should be pointed out that we were AT WAR at the time.
The Japanese had killed thousands of our men – black and white.
We were attacked first. (remember a place called Pearl Harbor?)
Is the Reverend suggesting that we not defend ourselves when attacked?
"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards.”
Reverend Wright has it wrong (again).
The Palestinians are not a peace-loving people.
They desire, as a stated policy, to destroy the nation of Israel and wipe it off the map.
They claim this end as a duty of their religion.
They attack the nation of Israel daily.
We support the right of a peaceful nation to defend itself against those forces which seek to destroy it.
South Africa is another story.
Segregation and discrimination were national policy for many years.
But that has changed now.
Apartheid has been over for several years.
It is time for Reverend Wright to get over this issue as well.
“America's chickens are coming home to roost."
“Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country and who lived in a culture that was controlled by rich white people.”
Point one -
Jesus was “poor” by choice.
For most of his life he was a carpenter.
He earned a living for himself and his widowed mother. (we can assume that his brothers and sisters also contributed to the support of his mother.)
But after he began preaching, he was surrounded by people who wanted him to become king.
They were willing to fight for him to become so.
Jesus preached that we would have the poor with us ALWAYS. (Mark 14:7)
He also preached that true riches were spiritual, not material.
By that measure, Jesus was never “poor”.
Point two -
Jesus was not a “black” man.
He was Jewish, a descendant of inhabitants of the Middle East.
Jews and Arabs are not considered “black”, racially, nor do they look black.
Point three -
The Jewish nation in Jesus' time was occupied by the Romans.
Jewish society and religion were allowed to operate largely without interference by the Romans.
Some of the richest people in Jesus' time were Jews – his countrymen.
Point four -
ANY society is controlled by the “rich”.
Specifically, the richest members of that society.
It was true then, and it is true now.
“The Romans were rich.
The Romans were Italians.
Which means that they were Europeans.
Which means that they were white.
And the Romans ran everything in Jesus' country.”
Not all the Romans were rich – ask the soldiers.
Jesus told them to be content with their wages. (Luke 3:14)
No one has to be “content” with wages if they are “rich”.
The implication here is that there is something wrong with being either white or rich, or both.
"It just came to me within the past few weeks, y'all, why so many folks are hating on Barack Obama.”
Who has said or written “hateful” things about Barack Hussein Obama in the last few weeks?
“He doesn't fit the model.
He ain't white, he ain't rich, and he ain't privileged. “
Reverend Wright has his facts wrong.
Barack Hussein Obama IS rich.
He is a member of the United States Senate, one of the richest, most privileged assemblies in the world.
He is paid $165,200 per year.
I call that rich.
“Hillary fits the mold.
Europeans fit the mold, Giuliani fits the mold.
Rich white men fit the mold.“
What mold do rich black men fit?
“Hillary never had a cab whiz past her and not pick her up because her skin was the wrong color.”
Are you sure that was why the cab passed the black-skinned person?
Maybe the cab had to be somewhere to pick up someone else?
“Hillary never had to worry about being pulled over in her car as a black man driving in the wrong.
“I am sick of Negroes who just do not get it.”
What do these Negroes not “get”?
That they should hate everyone who has more material wealth than they do?
They they should envy the rich, and express this envy with insults?
That because of abuse of their ancestors, they should feel that they are owed something special by the current society/government?
“Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single parent home, Barack was.
Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people.”
Hillary grew up in a county and culture that was controlled by rich white people, too.
So did I.
So what?
Name a culture that is not controlled by rich white people, unless it is in Africa, where the culture is controlled by rich black people.
African governments are well known for their corruption and the wide disparity between the rich and poor.
Why is that?
Could it be that riches corrupt regardless of race or skin color?
If you don't like a country and culture that is controlled by rich white people, why don't you go to a country and culture that is controlled by rich black people?
Hillary can never know that.
Hillary ain't never been called a nigger.
Sticks and stones can break my bones but names can never hurt me.
“Hillary has never had her people defined as non-persons."
No, but who in this country is defined as a “non-person” now?
"Hillary ain't never had to work twice as hard just to get accepted by the rich white folk who run everything.
Or to get a passing grade when you know you are smarter than that C student sittin' in the White House.
“Oh, I'm so glad that I got a God who knows what it is to be a poor black man living in a country that is controlled by and run by rich white people.”
It seems that the implication here is that the “rich, white people” do things that are unfair to the “poor black man”.
Some questions -
Who passed the law that ended slavery?
Who passed the “war on poverty” laws?
Who passed the equal opportunity act?
Who passed the voting rights acts?
Who passed all the laws guaranteeing equality to black people?
Was it all those rich white people in the U.S. government?
“He taught me, Jesus did, how to love my enemies.”
If you love your enemies, reverend Wright, it is difficult to see it in your rhetoric.
What I see in your words is anger over past events and circumstances that no longer exist.
So why the anger if you love your enemies?
I see envy in your words against “rich white” people.
Why is that?
They are the people who are in a position to offer you a job and pay you for working.
Do you resent that?
“Jesus taught me how to love the hell out of my enemies.”
In the light of the teachings of Jesus, what exactly does this mean?
It sounds and reads like sarcasm.
If not, it would be useful to understand what you mean by this statement, and how you justify it by the teachings of the Bible.
“And not be reduced to their level of bigotry, hatred, and small-mindedness.”
Unfortunately, based on your previous statements, it appears to me that you are totally and altogether reduced to a level of bigotry, hatred, and small-mindedness that so throughly debilitates your thinking and actions that you must find it nearly impossible to function in this society.
“Hillary ain't never had her own people say she wasn't white enough.”
Okay, Hillary is not white enough.
“Jesus had his own people siding with the enemy.”
The enemy of a holy, loving God is sin, hatred, rebellion, and lies.
Which side are you on, Reverend Wright?
Are you trying to communicate the love and holiness of God to the rich white people, or are you more interested in inflaming human passion and animus against people not of your race?
Where is your message of forgiveness for past wrongs done to your people and ancestors?
Where is your message of love and restoration?
Where is your offer of understanding and dialog to those with whom you disagree?
“This is why I love Jesus, y'all.
He never let their hatred dampen his hope.”
That is because he knew who he was – the son of God.
If you are a saved person, you also are a son of God.
By the way, on your church website, nowhere does it state that you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?
....................................................
It should be pointed out that while these statements were being made, the audience was not silent.
Many of them were shouting in agreement.
I copied these quotes from a news article, then watched the video on uTube to verify the accuracy of the printed statements.
Corrections were made based on the video.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Another Good Run and Some Opinions
THE RUN
The temperature this morning was 52 degrees.
There was a light breeze.
Nice enough for abbreviated clothing (it is a large bother to me to have to figure out exactly what to wear for cold weather running – wear too much and I get hot and sweaty, wear too little and I am cold – or parts of me are cold. And when I am cold, I feel stiff and inflexible, which limits my running form, which increases the potential for injury. I do not like injuries.)
Whew.
Got all that?
Thus, no gloves, no long pants, no tights, no double socks, no neck warmer, no ear cover.
Anyway, I managed to insert my run in between two thunderstorms.
The first was about 3-4 AM, the second arrived at about 8 AM.
I did not see the first one – only heard some of it.
The second one was a dandy with lots of lightning and boom booms.
In between 6 AM and 7 AM, it was a pleasant time on the roads.
At least , most of me thought so.
My left hamstring started whining early into the first mile.
Before long, my left hip joined in.
I think all this was leftovers from my weight workout on Thursday.
I pounded the stuffings out of me in that session.
I must have been more productive than I estimated.
No matter.
Running Central took note of the complaints and filed them away.
The Coach in me said, shut up and run.
The runner in me said, these minor complaints will not diminish the pleasure of this session.
And onward we went.
The joint complaints moderated to a nearly inaudible level for the rest of the journey.
I was feeling so frisky at the end that I sprinted (such as I can at my advanced age) to the finish line crack.
It was only then, as I started walking, that my hammy and hip began to complain rather loudly.
My hip was so distressed that it threatened to cause my left leg to collapse.
But this did not happen.
All in all, it was a good session.
OTHER NEWS N VIEWS
I was pleased to see the resignation of Elliot Spitzer, Governor of New York.
I was never impressed in a positive way with his pursuit of financial executives when he was Attorney General of the state of New York.
He ruined the career and reputation of several individuals who were not guilty of violating any laws.
And he was a Democrat.
I like it when pompous, self-righteous politicians, who try to like to tell Republican/conservative/Christian people that they cannot legislate morality, are caught in moral compromises of their own making.
An ongoing relationship with prostitutes speaks many negative things about the man, his marriage, his morality, and his hypocrisy.
It also makes his crusade against Wall Street executives seem even more despicable.
I feel sorry for his wife and children.
Barack Hussein Obama
How interesting to hear the blasphemous, anti-American, irreverent comments of the Senator's pastor, “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright, in a sermon from a couple of years back.
While Mr. Osa... Obama is currently in the process of “distancing” himself from his pastor of 20 years, the mud has been flung and it is stuck on the candidate.
Interestingly, Rev. Wright was on the staff of the Obama campaign as an advisor – until today.
He has been fired.
Mr. Osa...Obama says that he “still respects” Rev. Wright.
I have some questions -
Why does Senator Osam.... Obama respect Rev. Wright if he believes such things about this nation?
If Senator Osam.... Obama does not subscribe to the anti-American views of Rev. Wright, what views of Rev. Wright does Mr. Osa.... Obama support?
If the comments of Rev. Wright were reflective of his feelings when he spoke them in 2001 (or whenever), does he still subscribe to those opinions today?
And if he does not embrace such views today, when did he change his mind?
And if he did change his opinions, what are his views on America now?
And if the Rev. Wright did change his opinions about America, when did he announce such changes in a forum equivalent to that in which he made his original proclamations?
And if the Rev. Wright has NOT changed his opinion about America, WHY is he an advisor to a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America?
What could this man, with opinions thus stated, possibly contribute to a candidate whose sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution of the United States of America?
......................
I submit that where will be no satisfactory answers to these questions.
The temperature this morning was 52 degrees.
There was a light breeze.
Nice enough for abbreviated clothing (it is a large bother to me to have to figure out exactly what to wear for cold weather running – wear too much and I get hot and sweaty, wear too little and I am cold – or parts of me are cold. And when I am cold, I feel stiff and inflexible, which limits my running form, which increases the potential for injury. I do not like injuries.)
Whew.
Got all that?
Thus, no gloves, no long pants, no tights, no double socks, no neck warmer, no ear cover.
Anyway, I managed to insert my run in between two thunderstorms.
The first was about 3-4 AM, the second arrived at about 8 AM.
I did not see the first one – only heard some of it.
The second one was a dandy with lots of lightning and boom booms.
In between 6 AM and 7 AM, it was a pleasant time on the roads.
At least , most of me thought so.
My left hamstring started whining early into the first mile.
Before long, my left hip joined in.
I think all this was leftovers from my weight workout on Thursday.
I pounded the stuffings out of me in that session.
I must have been more productive than I estimated.
No matter.
Running Central took note of the complaints and filed them away.
The Coach in me said, shut up and run.
The runner in me said, these minor complaints will not diminish the pleasure of this session.
And onward we went.
The joint complaints moderated to a nearly inaudible level for the rest of the journey.
I was feeling so frisky at the end that I sprinted (such as I can at my advanced age) to the finish line crack.
It was only then, as I started walking, that my hammy and hip began to complain rather loudly.
My hip was so distressed that it threatened to cause my left leg to collapse.
But this did not happen.
All in all, it was a good session.
OTHER NEWS N VIEWS
I was pleased to see the resignation of Elliot Spitzer, Governor of New York.
I was never impressed in a positive way with his pursuit of financial executives when he was Attorney General of the state of New York.
He ruined the career and reputation of several individuals who were not guilty of violating any laws.
And he was a Democrat.
I like it when pompous, self-righteous politicians, who try to like to tell Republican/conservative/Christian people that they cannot legislate morality, are caught in moral compromises of their own making.
An ongoing relationship with prostitutes speaks many negative things about the man, his marriage, his morality, and his hypocrisy.
It also makes his crusade against Wall Street executives seem even more despicable.
I feel sorry for his wife and children.
Barack Hussein Obama
How interesting to hear the blasphemous, anti-American, irreverent comments of the Senator's pastor, “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright, in a sermon from a couple of years back.
While Mr. Osa... Obama is currently in the process of “distancing” himself from his pastor of 20 years, the mud has been flung and it is stuck on the candidate.
Interestingly, Rev. Wright was on the staff of the Obama campaign as an advisor – until today.
He has been fired.
Mr. Osa...Obama says that he “still respects” Rev. Wright.
I have some questions -
Why does Senator Osam.... Obama respect Rev. Wright if he believes such things about this nation?
If Senator Osam.... Obama does not subscribe to the anti-American views of Rev. Wright, what views of Rev. Wright does Mr. Osa.... Obama support?
If the comments of Rev. Wright were reflective of his feelings when he spoke them in 2001 (or whenever), does he still subscribe to those opinions today?
And if he does not embrace such views today, when did he change his mind?
And if he did change his opinions, what are his views on America now?
And if the Rev. Wright did change his opinions about America, when did he announce such changes in a forum equivalent to that in which he made his original proclamations?
And if the Rev. Wright has NOT changed his opinion about America, WHY is he an advisor to a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America?
What could this man, with opinions thus stated, possibly contribute to a candidate whose sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution of the United States of America?
......................
I submit that where will be no satisfactory answers to these questions.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
The Blizzard of '08 n Mo Pichers
THE RUN
Yes, I am still running on Saturday mornings.
And today was an interesting session.
Contrary to pattern, it really did snow last night, as predicted.
So when I went out to my car this morning to travel to my running path, I had about an inch of nice, fluffy ice crystals covering it.
Some light scraping and about a half gallon of hot water on the windows improved visibility sufficiently to allow safe driving.
I walked down the driveway to my street to assess the ice situation.
The road and driveway were wet and the light snow flakes that were falling were not sticking to them.
It was not icy – there (more on this shortly).
I was careful on the drive over to Research Park and it was well that I was as the roads had patches of ice here and there, especially on overpasses.
I must cross three to get to my parking spot and they all were slippery.
As I started out, there was light snow falling and a lovely 20 MPH wind blowing the 26 degree air from the north-west into my face.
It was 6:11 AM.
I wore my windbreaker over a single mesh layer which proved to be just about right for the journey.
But I needed goggles.
The wind was blowing the snow so hard that the flakes were hitting my eyes.
They stung like sand.
I ran carefully today, and it was just as well I did.
The parking lots, roads and sidewalks all were a mix of dry pavement, wet pavement (like home) and icy pavement.
I did my best to avoid the ice, but it was everywhere.
I could not go very far before one or both of my feet would slip on an icy patch.
I pondered aborting the session in the interest of personal safety, but there was enough non-icy surface that I felt I could do the whole circuit.
Hill number one appeared more formidable than usual because of the white patches that covered nearly its entire surface.
Stepping carefully, I found a narrow band of dry pavement next to the yellow line in the left-hand lane. (there is no traffic on this road so I run in the middle of the street.)
As I topped the hill and followed the turn I wondered if I would be skiing down the west side.
It proved to be fine.
Hill two was a bit more of a challenge because I run on the sidewalk (because of all the traffic coming in and out of the Dish Network facility there), it is more narrow than the road (duh) and it is steeper than hill one.
Again, there was some slippage of footage which required careful foot placement.
.......... NOTE ........................
Running on ice is not recommended.
But when one does, one must take pains to plant each step straight down.
This includes trying to match the angle of the area on which you step, such as driveways, and transitions between sidewalks and roads, etc.
One cannot put any lateral (horizontal) pressure on the placed foot.
This means no increasing or reducing speed or turning or changing direction.
Such moves must be done carefully and gradually – preferably on a dry patch of pavement.
.................................................
At the beginning of mile three there was a huge patch of ice that covered the whole road from curb to curb and was almost a quarter of a mile long.
For this area, I retreated to the grass of the median.
While the grass was not slippery, it was uneven, and reminded me of why I hate to run on any surface other than pavement or a track.
Early into mile three, my left knee, hamstring and hip all started complaining about the extra stress the careful running was inflicting on them.
Running Central commiserated but refused their request to walk the rest of the way to the car.
By the last quarter mile the sun was trying to break through the snow clouds and it seemed warmer (though that might have been an illusion because the wind was coming from my back now).
I was feeling strong and, while I did not sprint to the finish-line crack, I was able to push myself a little.
It felt really good.
I love endorphins.
It was 6:55 AM.
That comes to forty-four minutes for a “careful” run.
I was pleased.
And, in spite of all the ice, I did not fall.
MORE PIKTERS
This and the next picture were taken at Devil's Churn on the Oregon coast.
It was quite windy and the waves were really showing off as they played on the rocks.
As you might guess by now, I like to watch the waves splash on the rocks.
Being able to modify the exposure of a picture on my computer is really a treat.
As you can see, it really helps bring out the colors and contrast.
On the last day (I think) a rainstorm passed over us and then the sun broke out for a few minutes giving us a nice rainbow over the ocean.
Pretty smooth, huh?
This was taken at Depot Bay as we were coming home.
The clouds were breaking up and the sun was playing peek-a-boo which set off some interesting contrasts with the clouds.
A few more pictures next time.
Yes, I am still running on Saturday mornings.
And today was an interesting session.
Contrary to pattern, it really did snow last night, as predicted.
So when I went out to my car this morning to travel to my running path, I had about an inch of nice, fluffy ice crystals covering it.
Some light scraping and about a half gallon of hot water on the windows improved visibility sufficiently to allow safe driving.
I walked down the driveway to my street to assess the ice situation.
The road and driveway were wet and the light snow flakes that were falling were not sticking to them.
It was not icy – there (more on this shortly).
I was careful on the drive over to Research Park and it was well that I was as the roads had patches of ice here and there, especially on overpasses.
I must cross three to get to my parking spot and they all were slippery.
As I started out, there was light snow falling and a lovely 20 MPH wind blowing the 26 degree air from the north-west into my face.
It was 6:11 AM.
I wore my windbreaker over a single mesh layer which proved to be just about right for the journey.
But I needed goggles.
The wind was blowing the snow so hard that the flakes were hitting my eyes.
They stung like sand.
I ran carefully today, and it was just as well I did.
The parking lots, roads and sidewalks all were a mix of dry pavement, wet pavement (like home) and icy pavement.
I did my best to avoid the ice, but it was everywhere.
I could not go very far before one or both of my feet would slip on an icy patch.
I pondered aborting the session in the interest of personal safety, but there was enough non-icy surface that I felt I could do the whole circuit.
Hill number one appeared more formidable than usual because of the white patches that covered nearly its entire surface.
Stepping carefully, I found a narrow band of dry pavement next to the yellow line in the left-hand lane. (there is no traffic on this road so I run in the middle of the street.)
As I topped the hill and followed the turn I wondered if I would be skiing down the west side.
It proved to be fine.
Hill two was a bit more of a challenge because I run on the sidewalk (because of all the traffic coming in and out of the Dish Network facility there), it is more narrow than the road (duh) and it is steeper than hill one.
Again, there was some slippage of footage which required careful foot placement.
.......... NOTE ........................
Running on ice is not recommended.
But when one does, one must take pains to plant each step straight down.
This includes trying to match the angle of the area on which you step, such as driveways, and transitions between sidewalks and roads, etc.
One cannot put any lateral (horizontal) pressure on the placed foot.
This means no increasing or reducing speed or turning or changing direction.
Such moves must be done carefully and gradually – preferably on a dry patch of pavement.
.................................................
At the beginning of mile three there was a huge patch of ice that covered the whole road from curb to curb and was almost a quarter of a mile long.
For this area, I retreated to the grass of the median.
While the grass was not slippery, it was uneven, and reminded me of why I hate to run on any surface other than pavement or a track.
Early into mile three, my left knee, hamstring and hip all started complaining about the extra stress the careful running was inflicting on them.
Running Central commiserated but refused their request to walk the rest of the way to the car.
By the last quarter mile the sun was trying to break through the snow clouds and it seemed warmer (though that might have been an illusion because the wind was coming from my back now).
I was feeling strong and, while I did not sprint to the finish-line crack, I was able to push myself a little.
It felt really good.
I love endorphins.
It was 6:55 AM.
That comes to forty-four minutes for a “careful” run.
I was pleased.
And, in spite of all the ice, I did not fall.
MORE PIKTERS
This and the next picture were taken at Devil's Churn on the Oregon coast.
It was quite windy and the waves were really showing off as they played on the rocks.
As you might guess by now, I like to watch the waves splash on the rocks.
Being able to modify the exposure of a picture on my computer is really a treat.
As you can see, it really helps bring out the colors and contrast.
On the last day (I think) a rainstorm passed over us and then the sun broke out for a few minutes giving us a nice rainbow over the ocean.
Pretty smooth, huh?
This was taken at Depot Bay as we were coming home.
The clouds were breaking up and the sun was playing peek-a-boo which set off some interesting contrasts with the clouds.
A few more pictures next time.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
More Travel Pichers
Sorry for the delay in new postages.
I have been busy with other stuff (finishing touches on the bathroom that is supposed to be "finished", extended emails with someone with some problems, building some furniture for the church sound room, etc.)
Notwithstanding, here are some more images from my latest visit to Oregon.
Just to give you an idea how things can change at the coast, these first two pictures (yes, I can spell it correctly) were taken within thirty minutes of each other.
As yoo kan see, the sky went from grey/cloudy to blue/sunny in just a few minutes.
When it looked like the rain was stopping and the sun was coming out, we quickly got our stuff together and jumped in the truck.
One of the places that we wanted to see was Cape Perpetua.
This was taken from the state park there.
The place were we took our pictures is about 800 feet above the ocean.
What you cannot see is that the wind was blowing about 45 miles and hour.
It was so strong that it nearly blew us off our feet as we tried to take pictures like this one.
Here is Devin after taking a picture from were my previous shot was taken.
Here is a slightly adjusted shot of the clouds and waves.
They were really putting on a show for us because of the powerful wind.
More to come....
I have been busy with other stuff (finishing touches on the bathroom that is supposed to be "finished", extended emails with someone with some problems, building some furniture for the church sound room, etc.)
Notwithstanding, here are some more images from my latest visit to Oregon.
Just to give you an idea how things can change at the coast, these first two pictures (yes, I can spell it correctly) were taken within thirty minutes of each other.
As yoo kan see, the sky went from grey/cloudy to blue/sunny in just a few minutes.
When it looked like the rain was stopping and the sun was coming out, we quickly got our stuff together and jumped in the truck.
One of the places that we wanted to see was Cape Perpetua.
This was taken from the state park there.
The place were we took our pictures is about 800 feet above the ocean.
What you cannot see is that the wind was blowing about 45 miles and hour.
It was so strong that it nearly blew us off our feet as we tried to take pictures like this one.
Here is Devin after taking a picture from were my previous shot was taken.
Here is a slightly adjusted shot of the clouds and waves.
They were really putting on a show for us because of the powerful wind.
More to come....
Friday, February 22, 2008
Christmas Trip Pichers
Back in January, I promised that I would post some of the pichers I took during my trip to visit my sister in Oregon.
Herewith are some of them.
A note of explanation - Oregon receives most of its weather from the north Pacific ocean.
For this reason, it is often cool/cold wet/rainy/snowy in the winter.
Most days are cloudy.
Sunshine is the exception.
It rains almost every day.
Sometimes for five minutes, sometime all day (or night).
The Oregon coast area is similarly afflicted.
Sooooo, most of the pictures have a boring (to my taste) gray look.
This was the sunrise over Huntsville the morning I left.
Nice!
Three thousand miles away, this is a close-up (sort of) of Mount St. Helens as we descended through the clouds to land in Portland.
Every year I put my camera on auto and snap a picture of all of us just before we open our presents on Christmas Eve.
This is the latest iteration.
This does not show it as well as the video I made but here I am standing in the falling snow.
It was about 35 degrees and thus, too warm for the snow to stick.
Another tradition of our Christmas visit is my sister makes a giant apple pie.
The pie dish is about twelve inches across and the apples are piled about five inches deep.
Believe me, this is a wonderful pie. ;9
More pichers to come soon.
Herewith are some of them.
A note of explanation - Oregon receives most of its weather from the north Pacific ocean.
For this reason, it is often cool/cold wet/rainy/snowy in the winter.
Most days are cloudy.
Sunshine is the exception.
It rains almost every day.
Sometimes for five minutes, sometime all day (or night).
The Oregon coast area is similarly afflicted.
Sooooo, most of the pictures have a boring (to my taste) gray look.
This was the sunrise over Huntsville the morning I left.
Nice!
Three thousand miles away, this is a close-up (sort of) of Mount St. Helens as we descended through the clouds to land in Portland.
Every year I put my camera on auto and snap a picture of all of us just before we open our presents on Christmas Eve.
This is the latest iteration.
This does not show it as well as the video I made but here I am standing in the falling snow.
It was about 35 degrees and thus, too warm for the snow to stick.
Another tradition of our Christmas visit is my sister makes a giant apple pie.
The pie dish is about twelve inches across and the apples are piled about five inches deep.
Believe me, this is a wonderful pie. ;9
More pichers to come soon.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Running and Business
I took Friday off work so that I could install a new set of glass doors on my new tub.
I have been wanting to do this since soon after I moved into my house.
(Not take off work - install the doors)
But my church is getting ready to install new carpet.
Before the new carpet can be put in, we need/want to remodel the stage to give a little more room on it.
The pastor and a couple of the brothers in the congregation began the stage remodeling project on Thursday.
I had considered helping but assumed that the stage fix would not take very much time and thus did not plan to help until Thursday evening.
Well..... the remodeling job was more complicated than first assumed (imagine that!)
Pastor John called me Thursday evening and said that he was quitting for the evening so I need not come that evening.
That got me to thinking.
I have been waiting for over three years to remodel my bathroom.
It is mostly done, and I can wait a couple more days to install the new doors on my tub.
Soooo.....
I decided to spend my day off Friday helping work on the church stage project.
And that is what I did.
But there was a scheduled meeting that we had to attend on Friday evening so we stopped work about 2 PM to get ready for the meeting.
On the way home from church, I stopped by Lowe's and purchased my new tub doors.
Two hunnerd bucks worth. (and not the most expensive I could have gotten.)
I spent a few minutes that afternoon, reading over the installation instructions for the doors.
I have never done this before so I needed all the information I could get.
Friday evening I attended the meeting at church as planned.
After the meeting, I looked over the tub door instructions again.
I started playing with the frame pieces to see what exactly was involved.
The next thing I realize is that I am not just playing with the parts, I am actually performing the installation.
I started at about 8:30 PM.
I finished at 11:10 PM.
I go to bed conflicted.
This is Friday night.
Saturday morning is my running time.
I usually try to go to bed early on Friday evening so that I am “rested” on Saturday morning for my run.
Knowing that I did not “take care of myself” for my running effort, I had a major mental battle Saturday morning.
Part of me was saying “you are not going to do very well today because you are tired”.
Another part of me was answering, “shut up, just do the best you can.”
The temperature was “only” 43 – at the airport, according to the Weather Channel.
Not bad.
I started out feeling a bit tired (duh).
But past experience has shown me that sometimes (note: sometimes) I have performed better than expected even though I have had less rest than desired.
Today was not one of those times.
Coming up hill two, I started my accelerated breathing.
I have not done that in months.
At that point I knew that I was in for a tough time.
At the end of mile two (near where the policeman stopped me) my left hammy began to complain.
This was prolly the result of my efforts building the stage or the tub doors, or both.
The complaint was duly noted by Running Central, but the race continued.
Then, about a half mile from the finish, I started accelerated breathing again.
Again, this had not happened for many months.
I felt tired, but it was too close to the end.
I was not quitting.
As I crossed the road into the parking lot of the office center where I park, I forced myself to take the “long way” instead of a couple of small shortcuts (cutting corners, going around planters, etc.) that my tired body/mind suggested.
Such suggestions are almost always ignored.
But a strange thing happened during the last 100 yards or so.
I started daydreaming about some details of my tub door project (now finished) and the next thing I knew, I was at my finish line.
Forty-two minutes.
Amazing.
As tired as I was, my time was not degraded.
And I was done with the hard stuff for the day.
Since the stage project was STILL not complete, I planned to go back to the church and help finish the project.
Since my tub doors were installed, Saturday was basically a free day.
And, yes, I know that last week I proclaimed that I was done with the bathroom project, but that was a qualified announcement.
All of the major stuff was in.
And I did an accounting of the entire project and the total cost came to $1060.70, not counting tax.
That includes BOTH bathtubs I had to buy because of the first one went airborne at 40 miles per hour on Sparkman Drive.
Pictures coming soon....
I have been wanting to do this since soon after I moved into my house.
(Not take off work - install the doors)
But my church is getting ready to install new carpet.
Before the new carpet can be put in, we need/want to remodel the stage to give a little more room on it.
The pastor and a couple of the brothers in the congregation began the stage remodeling project on Thursday.
I had considered helping but assumed that the stage fix would not take very much time and thus did not plan to help until Thursday evening.
Well..... the remodeling job was more complicated than first assumed (imagine that!)
Pastor John called me Thursday evening and said that he was quitting for the evening so I need not come that evening.
That got me to thinking.
I have been waiting for over three years to remodel my bathroom.
It is mostly done, and I can wait a couple more days to install the new doors on my tub.
Soooo.....
I decided to spend my day off Friday helping work on the church stage project.
And that is what I did.
But there was a scheduled meeting that we had to attend on Friday evening so we stopped work about 2 PM to get ready for the meeting.
On the way home from church, I stopped by Lowe's and purchased my new tub doors.
Two hunnerd bucks worth. (and not the most expensive I could have gotten.)
I spent a few minutes that afternoon, reading over the installation instructions for the doors.
I have never done this before so I needed all the information I could get.
Friday evening I attended the meeting at church as planned.
After the meeting, I looked over the tub door instructions again.
I started playing with the frame pieces to see what exactly was involved.
The next thing I realize is that I am not just playing with the parts, I am actually performing the installation.
I started at about 8:30 PM.
I finished at 11:10 PM.
I go to bed conflicted.
This is Friday night.
Saturday morning is my running time.
I usually try to go to bed early on Friday evening so that I am “rested” on Saturday morning for my run.
Knowing that I did not “take care of myself” for my running effort, I had a major mental battle Saturday morning.
Part of me was saying “you are not going to do very well today because you are tired”.
Another part of me was answering, “shut up, just do the best you can.”
The temperature was “only” 43 – at the airport, according to the Weather Channel.
Not bad.
I started out feeling a bit tired (duh).
But past experience has shown me that sometimes (note: sometimes) I have performed better than expected even though I have had less rest than desired.
Today was not one of those times.
Coming up hill two, I started my accelerated breathing.
I have not done that in months.
At that point I knew that I was in for a tough time.
At the end of mile two (near where the policeman stopped me) my left hammy began to complain.
This was prolly the result of my efforts building the stage or the tub doors, or both.
The complaint was duly noted by Running Central, but the race continued.
Then, about a half mile from the finish, I started accelerated breathing again.
Again, this had not happened for many months.
I felt tired, but it was too close to the end.
I was not quitting.
As I crossed the road into the parking lot of the office center where I park, I forced myself to take the “long way” instead of a couple of small shortcuts (cutting corners, going around planters, etc.) that my tired body/mind suggested.
Such suggestions are almost always ignored.
But a strange thing happened during the last 100 yards or so.
I started daydreaming about some details of my tub door project (now finished) and the next thing I knew, I was at my finish line.
Forty-two minutes.
Amazing.
As tired as I was, my time was not degraded.
And I was done with the hard stuff for the day.
Since the stage project was STILL not complete, I planned to go back to the church and help finish the project.
Since my tub doors were installed, Saturday was basically a free day.
And, yes, I know that last week I proclaimed that I was done with the bathroom project, but that was a qualified announcement.
All of the major stuff was in.
And I did an accounting of the entire project and the total cost came to $1060.70, not counting tax.
That includes BOTH bathtubs I had to buy because of the first one went airborne at 40 miles per hour on Sparkman Drive.
Pictures coming soon....
Saturday, February 09, 2008
TA DA!
Let the Royal Chronicles show that at 1:20 PM on this day the Royal Bathroom project was completed. (well, mostly)
There are still a few details to be dealt with.
The trim around the door is not yet installed or painted and there are a few places that need a paint touch-up (a Q-tip will do the job).
But the hardest and most complex issues are done (tub, pottee, vanitee/sink).
Call it 95 percent done.
I am veree hapee with my new facilities.
THE RUN
The morning jog was pleasant if not fun.
I felt a bit more tired than I would have liked.
I am looking forward to extending this jaunt to four miles sometime soon.
Today, I did not feel up to the extra distance/time.
The temperature was a balmy 43.
I opted for two layers on top and two on the bottom (plus running shorts) (TMI?)
This plus ear cover and my new white polyester knit gloves proved to be just right for the journey.
The white gloves make me look like an usher in a Black church. (ha!)
This being some 59 days past the Winter Solstice, there is now enough light across the sky to allow easier observation of one's path both at the beginning and the end.
This makes for more relaxed running.
OTHER MATTERS
I was disappointed to see Mitt Romney end his run for the Republican nomination for President.
As imperfect a conservative as he was, he was our last best representative of conservative values in this race. (Ron Huckabee and Ron Paul are still in, but they stand virtually no chance of getting the nomination.)
I could have tolerated Mr. Romney as President. (or Mr. Paul, for that matter)
I am suspicious of Mr. Huckabee.
Senator McCain is now the likely Republican nominee.
I will not vote for this man.
He is a RINO (Republican In Name Only)
The news networks are reporting that he is now going around trying to say the “right” things to woo conservatives to support him.
But this will not work for me.
He has already spoken to me.
And he has said all the wrong things.
He said the wrong things to me when he and Ted (Chappaquiddick) Kennedy tried to sneak an amnesty bill for illegal aliens through the Senate last year.
He said the wrong things to me when he and Linsey Graham tried to limit the methods our people could use when interrogating terrorists.
He said the wrong things to me when he joined with Democrat Russ Finegold to limit our first amendment freedom of speech in the name of “campaign finance reform”.
He said the wrong things to me when he opposed the Bush tax cuts seven years ago and again five years ago.
He said the wrong things to me when he supported the liberal fiction of man-induced global warming.
He said the wrong things to me when he joined all the congressional liberals and opposed oil production in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
Therefore.... (takes a breath) I will not vote for this man.
Some might say, but what if Hillary gets in?
And I say, what's the difference between them?
There are still a few details to be dealt with.
The trim around the door is not yet installed or painted and there are a few places that need a paint touch-up (a Q-tip will do the job).
But the hardest and most complex issues are done (tub, pottee, vanitee/sink).
Call it 95 percent done.
I am veree hapee with my new facilities.
THE RUN
The morning jog was pleasant if not fun.
I felt a bit more tired than I would have liked.
I am looking forward to extending this jaunt to four miles sometime soon.
Today, I did not feel up to the extra distance/time.
The temperature was a balmy 43.
I opted for two layers on top and two on the bottom (plus running shorts) (TMI?)
This plus ear cover and my new white polyester knit gloves proved to be just right for the journey.
The white gloves make me look like an usher in a Black church. (ha!)
This being some 59 days past the Winter Solstice, there is now enough light across the sky to allow easier observation of one's path both at the beginning and the end.
This makes for more relaxed running.
OTHER MATTERS
I was disappointed to see Mitt Romney end his run for the Republican nomination for President.
As imperfect a conservative as he was, he was our last best representative of conservative values in this race. (Ron Huckabee and Ron Paul are still in, but they stand virtually no chance of getting the nomination.)
I could have tolerated Mr. Romney as President. (or Mr. Paul, for that matter)
I am suspicious of Mr. Huckabee.
Senator McCain is now the likely Republican nominee.
I will not vote for this man.
He is a RINO (Republican In Name Only)
The news networks are reporting that he is now going around trying to say the “right” things to woo conservatives to support him.
But this will not work for me.
He has already spoken to me.
And he has said all the wrong things.
He said the wrong things to me when he and Ted (Chappaquiddick) Kennedy tried to sneak an amnesty bill for illegal aliens through the Senate last year.
He said the wrong things to me when he and Linsey Graham tried to limit the methods our people could use when interrogating terrorists.
He said the wrong things to me when he joined with Democrat Russ Finegold to limit our first amendment freedom of speech in the name of “campaign finance reform”.
He said the wrong things to me when he opposed the Bush tax cuts seven years ago and again five years ago.
He said the wrong things to me when he supported the liberal fiction of man-induced global warming.
He said the wrong things to me when he joined all the congressional liberals and opposed oil production in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
Therefore.... (takes a breath) I will not vote for this man.
Some might say, but what if Hillary gets in?
And I say, what's the difference between them?
Saturday, February 02, 2008
JUST RIGHT
It was about 26 degrees when I began my three mile journey this morning.
I had two mesh layers on top, two layers on legs, two layers of socks inside shoes, one fleece layer over my ears and mesh gloves inside wool mittens on hands.
It was just right.
Early into mile one I was feeling a bit cold on my chest/torso because I was not yet generating a sufficient amount of heat.
The thermal balance tossed back and forth for the next few minutes until the heat generator won.
I know this because I forgot about being cold on my torso.
This was a left leg dominated session.
There were several times that something in my left leg/hip whined.
Near the end of mile one there was a signal from a point just to the inside of my left knee that it was not happy there.
Running Central took note of the distress but no further action seemed necessary.
And, indeed, the complaint disappeared.
Toward the end of mile two, my left hamstring began to bark.
Again, Running Central took note of the complaint, and again did nothing.
And, again, the “problem” went away.
Near the end of the party, my left hip began yelping rather insistently.
This seemed to be a nerve problem because on one stride, my left leg went numb to the extent that it almost collapsed.
This would have caused a fall had it persisted.
But just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
Running Central takes this problem more seriously and my steps were monitored closely for a minute or so after the incident.
Fortunately, this problem also went away.
The hip/pain/knee collapse event has happened before, mostly near the end of a run.
Falling down is something I am fearful of because it can break things.
One cannot run when things are broken. (and I love to run)
I have only fallen once.
That was caused by a dog silently hitting me in the leg with his shoulder one dark morning when I was running in my neighborhood.
I never saw him coming or going.
Just a split-second flash of brown fur by my bare leg as I went down.
No bark, no growl, just a good dog version of a football block.
The move sent me rolling on the pavement.
Amazingly, I suffered no injuries then.
No pains; no scrapes.
Just two tiny scratches on my hand (I forget which one).
Today, I spent most of my time daydreaming.
At one point in mile two I closed my eyes and started to go to sleep.
I was so relaxed and comfortable.
This may seem strange to you non-runners, but I have done this many times.
(Not go to sleep while running, but close my eyes and almost go to sleep.)
I am not sure of the cause but it must be the result of mental relaxation even during sustained physical effort.
Had I not experienced this phenomenon myself, I would join you in thinking it impossible.
Jesus was having his own good time while watching me today.
As I turned right off of Discovery onto Voyager (many of the streets there are named after U.S. satellites) He lit up the layer of stratus clouds in the eastern sky in brilliant red.
This against the pale blue of the morning sky looked spectacular.
I had a wonderful time admiring His painting skills.
By the time I got to my finish line/crack in the parking lot I did not want to stop.
My time was almost exactly fifty minutes.
I was slow, but I was stronger.
The slowness may have been a result of my daydreaming.
However, if my strength stays up to this level, I may jack this exercise up to four miles.
That would be interesting/fun.
THE PROJECT
The bathroom is slowly coming along.
Now that the tub and toilet are in and working nicely, my motivation has diminished.
I applied oil to the vanity base to waterproof it.
I will prolly install it this week.
Yesterday I installed all of the baseboard trim and scraped paint drips off of the tile floor.
I had drop clothes down some of the time I was painting, but not all the time.
I tried to be careful.
The bad news – I dripped paint in a few places.
The good news – it is pretty easy to clean up.
I scraped excess caulk from around the toilet base.
The living room wall with the hole patched.
The living room wall with "joint compound" applied to the hole.
The living room wall with primer applied.
The east bathroom wall awaiting fixtures.
The new atomic toilet.
Notice the nice new color - "Roasted Cashew".
IN OTHER NEWS
I was disappointed to see Fred Thompson withdraw from the Presidential race.
He basically said everything that I agree with.
I was pleased to see the midget/clown Dennis Kucinich give up in the Democrat primary derby.
He is the white version of Al Sharpton.
A political buffoon.
In case you are wondering, here are my basic policy/philosophical positions:
1 Pursue the war on terrorism – wherever that may take us.
2 Stop the flood of illegal immigration - build the wall, deport all we find here.
3 Scrap the income tax and adopt the Fair Tax.
4 Reverse Roe v. Wade.
5 Fix Social Security by changing the way COL increases are calculated (use cost increases rather than wage increases). This will fix the coming shortfall.
6 Make health insurance like car insurance – allow individuals to buy it from whoever they want. Get employers out of the health insurance business.
7 Repeal McCain-Finegold – expand freedom of speech.
8 Allow oil production in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
9 Move the United Nations headquarters to France.
I had two mesh layers on top, two layers on legs, two layers of socks inside shoes, one fleece layer over my ears and mesh gloves inside wool mittens on hands.
It was just right.
Early into mile one I was feeling a bit cold on my chest/torso because I was not yet generating a sufficient amount of heat.
The thermal balance tossed back and forth for the next few minutes until the heat generator won.
I know this because I forgot about being cold on my torso.
This was a left leg dominated session.
There were several times that something in my left leg/hip whined.
Near the end of mile one there was a signal from a point just to the inside of my left knee that it was not happy there.
Running Central took note of the distress but no further action seemed necessary.
And, indeed, the complaint disappeared.
Toward the end of mile two, my left hamstring began to bark.
Again, Running Central took note of the complaint, and again did nothing.
And, again, the “problem” went away.
Near the end of the party, my left hip began yelping rather insistently.
This seemed to be a nerve problem because on one stride, my left leg went numb to the extent that it almost collapsed.
This would have caused a fall had it persisted.
But just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
Running Central takes this problem more seriously and my steps were monitored closely for a minute or so after the incident.
Fortunately, this problem also went away.
The hip/pain/knee collapse event has happened before, mostly near the end of a run.
Falling down is something I am fearful of because it can break things.
One cannot run when things are broken. (and I love to run)
I have only fallen once.
That was caused by a dog silently hitting me in the leg with his shoulder one dark morning when I was running in my neighborhood.
I never saw him coming or going.
Just a split-second flash of brown fur by my bare leg as I went down.
No bark, no growl, just a good dog version of a football block.
The move sent me rolling on the pavement.
Amazingly, I suffered no injuries then.
No pains; no scrapes.
Just two tiny scratches on my hand (I forget which one).
Today, I spent most of my time daydreaming.
At one point in mile two I closed my eyes and started to go to sleep.
I was so relaxed and comfortable.
This may seem strange to you non-runners, but I have done this many times.
(Not go to sleep while running, but close my eyes and almost go to sleep.)
I am not sure of the cause but it must be the result of mental relaxation even during sustained physical effort.
Had I not experienced this phenomenon myself, I would join you in thinking it impossible.
Jesus was having his own good time while watching me today.
As I turned right off of Discovery onto Voyager (many of the streets there are named after U.S. satellites) He lit up the layer of stratus clouds in the eastern sky in brilliant red.
This against the pale blue of the morning sky looked spectacular.
I had a wonderful time admiring His painting skills.
By the time I got to my finish line/crack in the parking lot I did not want to stop.
My time was almost exactly fifty minutes.
I was slow, but I was stronger.
The slowness may have been a result of my daydreaming.
However, if my strength stays up to this level, I may jack this exercise up to four miles.
That would be interesting/fun.
THE PROJECT
The bathroom is slowly coming along.
Now that the tub and toilet are in and working nicely, my motivation has diminished.
I applied oil to the vanity base to waterproof it.
I will prolly install it this week.
Yesterday I installed all of the baseboard trim and scraped paint drips off of the tile floor.
I had drop clothes down some of the time I was painting, but not all the time.
I tried to be careful.
The bad news – I dripped paint in a few places.
The good news – it is pretty easy to clean up.
I scraped excess caulk from around the toilet base.
The living room wall with the hole patched.
The living room wall with "joint compound" applied to the hole.
The living room wall with primer applied.
The east bathroom wall awaiting fixtures.
The new atomic toilet.
Notice the nice new color - "Roasted Cashew".
IN OTHER NEWS
I was disappointed to see Fred Thompson withdraw from the Presidential race.
He basically said everything that I agree with.
I was pleased to see the midget/clown Dennis Kucinich give up in the Democrat primary derby.
He is the white version of Al Sharpton.
A political buffoon.
In case you are wondering, here are my basic policy/philosophical positions:
1 Pursue the war on terrorism – wherever that may take us.
2 Stop the flood of illegal immigration - build the wall, deport all we find here.
3 Scrap the income tax and adopt the Fair Tax.
4 Reverse Roe v. Wade.
5 Fix Social Security by changing the way COL increases are calculated (use cost increases rather than wage increases). This will fix the coming shortfall.
6 Make health insurance like car insurance – allow individuals to buy it from whoever they want. Get employers out of the health insurance business.
7 Repeal McCain-Finegold – expand freedom of speech.
8 Allow oil production in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
9 Move the United Nations headquarters to France.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
MAKING HISTORY
This morning was a perfect Alabama imitation of Oregon.
Thirty-two degrees with drizzle and light fog.
I dressed a bit too heavily for the event by accident.
I had two breathable layers on top and added a waterproof layer on top of them to minimize the effects of the drizzle.
It was too much.
I should have removed one of the mesh layers.
I discovered this about mid-way into mile one.
I toyed with stopping and removing one of my layers but decided against it.
I just resigned myself to sweat a little more.
This temperature was not the life-threatening chill of last weeks fifteen degrees, so I felt more comfortable with the discomfort, so to speak.
(As you may know, sweating in extremely cold conditions for long periods of time can be fatal.)
And, today I experienced an historical event.
I was stopped by the police while running.
I was running in the street on Explorer Blvd. (as I usually do around 6:40 on Saturday morning) when an approaching car suddenly sprouted red and blue lights on its roof in the dim morning drizzle/fog.
I was informed that according to Alabama law I was required to run on the sidewalk if one is available.
I thanked the officer, trotted over to the sidewalk about 30 feet to my left and resumed my journey in a somewhat bemused state of mind.
Technically, the officer was correct.
However, as a practical matter and a matter of preference, I like running in the street.
At 6:40 AM, there is not a lot of traffic on this road.
Actually, there is virtually NO traffic on this road at this time of day.
That is one reason I run in this area at this time of day.
The police car was the fifth car I saw on the three roads that I run on during my usual course.
Only two of those cars were on my side of the road. (the police car was the third.)
(I also run on other roads during my Saturday morning jaunt but because of the traffic on those roads, I run on the sidewalk. as required by Alabama law. I am not a complete idiot.)
He knows this as well as I do, but I had no inclination to argue with the man.
Sidewalks have several unique problems that I prefer to avoid, if possible.
First, they are hard.
Harder than roads.
This seems very counter-intuitive, but it is true.
It would seem that roads would have to be very tough and hard because they have to support big cars, bigger SUVs and bigger trucks, whereas sidewalks only have to support people.
True, but wrong.
Most roads are paved with asphalt, while sidewalks are made of concrete.
Concrete is harder than asphalt.
While they both may seem equally hard on first examination, spend an hour or so “pounding the pavement”, as the saying goes, and see for yourself if there is a difference.
Asphalt is somehow softer than concrete and thus, easier on the joints.
Trust me on this.
Second, sidewalks sometimes are tilted to the side to allow water to run off of them.
There is one section of sidewalk that I run on now that is this way and I hate having to run on it.
You might be thinking, roads are crowned the same way for the same reason.
You would be correct in your assessment.
However, in many places, the crown in the road is less severe than the tilt of a sidewalk.
In addition, traffic permitting, one can run down the MIDDLE of the road where there is no tilt.
What would the man think if he had seen me running down the middle of Old Madison Pike at 6 AM on Saturday a few years ago.
(That was before a couple of plants opened in research park that have weekend shifts. Before then, it was REALLY dead on Saturday morning.)
THE PROJECT
The bathroom project is coming along slowly.
I am taking my time and doing just one or two steps each evening.
This week I applied calk around the bathtub and toilet.
I painted the calked areas around the tub.
The calk around the toilet base will remain white as it is.
I am getting my custom-built vanity base ready for installation.
I attached the front door and stained it (the whole vanity) a nice light oak color.
A test fitting revealed that a couple of notches needed to be cut in the base and back to accommodate slight irregularities in the floor and wall.
The section of floor trim behind the toilet must be installed before I install the vanity and I want to paint the trim before I install it, but it has been too cold to paint outside, so I have to paint the trim inside, but the saw horses that I need to set the trim on to paint them is being used for the finishing touches on the vanity base.
Got all that?
Thirty-two degrees with drizzle and light fog.
I dressed a bit too heavily for the event by accident.
I had two breathable layers on top and added a waterproof layer on top of them to minimize the effects of the drizzle.
It was too much.
I should have removed one of the mesh layers.
I discovered this about mid-way into mile one.
I toyed with stopping and removing one of my layers but decided against it.
I just resigned myself to sweat a little more.
This temperature was not the life-threatening chill of last weeks fifteen degrees, so I felt more comfortable with the discomfort, so to speak.
(As you may know, sweating in extremely cold conditions for long periods of time can be fatal.)
And, today I experienced an historical event.
I was stopped by the police while running.
I was running in the street on Explorer Blvd. (as I usually do around 6:40 on Saturday morning) when an approaching car suddenly sprouted red and blue lights on its roof in the dim morning drizzle/fog.
I was informed that according to Alabama law I was required to run on the sidewalk if one is available.
I thanked the officer, trotted over to the sidewalk about 30 feet to my left and resumed my journey in a somewhat bemused state of mind.
Technically, the officer was correct.
However, as a practical matter and a matter of preference, I like running in the street.
At 6:40 AM, there is not a lot of traffic on this road.
Actually, there is virtually NO traffic on this road at this time of day.
That is one reason I run in this area at this time of day.
The police car was the fifth car I saw on the three roads that I run on during my usual course.
Only two of those cars were on my side of the road. (the police car was the third.)
(I also run on other roads during my Saturday morning jaunt but because of the traffic on those roads, I run on the sidewalk. as required by Alabama law. I am not a complete idiot.)
He knows this as well as I do, but I had no inclination to argue with the man.
Sidewalks have several unique problems that I prefer to avoid, if possible.
First, they are hard.
Harder than roads.
This seems very counter-intuitive, but it is true.
It would seem that roads would have to be very tough and hard because they have to support big cars, bigger SUVs and bigger trucks, whereas sidewalks only have to support people.
True, but wrong.
Most roads are paved with asphalt, while sidewalks are made of concrete.
Concrete is harder than asphalt.
While they both may seem equally hard on first examination, spend an hour or so “pounding the pavement”, as the saying goes, and see for yourself if there is a difference.
Asphalt is somehow softer than concrete and thus, easier on the joints.
Trust me on this.
Second, sidewalks sometimes are tilted to the side to allow water to run off of them.
There is one section of sidewalk that I run on now that is this way and I hate having to run on it.
You might be thinking, roads are crowned the same way for the same reason.
You would be correct in your assessment.
However, in many places, the crown in the road is less severe than the tilt of a sidewalk.
In addition, traffic permitting, one can run down the MIDDLE of the road where there is no tilt.
What would the man think if he had seen me running down the middle of Old Madison Pike at 6 AM on Saturday a few years ago.
(That was before a couple of plants opened in research park that have weekend shifts. Before then, it was REALLY dead on Saturday morning.)
THE PROJECT
The bathroom project is coming along slowly.
I am taking my time and doing just one or two steps each evening.
This week I applied calk around the bathtub and toilet.
I painted the calked areas around the tub.
The calk around the toilet base will remain white as it is.
I am getting my custom-built vanity base ready for installation.
I attached the front door and stained it (the whole vanity) a nice light oak color.
A test fitting revealed that a couple of notches needed to be cut in the base and back to accommodate slight irregularities in the floor and wall.
The section of floor trim behind the toilet must be installed before I install the vanity and I want to paint the trim before I install it, but it has been too cold to paint outside, so I have to paint the trim inside, but the saw horses that I need to set the trim on to paint them is being used for the finishing touches on the vanity base.
Got all that?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Dedicated Or Crazy?
THE RUN
Seventeen degrees.
That is what the thermometer read on my back porch Sunday morning when I stepped out at about 5:30 AM.
Saturday is my usual running day but I had a commitment this past Saturday that precluded a morning run.
Thus, I ran on Sunday.
This was one of those days that I committed to that summer in 1999 when I was deciding if I was going to become “a runner”.
I was going to do it just like my weight workouts.
No excuses.
No slacking.
Set up a program and stick to it.
No matter what.
In sickness and in health.
In the rain.
In the snow.
In the heat.
Whatever.
If the circumstances were not ideal, you just suck it up and do the drill.
Shut up and run, as the phrase goes.
I knew it was going to be cold.
I have run in the cold before, and lived.
So I just set my mind to do what I knew I should.
I was prepared for the chilly task.
Three layers on legs, three breathable layers on top, one pair of knit gloves inside a set of wool mittens on hands, two layers of socks inside running shoes.
Ear warmer and a breathable neck cover.
And Vaseline smeared on my cheeks, lips and chin.
It was almost enough.
My fingers were the first to complain about the lack of insulation.
Halfway into mile one, they were wanting more protection.
I balled my fists up inside my mittens and tucked my thumbs inside my fingers.
That made my thumbs happy but my fingers complained.
So I alternated thumbs outside fingers for a few minutes, then fingers outside thumbs for a few.
Somewhere toward the end of mile two, my hands began to sweat and I took off my mittens, leaving just my knit gloves to protect my hands.
They were enough.
I marveled how much energy and heat one body can produce, even in the most bitter cold, such that one can begin to selectively remove layers of clothing and still be “comfortable”.
Just a few minutes ago my fingers were complaining about being cold, now they were “hot”.
Soon after that, my left hamstring began to whine about too much stress.
The complaint was duly noted but the run continued.
I was highly motivated to finish this session as soon as possible.
One reason was because it was cold.
As warm as I was by then, I knew that if I had to stop running and walk, I would become cold again.
Not a good thing. (I hate being cold.)
Second, it was Sunday.
I needed to get back to the house and get ready for church.
I had almost an hour of safety margin but I did not want to play it too close.
It is good to be running again, in spite of the inhospitable environment.
I am looking forward to July.
THE PROJECT
The bathroom project is not complete yet.
It was allowed to sit half finished while I went on vacation.
Friday afternoon I installed my new Atomic Toilet.
It turned out to be more simple than I was expecting.
The main reason for this is that it required no leveling on my tile floor.
With no fiddling around to get it to sit level the installation was simple.
I pressed the wax ring on the bottom flange, turned the bowl over and set in on the pipe with the two anchor bolts poking through the base holes.
I smushed the wax ring down and bingo! the potty was placed.
The tank was attached (with silicone goop applied to all holes/gaskets, and then the water hose was attached.
I held my breath as I turned on the water.
The tank filled.
I pressed the lever and KA_WOOSH!
The Atomic Toilet did its thing.
The brand is Toto.
It does not flush like most toilets I am used to.
Instead of a long ten second swirling gurgling hydraulic symphony with a final wet gargle like I am used to, this new piece takes about two seconds (literally!) to wash away whatever is in the bowl.
This thing could flush a whole loaf of bread.
Or a Jimmy Dean sausage.
There were a couple of small leaks in the hose connections that required some tweaking, but those were soon fixed.
After having to use the back bathroom for almost three months, it felt strange tending to biological business in the front bathroom again.
But I am very pleased with my new plumbing fixture.
Now I am getting ready to install my new vanity and sink.
Pictures of my Oregon trip coming soon!
Seventeen degrees.
That is what the thermometer read on my back porch Sunday morning when I stepped out at about 5:30 AM.
Saturday is my usual running day but I had a commitment this past Saturday that precluded a morning run.
Thus, I ran on Sunday.
This was one of those days that I committed to that summer in 1999 when I was deciding if I was going to become “a runner”.
I was going to do it just like my weight workouts.
No excuses.
No slacking.
Set up a program and stick to it.
No matter what.
In sickness and in health.
In the rain.
In the snow.
In the heat.
Whatever.
If the circumstances were not ideal, you just suck it up and do the drill.
Shut up and run, as the phrase goes.
I knew it was going to be cold.
I have run in the cold before, and lived.
So I just set my mind to do what I knew I should.
I was prepared for the chilly task.
Three layers on legs, three breathable layers on top, one pair of knit gloves inside a set of wool mittens on hands, two layers of socks inside running shoes.
Ear warmer and a breathable neck cover.
And Vaseline smeared on my cheeks, lips and chin.
It was almost enough.
My fingers were the first to complain about the lack of insulation.
Halfway into mile one, they were wanting more protection.
I balled my fists up inside my mittens and tucked my thumbs inside my fingers.
That made my thumbs happy but my fingers complained.
So I alternated thumbs outside fingers for a few minutes, then fingers outside thumbs for a few.
Somewhere toward the end of mile two, my hands began to sweat and I took off my mittens, leaving just my knit gloves to protect my hands.
They were enough.
I marveled how much energy and heat one body can produce, even in the most bitter cold, such that one can begin to selectively remove layers of clothing and still be “comfortable”.
Just a few minutes ago my fingers were complaining about being cold, now they were “hot”.
Soon after that, my left hamstring began to whine about too much stress.
The complaint was duly noted but the run continued.
I was highly motivated to finish this session as soon as possible.
One reason was because it was cold.
As warm as I was by then, I knew that if I had to stop running and walk, I would become cold again.
Not a good thing. (I hate being cold.)
Second, it was Sunday.
I needed to get back to the house and get ready for church.
I had almost an hour of safety margin but I did not want to play it too close.
It is good to be running again, in spite of the inhospitable environment.
I am looking forward to July.
THE PROJECT
The bathroom project is not complete yet.
It was allowed to sit half finished while I went on vacation.
Friday afternoon I installed my new Atomic Toilet.
It turned out to be more simple than I was expecting.
The main reason for this is that it required no leveling on my tile floor.
With no fiddling around to get it to sit level the installation was simple.
I pressed the wax ring on the bottom flange, turned the bowl over and set in on the pipe with the two anchor bolts poking through the base holes.
I smushed the wax ring down and bingo! the potty was placed.
The tank was attached (with silicone goop applied to all holes/gaskets, and then the water hose was attached.
I held my breath as I turned on the water.
The tank filled.
I pressed the lever and KA_WOOSH!
The Atomic Toilet did its thing.
The brand is Toto.
It does not flush like most toilets I am used to.
Instead of a long ten second swirling gurgling hydraulic symphony with a final wet gargle like I am used to, this new piece takes about two seconds (literally!) to wash away whatever is in the bowl.
This thing could flush a whole loaf of bread.
Or a Jimmy Dean sausage.
There were a couple of small leaks in the hose connections that required some tweaking, but those were soon fixed.
After having to use the back bathroom for almost three months, it felt strange tending to biological business in the front bathroom again.
But I am very pleased with my new plumbing fixture.
Now I am getting ready to install my new vanity and sink.
Pictures of my Oregon trip coming soon!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I'm Baa-ack
Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.
Let the Royal Chronicles show that I have returned from my journey to Oregon, USA.
I had a wonderful time visiting my sister and her family.
The weather was typical for this time of year and that locality - temp between 45 and 35 degrees night or day.
It rained every day - some days for ten minutes, some days for ten hours.
I got to run nearly every other day - rain or cloud. (as I had planned)
We visited the coast for four days.
There, the temperature never varied above 57 or below 35, day or night.
It rained every day - some times for ten minutes, some times for an hour or two.
It was VERY windy on the coast - 30 to 60 mph.
It was so windy at one place we visited that it literally almost blew us off our feet.
(This was not good as we were standing on the edge of an 800 foot cliff overlooking the ocean.)
Much fun and eating was enjoyed by all.
I got to have my annual halibut fillet.
It was very good, as usual.
My sister made one of her famous four-inch tall apple pies (pictures were taken for proof) which was a good as it was tall.
I did not take as many pictures this year as I did last year - mostly because of the poor weather.
The weather at the coast cleared for about half a day which allowed us to travel to one of our favorite places for wave watching, climbing, and picture making.
There were no travel problems, no lost luggage, or undue delays.
I arrived home early (by an hour or so) and under budget.
How can this be bad?
Pictures will be posted soon.
Let the Royal Chronicles show that I have returned from my journey to Oregon, USA.
I had a wonderful time visiting my sister and her family.
The weather was typical for this time of year and that locality - temp between 45 and 35 degrees night or day.
It rained every day - some days for ten minutes, some days for ten hours.
I got to run nearly every other day - rain or cloud. (as I had planned)
We visited the coast for four days.
There, the temperature never varied above 57 or below 35, day or night.
It rained every day - some times for ten minutes, some times for an hour or two.
It was VERY windy on the coast - 30 to 60 mph.
It was so windy at one place we visited that it literally almost blew us off our feet.
(This was not good as we were standing on the edge of an 800 foot cliff overlooking the ocean.)
Much fun and eating was enjoyed by all.
I got to have my annual halibut fillet.
It was very good, as usual.
My sister made one of her famous four-inch tall apple pies (pictures were taken for proof) which was a good as it was tall.
I did not take as many pictures this year as I did last year - mostly because of the poor weather.
The weather at the coast cleared for about half a day which allowed us to travel to one of our favorite places for wave watching, climbing, and picture making.
There were no travel problems, no lost luggage, or undue delays.
I arrived home early (by an hour or so) and under budget.
How can this be bad?
Pictures will be posted soon.
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