Kids having fun

at Camp Lakewood

some pictures

work work work

I can hardly stand it. I have been inside since 8:50 this morning. Working. Watching the weather channel and noting that the temperature is now 69F and sunny. There are no patrons, they are too wise and are out playing I guess. I am planning on riding tomorrow but the forecast isn't nearly so nice.

i'm respectable

what happens if...

you door one of your heroes?

Last night after the girl's soccer game, we stopped at Schnucks for a bit o' dinner. I pulled into a primo parking spot (right by the "reserved for the cops" slot) and started getting out of the car. Nora, not wanting to wait for me in the car, got out too. She started opening her door but at the same time one of two the mu soccer players (dressed in black) was trying to get to her own door which was on the car next to ours. Nora about whacked her she didn't though. The player was polite and let Nora get out. Nora was speechless for a bit. "...did...did...you see...who that was?" Pretty cool.

no frozen toes

What the hell was that last post? Waste of digital space is what. Meanwhile life goes on and on. Bridget is in her 3rd week of work at the new job! Going well with few frustrations along the way getting settled into her position. I stayed home with Nora last week when there was no school because of the snow (if you blinked you missed it) and then she got sick on Friday. Of course it was friday when she got sick, always does. And of course we should have gone to the doctor on Friday but I thought, maybe she'll get over it quickly...she didn't Sunday at 10am she still wasn't well so I took her into Urgent Care. Urgent Care, of course, costs 2x as much as a regular visit, and it turns out she had strep. Should've gone in Friday. Didn't feel well myself all weekend and that combined with taking Nora in kept me from even watching Froze Toes. So now with that out of the way, I have 7 months to build up to 'cross season. Normally of course running is required in cx but since I can't run, my dismounts will have to be slower and i will step over the barriers instead of jumping. All this means I will have to be faster on the bike. Actually maybe by then I'll be able to jog slowly and even if I can't I'll have to work on my dis- and re-mounts so I don't lose anytime there.

Vote for Edwards?

From Christopher Cook http://www.christopherdcook.com/  

Politics is about negotiation, leverage, power and ideas, among other things. In my estimation, both Obama and Clinton have failed to exhibit a strong consistent commitment to progressive ideas--and thus need to be pressured on this front, and held as accountable as possible to progressive ideas such as universal healthcare, strong sturdy anti-war policies, and economic justice. Neither candidate (not even Obama, who has since voted for war payments) has been clear and consistent on the war and when/how to end it. Neither candidate has taken a strong clear stand on a universal healthcare plan that truly breaks the insurance industry's hold over America 's healthcare system. To the extent that either has mentioned issues of poverty and workers' rights, and corporate greed/power, it has been by virtue of prodding by the Edwards candidacy. Both these candidates have consistently shown they are willing to sell out progressive causes in the name of power politics and centrism, or, in Obama's case, some vague appeal to moderates and Republicans.

This is not an anti-Obama or anti-Clinton appeal; rather, I encourage you to consider voting for Edwards tomorrow on the basis of representing progressive ideas in the electorate, and sending as many delegates his way as possible, in the hopes that he will be that much more empowered to exact some pledges for his endorsement of either candidate. 

I believe progressive ideas win only when they are strongly represented, not when they are tucked in the back pocket and slipped in on the margins later, if at all.  Politics is largely about the bargaining and wielding of power and ideas; you don't start the negotiation by bargaining away your ideals, you start with your ideals and work back as little as possible. It may seem that the pragmatic thing to do tomorrow is to support Obama or Clinton and rally the party toward a quick nomination of one or the other; but if we want progressive policies to be promoted by either of these two, they need to hear from us -- and tomorrow we can speak through our votes by telling both of them that they need to be more accountable to the progressive ideas promoted by Senator Edwards. 

Ultimately Democrats will rally behind whoever takes the nomination -- but right now, in the primaries, this is an important time to impact not only who gains that nomination, but what they say they stand for, and to whom they are accountable.  So I say let's bring a little pressure on these two and vote for Edwards tomorrow -- and as his pile of delegates continues to accrue, even at small levels, so will at least some small measure of pressure for more progressive policies in the party platform.

---

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workaday

My wife now has a job! She starts Feb. 11th at the ARC. Big changes in store for the entire family. Before and after school care, Soccer camp, lacrosse camp, day camp, summer camp anything to keep the kids occupied while the parents are at the

happy happy joy joy

Was at the Doc's this morning. Seems my knee is doing great. Cartilage seems whole and everything is healing nicely. It's just a matter of strength and time now. No running yet; more leg presses, etc. I am really looking forward to running again. Right now it's out of the question because it would hurt too much and I am not really strong enough. If the pain went away I would like to but Dr. Smith says to hold off another year yet. That means my '08 CX season may also have just been called off. I don't go back until next January.

recent activities

Walked 8 miles on the MKT.

Went to St. Louis for work and took the kids.

Watched Nora perform with her school choir at her teacher's wedding.


Survived the first ice storm of the season.

i heart crazy fun but not in the rain

Spent Saturday in the rain with Sam but not Dr. H-V.

cx is here

I'm a bit nervous. I didn't expect to be but I am. Heading out to cx practice tonight at the scene of my accident last fall. I probably should have put bigger tires on my bike and probably should take it easy on the corners, especially since it rained a bucket load last night. I haven't been riding as much as I would like either. Only rode half the number of miles in September that I did in August and close to a third of what I did in July. Not that I have anything to train for anyway. Hopefully by this time next year I will be ready for a real cx racing season.

Congrats to Josh on his most excellent finish in Michigan. That is some stiff competition and he did great!

life

It's been a while since I wrote.
Here's a summary:
Work, eat, bike, disc golf, watch soccer. And celebrated our 16th anniversary Aug. 31. 16 years wow! THe kids stayed with a friend while we ate at Sycamore, and the Upper Crust. MMmmmm good! Especially the dessert at Upper Crust. We even got a hotel room over night.

Big news this week of course...one more day of work and then I am outta here. Tuesday a.m. road trip to KC for the first stage of ToM. I think I'll stay overnight in KC with my inlaws before heading to the start of Stage 2 in Clinton on Wednesday. Maybe I'll have pictures next time.

baby or Playmate?

If this is liberated, I’ll opt for dignity

...Bratz dolls apparently aimed at ages "4-plus." "Bratz Babyz makes a ‘Babyz Nite Out’ doll garbed in fishnet stockings, a hot-pink micromini, and a black leather belt. … The baby also sports a tummy-flaunting black tank paired with a hot-pink cap. ‘These Babyz demand to be lookin’ good on the street, at the beach or chillin’ in the crib.’ " Another of the dolls wears heavy red lipstick and bright toenail polish to match red panties. One is almost reduced to sputtering.

For the slightly older set, the "tweens" - girls between 9 and 12 - Target markets thong underwear. Apparently you can find "Care Bear" thongs at some retailers and "push-up" bras at Kohl’s for the first-time bra purchaser.

I don't usually like what I read by Mona Charen and even here I don't like her tone but as a father of a 9 year old girl I have to agree with Mona on this one. I would place the blame on some sort of right-wing, capitalist "conspiracy" to keep women in line rather than left-wing feminism like Ms. Charen does but either way the result is disheartening and depressing to anyone raising a daughter (well, I guess not everyone because someone is buying this crap for their kids).

bwahahaha

From the latest installment of Trib Talk:

"I hate to rain on the parade of supporters of more streets for cars and trucks, but it is unreasonable to expect them to address certain problems that should give us a pause from our headfirst dive into a new scheme of public transportation. Hundreds of thousands of children are injured riding in automobiles annually, more than any other activity except perhaps basketball. Many of these injuries are serious head injuries, and no other activity comes close by comparison. Adult drivers frequently suffer injuries as well. More streets in more neighborhoods will likely lead to more crime in those neighborhoods. Wish that it were not so. Balance is essential when driving a car. Balance in discussing this community issue is important as well. It is not the job of advocates of streets for cars to provide this balance."

Not really, I plagiarized and edited it for reasonableness but what a strange world it would be if it were so. Unfortunately, the actual blurb went something like this:

"I hate to rain on the parade of supporters of more sidewalks for bicyclists and pedestrians, but it is unreasonable to expect them to address certain problems that should give us a pause from our headfirst dive into a new scheme of public transportation. With few exceptions, most of us will not ride a bike or walk when the conditions are too hot, too cold, rainy or snowy or icy or when the travel distance is very far. Those conditions prevail most of the time. Hundreds of thousands of children are injured riding bikes annually, more than any other sport except perhaps basketball. Many of these injuries are serious head injuries, and no other sport comes close by comparison. Adult bicyclists frequently suffer injuries as well. More sidewalks in more neighborhoods will likely lead to more crime in those neighborhoods. Wish that it were not so. Balance is essential when riding a bicycle. Balance in discussing this community issue is important as well. It is not the job of advocates of sidewalks for walking and biking to provide this balance."

The only legitimate complaint in this entire ramble is "With few exceptions, most of us will not ride a bike or walk when the conditions are too hot, too cold, rainy or snowy or icy or when the travel distance is very far. " But some of that even could change if people accepted a little sweat.

And why exactly would a sidewalk create more crime? Is it the as of yet unheard of population of "green" eco-thieves unwilling to use internal combustion engines to wreak havoc on these unsuspecting neighborhoods,

"Bwahahah! now that you saps have sidewalks, me and my gang, the "Strollers" can unleash our nefarious scheme of walking off with your televisions and stereos, iPods and computers! Oh, had they only put in sidewalks when they built your houses! We could have been robbing you ages ago, you unwitting stooges! And with sidewalks our getaway will be so much easier now that we can simply walk away from the scene of our wrongdoing. And our rivals in the "Walkers" better watch out--we're gonna go for some walk-by shootings!"

WTF!

just 2 months away

NEWS RELEASE
Top-ranked Team Discovery Channel to participate in the upcoming inaugural Tour of Missouri international cycling race

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (June 25, 2007)
Just two weeks before this year’s Tour de France, America’s newest elite
cycling race---the Tour of Missouri---today announced the participation of
the World’s No. 1-ranked team, the American-based Discovery Channel team
for the inaugural race.

The event is scheduled for September 11-16, 2007, starting in Kansas
City and finishing six days later in St. Louis. It is the season-ending
finale for many of the top teams and promises to be one of North America’s
top events.

OFFER: advice

1) When responding to an offer on freecycle DO NOT use all one case (either UPPER or lower) and DO use punctuation. Your response will most likely be
ignored if you cannot write a readable and courteous email.

2) Because offers on freecycle generate approximately 100 million responses from people asking for the offered item, DO NOT send follow-up emails. If you don't hear
from the offerer, assume you have not won the lottery and won't get the item.

3) DO NOT send emails to the offerer asking for special conditions or
more details and DO NOT ask to be telephoned about the item.

4) Most of all, DO NOT send emails asking if the offerer received your email. He/she did. Your response was NOT chosen from the 100 million responses and someone else's was. DO NOT stress about this; it is the way the freecycle game is played.

The preceding is a rant and rules that were almost posted on freecycle and, because it sounded too much like a similar rant on another yahoo group, was nixed by others in my household with more sense.

Freecycle is a perfect example of community. It's a non-self selecting group; people of all types are participating. There are lots of folks you have to get along with or at least treat with what passes for respect, when in fact you are bothered all to hell by them. You can get lots of great stuff from freecycle but if you offer stuff you've got to be prepared to face a barrage of emails, many from people who do not get the concept very well.

there are no strings (or braces) on me!

Saw the Doc this morning. He was pleased to see that I am seemingly whole in body again. Not only do I have a working ACL but also it appears that my femur has healed. Evidently if it wasn't healed then I would certainly be in much pain and agony. I told him it was still tender inside the joint and had a sharp pain once in a while but he thought that was normal and was unconcerned about the cartilige fragment we were so worried about.

So...I can ride without the brace now. I can start weaning myself off the brace otherwise. And I don't have to go back to physical therapy. Still need to do muscle exercises like leg presses, quad curls, swimming and elliptical machine, etc.

tuesday nite ride

Last night was the Brendaville Cycling Team's first training ride. All went really well. Sam, Jordan, Steve and I rode up to Jason's house (we're an inter-'hood team) picked him up and rode to Grindstone where we hopped on the trail and rode it to McBaine. I had never ridden with Jason before but he is a strong cyclist. He is only 12 and rode a bike that was a bit small for him. If he had a bike that fit him with larger wheels he would have hammered Sam and Jordan. We all were tired and hungry by the time we returned but it was a satisfying ride for sure. I hope this was just the first of a long series of rides.

When we stopped at McBaine we met up with some people from Pennsylvania who were riding the length of the trail from St. Louis. They were loaded down with camping gear but wanted to head to Columbia for a bed rather than a sleeping bag. So we escorted them into town. Evidently they have done several different rails-to-trails trips around the country. Sounds like a great adventure and a great way to take a bike trip. There is one along the Erie Canal they would like to do next. I would like to do that one too.

I am off to the Doc's this morning. I hope I get a big thumbs up. I am a bit nervous as I have ridden 5 days in a row now and have already had my biggest week this year with 84 miles and it's only Tuesday. I just hope my knee is not hurt by that. It's kinda sore and tender in the joint. But is has been before and only gotten stronger and better afterward.

of sheep

My entire family(3 brothers, their wives and children as well as my parents) all got together this weekend outside of Columbia. Friends of ours who live on a small farm went out of town so we took over for them and took care of their animals and garden in return for a place to stay. The weekend didn't start out terribly auspiciously and my career in livestock seemed blighted as I killed two chickens in the first day. I know it sounds terrible and it was. Evidently I didn't know how to operate the water dispenser correctly and on the hottest day of the year the "Meat" chickens (as opposed to the "Layers") ran out of water and two died from dehydration. After having my burying them (Sam and Nora dug the hole) I got a fresh start and didn't kill any more animals. Saturday night as I was closing up the barn, I looked into one of the stalls and saw a sheep and what I thought at first was a chicken. Turns out it was a newborn lamb, the speckled one in the picture above. I started hyperventilating and calling for my wife and as I did so I realized there was another even newer born lamb. Jesus! this wasn't supposed to happen for a nother couple of weeks. WIth the aid of my brothers, we spent the next four hours watching them, wiping them, sanitizing their umbilical cords, and trying to get the lambs to nurse. They didn't seem to know what to do. Or rather they knew what to do but for whatever reason couldn't. I called several veterinarians and finally was able to get a hold of one. True to James Herriot, when I called the vet it was near midnight on Saturday. Isn't that when all the calls in All Creatures Great and Small occured? The vet said that we could wait until morning and see how they were doing then. If they hadn't started nursing within 18 hours of birth then we would need to intervene. He asked if I could stick a tube down the lambs' throats. I wasn't sure about that and hoped it wouldn't come to that. I slept for a few hours then got up and checked on the lambs. Thank god they were still alive and even better were nursing and seemed to be doing well.

I think I could really get into the livestock thing.

Nora discovered fishing this weekend and after catching three fish now wants start fishing regularly. Sam enjoyed the fishing and swimming as well.

Sam started his new job at Shakes yesterday. He even made some tips while busing tables. I hope he enjoys the work and it is a good experience for him. And I hope he makes a wad a dough so he can pay for his trip to Europe next summer.