if i only had a pump

major props to the Perfessor!

I was out toodling around McBaine on my bike pretending i was Floyd Landis when I hit a little rock of some sort in the middle of the road. one or two seconds later i heard the dreaded, "phup, phup, phup, phup" as a the air in my tire followed the laws of physics and redistributed itself from a high pressure area to a low pressure area. my tire was flat in seconds. not to worry i told myself. pull the tube out. put the new tube in (checking the tire first for any sharp thingys). pump up tire. ride.

Not so simple. I learned the importance of pump maintenence this morning. Evidently one has to check the seals on one's pump periodically and lube them too. I haven't done that. I had no functioning pump. fortunately, i had a functioning phone. And double fortunate for me, Nathan Means was almost out of bed and willing to come haul my ass home. He said it was no big deal but we all know differently. He's on summer break. nothing to do but sleep ride and watch the Giro.

Thanks Nathan!

if i only had a brain

Went to Gentry Middle School Thursday night to watch Sam perform in a school program. He sang some songs with a choir but he (and we) was not as enthused about that as we (and he) were about the short scene from the Wizard of Oz he was to perform. He did quite well! He has never done any acting on stage before so we were all a bit nervous for him. But he seems like a natural. I have a few fotos but they didn't turn out that great and I haven't even downloaded them off the camera yet but I just might put up a picture of him singing. or if i get really ambitious and tech savvy a video clip of him as the Tin Woodsman.

As I write this it's raining outside and that means that most likely Nora's soccer game will be cancelled. That's sad but also a relief. She can sleep and we can relax around here. I took Friday off sick. I really am. Why else would I be up at 2am? The way I feel now I may not be in to work on Monday either.

Which also means that I haven't put nearly the miles in this month that I planned or hoped to. Approx. 100 less than last year. I take solace, though, in the fact that what I have done has been "better" and higher intensity than last year. And I have been running which I think is adding to my base fitness. blah blah...thanks for reading.

janes addiction anyone?

So I'm sittin' here at work listening to launchcast on my computer. Usually I listen to my own station but today I have been listening to "80s Alternative" All the best music so far has been stuff from 1984-1988. I know lots of folks like to make fun of the 80s music (and there was, like now, lots of crap) but overall these were the Golden years for music in my opinion. The Cure's "Standing on a Beach", All of R.E.M.'s music, Jane's Addiction, Eurythmics, Love & Rockets, I can't even begin to name them all. Butthole Surfers, Dead Kennedy's, there's two more. It was all so good.

It was all on the radio station at K-State; KSDB was a breath of fresh air after the stifling top-40 junk like REO Speedwagon and Journey. Even now I have a hard time listening to any radio station other than a college station. Fortunately, the station at MU is run a lot like KSDB used to be. It even has the same frequency that KSDB did. I don't know the djs or most of the songs they play but I do know they don't play any friggin' commercials. Can't stand the stuff. Once in a while I flip up the dial to KBXR to see what they are playing but usually it's a commercial so I hit the down dial as quick as I can.

But I digress...those years were great ones for music and for me. What a coincidence that these same years were also my under-grad days.

a good time was had by all

We spent Saturday night and Sunday morning out in the rural hinterlands of Boone County playing. I took quite some photos which mostly turned out pretty good. By the looks of the kids faces it appears that they had a great time.

I of course came home Saturday night to "take care of the dog." It just so happens that I was able to ride the Tour de la Haute Croute before I went back out Sunday morning. Funny how that works.

the hour run

I ran for an hour on Saturday... not a long time by marathon standards I know but it was a long time for me. I haven't run that long for maybe ten years. So far no problems with my knee but I am not running again until Wednesday and then for only half an hour. It felt great to run on the MKT and I want to do it again next Saturday, but maybe this time with a friend.

Speaking of friends, after running Saturday, I went with Sam and the neighbor, Dr. Foote, out to help a friend who had also been our milk man. His farm by Fayette had been totally destroyed in a tornado March 12. Not just the barn or milk shed or even the house but everything. Gone. Wiped out. We went out and with about a thousand other folks took down what was left standing (part of the house and parts of some sheds) put it into big piles and burned it. Amazingly only one cow died in the storm and fortunately no one in the family was hurt. They were in the basement and by the looks of the house that seems to have been a really good idea. They sure don't build 'em like they used to though. It was an old house and solid. man. I was on a crew that started tearing off the second story. That was one well built house. I had gone downstairs to fetch a wrench and started thinking about the amateurs such as myself who were working in such close quarters with large hammers. Getting nervous for Sam, who was still working up on the second floor having a grand time smashing walls with a hammer, I returned to the second floor solely then to get him down from there. I had no sooner reached the top of the stairs than I has hit in the head with a flying piece of lath and plaster. it was only a flesh wound and didn't bleed much but it certainly made getting my son out of there more urgent.

It was really great to see all the people there helping out and feeling that they owed the family a debt for providing such a service to us.

food

It's funny what goes through one's mind when one is bonking.

I took the day off and was going to ride for maybe 2 hours and then do some work around the house. I got out on the road and figgerd that, "Hell, it's my day off and I really could put off the work at home..." so I ended up riding for 3 and a half hours. Let me tell all you young'uns...You should bring lots of food with you when riding alone in the boonies for three hours.

Among other places I rode out to Easley and did the hill there 2x. Sheeit, They graded that hill steeper or something since last summer.

But that was all nice and fine cuz it came before the 2 hour mark. I realized then that it was not going to be easy getting home without food. I ate my one little granola bar an hour earlier, and let me tell you there ain't much out southwest of Columbia. I mean Sapp's a nice townlet and all but they don't have a Casey's or 7-11 or even an A&W. I rode up and down the main drag but didn't see a one.

Actually, I was only a little hungry as I headed back down Woodie Proctor (who was he anyway and why does his name sound like a medical procedure?) and I didn't feel any sense of dread at the coming miles. Meanwhile my wheels kept getting farther from home and somehow (and i didn't know this until later) I was drifting with the wind. As I started back up the home stretch toward town on KK I realized just how far I had come with the wind. As the crow flies it's maybe 10 miles from the intersection of K and KK but I wasn't flying. crawling is what it was. wobbling was how I was doing it. Every bump made my stomach hurt. I never felt that one before. a dried shriveled up bean rattling around in my gut. As I passed the various eateries, Upper Crust, Shakespeares, MFA, etc. They all sounded delicious and it was torture passing them but the thought of stopping to eat and then having to get back out ON the bike and IN the wind was too much to contemplate.

I started fantasizing about the food I was going to eat when I got home. Taking inventory of the fridge and freezer. How long would it take to fry up the frozen hamburger (too long). Wondering if my wife would miss the bratwurst we as a family have on the menu for wednesday night (she would). Sudying the most efficient way to get the most food in me with the least amount of work and time...,"I'll walk in, turn on the stove for coffee, mix some chocolate milk, while i drink it, I'll cut the bread for my sandwich, then while I drink my second glass of chocolate milk..." Thank god for tuna in a can.

I ate and ate some more...and then fell asleep.

What a GREAT day off!

Bill Napoli

What more politics!...Sheeit!

Really, I'm just helping out the Smart Bitches (their term not mine) google-bomb the bastard in South Dakota, Bill Napoli. He is one of the prime backers of South Dakota's new anti-abortion law. His description of a case of acceptable abortion consists of the following (from PBS Online NewsHour):

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Napoli says most abortions are performed for what he calls "convenience." He insists that exceptions can be made for rape or incest under the provision that protects the mother's life. I asked him for a scenario in which an exception may be invoked.

BILL NAPOLI: A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.

So there you have it...Just doing my part to piss off the radical right.

time flies

It's been a month since I wrote in this thing. There has been so much going on that I haven't had time to stop and write. I am still not sure where to start and of course now as I am writing nothing is coming to mind.

Nora is still playing soccer on Friday nights. Her team which was beaten 23-1 in their first game, held the last team to only a 2 or 3 point lead and they actually scored! Sam turned 13 Feb. 1 and seems to be really turning into a teenager. Fortunately he seems much more well adjusted than I was at his age (or now). We took him and 14 of his closest friends to a video game "store" where they played non-stop violent games for 2 solid hours on 11 foot screens. I can tell you that won't be happening often. This place has "lock-ins" on Friday nights where you start playing games 11pm Friday until 7am Saturday. Talk about a healthy lifestyle. 8 hours on a couch in the middle of the night sustained by pizza, soda and donuts. Crazy! One of Sam's friends has done this at least once. Not my kid.

one grote race!

I did one last CX race on the 8th, the Grote Prijs Shawnee. A great race. Spectators, 4 barriers, 2 run-ups (one off camber), beer, coffee and pizza. The course was a tight one in a park and I would never have imagined that you could get a full on course in it but they did. I finished in the middle of the Bs. Got my work cut out for me.

Anyhow since then lots has been going on. The most momentous for me is that I turned 40 last Saturday. S0 far so good. Got a long ride in with The Perfesser and Patti on Sunday. Unfortunately, John was sick and couldn't come. Otherwise it was a perfect ride. Another Ashland loop with the same folks this weekend would be really nice. Bridget doesn't work tomorrow so I will probably get a slightly longer-than-usual ride in.

Last weekend was also the weekend of the flu at our house. It all started when Nora threw up at 4 in the morning Saturday. This was after playing an Excellent soccer match friday evening. She is a wiz with the ball and a joy to watch on the field. Damn! Her team is made up of "free agents", girls who don't have a regular team so they have only known each other for two weeks. The competition is made up of "traveling" teams that the girls had to try-out for. They have been playing together for a (relatively) long time and as a team are much better than ours. They are also a lot older than Nora and many others on her team. She is in a U12 league and she is 7. Still, on an individual level, Nora is as good or better (or will be) than many of the girls on the other teams. It is really fun to watch her skills develop.

Back to the flu...Bridget then got sick later on Saturday and missed a ride on the MKT she had organised in honor of my Birthday. She and Nora stayed home while Sam and I and about 12 other folks headed out for a 7 mile trail ride. Some of my friends on the ride hadn't ridden a bike for years so I was really honored that they picked my birthday to come out and try it again. With children no less.


Afterward we retired to Shakes for some pizza and beer. Actually only me and Sam and the Wrights (neighbors and some of the nicest folks I have ever met) made it to Shakespeares. Ann B showed up. and we all had a great time. Thought about my sick wife and child the whole time of course.

Monday after going for a ride, I came home and got sick. Fortunately I never threw up but I had a much higher fever than the previous two sickies. Missed work tuesday but was all better by Wednesday. Sam got sick tuesday evening and missed school Wednesday. He went to school yesterday and seems to be just fine. I think we may all be better now.

Planning on going out for a run in about half an hour. a short fast 2 mile run.

out of the closet

Ok...I know. I wasn't going to do this. I am only posting this for public insemination (sic).

The letter in today's Trib finally spells it out.

If a person wants to build a case for same-sex "unions" ([useless parenthetical comment deleted]), it will have to be done without the aid of the Bible.

Of course one could and should just as easily say:

If a person wants to build a case against same-sex "unions", it will have to be done without the aid of the Bible.

Yep, you gotta leave your religion at home when you enter the forum.

hectic around our place

• Bridget's dad had a stroke (he's doing fine)
• Bridget went to KC to be with her parents for the week
• School started for the kids
• Too many late late LATE nights
• Most importantly, just in time for my 40th birthday, I found hair growing from out of my ear.

...and a good time was had by all

Went to my parents on Friday the 23rd and whaddaya know? Santa was there too!

I also went to Midnight Mass. That is some late church!. I don't know what else to say about it right now so I'll just say, "It was nice. "

On other topics...haven't been attending the Church of Gravity very regularly which is unfortunate because I think I will be racing again in a week or so. yikes! I have been running a bit so hopefully I have retained some fitness there but biking...?

Nora starts soccer again next week. This time she will be in a U10 league which is co-ed but there is a girls only team she will be playing on. I hope it's a good experience for her.

countdown begins...

it's 2am and I just finished getting ready for our christmas (as metaphor). Really Santa has a tough job but I guess someone's got to do it.

I actually put up some more decorations tonight. A couple of years I put up some greenery and lights on the sly and developed a reputation for doing that. Well this year I did it again. finally. The last several years I have not done it for some reason or other. Mainly probably because I have had trouble getting excited about the holiday as much as I used to. This year is different. I have been looking forward to Christmas for a while now. I have listened to Xmas music at work enough to drive anyone crazy but all the same it is almost over and I don't feel like I have even begun to feel like it's here.

True, we do have three weeks of celebrating left. Tomorrow with our little family and Dan, this weekend with my parents and brothers and their spouses and child. Then two weeks later we are supposed to go to KC for a third celebration with Bridget's side. That one will be a quick visit unless Nora doesn't for some weird reason have a game on that sunday.

More later, i got to go to bed...Santa has to come yet and I have a feeling that it will be time to undo all the work I just did in a very short amount of time.

Update at 11:30am: It looks as if I was a bit tired when I wrote this morning at 2. ah well.

Bridget and Sam are off to the mall to exchange a pair of shoes which Santa left for him but which are a bit small. Fortunately, Santa left the receipt with the shoes. Nora has been out playing with her new soccer ball from Santa already and is now sitting next to me on the couch checking out her new "origami a day" calendar. After I wrote that bit up top I got a few hours sleep and after asking Sam to get the coffee going for us Bridget and I made it out of bed by 7:00am. I tell you, it's all worthwhile to see the kids eyes light up at the idea of opening presents and stockings. We try not to overdo it presents-wise. But it's easy to get carried away sometimes. Pictures to follow.

modern day puritans

Some key quotes from a story in today's Chicago Tribune (subscription required)

A few Christian churches to this day dismiss Christmas with a polite theological humbug, among them a small number of independent Pentacostal churches.

[A] mother of three, sat quietly in the back pew. She covered her head with a white lace, as she said the Bible required women to do in church.

The 3-year-old is the one who asks more than any other," she said, smiling. "He sings the songs of merry Christmas and that he wants Christmas and he wants a tree. We tell him that Christmas is all the time, we celebrate Jesus every day.

"There is nothing biblical" in the yuletide celebrations, said Pastor Santos Carrasco, 56. "And we only practice what Jesus orders us to practice."

[F]or all the pleas to "keep Christ in Christmas," Christmas has not always been, well, Christian.

The day that Christians today think of Jesus' birthday was marked in pre-Christian days by midwinter agricultural and solar observances.

Oliver Cromwell persuaded the British Parliament to make the holiday illegal, terming it both "papist and pagan."

"Christmas was really a carnival season," Stephen Nissenbaum, a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts and author of "The Battle for Christmas," said. "There's that warm remnant of the Christmas season as a time of drinking and letting go and just misbehaving. That survived but it has survived only on New Year's Eve."

To which I say MERRY CHRISTMAS!

“creationism in a cheap tuxedo.” *

In case you haven't heard, intelligent design as a constitutionally protected and legitimate scientific "theory" went down in flames yesterday morning. (jumping for joy is appropriate at this juncture).

These people were so destroyed! And you wanna know the best part? The judge in the ruling was a 2002 W appointee! hee! hee! Of course, since ID is not really a scientific theory, facts have nothing to do with it and as faith is its only ally this won't be the last we hear of it. Let the fire and brimstone begin!

The ruling from the Dover, Penn. courtroom, "provides an excellent case study of evolution in action; ironically, in this case how the language of creationists has adapted to changing cultural environments. The defense argued that Intelligent Design is an entirely new species unrelated to creation science, and the plaintiffs expertly demonstrated both the clear ancestral relationship between creationism and ID and the selective pressure of higher court decisions that caused the speciation. With that phylogenetic relationship clearly established in the trial, the judge evidently decided that creationism had not mutated enough to survive as the new species of Intelligent Design." -- eskeptic newsletter, Dec. 20, 2005

One of the co-authors' blog has much more good information.

Check out this delicious quote from an unrepentant originators of the trouble, Dover school board member William Buckingham:

"I'm still waiting for a judge or anyone to show me anywhere in the Constitution where there's a separation of church and state," he told The Associated Press. "We didn't lose; we were robbed." -- USAToday, Dec. 20, 2005

File that under "Things you should have learned in school had you been paying attention."

*quote from the article in the eskeptic.

is anyone excited about the holidays?

There is a certain 7 year old girl at my house who is pretty darn excited for Christmas. The stockings are hung with on the piano with care. There are packages under the tree. But you want to know how I can tell she is excited? For the past two evenings she has spent what seems like an hour runnning back and forth between the dining room window and the front door singing christmas songs. over and over and over and over. It's really very sweet. Naturally one is not supposed to run in the house but I haven't the heart nor the wish to make stop. All I can do is ask her to change her song once in a while for variety's sake.

I myself am excited for Solstice (tomorrow!). The days will be getting longer, which means more sunlight for riding. But if I remember right the daylight usually starts extending in the evening first before the morning.

Happy holidays: So what’s wrong with that?

From an editorial in the Columbia Daily Tribune, December 15, 2005.

"After all, that friendly admonition ["Happy Holidays"] can include those who get their jollies this time of year from paying homage to Jesus Christ as well as those who don’t, and there are millions of the latter. [more...]"

and a response:

"I’d like to say I take great offense at your disparaging remark about those of us who are devoted followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. How dare you have the audacity to denigrate those who follow the words and teachings of Jesus? It’s quite one thing being tolerant of all things, but to single out the believers of one particular faith, in this case the Christians, to belittle is inexcusable. In my opinion, you owe all Christians a huge apology."

The caller to "Trib Talk" is probably right but let's look at the response shall we?

How dare you have the audacity Sounds like a not-so-veiled threat to me.

It’s quite one thing being tolerant of all things, but to single out the believers of one particular faith...is inexcusable. The caller is also quite right; it is, "one thing being tolerant of all things," obviously the original writer was not, nor did he claim to be. That is his right just as she has a right to be angry with his opinion.

The caller is giving us another another example of the general fundamentalist paranoia which holds that anyone advocating "tolerance" is against Christianity (or whatever fundamentalist religion is being "belittled"). Sometimes the "tolerant" person is against Christianity but most often s/he is intolerant of the intolerance advocated by such hard-core fundamentalists.

new documentary

Jesus of Nazareth never existed.

low bone density in cyclists

Lately I had read of some studies (another one, and another one) which point to excessive bone density loss in highly trained male cyclists; middle-aged male cyclists with bones more typical of an elderly woman than a fit young(ish) man. So, after talking my doctor into it, I had my bone density tested last week and got the results back the other day.

Not good.

My diagnosis was osteopenia, or The First Step to Osteoporosis. While my doctor still seemed unconcerned, it concerned me! See the chart? I have "T-scores" varying between -1.1 to -2.3 depending on where it was taken. Osteoporosis is defined as a T-score of -2.5 or less. Of course my results stated that my "fracture risk is moderately increased."

All you cyclists, male and female, get your bones tested. Even if you are young. Do it now so you can take steps to assure that you avoid any problems in the future. You will also know how much better or worse your bones are in the future.

The Mayo Clinic has a good summary of the bone density testing procedure and the results.

finished.

That's it I am done. I can't take it anymore. There is just no way to get through to these people. They make me feel like throwing up.

Minority tries to undermine America’s Christian customs "As a member of the so-called "silent majority," I am herewith breaking my silence. The ever-increasing crescendo by the anti-Christian zealots in their constant denouncement of everything that suggests Christianity is enraging and insulting."
Kudos to Boston’s mayor for Christmas Tree stand "Christians have stayed silent too long...If someone is going to be offended by someone praying to God, then they should carry earplugs and use them."
Retailers choose to ignore Christmas’ true importance "What happened to Christmas? I just finished looking through 11 retail ads that arrived with my Dec. 4 Tribune. I did not find the word "Christmas" printed even once in the texts of any of these 11 publications...I have seen the story about the Grinch who stole Christmas, but that’s just a fairy tale."

I am happy to let others try.

Season’s bleatings trivialize Christmas "Some of the earliest Christians were stoned for their beliefs. In some parts of the world today, Christianity is a crime punishable by death. And the AFA is feeling persecuted because a salesclerk says "Happy holidays"? That’s not persecution. It’s a persecution complex."
Those who claim Christmas has been stolen only divide "Christians carry their beliefs in their hearts, and they reflect their faith through their generosity of spirit and by the way they treat others."

In the words of one of those persecuted in the above letters, "I suggest that these people lighten up and enjoy this wonderful time of year along with the rest of us." Minority tries to undermine America’s Christian customs

From now on only happy happy things: bike riding, my kids, bike racing, my family, riding bikes with my family.