Bottom Of The Barrel: June 2006

Equipment Part 4: Accessories

I swear by three key accessories: Hat/Visor, Smart ID and the formerly popular rubber bracelet. My favorite lid these days is a Nike DriFit Visor which features a Dri-fit UV twill fabric Dri-fit fabric transports moisture from your skin to the fabric's surface for rapid evaporation, keeping you dry, cool and comfortable.

Well at least that's what Nike says. Also important for every runner is some identification while out there and I [was given my first and still use today] a SmartID tag which straps to your shoe. This tag is great. Lightweight, reflective and carries all of your contact information in the case of an emergency. The thing I really love about this tag is it not only covers your name, address and emergency contact person but little things like blood type, allergies, contact wearer, and medications you are using. I would not run again without some ID. Lastly, I still wear my

Livestrong or MS Hope bracelets while I run. I find them to be a fashion statement and a reminder of how great it is to be so healthy. For all of you out there that have a bracelet or two lying around and you no longer want them, just let me know and I'll wear 'em for miles and miles.

Equipment Part 3: Time

As a gift, my wife bought me this Timex Ironman 50 Lap Triathlon watch. This watch features:

- 50 lap memory Countdown timer
- Water resistant to 100 meters
- Daily/weekly/weekend alarms
- 2 time zones; month/day/date
- 100-hour chrono Indiglo® night light
- Sandwich mesh strap

I find having a watch really a help when trying to pace myself over a run. I use the watch just to keep track of the time of day [to get back to work at lunch] and the stopwatch for total time on the road. For races, it is great to be able to check the elapsed time at each mile marker to keep track of my pace. This watch has been on my wrist for almost a thousand miles as well as in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Carribean Sea. Thanks for the watch honey!

SM3 Teaser

I usually do not get excited over "teaser" trailers however the one just posted for Spiderman 3 is awesome! 309 days and counting...

Equipment Part 2: Music

I started with 20 Gig Dell DJ Jukebox [which they no longer make] and I also bought a Rio Cali Sport 256 Meg player for Lisa [which is also no longer being manufactured]. Both players have there pro's and con's. The Dell has tons of storage room which is great when you want to make your music decision about 10 seconds before you want to start running however it is bulky and not designed for running. The Rio on the other hand comes with a slick arm band and is AAA battery powered but only stores about 50 songs so [for me] I was swapping out songs pretty regularly. Also both devices need their own software to manage your songs.

Now I have moved on to the SanDisk Sansa m240 1G player and [so far] this is the device for me. The size is small - only the space for the AAA battery makes it "bulky", it runs on batteries - which is great because they can be replaced anywhere in the world, no software required - uses windows explorer to move mp3 files to the device, also a portable drive - windows sees it as a usb drive and files can be moved from pc to pc, FM Tuner with 20 station preset - not that I listen to the radio much when I run, but it is good to know it's there, and a stopwatch - for when you forget your watch or if your don't have one.

The slickest part of the device has to be the firmware. It is able to automagically organize your music once the files are copied to the flash drive by Artist, Album and Track using the ID3 tags of your songs [it can also play by genre or year if you wish]. This makes playing back whole albums a snap and you can build on-the-fly play lists as well.

The two con's to this player [and honestly I am really nitpicking now] is the armband is a bit flimsy and I would like it the player had a clock. The armband is simple but dones't hold the player in a single spot unless you really tighten it around your arm - so hard that you will have the SanDisk logo temporarily imprinted on your skin. I'd rather it be a bit more secure and I am end up upgrading the band. As for a clock, it would be nice to know the time, again if you don't have your watch, for when you have to get back to work at lunch time.

Over all, I love this product and it has become my virtual partner while I am running around Marlborough and Milford [and all other M named towns in Massachusetts].

The bill does not Fluffuate

Senator Jarrett Barrios has abandoned the proposed amendment to the school nutrition bill to include Fluffanutter sandwiches.

"It got to the point where the larger story overshadowed or obscured his original goal, which was to have a discussion about what is a healthy and nutritious meal for kids in school," Colin Durrant, spokesman for Barrios, said Tuesday.

Maybe it was all of the negative press in the papers, on the radio and on the net that has informed the Senator that the taxpayers of Massachusetts would rather he work on real issues and not force the state and our school system to take his place as parent on this issue. I hope that the BOTB had some small effect on this issue.

Fluffanutter Forever!

Equipment Part 1: Shoe

For the past year I have been a Nike man. Going through 3 pairs of running shoes and being happy about each of them. Recently Nike has begun to push the SHOX line or the 360 and their shoes are generally getting narrower, so I have switched over to Asics - Asics Gel 1110 to be exact. So far I am very impressed with the shoe [during the break-in period]. This shoe features SpEVA® midsole material which provides midsole durability and shock attenuation, GEL® cushioning system which offers enhanced stability and shock absorption and AHAR® Heel Plug which provides durability at the impact zone. I am looking forward to start using them next week in week #2 of training for the Chicago Marathon.

It's Offical

I'm all signed up for The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on October 22nd. Last year they has 42 thousand participants, that's right 42K!. Take a look at the starting line from 2005:

Lisa and I will be traveling to Chicago on October 18th and returning on the 23rd and staying at the Peninsula Hotel, Chicago while in town. A special thanks to WEEI for providing travel arrangements for us to the big race. If anyone else is interested in sponsoring a first time marathoner do not hesitate to contact me or leave a comment on my blog.

Also a big thanks to Dr. Finn, my chiropractor, for keeping me in line as I train for the big event.

Nobody's Watching Pilot

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, Scrubs writer Neil Goldman, and Family Guy writer Garrett Donovan created a pilot for the WB called "Nobody's Watching". A comedy about two convenience store clerks who get a call from The WB to make a reality show about making a sitcom. [Sounds like a few other new shows about shows, see 30 Rock or Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip].

The WB didn't pick up the show for broadcast however [for now] the pilot has been posted to YouTube [click here to view Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3]. I love Scrubs for it's off beat humor and this is a show that think I would watch - if it aired. Maybe if the pilot creates enough buzz online [180 thousand views from YouTube so far] the WB will rethink the show. Mid-season replacement??? That would be sitcomtastic!

Chuck Norris

Did you know that Chuck Norris is a 6-time undefeated World Professional MiddleWeight Karate Championship [1968 - 1974]? Neither did I. I always knew the stuff in his movies was based on his own skills but I never knew how bad ass he was back in the day. Who am I kidding, I'm sure he can still put the smackdown if he wants, even at 66 years old. Mr. Norris 10th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master recognition in the Tae Kwon Do system is the honor of his life - he is the first first man ever in the Western Hemisphere to be awarded this recognition. [First time in 4,500 years!] Since he retired from professional fighting, he has gone on to make some memorable movies/tv such as Missing in Action, Invasion USA, Delta Force and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Now if any of this impresses you, maybe you should get yourself a Chuck Norris T Shirt and show your pride. My top 5 Chuck Norris T Shirts are:

#5: Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
#4: There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
#3: Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
#2: The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Chuck Norris 3. Cancer
#1: Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

The Kite Runner: A Book Review

Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner is a touching story of fathers and sons, loyalty and betrayal and gives us a glimpse into Afghanistan past and present. Hosseini's title refers to a traditional tournament for Afghan children in which kite-flyers compete by slicing through the strings of their opponents with their own razor-sharp, glass-encrusted strings. To be the child who wins the tournament by downing all the other kites - and to be the "runner" who chases down the last losing kite as it flutters to earth - is the greatest honor of all.

The tale follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As a backdrop to the development of these characters, we get some insight into what Afghanistan was like in the last 70's and early 80's. The book follows Amir as he and his father flee to the US because of growing turmoil in Afghanistan, grows into a young man and attends college, marries Farzani, an Afghan woman living in America, and returns to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule to face his past and right some wrongs.

I can only assume that some of this novel is based on Hosseini's own life and experiences, growing up in Afghanistan and moving to California and going to college there. Maybe it is an in joke that Amir is a writer and this is Hosseini's first book. The Kite Runner is a great read and an outstanding first novel - and no wonder it has been on the NY Times bestseller list of 89 weeks. I want to thank my friend Sandy for the recommendation and I am happy to see that a movie is currently in the works.

Is it a problem or just Fluff?

Here is the great state of Massachusetts, our legislation is working on a so called junk food bill that would limit the amount of "junk" food available to students in our public school system. This sounds like a good idea however it maybe getting out of hand.

Senator Jarrett Barrios was recently outraged that his son was served a fluffernutter sandwich for lunch at the King Open School in Cambridge stating that "A Fluff sandwich as the main course of a nutritious lunch just doesn't fly in 2006". Now I would have to agree with Senator Barrios on one thing, a Fluff and Peanut Butter sandwich is probably not the healthiest lunch but is it really that bad? I mean I used to eat them everyday in high school and I'm not obese [before anyone comments - yes I could lose a few pounds, I'll admit it].

As most local's know, Marshmellow Fluff was invented and is still today manufactured here in Massachusetts - Lynn to be exact. The original recipe was invented in 1917 by Archibald Query, a Sommerville man, who had been making it in his kitchen and selling it door-to-door, but wartime shortages had forced him to close down. In 1920, H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower purchased the recipe from Mr. Query and they began producing "Toot Sweet Marshmallow Fluff" [but Toot Sweet didn't stay on the label very long] and selling their product door-to-door. 85 years later, Durkee-Mower continues to grow and be shipped all over the world.

In response to this recent statements by Senator Barrios, State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein is working on a bill to make the Fluffernutter the state's official sandwich. This would put the fluffernutter in good company with Boston cream pie [State Dessert], Chocolate chip cookie [State Cookie], Corn muffin [State Muffin], Cranberry juice [State Beverage] and Navy Bean [State Bean - used in Boston baked beans]. Now I fully support Representative Reinstein's bill, will it effect our junk food bill? Probably not, but A for effort Representative Reinstein.

As for a tax payer in the state of Massachusetts here is how I stand on the fluffernutter issue:

1. Make it the state sandwich, it is definitely a local favorite and represents our state well.
2. Keep it out of the junk food bill and in our schools as an option, kids love them.
3. Parents please parent. If you do not want your children eating these yummy sandwiches, then don't allow it or better yet pack them a nutritious lunch. [That would resolve the whole issue without spending my tax dollars on new laws that in the end have no real effect on the problem it is trying to solve.]

I am counting [on you]

Not sure if anyone noticed, but today a site meter was installed on my blog which will now track visitors to the BOTB. It will be interesting [only to me I am sure] to see how many regular readers I have.

Hollywood is calling, is anyone answering?

As a follow-up to yesterday's entry for Dustin Diamond, here is another Saved By The Bell alumni who is involved with an interesting business. Dennis Haskins, who played Principal Richard "Big Bopper" Belding [see "Save the Max"- episode 17], is now working for a company called Hollywood Is Calling - where you can "have a real celebrity make a live phone call to someone you know for just $19.95" [There words, not mine]. This seems like a decent business idea but what "celebrity" is calling the general public for 20 bucks? Let's take a look at who they have in the directory:

Names you might know:

Lou Ferrigno, Larry Holmes, Leon Spinks, The Barbi Twins, Lorenzo Lamas, Kato Kaelin, Todd Bridges, Cindy Margolis, and Erin Gray.

Names you don't know, but would recognize from a character they played or short description:

Dean Haglund [Richard Ringo Langly, blonde guy who was part of The Lone Gunmen on the X-Files], Russell Johnson [The Professor on Gilligan's Island], Ron Palillo [Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter], Greg Evigan [B.J. from B.J. and the Bear], John De Lancie [Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation], Doug Fieger [lead singer of The Knack], Dr Elmo [the guy who made "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" - god I hate that song], Martha Reeves [lead singer for Martha Reeves And The Vandellas], Dana Barron [Audrey from National Lampoons Vacation & National Lampoons European Vacation], Mike Walker [Columnist For The National Enquirer and regular guest on The Howard Stern Show], K C Armstrong [former producer of The Howard Stern Show], and Larry Thomas [Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.

The site also has a host of other "celebes" which I don't know their name or work, so I will leave that investigation for yourself.

Intriguing business idea however I'm not sure I'll be hiring them anytime soon for a CALL JUST TO SAY HI, MOTIVATIONAL CALL, or for a CONGRATULATIONS. Does their site really say Motivation? Maybe a call from Dennis Haskins would really motivate the guys in my department? On second thought, maybe not....

GetDShirts

As first reported on Howard Stern last week, Dustin Diamond is $250,000 in debt and is on the verge of losing his house. As you may [or may not know], Dustin portrayed Samuel "Screech" Powers on Saved By The Bell [1989-1993] and Saved By The Bell: The College Years [1993-1994]. Has he done anything else? Well not really but he did appear in one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation [uncredited] so his career hasn't been all that bad. To save his house, he is selling t-shirts to try and raise the money... Poor Guy [literally]. So if you are a closet SBTB fan [like I am] or if you just feel for a child "star" who is struggling to get by on just stand-up, maybe you can but a t-shirt. Hey for $5 extra bucks Dustin will autograph it and you will have a life long memento.

No words to describe this...

Enough "said".

TheWino's own Vocabulary

Automagic: How really good [and slick] software works - it's Automagic! The software takes your color photo and automagically converts it into 100 year old looking sepia image.

Dehance: To remove features in a product between releases, most notably in the software industry. We dehanced the software by removing that specific feature; we didn't think anyone used it.

0-Dark-Hundred: Anytime after midnight and before sunrise, usually used in conjunction with having to wake up early for work or travel. We have to get up an 0-Dark-hundred to catch our 7 am flight to LA.

Bustimicated [also see brokimified]: When something is broken in the product, usually unexpectedly or in a very common part of the product. I can't believe the save function is bustimicated, it is a core feature of the product.

Blogrific [also see blogtastic]: A terrific [or fantastic] blog entry. This can be used with nearly any noun, for example: My sandwich is Hamrific [or Hamtastic] - because of the tasty Ham. Note: I have been using this type of wording since the IDe days, way before Comcast went all Comcastic.

I saw it this morning

As first reported on this very blog, in the lobby of the Marlborough Hotel [which used to be a Radisson], I saw our local MooBella machine. Didn't get to try it, since I was there for a breakfast meeting, but I think one of my colleague will give it a try tonight. If so, I'll post a 2nd hand review.

Tattoo Idea

I have been seriously considering the idea of a tattoo once I complete the marathon and I was really thinking about the Superman Logo. The Man Of Steel. The ultimate hero. Well I am neither of those but I do like what he stands for. So below I have found a few examples, let me know if you like any of these:

Traditional shield Logo, Steel [maybe Blue Steel, see Zoolander] or Burnt Red

The ever popular tribal concept, Fireman style or "on the go" or with racing stripes

Full body style [love the Alex Ross copy on the left]

Of course there is always the basic [Jon Bon Jovi style] Superman Tat

Or the large full back Logo surrounded with I'm not sure what.

X-Men III: A Movie Review

X-Men 3 picks up where X-Men 2 left off however something is missing here. Let's run down the elements of the film [note some information maybe a spoiler, depending on how much you have previously read about this film]:

Plot: Pharmaceutical "cure" for the mutant X-Gene - The premise of the film is by far the best of the 3 x-men movies

Returning Characters: Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Iceman, Rogue, Colossus, Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro

New Characters: Angel, Juggernaut, Beast, Callisto and Kitty Pryde

Good Plot "Twists": Flash back to Charles and Eric recruiting Jean Grey, The Phoenix rises and is the strongest mutant ever, Kitty Pride running through walls, and Leech not only produces cure but radiates it.

Story lines that I could have done without: Rogue/Iceman/Kitty love triangle, the President in general, Beast turning from diplomat to ass kicker, and Pyro as the baddest mutant in the brotherhood.

Since this is the first X-Men movie without Bryan Singer, I think the biggest problem with the film, is the direction. There are scenes which don't really make sense [Storm causes a storm because she is upset that Jean is gone out of the blue or Jean becomes Phoenix when Cyclops visits Alkali Lake - again out of the blue, literally] and the pace of the movie is sort of stop and go, unlike the first 2 films which had a nice steady flow to the story. Also the ending with Magneto was such a bad Hollywood cliché, leaving it open for an X4 movie.

Overall, this was my least favorite of the 3 X-men movies and I would wait for the DVD.

National Pride

Not sure if anyone caught the beginning of last nights Stanley Cup finals [honestly I have not watched an NHL game since October and really tuned in because there was nothing else on to watch while I read Sunday's paper] but since the game was between a Canadian and US based teams, both national anthems were sung. The Star Spangled Banner followed by O Canada and what a sight to see. Paul Lorieau sang the first few lines of O Canada and then stopped and the 17,000 hockey fans in Rexall Place sang the rest of their national anthem. Is was quite moving to watch such National Pride take over the whole crowd. Now if we could just get some of that at our sporting events here in the states, that would be awesome.

WFD6K road race

The 7th annual Worcester Firefighters 6k Road Race was again very successful and it turned out to be a beautiful day, almost perfect for running. It was a bit cooler than last years race which was 85 degrees with the relative humidity of about 110% - a real sticky kind of hot. Our team ran a fast race lead by Steve [27:13 - 7:19], then myself [28:56 - 7:47] and then Kymmie [34:46 - 9:21]. Thanks to Steve for running that last hill with Kym to push her to the finish. Special mention for our friend Pete who was a head of us all at 25:26 [6:50]. Way to go Pete! Also big ups to Steve for eclipsing his 7:58 pace from last weekend by running at a pace of 7:19 this weekend. You the man.

Harpoon Race Photo's

Today's continued rain reminded me that I still need to post a picture or two from last weeks Harpoon 5 mile road race. It has taken a week and some new software [thanks to IrfanView for a really great piece of freeware] to get those huge RAW images into JPEG's taken by my main man Joel [thanks again for being the staff photographer for the day and I will get your camera back to you soon].

Note to Nike, The shirt I wore for the race was a "Dry Fit" long sleeve shirt, and let me tell you it did not keep me dry at all. False advertising??? Maybe I just understand their fancy lingo...

Rain, rain go away...

As of January 1st, Boston has had a total of 28.07" of rain. The average rain for the first 5 months of the year is 17.91" so we are running a little over 10" ahead in the rain department. This is good for my grass but bad for the basement. Note: There should not be a need for water bans this summer. Let's just hope for a dryer weekend, especially for the 7th Annual Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K run on Sunday.

Kym, Steve and myself will be running and helping to raise money for the The Friendly House, The Mercy Centre, Camp Marshall and The Worcester FireFighters Memorial Fund. All worthy causes and if you have a chance to come out and support our local hero's, please stop by and support the runners and check out the family focused activities.

Coke rewards [those who drink up]

I love Coke, Diet Coke with Lime to be exact. For several summers the big two [Coca-Cola and PepsiCo] have run these collect-points-from-our-products-and-buy-cool-stuff-online promotions. I have never been able to collect enough points to actually buy stuff from their respective websites and I saw a television advertisement the other day [the ad actually featured a $2,500 flat screen TV] which that got me thinking about a cost/benefit analysis of this years Coke promotion. Here's how it works:

20 OZ 1 Liter, 1.5 Liter, 2 Liter, OR 3 Liter bottles have a code under the cap worth 3 Points and 12 pack of cans have a code on the inside of the box worth 10 points. The cost of the 2 Liter bottle [the others are a bit more expensive] and the 12 pack of cans run about $1 and $2.50, respectively. So the best bang for the buck is a "fridge pack" which calculates out to 25 cents per point. Now let's take a look at some of the items for sale on mycokerewards.com:

One FREE Movie Rental at BLOCKBUSTER®: 36 points
12-Month Subscription to Redbook Magazine: 64 points
Coca-Cola® #45 Kyle Petty Collectible Racing Cap: 120 points
adidas Santiago IV Team Bag M: 280 points
Coca-Cola and American Idol branded Bean Bag chair: 520 points
Karaoke Machine: 1040 pointsWiley X sunglasses: 3200 points
Coca-Cola Red Couch from the set of American Idol: 56000 points

Some of these point values seem to be ok, but would you rent a movie for $9? Or a gym bag for $70? Or sunglasses for $800? As for the TV I mentioned earlier, that would only cost you $5,000 [which is twice the cost of just going out and buying it].

I think these promotions are fine but not worth the amount of money it takes to "buy" something. I would rather see them make products which you an not normally purchase [Coke logo products or American Idol stuff] but at a much more reasonable price.

With my current tally of 31 points, I can purchase a 20 ounce bottle of Coca-Cola Zero™ [11 points] or Kodak Stickers [20 points]. I'm holding out for the American Idol couch - only $14,000. Seems reasonable for a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture art work for the home. Now where am I going to store 5,600 12 packs of Diet Coke in my house???

SPAM

Does spamming really work? I mean I get different things by email all the time and I have never once looked into any of the information presented in the unsolicited [and unwanted] mail. The term spam is derived from the Monty Python SPAM sketch, set in a cafe where everything on the menu includes SPAM luncheon meat. As the server recites the SPAM-filled menu, presently a chorus of Viking patrons drowns out all normal conversation with a song, repeating "SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM" and singing "lovely SPAM, wonderful SPAM" over and over again, stopping all conversation, hence SPAMming the dialogue. More recently backronym's for SPAM have been devised as Silly Pointless Annoying Messages or Self-Promotional Advertising Material or Sending Persistently Annoying Mail. What ever it means, I want to state publicly for the record I do not need:

Stock Tips for companies I have never heard of
Prescription medication from Canada or anywhere else in the world
[Pirated] Software at a low price, isn't it free?
A chance to win a Ipod Nano, I'm covered with two MP3 players
Work-From-Home business/job and even if I did, I wouldn't look for one to just arrive in my inbox
Information on Military Benefits
A college diploma in "two weeks" - Only the fat lady in Total Recall can say Two Weeks
More credit cards - I have plenty
Information about buying crap on eBay
Fake Rolex, I have a reproduction watch which works just fine for me
Survey's for Coke vs Pepsi [they should already know I love Diet Coke with Lime]
To check my banking information

Thanks for reading and that's the end of this Self Promoting Annoying Message!

Today is 06/06/06...

An email went around about a month ago stating that today's date of 06/06/06, which some have interpreted as 666, will never occur again. In reality it will never occur again in my life time. The next occurrence is June 6, 2106, which is only a 100 years from now, and it will occur ever 100 years after that till the end of time.

Now the number 666 is normally associated with "the mark of the beast" or as Revelations 13:18 states "Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six." Since this date has occurred 19 times since the beginning of the "time" and 4 since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar by the catholic church on Feburary 24, 1582, this date is not the sign of the apocalypse - just like Y2K wasn't.

Marketers have gone wild with the idea of 666, releasing movies such as The Omen and The Beast [which has been renamed], the start of Slayer's "Unholy Alliance Tour — Preaching to the Perverted" and the release of Ann Coulter's new book, "Godless: the Church of Liberalism", all out today.

All of that is good, but they have got nothing on Hell, Michigan, an unincorporated hamlet 60 miles west of Detroit. Nobody is more fired up than John Colone, the town's self-styled mayor and owner of a souvenir shop. "I've got `666' T-shirts and mugs. I'm only ordering 666 (of the items) so once they're gone, that's it," said Colone, also known as Odum Plenty. "Everyone who comes will get a letter of authenticity saying you've celebrated June 6, 2006, in Hell." Most of Colone's wares will sell for $6.66, including deeds to one square inch of Hell. Now that's marketing!

Harpoon 5 Miler

It finally arrived on Saturday, the much blogged about Harpoon 5 Miler in Boston. It turned out to be the rainiest day I have had the pleasure of running in. The whole crew braved the weather and got to the registration tent before the race. When it was time for us to line up it wasn't raining real hard but it was sprinkling out. So there we are standing like a herd of buffalo waiting to start the race and wouldn't you know it, it began to pour. We actually had to stand in the hard rain for about 10 minutes before the race started - that part I could have done without. We finally got running and at one part [about the middle of the race for me] it stopped raining and started to get a bit warmer. That did not last long and the driving rain returned. There was no way to stay dry over the 5 miles, so we all just accepted it and got soaked. All 8 of us finished with Kim blazing the way with a time of 38:45 and closely followed by Steve at 39:48. Rachel, Sandy, Kym, Scott, Lisa and myself all finished after the two speedsters and I am very proud of all of the runners and how well they did. The whole team finished in well under an hour and even stood under the beer tent [cold and wet] and drank their beer to celebrate. Thanks to staff photographer Joel as well as top athletic supporter [pun intended] Chuck for braving the weather to join us [a picture or two will follow tomorrow]. Good job everyone, now who's up for a half marathon?

How to spend the night

So we are driving home last night [with the top down] and the sky was getting dark. As we get closer to our exit, it looked like a dust storm over the highway and there appeared to be dry leaves blowing through the air. This was odd since it is still sprint time in New England. Lisa thought they looked burnt. As we arrived to the exit ramp, it began to sprinkle and at the traffic signal [which happen to be red] we stopped and put the roof up. As we drove down South Street toward home, the lightning began to pop and the first big flash we saw was about a mile from home and it was pretty close, only a couple of miles away. As we drove into the drive way and right into the garage, the rain began to really come down. We brought in the groceries as the thunder and lightning continued to pound away and we were not in the house more than a few minutes, and I had just said not to be surprised if it happened, when we heard a loud pop and the power went out.

As we stood there looking for a flashlight, the lightning and thunder was getting closer and louder so we decided to light some candles and head downstairs into the cool basement to play cards. After a few hands of Gin, the storm was finally passing by so we headed back up to the dinning room with a bottle of 2003 Artesa Pinot Nior to play some more cards. I mean really, what's better then candle light and a nice bottle of wine? [And this wine was delicious!]

Around 8, I decided to fire up the grill and make some dinner. We placed some cut carrots in tin foil with some butter and spices and they came out awesome. The chicken was really good too. Just a bit after 9, the power came back on and when it did we heard this strange sound coming from the front yard. I thought it was our neighbors sprinkler system coming to life but Lisa didn't think so. We looked outside and suddenly the telephone pole was on fire. The transformer, which serves the top half of our neighborhood was actually burning.

I jumped in the car and drove down the NStar workers at the end of the street to inform them about our little fire at the end of my driveway. They came quickly up the street and got the bucket working toward the fiery transformer. Once there, he used a wooden pole to disconnect the transformer which put out the fire. It was hard to see, but it looked like something had landed on it just right to catch fire. From the bucket he removed a couple of parts while his partner worked from the truck reading new ones. The man in the bucket came down to the truck just once to get 2 parts and he returned to the pole and had it all fixed in just a few minutes. Those guys really worked quickly and were experts running the bucket. Up over a set of lines, around a street light and back down [twice] with out even touching anything. It was really awesome to watch.

So all in all it was a pretty eventful and good night. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be eventful without the lightning/thunder/power loss/fiery pole that last night was.

Is it news?

Two items caught my attention this morning on Yahoo Entertainment, Anna Nicole Smith has announced on her website that she is in deed pregnant and Lark Voorhies is sues The National Enquirer for libel for an article that included claims she was addicted to cocaine. These got me thinking:

Anna Nicole Smith: Does anyone care that she is pregnant? Do people regularly check in on her website of updates on her life? Wasn't she [sort of] thin in Playboy, got fat and now is thin again? And finally, is it normal to have your kids 20 years apart? I guess nothing is ever normal on The Anna Nicole Smith Show [also known as her life].

Lark Voorhies: Did all that money from "Saved By The Bell" bring you to the dark side of Hollywood? What was she in the hospital for if not a drug addiction and why won't they say What have you done since the "Saved By The Bell: The College Years" go off the air [by the way, being on an episode of "Malcome & Eddie", "In The House" or "The Parkers" does not count]? Has anyone seen any of the movies she has been in - How to Be a Player (1997), How High (2001) & Civil Brand (2002)? And finally, what "potential acting and hosting jobs" did she miss out on because of the article? Maybe it was the lead in Gigli.

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