So CJ talks me into this race (for once he's the one making us do stupid things) which was in Merrimac, MA. Tells me it's a "flat" race so we HAVE to do it...never mind the fact that the race STARTS at 8:15 AM, which means we are leaving my house at 6:15 am...ugh I am NOT a morning person!! Anyways, CJ, me and Shedd load into CJ's car and off we went.
We arrived at the venue in plenty of time, almost fully awake and semi-looking forward to the race. During our quick warm up spin we recon the finish of the race and duly note that it is going to be a downhill sprint finish for about 600 meters. Downhill finishes seem like a good idea, but trust me they aren't. What it typically means is a bunch of over stressed, over tired racers toss caution to the wind and ramp the speeds up well past the point of reason in a mad, gravity fueled dash to the finish. All this on roads that look like a 15 year old boys face.
The race was 5 laps of a 6 mile loop. It started out with a "neutral" roll out which sounded pleasant enough, until it became obvious to those of us that started towards the back of the pack that the race had actually begun without our knowing it. This led to a somewhat frantic chase to the pack up the only semi climb on the course. Maxing my HR within the first minute of racing is not a great start to the day.
Let me also say that while "just 200 feet of climbing per lap" sounds pretty mellow, it takes a little bit of a twist when the majority of that "just 200 feet of climbing per lap" occurs on the one climb that is immediately after a 90 degree right hand turn, which means that you aren't going to be carrying much momentum into that "just 200 feet of climbing per lap". good times.
Anyways, after that "start of the race" hiccup we settled in to racing on what can only be described as a 6 mile series of ruts and potholes. While the race promoters should be commended for the attention to detail with the race (awesome pace cars, motor cycles, directions, volunteers etc.) the town of Merrimac should be ashamed to call this collection of broken pavement a "road". It was virtually impossible for anyone in the field to maintain a steady line anywhere on the course. If you were to break down my $30 entry fee to .25 cents per pothole hit during the race, I would have come out ahead...by a fair margin!
We rolled around the course at a typically brisk 24+ mph with various people taking liberties with the "yellow line rule" and a few guys futilely trying to establish a break from the field. Of special note was one asshat that consistently passed vast portions of the pack well outside the yellow line, causing much bitterness and angst within the pack. Note to dumbass, we could ALL pass the pack by going over the yellow line...doing so makes you no superman. Try weaving your way through a pack of 60 guys to get to the front, then you have done something noteworthy (not to mention following the rules). His eventual DQ from the race was the ultimate in Street Justice (unfortunately not until after he took out one of our friends by driving him into a particularly nasty pothole and causing him to flat out of the race and then for an encore nearly killing everyone at the finish...but I digress).
Even though the roads were atrocious the race itself was mostly manageable. Other than a little panic on lap 3 where I swung the aforementioned 90 degree turn VERY wide and almost hit a car, leaving me well back, almost stopped and having to burn a few matches to chase back to the pack up that damned hill, it was going as planned. I knew that the pack was destined to stay together for bunch sprint at the end and was both excited for it and dreading it. The potential for carnage was unusually high on this one.
Coming around on lap 5 I started to work my way to the front. My gameplan was to be about 5-6 wheels back and on the far left (hugging the yellow line) so that when the road opened to the full 2 lanes within the last 200 Meters I could take advantage of the extra room and avoid the melee in the middle.
Coming into the last 800 meters all was well. Position was good, speed was good and the "plan" seemed to be working. Then of course all hell broke loose.
Asshat guy takes a huge flyer from the back of the pack as we start to go down the finishing hill. He's easily 5 feet outside the yellow line and flies past the entire pack. This causes a huge reaction from the field and it's basically game on. I look at the inside line where CJ is and see some guy run off the road next to him, come back onto the road, hit him squarely in the shoulders and then fly back off the road. CJ didn't look any worse for wear from having this guy bounce off him, but I am sure it didn't help his mental state any (Here's where being a Plus sized cyclist probably saved CJ from a nasty crash).
Seeing the race quickly disintegrating before my eyes I hit the gas and started my sprint well before I would have cared to. I did my best to weave around the various riders who seemed intent on killing me (and themselves) and got into a little clean air with about 75 meters to go.
A final out of the saddle kick got me past a few more riders and I rolled across the line in 11th place. Not quite the goal I had in mind before the start, but I was mostly happy to have both bike and body still in one piece. A quick glance at my computer had the final sprint at 45.3 mph (thanks to the downhill run up). A touch of wheels at that speed would have left a lot of skin and carbon fiber on the ground.
CJ rolled in just a few places behind me safe and sound and Shedd came in a little after that, torched but alive.
Overall we had a decent race, but not sure I'd like to temp fates by tackling that one a second time (unless they get rid of that downhill finish). I think my nerves were more shot than my legs for this one ;)
Off to the next one....
Monday, May 3, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
2010 Cycling Season (thus far)
Well, it has begun again. Another Winter of broken promises to "ride the trainer" left me with the same old task of burning off the 7-8 lbs of Winter excess and getting my body ready to ride my bike again.
It has been the usually painful process, trying to jump start the 'ol motor, keep up with the sick-o's who DID train all Winter and getting mentally prepared for another long race season. The first few weeks were the worst, as the Winter rust took a while to shake off. This year I am trying to move up in both riding ability and class of racing, so it's even harder than usual.
CJ and I have jumped in with both feet on the "A" race for the SIPC this year (I was booted from the "B" race after the series win last year and Chris has come along with me because he is sick in the head), as well as moving our training rides to the harder Saturday Morning hammer fest (the brutal PVC ride) and also training more with the guys of BASE-36.
The SIPC "A" race is open to category 1-4 riders and is chock full of guys who can rip legs off at will. We even have a semi-retired professional rider in the mix who routinely punishes the pack. There are also some fairly large Teams represented, so keeping tabs on everyone during the race is as challenging mentally, as the pace is physically (average speeds are typically in the 25+ mph range). The flow of the race is also quite different than the "B" race, as there are a ton more attacks to cover and spurts in speed to contend with, as well as a much larger field of racers in general (35+ racers, or more). It is, however, a much "smoother" race, as the racers are typically more skilled and experienced (with the exception of one, or two who seem to be clueless). So far CJ and I have held our own. My placings for the first 3 races have been:
Race 1: 10th
Race 2: 9th
Race 3: 9th (7th in the pack sprint after the pro and one other guy got off the front)
CJ has been right there in the mix as well, just a wheel or so back but coming on strong. The final lap and subsequent sprint have been a learning experience, as guys are far more aggressive to move me off the wheel I am following. So far I have relented and let it happen (the whole "live to fight another day" concept) but it has meant that my sprint is either starting late, or too far back to get to the front in time. At 35+/- MPH it's a tough call to make on how hard I want to bang elbows with these guys, but I think it's coming ;) Either way my top end speed is slowly creeping back into form (week 1: 32 mph, week 2: 33.7 mph, week 3: 35.3 mph). If I can just keep from getting bumped, or boxed in for the last 300 meters I will try and find some clean air to open it up.
On the plus side, when I first started this series I was hoping just to not get dropped. After 3 weeks I am now hoping to get into the points (top 8 placing). The harder training regimen seems to be paying off, even if it has hurt like hell so far.
We have a lot of races on the schedule for this year. Some pretty tough one's (Battenkill just wrapped up and I am yet again swearing it off for another year) and some very fun ones (Southwest Harbor Ride). With any luck the new training will pay off and I might sneak out a win or two along the way.
Our team (Colavita Racing Inc) is looking good again for this year with some strong riders, so hopefully CJ and I will get some support (or be able to lend some support) as the season moves on. Either way, the new Kits look awesome, so even if we aren't fast, we'll look good ;)
Miles to date (since March): 632
Times thrown up: 2 (both on the ride up Mt. Kankamangus after partying into the wee hours the night before)
Flats: 1
Miles walked after flat occurred: 2.3
Races completed: 4
ok, back to the riding. Keep the rubber side down :)
It has been the usually painful process, trying to jump start the 'ol motor, keep up with the sick-o's who DID train all Winter and getting mentally prepared for another long race season. The first few weeks were the worst, as the Winter rust took a while to shake off. This year I am trying to move up in both riding ability and class of racing, so it's even harder than usual.
CJ and I have jumped in with both feet on the "A" race for the SIPC this year (I was booted from the "B" race after the series win last year and Chris has come along with me because he is sick in the head), as well as moving our training rides to the harder Saturday Morning hammer fest (the brutal PVC ride) and also training more with the guys of BASE-36.
The SIPC "A" race is open to category 1-4 riders and is chock full of guys who can rip legs off at will. We even have a semi-retired professional rider in the mix who routinely punishes the pack. There are also some fairly large Teams represented, so keeping tabs on everyone during the race is as challenging mentally, as the pace is physically (average speeds are typically in the 25+ mph range). The flow of the race is also quite different than the "B" race, as there are a ton more attacks to cover and spurts in speed to contend with, as well as a much larger field of racers in general (35+ racers, or more). It is, however, a much "smoother" race, as the racers are typically more skilled and experienced (with the exception of one, or two who seem to be clueless). So far CJ and I have held our own. My placings for the first 3 races have been:
Race 1: 10th
Race 2: 9th
Race 3: 9th (7th in the pack sprint after the pro and one other guy got off the front)
CJ has been right there in the mix as well, just a wheel or so back but coming on strong. The final lap and subsequent sprint have been a learning experience, as guys are far more aggressive to move me off the wheel I am following. So far I have relented and let it happen (the whole "live to fight another day" concept) but it has meant that my sprint is either starting late, or too far back to get to the front in time. At 35+/- MPH it's a tough call to make on how hard I want to bang elbows with these guys, but I think it's coming ;) Either way my top end speed is slowly creeping back into form (week 1: 32 mph, week 2: 33.7 mph, week 3: 35.3 mph). If I can just keep from getting bumped, or boxed in for the last 300 meters I will try and find some clean air to open it up.
On the plus side, when I first started this series I was hoping just to not get dropped. After 3 weeks I am now hoping to get into the points (top 8 placing). The harder training regimen seems to be paying off, even if it has hurt like hell so far.
We have a lot of races on the schedule for this year. Some pretty tough one's (Battenkill just wrapped up and I am yet again swearing it off for another year) and some very fun ones (Southwest Harbor Ride). With any luck the new training will pay off and I might sneak out a win or two along the way.
Our team (Colavita Racing Inc) is looking good again for this year with some strong riders, so hopefully CJ and I will get some support (or be able to lend some support) as the season moves on. Either way, the new Kits look awesome, so even if we aren't fast, we'll look good ;)
Miles to date (since March): 632
Times thrown up: 2 (both on the ride up Mt. Kankamangus after partying into the wee hours the night before)
Flats: 1
Miles walked after flat occurred: 2.3
Races completed: 4
ok, back to the riding. Keep the rubber side down :)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
an Ode to CJ...cyclist!
I have known CJ for MANY, MANY years. We went to UMO together back in the day, I had my first ever white water rafting experience with him and his pop and after a random re-encounter some 6-8 yars ago (after he and I had gone our seperate ways, post College) we have been great friends since.
One of my favorite things in the World is cycling. I have enjoyed the activity since I was very young and have been riding in some way, shape, or form for over 30+ years (BMX, Road bikes, mountain Bikes, back to road bikes).
In my travels through the cycling landscape I have made several aquantainces, but have always wished one of my "old school friends" would have shared my enthusiasm for the sport. Here's where CJ comes in...
While CJ has spent time on the Mt. Bikes, Road biking wasn't really in his arsenal. Somehow I managed to convince him to give it a shot (let's be honest, it was self serving, I wanted a buddy to ride with). He got himself a bike frame, we built it up and voila..I had a victim...errr friend to ride with.
While initially we spent a fair amount of time on the bikes, CJ's other passion (the infernal sport of GOLF) seemed to hold the edge for "activity I would prefer to do on a Sunny day" for CJ. And right when I had gotten him to be all skinny-ish (let's face it, he's big boned, so it's a relative term) he up and moves to FL! Seems like all was lost...
Well, 2 years goes by and CJ and his lovely wife have had enough of 95 degree temps with 100% humidity and drive by shootings and decide to move back to the great state of Maine. I get him back in the fold, but the 2 years off the bike have not been kind to my good friend. I sent him to FL in fighter's form and he came back "Body by Budweiser"...what to do....
The great thing about CJ is that he'll do most anything...pain is not a hurdle that will stop him, so he jumps back into the cycling thing head first. Back to square one he goes..getting in those awful, hurtful, terrible early season base miles in the cold, crappy, wintery Maine weather. Riding with me on days where we would not feel our hands or feet for an hour AFTER the ride. Riding with me on days where we were soaked by a freezing rain mere minutes into a two hour voyage. Riding with me on days where the wind was so strong and so cold that our faces froze and our ears rang...but riding...and riding...and riding....
and all the while he keeps working at it...and he keeps getting stronger...and his "body by budweiser" slowly melts away and is replaced by the "body by bud-light" (again, he's big boned people)...and instead of just hanging on to the rides, he's leading them out....
well, I have spent many a day spinning yarns to CJ about "easy rides, easy courses and easy races". Most were 1/3 truth and 2/3rds knowing that there would be suffering, but knowing also that he could handle it...
and here we are today...3 months into the season and we have put in a ton of miles, climbed innumerable horrible climbs and rode at speeds that hurt and hurt and hurt. CJ has now raced in 7 Crit races, 3 Road Races and 1 TT. He got stronger at each Crit race and helped me to get a good finish each time, he scored his first podium in his second Road race and he survived his TT and beat MANY other racers who were on their fancy special Time trial rigs while huffing and puffing away, too stubborn to slow down. Now he is looking for more races, more miles, more suffering because he has now become a cyclist...he even got himself a fancy new bike and joined up for a real live race team and now I will no longer have to stretch the truth about the severity of a ride/ race and instead can just say..."yeah, it'll be a suffer fest, you in?" (except for maybe Concord).
Chris Jordan, Team Colavita, Cyclist....congrats man!
One of my favorite things in the World is cycling. I have enjoyed the activity since I was very young and have been riding in some way, shape, or form for over 30+ years (BMX, Road bikes, mountain Bikes, back to road bikes).
In my travels through the cycling landscape I have made several aquantainces, but have always wished one of my "old school friends" would have shared my enthusiasm for the sport. Here's where CJ comes in...
While CJ has spent time on the Mt. Bikes, Road biking wasn't really in his arsenal. Somehow I managed to convince him to give it a shot (let's be honest, it was self serving, I wanted a buddy to ride with). He got himself a bike frame, we built it up and voila..I had a victim...errr friend to ride with.
While initially we spent a fair amount of time on the bikes, CJ's other passion (the infernal sport of GOLF) seemed to hold the edge for "activity I would prefer to do on a Sunny day" for CJ. And right when I had gotten him to be all skinny-ish (let's face it, he's big boned, so it's a relative term) he up and moves to FL! Seems like all was lost...
Well, 2 years goes by and CJ and his lovely wife have had enough of 95 degree temps with 100% humidity and drive by shootings and decide to move back to the great state of Maine. I get him back in the fold, but the 2 years off the bike have not been kind to my good friend. I sent him to FL in fighter's form and he came back "Body by Budweiser"...what to do....
The great thing about CJ is that he'll do most anything...pain is not a hurdle that will stop him, so he jumps back into the cycling thing head first. Back to square one he goes..getting in those awful, hurtful, terrible early season base miles in the cold, crappy, wintery Maine weather. Riding with me on days where we would not feel our hands or feet for an hour AFTER the ride. Riding with me on days where we were soaked by a freezing rain mere minutes into a two hour voyage. Riding with me on days where the wind was so strong and so cold that our faces froze and our ears rang...but riding...and riding...and riding....
and all the while he keeps working at it...and he keeps getting stronger...and his "body by budweiser" slowly melts away and is replaced by the "body by bud-light" (again, he's big boned people)...and instead of just hanging on to the rides, he's leading them out....
well, I have spent many a day spinning yarns to CJ about "easy rides, easy courses and easy races". Most were 1/3 truth and 2/3rds knowing that there would be suffering, but knowing also that he could handle it...
and here we are today...3 months into the season and we have put in a ton of miles, climbed innumerable horrible climbs and rode at speeds that hurt and hurt and hurt. CJ has now raced in 7 Crit races, 3 Road Races and 1 TT. He got stronger at each Crit race and helped me to get a good finish each time, he scored his first podium in his second Road race and he survived his TT and beat MANY other racers who were on their fancy special Time trial rigs while huffing and puffing away, too stubborn to slow down. Now he is looking for more races, more miles, more suffering because he has now become a cyclist...he even got himself a fancy new bike and joined up for a real live race team and now I will no longer have to stretch the truth about the severity of a ride/ race and instead can just say..."yeah, it'll be a suffer fest, you in?" (except for maybe Concord).
Chris Jordan, Team Colavita, Cyclist....congrats man!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Off to the Races!
So, here we go...the race season has officially begun. Today was day 1 of the 8 week SIPC series. The weather was actually nice for a change (last year it was freezing rain for this race) and there was a pretty good turn out of racers. Maybe 22 or so in th B group and probably around 35 in the A group.
Woke up feeling marginally better than I have been feeling. The Death Virus I have been hosting in my body for the past 2 weeks seems to be wrapping up it's stay and moving on to greener pastures. Still not 100% as I was having a hard time getting full oxygen, but I'll take it.
Got there in plenty of time, but still somehow managed to fritter away my warm up time. I managed to get in one lap with CJ before they had us lining up to start. After a longish intro by Joe Moreshead the gun sounded and we were off.
This being early season and all, I try to stay as close to the front as possible without getting into the wind too much. I don't like to be in the back of the group if I can avoid it, as it tends to be more sketchy the further back you go. Laps 1-3 were fairly comfortable as everyone got their early morning legs on and the jitters out of their systems. We were cruising around at about 21 mph and no-one seemed to be under any duress as quite a few of us were chatting and catching up on the Winter stories.
Around lap 4 CJ rode up next to me and said his shifter wasn't working. Seems he couldn't shift at all. After a little on the bike elbow grease didn't resolve it, I told him to pit and have the boys fix him up. Meanwhile some of the guys had decided it was time to turn the screws just a bit on the pace as a few different riders made brief attempts to break from the field. The pace picked up to around 22-23 mph, but still completely manageable as we were basically all in a bunch.
I chased a few breaks early on as I wasn't sure who the riders were and didn't want to give anyone too much leash in case they had the legs to actually do some real damage. Fortunately nothing ever went too far up the road.
CJ jumped back in after getting some mechanical assistance in the pits and we were all together again. The pace was still in the low 20's and no one seemed to be struggling as the group was still pretty much intact. There was a little bumping and elbowing here and there form a rider who was way too sketchy for my tastes. I decided that I didn't want to be anywhere around them and moved up to 4th wheel for a lap or two until they settled down.
Finally the last 2 laps were on the offering. Pace picked up again and a few small breaks in the group started to form. I was in decent position until the last lap when on the back stretch I somehow managed to get boxed in on the inside. The front of the field was starting to ramp up the tempo and I was trapped.
Coming around the last corner I watched the field split and knew I had to get through or the race would be gone. I snuck my bike through the right hand side and got to clean air. I saw the leaders were about 100 meters ahead of me with about 700 meters to go, so I stepped on the gas and got the bike moving. I made it past the second cluster of riders and grabbed the tail end of the lead group and managed to pip on of the guys on the line to snag 5th place (was that you David?). I was totally cooked, as I had had to start my sprint from about 600 meters to get back to the front.
I did the warm down lap with my tongue hanging out, but happy that I snuck into the points. CJ pedaled up to me and seemed pleased as punch and mentioned it wasn't as hard a race as he had worried about. I would have punched him, but I was too tired to do so.
Overall the race was 22.5 mph average and I managed to get up to 36.7 mph in the final sprint...not horrible.
It was actually uncharacteristically serene, but I attribute that to people just shaking off a long Winter and getting their legs spinning again. I would guess it'll be a little harder next week. I'll be sure not to get myself boxed in again and may even decide to take a flyer early on to break things up a bit..we'll see. I can always have CJ tow me around until he passes out!
On to next week!
Woke up feeling marginally better than I have been feeling. The Death Virus I have been hosting in my body for the past 2 weeks seems to be wrapping up it's stay and moving on to greener pastures. Still not 100% as I was having a hard time getting full oxygen, but I'll take it.
Got there in plenty of time, but still somehow managed to fritter away my warm up time. I managed to get in one lap with CJ before they had us lining up to start. After a longish intro by Joe Moreshead the gun sounded and we were off.
This being early season and all, I try to stay as close to the front as possible without getting into the wind too much. I don't like to be in the back of the group if I can avoid it, as it tends to be more sketchy the further back you go. Laps 1-3 were fairly comfortable as everyone got their early morning legs on and the jitters out of their systems. We were cruising around at about 21 mph and no-one seemed to be under any duress as quite a few of us were chatting and catching up on the Winter stories.
Around lap 4 CJ rode up next to me and said his shifter wasn't working. Seems he couldn't shift at all. After a little on the bike elbow grease didn't resolve it, I told him to pit and have the boys fix him up. Meanwhile some of the guys had decided it was time to turn the screws just a bit on the pace as a few different riders made brief attempts to break from the field. The pace picked up to around 22-23 mph, but still completely manageable as we were basically all in a bunch.
I chased a few breaks early on as I wasn't sure who the riders were and didn't want to give anyone too much leash in case they had the legs to actually do some real damage. Fortunately nothing ever went too far up the road.
CJ jumped back in after getting some mechanical assistance in the pits and we were all together again. The pace was still in the low 20's and no one seemed to be struggling as the group was still pretty much intact. There was a little bumping and elbowing here and there form a rider who was way too sketchy for my tastes. I decided that I didn't want to be anywhere around them and moved up to 4th wheel for a lap or two until they settled down.
Finally the last 2 laps were on the offering. Pace picked up again and a few small breaks in the group started to form. I was in decent position until the last lap when on the back stretch I somehow managed to get boxed in on the inside. The front of the field was starting to ramp up the tempo and I was trapped.
Coming around the last corner I watched the field split and knew I had to get through or the race would be gone. I snuck my bike through the right hand side and got to clean air. I saw the leaders were about 100 meters ahead of me with about 700 meters to go, so I stepped on the gas and got the bike moving. I made it past the second cluster of riders and grabbed the tail end of the lead group and managed to pip on of the guys on the line to snag 5th place (was that you David?). I was totally cooked, as I had had to start my sprint from about 600 meters to get back to the front.
I did the warm down lap with my tongue hanging out, but happy that I snuck into the points. CJ pedaled up to me and seemed pleased as punch and mentioned it wasn't as hard a race as he had worried about. I would have punched him, but I was too tired to do so.
Overall the race was 22.5 mph average and I managed to get up to 36.7 mph in the final sprint...not horrible.
It was actually uncharacteristically serene, but I attribute that to people just shaking off a long Winter and getting their legs spinning again. I would guess it'll be a little harder next week. I'll be sure not to get myself boxed in again and may even decide to take a flyer early on to break things up a bit..we'll see. I can always have CJ tow me around until he passes out!
On to next week!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
My Vote for Obama
Friends,So in the day and age of non stop media coverage on everything from what Paris Hilton had for breakfast to who's the latest crook on Wall Street, I have to stop and think about what I think about the Candidates to be my next President.
After spending a lot of time thinking about it, I have chosen to vote for Obama. I can't say that I am overwhelmingly excited by this choice, but I believe it to be the right one considering the alternative.
This is the first time in my adult life where I have made my preference known in such a fashion and encouraged my friends to vote as I do. I respect all of your opinions, but hope that common sense rules in the end.
It's a free Country and you will all vote as you see fit, I just ask that you get away from the sound bites, stop listening to the talking heads and think for yourselves.
I think...
I think that John McCain was an honorable soldier in a time of war
I think that alone does not qualify him to run this Country
I think that Barack Obama is a smart man, with an impressive educational resume
I think that alone does not qualify him to run this Country
I think that our choices for the next President are marginal at best and do not reflect the needs of the Country
I think that our current crop of Politicians (Republicans and Democrtats alike) are "me first" types, who have oversold their allegiances to special interest groups and lobbyists and are only concerned about their constituents durning election times
I think the average American has almost nothing in common with our elected Political leaders (Financially, or otherwise)
I think the divide between the average American and our elected political leaders is greater now than ever before
I think that American's don't know what to do about that and have become apathetic
I think that our best possible leaders are not interested in the job of President, primarily due to the politicians in office today and the level of corruption and special interest ties that go along with the job
I think that if Americans could have drafted any two Americans (Politicians, or otherwise) to run for the office of President, neither McCain, nor Obama would have been on that list
I think that tells the story of what is happening in Washington, DC
I think that John McCain has long since forgotten what it is like to be an Average American
I think that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate was reckless and politically motivated and presents a clear and present danger to the United States of America
I think if you disagree with this, you are lying to yourself
I think that that the people who support Sarah Palin are doing so only because of blind loyalty to the Republican Party
I think that if Sarah Palin were to have run for President, on the Republican ticket, she wouldn't have made it out of the Primaries
I think her supporters should consider this
I think it is nice to be "plucky", and "Spunky" and a "girl next door" type
I think none of these traits qualifies one to ascend to the most powerful office in the free world
I think that if John McCain were to die in office, thus elevating Sarh Palin to the office of President, America would be in grave danger
I think, based upon personal and family medical history, there is a better than average chance of this happening
I think we cannot take this chance
I think this fact alone, no matter what else you think of him, disqualifies John McCain to become our next President
I think that too many people are allowing racism to determine their vote for President
I think that too many people can't get past the name Hussein and the color of the skin
I think that Barack Obama would need a very skilled cabinet to become a succesful President
I think of the two candidates, he has the best chance to do so
I think that neither of the candidates will bring real "change"
I think that we hear the same empty promises every 4 years
I think that we never demand accountability for these promises
I think that we have ourselves to blame for this
I think that we should expect better from our elected officials
I think a crisis of confidence, not finance, is the biggest threat to America
I think we are forced to vote the lesser of two evils when deciding on the next President of the United States of America
I think that is a sad thing to think
I think that I worry for our children's future
Best,Liam
After spending a lot of time thinking about it, I have chosen to vote for Obama. I can't say that I am overwhelmingly excited by this choice, but I believe it to be the right one considering the alternative.
This is the first time in my adult life where I have made my preference known in such a fashion and encouraged my friends to vote as I do. I respect all of your opinions, but hope that common sense rules in the end.
It's a free Country and you will all vote as you see fit, I just ask that you get away from the sound bites, stop listening to the talking heads and think for yourselves.
I think...
I think that John McCain was an honorable soldier in a time of war
I think that alone does not qualify him to run this Country
I think that Barack Obama is a smart man, with an impressive educational resume
I think that alone does not qualify him to run this Country
I think that our choices for the next President are marginal at best and do not reflect the needs of the Country
I think that our current crop of Politicians (Republicans and Democrtats alike) are "me first" types, who have oversold their allegiances to special interest groups and lobbyists and are only concerned about their constituents durning election times
I think the average American has almost nothing in common with our elected Political leaders (Financially, or otherwise)
I think the divide between the average American and our elected political leaders is greater now than ever before
I think that American's don't know what to do about that and have become apathetic
I think that our best possible leaders are not interested in the job of President, primarily due to the politicians in office today and the level of corruption and special interest ties that go along with the job
I think that if Americans could have drafted any two Americans (Politicians, or otherwise) to run for the office of President, neither McCain, nor Obama would have been on that list
I think that tells the story of what is happening in Washington, DC
I think that John McCain has long since forgotten what it is like to be an Average American
I think that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate was reckless and politically motivated and presents a clear and present danger to the United States of America
I think if you disagree with this, you are lying to yourself
I think that that the people who support Sarah Palin are doing so only because of blind loyalty to the Republican Party
I think that if Sarah Palin were to have run for President, on the Republican ticket, she wouldn't have made it out of the Primaries
I think her supporters should consider this
I think it is nice to be "plucky", and "Spunky" and a "girl next door" type
I think none of these traits qualifies one to ascend to the most powerful office in the free world
I think that if John McCain were to die in office, thus elevating Sarh Palin to the office of President, America would be in grave danger
I think, based upon personal and family medical history, there is a better than average chance of this happening
I think we cannot take this chance
I think this fact alone, no matter what else you think of him, disqualifies John McCain to become our next President
I think that too many people are allowing racism to determine their vote for President
I think that too many people can't get past the name Hussein and the color of the skin
I think that Barack Obama would need a very skilled cabinet to become a succesful President
I think of the two candidates, he has the best chance to do so
I think that neither of the candidates will bring real "change"
I think that we hear the same empty promises every 4 years
I think that we never demand accountability for these promises
I think that we have ourselves to blame for this
I think that we should expect better from our elected officials
I think a crisis of confidence, not finance, is the biggest threat to America
I think we are forced to vote the lesser of two evils when deciding on the next President of the United States of America
I think that is a sad thing to think
I think that I worry for our children's future
Best,Liam
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Old Man and the Fish (In Reverse)
This past weekend my Gorgeous Fiance (GF), Jack and I went to camp to visit my 'rents. The plan was to chill, ski, tube and best of all (according to Jack) have Grammy teach Jack to fish.
In brief, every goal was attained...we Ski'ed, Tubed and best of all Gramm tought Jack how to fish (she even got him his own fishing rod and everything).
They say a picture says a thousand words, well this Video says a million.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ydx2zewpj0
Yep, he was pretty excited. I was pretty excited. Grammy was pretty excited...we were all pretty excited. Except for the fish. I was hoping for a catch and release type thing. My Dad even filed down the barb on the hook, so it wouldn't be too difficult to remove after the catch.
Well, the dumb fish goes and swallows the thing almost whole. Long story short, it took a pair of needle nose plyers and a bit of umph to remove it (and there may have been some "collateral damage" during the extraction). I was still determined to set the fish free, so I tossed him back into the shallow water..at which point one of the dogs at camp IMMEDIATELY dove in after him and much to my dismay (as well as the fish's I would guess) RETRIEVED the fish and brought him back to shore in his mouth.
So, after removing the less than enthusiastic fish from the Jaws of this huge dog, I created a diversion (threw a rock to the right of me) and tossed the fish back into the water...where he promptly sank like a stone.
I'm sure he's fine though...just swim it off man!
The Fish's story:
"Wow, what a lovely day..swimming around..think I'll go get breakfast..Hey look, a WORM.
HEY, WHAT THE $@!# "
In brief, every goal was attained...we Ski'ed, Tubed and best of all Gramm tought Jack how to fish (she even got him his own fishing rod and everything).
They say a picture says a thousand words, well this Video says a million.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ydx2zewpj0
Yep, he was pretty excited. I was pretty excited. Grammy was pretty excited...we were all pretty excited. Except for the fish. I was hoping for a catch and release type thing. My Dad even filed down the barb on the hook, so it wouldn't be too difficult to remove after the catch.
Well, the dumb fish goes and swallows the thing almost whole. Long story short, it took a pair of needle nose plyers and a bit of umph to remove it (and there may have been some "collateral damage" during the extraction). I was still determined to set the fish free, so I tossed him back into the shallow water..at which point one of the dogs at camp IMMEDIATELY dove in after him and much to my dismay (as well as the fish's I would guess) RETRIEVED the fish and brought him back to shore in his mouth.
So, after removing the less than enthusiastic fish from the Jaws of this huge dog, I created a diversion (threw a rock to the right of me) and tossed the fish back into the water...where he promptly sank like a stone.
I'm sure he's fine though...just swim it off man!
The Fish's story:
"Wow, what a lovely day..swimming around..think I'll go get breakfast..Hey look, a WORM.
HEY, WHAT THE $@!# "
Friday, May 16, 2008
Oil and Gas...Thanks Prez!
Ok, for full disclosure let it be known I have no formal education in the following fields:
1. Oil production and refinement
2. Energy conservation
3. Being a rich Texas oilman who rode his families coat tail to the most important "elected" office in the free World.
So, the Prez would have us believe that he's concerned about the rising prices of gasoline due to the artificial "shortages" created by our "friends" in the Middle East..HELLO SAUDI ARABIA.
So nice to see Saudi Arabia tell us to basically go felate ourselves, that they are NOT going to ramp up output of crude to aleviate the shortages, because "Demand is not there from the buyers". WELL DUH!!! I am guessing that Exxon / Mobil are happy as a man with a bag of hundreds in a whorehouse right about now. WHY on Earth would they want to have production increased??? Check out the RECORD profits they are posting for a second straight year..CHA-CHING!!!
I'm sure, as his buddies at Exxon are cashing in RECORD profits, the Prez is really feeling the "bite" like the rest of us. I can see he's really going out on a limb with the Saudi's and DEMANDING they at least match their STANDARD output.
Nope, he just slinks back home and acts like he tried...BULLSHIT!!! I guess the F'N Saudi's have a serious short term memory crisis about who saved their royal asses when Saddam came calling. Here's hoping that some new maniacal dictator takes a decent foothold in their region and decides to kick some Saudi Ass! can't wait to tell them we'd love to help, but we can't afford to put GAS IN OUR JETS!!!
I am not sure what us average citizens can do to stick it to the Oil Companies, but I f0r one am going to try and do SOMETHING. I'll carpool whenever possible, Ride my bike as much as possible and will only be filling up $20 at a time.
I urge each of you to do any small thing you can think of to NOT support the gas barrons who are robbing the people of this country blind.
ps. I don't want to hear the 'ol, "well people in europe have paid $5 a gallon for a long time" line either. If I gave a shit what people in Eurpoe did or did not do, then I'd move to Europe.
Screw the Oil Companies, Screw Bush and SCREW the SAUDI'S!!!
1. Oil production and refinement
2. Energy conservation
3. Being a rich Texas oilman who rode his families coat tail to the most important "elected" office in the free World.
So, the Prez would have us believe that he's concerned about the rising prices of gasoline due to the artificial "shortages" created by our "friends" in the Middle East..HELLO SAUDI ARABIA.
So nice to see Saudi Arabia tell us to basically go felate ourselves, that they are NOT going to ramp up output of crude to aleviate the shortages, because "Demand is not there from the buyers". WELL DUH!!! I am guessing that Exxon / Mobil are happy as a man with a bag of hundreds in a whorehouse right about now. WHY on Earth would they want to have production increased??? Check out the RECORD profits they are posting for a second straight year..CHA-CHING!!!
I'm sure, as his buddies at Exxon are cashing in RECORD profits, the Prez is really feeling the "bite" like the rest of us. I can see he's really going out on a limb with the Saudi's and DEMANDING they at least match their STANDARD output.
Nope, he just slinks back home and acts like he tried...BULLSHIT!!! I guess the F'N Saudi's have a serious short term memory crisis about who saved their royal asses when Saddam came calling. Here's hoping that some new maniacal dictator takes a decent foothold in their region and decides to kick some Saudi Ass! can't wait to tell them we'd love to help, but we can't afford to put GAS IN OUR JETS!!!
I am not sure what us average citizens can do to stick it to the Oil Companies, but I f0r one am going to try and do SOMETHING. I'll carpool whenever possible, Ride my bike as much as possible and will only be filling up $20 at a time.
I urge each of you to do any small thing you can think of to NOT support the gas barrons who are robbing the people of this country blind.
ps. I don't want to hear the 'ol, "well people in europe have paid $5 a gallon for a long time" line either. If I gave a shit what people in Eurpoe did or did not do, then I'd move to Europe.
Screw the Oil Companies, Screw Bush and SCREW the SAUDI'S!!!
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