Gutfeld Missed on The Five

After sleeping well into the afternoon today (I work the graveyard shift, so this is normal), I brewed myself a tasty cup of caramel drizzle coffee on my Keurig, sat down to finish my Times Square jigsaw puzzle, and turned the TV on Fox News to watch The Five.  A show like The Five, which on this "fair and balanced" channel consists of, naturally, five panelists, four of whom are ardent conservatives and one lukewarm moderate/liberal, normally would antagonize me to no end.  But I have found myself gravitating toward one of those right wing panelists: the very talented Greg Gutfeld.  In spite of his extreme partisanship against President Obama (whom I happily voted for twice) and Democrats in general, this guy is quite entertaining and witty.  Unfortunately, the rest of the panel stinks to high heaven (including its sorry excuse of a "liberal").  Today, the stench was unbearable as Gutfeld was absent, replaced by an equally conservative dude displaying no discernible personality.  Time to change the channel, which I did.

Greg Gutfeld is better on his other show on Fox, titled Red Eye, which he more or less controls and has guests that meld better into his style (like the comical Bill Schultz, for example).  The political atmosphere is still typically Fox right-wing Demophobic, but I get it and don't take things personally in spite of disagreeing with many of the opinions dominating it.  But Gutfeld wisely knows that at some point you just have to step back and laugh, something that far too many folks in the business on both sides of the political spectrum don't seem to be capable of grasping. 

Maybe Greg's on vacation, he had a schedule conflict...or just wanted to take the day off.  In any event, I'm off myself tonight from work, so I think I'll check to see if Red Eye is on and if he's on it...

Adjusting My Reading Priorities

I've mentioned before on this blog that I am currently in the process of reading George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice.  I just finished book #1, title A Game of Thrones, and am now well into the second, A Clash of Kings.  Knowing that five books have been published in this series, I wanted to "catch up" by reading through them all expediently.  Now, though, I have second thoughts...

Martin's acclaimed series is a little like Stephen King's Dark Tower series in that both authors have taken their sweet little time in writing and publishing the next installment (although King did finish the last three volumes of his series in a two-year flurry of writing).  With A Song of Fire and Ice, here is Martin's timetable so far:

A Game of Thrones: 1996
A Clash of Kings: 1999
A Storm of Swords: 2000
A Feast for Crows: 2005
A Dance with Dragons: 2011

The sixth volume is supposedly to come out in 2014; who knows when the seventh and final volume will eventually be released.  The bottom line on this is that there is no point with me rushing through the first five volumes only to wait a long time for the remainder.  Better it would be, I think, for me to take my own sweet time reading the series!

So instead of daily reading I'm going to read Martin twice a week...and use the other days to embark on new reading adventures!

My July 2013 Running Report

In July 2013 I continued to recover from my right foot injury as I ran a total of 90.06 miles, considerably higher than in the previous two months.  My longest run was for 7 miles.  I ran on 25 out of the month's 31 days.  So on all fronts my running output has increased, although I don't plan to return to the 160-200 miles/month standard I set in the first three months of this year.  I have noticed my endurance gradually increasing each week as I cover more distance.  And the foot seems none the worse through it all after I incorporated certain daily stretches and began wearing snug-fitting shoes with arch support.

I expect August to be much like July was, with an gradual increase in my mileage as I aim for a local half-marathon race that will take place the last Saturday in September.

In July I also did some non-running exercise, amassing 23.4 miles of "miles-equivalent" cross-training.  So in all, my physical activity appreciably increased for the month...

Ping Pong Fun

I always thought I was a good ping pong player, although I never practiced at it.  Not owning a ping pong table had a lot to do with this.  But I have been pretty good at just walking up to a table and hitting the ball well, with good placement and some "zing" on the ball.  However, in serious competition I know I wouldn't stand a chance.  But when I play ping pong, I am not shooting for the world or Olympic championship.  I just want to have some fun!

Recently, I did just that, enjoying the game with my family.  Sometimes we would play a real game and keep score, but mostly we enjoyed volleying the ball back and forth.  The best moments were when we would keep up an especially long rally. But the room we played in (see picture) didn't really accommodate us playing the game the way you might see it in official competitions on television: there simply wasn't enough room to stand far back from the table to be able to return strong shots.

I'd like to invest a little money and pick up a cheap ping pong table, one that folds up on one end and gives me the opportunity to practice by myself.  The game is really a good form of exercise, although it doesn't feel like I am "working out" but rather just having a good time...

Still Slogging Through Graveyard Shift

I am still slogging through my graveyard shift work schedule, with little chance of being able to change my working hours anytime soon.  So I'm left coping with staying awake and trying to fully function in the wee hours of the morning. I'm usually all right until around  4 AM and then things quickly begin to go downhill.  By 5-5:30, it becomes a real struggle until I leave the place at 7:30. In the morning.  This is an awful time to be driving home through the city as the work rush hour has commenced and, when classes are in session, the streets are clogged with buses and school traffic.  But the main problem with this schedule is the lack of deep nighttime sleep...

For fifteen of the first sixteen years I worked at this organization, I worked the graveyard shift.  Back then, once off from work, I generally slept whenever I could find the time.  This lack of a regular sleep time hurt me, and this time around I decided to change.  Now, once I get home from work, I go to bed about an hour later and sleep until mid-afternoon.  Then I am fully awake and functioning.  If later I fill like I need a nap, then I'll rest about an hour before I go to work.  It's worked for me, making my trials with this new schedule more or less confined to the early morning hours with me trying to get to the end of my shift.

Oh, and as for my days off, I quickly revert back to the time when I could sleep all night...by sleeping all night!

Local Gym Not to Provide Indoor Track Against Sweltering Heat

Today I ran one of my "standard" courses around my neighborhood, comprising 3.24 miles.  It was a pretty average run with me going the distance with my regular pace.  But although the humidity had dropped to about 60%, the temperature had risen to 87 and it was a very unpleasant run.  When, oh when will this sweltering summer heat end?

I've noticed recently an increased sensitivity to heat with myself when I am out running.  In times gone by it didn't seem to matter that much, but now it's getting pretty intolerable.  I don't always like the idea of resorting to the air-conditioned indoor treadmill to get in my running miles...and if it's not excessively hot outside, then it's excessively humid...if not raining.  Running in place in my house is an option, but I'd rather be covering some distance in the process.

At the University of Florida, they have a student recreation center that has a cool indoor track that would solve my running location dilemma, if only I were a member.  I AM a member of a local fitness company, called the Gainesville Health and Fitness Center.  They have plenty of treadmills but no indoor track.  But wait...they have been expanding their operation and the new, larger facility will open tomorrow with great fanfare...but alas WITHOUT an indoor track!  How regrettable, for them to ignore something that basic...

Finished A Game of Thrones, Starting Next in Series

I recently posted about how I was suffering from "fantasy fatigue" in reference to the increasing number of fantasy genre novels I had begun to read, only to put them down in frustration.  The same was happening again with my reading of George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, the first volume in his ongoing series A Song of Ice and Fire.  But this time I was determined to finish this book to its end, and yesterday I accomplished that.  Today I started out on the second volume, titled A Clash of Kings.  There's still a problem here, though...if you want to consider it as a problem: I'm still rooting for the "bad" guys!  As a matter of fact, a new "bad" character was introduced at the start of this new book...and I found myself on her side....

I do have one correction to the previous article I had written about fantasy fatigue: the "bad" Lannister family is actually represented in how Martin presents the book's chapters, each one depicting the course of events from a different character's viewpoint.  With the Lannisters, it is the "imp" Tyrion Lannister with whom we can share his experiences and viewpoints.  However, at least at this junction, he is an essentially compassionate character, quite unlike the rest of his family.  Still, he is just as shrewd as any of them, easily the most interesting character I've come across so far in this series...

Vettel Right About College Athlete Pay

Yesterday afternoon I was listening to my radio, tuned in to sports talk radio station 850/WRUF-AM.  The local host, Larry Vettel, was discussing the push by some in college sports to pay athletes for their work.  His position was that it would be a mistake to pay all collegiate athletes in all sports across the board, since some sports don't take in the revenue to support paying them.  He doesn't believe that the higher grossing, more popular sports like football and basketball should be burdened with funding pay for athletes in minor sports.  I agree with him, as well as his contention that it would be fair, though, for athletes to be compensated in proportion to the amount of revenue that their sport was generating.  I remember just a couple of years ago when the usually dominant University of Florida football team was experiencing an off year, with their normally explosive offense in "sputter" mode.  Local businesses suffered as a result, meaning that they had been feeding off and profiting from the labors of the local athletes.  Those athletes have a marketable skill and should not be denied the opportunity to benefit from it.  On Saturday in the fall, college football fever generates enormous profits for its schools, communities, and the television networks and stations broadcasting the games. Something very similar happens the next day, on Sunday, when the professionals play.  Why should one group be discriminated against while the other rakes in the riches?

Mr. Vetell did make one caveat to his endorsement of collegiate athletes being paid for their work, besides the condition he made that they reflect the marketability of their sport.  Before anyone gets paid, those participating in the minor sports should receive FULL scholarships and not the flimsy HALF scholarships that are doled out.  Sounds reasonable to me; actually, I wasn't even aware of "half" scholarships in this area...

Ran Seven Miles for First Time Since March

Today I crept a little further up in my quest to resume my former distance running range by managing a seven mile run, something I hadn't accomplished since March, when I also last ran a half-marathon.  It's a bit of a psychological boost for me, seeing that the distance I covered today is a little over half the 13.1 mile half-marathon distance.  There's still that local Gainesville half-marathon looming at the end of September, and it would be a personal triumph of sorts to be able to run and finish it.  As for the foot problem I have been experiencing, I believe that by performing certain daily stretching exercises, wearing snug-fitting, supportive shoes, and keeping the runs to once a day (and at the same general time), the problem has stabilized and ameliorated.  But I still have to be careful...

Senate Nuclear Option Expedient But Unwise

Recently, the Democrats in the United States Senate under the leadership of Harry Reid expressed their determination to change the Senate rules on dealing with the President's nominations and eliminate filibusters, effectively ending the supermajority 60-vote prerequisite and allowing the nominations to be confirmed with a simple 51-vote majority.  The Republicans, for their part, cried foul and claimed that it would destroy the Senate as a deliberative body that, unlike the House of Representatives, accorded the minority party a degree of participation in the crafting of legislation.  Of course, the planned rule change wouldn't have applied to legislation, just nominations. The current Democratic administration claims its nominations are needlessly being held up by the Republicans under their leader Mitch McConnell.  Got all that?

Good, because just eight years ago the two parties were completely switched regarding their rules when it was the Republicans who were calling for a change.  They (including Senator McConnell) approvingly called it the "Constitutional Option" while Democratic opponents (including Senator Reid) denounced it as the "Nuclear Option".  It was nothing but comical the other day on C-Span as this station played clips of the pro and con senators back in 2005 expressing diametrically opposite opinions on this issue than they have today.  As it turns out, neither party exercised their threatened rule change.  Whew!

It never ceases to tickle me how whichever political party that happens to find itself in power seems to have the idea that they will ALWAYS remain in power and that those guys on the other side of the aisle won't someday put THEM in the minority.  As Tennessee's Republican Senator Lamar Alexander pointed out, changing the rule now may benefit the Democrats, but in a few years we may have a Republican president with control of both houses of Congress.  If that happens, those Democrats would rue the day they expediently changed the rules just to get a few nominees confirmed as we end up with some possibly "far out" characters confirmed to their posts...

Visit to Amicalola Falls, Georgia

During our recent trip to northern Georgia, we paid a visit to Amicalola Falls State Park, which is about twenty miles east of Ellijay.  We've been there before, but it has been several years.  The park is dominated by the beautiful falls and presents different hiking trails from the bottom (at the entrance) to the top.  The last time we went, which was in the 1990's, we took the longer-but-less-steep eastern trail.  This time we opted to go west...a shorter route that involved walking up 450 steps.  At the base of the steps was a bridge spanning the middle of the falls, and I got in some good photos (family pictured).  At the top was the rest of the park, including a lodge with a shop and a restaurant, where we ate lunch (the buffet was superb).  I took some pictures from up there, too, including the one here of the grassy field and trees.  Oh, by the way, at the entrance is a nice little shop, too and a place to eat...

Steep Driveways and Roads in North Georgia

Recently I stayed with my family in a cabin in northern Georgia.  The cabin itself is in a very hilly area, and I was not at all accustomed to getting around on this type of terrain, being from flat-as-a-board Florida.  When we first approached the cabin, we looked down at the driveway...way, way down! I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little bit apprehensive at going down to the bottom, but with extreme care we made it.  Once at the bottom, though, the next question was whether we'd be able to climb back out of it!

For those used to these types of hills, this may seem a bit silly.  I honestly don't know how some of the people who live up there are able to get around on such steep roads and driveways...especially when it's rainy and the roads are slippery.

A Visit to Santa Fe College's Planetarium

Yesterday evening Melissa and I visited Gainesville's Santa Fe College and their planetarium, officially named Kika Silva Pla Planetarium after a late benefactor.  The show, taking place 44 years after the first manned landing on the Moon, was titled "Florida Skies: Around the Moon".  James Albury, himself a co-host on the PBS show Star Gazer (the continuation of the late Jack Horkheimer's show Star Hustler), hosted the event.  It featured live "space" music composed and played by established musician John Serrie in the background as storytellers related old folk tales from various parts of the world relating to the night sky.

Despite the date and the title, the show itself didn't delve into the Apollo landing...or even our space program in general, for that matter.  It was more a primer on nighttime naked eye star gazing, explaining rudiments like altitude, azimuth, the meridian, the zenith, and where the planets are currently standing against the backdrop of the constellations.  If you get up just before sunrise (and it's not cloudy) and look toward the eastern horizon you'll see Jupiter and Mars in "conjunction" (appearing very close to each other).  Also, our next lunar eclipse with be in April, 2014.  For  Gainesville, the next solar eclipse will occur sometime in 2017; if you travel up to Nashville, Tennessee, it will be total.

I haven't been to a planetarium in decades, and this was my first visit to the one at Santa Fe College.  The star projection technology has vastly improved over my last planetarium experience, with it actually resembling a real night sky! Kudos.  Albury was a great host, the storytellers did their presentations well, and Serrie was perfect with his meditative, dreamy music.  The show was for one hour and cost me $5.  Pretty good deal, I think!

Before this past March I was always at work during the weekly Santa Fe Planetariums shows.  Now, though, I may be taking more of them in...

Fantasy Fatigue Setting In With A Game of Thrones

At the enthusiastic urging of my son, I recently began reading George R.R. Martin's enormously popular fantasy series A Game of Thrones.  I'm about three quarters of the way through the first book, but am once again struggling with a phenomenon that I have come to call "fantasy fatigue".  What's that, you might ask...

In just about every fantasy novel I've started, the setting is exotic and interesting.  Usually the book features a map of the make-believe land, something that strongly appeals to me from early in my childhood when my sister and I would play a fantasy game called "Mapland" and we would imagine different parts of our front and back yards to be separate countries with various geographical features like jungle, mountains, oceans...and various animals to contend with as well.  I like this element of fantasy literature.  As a matter of fact, J.R.R. Tolkiens's very detailed mapping of Middle Earth was a very important factor in my affection for his Lord of the Rings series.  As far as the characters and the way that fantasy fiction societies are inevitably presented are concerned, though, the fatigue sets in pretty quickly...

I am sick and tired of being expected to root for hard-ass, sword-swinging, and autocratic protagonists who only want to protect the established aristocratic, anti-democratic order against the evil enemy, who as often as not attempts to rally the "common" people to its cause.  After finishing Tad Williams' wonderful, eerily prophetic, and unrecognized four-volume science fiction series Otherland, I decided to try out one of this primarily fantasy-genre writer's other works.  I got through the first few chapters of the first book in one of his series and had to put it down.  It wasn't the writing per se that was bad; no, the society that I as a reader was being expected to support was abhorrent to me.  The same thing happened when I started Terry Goodkind's Wizard's Rule series.  It occurred again with Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series.  And now the fatigue is rising again with Martin and his "throne game".  In each of these experiences I began to have the unsettling experience of rooting for the "bad guys" because I could not bring myself to accept the status quo that the "good guys" were trying to preserve.  With Martin, this problem is compounded by his alternation of chapters, each presented to expressed the personal experiences and view point of a protagonist character.  The antagonists, though, get less "fair and balanced" treatment than even the liberals on Fox News Channel.  So what does Eddard Stark, the supposed main character of A Game of Thrones, want more than anything? To preserved a brutal kingdom that puts down women and the poor. In "his" proper world, men can father children out of wedlock with impunity, but a woman caught so doing can best hope for exile. And don't get me started with how prostitution is universal here for poor women with no other means of support...

There are different royal houses vying for power in A Game of Thrones.  The "good" Houses of Stark, Baratheon, Arryn, and Tully are ruled by fools who let emotions govern their actions instead of reason.  The "bad" Lannisters, for their part, although brutal themselves, display a feistiness and cunning that I admire.  At my stage in the reading, I know as a reader I'm supposed to be rooting against the Lannisters, but guess what? I hope they wipe everyone else out!  Fat chance of that happening, I suppose...

I am going to continue trying to get through this series in spite of my objections, though.  It leaves a bad feeling within me to start books only to abandon them.  George R.R. Martin's writing is very good, but I fear for those "bad" Lannisters as I read on...  

Enjoyable Treadmill Workout

Tonight I enjoyed the beginning of my weekend as a severe thunderstorm descended over my area, sending temperatures plummeting 20 degrees and giving me the excuse to forego running through my neighborhood and instead go to my local air-conditioned gym and use one of their treadmills.  This I did and easily amassed five miles, wondering to myself if maybe I'm not so out of shape after all (I could have run further).  It could well be that I have just become more sensitive to very hot weather over the years.  I looked back on my records with awe when I saw that I had regularly gone out on ten-plus mile runs in stifling summer mid-nineties conditions.  And then put in full, strenuous work days!  Of course, my mind back then was set on me getting in condition to run 26.2 mile marathon races, a feat I briefly attained early in 2011 but then quickly abandoned in favor of the more reasonable 13.1 half-marathon race. 

Although the treadmill is good to me, I still feel the need to do road running as well.  I may just take some days and run shorter distances on the road and alternate these with longer treadmill workouts...

Summer Heat, Out of Shape

The dog days of summer are definitely here in northern Florida, with the temperatures daily climbing into the low 90's.  Right now the temperature, according to my weather station on TV, is 91 degrees although just below that figure is shown the predicted high for today: 86!  We're getting some relief from time to time, though, with some thunderstorms bringing some welcome coolness.  The humidity is low at 44 %, so despite the heat I went outside running.  My main problem with running isn't the summer heat, or even the right foot pains that I've previously discussed here.  No, dang it, I am out of shape, having put on a few pounds and then having to carry those extra pounds each time I take a step.  Time for me to shape up...

Announcer Crosses Line Ripping All-Star Game

I usually drive to work around 10 pm and last time was no exception.  While on the road, I often fiddle around with my car radio with the usually vain hope of finding anything worthy of listening to.  One of my regular "visits" while radio surfing is WRUF-AM, a local sports talk station on 850 kHz.  When I tuned in last night, some announcer was carrying on about how uninteresting and irrelevant the annual Major League Baseball All-Star game is.  To drive home his point he asked the listening audience who among them would really be willing to pay the asked admission price and attend the game, without someone else footing the bill for them.  Then he said that he himself sure wouldn't.  Fine, I tend to agree with this dude's viewpoint on the subject.  Then, however, he went on to call the next pitch...OMG, this guy who was just ripping apart the All-Star Game was one its PAID play-by-play announcers!

That crossed a line, in my opinion.  When you're on the job getting paid to promote your business, you don't go public with your negative opinions.  I've watched sporting events before that quickly became lopsided, with the eventual winner assured early on.  And each time the announcers would make the best of the situation, using their skill as professional broadcasters to liven things up and make it more appealing for the viewer to keep tuned in.  Not trash the event and then not blame the public for disliking it, too.

By all accounts, anyway, last night's All-Star Game turned out to be pretty interesting, I hear, with the American League pitchers putting on an appropriately "stellar" performance with a strong 3-0 win over the National League.  I probably would have enjoyed watching at last some of it had I not had other things occupying my time then...

Too Much Sitting Harmful to Health

I happened upon a Runner's World magazine the other day, this August's issue.  On the cover was a teaser heading asking if sitting wasn't the new smoking.  What were they talking about?  Well, at the time I couldn't delve into the magazine. Later, though, at a local bookstore, I found a copy, SAT DOWN, and read the article in amazement.  It turned my view of the concept of "rest" on its head.

Sitting for extended periods of time apparently has the effect of shutting down the body's metabolism, essentially negating the positive effects of exercise (even long-distance running) and exposing the body to increased dangers of all sorts of maladies, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer among them.  Concurrent with this charge against extended sitting was the warning that watching TV for long stretches was bad,too...unless the viewer was standing, of course. 

We here in Western culture are a sitting people by habit.  We sit when we drive, when we study, when we eat, when we watch movies or TV, when we socialize...and for many of us, sitting dominates our work time.  Yet too much of it can slice years from our lives and make what we do have a time of worse health.  But what can I personally do to reduce my daily sitting time?

The article didn't exactly go into the idea of lying down instead of sitting; I've heard, though, that lying puts less strain on the spine.  Still, unless you're using the time that you lie for necessary sleep, I don't think you're going to eliminate the bulk of the hazard associated with sitting by just getting horizontal.  So we're left standing with...standing!

Fortunately for me, my job doesn't necessitate sitting.  As a matter of fact, none of it, sans the break periods, allow it!  So I don't need to come up with special strategies that office workers might need to stand up on their jobs.  Good.  But I still have to drive...riding a bicycle doesn't present itself as a practical, reliable form of transportation.  Maybe in 1980, but not now.  And when I am with other people in social settings, often I will need to sit just to fit into the group.  So where can I reduce my sitting? 

The big area is when I am at home watching TV.  This may take a lot of intense effort to undo a lifetime of brainwashing, but I will work to replace the deeply ingrained habit of sitting in front of the television set with that of standing.  Keep tuned for my progress in that regard. Along with curbing sitting while watching TV, I also need to replace the idea that sitting is necessary for "rest" and a "break" and instead see how far I get standing instead. 

I don't know which will be harder: changing how I watch TV or taking breaks while standing.  Should be an adventure of sorts... 

TV Pickings Slim, Where's the WNBA?

I was doing my "coach potato" thing last night, channel surfing around the television universe.  It was slim pickings, sad to say, with the Al Pacino celebration of gratuitous violence, Scarface, on one of the channels being the best selection available.  But although Pacino's performance as the anger-management-challenged thug Tony Montana was riveting, I just couldn't take the lengthy scenes with Michelle Pfeiffer's languid, flat performance.  So I did what many others probably did: I switched to my DVD/Blue Ray collection, picking Lord of the Rings to watch.  Oh, there could have been a different option for me had the NBA Channel not been displaying a bit of sexism in its programming...

For years the National Basketball Association has been promoting its own sister league to the men's...the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association), which wisely plays its schedule during the summer to avoid conflicting with the men's league play.  I've watched a few games so far this year during the rare times that they've seen fit to broadcast any, and I was impressed with the skill and spirit shown by the players.  So far, I like the Phoenix Mercury, but I haven't seen enough of the other teams to really settle down to follow one particular team over the others.  You might think that a Saturday night might be a great opportunity for the league to showcase its women's basketball and increase its popularity.  But you'd be wrong...

Instead, the NBA Channel kept the WNBA off and showed men's Summer League games.  These feature players who are trying to make the regular teams; not even the second stringers are here!  But that's what was shown, so I opted for Frodo, Gandalf, and company instead.

Maybe the NBA Channel (or even possibly ESPN) will choose today to show some exciting WNBA action.  There are some interesting scenarios taking place in the league.  The Phoenix Mercury are doing better than last year, while last year's champion, the Indiana Fever, had a terrible start due to several key injuries in their starting lineup.  Can they get back on track in time to make the playoffs?  The Atlanta Dream are dominating the East, but to me the Minnesota Lynx, who lost in the finals to the Fever last year and are leading the West, seem to be the dominant team in the league so far.  But even if they show some other teams playing each other, I'll watch.  Who knows, I just might find "my" team!

Rare Saturday Morning at Starbucks

As I write this, it is late morning on a Saturday.  I am sitting in my "spot" at the local Magnolia Parke Starbucks studying and writing.  It's just like the good old days, before I switched my work hours to the graveyard shift back in March.  But last night I was off and I reverted, like always, to my habit of sleeping the night away.  So I'm pretty refreshed right now, as opposed to how I usually am at this time of day: worn out and sleepy.

I had been experiencing second thoughts about having changed my work hours from the afternoon/evening shift to the late night/early morning hours.  As it has now turned out, though, I would have been reassigned to this time slot anyway by management and to a location that I have been trying to avoid working at over the years.  So now the hours aren't so cool, but the duty assignment works just fine...so I think I came out on top, considering the circumstances.

I'm fortunate that I came into Starbucks today at the moment I did, for that empty seat I like so much was available in spite of the place being very busy.  And soon after I got here it became even busier.  Saturday is a busy, busy time for this Starbucks!

The remnants of tropical storm Chantal are forecast to spread through and sit over Florida this weekend, dumping copious amounts of rain on us.  I have a few outdoor projects that I would like to work on.  Right now the sun is out, but I see the clouds starting to accumulate.  Oh well, I have some "indoor" projects to occupy myself, too...

Running Progress and Upcoming Half-Marathon

I have been continuing to make some progress with my recovery from a right foot injury, increasing my daily running without noticing any increased pain or discomfort levels.  But I still need to carefully monitor my situation and be prepared to slacken off the running should things begin to worsen (hopefully it won't).  Just having lightened up on my running during the last two months, though, has taken its toll on my endurance, with just getting through previously easy distances something of a chore.  Still, I am making progress with this as well, managing somehow to run 5.1 miles earlier today.  The stifling hot, muggy summer weather we're experiencing right now in northern Florida isn't making it any better.  When it gets too bad, though, I can run indoors on the treadmill (which is what I did today). 

It looks as if there will be a half-marathon race staged right here in Gainesville, on the last Saturday morning in September.  The course will wind all through the University of Florida campus, something that has great appeal to me, a Gator alumnus.  I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that this event will take place on a Saturday in which the UF football team will be out of town, playing elsewhere.  Considering what I have recently been through with this foot problem, being able to enter and finish this race would be a great personal victory. But regardless I'm still going to have to continue taking things one day at a time...

Zimmerman Trial Spin on the Five

I was watching The Five on Fox News yesterday afternoon, and they were discussing the George Zimmerman murder trial, which is winding down and will be soon going to the jury for deliberation.  Greg Gutfeld made a comment that I have to take great issue with.  He said that the confrontation between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, which culminated in the latter's death by a gunshot wound, shouldn't be viewed in the context of race, but rather as simply a fight between two men.  Leave race out of it, Gutfeld maintained.  I see it differently, though...

Had Zimmerman not been profiling this young black man walking through the neighborhood and then pursued and openly confronted him, armed, then we wouldn't be having a murder trial...or a death.  No, although I am seeing a great amount of emphasis being placed during the trial about who was "on top" during the final struggle between Martin and Zimmerman, and whether the killer performed his deed in "self-defense", the conservative spin-doctors are actually, in my opinion, displaying racism by surgically removing the subject from their analysis.  It's really very similar to saying that, since blacks have a tendency to be profiled by the police for arbitrary traffic stops, then any ensuing complication to such an encounter that results in arrest or injury to said citizen can't be interpreted in a racial context.  But the profiling creates the situation!

Then the "Five" panel (not just Gutfeld) kept going on about how "race" was being injected into this case by the media.  No, as soon as I heard of this story, I immediately saw what was going on myself without the need for any further "assistance" from the media.  But if I or anyone else takes the information that is presented and arrives at independent conclusions, then that is supposedly the media manipulating me.  I beg to differ with such hogwash.  Especially when those espousing that viewpoint are themselves shoveling in the manipulation...

Petty Political Spinning Undermines Deeper Issues

If you tune in to various political shows on television or radio, you're bound to get immersed in a lot of banter aimed at disparaging those political leaders or media commentators with differing views.  On TV, Fox News and MSNBC feed off each other's programming, regularly and derisively quoting snippets of comments their own commentators disagree with.  Leaders or candidates for political posts have their statements, personalities, and personal lives torn to shreds by their opponents in the media.  Sometimes the criticisms are relevant, but regardless the aim is to create doubt in the mind of the viewer as to the trustworthiness of the targeted individuals. To a degree I can understand this as, after all, nobody wants to elect someone who is incompetent, ignorant, or dishonest.  Unfortunately, our current electoral process seems to force candidates into showing themselves to be these very things. So for a voter to say that a candidate whose political orientation doesn't fit with their own viewpoint is speaking out of both sides of their mouth is really just a little bit ingenuous and self-deceiving when, after all, "their guy" is in all probability doing the same thing.  The only difference is the free pass being given to the latter.

Apart from being careful to avoid electing someone who is criminally insane to office, I think that, instead of harping on gaffes and the tedious political spinning dominating the media,  it would be a better idea for each of us within the electorate to decide where we stand, not only on the various issues that concern us, but also on the underlying political philosophies that underpin the parties which provide us these admittedly imperfect candidates (and they are ALL imperfect).  I can't make others deal with politics like this, but at least I can for myself...  

My June 2013 Running Report

It's been a few days since I have had access to a computer to file a blog article, so my June 2013 running summary is a little bit delayed.  But here it is anyway...

In June, I still had the ongoing issue with my right foot.  Still, I seem to have learned how to manage it by following prescribed daily stretching routines, wearing sturdy shoes, and applying ice to the heel after running to keep down inflammation.  There is still some pain, but it isn't intensifying.  And my running has been increasing: I ran a total of 43.97 miles for the month, running on 19 days.  That's an improvement from May's bleak totals.  My longest run was 4.3 miles.  Taking into account alternative "MECT" (see earlier article) activities, the total June mileage goes up to 54.57 miles.

I can feel that my endurance has slipped quite a lot over the last couple of months. And I don't enjoy running and its effects as much as before, with this problem of foot pain nagging me like this.  Still I plod on, hoping that in time I'll return to an earlier level of enjoyment...

Filtering Out Value from Commentators' Garbage

I have been watching Fox News Channel some of late, but not with any delusional notion of getting anything resembling "fair and balanced" news coverage and analysis, despite that channel's ridiculous claim.  No, I am instead intent on receiving their conservative take on things in their full bias, and not necessarily because I am shifting in my political leanings.  For I am coming to an uncomfortable conclusion about how American society is becoming so polarized between those espousing leftist or rightist leanings that they tend to view the "other side" in terms of being enemies and evil.  I think of lot of this has to do with how people receive the often viciously critical commentary on TV and radio without understanding how to filter out the often legitimate message from the bullcrap that accompanies it.  For example, one day on Fox News Channel's late afternoon show The Five, panelist Greg Gutfeld expressed his view that the NSA's amassing of cell phone records was justified to protect us from terrorists.  Fine, I get it.  Then on a later show, though, the same Gutfeld included NSA on a long list of "scandals" he attributed to President Obama.  The substance was his earlier comment; the bullcrap was his latter. 

Laura Ingraham, an acerbic hard-right ideologue, was filling in for Bill O'Reilly another night when she made some reasonable arguments questioning the need for a comprehensive immigration reform bill.  But she had to then get personally derisive about Obama, spinning (on the "no-spin" show) extremely negatively on his ongoing European trip and how weak and irrelevant he appeared.  As a matter of fact, Ingraham couldn't use the name "Obama" in a sentence without saying something personally derogatory about the man.  Bullcrap.

These politically-slanted commentators are entitled, I suppose, to rant irrationally with personal disdain about whomever they want.  But doing this makes the task of filtering out the often very compelling, relevant points they are trying to make from the nonsense quite tedious and difficult at times.  Too bad. 

Both Greg Gutfeld and Laura Ingraham are obviously very intelligent people, with substantial talent in the way of expressing themselves and doing so with a flair for humor.  But both have also succumbed to this nasty tendency I see too often in the media to be personally derisive of those with views different from theirs while turning a blind eye to those flawed individuals (aren't we ALL flawed) with whom they share the same politics.  They can do better than this!

Still, I'm realistic about the state of things in the media.  It's up to ME to listen carefully to what is being said and to intelligently discern what is true and significant among what is largely verbal garbage...

Travel as a Goal in Itself

There are a couple of people in my life who, although they retain a nominal home address, more often than not seem to be on the road, traveling to other destinations. One has a calling to the Christian mission field while the other has nuclear and extended family members strewn out all over the country, putting out much time, effort, and expense visiting these and in turn, traveling with some of them to other places.  Both have definite purposes and reasons for their travel, to be sure.  But I can't help but think that there is something intrinsic to the process of travel itself that draws them to it, not just their stated goals. 

I am not by nature a traveler, although destinations are another matter entirely.  For example, I rather dig visiting theme parks and enjoy roller coasters and other thrill rides.  But there aren't any theme parks within 97 miles of my house, although between 97 and 135 miles there are nine (Valdosta's Wild Adventures, Tampa's Busch Gardens, and Orlando's four Walt Disney World parks, Universal's two and Sea World).  But the thought of driving to any of these and back, even to Wild Adventures (the nearest one) is definitely a negative drag on the experience, something that subtracts from my ultimate enjoying and which wears me down.  If I could just step through some interdimensional door and come out the other side into one of these places (similar to how Stephen King's Roland character in the Dark Tower series stepped through such a door on an isolated beach into our world to recruit Eddie for his cause), that would be all right with me.  For I generally disdain the process of travel.  But for those who seem addicted to it, they like it all: the preparation, the packing, the unpacking, driving, flying, going through airports and stations, renting cars, making reservations, driving, riding,... you name it.  No, I don't like to go places, generally speaking.  But there are a lot of places that I would like to BE at, without the hassle of travel...

Three Very Successful NBA Coaches Let Go

Within the National Basketball Association's Western Conference are three franchises that have provided their cities' fans with a lot to cheer for and be excited about.  The Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Denver Nuggets each enjoyed exemplary seasons in 2012-13, all finishing high in their divisions and making the playoffs.  The Clippers actually did something unheard of for that franchise: they flat-out WON their division after playing second fiddle within their own city for so many years to the Lakers.  The Grizzlies went far into the playoffs, making it to the Conference finals.  And the Nuggets, with their fast style of play, won for their head coach the league's prestigious Coach of the Year award for 2012-13.  Yes, for Los Angeles, Memphis, and Denver, their respective coaches Vinny Del Negro, Lionel Hollins, and George Karl must feel pretty confident, respected, and accepted...right?  Well, not exactly...all three were summarily fired immediately after their season ended! [Caveat: Hollins wasn't technically fired: his contract just wasn't renewed.]

Ironically, there seems to be an almost circular shuffling around with these coaches and teams! Denver now wants Hollins.  I don't get it: it is as if every NBA franchise owner is suffering from the delusion that their team alone has the talent to win it all...and if it doesn't, regardless how ultimately successful it was, that "failure" must be the head coach's fault.  Well, I really liked Lionel Hollins as a coach and will follow him in the future, pulling for whichever team is wise enough to sign him.  As for the Memphis Grizzlies, I'm finished rooting for them...

Greg Gutfeld and Bill Maher

Greg Gutfeld and Bill Maher, who are respectively conservative and liberal commentators, each with his own regular TV show, are often abrasive, sarcastic, and personally derisive of others with the opposing worldview.  Yet at times I find the two both essentially saying the same thing.  The following is a case in point.

During the latest revelation that the National Security Agency has collected the contacts of millions of Verizon cell phone customers in the pursuit of potential terrorists, many opinion makers from opposite ends of the political spectrum have interpreted this as an example of government gone too far and as an assault on individual liberties...namely in terms of violating the Fourth Amendment that was designed to protect privacy.  But both Gutfeld and Maher have exasperated their respective political allies by coming out in favor of the NSA action, each agreeing that national security and the protection of the people against attack...especially nuclear attack (both specifically mentioned this)...is paramount and trumps any claims for the sake of personal privacy.  I agree and would like to add that the government is also constitutionally mandated with protecting its people and borders against attack from abroad.  

Still, I have to say that Maher is more consistent with his views.  After all, when discussing even very moderate, limited firearms regulation following a recent series of brutal public mass murders involving automatic weapons, Gutfeld refused to acknowledge government's legitimate role to protect its citizenry from THIS legitimate threat.  To him, the Second Amendment matters (although the Fourth doesn't, apparently).  At least Maher is consistent by supporting gun control legislation.

Both Gutfeld and Maher are nonreligious, although again there is a difference between the two.  To his discredit, Maher tends to ridicule religion and those who are adherents, while Gutfeld displays a more mature respect for those whose views on the subject differ from him.  Of course, it might also be said that he isn't particularly tolerant of Islam (neither is Maher, for that matter). Not that I would completely criticize either for this, though, as it seems to me that many followers of this important world faith could benefit from some needed maturity and grace when it comes to THEM tolerating others with different perspectives.

I don't subscribe to HBO, which carries Bill Maher's show Real Time.  I have seen some excerpts of it from time to time, though, and watched an episode once when my local cable company was showing HBO for free as a subscription promotion.  I do get Fox News, which has Greg Gutfeld on quite a lot.  Although he is virulently and irrationally biased against Obama, I find myself enjoying his delivery and humor.  It kind of reminds me of Maher, as a matter of fact.  Of course, the latter has had a tendency to go overboard about Bush. But although I see some entertainment and informational value in watching these two, don't get me wrong:  in them I see the kind of snide, repulsive smartass arrogance I've experienced in my own life from certain other types, mainly from back in high school.  Maybe that says something in itself: essentially Gutfeld and Maher present themselves as adolescent personalities who never completely psychologically grew up...

Perfunctory Continuity Entry

Just to establish a sense of continuity, I am submitting a short entry to demonstrate that I haven't completely forgotten about this blog.  One problem I am going through is that I don't feel that sense of readership that I had in olden times when I would publish on it.  And quite frankly, I'm not sure that I particularly WANT some people to read it, anyway, considering the attitudes in others I've experienced of late.  I still have my own opinions about a wide range of topics: I just don't feel very motivated in expressing them, that's all...

The Meaning of a Communication is the Response You Get

I'm a bit skeptical of organizations that tout how comprehensively benevolent their agenda is for humankind...Neuro-linguistic Programming, or NLP...which sounds super-scientific, doesn't it...is an example.  You can look them up if you'd like...I'm not interested.  But I did indirectly pick up one of this self-help group's precepts...through Tony Robbins...which is very profound and true when it comes to interpersonal relationships: The meaning of a communication is the response you get...

If a mother or father tells their child to do something, it may not be enough to just say it and walk away.  Instead, asking the child to repeat what was said and to say whether they understood completes the communication while imparting a sense of personal responsibility to the child.  Likewise, I have personally discovered in my workplace that expressed expectations of employees need to be accompanied with their acknowledgement of those expectations.  Yet when it came to my own experiences throughout the elementary and high school years, nothing of the sort ever happened between any of my teachers and myself...

The responsibility for seeing that a communication is effective is on the communicator to be proactive in seeking a response from the party receiving it...and it needs to be done on an individual basis, not just in a large group setting.  In a classroom setting, the tendency from my own experiences in school was for the teacher to hand out "learning activity packages"...i.e. enhanced syllabi...and speak to the students as a collective body from the front of the class, if at all.  To be sure, students were accorded time to meet with teachers and ask questions if they took the initiative to do so, but NOT ONCE in my twelve years from the first grade in 1962 to graduation in 1974 did any teacher approach me one-to-one to establish that I knew what the class was about and what was expected of me.  Furthermore, NOT ONCE in those twelve years did any teacher ever approach me as an individual human being to encourage me or tactfully ask if I had any difficulties I wanted to share with them.  I DID experience, on a number of occasions sprinkled throughout those years, teachers angrily coming to me and chastising me about something or another...often with me being totally innocent while in the process humiliating me in front of classmates...but even then they weren't interested in my point of view: my role apparently was to keep my mouth shut and stay out of their attention range...

Once I saw a Twilight Zone episode titled Changing of the Guard that featured an elderly teacher forced into retirement.  He had spent his entire adult life teaching his pupils and remembered every one and their idiosyncrasies.  In despair he feared he had wasted his life to no effect, but his old students from years back returned one day and assembled...from the "twilight zone"...each telling him what a difference he had made in their lives.  I wonder about all of the teachers I had...and whether they could even get a row of students to speak for them, much less a full classroom.  If I sound bitter, I am: I think that there were crucial periods in my childhood when a positive, encouraging word from a teacher would have made all the difference and have changed my life...but it never came.  Yet I'll bet each and every one of the teachers I had were confident that THEY were doing their job well as it pertained to me, who was to them merely a name attached to a face that I doubt hardly any of them remembered (or cared to) only a few years later.  To them I say: if you think you taught me something but never knew me as a distinct person with my own identity and personality...and viewpoint...then you have failed at your job.  I sincerely hope that my readers' school experiences with their teachers were different from mine...maybe you had some of those great interactive teachers like in those NEA television ads...

So direct interactions would be more effective if the speaker asked for pertinent feedback from the one spoken to.  But what about writing?  After all, I am communicating here and that's true whether or not the reader agrees with me.  Obviously, people can choose whether or not to read what I write...but if they do, then wouldn't it seem appropriate to offer at least some perfunctory acknowledgment that they had done so?  I post links to this blog on Facebook, which offers this sort of feedback system to postings.  And while I tend to skip over others' posts that may contain interesting content but are merely copy-and-paste exercises on their part, when I read something that is original and relatively coherent...and I believe to be directed either at me or the general reader...I have a tendency to click on "like" and sometimes even volunteer a comment.   Some of my articles are likewise directed at certain folks I have "befriended" on Facebook.  Now many don't read my writings but for those who do, wouldn't it be an act of constructive friendship to at least acknowledge me...or better yet...write your own reactions in a comment? 

Speaking of blog comments, there are two ways to accomplish this: one is if you are getting it through my Facebook link...just use this site's comments feature as you would any other post.  But you can also bypass Facebook and submit a comment directly to this blog by clicking on the "Number of Comments"  or "Post a Comment" links after the end of the individual article.  It won't be printed until I have read it...you can even request it remain unprinted or even write anonymously...and would finally appear on the blogsite right after the article.  A little more of a roundabout way, but it gives you more flexibility and enables those not on my Facebook page to communicate as well...

From Star 99.5 to Party 99.5

One of the more interesting radio stations we've had here in Gainesville is on 99.5: WBXY.  Until just a few days ago it had an all-talk format, branding itself as "Star 99.5".  Its owners, however, did not see their expected return on their investment and dramatically changed the programming to around-the-clock electronic dance music, with the new appellation "Party 99.5".  I have mixed feelings about this change, which on the surface seems to cater to the more vacuous, bubble-headed elements of the listening community.

Ever since I switched in March to graveyard shift at work, I have been listening more to talk radio.  One station, 97.3 WSKY, broadcasts George Noory's Coast-to-Coast AM show.  Depending on the guest and topic, I might listen in...but usually I switch over to 99.5 (until the change, that is).  Opposite Noory, at least until 3 AM, is Jim Bohannon, a conservative talk show host who nevertheless is more typified by his rationalism than by any ideology.  But from 3 to 5 was when I REALLY tuned in to this station, because that was when one of this age's truly amazing radio acts was on: Phil Hendrie.  Hendrie has had a show for several years in which he interviews a variety of guests, with the aid of his studio on-air assistants...and some of the guests substitute for him on the air as well.  These people have very idiosyncratic views, to say the least, and their personalities can be a little over the top.  But the amazing thing about all of these people is that they are ALL Phil Hendrie himself, casting his voice around seamlessly from one character to another without arousing any indication that he is up to this grand subterfuge of impersonation.  What a talent!  My favorite of his many characters is the overly sensitive, lawsuit-compulsive Steve Bosell.  I'll miss Phil with the programming change.  Ditto to a lesser degree for Jim Bohannon.  But WBXY also had some folks that, in my opinion, were little more than vile hate-mongers: Michael Savage and Mark Levin.  And the FoxNews hack for the Republicans, Sean Hannity, also had his show as well.  Maybe these extremist right-wing "stars" will soon get back on in Gainesville on other stations, but for now I feel no loss at their current absence.

As for the new programming, I like it.  The driving, pounding music is very energetic and fun to listen to.  I think that if one just wanted to get a good exercise workout in their own home, they could just turn on this station at any time of the day or night and just dance to it!

June Starts With Run

I began the month of June with a couple of runs, one being for 2.28 miles around my neighborhood.  My foot felt fine and I could have gone further, although I clearly wasn't in my earlier fitness level.  Nevertheless, I ran the same pace I usually do.  Hopefully, I'll be able to resume regular running again, albeit with rest times interposed between runs.

My May 2013 Running Report

This past month, my right foot had some pain issues, and I laid off the running for much of the month.  I ended my 370-day streak of running on the 6th, and won't be consciously trying to run on consecutive days for a protracted period anymore!  During the period away from running, I tried some alternative cross-training activities, to which I assigned "miles-equivalent" values, or MECT.  My total actual running mileage was 28.54 miles, my MECT was 13.36 miles...so the total in May was 41.90 miles.  I ran on 13 days, but with cross-training I ended up working out on a total of 19 days.  My longest run was for 4.51 miles.

I am trying some medically-suggested strategies for dealing with my foot problem, and perhaps this will enable me to resume a reasonable, albeit more moderate running regimen.  But only time will tell...  

Rush and Styx on Palladia

The other night on Palladia Channel I was watching a couple of concerts.   The first was by the Canadian band Rush, a trio that has amassed a very impressive amount of recorded work over the past 39 years.  The other featured Styx, also a band with its own resume of very popular music.  With the latter, I have enjoyed several of their songs but never got around to buying any of their albums.  I liked Too Much Time on My Hands, Come Sail Away, and most of all...Mister Roboto.  It was this last 1983 hit and the subsequent concert tour that year that reportedly caused a severe rift between front singer and creative force Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw, leading to a permanent, very acrimonious split.  So I was surprise to see them back together.  But wait, that wasn't DeYoung up there singing, was it?  No, as it turned out, the rest of the band, seeing the cash cow in keeping their name and trading in on it, just played on, pretending that this integral member had never existed.  That would be like the Beatles acting like Lennon never had been there.

In stark contrast was Rush, with their members bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, lead guitar Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart bringing down the house with a closing finale performance of their first hit Working Man.  These are people who knew how to stay together over the years and work out the inevitable issues that arose between them.  I have a special respect for them and others who have persevered like this (the Rolling Stones prominently come to mind).

I already have several of Rush's albums.  My favorite songs of theirs are the aforementioned Working Man, Spirit of Radio, Red Barchetta, Vital Signs, Subdivisions, and New World Man.  And the 1981 album Moving Pictures is one of the very best rock albums ever made, in my opinion. 

And they're still together, no doubt planning to come up with another album!

NBA Playoffs Down to Four

I have been following the NBA playoffs, and I have to say that so far I'm pretty pleased with the results.  However, I am a bit dismayed that key star players have missed out, no doubt skewing the results.  After all, I was all enthusiastic about rooting for the Lakers this year, what with Steve Nash joining the team and all.  But Nash was injured for much of the year and Kobe Bryant likewise got hurt, just at the very end.  Still, I like the four remaining teams, most of all the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. If these two, generally regarded as slight favorites to win their current conference series against Indiana and Memphis respectively, prevail and meet each other for the championship round, then I'll have a problem deciding who to pull for.  But that would be a pleasant problem to have...

Health Snags Recently

I am right now in the middle of some health woes.  One is the right foot problem, probably plantar fasciitis, that I had mentioned earlier.  My plan now is to just avoiding stressing that foot and resume training after it has completely healed.  Otherwise, I'm afraid I'm going to be repeatedly reinjuring the tear(s) in that heel.  Also, a couple of days ago I came down with a rather severe viral cold, which even necessitated me missing work (something I very rarely do).  So now I'm feeling pretty doggone crappy and look forward to brighter days ahead of me...

NBA Playoffs Getting Further Along

Now that the NBA professional basketball playoffs are getting closer to the end this year, that means that the almost daily opportunity to view games on TV is also getting closer to the end.  Right now, the only series we have left to follow is the Indiana-New York one, with game #6 on tonight.  If the Pacers pull that one out, then it's the divisional finals starting Sunday with San Antonio matched up against Memphis in the West.  So if the TV/NBA schedulers are smart, they'll alternate East finals/West finals games so that there will usually be an evening game to watch.  But maybe I'm expecting too much common sense from them.

Once we get to the final championship series, I'll probably begin to switch to baseball as the primary sport to focus on.  Then again, I might just go back to watching more Netflix: I have a lot of Star Trek episodes and movies to catch up on!

True Conservatism a Good Thing

I feel that there is a compelling case for a conservative political outlook.  Unfortunately, whenever I tune in on the radio or television to conservative-leaning shows, I am almost instantly revolted by the disgusting vituperative, hateful tone of the host and guests.  I remember watching William F. Buckley time after time years ago as he adroitly promoted his conservative belief system on his popular PBS show Firing Line.  He didn't demonize his ideological opponents; on the contrary, many of them were his friends, some being repeat guests on his show.  Nowadays, though, conservative-based shows remind me more of a circle of kids at a bus stop, with the chief bully insulting an unpopular boy or girl and the other toadies piling on, truth rarely ever being expressed, much less respectful and constructive criticism.  Rusty Humphrey, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Ted Nugent, John Gibson, Neil Boortz (who supposedly retired but keeps resurfacing)...these people and others repel me by their hateful, derisive tone. And that's not including my own hometown's locally-produced variety, one of whom has just recently (and regrettably) been elected mayor of my city.  God help us.  To be sure, the political left has its bomb-throwers as well...Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann come to mind.  But the overwhelming trend with this ugliness is to the right...

The government should be careful about spending the money it forces from taxpayers.  I agree with that essentially conservative notion, but the above-mentioned hacks selectively apply this principle only to Democrats while allowing Republican politicians to run up the tab with impunity whenever they are in power.  I also believe in the conservative idea of a strong national defense, wisely and cautiously employed in necessary situations. Ironically, though, it was the previous "conservative" administration that bogged us down in a pointless conflict in Iraq that overstretched our national defenses, wrecked our national budget, and brought death and horrible injury to thousands of our finest and bravest young people with very little in the way of a positive return for their sacrifices. And I believe that our court system should respect precedent in making their decisions instead of legislating from the bench, a charge that conservatives in the media and politics often level at "liberal" judges.  Yet the current recent crop of Supreme Court justices appointed by the last three GOP presidents are more committed to changing the law in order to promote their right-wing ideological views than they are about making sure the law is properly followed as it was written and according to the Constitution. 

So sure, conservatism sounds good to me, at least in theory.  The terrible irony is that I am seeing more of it being practiced by the Democrats than by the Republicans, who so loudly claim it for themselves...

Miles-Equivalent Cross Training

I have been quite an avid runner during the past six years.  It's an old activity from my youth, interrupted for the most part by three decades (although in 1998 I did revive running for about a three-month period).  In 2007 I began to run short distances at a fast clip on my local YMCA's treadmill but began to tire of it, wanting to get to longer distances (and eventually a race or two...or more).  So I began to venture out on the road, increasing my distance and endurance to the point where I have run the marathon and now pretty much specialize in half-marathon races.  But unfortunately, lately my right foot has been bothering me and I've felt the need to lay off the running for a brief season.  This doesn't keep me from engaging in other activities, though, in an attempt to maintain my general level of fitness while recovering.  My problem is that it's hard to put numerical values on them that are comparable to the running mileage standard I've grown so accustomed to.  But I've come up with my own personal solution that should work for me (and not necessarily for you or anyone else).

My concept (which others have in all likelihood developed independently) is something I call "miles-equivalent cross-training", or MECT.  I  take different activities and assign them MECT "miles" based on the criteria I assign to them.  Here are a few:

--Bicycle riding-while keeping myself honest and riding at a brisk pace, I take my total riding time and multiple by a factor of .06 to get the MECT mileage.  For example, earlier this afternoon I biked for 63 minutes.  My MECT miles are thus 63 x .06 = 3.76 miles.  That seems about right for me.

--On the elliptical cross-trainer machine at my local gym, I also multiply total time times .06, while making sure I am putting out an honest effort.  The other day I worked out on it for 15 minutes.  That translates into 15 x .06 = .9 miles.

--I haven't used my gym's indoor swimming pool, but I already have a formula in place.  Each 25 m lap I cross I assign .1 MECT miles.  And it doesn't matter how I do it, whether by swimming any style, paddling, or even just walking across.

--I own a nifty little portable step exercise machine that puts out a strenuous workout.  I simply multiply minutes time .1.  Yesterday I was on it for 30 minutes, meaning I get credit for 3 miles.  And it felt like it, too!

--I have a push lawn mower, not one of those self-propelled types.  When I mow the front yard, I give myself 1 MECT mile.  The back yard is a lot larger, so I get 2 miles for doing that.

By assigning equivalence miles for alternate activities to running, I hope to help myself cope better with my temporary withdrawal from it.  But even upon recovery, I know I need to intersperse some of these other activities in between my running days so that future injuries are less likely to happen...

Elliptical Cross-Trainer My Alternative Choice for Training

On Monday evening, I went down to the local gym of which I'm a member.  For the first time in quite a long time, though, I didn't go there to run on the treadmill: I'm taking a break from that activity to give my right foot a chance to heal up.  Instead, I tried out one of their elliptical cross-trainer machines, which I worked out on for ten minutes at "level five".  For the first six or seven minutes on it, I used the wide handlebars that allowed me to work out my upper body.  Mistake.  I haven't done that in well over a year, and I now have some soreness up there because of that.  But at least I had enough presence of mind to realize at the end of my short workout that I could just hold on to the machine's stationary central handle that focused the workout on my legs.  From now on I'll be doing that: I get enough of an upper-body workout at my paid job, anyway.

My foot already feels better after just a couple of days of not running on it, and I'll be going back to the gym tonight to use their elliptical machine (without the upper-body workout).  As far as the idea of using their swimming pool is concerned, the time of day that I go there, with my new work schedule, puts me when the pool tends to be crowded.  Using the cross-trainer is instead much closer to the old treadmill routine.  I can even watch the NBA playoffs or Univision on the TV while I train!

My Daily Running Streak Ends at 370

After yesterday's pleasant 4.51 mile run around my neighborhood (relatively low temperature and humidity for this time of year), I decided to deliberately end my personal record streak of consecutive running days at 370.  I had been thinking of doing this earlier, but wanted to get past that one-year mark first.  Today I'll be taking my first break in a long time from running.  I have been feeling a recurring ache in my right foot anyway, and I think that just giving it a rest for a few days will be helpful.  Also, I  ordered some new running shoes online (I prefer the Reebok brand) and should get them in about a week.  When I go back "on the road", I'll have some better supporting footwear.  In the meantime, I'm thinking of going back to the swimming pool to do laps, for the first time as a matter of fact since August of 2011.  The gym I'm a member of has a nice indoor pool but I never got around to using it.  Now's a good opportunity!

When I go back to running, I plan to run for longer distances at a time and take more breaks throughout the week.  And running twice a day, which I had been doing a lot of during the past few months, is not a good idea.  So in essence I'll be returning to the training pattern I used back in 2010 when I built up my endurance for the marathon.  But I think I'll just stick to half-marathons, just the same...

Writing Sparse, Hope to Write More

I still haven't given up on this blog, although the entries have recently been few and far between.  I'm thinking of doing different things on it, transforming it into a different kind of blog.  But right now, I am distracted by other things in my life, and writing has been put on the back burner.  I have to review this blog's archives to see the topics I used to write freely about, and then see if I can continue along the same lines.  Unfortunately, about politics I am completely spent and discouraged; perhaps I can write an article or two explaining why I am coming to believe that our political leaders have betrayed us, the people, with their polarizing partisanship and their kowtowing to media ideologues/hacks.  Well, there are plenty of other areas about which I can write, but I need to get myself back into the right frame of mind for this.  Keep checking in on me!

My April 2013 Running Report

With the close of April comes a personal milestone in my running, albeit one that I probably won't be repeating.  I have now gone an entire year...365 days...of daily running, with no gaps.  It's an accomplishment, to be sure, but then again I'm not sure that continuing this is in my best interests.  After all, the body sometimes needs a chance to recover from the stress of workouts.  So starting in May, I plan to go back to having rest days from my running.  To compensate for that, I may be trying out running for longer distances at a time.  This past month has seen my runs cap at a relatively low distance for me, the longest run being for a mere 5.5 miles.  My total mileage for April was 120.69 miles, continuing a deliberate decline as the Florida weather heats up in the spring.  On many days I ran twice, one usually around my neighborhood and the other later on at the gym on the treadmill.

I'm thinking of taking off a week or two from running, as I have developed some aches in my right foot.  Maybe I'll replace running during that period with another activity like swimming or biking.  Or maybe I'll just give the whole body a little break time!

Too Many NBA Injuries

It is getting to be pretty discouraging, following the National Basketball Association playoffs this year. Before the the playoffs even began, some of the contending teams had lost key players due to injury.  The Chicago Bulls were missing star guard Derrick Rose for the whole season, and although the doctors have cleared him to play now, he refuses, believing that he his knee isn't completely healed yet.  Another Bulls standout, Joakim Noah, was also out but is gamely playing so far in the playoffs through his foot injury.  The Boston Celtics have had their own trouble with guard Rajon Rondo out with an injury.  Likewise is the case with the Los Angeles Lakers and their legendary Kobe Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon near the close of the regular season.  Besides Bryant, Laker Steve Nash, although back in the active lineup, is obviously not at full strength after he had been out with an injury.  But wait...he's out again! The Golden State Warriors also find themselves in the playoffs without their star performer, David Lee.  Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets is out, although he's pushing to be able to play the next game. And now we come to Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that could have very well won the championship this year.  But not now, as he, too, is out with a season-ending injury, this one to his knee.  Although I had generally rooted against the Thunder, I was fascinated by their one-two offensive punch of Westbrook and Kevin Durant.  And now it's gone. Could they still win it all?  I suppose, but only if other teams lose their key players as well.

Last year, late one game early in the playoffs, Miami Heat's Lebron James, the backbone of the franchise, suddenly erupted in serious pain while grabbing one of his legs.  He hobbled out the court in the closing minutes, just long enough to pull his team to victory in a tight contest.  Afterward, to my relief, it turned out only to be a leg cramp.  But still, what if the something more serious happens to him, something like what happened to Bryant, Rondo, or Westbrook?

When I watch the NBA playoffs, I naturally want my team to win.  But I also want to see all the great stars playing at full strength.  It is very dismaying to me to see the prevalence of terrible injuries sideling these players.  To me, this seems to be an almost epidemic phenomenon.  Sure, players got injured in the past, but not like this. I wonder what's going on here...

Medical Examination Good Results, Running Continues

I just went through some serious medical examinations today, along with a consultation with my physician/specialist/surgeon, concerning a condition I had been diagnosed with since October of 2011, but actually with which I had been afflicted with since birth.  The results of these examinations are that I am continuing in my relatively good health, with no change in instructions for me until the next one, to be scheduled a year from now.  This is very good news!  So the running continues, although lately I have been experiencing some aches in my right foot that I have to continue to monitor.  The funny thing is that I don't experience any problems while running...only when sitting or walking. 

I'm still on a projection to attain 100 miles this month and am only a week away from having run every single day for a whole year.  This is now within sight of attainment.  I just might take a break afterward, though, just to give that foot a better chance of recovery (although I don't exactly believe that running was the cause of the problem)...

Still Here

Just a note to let you know that I'm still here on this blog...

Heat Shine, Lakers in Doubt for Playoffs

At the beginning of this year's edition of the National Basketball Association season, I was fully prepared to sit back and relax, enjoying while two teams I had formerly disliked, the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers, made easy runs through the regular season and then breezed through the playoffs, with the expected culmination being an unforgettable championship series against each other.  Uh, well, something else instead happened.

The Miami Heat, a "super" team composed of great players like Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, and Chris Bosh, did indeed fly through their regular season and will finish with the league's best record.  They also enjoyed a phenomenal 27-game winning streak at one point.  Being the NBA's defending champion, other franchises sought out ways to compose their own unstoppable "super teams", chief among them the Lakers.  During the off-season they signed my favorite player, Steve Nash, from the Phoenix Suns as well as Dwight Howard, who left the Orlando Magic.  With standouts like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, winning the Western Conference seemed like a sure bet.  But a combination of injuries that kept circulating through the team and poor coordination between the superstars (especially with Howard) caused them to falter badly in the first half of the season.  To their credit, they rebounded and are actually at this writing in a position to inch into the playoffs as a conference eighth (and last) seed.  But Nash is still out with another injury, another starter Metta World Peace is out for the season injured, and, dammit, now it looks as if Bryant is out.  Unbelievable.  Well, if after all this they still make the playoffs, that will be a minor miracle in itself.  But I don't expect them to go very far.

If the Los Angeles Lakers don't make it, there are still plenty of teams for me to root for.  The "sleeper" team that could win the conference title (but would still most likely to lose to Miami) is the very, very fast Denver Nuggets.  We'll just have to see, should be exciting to watch these playoffs...

Visit to Cedar Key

Yesterday Melissa and I drove out to Cedar Key (about 60 miles from our home), had dinner, and then walked around the place a bit around twilight.  The place we ate at was Tony's, which boasts of being a "world champion" something-or-other, but which I'm satisfied describing as a pleasant seafood restaurant.  The dining room was cramped and small, but the food was fresh, well-prepared, and delicious.  I recommend it to others.  Afterwards, we strolled around the fishing area overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, and then made our way, as the night fell, down the strip of restaurants composing this small town's "night life".  We stopped at a place (downstairs from a well-lit restaurant called "Steamers") for some ice cream, and I peered at the TV inside another (ignoring the live singer/guitarist there) at the close of the NCAA Final Four game between Louisville and Wichita State. Melissa, on the other hand, enjoyed the musical performance.

Other than have a seafood dinner there, we didn't have any special agenda for our visit other than just enjoying the ambiance and each other's company.  A very, very, pleasant experience.  Here are some sometimes blurred photos I took there...

NCAA Final Four Men's Hoops Start Tomorrow

Tomorrow the NCAA men's basketball tournament will feature the first Final Four round.  Heavily favored Louisville faces off against upstart Wichita State while, in a more evenly paired up contest, Michigan squares off against Syracuse.  I am rooting for Louisville to win it all, so although that game may not be all that close, it should be fun to watch the Cardinals, with their standout guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva demonstrating why they will be the clear favorite to win the championship game on Monday.  As for their opponent (I know, Louisville has to first get by Wichita State, but...c'mon!), although I have no clear preference between Michigan and Syracuse, that game should prove to be close and exciting.  In any event, I like the Final Four field, even though the Florida Gators just missed out on it, and for the third year in a row...

Public Service Announcement About Stroke

There is a very compelling, stirring public service announcement on the radio about the dangers of stroke, and how it disproportionately affects the African-American population.  As a matter of fact, as the announcement reports, it affects this demographic group at twice the rate of the general population.  So there is a very legitimate concern here that needs addressing.  And the way the announcement was produced, with a speech-impaired stroke victim describing his plight, made a big impact on me.  Yes, this was one of the best-done PSAs I've heard.  But I have a qualm with one claim made on it.

The announcer, immediately following the stroke victim's words, stated that the odds were that he was black, since this affliction affects that group at twice the rate, as I have stated.  But wait, blacks are only 13% of the general population, so at even only half the stroke rate of the African-Americans, the "others" with strokes would still easily outnumber them.  So the odds WOULDN'T be that the stroke victim was black.  But the point that WAS validly being pressed was that, if you belong to this high-risk group, then you need to be especially careful about both getting medical screens to detect any stroke warning signs as well as engage in a more healthful lifestyle.  But then again, this applies to EVERYONE, not just one group with a higher prevalence of stroke...

Struggle with New Work Hours

I am about halfway through my fourth week at my new work shift, which has me essentially working (11pm-7:30 am) when I used to be in bed sleeping.  Now I get off from work, go home, and sleep for the late morning and early afternoon.  It doesn't feel right, with this change, but I didn't think it would...at least for a while.  All I can do right now is focus on seizing each moment as it comes and making deliberate choices that foster good habits of time management.  Two things I am doing:  (1) blocking out specific times for specific activities, and (2) making a daily "shopping list" of things to do, crossing out items as I accomplish them.  Still, I tend to find days going by without me achieving what I had planned.  It is a struggle right now, but the main thing is for me to press forward, have a positive attitude, and keep my focus.

Bohannon Refutes Ideological Guest

I was at work on my graveyard shift last night, which gave me some opportunities on late-night talk radio listening that I formerly wouldn't have availed myself of.  One show, Jim Bohannon, was on and he had as a guest a Republican anti-union businessman.  I mean, this dude was REALLY anti-union, above all else.  Bohannon, for his part, went along with his guest's rants, not necessarily agreeing with them...but I sensed that they both had a similar political philosophy during the interview.  Until something happened that brought me new-found respect for Mr. Bohannon.

The GOP losers in last year's elections have put out just about any reason they could as to why they lost...especially Mitt Romney to Barack Obama in the presidential contest.  Any reason, that is, except the obvious one: the American people rejected the Republicans' ideas in favor of the Democrats.  This show's guest was naturally also in denial.  He claimed that Obama won not just because they had a better "ground game" on election day.  The oh-so-evil labor unions were apparently intimidating voters to vote Democrat.  When Bohannon pressed him on this, he gave an example of a woman who was given a ride to the polling station by local union workers and given a sheet of paper describing how they thought she ought to vote.  After the election, this woman publicly came out and claimed to feel intimidated by the union's actions. So what, Bohannon posited: she could still vote any way she wanted after getting into the voting booth.  As a matter of fact, he continued, anyone who really felt pressured in a negative way like that would be more likely to vote AGAINST the prescribed ballot handed to them...and how would anyone really know for sure how they voted anyway.  The biased, union-hating guest said no, that didn't apply here...but couldn't refute Bohannon's argument.  In closing, Jim Bohannon laid out the closing kick to his argument.  How could this woman, who supposedly "felt" intimidated by imagined reprisals from the union if she voted wrong, then boldly go public in the media about it?  No answer from the guest.

From this point in the interview, it became apparent that this guest and Jim Bohannon had diverged.  Not in the sense of their similar general outlook, but rather in the sense that the latter was fair and reasonable about analyzing things while the former was completely ideology-driven.

Sadly, too many folks in the media don't practice the common-sense, decent type of fair, reasoned analysis of the news that typify Jim Bohannon's approach.  He truly does stand out alone in this respect, at least on the radio.  Find me someone else like this in this medium, I challenge you. I often disagree with Bohannon, and sometimes he is rude to callers.  But he does operate with a clear mind and doesn't seem a slave to an ideology.  How refreshing...

Florida Gators Lose in Elite Eight Round

The University of Florida men's basketball team, anxious to make the NCAA Tournament's Final Four after being eliminated in the "Elite Eight" round in each of the last two seasons, once again fell...this time to a surging Michigan team.  The Wolverines had mounted an improbable last minute comeback against top-seeded Kansas in the previous round and defeated them in overtime.  They obvious carried on their momentum to the game with the Gators.  Unfortunately, Florida didn't, missing shot after (easy) shot, repeatedly turning the ball over, failing to cover on defense, and falling behind quickly 13-0.  It was a blowout, with Michigan trouncing them by 20 points.  But still, I think the UF fans generally came away from this negative experience with a sense of finality: they really didn't deserve to be in the Final Four after all.  The previous two seasons had the Gators losing heartbreakers, leaving lingering "what if" scenarios in their distraught fans' imaginations.

The NCAA tournament began with 68 teams and is now down to four.  That means that 64 games have already been played, with 64 corresponding losers...disappointing ends to what in retrospect should be considered successful seasons by each of these teams.  Besides these were many, many more who felt that THEY deserved to be in the tournament but were slighted by the selection committee.  And three of the four top seeds in the tournament didn't make it to the Final Four either.

Sure, Florida and its fans, coaches, and players will feel a little down for a while.  But looking back, they should feel good about about extraordinarily well they did this year.  I wish those graduating Gators the best with their futures and for those staying on...there's always next year!