How to be Happy

Peachtree City 5K

Atlanta Track Club Peachtree City 5K Race.  24:56     Temp: 26 degrees



One of the secrets of life is knowing when to stop and say enough is enough. More is not better, bigger and faster are not necessarily better for you. Many runners, myself included in the past, tried to do too much, too fast and too soon.


I find that I'm most comfortable running at around 9:30 per mile pace.  My best runs are usually without the MP3 or music.  I get in a zone or a groove after about 3 miles and just go into that auto-pilot mode.

Good night and Good luck, Keith Olbermann

• World's Worst Person Lifetime Achievement Award= MSNBC for letting KO go.
• 43 consecutive days of running at least 3 miles/day. The streak continues.
• They called me "The Weatherman".

Repeal This!

The Party of No is hard at work again, wasting everybody's time and effort by voting to repeal Health Care Bill.  They hate America and don't care about the middle class.  But guess what, they are not willing to give up their own government health care that they're currently getting.  Yeah, repeal this, bunch o' bozos.   I got your repeal right here, hypocrites.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.  Watched one of the last three episodes of the final season of Friday Night Lights tonight.  There was no football game at the end and I was surprised I didn't miss it.  I always tell my wife when we were watching this show together in the past to wake me up for the last 5 minutes so I didn't miss the football action. But this time watching it alone, I paid more attention to the music, the dialogue, the pauses, the story line and the cinematography.  The show brilliantly captured the small town feel of an enormous place like Texas.  If you have ever been to Texas or have lived in Texas like I have (Houston and Dallas) then you know what I mean. And it really isn't about high school football. I used to think it was cheesy and sentimental.  Now I think it's one of most well done shows on TV, but I'm no expert.

Running in Snow & Ice

These are the shoes I ran in every day this week. The Atlanta metro area was blanketed with up to 6 inches of snow in some places.  Schools were closed for the entire week, most people couldn't even get out of their driveways. Roads and sidewalks were covered in solid sheets of ice for 3,4 consecutive days.  I ran every single day, the streak is still on.  I managed to run at a park across the streets from our house several times. The first day right after it snowed, I ran in the middle of the roads on Monday Rush hour, there were no traffic, of course.  One day I went to Silver Comet trail, ran on the snow for a couple of hours.  The ground was still covered with ice and several inches of packed snow, but I took it easy and stay under control wearing these shoes with sheet metal screws into the treads.  They worked great and I think I will keep them on and use them for running on the trails at the Chattahoochee River later on. I forced myself to run every single day despite the facts that the roads and sidewalks were frozen solid with a couple inches of snow and ice.  The important points were traction, speed and proper form.  I try to land midfoot, under my center of gravity and stay relaxed throughout by bending the knees and focus on each step.  It was invigorating, frightening, fun, and challenging all at the same time.

Home-made Cross-Country trail snow running shoes, using 3/8 inch sheet metal screws

running on the Silver Comet trail with about 4 inches of packed snow on the ground

Upcoming Races

• January 22, ATC Peachtree City 5K, Peachtree City
• February 12, ATC Hearts and Soles 5K, Decatur
• February 20, Locomotive Thunder 5K, Kennesaw
• March 5, Chattahoochee Road Runners 5K, Sandy Springs
• March 12, Silver Comet 10K, Mableton
• March 19, Publix Run Wild 5K, Grant Park
• April 9, ATC Spring has Sprung 8K, Buckhead
• April 30, Jonquil City Jog 5K, Smyrna

Gun Control

$5000 Bullet.  Too Soon?

Welcome to Georgia

Y'all

Bill Maher on CNN

"Guns are not great and we do not need more of them."
 One of a few times I can watch CNN is when Bill Maher or Michael Moore is on as a guest.

“America put the crazy people who got us into this mess back in charge"   Bill Maher

* Metro Atlanta's population is about 5 million people.  There are currently 8 snowplows.  Tell me again why we need SMALL government?  I haven't heard a peep from the tea baggers or anti-government folks during this Snowstorm that Startled and Stunned Southerners.

Future Running Shoes

1. Brooks Green Silence
2. Altra Instinct
3. Mizuno Wave Universe 3
4. Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove
5. New Balance MT101 
6. Salomon XR CrossMax Neutral
7. Vibram FiveFingers Bikila or Speed

Special Comment

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

No Guns Allowed Here

Sarah Palin, you got blood on your hands.
In honor of those who died today in Arizona, we now have to pass the Health Care Bill.

Note to Self

• This Halloween I'll be dressing up as Juan Willams.
• Bring on the cold weather and SNOW. I love running in the snow: so quiet, peaceful and relaxing.
• While Boehner was reading the Constitution today I yelled out:  You lie!  According to the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, I've violated it every day this week.
• You can do one thing well, or do everything poorly.
• 5K a day keep the doctor away.  I've been running every day for the past 27 days, at least 3.1 miles (5K) a day.  One of my goals this year is to run 3 miles a day, outside, inside, gym, treadmill, Wii, mall, track, school, trails, park, wherever.
• People read and listen to Neal Boortz?  Why?  I guess I read his column because it's right there on the back page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution every Saturday, but also because I like nonsense.
• Re: Neal Boortz-  Obama=bad community organizer, You=smart know-it-all 'ol country lawyer talk show host who thinks he's funny, Us=fools who believe everything we see or hear.  Anything else you got?

Who you calling illegal, gringo?

Resolutions (Updated)

1. Refuse to Grow Up 
2. B E   C L E A R
3. Enjoy running at least 3 miles every day
4. Simplify
5. Balance play, work, rest
6. Do art, music and sports
7. Find Humor in everything & everyone everywhere.
8. Embrace Life 
9. Do not ever take myself too seriously

Last day of the year

ART, MUSIC, RUNNING

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - born with a weak heart
I guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up and say goodnight . . . say goodnight

Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this is where I'll be . . . where I'll be

Hi yo We drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all those kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head Ah ooh


Lyrics by David Byrne
Talking Heads

NFL season

* This was another disappointing season for my 2 NFL teams: San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, both overrated and out of the playoffs.  I guess I'll jump on the Atlanta Falcons bandwagon since I've been living here now for 16 years.  Dirty Birds!
Just as we've known all along about Mike Vick:  a decent runner, great scrambler, mediocre thrower and a lousy ball handler.  And of course an enormous egomaniac, said he would vote for himself to be the MVP of the league.  After last night's performance with 6 sacks, 2 fumbles lost, and 1 interception (should have been 3 total, even I could have caught the other 2 easy throws) he will be the starting QB in the Pro Bowl.  This Sunday will be the last regular meaningless games for the Chargers and Cowboys.  They will probably kicked the Broncos and Eagles with authority. Too little, too late and too bad.

*  Re: Atlanta Track Club's question on their facebook page about wearing tights in cold weather.  Here's my thought:  tights are great if you're a ballet dancer or a superhero, I'm neither so I will not wear them.  Tights are also appropriate if you're a speed skater, and I think I'm too old for that.

Merry Mythmas. Reason's Greetings.

Bumper Sticker

Born OK the first time.

A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM RICKY GERVAIS: WHY I’M AN ATHEIST

Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that “I don’t believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I’ve heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe,” comes across as both patronizing and impolite.

Arrogance is another accusation. Which seems particularly unfair. Science seeks the truth. And it does not discriminate. For better or worse it finds things out. Science is humble. It knows what it knows and it knows what it doesn’t know. It bases its conclusions and beliefs on hard evidence - - evidence that is constantly updated and upgraded. It doesn’t get offended when new facts come along. It embraces the body of knowledge. It doesn’t hold on to medieval practices because they are tradition. If it did, you wouldn’t get a shot of penicillin, you’d pop a leach down your trousers and pray. Whatever you “believe,” this is not as effective as medicine. Again you can say, “It works for me,” but so do placebos. My point being, I’m saying God doesn’t exist. I’m not saying faith doesn’t exist. I know faith exists. I see it all the time. But believing in something doesn’t make it true. Hoping that something is true doesn’t make it true. The existence of God is not subjective. He either exists or he doesn’t. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can have your own opinions. But you can’t have your own facts.

Why don’t I believe in God? No, no no, why do YOU believe in God? Surely the burden of proof is on the believer. You started all this. If I came up to you and said, “Why don’t you believe I can fly?” You’d say, “Why would I?” I’d reply, “Because it’s a matter of faith.” If I then said, “Prove I can’t fly. Prove I can’t fly see, see, you can’t prove it can you?” You’d probably either walk away, call security or throw me out of the window and shout, ‘’F—ing fly then you lunatic.”

This, is of course a spirituality issue, religion is a different matter. As an atheist, I see nothing “wrong” in believing in a god. I don’t think there is a god, but belief in him does no harm. If it helps you in any way, then that’s fine with me. It’s when belief starts infringing on other people’s rights when it worries me. I would never deny your right to believe in a god. I would just rather you didn’t kill people who believe in a different god, say. Or stone someone to death because your rulebook says their sexuality is immoral. It’s strange that anyone who believes that an all-powerful all-knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are. From what I can gather, pretty much the worst type of person you can be is an atheist. The first four commandments hammer this point home. There is a god, I’m him, no one else is, you’re not as good and don’t forget it. (Don’t murder anyone, doesn’t get a mention till number 6.)

When confronted with anyone who holds my lack of religious faith in such contempt, I say, “It’s the way God made me.”

But what are atheists really being accused of?

The dictionary definition of God is “a supernatural creator and overseer of the universe.” Included in this definition are all deities, goddesses and supernatural beings. Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6,000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities.

So next time someone tells me they believe in God, I’ll say “Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupiter? Mars? Odin? Thor? Krishna? Vishnu? Ra?…” If they say “Just God. I only believe in the one God,” I’ll point out that they are nearly as atheistic as me. I don’t believe in 2,870 gods, and they don’t believe in 2,869.

I used to believe in God. The Christian one that is.

I loved Jesus. He was my hero. More than pop stars. More than footballers. More than God. God was by definition omnipotent and perfect. Jesus was a man. He had to work at it. He had temptation but defeated sin. He had integrity and courage. But He was my hero because He was kind. And He was kind to everyone. He didn’t bow to peer pressure or tyranny or cruelty. He didn’t care who you were. He loved you. What a guy. I wanted to be just like Him.

One day when I was about 8 years old, I was drawing the crucifixion as part of my Bible studies homework. I loved art too. And nature. I loved how God made all the animals. They were also perfect. Unconditionally beautiful. It was an amazing world.

I lived in a very poor, working-class estate in an urban sprawl called Reading, about 40 miles west of London. My father was a laborer and my mother was a housewife. I was never ashamed of poverty. It was almost noble. Also, everyone I knew was in the same situation, and I had everything I needed. School was free. My clothes were cheap and always clean and ironed. And mum was always cooking. She was cooking the day I was drawing on the cross.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when my brother came home. He was 11 years older than me, so he would have been 19. He was as smart as anyone I knew, but he was too cheeky. He would answer back and get into trouble. I was a good boy. I went to church and believed in God -– what a relief for a working-class mother. You see, growing up where I did, mums didn’t hope as high as their kids growing up to be doctors; they just hoped their kids didn’t go to jail. So bring them up believing in God and they’ll be good and law abiding. It’s a perfect system. Well, nearly. 75 percent of Americans are God- ‐fearing Christians; 75 percent of prisoners are God- ‐fearing Christians. 10 percent of Americans are atheists; 0.2 percent of prisoners are atheists.

But anyway, there I was happily drawing my hero when my big brother Bob asked, “Why do you believe in God?” Just a simple question. But my mum panicked. “Bob,” she said in a tone that I knew meant, “Shut up.” Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong it didn’t matter what people said.

Oh…hang on. There is no God. He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.

Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my new found atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. I learned of evolution -– a theory so simple that only England’s greatest genius could have come up with it. Evolution of plants, animals and us –- with imagination, free will, love, humor. I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living.

But living an honest life -– for that you need the truth. That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity.

So what does the question “Why don’t you believe in God?” really mean. I think when someone asks that they are really questioning their own belief. In a way they are asking “what makes you so special? “How come you weren’t brainwashed with the rest of us?” “How dare you say I’m a fool and I’m not going to heaven, f— you!” Let’s be honest, if one person believed in God he would be considered pretty strange. But because it’s a very popular view it’s accepted. And why is it such a popular view? That’s obvious. It’s an attractive proposition. Believe in me and live forever. Again if it was just a case of spirituality this would be fine.

“Do unto others…” is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is - ‐ a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. “Do this or you’ll burn in hell.”

You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.

Education

"If we spend as much on protecting children from poverty as we are willing to spend on testing children and evaluating teachers, we can reduce the problem considerably."  Stephen Krashen

Race to Nowhere.  Race Over the Cliff.  Race to the back.

Mother Nature

• Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor. Over 700 accidents ( * updated today 900+) occurred in the metro Atlanta area last night during rush hour as I was running out at the Silver Comet trail around 4 o'clock. It took me over 50 minutes to drive back to the house, 5 times longer than the usual trip.    
• Currently it is 33 degrees.  Dang it, 1 degree colder to have schools closed today. Instead everything is delayed 2 hours opening.  People here talk about snow, "black" ice, and cold.  It just makes me giggle having lived in Wisconsin, Iowa, Portland, Maine and Baltimore, Maryland where they got real snow.  A couple of feet in one day and minus teen below zero windchill.  I sorta miss those times.
• I run just for the health of it.  I run to get away from it all.  I run to live.  
• I run to challenge myself.  I run for the euphoria.  I run to see how far I can go.  I run for fun & games.  I run for shiggles.

Fun Sunday

• Didn't the people of Haiti already suffer enough without Sarah Palin being down there?
• There's no such thing as too much snow.  OK, maybe for the roof of the Metrodome in Minnesota.
• Dang it, too little snow, too early.  Oh well, only 5 more days.
• Today is day 346.  I probably ran about 330 of those days.  At least 3 miles a day.  
• Running Goals: 1) 7:30 mile pace (CHECK) 2) 20 miles a week (CHECK)  3) Sub 25:00 5K time (CHECK)
• This is from article by Loretta LaRoche of the Huffington Post:
  "As I have aged, I have learned some very important lessons, one of which is that I must discover how to navigate my life so that I do not fall into old patterns of being a martyr, perfectionist or waiting for someone to rescue me. I realize that "no one is coming." I'm in charge until I don't know any better. This allows me to let go of old baggage, not be part of global whining groups or buy into guilt of "the gift that keeps on giving." Join me in aging well by:
  • making each day feel like a new beginning
  • reinventing yourself on some level so that you don't become your own "Groundhog Day"
  • spend time in community with others
  • become more involved in the pursuit of altruism
  • find the bless in the mess
  • laugh as often as possible
  • keep a positive outlook: "if you think the worst and get the worst, you suffer twice; if you think the best and get the worst, you only suffer once."

Red & Green Holiday Run

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."  Gandhi
                  E A T.  D R I N K.  P L A Y.

Running Inspiration

• Cold is a state of mind.  I have always been a fan of snow and frigid cold cold weather.  Anything around 32, freezing and below makes me giddy like a little schoolgirl.  Today was another day of running at the Silver Comet trail.  Saw two other runners and maybe a total of 6 cyclists during my 3 mile run.  The temperature was 34 and I was sweating at the end.  I was slightly overdressed with a long sleeve shirt, a jacket and long pants.  Should have worn shorts.
• There is a difference between Motivation and Isolation.  Just like there's a difference between inspiration and alienation, regarding the recent meeting at school. 
• Multitasking is not productive, efficient or wise, if you ask me.  The last few years I've become more zen about working, pushing hard, high expectations and overachieving.  It's not healthy for your body, mind, soul and spirit.  For me it is much more peaceful to do things slowly and to embrace the present.  Do one thing at a time.  Look at person you are with in the eye, listen actively, and just be there, right then.
• Bernie Sanders of Vermont is my latest hero.  No wonder Burlington, Vermont is one of my favorite cities in the world.  No Deal, Obama.  Filibuster the heck out of this.  What kind of a compromise is that when the Republicans got everything they wanted?
• KUCINICH 2012.  Too bad last time we didn't vote for Hillary Clinton, who had more balls than Obama the Wuss.

Quote

"Don't anticipate life.  Meet it."   Rod Steiger

Freedom From Religion AKA an Islamic Christmas

All I want for Xmas is some Cojones for the President of the USA.  May be just one.
The Democrats still control 2 out of 3 in the legislative process, the last time I checked. The Presidency and the Senate, so start acting like it.  Do not cave in. Get a spine and start firing some of these fools.

Happy Happy Hanukkah

Stormy Tuesday

• Didn't mean to but I scared the crap out of some kid when I told him that I am from North Korea. (I'm not really, South Vietnam)
• Tornado weather, just know it when the temperature is about 70 degrees in December.  Had to go an run on the treadmill indoor at the gym yesterday.  Worked on that cadence thing, I'm up to about 170 per minute and it felt actually good.  As I always say: "Close enough for government work."
• Continuing with the Chi Running, 5K cross country race coming up this Saturday.
• These dang teachers gotta learn to lighten up and go with the flow, man!
• Happiness is a warm .....Toe Sock....Injinji socks are the best.  Next on my list is the high compression kind.  They're pricey, about 30 bucks for the pair.

Coffee

Buy Nothing Day

Adbusters Buy Nothing Day http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Funny funny funny

Boycott

I am still boycotting Whole Foods, Starbucks and BP.
Watch this space for Friday's Adbusters' Tips on Buy Nothing Day.

Rules

This is from an older post (September 2009), just to remind myself to not to take it too seriously.  We should be less obedient and more rebellious. Because more harm has been done by being obedient than all the rebellion in the world combined.

My Rules for an Art Teacher:

Love Kids. Love Art. Be Bold. Respect Everyone. Think Deeply. Transcend paper cuts. Open your heart. Smile more. Go the extra mile. Rest. Play. Listen to music. Don't talk too much. Life's too short. Enjoy the moment. Do your best & Hope for the best. Be compassionate. Be Patient. Be Silly. Look. Think. Create. Try again. Re-Invent yourself. Just Start it. Keep it simple. Wing It. Make the hard stuff easy. Make the easy stuff hard. Practice. Keep your sense of humor. Do No Harm. Don't let 'em see you sweat. And most importantly, Know when to stop.

Things I'm thankful for

3 things I am thankful for:

1. My Freedom
2. Mi Familia
3. My Health: physical, mental and spiritual.

Yes, I do eat other food besides Chinese. I'm not even Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.  It's amazing how Americans in the South are still clueless about others from the rest of the world. Just imagine if I was to ask this African-American woman does she eats anything else besides fried chicken and watermelon?   A teacher I work with asked me when will I go "back to visit my country"???  She was shocked when I told her that I'm married to a Caucasian woman and I've been living here for 32 years.

This picture was from The Impossible 5K race last Sunday morning at 1:55 AM.  I finished with a new PR of 23:10.  The clock turned back at 2 AM because it was Daylight Saving Time, so I actually finished the race before I started: at 1:18 AM.  I was really surprised to see over 900 runners/walkers/people out there at 1:30 AM on a cold Saturday night 28 degrees in the middle of a Mall parking lot.  I thought may be, at most, 80 people would show up.

“America put the crazy people who got us into this mess back in charge"   Bill Maher

Adbusters

Adbusters Buy Nothing Day is coming.
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters

The Disaster

• Now there's one book I know I won't read or buy.  If there is one thing worse than an idiot, it's a stubborn idiot.  The Decider, Deceiver, Disaster AKA former Prez Dumbya wrote a book.  Still not taking personal responsibility for invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.  Thousands of lives later, billions of dollars and 7 years later, the man still blames others for his actions. What a coward!
• "Because I love America..."  The Decider who is never ever wrong about anything.  Ever. "Everybody thought Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction...."  Ah, nope, I never did along with millions of other people around the world who didn't believe in the case. 100% Wrong. False. Fail.
• Training?  Who cares about training?  I run for fun and shiggles (sh_t and giggles).  People who overdo everything just zap the fun out of it.  I'm talking about play and exercise, specifically running.

NYC Marathon

   This is an excerpt from RunningisFunny.com :

      "....the Huffington Post decided to get in on the action with “Are New York Marathoners Athletes?”
It’s a competitive world on the Internet, and I don’t begrudge Dave Hollander’s desire for more traffic. Sure, it’s transparent, but I’m happy to oblige.  Hollander published his e-mail exchange with his friend, writer C.J. Sullivan, in which they answer the headline question in the negative. Some excerpts:
Sullivan: “Out of the 37,000 duffers that will pollute the streets of our fair city this Sunday – November 7th – maybe 500 are athletes. The elite runners are something to watch. They are so lean they look almost alien. Them I admire. They are in an actual race. It is the 36,500 other fools that annoy me every year.  “Running is a great way to stay in shape. And running 26 miles is some kind of torturous accomplishment – but they are not athletes. They endure and then squawk about it endlessly as some kind of heroic feat. It smacks of narcissism not sport. Marathons are the last refuge for those that couldn’t cut it in other sports. Any knucklehead in decent shape can train and then run 26 miles in under 4 or 5 hours. It means you are in shape. It does not make you an athlete.”
Hollander: “Beneath the narcissism I detect deep-seated masochism. Kenyans run marathons because they have to. Back home there were no cars, no roads and the nearest school bus or fresh water source was 40 miles away. Their ‘training’ is borne from the necessity to survive. That 36,500 you mentioned, they run to kill personal demons. They beat their bodies swollen and sore to fill an emptiness or quiet a cry.  “Sport, no. Self-flagellation, penitence, lunacy — yes.....”

Sadly, the truth hurts. Sports, for me is about play, and having fun.  Many serious hardcore runners are overly-obsessive addicted egomaniacs.  They overtrain and never get enough to feed their egos. I am an athlete who plays multiple sports including running (just the last 18 months) and I tend to agree with these two writers from Huffington Post. I don't have any desire to train or enter into a Marathon just to prove that I can do it.  I know that I can run 26.2 miles in about 4 hours. I just do not want to.  But when and if I decide to do that, I'd seriously question my sanity.  "Self-flagellation, penitence, lunacy-"  Exactly!

Job Growth (already?)

Congratulations to the Republicans for winning the right to be blamed for pretty much everything.  

Welcome to America the Stupid!

• Americans deserve everything they're getting.
• Who says money can't buy votes?  Except for Whitman in California.
• What is WRONG with you people in Wisconsin?  I was such a fan of the city of Madison, one of my favorite places in the world.
• The Power of Veto. More important now than ever.
• Still waiting for that earth-shattering, huge tsunami...
• Thank you California, Nevada, Colorado, Washington and Oregon.  I always knew the West was best.
• Washington DC is not listening to us. Vote for me and now I've become Washington. We need less government, but I can't wait to get elected so I can be working in government???  Oh, the irony!
• Eff it.  I'm moving to Australia. Or Canada. Maybe Holland, Finland? OK, Denmark, final answer.