My Parallel 15K Run

This morning the charity organization Climb for Cancer held their annual fundraising running race, consisting of simultaneous 5K, 10K, and 15K races. The location tends to change from year to year. Two years ago I ran in their 15K (9.3 miles) race held in the Haile Plantation subdivision in far southwest Gainesville. Today it was on the University of Florida campus. I considered entering it, but decided that the thirty bucks registration fee wasn't worth it. So instead of getting up early in the morning to run in it, I slept in a little and, later in the morning, simply stepped out of my front door and ran 9.33 miles without spending as much as a dime. My time was 1 hr 24 m 27 s, reflecting my usual pace of around nine minutes per mile.

I like this idea of running parallel to an event without actually participating directly in it. For one, it saves a lot of money. For another, I have much more control over events around me and am not involved with having to deal with the weather or adverse and extensive travel. Still, running in a real event is something to enjoy as well. I just don't see the point in going overboard with it...

Sports Void After Football

Now that the football season is finally about over with this Sunday's Super Bowl, I am left with a choice to make about which sports I should follow for the next few weeks. I have never been able to get into hockey, so that's out. Basketball is the major sport left between now and the start of major league baseball in April. But I have lost interest in the professional National Basketball Association due to the way that its players keep hopping from one team to another. It reminds me of that old Twilight Zone episode where a man keeps dreaming the same nightmare over and over again about being in prison on death row, with the only difference between successive dreams being that the characters in the story keep changing roles. For example, I used to follow the Utah Jazz because of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Now Boozer is with Chicago and Williams plays for New Jersey. Or take Denver: two of the Nuggets' standout players are no longer there: Carmelo Anthony is with New York and Chauncey Billips is on the Celtics roster. Yet both Utah and Denver are doing well this year with other personnel. But why bother following them when, in all probability their current stars will just split and join up with other teams down the road the first chance they get. I know that turnover in professional sports, due to free agency and trading, is common. But in the NBA it is running rampant and, in my opinion, diminishes the character of the various teams. So maybe I'll just steer clear of the pro hoops this year...

However, NCAA college basketball promises a lot of excitement, and its season is in full gear right now with conference play. Later, in March, the championship tournament will commence, something that I have traditionally followed for years. Now in the colleges, there is also much turnover. But this is mostly predictable, with players on teams being followed as they progress through their college careers from freshman and sophomore to junior and finally senior. Sometimes, college players do transfer to other schools. But it is pretty uncommon. It is annoying to see players opt out early for the NBA and thus see their college careers cut short, although I sympathize with their legitimate desire to cash in on their talent. Still, I am not likely to see a basketball version of musical chairs in the college ranks like I do in the pros.

Yes, college basketball will have to tide me over until baseball...

Slogging Through Life Lately

Sometimes life can get to be a real slog, when just getting through the day intact without giving up while maintaining possession of one's mental and emotional faculties represents a triumph. As far as my family is concerned, each of us seems to be in this state to varying degrees, dealing with ongoing difficulties that are specific to each of our personal walks through life. One reason for this is that we tend not to be satisfied with the status quo and "take it easy". Instead, we immerse ourselves in various projects, often with no guarantee of success. And if that eventual success does come, it may be too far down the road to enjoy any immediate satisfaction or even encouragement. In the meantime, pressures and stress can cause anxiety and discouragement.

I have set out on this blog to shield the private, personal lives of my family, so I will just speak for myself. I feel great physically and could even run a marathon right now, but had decided that half-marathons were the way to go with my running. But because of a medically diagnosed congenital anomaly that is symptomless, I have been advised by my doctor to be more cautious with my running. But I know that running doesn't stress me. Still, I feel that others in my family get concerned when they see me go out on long runs. And I know there is opposition there to me running in races, especially a race on the order of a half-marathon. Still, I think that running one more before the marathon season closes in Florida won't hurt me, and I am considering doing this. Just an hour ago I ran seven miles around my neighborhood under very unseasonably warm and humid conditions. No problem.

I have various academic projects that I am engaged in and, in my own personal estimation, am making unsatisfactory progress with (according to my own standards). This are activities I undertake on my own, so self-motivation and discipline are essential to success. But these projects are at least under my personal control, with outside forces playing no major role in hindering my pursuit of them.

And then there is my work environment, existing under a cloud of uncertainty as to what the highest levels of management within my organization will do regarding the consolidation of processing plants and forced employee transfers to other work locations (in the case of Gainesville, either to Jacksonville or Tampa) during the next few months. And whether they will try to change the parameters about retirement eligibility and then force those employees thus deemed eligible into retirement.

Let's just say that, around me in my current life, exists a state of instability and uncertainty that runs contrary to what I want to experience from day to day. I want more control over my circumstances and don't like the feeling that whatever happens, in many different areas, seems like a roll of the dice...

Florida GOP Primary and Gainesville Commission Election

Today was the moved-up date for the Florida Republican Presidential Primary. Simultaneously, Gainesville held elections in two city commissioner races, open to both Republicans and non-Republicans to vote in. Since the GOP primary occurred on the same day, there was a higher percentage of Republican voters in this election, and consequently the possibility of conservatives being elected to the commission. This was not to be: a liberal won one race outright while a liberal and conservative will participate in a run-off election in a few weeks. Generally, unless there is some special issue involved, these types of at-large elections in Gainesville end with the liberal candidate winning with about 55-60 % of the vote. We'll see what happens.

Mitt "Not Obama" Romney, formerly Mitt "Not Newt" Romney, formerly Mitt "Not Herman Cain" Romney, formerly Mitt "Not Rick Perry" Romney, may have finally found a name that will "stick" after his lopsided victory in Florida today. But as Romney's overwhelmingly negative ads against Gingrich have affirmed, this man's identity and appeal to Republican voters seems to be that he isn't somebody else they dislike even more. The Republican establishment, however, seems to have come to the conclusion that Mitt Romney is a potential president that they can handle, much like the way George W. Bush was. God help us.

Super Bowl Approaching, Pro Bowl Happily Past

So once again we will see the New York Giants squaring off against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Four years after the last one, won by NY with a last minute touchdown pass, the teams have a lot of different players. However, their quarterbacks Eli Manning and Tom Brady, along with their head coaches Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, are back.

As I earlier had written, of the twelve teams making this season's National Football League playoffs, the Giants were my favorite while the Patriots were my least favorite. So there's no wavering on my part as to which team I'll be pulling for: New York!

Actually, it's kind of sad about New England and me: the only reason I don't support them is that they are divisional rivals to my Miami Dolphins. Otherwise, I probably would have been "on their side" because of the smart and cohesive way this team has consistently played their games over the past eleven years.

The Super Bowl will be played next Sunday. Yesterday we were subjected to the all-star Pro Bowl, a complete joke to watch with its special rules designed to protect the players from injuries (e.g. no blitzing allowed). So the offensive players get to look like the heroes while the defensive players get to look like goats as the touchdowns accumulate, making this annual fiasco's final scores look more like basketball scores than football. If I were an NFL defensive player, I would take "offense" at this...

Tragic Accidents on I-75 in Fog, Fire, Darkness

There was a terrible highway disaster this morning a few miles south of Gainesville on I-75 as it crossed Paynes Prairie, a grassland area suffering a brush fire during a very foggy morning. Combined with the early morning darkness, driving visibility along this stretch was suddenly nonexistent, causing a series of collisions and explosions. At last report, there were ten fatalities from this calamity. Photos from later today revealed a nightmare scene full of burnt out fragments of vehicles, some piled on others. Here is the CNN story about it.

I first heard of this as I was taking my family to lunch at the Cracker Barrel off Archer Road. The Interstate overpass was clearly visible: nothing but a long stream of standstill traffic. I-75 was closed following the accidents and at this late time may still not be open. The very slow-moving vehicles we saw through the restaurant's dining room window facing the overpass were probably eventually forced off at the next and last exit before the closure.

To compound things, it was reported that this treacherous stretch of I-75 running through Paynes Prairie had been closed by the Florida Highway Patrol earlier in the night due to the very same problem of hindered visibility from the fire, fog, and night conditions. However, somebody with authority made an early morning decision to re-open the road. Soon thereafter the accidents occurred. I would not like to be in that person's shoes...

Offering Nonexistent Running Race Photos

During the longer, more expensive running races like marathons and half-marathons, the race organizers usually allow a professional photographer to take pictures of the entrants and later offer to sell whichever prints the runner may want to buy. While I am running in these events, I do see these people from time to time, apparently looking right at me with their impressive looking cameras and ostensibly photographing me in the act of running past them. Sometimes I am bunched in with other runners and my race-tag number may not be openly visible, but usually I am by myself. And my entrant number is also clearly visible. So tell me, then...

Why is it that always, in the inevitable e-mails I get from these "pros" hawking their racing photos of me, they just didn't happen to get any pictures of me? It happens race after race after race. Since 2008 I have run many races, many of them supplied with a photographer for hire. But NOT ONCE has ANY of them been able to come up with ONE SINGLE photograph that they could sell me!

It reached the point of absurdity a few days ago when I received an e-mail from the photographer of the recent Ocala Marathon/Half-Marathon telling me my pictures were ready and would I like to view them. One problem, though: I didn't even show up to run the race!

These photographers seriously need to get their act together, especially in this age of convenient digital photography. After all, I could bring my own digital camera (or even my cellphone) and just ask a spectator to please take my picture. Nevertheless, I have entertained the notion of actually buying one of these professional photos of me running. But it's hard to do that when nothing's offered...

The "Newt is Mean" Mantra

Being no fan of Newt Gingrich and having no desire to ever vote for him, I am nevertheless a little taken aback at how the media, on both the political left and right, has been recently coming down on him for being mean to opponent Mitt Romney. It seems that the much-more financially-powerful Romney campaign can barrage television with an endless string of ads disparaging Gingrich's past in a very distorted way. At the same time, whenever Gingrich puts out any ad criticizing Romney, a drove of media political pundits (or hacks, depending on your perspective) like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Chris Matthews (strange bedfellows, right?) rush to attack Newt. This double standard reminds me of the 1980 Carter-Reagan campaign in which Jimmy Carter couldn't bring up anything in a critical manner about "nice guy" Ronald Reagan without being accused of being mean.

Newt Gingrich, no doubt, has a very aggressive, abrasive nature to his speech. He panders to the audience in these debates by verbally dressing down the moderator every chance he gets. In this way, he reminds me, in a very negative way, of the arrogance of an earlier candidate, Herman Cain. But after seeing the monolithic bloc of Republicans in Congress hell-bent on stymieing ANYTHING the Obama administration is trying to do in the country's interests, I appreciate the independent thinking of Mr. Gingrich on various issues.

For one, Newt Gingrich is the only candidate I know who has a vision about America's future in space. He wants bases on the moon. Somehow, that makes him a target for ridicule, but isn't that more in line with our earlier goals (including the previous president George W. Bush)? I like the way Gingrich defends Israel. I like the way he has demonstrated interest in a more reasonable policy toward undocumented immigrants that includes a timetable for eventual amnesty. I like the way he understood the need for both political parties to come together on the issue of climate change. In other words, I appreciate that this candidate seems to have a sense of vision, something that Mr. Romney, with his ledger sheet mentality, is sorely lacking.

But Newt Gingrich nevertheless still stands for the very wealthy over the rest of us when it comes to taxation. He is bellicose when it comes to nations with which we have problems. He is unsympathetic to the plight of the poor. He supports the government legislating morality and intruding on the very personal, private sexual and reproductive matters of its citizens. He is gung-ho about selectively interpreting the Second Amendment on gun rights, like others on this issue ignoring the part about "a well-regulated militia".

I don't want to grow old poor, nor do I want my children and their descendants to have a bleak economic future. I don't want another Republican war, and sadly, I see a distinct possibility of this if either Gingrich or Romney are elected. And I don't want to live in a country where one version of religion has co-opted our government to the point where I have to abide by a new set of laws promoting one narrow interpretation of morality.

So nix to Newt, as far as I'm concerned. But that being said, he deserves more respect and even-handed treatment than he is currently enjoying...

Dude, Where's My Winter?

This morning at 7:30, as I sit here writing this, the temperature outside is 60, about 30 degrees warmer than what I would have expected this time of year. Today's high here in Gainesville, Florida is forecast to reach 83, a near-record and not representing anything like winter conditions. And with the exception of a couple of cold days earlier this month, this has been typical of this year's edition of winter.

I have mixed feelings about this. I really, really deeply dislike it when we get around freezing (and below). And I even have a tendency to complain in the morning when it's only down into the 40's. But as the day progresses, I usually become accustomed to the cold and switch from "dislike" to "dig". Forget this year, though, at least so far...

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain a lot and then gradually get cooler. Yeah, I'll believe it when I feel it!

Philbin New Dolphins Head Coach

Joseph "Joe" Philbin, who has been a very successful offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, has been hired as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Since this is his first professional football head coaching job, who knows how he will do. But I see a lot of promise in this team and its current roster of players. I think the Dolphins are at a crucial turning point, much like they were when they finished 3-10-1 and in last place after the 1969 season. Then they hired Don Shula, made the playoffs the very next year at 10-4 and then went to the Super Bowl the following three years, winning two and enjoying the only perfect, undefeated season in NFL football in 1972. Not that they will do that well under Philbin: I just would like them to return to their old tradition of consistently enjoying winning seasons and occasional playoff appearances.

But just because Miami has a new head coach, that doesn't mean that he has control over which players the Dolphins draft or trade for. So he has to work with what he is dealt by others, although I certainly hope that this franchise's owner and general manager will take his expert opinions into account when they make these crucial decisions. And some of these decisions will come soon, with the looming April college draft and the prospect of possibly even getting the great Peyton Manning from the Colts...

A, B, C, and Facebook

There are three people, all of whom I personally know, who use Facebook (I have consistently tended to avoid it). To protect their identities, I will take a page out of the old sci-fi/spy TV series The Prisoner and simply refer to them as A, B, and C.

Each of A, B, and C has their own individual Facebook account. A is friends with B and B is friends with C, but A is not friends with C (I certainly wouldn't include C as a "friend" either, although we're on amiable terms). Still, the two know each other mainly from years gone by but are now primarily "connected" due to the fact that B is friends with both. A's social network wouldn't necessarily include B, but sometimes compromises have to be made and B became A's Facebook friend because they are bound together within the same family unit. Also, B's friends generally are not the kind of people that A would want as a Facebook friend...including C. Got all that?

The way Facebook is set up, unless a member takes draconian measures to greatly restrict others' access to their page, parties not considered to be their friends can nevertheless conveniently access their page due to a mutual third party friend, in this case B. This unfortunately allows for a bit of unwelcome snooping, which is probably an unspoken, secret source of appeal for a lot of Facebook users. The imperative "mind your own business" has very few adherents here in this neck of the "Webs".

The other day, A apparently wrote something on A's own Facebook page that C, viewing (or, to put it more accurately, snooping) via B, read and found to be offensive language. C then wrote on A's page a strongly worded, self-righteous rebuke for this. But A wasn't even remotely considering C to be a reader of that message, and C must have known that but decided to butt in anyway. And it's true that C could have accessed A on Facebook via their search engine, but the facts that A and B were family and B was C's friend probably emboldened C to make that post (and made it much more likely that C read A's page in the first place). Keeping up with me? Good, because then you can explain to me what I just said. So...

There are some clear conclusions to be drawn from this. One is that Facebook is a very flawed way to share one's thoughts with others, especially if those thoughts are of an emotional or intimate nature. For unless the user has put major restrictions on access, it must be assumed that, eventually, pretty much anybody will have access. So user beware!

Another pitfall is the use of the designation "friend" to describe someone allowed in another user's personal network. This puts pressure on the user to avoid hurting people's feelings and let them be "friends" when in truth such a title should be handed out with care and good judgement. Also, removing someone from a "friends" list is bound to ruffle some feelings as well, with the implication of personal rejection that it implies. Why not use something neutral, even maybe nonsensical, like "gizmo" or "node" instead of "friend"? After all, I'm not particularly interested in being anyone's "gizmo" to begin with, so ending that relationship wouldn't exactly send me into fits of despair...

Now with this blog of mine being nearly universally accessible on the Internet, you might wonder why I wouldn't want to just transfer it over to Facebook. And you know, I might just try that by deliberately offering links to articles certain to rankle the sensibilities, not necessarily of my small number of Facebook "friends", but rather of the uninvited closet Facebook voyeurs who would access me through others. As a matter of fact, having witnessed Newt Gingrich's feisty performance in that recent GOP debate in South Carolina, I have been inspired: after all, I can do better than some gingry anthropomorphized salamander, for crying out loud!

Wrapping all of this up (which is hard to do because I could keeping going on and on), Facebook itself has some pitfalls that can snare users who are not careful with what they put on it. The solution is two-fold: primarily, users need to grow up, grow some common sense, and start taking personal responsibility about how they express themselves. And Facebook either will change its structure or another competitor will eventually displace it as the primary Internet networking site. As it currently exists, I'm not all that keen on Facebook. But then again, I may have the opposite problem than does A: I haven't yet used it to express myself. Once I do, though, I expect a constant stream of rebukes, not just from C, but also from D, E, F, G, H, ...

Missed Ocala Half-Marathon But Still Running

Well, it was disappointing for this morning to go by without me down in Ocala running in their half-marathon race, for which I had already registered and paid the entry fee. Still, I'm doing all right, considering. Yesterday I drove down there anyway to pick up my racing packet, along with this year's Ocala Half-Marathon tee-shirt (which I plan to proudly wear during my future running, falsely giving the impression that I actually ran in it). Later today I went to run on my YMCA's treadmill, initially planning on around 4 miles but ending up running 9. I guess that's a consolation of sorts, and it was the longest run I have done since my January 1 DeLeon Springs Half-Marathon.

I don't plan to keep running this length, but rather keep the distance around 4 miles. I think that's a pretty reasonable balance, at least for the immediate future, between the various options that have been presented to me lately. Also, I may be resuming my swimming in the near future: that's almost a sure bet to cause the weather to turn cold in this very unseasonably warm winter!

The Firm, Mitt, Cayman, Synchronicity

I just finished reading John Grisham's excellent, gripping novel The Firm. Perhaps you have either read it or watched the film version starring Tom Cruise (or both). Or maybe you're going to get involved watching the spin-off TV series. But for me, a novel many years old is suddenly very, very timely.

Part of the story in The Firm involves how the tiny Caribbean island of Grand Cayman is used as a haven for wealthy American tax dodgers to legally avoid paying federal tax on their holdings by depositing their money in one or more of the hundreds of banks set up there just for that one purpose. Several important scenes in the novel take place there (even though it isn't the primary setting). But it is crucial to the story...

Call it coincidence or call it synchronicity (which I personally define, for all practical purposes, to be "useful coincidence"), but this decades-old novel I just happened to pick up recently and read suddenly has relevance in the news of today.

Enter now Mitt Romney and the very recent allegation that he also has large deposits on the Caymans in order to, well, you know...

In The Firm, those who used offshore tax havens like Grand Cayman to avoid paying taxes were depicted as being technically law-abiding, but still shady and slimy characters that perhaps a young, idealistic lawyer like the story's protagonist may not take too kindly to (no worry: he really was O.K. with it, in a fictional sort of way). So I wonder to myself whether our possibly next president fits the description of someone who would take every legal means possible to squirm his way out of paying his due share of taxes? I think that is a more relevant question to ask than for the intimate, personal details of a very private conversation that Newt Gingrich may (or may not) have had with a former wife, don't you? After all, isn't the president, by virtue of his position in office, heavily involved in determining how much tax you and I will be paying?

Running Cut Back for Health Reasons

After consulting on January 17 with the physician/specialist/surgeon tending to my particular ongoing medical condition, I decided to suspend further participation in half-marathon races until the issue is eventually resolved. Instead, I will cut back my running to my old 1970s level, which was about 3-4 miles per run. I respect my doctor's recent more cautionary input (than what he told me three months ago), although in fact the recent test procedure I underwent produced no sign that things were worsening. However, the fact that he has run a marathon himself gives his advice more credibility to me than had it come from someone with a more sedentary lifestyle.

I hate to sound so cryptic about what's going on with me medically, but for the time being that's all I'll say for now, except that it is congenital in origin and can be surgically corrected. I am not suffering at all and continue to go about my business as usual. Life goes on like before, and so does my running...except that I'm neither entering half-marathons nor training for them.

Wikipedia 24-Hour Protest Blackout

This morning I got on the Wikipedia site to look up something. Suddenly, a black screen came up with the notification that the site was blacked out for 24 hours in opposition to congressional legislation that they believe would greatly restrict and hamper the free flow of information on the Internet. While noting that today's Gainesville Sun carried nothing about the protest blackout being staged by various sites against anti-piracy Internet legislation in Congress, I was able to find an article about it in the Independent Florida Alligator. According to it, the SOPA and PIPA bills, under consideration in the House and Senate respectively, would allow entertainment companies to shut down domains that not only host material they deem to be pirated but even just offer a link. I had read earlier on that the Obama Administration opposed these bills for a different reason: the technical parameters included in the bills would inhibit our nation's security agencies from effectively combating cyber-terrorism and malicious hacking. Not being technically versed in the subject, I wonder about a few things...

How do I know for sure if some site I link to on this blog contains pirated material or not? So how would closing my site down in any way be justified? And I have surfed the blogosphere many, many times and discovered how much other bloggers make free use of obviously copyright-protected pictures to enhance the visual appeal of their own blogs. Since this is a pervasive phenomenon, would all of these blogs get shut down, too?

Entertainment companies do not own the Internet and should not have the right to cut the flow of free speech based on their desires for profit. I am sure that piracy and copyright infringement are big problems, but there has to be a better way to deal with them other then give big business even more power over individual people. There is already too much of that going on as it is!

Anyway, isn't there already a mechanism for dealing with piracy and copyright infringement? If you think that someone is messing with your proprietary rights in these ways, then take them to court and sue them if notifying them first doesn't do the trick! I'm not all that well versed in law either, but it seems that these bills are an attempt to criminalize activities that traditionally have belonged in civil, not criminal law courts. Not good.

NFL Conference Championship Games Next

After the first two rounds of the National Football League playoffs this season, we are finally approaching the weekend when the conference champions will be crowned and set against each other for the next Super Bowl. So far, I have been generally pleased as my favorite playoff teams from each conference have still survived: the Baltimore Ravens in the American Conference and the New York Giants in the National. Unfortunately, my most disliked team has made it as well: the New England Patriots. And another team I don't particularly care for (because of its very annoying coach), the San Francisco 49ers, finishes the field. Hopefully, Baltimore will take care of New England and New York will continue to shine in the post-season against San Fran. But for this to happen will entail two underdog victories, both on the road. Certainly possible, but not likely.

Regardless who wins the upcoming games, this year's Super Bowl matchups will be interesting, with the following possibilities:

New England vs. New York: A rematch of the great Super Bowl four years ago when the Giants scored a come-from-behind touchdown with 35 seconds left in the game to upset the undefeated Patriots.

Baltimore vs. New York: A rematch of the Super Bowl eleven years ago, won convincingly by the then-surging Ravens 34-7. I rooted for Baltimore back then, but if this scenario repeats I will pull for the Giants instead.

New England vs. San Francisco: This would be for bragging rights as the best team spanning many years as each has already won several titles and is looking to add to their totals. San Francisco has never lost a Super Bowl.

Baltimore vs. San Francisco: This game would pit brothers against each other as head coaches: Baltimore's John Harbaugh and San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh.

So we'll see how it all turns out. I have enjoyed this year's playoffs more than those in the past, it seems. And I see both of these games as promising a lot of excitement. Of course, I would rather have seen Miami or one of the other two Florida teams in the Super Bowl, but they were all pretty bad this year: all three of their head coaches were fired!

Tiring Training Run Today

Today I went on a more strenuous training run to prepare for the upcoming Ocala Half-Marathon next Sunday. I covered 6.76 miles today, a little over half the race's distance. But my main emphasis was to run some hills: the Ocala event is loaded with them. I managed the run O.K., but I felt more tired than usual. There was a very strong easterly wind hitting me for about two miles on the course, so that probably contributed a bit to the unpleasantness of this run.

I'll try a couple more of these runs on Wednesday and Friday with the other days either running around the block a couple of times or just not running at all. Hopefully, I will have more energy...

Gingrich Falters Against Romney

Recently I wrote an article decrying the smear TV ad campaign raging against Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich by shadow groups supporting Mitt Romney. The ads went out of their way to claim that they weren't affiliated with any specific candidate. No, they just happened to come out when Gingrich was riding high in the polls against the only other serious contender. However, I didn't hear any of the other candidates crying foul about the mud being anonymous slung at him and at great expense. But when the former Georgia representative and House Speaker began to run his own anti-Romney ads, it seemed that most of the Republican Party establishment as well as media blabbermouths like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham vociferously chastised him for this. Gingrich's popularity in the polls plummeted, leaving only theocratic extremist Rick Santorum as the only real challenger left to Romney. And what do you know: now we are seeing stealth ads attacking him as well, of course again without mentioning Mitt Romney as their source.

No fan of Newt Gingrich, I nevertheless feel that I can listen to the guy and at least believe that he is telling me what he is thinking, as slanted and opposed to my values and priorities those opinions may sometimes be. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is a chameleon who sizes up whatever situation he is in and simply delivers what he thinks his audience wants to hear. Can anyone truly say what kind of president he would be if elected? At least, with Gingrich, you have a reasonable idea of what you are going to get.

In the final analysis, I believe Newt Gingrich’s biggest mistake was to direct his ad campaign against Romney based on the latter’s cutthroat business management techniques, when he took over a large corporation and proceeded to make a killing by chopping up companies and laying off workers. By criticizing him for this, Gingrich ran afoul of the true Republican base agenda, which when all of the emotional hot-button issues like guns, Muslims, abortion, and gay rights are factored out, consists of promoting the interests of the rich and powerful. He should have known better, but at least I respect him for this more than I do Mitt Romney.

Full Speed Ahead for Upcoming Ocala Half-Marathon

I am looking forward to returning to Ocala and points south for my second go at their annual race. This year, though, I am forsaking their marathon event for the half-marathon (actually, both races take place simultaneously) in line with my firm decision to pursue the 13.1 mile races (along with 15K races) as a regular, sustainable "hobby". Training for marathons is just too time-consuming and injury-producing for me, and I have other things to do in my life other than just run, run, run. Besides, since I switched my emphasis to the "short" race, I noticed that half-marathon races are much more common and available (and cheaper) than are the marathons. In fact, the two I have run in recently had no marathon component. Also, as is the case with the Ocala Marathon, the 26.2 mile version involves repeating a substantial portion of the course. Still, I prefer that to the "there and back along the same road" courses I've experienced recently on the Hawthorne Trail with November's Tom Walker Memorial race and (Volusia) County Road Three with New Year's De Leon Springs race.

The Ocala Half-Marathon has a non-repeating course, and I am pretty familiar with it from last year's marathon. In fact, I got to know parts of it TOO well as I slowly walked the race's last seven miles due to an IT-band leg injury that made it too painful to run the full distance. This year, although experiencing different health issues, I seem fit enough to handle the course, at least the half-marathon course, that is.

After the January 1 race, I had toned down my training distances, although I still maintained a daily running regimen. Yesterday I ran seven miles with plenty of energy and a good recovery, giving me much-needed confidence for the January 22 Ocala race. I needed that run when I did it, too, because this race's organizers require registration by this weekend in order to participate in it. Today I'll sign up...

The Ocala Half-Marathon will be the third straight race for me that takes place in a primarily rural setting. Personally, I prefer city races, which are more interesting with their landmarks and interesting sites. Next month, if all goes well in Ocala, I should be running in two such races: Tallahassee on February 5 and Gainesville (Five Points) on February 19. We'll see...

The Code

The NFL's New York Jets, for me, is a very interesting team. Be it not for the fact that they are divisional rivals to my Miami Dolphins, I would probably be rooting for them on a regular basis. For the previous two years, nevertheless, as soon as it became clear that the Dolphins wouldn't make the playoffs, I pulled for the Jets instead. They did well, coming within a game each time of making the Super Bowl. This year, however, they seemed to undergo an internal meltdown. I blame the coach, Rex Ryan, for this.

Ryan is a boisterous, larger than life (both literally and figuratively) person who initially whipped up a lot of enthusiasm, both among the players and the fans, with his loud, opinionated banter. But lately that banter has turned into rancor, with the Coach running down other teams' coaches and even opposing players in the media. Now we hear certain anonymous Jets players following their coach's example as they run down their own starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.

There is a unspoken code governing not just football teams but also just about any organized group that frowns very heavily upon members going public with their grievances. But when one of the leaders is an undisciplined motor-mouth, an example gets set that encourages this type of behavior among the ranks. How different it is in other organizations, say the Green Bay Packers, where respect and discretion prevail from top management to the lowest sub players on the roster!

Wow, I just wrote an entire article about NFL football without mentioning HIS name. At least I THINK I did...