Wright Saddle 

Bottle Generator 

First bit of Hemp twine 

Head tube Sam Benotto 

the Sammy in all its glory 

May Hem on my bike 

On my C'Dale 

Fendered, At Last!

So I had some bad news at work, about which I shall vent in another forum, and I needed a fix of some sort. Getting drunk would have just ruined me and other forms of substance abuse were out of easy reach.

It was pouring rain at my quitting time, preventing me from making the 10 mile ride home, so I caught a ride with John, in his BMW and rode home from the Nelson.

"Fenders," I thought, "I need fenders."

So off to Acme where Sarah and Christy were working.

"What's wrong with your bike today?" (I had been in earlier in the week having the bottom bracket rebuilt."

"It just needs fenders."

"Have I got the fenders for you!", Sarah said, picking up a wrapped package of Honjos, "Only a hundred twenty bucks."

"That's more than the bike cost", I laughed. "No, I want those old ones we looked at on Monday... with the fins." I went to the shelf and looked through the old fenders. They were still there, chromed and cool.

By no means did they snap right on the bike. Originally built for a 3-speed, they required 3 tries at extending the stays. And the fronts, they needed to expand their radius to avoid rubbing the tire.

"Nasty chain, Jeff. You really need to replace this. When they get this greasy and gritty, you can't clean them. You're just pushing the dirt into them." I'll have to do that soon.

Anyway, it took an hour and a half, a couple beers and a trip across the street to pound the fender on a round table sitting on the side walk at the Vintage store but we made it fit.

Thought for today

A journey is like marriage.The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.
- John Steinbeck

So I did a few things.

Donna's bike is in a "first draft" stage. New Tires. New Bars. Actually the original bars that came with my Sam Benotto 3-Speed. Much more upright now but it still needs a taller stem.

I had some tires in my garage that fit this thing, 700 by 25's. God Almighty, the fork and the seatstays are tight. There's barely enough room for typing paper there, (Does anyone still use typing paper anymore?) let alone a fender. It's definitely a candidate for 650B conversion like the Bluebird with a Technomic or a Periscopa stem. Maybe I'll call it the Blackbird.

There's an article in this month's Rivendell Reader about fork dimensions that demonstrates how poorly most current forks are designed, notably carbon forks. It seems as if manufacturers have worked hard to make it difficult to change to a more comfortable tire, as if we're all going to be triathletes or time trials riders forever.

Tired-Ass Blues

I slept in until 6:15 this morning. Compared to the 4:20 AM I've been doing all week, that's luxuriating. Part of it was participating in the Bicycle Commuter Challenge and getting to work at 6:00 AM. What am I? Fucking Crazy? I made a commitment to do it, mainly to myself. As Christy told me awhile back Gandhi said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

As we fight wars for oil to continue the ridiculous "American Way of Life", someone has to say in some small way, "Stop this!" So I ride my bike. At 5:00 in the morning. In the dark. Through Mission Hills. Through the Plaza. Down Metcalf Avenue. With flashing lights.

And on Wednesday night, we rode the Ride of Silence. Laurie, or someone that apparently resembles her got her picture in the Star. Anyway, I noticed a rather pronounced squeak in the bottom bracket on my Panasonic Touring Deluxe. Off to Acme for a rebuild. So, on Thursday and Friday, I rode my Sam Benotto Cazenave 3-Speed with the 650B tires. One note, they ride much better with 55 pounds of air pressure than with 15 or 20. But it's a load of steel to carry.

My Best Week Commuting Ever

I sat on the front porch after I got home tonight, nursing a Red Stripe or two. My regular bike needed some serious work on the bottom bracket, more than I could deliver with
Van der Plas and my toolset. So it went off to Acme for a rebuild. My other commuter, the Specialized HardRock had been loaned out so it fell on the Sammy for the Thursday and Friday rides. I don't want to cast any aspersions upon myself but it rides much better with 60 pounds of air in the tire than 20. Still a lot of bike work and still fun but man, am I tired. MARC doesn't have me on their rankings yet but I have 80 miles in this week.

Pissed On and Off

I feel like I've lived through Hell this week, although, compared to people I know, it's minor. I mean, last night, we had dinner with a friend who, in the last 3 years, lost his wife (killed in a police chase while riding her bike) and just completed chemotherapy after lung cancer. So, I suppose, my troubles are small but they are mine.

I feel as if I've been scapegoated for difficulties in the department at work. I took this position at other's encouragement, not realizing the steep learning curve to learn a whole new department and purchasing, also under a new team leader. So as the difficulties mounted, blamestorming pointed to me, as the weak link. So, I was told to step down or get out. I'm applying for another position within the store but I feel that if I don't get that, they want me out or something. Maybe I'm misreading it but it sure feels that way.

Where we start. Item 1

Schwinn Left side Before 

Don't take me too seriously

Here we go. I've got 4 bikes of my own. There are 10 in our garage, including the latest. 4 belong to my wife and one to our friend, Donna.

This is where I'm starting. Donna's bike is an old triathlon model, an aluminum Schwinn and the plan is to make it a more friendly, comfortable touring bike or, in the recent spiel of Grant Peterson, a "country bike", one suitable for daylong rides. It should be fairly simple but what is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men?

The other project is my fixed gear/single speed project, the Stella Scorcher. Ever since I heard a report on NPR's All Things Considered about fixed gear scorchers. So I talked to my friends at Acme Bicycle Company and I'm getting started with the Stella. I'll post as that comes to fruition.

Anyway, Donna's bike, or Project Dervla, as I'm referring to it, after Irish travel writer and cyclist Dervla Murphy who rode a single speed Armstrong Cadet from Ireland to India and chronicled the journey in her Full Tilt, which I've read recently and enjoyed immensely.

First thing, the tires need replacement. I'll take the ones off my Cannondale SR500 and put new ones on the Cannondale that I've got sitting in the garage. It also needs less severe handlebars that can be raised up to allow an upright position as well as a taller stem.

Down the road, I'd like to put 650B tires on it to allow room for fenders and so forth. Maybe it can be saved and rehabbed.

Wonderin'

They used to say that $0.05 of every slice of pizza went to the Mafia. Parenthetically, I don't know which "they" to which I am referring. And what would happen when you had a pizza cut into 8 slices rather than 6. Did the Mob get an extra dime? How they keep track? I read this in a book of Urban Legends awhile back. Anyway, I wonder how much of the price of each gallon of gas goes to Al Qaeda.

Another thing I'm wondering about is this thing with the new Pope. "Joey Rats", as Jon Stewart called him the other night. He was referred to as "God's Rottweiler". Which makes me wonder why an omnipotent, all-knowing, all-powerful Supreme Being needs a vicious guard dog. Can't our heavenly father do his own smiting and stuff?

Blarney

I just heard the current occupant of the White House use the words "Courage and Honesty". How can he do that with a straight face? Or does he ever do anything with a straight face?

Just wondering.

I'm trying to track my reading like David but I'm behind, not in the reading but in the blogging. Will get it back together today.

Again, I ask you, "Where's the Outrage?"

I don't get the NeoCons at all. I've said before, perhaps not here, that I felt as if I had found out the neighbors were practicing infant cannibalism when Bush got elected by a majority of voters this time not simply the majority of the Supreme Court.

It seems to me, if Bush is "your Man", than you'll tolerate any incompetence, any drug use in his past, his AWOL time in the Texas and Alabama guard, and even his reprobate daughters.

But this Gannon stooge?

From awhile back

Emptying the crap vacuum

• 
  
  Why is it that I can recite entire Monty Python routines that I've seen maybe twice?
  
  
• 
  
  Yet I can't manage the Java windowing toolkit.
  
  
• 
  
  Or the types and keywords.
  
  
• 
  
  Lyrics to songs I don't even like.
  
  
• 
  
  But not things I have to do every day.
  
  
• 
  
  Jerry Seinfeld routines and bits of shows.
  
  
• 
  
  Movie quotes.
  
  

We were discussing this phenomenon the other night at my Anne and Joe's (Anne's and Joe's? My brother-in-law and sister-in-law)and Joe introduced to me the theory of the Crap Vacuum. That is, the place in one's brain where the useless stuff goes and resides. Some people have large butts or thinning hair; I have a large crap vacuum, a veritable ShopVac for the small-penis set, The equivalent of a Hummer in vacuum. Some people are equipped with the equivalent of a Dustbuster or one of those gizmos you buy to get dust off your keyboard. For me, pop culture trash, no matter how stupid or insignificant, gets written to memory and saved right away to hard drive.



On our trip to Chicago Thursday night, my tiny little Swiss Army Knife turned up in my backpack. I must have just emptied my pockets into it when I got home. I make it a point to put all my pocket change in the front pocket before I head for the airport, along with my keys, thus simplifying my trip through the metal detectors at the airport. But in my haste to get out the door, I inadvertantly put my tiny little Swiss Army knife in the pocket. The security people looked for about 5 minutes and then found it.



"Oh."



I had the choice of checking my backpack or surrendering it or renting a locker to leave the thing in while we were gone or handing it to my co-conspirator outside the gate area, a person who didn't exist. So I surrendered it. It was imprinted with LewerMark, my former employer. One more piece of them is out of my life. So long, Chuck.

Here we go. A week into the new year as I listen to the sound of the floor polisher go and go and I am running more. We have had an ice storm which wasn't as bad as they warned us.



I did about 12 miles this morning, from Einstein Brothers in Prurient Village to Kellys.



I'm trying to run 1500 miles this year, an average of 30 miles aweek and the weather is uncooperative, to the largest extreme.

When Life comes to a Standstill



To light a fuse

We could use

A hand full of wheel

And a day off

And a bruised road - Jeff Tweedy



I love my job but I was looking forward to getting away for the holiday and seeing my family but Laurie got sick. Now, I've got a day off. I slept late but I'd rather be running or riding my bike. Working until late and taking an hour or so to wind down doesn't lend itself to early rising.



Finished reading Heartaches by the Number yesterday and of course, I'm thinking in the melancholy that is Country music. Of course, as I get older, I'm more drawn to that. It speaks to me. You just get to realize that Hank Williams had the truth. I've been listening to Elvis Costello's Almost Blue in the truck on my way to work. It brings back so many memories of the vinyl version plus getting to hear Johnny Cash and George Jones. My in-laws also sent me a copy of the Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo which I have yet to play. But I, for some reason, really respond to Gram Parsons songs, which Almost Blue introduced to me.

Another Thought



Looking at my email, it struck me how many of them are not specifically for me. It often has less that catch my interest than the newspaper, which seems to take more time sorting out than actually reading.

A Few Brewskis and I become Bobby Darin



We had our taste fair for the Holidays at the store last night, followed by a few drinks across the street, not at the store like last year. Anyway, it went really well until someone submitted my name to sing "Mack the Knife" at the Karaoke. Don't think it'll replace "Stand By Your Man" in my repertoire.



Laurie sent me this which captures my feelings exactly and apparently many others around the world.

Wake Up and Smell the Constitution Burning



I feel like I've been kicked, hard. I honestly don't remember feeling this bad after the attacks of 9/11; this feels worse. It's as though this country doesn't make sense to me anymore, like it's not the place where I was raised to believe I lived. I don't see Bush moving to the center, if anything, he'll go farther to the right. I just can't believe he's been elected. Before, I consoled myself by believing his presidency was not legitimate, that it was stolen, and real Americans didn't really want him. Now, I feel like I'm in some alien world, full of people who hate gays, racists, plutocrats, people who aren't like me. It's as if I've woken up to find myself living in a world of monsters.



Fear Uncertainty and Doubt proved to be the effective marketing strategy in this campaign. Cheney warned audiences that if they picked wrong, another terrorist attack could be imminent. It appears they believed him, not bothering to note under whose watch the worst terrorist attack on our soil came about. Vote for me or else.



And in 3 years, Cheney will appear again, making a speech where he says, " I know I said I had no ambitions for higher office but I believe now that I am the best candidate and I must enter the race." Or we'll be under Martial Law and the constitution will be gone.

Best Campaign Sticker Yet

Here

In Which I am mistaken for a Third World Denizen



So today I went to Costco to shop for household items. On the list was:

Cheese

Fruit

Cereal

Kleenex

Bread

Pita

Chips



I decided to take my Specialized Hardrock with the basket and netting. It was a beautiful morning and I rode through Hyde Park, enjoying it so much I almost went past Costco.



I had everything carefully loaded into the basket. Flat bread and Pita on the bottom. 2 bags of Quaker 100@% Natural on top of the Flat bread and next to the Pitas, 2 pounds of Provolone Cheese stacked on the Flat Bread. Eight boxes of Kleenex, or rather Kirkwood Select tissues stacked on top of the food (Costco only sells things in big bunches). On top of it all, a 2 pound flat of peaches, I wrapped the cargo net over the whole thing, stretching it to its limit. The only item that I didn't purchase was the bag of chips, which I could have carried if I only had a handlebar bag.



I got out of the parking lot and decided that the peaches might well fly out through the netting. Taking a plastic bag from my pocket, I covered the peaches and replaced the cargo net and rode carefully home. I was so proud and should have taken a picture.

A Perfect Moment



Today we went to the sale at Bikes and Trikes for Tykes. I was looking for a serviceable touring bike frame that I could build up for a travel bike and eventually install S and S Couplings™. What I found was a wonderful Panasonic Touring Deluxe, perfectly fitted to me, with nice Araya rims, a lugged steel frame, Shimano 600 components, cantilever brakes and even a rack. It did also have a Brooks type leather saddle and some Shimano toe clipped pedals, neither of which I wanted. So, it was $120 and I am thrilled.



Back to the house, I put my own Brooks saddle, new tires (the old ones were dry-rotted to hell) and some Cinelli cork handlebar tape. It's getting wonderful, rides smoothly. I just need a saddlebag for it.

A Bold New Day



Having found these in the Rivendell Reader, I went to their website and became intrigued by their philosophy. It takes me back to the old days of running before there was so much stuff between me and the road. I just fly down the road now.



The insoles, of course, are crap. You don't get good insoles in a $200 running shoe, let alone one that costs 1/3 of that. What really amazes me is that the laces are exactly the right length. Every shoe I've bought in the last couple years, running, work, whatever, has laces at least a foot too long and they come untied and I trip on them. Well thought out, Vitruvians!

Best Cartoon Ever

Mocha likes Cicadas



Walking the dogs this morning, I heard a semi-familiar buzz from the sidewalk below me. Mocha, the one-time foundling dog, came running, pulling Laurie behind her. She leaped onto the struggling cicada, lying on its back, devouring it. She found another later, eating it with a relish previous reserved for scraps of steak or chicken thrown from the table.

Why does the phrase

"Crazier than a Shithouse Rat" come to mind whenever I hear or see

Zell Miller?



And where do they get the name "Zell"?

What Everyone Needs



This.



I got these in the mail today after ordering them like, a month ago. Because of the delay, the artist (not The Artist)sent me 15 of them, more than I possibly could ever use. So I shared them with people at work.

Today at the Dog Park



Listened to DemocracyNow on the drive over to Penn Valley. I got to hear the title cut from the new Steve Earle album (I still call them albums, whatever media they're on). Rockin' song.



Also got to hear the speech from the Bush twins. Gawd almighty!!! It sounds like something one of the girls on the old Bob Hope specials. They were laughing at the jokes, giggling, to put a fine point on it, as though they were hearing them for the first time, reading haltingly. Someday, these girls, or one of their cousins, will be running for office against a Gulf War vet.

From one bicyclist to another.



Bikes Against Bush Where are the police arresting the real criminals?

Been a Long Time, Lonely, Lonely, Lonely Time





Haven't updated for over a month now. What have I done?

1. Rode my bicycle in Wisconsin
2. Started working in a new position at the LNFG
3. Bought stuff at Ikea in Chicago in a five hour shopping expedition, brought it home and assembled it.
4. Sat in on the interviews for our new STL
5. Run some

Still angry at the Republicans. Not doing enough to stop them. Did purchase this



Got a website to work on today. A Futon must be purchased for my mother in law coming this weekend.



That is all.

Yet another disaster



Last night at my post at the LNFG, we lost power for the second time in 3 weeks. Last time, it was due to an incompetent truck driver. Last night it was due to KCPL shutting off the power due to a swollen transformer or bulging transformer, so they closed off the power.



I felt a collective "Oooooh, FUCK!!!" hit the store as the power blinked. "Not again." We hurried people through the store and I started calling the bosses and then the repair people.



Now our water at home is turned off. I guess no shower before work today.



In other news, the heat goes on. Or rather commences. It's in the 90's here in the heart of America. I went running in the morning and then ate the number 46 Omelet at Bell Street Mama's, Jack Cheese and Avocado with hash browns and whole wheat toast and lots o' coffee.



I came home and took the dogs to the dog park where I ran into Kelly Sue and Captain Applejack, who appears to be doing very well.



Off for another night at LNFG..

Doing What Must Be Done



I received an email from the local chair of the Kerry (now Kerry-Edwards) campaign, asking for volunteers to work a phone bank last night. So I went.



Let me say this; I don't like phone solicitors and I don't like being one. But with what's at stake (our country), I do what must be done.

What were they?



We rode down to Kaw Point on the 4th to see where the Lewis and Clark expedition were camped 200 years ago. The US Flag at that time had 15 stars, which leads me to wonder: What were the 14th and 15th states admitted to the Union?

More Dirty Tricks



As E.C. once said, " I used to get disgusted but now I try to be amused."

Burning Question



Okay, I've made my preference in this election known and I even have a Kerry wallpaper with JFK and John Lennon on my desktop but I have to ask this.



Who is the guy in the background?

Worst Personal Ad?



Subject: Looking for a female racing partner



Hi,



I am a male that just started running in March. I am currently training for 5K's and 10K's. I am looking for a female running partner to do the races with. I am not looking for a date just someone closer to my speed at this time. Besides all of my friends are female and I tend to get along better with women no offense guys. Anyway its more fun to race with people then alone. I am currently married and my wife runs with me during the week but she is a nurse and only works the weekends so she can never do the races with me. If

anyone is interested please respond.

It's the first day of Summer and Ronald Reagan is still dead



God only knows how long it has been since I last blogged.



Father forgive me for I have sinned. It has been 8 days since my last blog.



Anyway, what's on my plate?

1. Yellow Wristbands Everyone who knows someone who has suffered and/or died from cancer should get and wear one of these. I bought a package of ten and gave them to 8 people. Now, people are wanting more. Julie/Uma, in produce, wore one to her yoga class and now everyone there wants one. I count Lance Armstrong as one of my biggest heroes ( HH the Dalai Lama, Samuel Mockbee among others).



2. New job starts today at the Leading Natural Foods Grocer (hereafter LNFG).



3. The Upcoming Election - I attended a Kerry Block Party last night. Dave Suptic, father of one of the Get Up Kids said that they may be willing to do a benefit show for the John Kerry for President campaign. I sincerely believe that this election is too important for us to sit out. Young people should go to this site and buy the CD and organize and fight, fight, fight.



More later.

Well, this is it. The 12 year old boy that went down and bought McGovern buttons is now 44 years old and appalled by the current failure in our leadership. I am going to the John Kerry rally tomorrow. I will do everything I can to get rid of that man.

Stuff I've Found



Anyway, I was wearing this Aerosmith shirt today at work. I'm not much of an Aerosmith fan, not a fan at all. I do remember waking up each morning in the fall of 1973 hearing "Dream On" on the radio long before they hit big. So having to explain a couple times that I'm not an Aerosmith fan; I merely found the shirt on a dog walk and found it suitable for wearing under my whites at the fish counter.



Other good stuff I found:

1. book of e.e. cummings poems

2. Country fiddle video

3. My dog, Mocha

4. $50 bill (probably drug money)

5. roll of twenties (probably lost drinking money)

6. Teal striped polo shirt

7. Bicycle wheels for our garden fence.

8. Water Music by T. Coraghessan Boyle



That's all I can remember right now.

Fraternity Pranks?



Referring to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners as "fraternity pranks" or "frat hazing" is totally beside the point.



First of all, "frat hazing" has been banned almost everywhere and should be punished where it occurs.



Secondly, none of the Iraqis were, to my knowledge, trying to join the U.S. Military.





"You say that I am ignoring the time-honored traditions of the Royal Navy? And what might they be? I shall tell you in three words: rum, buggery and the lash! Good morning, sirs!"



-Winston Churchill addressing the Sea Lords, 1912

The, ummm, rest of the story



So, I was going to tell the story of how we came to have a third dog, Mocha.



In the fall of 2000, I had resolved to quit my job, with nothing in line. I was simply worn out, grinding my teeth, hating my life. On the Saturday morning before Labor Day, I went for a run with my dogs. I started thinking about the people that had left my (then) employer, by the company terminating them, by their taking other jobs. 16 out of a group of 60, most with over 5 years or more.



There was Bill, the attorney, who was having an affair with his assistant, when the president called him into the front office, telling him that one of them would have to leave. They both left, immediately.



There was Stanley, who took another job with a non-profit, and was called into the Chairman's office. The Chairman asked him, "What would it take to keep you here?"

Stanley responded, "You guys don't get it. I don't want to work here." The Chairman just about popped a blood vessel in his forehead.



So it went, as I ran, I thought of what I would do if I were fired. All the scenarios I ran through in my head seemed better than I was doing there. So I decided that I would quit, in a couple weeks.



I started investigating ways to get into technology, seeing where I could go to school to learn something that would get me into the work I wanted to do, the places where I wanted to work.



After a week, the pressure grew. I knew I was leaving. I simply needed to pull the trigger. I decided to give notice on September 11, 2000.



On that morning, I woke up at 4:00 AM, my brain thinking of what I had to do, how I would do what I had to do. I laid in bed thinking until 5:00 AM when I decided to get up and go for a run. I put on a pair of shorts and leashed up Chester and Tasha and headed out to the Plaza.



I remember nothing of the run except returning home around 41st Street. At Gillham Park, a trash barrel sat overflowing. Chester and Tasha lurched toward it, pulling me with them. In the twilight, I saw what appeared to be a dead rabbit. As I turned, the light grew somewhat brighter and I saw the rabbit was actually a small puppy. I picked it up with one hand, cradling it against my bare chest, holding the leash with my left hand.



It was about 6:00 AM when I came into the house, shouting, "Laurie, I found a puppy!!"



"It's a golden retriever," she said.



I went into work that morning and typed my resignation letter.



We found out later that someone had been giving away puppies from a car on Sunday, September 10. I suspect that some kid had brought her home and was told to take her "back where you got it." I'll never know. She was only 4 weeks old.

My Answer



In Billy Graham's column this morning, a reader asks, Do you think it's possible that Jesus has already returned to earth and is living in secret somewhere? A friend of mine thinks this is likely, although I don't know what evidence he has. -- S.R.



No, I'm sorry I think your friend has confused Jesus with Elvis.

Almost a month



It's been almost a month since I last blogged. Good Gosh. I'm Lazy.



Anyway, from a story by Kelly Sue about her dog, I'm remembering how I came to have Mocha, my golden mix. It's a long story which I shall tell tonight.



We had dinner with my brother last night. He's in town working on a project with Jack Henry. We picked him up there and as almost all my family adventures require, had to go immediately to TJMaxx so he could pick up a black belt, which he had forgotten to pack on this trip.

More email, more rebuttals



Don't know who did the research, but this is interesting. It would be more interesting if it were true.



Shortly after reading the following e-mail content, I happened to look at the label of a jar of Heinz sandwich slice pickles. Yep...."Made in Mexico"



Check some of your Heinz products.



"Sen. John Kerry keeps talking about U.S. corporations leaving this country and setting up shop in foreign countries, taking thousands of jobs with them. He is right, because that has happened. However, he is trying to blame it on George W. Bush.



As far as I know, Bush has not moved one factory out of this country because he is not the owner of a single factory.



That cannot be said about Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Kerrys own 32 factories in Europe and 18 in Asia and the Pacific. In addition, their company, the Heinz Company leases four factories in Europe and four in Asia. Also, they own 27 factories in North America, some of which are in Mexico and the Caribbean.



I wonder how many hundreds of American workers lost their jobs when these plants relocated in foreign countries. I also wonder if the workers in Mexico and Asia are paid the same wages and benefits as workers in the United States.



Of course they're not. However, Kerry demands that other companies that relocate should pay the same benefits they did in the U.S. Why does he not demand this of the Heinz Company, since he is married to the owner?



If Kerry is elected, will he and his wife close all those foreign factories and bring all those jobs back to America? Of course they won't. They're making millions off that cheap labor.



A cursory search on Google will reveal this press release.

H.J. Heinz Company Confirms Its Widely Held Public Ownership And Non-Partisan Status



Business Editors



PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2004--In light of some misleading speculation, the H.J. Heinz Company would like to make clear that neither Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry, Senator John Kerry nor any member of their family is involved in the management or board of the H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ). They have no involvement in the Heinz(R) Ketchup business or any of the company's other brands or products.

The H.J. Heinz Company, in accordance with its corporate governance policies, is a non-partisan organization.

Neither Mrs. Heinz Kerry nor Senator Kerry nor any of the Heinz trusts or endowments - either individually or collectively - holds a significant percentage of shares of the H.J. Heinz Company. In 1995 the Heinz Endowments and family trusts sold a large percentage of Heinz shares in a secondary share offering to diversify their holdings. As a result, their current holdings are under 4 percent.

There is no connection between any philanthropic programs of the H.J. Heinz Company and its Foundation and the Heinz family interests (including the Howard Heinz Endowment, the Vira Heinz Endowment, and the Heinz Family Philanthropies).

Currently, 60% of the sales of the H.J. Heinz Company are outside the United States and to accommodate those customers by providing facilities closer to those markets, the company maintains a number of overseas facilities that provide products for consumers in those markets. This allows Heinz to pack the freshest ingredients, tailor its recipes to local tastes and deliver the final products in a timely and efficient manner. In the United States, Heinz makes its flagship ketchup in factories in Fremont, Ohio; Muscatine, Iowa; and Stockton, California.



ABOUT HEINZ: H.J. Heinz Company is one of the world's leading producers and marketers of branded foods in ketchup, condiments, sauces, meals, soups, seafood, snacks and infant foods. Heinz is a global family of leading brands, including Heinz(R) Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing nearly one-third of total sales), Ore-Ida(R) french fries, Boston Market(R) and Smart Ones(R) meals and Plasmon(R) baby food. Heinz's 50 companies have number-one or number-two brands in 200 countries, showcased by Heinz(R) Ketchup, the world's favorite ketchup. Information on Heinz is available at www.heinz.com/news.



1) Heinz Corporation is a private R&D firm.



2) HJ Heinz Co. is a publicly traded company of which Mrs. Kerry niether sits on the board of directors, is not an officer of the company nor is she listed as one of the largest stock holders.



The Heinz family sold the company in 1987, and retained no management role.





http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/heinz.asp

So there you go.

What's really important.



This was in Kelly Sue's blog. Now I will admit to thinking about this sort of thing as much as the next guy but really. To invest money in it, and to spend this much time and effort on it. What I really like is all the bonuses

Bonus #1: Body Art and Stenciling Kit ($9.95 value)

Bonus #2: Creative Ways to Color Your Curlies ($9.95 value)

Bonus #3: Style Guide for Guys ($9.95 value)

Bonus #4: Hot Pink Monthly eZine



My check is in the email.

Hmmm



This was forwarded to me by my father, who I'm sure sent it to everyone on his list or at least a good number of them.



AND....now a word of caution because I'm not positive these numbers are precise - but if I read it correctly, there were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of January.... in the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's one American city folks, about as deadly as the entire war torn country of Iraq.

This is related how?



The following appeared in the Durham, NC local paper as a letter to the editor. Please forward to all on your list, as this will put things in perspective:



Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. "Liberals" in this case means anybody who disagrees with the president or might not wholeheartedly support everything he does, as if we did that for Clinton One liberal recently claimed Bush was the worst president in U.S. history. He is. Not that he was actually elected or anything but as Archie Bunker once said about Gerald Ford, "He's doing pretty good for a guy nobody voted for!"Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember, it was started by terrorists BEFORE 9/11. Terrorists started the war on terror? They are crazy!



Let's look at the "worst" president and mismanagement claims.



FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea; North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.



John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year. Aren't we supposed to learn from the mistakes of the past, not repeat them?



Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. NATO doesn't count in this contextBosnia never attacked us.

He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions. By someone trying to take over Sudan, now a FOX news commentator, not credible in either capacity.



In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida?, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We lost 600 soldiers, an average of 300 a year. Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist attack at home. Another? 3000 people died in the first one while he was reading a book about a goat to some schoolchildren.Worst president in history? Yes, at least since Andrew Johnson.



Come on!!!! I think our President is "GREAT! Do the quotation marks on just one side have some meaning I don't get? "GREAT", I understand. He's not great; you're just making those little bunny ears with your fingers.



The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but... It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation. But it's over now. We don't know when the Iraq war might end. Just proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" doesn't make it so.



We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records. It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Teddy Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.



It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!! Maybe, if Saddam had used a bunch of Republican congressional staffers rather than the Republican Guard, he might still be in power

More Well Reasoned and Insightful



Anyway, I'm feeling better today but keep thinking of this, a metaphor for my recent career efforts. So it goes.



Anyway, I spent a good deal of yesterday digging horse manure and managing to receiving a call from New York Life. My driving around time was spent listening to "Reefer Madness" which I found very interesting and worthwhile. The story of Reuben Sturman, a man so secretive I cannot find his picture on Google fascinates me. His transformation from aspiring businessman selling remaindered comics to Godfather of the sex industry to fugitive tax cheat is amazing. Basically, he was a pioneer, developing many of the techniques for hiding money that were later expanded by Enron.

Anger Management

What would it take to set you over the edge? How does one deal with the feelings of worthlessness?

From my desk calendar.





A handful of shortsighted people have always existed. But overall, their day is over because the public's attitude toward war and violence has become much healthier than at any time in history. -- HH the Dalai Lama

Scorpio Style:

don't ever tell scorpios they've had enough, for
they'll smirk at you and quietly but
intentionaly keep tipping till they're hog
whipering drunk, out of 100-proof spite.
Scorpios like to drink, and screw you if you
have a problem with that. most of them see the
sauce as something to savour in itself, and not
as a personality-altering tool -- though if
depressed, self-loathingScorpios seek total
obliteration. but generaly, they're facinating
drinking pals, brilliant conversation runners
and dizzying flirts. they also remember
everything -- espescally what you got up to
when you were blitzed. only drink with a
Scorpio that likes you.



Alcohoroscopes MRK 2- the stars and your drinking style
brought to you by Quizilla

Cooking and Resolutions



Not that I have many options at this point. but I'm thinking if I stay with my present job at the company whose name I had best not speak, out of discretion. In the next couple of years, I would like to move to Colorado but do so at a rate of pay that would enable Laurie to retire, or at least for me to be the primary wage earner.



Anyway, current company is growing but I'm only making 9.75 per hour right now and I need to be making more, earning more, I should say, because I feel as though I'm being paid adequately for the work I'm being asked to perform. I just want to do something that's more demanding.



On another note, Rebecca and I are teaching a cooking class at the store tonight. It's "Fish: Fast, Fun and Fearless". I've been trying to get this done for over a year, almost two.

Gee it's good to be back home again

Just drove across Kansas in a rainstorm. I really feel alive in Colorado, or at least the mountains.

Later that Day



Well, it's come to this again. I'm not blogging often enough and when I do, it's about not blogging often enough.



So, what's happening? I really hate that question because I don't know. I don't have an answer for anything anymore. I feel totally inarticulate. My brain is empty. I need some new stimulation, something new to do.



I'm frustrated at my career's state, or lack thereof. I can't seem to get any traction at my current employer and I can't find anywhere else that will take me. I need a class or someplace to go and learn something new.



Such as? More HTML, reload (warm up) my Java. Database stuff.

I have been away over the last couple weeks. Not in interest of completing this:


create your own visited states map but just to get away and kick back for awhile with my wife and our in-laws.

7 Minutes

I'm going to write this by midnight and then go to bed.



Anyway, I set out to learn to be a web developer a few years back, wanting to be in on the cool stuff. I know some rudimentary html but I can't figure out how to get the fucking comments to work on this thing. Other people get this stuff and can do it. Why can't I?



What can I learn tomorrow? A little bit and the next day? A Little more.



Baby steps, baby steps and soon we're walking and running.



Also I'm reading Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill or listening to the audiobook on my commute and it's fascinating. I grew up in a Christian home and had lapsed out of my religion, but it's intriguing to learn the history of Christ and the early church in a full historical context.

On Religion

I'm an atheist, not an agnostic. I prefer certainty.

Oh my God, they killed.....



I have started out to update this thing a couple days ago and the system crashed. So here I am, trying once again.



Last week, we lost Kenny. Not that we really lost him, for he was already a lost cause. He was fighting with everyone at every turn.



One day, he came with a hammer-and-sickle t-shirt (lots of hyphenation there) and said, "Hey, look!! Do you agree?"



"It hasn't been demonstrated to work."



So we discussed it awhile. I gave up when he told me that Cuba would be okay if we'd only trade with them but that "Fidel knows what's best for his people".



In later weeks, he took to coming in more stoned than before, to the point where I noticed. When the bosses noticed, they'd ask me. Other team members noticed.



He managed to screw up enough to the point that he was on notice, written up and then called one Friday afternoon, 10 minutes before his shift began and told me he wouldn't make it in that day. Turned out that he had pissed off his girlfriend so much that she had left him and their daughter in Riverside and driven off in a rage. That put him on final notice.



As happens so often, he determined that he was a victim and not responsible for his actions and everyone was picking on him. A few days later, he came in early for his shift and futzed with the computer in the office for awhile. I had a 3:00 meeting for which he was to cover me.



3:00 PM and no show, he had disappeared. I got someone to cover me by 10 after 3 so I could hit the meeting.



Came out of the meeting to find he had made the rounds at 2:30, reeking of alcohol then gone out to smoke a joint.



No surprise that he is no longer among us.

We shouldn't be doing this



The other day at work, I ran into our specialty team leader in front of my seafood case. His name is Jeremy and he always calls me "Jefe' (pronounced "hay-fay") and I called him "Ron Jeremy."



He says, " I hear he's got a show now on the WB."



Eric, my ATL says, "Really."



Me: "Well nobody's watching the WB."



Jeremy: I think he plays a judge.



Jim (front end TL): A judge?



Jeremy: He's had the longest career of any man in the industry, since what, the seventies?



Eric: Well, Peter North, but he's also a producer.



Jeremy: That doesn't count.



Jeremy: You know, we shouldn't be having this conversation.

Friday Five





1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?

Survival.



2. What was your biggest disappointment?

Repeatedly getting turned down for better jobs.



3. What do you hope the new year brings?

Peace, a new president, a better career for me.



4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be?



Run 2000 miles, learn more geek stuff, make more money, play guitar more often.



5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve?

Spend it with friends.

Well, Merry Christmas



A career in retail, not exactly the stuff of Rimbaud or even Blue Oyster Cult (who pioneered the use of umlauts by Rock bands)



I always find myself taking stock this time of year and once again, I find myself falling short of my hopes and dreams. Even my most meager of aspirations has not been met. (Thanks W) Seriously, I often feel as though I am missing something that others take for granted. Like there is a key on their ring which I don't have.

My Life Obsession



I remain frustrated. I mean, I love my job and the company for which I work but I make around half of what I used to make, maybe 60% but nonetheless. I've tried to avail myself of opportunity to advance but have been rebuffed each time for a legitimate reason. I don't really resent the people that get the job but I am beginning to feel like its going to be my lot in life to fail or to stagnate. So I'm frustrated. I don't want to be throwing ice until I'm 50. I want to grow. I want to expand my mind. I want to be home on weekends or at least free. I want a desk job where I'm doing more geek stuff.



I mean, where is my life going? What kind of a career can I hope for?

Friday Five



1. List your five favorite beverages.

Boulevard Pale Ale

Virgil's Root Beer

Spring Water

Odwalla Green Stuff (I don't recall the Name) Superfood

Orange Juice with Soda Water



2. List your five favorite websites.

Slashdot

Lockergnome

Google News

Paul's Page

Amazon





3. List your five favorite snack foods.

Kettle Chips

Snickerdoodles

Bananas

Tortilla Chips

Mike and Ikes



4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.

Monopoly

Trivial Pursuit

Scrabble



5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.

Tetris

Solitaire

Shisen-sho

I don't really play many games. I'm afraid of getting addicted.

Things I don't get. Part 1



Brand loyalty - I get buying the same thing all the time because you like it or it meets your needs. I mean, years ago, a friend told me about Scott tissue in the bathroom because it lasts a long time before you have to change the roll.

And I've converted Laurie to it. Fortunately, Costco sells it in like, 30 roll packages, so I can buy about 3 times a year.



I don't understand trumpeting the brand by purchasing and wearing the clothing with the brand logo on it or adding additional logos to your car or something. Like the pissing Calvin on the blue oval for Ford. I drive a 1995 Ford Ranger. It's been reliable; it meets my needs but I haven't made a pledge to Ford Motor Company. In fact, our next vehicle based on an assessment of our needs and the products available was a 2003 Toyota Matrix and I haven't added an additional Toyota logo to the window. They get enough advertising with their name on the damned thing.



I may drive a Chevrolet some day but I don't earn my living from them so I probably won't wear the Chevy bowtie on my person and I can't comprehend doing so. That's just me.

Okay, I'll see if I can get this Squawkbox thing working tomorrow



Father, it's been a week (9 days) since my last blog entry. I've had impure thoughts but not enough energy to get them going.



I've worked early mornings 5 days in a row, 7 out of the last 8. No wonder I'm so f#cking tired.



Chester is recovering nicely. My Prozac (or rather its generic equivalent) has finally arrived. I've failed in my most recent foray into the next echelon of my career and been rejected by my peers as their representative.



So it goes.

See if it's working Now



Like more Americans than actually voted for Bush, I use Prozac (or rather its generic equivalent). Due to the fact that I can't get an appointment with my doctor until January and I am running out. I've got an order in but they can't confirm it with my doctor.



Things could get interesting.

Maybe it'll work now.

I'm trying out this comment thingy.

Chismus LIst

Homer Lights

Buddy Holly

Buddy Christ

Joey Ramone

Some good CD/MP3 player for my truck

Oh, and world peace, too.

You can talk to me

Thoughts on Monday Morning



It heartens me to see Chester recovering from his knee surgery and I enjoy the short walks we're taking. Gives me time to think. Wanda Brussell once told me she did all her thinking while she washed dishes and when she moved into a house with a dishwasher, that was lost. So, when I take my dogs out by myself, it gives me a chance for reflection. I seem to do my best thinking then. Chester and I walk over to Harrison, about as far as Matt and Kelly Sue's apartment. He is the lord of the neighborhood.



Laurie mentioned a story about Joey Ramone getting a street named after him in NYC. I must go there someday. Whenever I think about Joey, it encourages me. I saw the Ramones back in 1978 at One Block West. I thought I would lose my hearing that night. They set up, it must have been 10 Marshall stacks and block chorded through 30 sub 3 minute songs. The melody came from feedback and overtones and Joey's sour voice.



On his last recording, Don't Worry About Me , Joey opens with "What a Wonderful World" and he sounds like he truly means it, even though he's dying of lymphoma. I hear the kids that work with me talk about punk-rock this and punk-rock that, meaning you've got to dissipate, have to die young, commit suicide, be nihilistic. And here comes Joey, singing about watching Maria Bartiromo on CNBC and living. And Paul Westerberg sings about getting older and smoking cigars. You CAN grow up and still rock and roll. I've got to go listen now.



You can talk to me

Friday Five

1. Do you like to shop? Why or why not?

Yes, but I hate spending money.



2. What was the last thing you purchased?

I bought a Christmas gift today for my niece and nephews.



3. Do you prefer shopping online or at an actual store? Why?

Online, for price. I like comparing the actual cost of something that's basically a commodity.



4. Did you get an allowance as a child? How much was it?

Yes, it was based on doing chores.



5. What was the last thing you regret purchasing?

Some second rate cup of coffee. Anything in an airport.

You can talk to me

Good News

I woke up and turned on the radio this morning to the news that that Rev. Al Green has recorded his first secular album in years and the bits I heard sound great.



You can talk to me

Emptying the crap vacuum



Why is it that I can recite entire Monty Python routines that I've seen maybe twice?




Yet I can't manage the Java windowing toolkit.




Or the types and keywords.




Lyrics to songs I don't even like.




But not things I have to do every day.




Jerry Seinfeld routines and bits of shows.




Movie quotes.






We were discussing this phenomenon the other night at my Anne and Joe's (Anne's and Joe's? My brother-in-law and sister-in-law)and Joe introduced to me the theory of the Crap Vacuum. That is, the place in one's brain where the useless stuff goes and resides. Some people have large butts or thinning hair; I have a large crap vacuum, a veritable ShopVac for the small-penis set, The equivalent of a Hummer in vacuum. Some people are equipped with the equivalent of a Dustbuster or one of those gizmos you buy to get dust off your keyboard. For me, pop culture trash, no matter how stupid or insignificant, gets written to memory and saved right away to hard drive.



On our trip to Chicago Thursday night, my tiny little Swiss Army Knife turned up in my backpack. I must have just emptied my pockets into it when I got home. I make it a point to put all my pocket change in the front pocket before I head for the airport, along with my keys, thus simplifying my trip through the metal detectors at the airport. But in my haste to get out the door, I inadvertantly put my tiny little Swiss Army knife in the pocket. The security people looked for about 5 minutes and then found it.



"Oh."



I had the choice of checking my backpack or surrendering it or renting a locker to leave the thing in while we were gone or handing it to my co-conspirator outside the gate area, a person who didn't exist. So I surrendered it. It was imprinted with LewerMark, my former employer. One more piece of them is out of my life. Not that I wish them any ill. I chose to stay there for too long. But, it was a toxic environment for me. So long, Chuck.



You can talk to me

What I Really Mean



Two trips halfway across Kansas last week, on behalf of my dog Chester. He was having a knee replacement, actually a TPLO on Tuesday of last week at the KSU vet school. For 10 hours of driving, we saved about $1000. I don't make that much an hour.



You can talk to me

More than a week



I wish I'd do this thing every day. Even as I type this, the fatigue is setting in. Of course, I rose at 5AM, heading off to the store and then to KUMC until 6:30.



Well, duh.







You can talk to me

Friday Five



1. What food do you like that most people hate?

I actually like pate and even Braunschweiger. Grape Nuts, too.



2. What food do you hate that most people love?



I find unscrambled eggs totally repugnant. Thinking of someone dipping into a runny egg yolk simply activates my gag reflex.



3. What famous person, whom many people may find attractive, is most unappealing to you?



Robert Redford, although I am a man, in The Horse Whisperer I found horrific. They had to put the soft focus on him to make you unaware he looked like an old catcher's mitt. It's like a living ad for sunscreen. "This could be you!!!"



4. What famous person, whom many people may find unappealing, do you find attractive?



Oddly enough, I think Willie Nelson's appealing.



5. What popular trend baffles you



Most of them, since I don't watch much TV. A few years ago, kids were tucking jeans into their socks. I never figured that one out.

You can talk to me

Safe at Home, so to speak

While I was gone, we had an attempted break-in. The combination of a barking dog and the steel plate under the deadbolt seemed to deter the mother&%^$r. He did destroy the deadbolt so that it couldn't be opened.



So, we're walking the dogs this morning and sitting in front of the apartment buildings owned by absentee slumlords was a crapped out Olds Regency with a large screwdriver/pry bar sitting in the front seat. I called the police. Maybe it's the guy (or gal, to be egalitarian).



You can talk to me

I'm in Denver today and tomorrow after the flight through hell. I got to the airport around 5:30 AM for a 7:10 flight. All was fine except Christina had a flat tire and had to take a later flight.



As we neared Denver, the pilot warned us that we would have to circle for awhile. Denver had more fog than Frontier policies allowed. Next, we found we were being diverted to Pueblo for refueling.



We sat on the ground, in the plane, from 9:30 to 1:30. No food, no get out and walk around, no nothing. Well, a can of cranberry juice, for me and a couple oranges I had in my pack. A normal 2-hour flight ended up with 7 hours stuck in a tube. ARRRRGGHH.



All that I could really think was that it would have been much more horrible when people didn't have cell phones and wireless internet access.



Anyway, the good news is I'm using RedHat to blog this. Woo-Hoo!!!!

You can talk to me

Friday 5



No Friday Five this week so I'm doing a remedial from October 3.



1. What vehicle do you drive?

1995 Ford Ranger Extended Cab



2. How long have you had it?

Since 1995, but my wife drove it primarily until about a year ago when we got her a Toyota Matrix.



3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?

RedHat sticker on the back window.



4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?

Where my wife chiseled around the door after an ice storm.



5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?

Probably a Honda Element or Toyota Prius. I think Mini Coopers are cool,too.

You can talk to me

This is a crime against the state

This is the meaning of life.



I'm sitting here struggling with setting up my new linux box to run on the wireless network. Thanks to some help from people at KCLUG, I've found the proper drivers and I'm working at getting them to work on this other box as I type this on my notebook. I should go run or walk my dogs but I just feel like I'm so close I hate to give up now.



You can talk to me

'Nother Well Considered Rant



Kenny asked me the other day if I'd heard of the espresso tax in Seattle which I honestly didn't remember hearing about before.



I said, "Does it include lattes, too?"



"No," he continued, humorlessly, "It's on all coffee drinks and its to pay for preschool for early childhood education in the inner city."



"I'm against it, then, " I responded, "sounds like a bad idea. Why should coffee drinkers be taxed specially?"



"It's just a dime, " he said.



"Still a bad idea, simple economics tells you if you increase the price, you reduce sales."



His gorge arose as he told me that, or asked me, "You have to agree that early childhood education for innercity kids is important."



Important, yes. Essential, no. I know it takes a village and all that and I believe it. I just resent having to take responsibility for someone else's kids just because I want a cup of coffee. It appears that they tax specific items in Seattle for other areas but what the hey. I'm not sure I'm in favor of those either.



I haven't been demonstrated that this is a necessity or that it'll be properly used by the city. I've seen the Kansas City Missouri school district. I was taxed 1% of my salary for awhile until the runaway judge was corralled. Billions went to pay for improvements in facilities that have not resulted in better integrated schools, higher achievements, better graduation rates. Fencing teams, olympic size swimming pools, all kinds of stuff that was nice for the schools but hardly essential or perhaps even necessary. Nothing like spending someone else's money, my dad says.



So, I'm cynical,too. Not one dime from me for your ideas until you can demonstrate something worthwhile.



You can talk to me

The Triumph Continues



As I sit here listening to the Fish Fry with my wife out of town, I'm installing RedHat 9.0., currently on Disc 3. Gosh, this is too easy. Other than one copy of Disc 2 getting funky on me, it has gone flawlessly.



The Jayhawks won, KState won and Missouri lost to Oklahoma. I finished listening to The Liars Club by Mary Karr and came to the realization that the Liars in the title were her parents or more specifically, her mother and not specifically the men with whom her father hung out.



Anyway, I missed Sasha and Kyle and ran by myself at Wyandotte County Lake Park for about 8 miles.



You can talk to me

Friday Five



1. Name five things in your refrigerator.

Soy Milk, Bosco, Milk, Orange Juice, Kinky Friedman Salsa



2. Name five things in your freezer.

Steaks, Sambazon Acai (some kind of Latin American Fruit), Bananas (for smoothies), Ice Cream, Chicken



3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.

Trash can, Dishwasher soap, Zep orange spray, sponges, scrubbies



4. Name five things around your computer.

Squeezie balls, CD's, books, radio, unopened package for KVM switch, kleenexs.



5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.

Tom's of Maine toothpaste, floss, shave cream, Crest toothpaste, Sudafed (generic), Ibuprofen.







You can talk to me

A Triumph of Sorts



After working from 5:00 AM yesterday until almost 2:00 PM, I finally got over to Eric's and we built my computer on which I will install RedHat 9.0. I've downloaded the ISO's and am in the process of burning them to CD. The dream machine will come to be.



WoooHooo!!!



You can talk to me

Excess Drama



One of my newer team members is in a constant state of crisis. Everyone he comes into contact with is getting an earful of how miserable he is, which manages to make everyone else more miserable. The shifts he works, the money he's paid, and the leadership of the department all suck.



"You can't imagine how much I hate this department."



JUST QUIT, then. You're doing nobody any favors by hanging around here and griping all the time. You took this job, accepted the pay that was offered, understood the shifts that you'd be working and met the people you were going to work among.



Just get out.

You can talk to me

Excess Drama





You can talk to me

Give Me a Break



Honestly, I love my job. Not the part where I get home around 11 PM. Not the part when I get up at 4 AM to be there at 5 AM. Not the part where I put my hand on my chin and it smells like fish. Not the days before payday when I'm worried about bouncing checks. But I do love the people there and the way I can make things happen.



But I realized today that it has been over a year since my last real vacation. Sure I went to Gnomedex last July for 3 days in Des Moines and I had a great time. But I need to get away from here, from my phone, from the clock.



I need a vacation.



You can talk to me

The Week Begins



Today, my box of Kleenex is my closest companion. My head, including my brain seems to be filled with snot. I did manage to go to work yesterday and run 10 miles in the morning. It's starting to go away. I slept until 8 this morning but I have to work 2 until 10 tonight again and tomorrow.



Astrid and Duke may each be getting a new home. Astrid with someone in Lawrence, who is coming to pick her up this afternoon.



Duke, more intriguingly, is being tried out by Gina, a local yoga instructor and pet psychic. Don't know why that intrigues me so much.



Chiefs won yesterday.







You can talk to me

Oh, My Weekend



I worked at 6AM so that Laurie and I could go to Doolittle Farms for a show by the Two High String Band. Then I got up to run with Dr. V. at 6:30, came home, took a nap and went to work from 2:00PM until 10:00PM. I need a rest.

You can talk to me

Yet another pointless rant



It's Tuesday night. I'm lost in Austin. Here at the Marriott Renaissance, I'm with the Team Member Awareness Group for my employer, the leading natural grocery chain in the United States.



The thing I hate most about business travel is that I've tended to be places where you might as well be anywhere. I've rarely gotten a sense of place when I travel on business and I missed the chance to go to Sixth Street. I just hope I'll get another trip to Austin in sometime.



This is such a great group of people. Committed, passionate, funny, diverse. No Blue Suits.







you can say anything

Just about a Perfect Day



I got up this morning at 6 and checked my email. The usual array of spam. I went downstairs and made coffee and headed to Lawrence, Kansas for the Sand Rat Run. Put on Another Live by Todd Rundgren's Utopia and cranked the stereo in the truck, reliving the best parts of my high school years as I went down I-70.



I got to Lawrence and met up with the crew: Bad Ben, Sasha, Jim G. and his daughter and Janice. Tried for a pre-race constitutional but failed. Didn't realize I was wearing my singlet backwards.



Anyway, I started slowly, chatting with Ben as we leisurely cranked out 8:30 miles for the first 3 until we got to the levy and out of the singletrack for awhile. I hit it hard from there on out, picking off people and just simply running and thinking of nothing but running. There is something so wonderful about just picking your feet up and down, concentrating, throwing your shoulders into the turns, absolutely being nowhere except in the run, alone in the woods with the river below on a perfect sunny day. I passed runner after runner. It's really what racing is all about, pitting yourself against everyone else.



I finished last out of 4 in my age group, 34th overall. Checking the results tonight , I see that the person I passed on the final stretch of pavement was John Rinkenbaugh, brother of my former fiance'. Small world.



We hung out at the finish. None of us won anything save the lovely Laura Cheek. If I ever hoped for hardware, it would be at the Sand Rat Run, where the trophies are squeaky rubber rats spray painted bronze, silver or gold. My life might well be complete when I win a rat.

email me

Schadenfreude



Rush Limbaugh may not be obese but he is still a Big Fat Idiot. And when I read about Bill O'Reilly denouncing those who called for Rush's resignation as "smear merchants", I had to laugh. Haven't we had at least 30 odd years of that from Rush and his compadres? At least since 1987 when the networks no longer had to operate under "Equal Time" or the fairness doctrine.



To me, Barbara Bush resembles a pitbull (even as a young woman, she was, to put it diplomatically, plain) but I never heard a liberal commentator mention that. But Rush held up a picture of Chelsea Clinton on his television show, calling her the "White House dog".



Anyway, I doubt this will begin a paradigm shift. The Right is far too well funded for them to enter the dustbin of history.



Ah well. Life goes on.



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Caddyshack Redux



As he often is, Bill Murray is the best thing in this movie. I'm really excited to see Lost in Translation.



This is my Friday since I don't have to report to work tomorrow. I do have to go to UMKC to serve as a teaching patient, tomorrow but that's not a big deal. After 13 plus years of dealing with insurance agents, having my prostate examined by amateurs is a day at the beach.



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I'm Free



Not really, but I don't have to get up at 5 AM tomorrow. "It's time to make the doughnuts." I'm closing the store after 4 days in a row of openings, which I've learned to like. But it's too much to expect the rest of the world to live on your schedule. So I go to bed at my usual time and then get up at like 4:45 and get to work around 6 AM. It's fun in a way. I work like crazy to get the case full of fish, cranking out the tunes and the store opens as I'm still doing stuff.



So I don't open again this week and next week I'm going down to Austin for TMAG summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Things are good.



And I'm introducing Laurie to Caddyshack tonight. Actually, I've never seen it in it entirety, either.



And just as write this, I get a call from the UMKC School of Nursing needing me to come in on my day off for teaching patient exams. 15 exams at $25 a pop. Woo Hoo!!! It's not huge money but it's money.



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