First CC Race In 33 Years

I've been to a bunch of races in the last couple of years since Surenna runs on her HS team but finally I got to participate in one:

Thanks to Jimmy S. of GLRR for the picture.

I found out that the Thomas Chamberas 6K XC was being run practically in our back yard at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle.

As for the race:  The start was along a corn field on a tractor path.  There was about 1/4 mile of this before it turned a corner with a meadow on one side and the corn on the other.  This was the first place where one could break-out of the crowd and go to full speed.  I saw Glenn (the president of the GLRR) ahead of me and figured I would just attempt to keep up with him.  He is more than ten years older than I am but I have never beaten him in a race.  There was only about 3/4 mile of wide running area before the course narrowed into a one lane path.  A good mile and a half of mostly being stuck behind other runners but I had done a lot of passing in the earlier part, including Glenn and so was running with people moving at a good clip. The last 3/4 mile was more-or-less constant double path and I found myself catching and passing for the rest of the way.  

The obstructions on the path; roots, boulders loose gravel were a treachery and a saving:  When following close behind another runner, the path ahead would only come into view when it was too late to react.  On the occasional small opening, the uneven ground kept runners slow and so if you were willing to risk a fall, some good passing could be done. I saw frequent, though did not get, turned ankles in this part of the race.

In a road race it seems like essentially a one dimensional competition:  How hard can I push myself at any given moment in the race?  On a course like this, sometimes you were just stuck behind a person and so all you have to concern yourself with is keeping up.  On a path, running at high speed, there is a constant mental effort to choose your footing--do I take a long step here to the top of this boulder, or take a short step to the base of it and then step over it with the other foot?  While racing, I noticed I was having fun in a way that I don't really have so much in road races.

I would normally be happy with my performance:  6:56/mile, except that I suspect that the course was short. I had to have lost at least 30 seconds in the start, due to crowding and I heard somebody's GPS watch chime at the first mile and a glance at my watch showed something like 7:30.  It seems a little hard to believe I made back something like 45 seconds (below a 7:00/mile pace) in the last 2.7 miles, especially when I was stuck behind people for at least half of that distance.  In addition:  I hardly would make that pace on roads and trails really are a lot slower than pavement.  I did the Medical Center 6K a couple of years ago in Nashua and got 26:01 compared to this race a 25:49.  I would like to believe that I've gotten a lot faster in the last two years but I am 50 years old and don't believe in fairy tails.

Wife's picture of the finish--partially photo bombed...

List of Wednesday's Activities

1. Lift Weights:  First time at 90 lbs for the clean and jerk.  I have been adding 5 lbs/week.
2. Breakfast after a fasting day:  Swiss cheese omelette on a mini croissant with bacon.
3. Take Jemma to Revolution Dance Academy.
4. Roast coffee.
5. Take Dahlia to the eye doctor to have her fitted for contact lenses and learn how to put them in, take them out and care for them.  She did pretty well and enjoys the new, stronger prescription which gives her super-girl vision.
6.  Lunch:  A beer and left-over roasted chicken wings.
7.  Find studs so that I can install the remaining baseboard trim in the addition.
8. 7.85 mile run.  Fairly slow on a fairly hot day; my pace tends to decay as the week progresses due to build-up of soreness.  I had planned to tack-on an extra 4 miles at the end to complete the week's mileage but just didn't have it in me.
9. Take Dahlia to karate.
10.  Fuel car.  I usually try to make it to 400 miles and had 430 on the tank, so I was sweating bullets.  Based on the amount of fuel taken-on, I had a good 12 miles more range.
11. Take Surenna to cross country practice at the high school.
12. Pick-up window screens:  The contractor was supposed to have done this but we have given up on him.
13. Pick-up Dahlia from the dojo.
14. Install the screens.
15. Eat dinner:  Vaishali made Indian stuffed peppers from peppers we grew in our garden.
16. Get interrupted from sleep about a dozen times due to the fire alarms going off.  They are all wired together and so it is tough to figure out which one was causing the problem.  I think I uninstalled 7 units by the end of the evening.  Fun!

This Guy Was A Serious Presidential Hopeful?

Okay, it is pretty scummy but I can get why he would trade in the old model for a new one that looks like this.

But he reportedly met her at a symposium organized by Deepak Chopra.  General Clark was the supreme commander of NATO!  WTF is he doing with a two-bit charlatan like Chopra?  Maybe he is like Ted Turner--obviously brilliant at some point and yet went sadly downhill without many people noticing.

Here is the Post Story from which the facts and image were obtained.

It Makes You Stupid, Stupid AND Dishonest.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!

One might think that it takes special cleverness to lie.  Well, to lie and then get away with it.

This post makes a great argument for the opposite effect:

Habitual dishonesty (most notable political correctness) is a form of learning; and learning strengthens some brain pathways and brain connections; while allowing other pathways and connections to wither and (perhaps eventually) perish.

Out Of The Mist of Time

The lads from Vampire Weekend are smart guys, they all went to Columbia U. on financial aid after all.  So when they put a picture of a girl, taken in 1983, on their second album, there were two predictable outcomes:

1. The album bombs and it doesn't matter who the girl is--the album is a failure.

2. The album is a big hit (which is what actually happened) and the girl will discover that she is on the cover and then there will be legal trouble.  (There was and it was settled)

Some levity did come out of the "discovery" as related by her local paper: Fairfield Citizen

To add insult to injury, in addition to the alleged misuse of the photo, Kennis said it isn't one of her better shots since it depicts her with a vacant look.                                             

"It's like someone called my name and I turned." 

Even so, some don't think it's as bad as Kennis thinks. 

In fact, one of her nephews, a sophomore at Columbia University in New York City, said members of his tennis team were talking about the "hot" girl on the Vampire Weekend album cover. He had not seen the cover at the time the discussion was taking place sunsequently told his friends, "she's my aunt."

It all came full-circle, what with the Columbia connection and all.

Satire Is Dead

National Hot Dog Day.  Anthony Weiner. AKA Carlos Danger.

Twitter, I wish I knew how to quit you.

I Would be Less Likely To Wash My Hands

If I had to do it right in front of a urinal--maybe especially so if there was a queue.

Both the author of the NPR article as well as the inventor of the device make the claim that this arrangement will encourage hand washing.  I think most men will be skeeved-out by standing in front of a stinky urine receptacle while washing.

I like the idea of using the same water for two uses but maybe the idea could be salvaged:  How about making the sink offset so that you are not right over the urinal when hand washing?  They could be made left and right handed and installed alternately.  This way it would be two sinks, then two urinals, then two sinks.  The ends of each row would be be either a single sink or a single urinal.

Talk Left

Jeralyn E. Merritt's reporting on this case has been excellent.  

I am very disappointed that the President has chosen to endorse those who have turned a case of assault and self-defense into a referendum on race and civil rights. And that he is using it to support those with an agenda of restricting gun rights.

The rest of her post is here.

Three Reasons

Greg Mankiw very succinctly gives three reasons why people who largely agree on "the facts" and are reasonable can fall into either a conservative or liberal mindset.

Arthur M. Okun, who served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote that the big trade-off faced by society is between equality and efficiency. We can redistribute income to give everyone a more equal slice of the economic pie, but as we do so we blunt work incentives and the economic pie shrinks, he said. From this perspective, the Democrats are the party of more equality, and the Republicans are the party of more efficiency.

Another view is that the important tradeoff is between community and liberty. As members of society, we have goals we want to achieve with others. But as we reach those shared goals, we are asked to sacrifice some personal freedoms. From this perspective, the Democrats are the party that emphasizes communal values, and the Republicans are the party that emphasizes individual liberty.

Finally, there is the issue of how much one trusts centralized governmental power. Democrats tend to want to expand the scope of the federal government to improve the lives of the citizenry, while Republicans are more fearful that centralized power leads to abuse and lack of accountability.

The whole thing is here

Everything Back To Normal and A New Beginning

Back to Normal:

I finally got my car back today after it being in the body shop for two weeks.  It wasn't too bad since we have a 3rd vehicle, a GMC Yukon XL that normally only gets out for family vacations and hauling things.

Also nice was that the shop is close enough that I could easily ride my bicycle down there and not  inconvenience  my wife with having to drop me off.

The ride seemed nicely smooth and sporty after driving the truck for two weeks.  Also, the shop detailed the car to the point that it looked better than when I picked it up from the dealer new. One gripe is that on my errands today it rained.  It seems like it always does this whenever one of the cars is freshly waxed.

A New Beginning:

In anticipation of turning 50, my plan was to get weights and start to pick them up to avoid muscle loss from aging.  Now more than 6 months past that point, I have finally gotten the weight set.  It is just a barbel, which is 45 lbs by itself and an additional 255 lbs of plates.  My plan is to lift the empty bar three times in the first week and then add five lbs each week until I can't lift it.  My thinking is that I really don't have time for a long workout and so 5 minutes of clean and jerk will have to do.  The first week is mostly done and I am happy to report that I can lift the awe-inspiring weight of 45 lbs over my head.

Update:  A few weeks in now and the weight is up to 65 lbs.  It is still pretty much effortless but I'm sure the end is near.  I got headaches the first couple of weeks; probably soreness in unfamiliar areas leading to tension.

So, If I Understand You Correctly...

It hasn't accomplished anything in 48 years and therefore it is a "vital law"?

"The landmark civil rights law that Congress passed almost five decades ago, and reauthorized with overwhelming bipartisan support only seven years ago, has been an important tool to protect voters in places with a history* of discrimination. The law is as necessary today as it was in the era of Jim Crow laws. We must act immediately to rewrite this vital law.” link

--Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

 *history: From Chief Justice Roberts's opinion:

"In 1975, Congress reauthorized the Act for seven more
years, and extended its coverage to jurisdictions that had
a voting test and less than 50 percent voter registration or turnout as of 1972.

In 1982, Congress reauthorized the Act for 25 years, but
did not alter its coverage formula.

In 2006, Congress again reauthorized the Voting Rights
Act for 25 years, again without change to its coverage
formula. "

So the plan was to keep this law which discriminated against some states and parts of some others based on conditions in 1972? Why not base it on more current discrimination?

Too hard to find is a more obvious reason for being stuck in the 70's.  And therefore, it is not that the law was useless, it is that it worked and is no longer needed.

Wrong For So Many Reasons

There was a contest on a social media site for a  list of  50 objects that say Vermont.  One entry was "One word: Empathy (with one another)"

Wow!  Where to begin?

1. Object!  Empathy is not an object, it is a thing but is not visible or tangible.  We are looking for things like Fall folliage, sugar shacks or trustafarians on Church Street in Burlington.

2. "(with one another)"  As opposed to what? Rocks, trees and rivers?  

Enough with the trivial and easy criticism, what is the underlying meaning that is being, perhaps unwittingly, betrayed?

Since the contest is for things that say Vermont, a fair assumption is that they should be things which would be particular to Vermont and not to other places.  That is, we are looking for things which are distinctively Vermont.  The implication is that empathy is something unique to Vermonters.  Well, don't we have a high opinion of ourselves?  And by implication, low opinion of people from outside.

Clannish, check.  Self-satisfied, check.  Fully confident in one's moral superiority, check!

Because I Can

So, what should one make of this Superbowl ring controversy?

In case you haven't heard, the story is in all the papers, here is the Washington Post's version:

What are the facts and what should one make of them:

1.  There seems to be no dispute that the ring was passed between Mr. Kraft and Mr. Putin.

2. Kraft has variously claimed it was stolen from him and that he was just joking about it being taken and that it was actually a gift.  What makes this hard to believe:

     --Kraft's own claim that he was pressured by the Bush administration to not make a fuss over this is believable and even though he claims it is all a joke, his current backing-off from the story could just be that the Obama administration is applying the same pressure on him that was done before.

     --Who would give away such a one of a kind object?  It just seems unbelievable.

     --If Putin was a "normal" kind of person he would diffuse this by making a public statement that, if there is some kind of misunderstanding, then Mr. Kraft can have the ring back any time.  He only needs to ask.  This has not happened, or if it has, it has not been reported.

     --The ring is claimed to be on display in the Kremlin library.  This claim could be easily checked, though to my knowledge it has not been verified.  If it is true, then I would find this fact to be exonerating of Mr. Putin.  If he did not take it for his own personal pleasure, then he must have been acting out of higher motives.  On the other hand, one could suppose that the ring was put on display exactly for the reason of insulating the Russian President from criticism.  He would still have the pleasure of seeing his own power validated by being able to steal a prized possession with no repercussions.

Okay, Hot Chicks Finally

I have not been able to decide whether to be impressed with or appalled by Edward Snowden:  


Here is a guy who looks like this.

Who reportedly pulled down about $ 200,000.  And is only 29 years old and apparently abandoned a girlfriend who looks like this:

So, in other words-- Idiot!  or Wow! A guy who would give up all of that must have some inner drive that is stronger than what would seem to be a pretty ideal situation.

Hamburgers and Hot Chicks

They are only related in that I've had small thoughts on both and neither are really enough for a blog post, but possibly, together they will clear the bar.

I have a self-imposed "goal" of running 30 miles/week with an associated goal of keeping the pace to under 8 minutes/mile.  The week worked out well and my mileage was in by Wednesday, which was great for two reasons:

1.  Thursday was a fasting day and it is not fun at all to; first of all, run on an empty tank and second of all, to not get to eat after the run.  So, I went for a nice walk in the drizzle of Thursday and it really helped to ease the soreness from Wednesday's 13 miler.

2. I've been wanting to try the Deluxe Quarter Pounder and have a coupon for a free medium fries and medium drink with the purchase of the sandwich.  The problem is that I normally run every day on my lunch break and that does not allow time to drive to McDonald's.  See above, my lunch hour has been freed-up by early week diligence.

My normal order is for a McDouble since, even though I like the Big Mac better, the McDouble is pretty good and is 1/4 the price.

Recently, I came across a variation on this burger, the Daily Double, which is more-or-less the same except has mayo, lettuce, sliced (instead of minced) onion and a slice of tomato.  It looked good so I tried it:

It really is quite different and I liked it a lot.  The Deluxe Quarter Pounder looks like it is essentially the same except for one large piece of ground beef rather than two small ones.  I wanted to try it, plus the coupon--but there is a fly in the ointment:

That bun looks too bready for my taste.  "Have it your way" is that other place and so I was reluctant to ask but the guy behind the counter was very friendly so I asked if they could make me one with a normal Quarter Pounder bun.  No problem!  Verdict:  It was good but I think that I like the Daily Double better.  Cheaper too, double plus good.

One thing I would like to try is to make my own root beer float:  Normally a small beverage is on the dollar menu and they have been offering small cones for 49 Cents.

Pour a root beer, lop the top of the cone off into the drink & voila!

Hot Chicks?  Eh, there is enough here for a post after-all.  Hot Chicks can wait.

Will This Convince Them?

In my judgement.  No.

Case in point:

The left is still lionizing Paul R. Ehrlich even as his predictions have proven comically wrong.  It is almost as if the guy has been on a 40 year conceptual art project with half of us taking him seriously and the other half thinking he is a moron.

So, Let me get this straight: He is wrong about something?

Prog:  I have no problem with these shady teabagger groups being investigated by the IRS.

Me:  Well, President Obama said he was outraged by it.

Prog: So?

Me: Well, is the President lying about being outraged?

Prog:  Yes.

Boom! The President is a liar.

OR

Prog:  No.

Me:  Is he wrong to be outraged?

Prog:  Yes.

Boom! The President is wrong about something.

Note:  This fantasy is flawed by the fact that progs often take exception to anything the president does that smacks of moderation.  That is to say, when he deviates from their far-left ideology, then and only then is he flawed.

A Great Observation From Neo-Neocon

"...if even the great and noble Obama fell prey to the seduction of power that Big Government represents, then wouldn't practically anyone?"

The rest here:

How To Change Your Mind and Not Be a Hypocrite

1.  Acknowledge that your view has changed.

2. Explain why you now think differently on the issue.

3. Give some credit to those who disagreed with you before you changed your mind--you know, since you have come around to their view now.

OR

Do it Obama's way:

I welcome this debate and I think it's healthy for our democracy. I think it's a sign of maturity because probably five years ago, six years ago we might not have been having this debate. And I think it's interesting that there are some folks on the left but also some folks on the right who are now worried about it, who weren't very worried about it when it was a Republican president. 

1. No mention that he was one of the fiercest critics of President Bush' intelligence gathering.

2. None given.  We did have this debate "five years ago, six years ago" and Obama was on the opposite side of it then from where he is now.

3. No.  Rather criticize them for now believing what you used to believe.

The exact opposite of what it means to be a statesman.

Added:

Just so head-off the possible complaint that there is no graceful way to perform my statesman-like standard, the below is a shot at it.  Bear in mind, I am not a professional writer and so this could probably be greatly improved.

Fellow Americans.  I'm sure you are well aware that when I was a Senator from Illinois, I was one of the most fierce critics of President Bush's intelligence-gathering program under the Patriot Act.  I think this stemmed from at least two sources:  First, a general distrust of the Bush administration and second, as an outsider to the executive branch, a lack of understanding for the capabilities and responsibilities of that branch.  As President, I have come-around to the need for programs such as these since I take seriously my responsibility to protect the American public from attack and see the programs as well within constitutional privacy protections.  As for liberal and conservative critics of theses efforts, some of whom did not oppose them when George W. Bush was President:  I understand your concerns and share those same concerns.  People of good faith can come to different conclusions about the balance between privacy and security.

Thank You and God Bless. 

Added:

By JAMES TARANTO

"As for our common defense," Barack Obama declared in his First Inaugural Address, "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. . . . Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

Last Friday the president said this: "I think it's important to recognize that you can't have 100% security and also then have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. We're going to have to make some choices as a society." 

Scientists Behaving Badly

When I had read about the study indicating that a bit of extra weight might not be so bad, I kind of expected the pushback that ensued.  A nice surprize is the editorial in Nature linked to below:

Shades of grey

It is risky to oversimplify science for the sake of a clear public-health message. 

The problem with simple messages and black-and-white statements is that they tend to be absolutes and so the easiest to falsify. The line that the science of global warming is ‘settled’ must have seemed like a good idea at the time, and when taken to refer to the narrowest of scientific questions it is correct, but it was (fairly) interpreted as insistence that no queries remained. Even legitimate debates on outstanding issues — climate sensitivity, say — can now be painted as unsettling not just to the scientific position, but also to the policy response it demands.

Scientists or I should say "scientists" who make claims which go beyond what the actual data says, think that they are furthering social good.  They are not.  They are trading in credibility for short term goals.  Ultimately, a technological society depends on belief in the truth of science.  The foisting of junk science has the result in all of it being seen as garbage.