Emphasizing Private Journaling Over Public Blogging

It's been a while since I've posted an entry to this blog.  There are various reasons for this, but the main one is that I have entered a more introspective period in my life.  I want to write, but not in such a public forum, as I have some personal issues I want to write about in a private journal.  The writing discipline continues for me, but the writing is taking place elsewhere.  This doesn't mean that I won't occasionally make an entry here from time to time.  But for this season, at least, I wouldn't count on seeing regular articles on this site.  Not that they won't pick up at some time in the future...

Lesson from Lord of the Rings

I have been watching my DVD collection of Lord of the Rings lately.  In a movie series of this scope, there are many new aspects to the story and its presentation that reveal themselves to me with each viewing, and it is fun to make new discoveries.  But one thing that struck me from the first time I ever saw it (and this isn't quite so apparent in the book) is the sense of epic importance that the present moment, the "now", so to speak, held for most of the story.  If the protagonists didn't focus intently on whatever happened to be immediately before them, then not only would their futures be in peril, but often also the future of Middle-Earth (author J.R.R. Tolkien's name for his fantasy planet).  The movies' extended version tended to mitigate this almost constant sense of urgent crisis by adding some scenes that gave some (usually humorous) respite to the drama.  But the more commonly-shown edited version is very, very intense.  And that brings to me a lesson of sorts that I can choose to follow.

The lesson is this: I may not be living in a time and place when and where the fate of the world hinges on my actions from one minute to the next.  But the fact still remains that this IS MY life, my one shot at it in fact, and it is only through this present moment that I can live through it and make a difference.  Maybe my choices won't have a gigantic instant effect on this often sorry world I live in, but they can contribute down the line to something better. Maybe I should just step up to the "now" and increase my intensity a couple of levels!

I am looking forward to watching The Hobbit when it comes out in theaters soon.  I hope that Peter Jackson, the movie's director, has been careful to include all of the book's events (something he failed in with his Lord of the Rings undertaking, as good as the final product was). For there is another big lesson from this tale as well, a lesson that the earlier animated version of The Hobbit completely omitted... 

I can't put off fulfilling my aspirations until "later": NOW is the only time guaranteed me, and it's "about time" I realize that on a deeper level...

News Flash: Found Empty Seat at My Nearby Starbucks

I am sitting here on a dreary, cool morning here at the Magnolia Parke Starbucks writing this, from my preferred seat at the long, narrow counter facing the parking lot window.  My routine, which used to entail early morning visits here to write and study, changed a few months ago.  Then it was relatively easy to find a seat.  Now, though, I usually stop by (and much less often) in the early afternoon and as often as not can't find anywhere to sit, with all of the coffee-shop-squatters and their laptops/notebooks dug in by that time.  So instead I've become a regular customer at Donut Connection just down the road and never have a seating problem there.  Their brewed coffee is just as good (I tend to stay away from the espresso bar concoctions anyway) and their sweets put Starbucks to shame.  Still, today the opportunity presented itself for me to get down here a little earlier and...lo and behold, my "spot" was available!

I love this weather, as long as it doesn't rain, that is.  This, to me, is prime running weather, so maybe I'll just climb down from this high chair and get ready for a nice jaunt around the neighborhood...

****
Three hours later...
I went out running like I said I would, only the dryness had changed to a light drizzle.  Still, it was a very pleasant four mile run...

December Mugginess, Leaves, and the Blowers

Just when I think that December will bring about cooler, wintry weather conditions favorable to outside running here in Gainesville, it gets warm and muggy.  Yesterday I was looking at my local 24-hour weather station and the screen gave the current temperature at 81 degrees, with the forecast high for the day of 78! They also predicted some light showers in the evening.  Instead, what really happened was torrential rain and a thunderstorm.  Not that we couldn't use some rain: in general, northern Florida has been more prone to drought in recent years, causing a forest fire hazard.  Still, I wonder what's going on with the weather forecasting here...

The trees at least seem to think that winter is approaching.  I was walking around the block with Melissa the other day when we passed a house possessing a large maple in its front yard.  The presumed owner was out there meticulously vacuuming up some of the myriad fallen maple leaves that he had carefully gathered up in a large pile.  I looked up, though, and saw that the tree was still loaded with many browned leaves, some of which were falling as we passed by.  I noted to Melissa that this guy's yard, after he had finished clearing it out for today, would be covered again with leaves tomorrow.  She confirmed this to me the next day when she went on another walk. 

Gathering leaves at this time, raking them in, and putting them in containers may seem like an exercise in futility, at least until the trees shedding them are completely bare.  But those doing this earn much more appreciation from me than those obnoxious leaf-blowers.  These folks have a limited, territorial view of their "home" that ends on the other side of the street in front of their house.  I have seen different neighbors blowing fallen leaves out of their own yards onto the street...and then stand there in the middle of the street with their leaf-blowers and blow them to the opposite curb, directly in front of their neighbors' houses!  I even once ran by one of these people and he continued blowing leaves directly at me as I passed!  Nice guy...

Proud of Son Graduating College

Yesterday my son Will graduated from the University of North Florida with his Bachelor of Arts degree, and doing so with magna cum laude honors.  I am very proud of him and know that, whatever he decides to do in the future, if he pursues his dreams with the perseverance and character which he exhibited with his undergraduate education, he will be successful and happy!  Way to go, Will!

December Business Picking Up

Once again, I've reached the time of the year when business drastically picks up where I work.  I may not be writing quite as often on this blog as I have been, at least until things settle back down.  In any event, I'm doing fine and hope you are too!

Tried a 7.5 Mile Run Today

Seeing that I just might be running in a 9.3-mile (15K) race next Saturday (see yesterday's article), I thought I'd see what it would be like to approach that distance, which I haven't run in many months.  So I ran 7.5 miles a few hours ago without too much difficulty.  But I didn't enjoy it and thought that pushing that kind of distance at this time in my life might just NOT be a good idea.  So I have decided to keep my distances at a lower level.  I may participate in 5K and 10K races in the near future (December has some 5K races around town).  But the main thing is that I will be going back to my earlier training regimen...

Upcoming 15K Race: Should I Enter?

This year I skipped Gainesville's Tom Walker Half-Marathon, which took place earlier this morning.  I ran it last year and enjoyed it, setting a personal record for half-marathons.  The race takes place on the Hawthorne Trail, southeast of Gainesville.  But next Saturday morning, the Season of Hope 15K (9.3 miles) will be held at the same location.  This distance, which would be a challenge, is still in my range of allowable distances, albeit on the far end.  Should I sign up and run it?

Since I am passing up on half-marathons for the foreseeable future, this type of event might represent a good substitute choice.  Still, it was such a grind getting up early in the morning this past Thanksgiving just to run that 10K race!  Is my memory beginning to erode on me?

Well, the registration deadline is December 6, so I have some time to mull it over.  I think I could handle the distance, even though I haven't covered nine miles in several months.  In the meantime, I'll continue to train on the same level I have been...

My November 2012 Running Report

In November, my running mileage increased dramatically.  I easily topped my 100-mile goal with 136.84 total miles for the month.  My longest run was 6.27 miles, and I ran on every day, bringing my personal record running streak to 214 straight days of running.  During November, I participated in one race: Gainesville's Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot, a 10K run held at Tacachale. 

I credit the cooler temperatures, along with easier access to a 24-hour gym, with enabling me to increase my running.   I look ahead to December, though, and see all kinds of obstacles laid before me that could inhibit my running.  But we'll see where the upcoming month takes me, one run at a time...

The Movie Lincoln: My Reaction

Thanksgiving evening I saw the movie Lincoln.  Here's my reaction...

I thought that, generally speaking, the movie successfully conveyed both the personality of Abraham Lincoln and his surroundings:  the tension involved in being a wartime president, a war inside his own country (as opposed to the trend the past several decades), and dealing with problematic elements within his own family life.  I thought that Daniel Day-Lewis, whose other movies I missed seeing, was wonderful and compelling in his portrayal of the sixteenth president.  On the other hand, Sally Field just looked like Sally Field pretending to be Mary Todd Lincoln.  Similarly, Tommy Lee Jones played firebrand Radical Republican congressman Thaddeus Stevens with (unintentionally) humorous results.  The African-American characters in the movie were one-dimensional holy paragons of civil rights virtue, making pronouncements and speeches left and right.  I get it: the focus in Lincoln was the waning weeks of his first term when he was pushing Congress to pass the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a provision that would abolish slavery nationwide. 

The politics of the time, combined with the winding down of the Civil War and various sometimes colorful and obstinate personalities, are woven into the movie around the central character: Abraham Lincoln, of course.  I enjoyed the experience and feel I learned some history as well.  The only problem with presentations like this, though, is in determining which parts were history and which parts were fictional embellishments...

Planning on Longer Training Runs

I feel like increasing my daily running distance, and consequently my monthly goals.  Part of the reason for this may be the cooler, more hospitable weather.  Part may be the better access I have to a gym with a treadmill (this current one open 168 hours/week).  And part just may be that, dang it, I simply like to run longer distances!  In November, I am already running longer.

I'm not talking about a major change to much longer runs...just a mile more per day, more or less.  But sure, every now and then I'd like to do a long run...maybe a ten miler down some of the old course that I had devised a couple of years ago when I trained for the marathon.  I doubt that I'll ever return to marathon running or training, but something more modest like half-marathons is still a strong dream to look forward to...

Gators Go 11-1, Expect Sugar Bowl Berth

The final weekend of the regular season in college football has come and gone, and with mixed (but still overall favorable) results for the University of Florida.  The Gators, although ranked ahead of their opponent, cross-state rival Florida State, were listed as seven point underdogs to the Seminoles.  Florida, however, overcame the odds and beat FSU Saturday afternoon 37-26, virtually guaranteeing them a major BCS bowl game (probably the Sugar Bowl) and keeping them at least temporarily in the hunt for a spot in the national championship game.  But alas, Notre Dame, which had to lose to USC in the evening game to keep this hope going, played a good game and won 22-13.  This set up a title contest between them and whoever wins the SEC championship game this coming Saturday between Alabama and Georgia. 

My congratulations go out to Florida head coach Will Muschamp and the entire Gator team for this fine 11-1 season.  They certainly exceeded my expectations for them. 

Mathematics: The Art of Being Careful

Lately I have been reviewing some of the old mathematics that I learned (and subsequently forgot) in decades gone by.  I'm going chapter-by-chapter in the Schaums series, right now appropriately at a "beginner's" level for me: pre-calculus.  I have been making a daily routine of doing problem(s) from the book and am now on the fourth chapter.  The problems in the Schaums series are explained and solved, so should I have difficulty in one of them, I can read the solution and return to it, (re)learning in the process.  But besides becoming reacquainted with math, I have also found that I derive the same degree of pleasure from successfully solving a problem that I get from doing sudoku, kakuro, cryptograms, Jumbles, or other puzzles.  And in all of these, there is one overriding principle: in order to solve any of them, I have to be very careful in the steps I take!

As a matter of fact, I might just argue that mathematics in itself is the art of being careful. Back when I was in mathematics classes at school, careless mistakes in my assignments counted against me, but the teacher also usually gave "partial credit" if it appeared that I had grasped the general principles of the concepts involved.  Looking back on it, I think that was a mistake.  One cannot truly develop a skill in anything, especially mathematics, without making accuracy and mistake avoidance an absolute priority.  Carefulness must become an ingrained habit.  On the other hand, whizzing through problems and dismissing sections of instruction because they seem intuitively obvious are not only counterproductive: they are in themselves examples of carelessness!

Big Day in Football Tomorrow for Gators, Noles, Irish

Tomorrow afternoon Florida will play Florida State (football) in Tallahassee to essentially see which team gets to go to one of the major BCS bowls around New Year's.  Should the Gators prevail, they would most likely get an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl.  I don't know where the Seminoles would go...it could also be the Sugar Bowl, against some SEC team like LSU, the Alabama/Georgia loser, or Texas A&M.  But maybe the winner won't go to one of these bowls, because...

Later Saturday night, undefeated and #1 ranked Notre Dame plays USC to finish out their regular season.  Should the Fighting Irish win, they will almost certainly play the Alabama/Georgia winner in the national championship game.  But should the Trojans pull off the upset, the other team playing for the title would be the highest ranked team left in the BCS polls.  And the consensus is that Florida, with a win against FSU, would be that team.  Florida State fans also entertain some hope that by beating UF, they would leapfrog in the polls over other SEC teams and Oregon to be in that exalted contest. 

Regardless of the outcomes tomorrow, both Florida and Florida State have had excellent seasons.  Will Muschamp and Jimbo Fisher are good coaches who know how to build competitive teams from the inside out, emphasizing control of the line of scrimmage.  The fans should support them both and be patient through the inevitably tough seasons that will crop up from time to time in the future...

Ran 10K Turkey Trot in Gainesville

This morning I ran the 10K Turkey Trot running race at Tacachale here in Gainesville.  Tacachale, formerly known as Sunland Training Center, is a spacious residential center for the disabled.  It is also gated, meaning that although the course I ran there today is wonderful, it is off-limits to me for training runs.  Still, I enjoyed this race, which I ran at my usual pace, finishing at 53:10.  The starting temperature was about 45 degrees with 80% humidity.  

Well, enjoying it may not have exactly been the appropriate word.  I actually felt pretty tired and out of sorts before the race, wondering to myself at the time why I was putting myself through such torture.  But the race itself came off pretty well...

I may not be in such a big hurry to enter any more races anytime soon.  I think it's a personality thing.  I by nature am a solitary runner and relish it that way.  I also don't feel that I have to prove anything to anyone.  I couldn't care less whether anyone thinks that I am a fast runner or not.  Plus, I don't care to spend $25-35 each race in entry fees, basically in order to do something that I could just as easily accomplish by stepping out of my front door and running down my neighborhood streets...

Companies Getting Too Political Against "Obamacare"

I have expressed my views before about the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature piece of legislative accomplishment during his first term in office.  Although I felt that health insurance reform was necessary and that everyone needed access to affordable health care in order to have preventive screenings and regular physician visits while not being denied service due to pre-existing conditions, I was disappointed with the final, signed bill for being too burdensome on businesses.  Other countries have a marked competitive advantage over us because they have lifted the burden of providing health insurance off the backs of business and put it in the proper place of a government-run operation, funded by (the taboo word) taxes.  But since we're not allowed to utter that awful word anymore in the good ol' U.S.A., except immediately following the word "lower",  the lawmakers had to mandate that the business community expand its obligations in this area.  So I sympathize a bit with the business owners and management.  But what has been going on recently in the media, this close following the 2012 presidential election results, is another matter entirely...

I am a little taken aback at the very highly politicized and publicized outcry against Obama by different businesses that depend on positive advertising and the general public's goodwill for their survival.  Companies like Papa John's, Dairy Queen, Applebee's, and Denny's, either through their centralized command structure or franchisees in various locations, are strongly coming out against "Obamacare", and in a very hurtful manner.  These companies apparently were gaining a competitive advantage over others for years by exploiting their own work force with poor benefits.  Now they have to own up and don't want to.  The Denny's franchisee in Palm Beach County, Florida has declared that his restaurants will add an "Obamacare surcharge" to be printed on every bill.  H-m-m...wasn't it Denny's who has suffered public scandal in different places for not serving blacks who came into their places for a meal?  I have an idea: let's just make it easy on Denny's and the other aggrieved companies:

FLAT-OUT BOYCOTT THEM!

I don't care whether the whiners are local franchise owners or not: they are benefiting from the parent company's name and product.  So the parent company needs to step up and assert themselves.

No more Applebee's, Papa John's, Dairy Queen, or Denny's for me.  Not that I've ever cared that much for Papa John's or Dairy Queen, but I have been a pretty good customer for the other two (especially Applebee's). No longer. Any other businesses want to join the list?  I'm ready to sign them up and spread the word against them...

Sixty-two million Americans just reaffirmed the presidency of Barack Obama, the first term of whom was marked by his Affordable Care Act, and these business people can't handle it.  I don't have a problem with price hikes; new laws often dictate such a necessary course of action.  But I will not play along with the political manipulation here.  I've had to put up with enough during the past election campaign!  So these people lost their precious election and didn't get their boy Romney in there to coddle them and suck up to their interests.  Ironically, had the business community wised up and supported the government-run single payer system being proposed a few years ago, they could have been relieved of health insurance burdens for their employees.  I say give all these babies pacifiers and put them on extended quiet time!

Florida Gators Still in National Title Hunt

Continuing along with the theme of my last article, the national title hopes of the Florida Gators football team are still alive.  I can't say that about many other teams, either.  The new BCS poll came out today and Florida is now ranked #4, behind Notre Dame, Alabama, and Georgia in that order.  If Florida should manage to beat cross-state rival Florida State next Saturday, then they will automatically move up at least one spot since (1) they would have beaten another top ten-ranked team, giving them a stronger strength of schedule and (2) Alabama and Georgia will play for the conference title, insuring that one of them would lose and fall behind the Gators in the rankings.  That would leave only undefeated Notre Dame, who would have to lose to Southern Cal on the road next Saturday in order for the scenario to give Florida a national championship game opportunity come true.  And should it happen, in all improbability, that they made it that far, UF would be facing another Southeastern Conference school, either Alabama or Georgia in that national championship game.

But they have to beat FSU next week to have any chance at all...

Gator Pigskin Title Hopes Still Alive

Today my University of Florida football team once again showed its inclination to plod on through unimpressively against opponents that it should have no trouble with whatsoever.  This time it was against small college Jacksonville State, whom the Gators defeated 23-0.  But although the victory was clear, the way Florida did it wasn't very awe-inspiring.  In fact, when you consider that they could only score one offensive touchdown the entire game, it gets a bit scary...

Still, amazingly, after four straight games in which they showed little beyond a second-division level of mediocrity, Florida stands at 10-1, is #6 in the BCS rankings, and has a chance to play in a major bowl should they beat #10 Florida State (on the road) in their final regular season game (good luck with that).  What is extremely amazing, though, is that after today's other major college games, they actually (believe it or not) still have a shot at playing for the national championship!

Before today, I said to others that for the Gators to get a shot at the national title, five things had to happen:

1: Kansas State had to lose
2: Oregon had to lose
3: Notre Dame had to lose
4: Alabama had to win out and beat Georgia in the SEC title game
5: Florida had to beat FSU

Well, numbers one and two incredibly came true as the top two ranked teams went down to upset defeats tonight.  That leaves Notre Dame as the only undefeated team (not on probation, sorry Ohio State) in the major college football pool.  They could, though, lose their final game to USC next week (in Los Angeles, hooray)...well, maybe, USC isn't all that good.  Alabama probably WILL keep winning, a good thing for Florida.  And can Florida beat Florida State on the road?  Who knows, we'll just have to see...

Covered 10K Distance in Training Run

I'm still planning on running the 10K (6.2 miles) Turkey Trot race here in Gainesville this coming Thanksgiving morning.  On my training run this morning, I started out with the intention of just doing 3.34 miles.  But the conditions were very pleasant (56 degrees, 74% humidity) and I felt energetic.  So I decided to try to cover my upcoming race distance.  I ended up running 6.27 miles with a time of 53:37 (at my usual pace).  Although I've run much longer distances regularly in the past, this run represents the longest I've covered since July.  So I now feel very confident and enthusiastic about Thanksgiving's race on November 22.

Secession and Racism

If there ever was any doubt that racism is a factor in the hostility against Barack Obama for having the nerve to become president, and then doubly so for getting himself reelected, there shouldn't be any more after citizens from forty states petitioned for secession from the United States.  In case you're not up on your history, the other time anything like this happened was during James Buchanan's lame duck period as president in the weeks following Abraham Lincoln's election.  You know, the Abraham Lincoln who was opposed to slavery and regarded blacks as human beings (see Spielberg's movie if this is confusing you).  Those opposed to seeing blacks as human beings with legitimate human rights weren't taking any chances with a Lincoln presidency and most of the slaveholding states seceded before he had even entered office. 

So let me try to put myself in the position of today's secessionists: let's see...Jimmy Carter gets elected and we don't like his typically liberal Democratic Party policies.  O.K., we'll oppose him next election but we'll respect the recent election results because he's wh___. Bill Clinton gets elected and we don't like his typically liberal Democratic Party policies. O.K., we'll oppose him next election but we'll accept the recent election results because he's wh___.  Barack Obama gets elected and pursues typically liberal Democratic Party policies.  But wait a minute, he's not wh___ and we can't say that "other" word about "his kind" anymore so we'll say he's a muslimsocialistforeigner.  And we're leaving the country!

How else could anyone read our modern-time secessionists' motives?