A quiet week in Who-ville. I've been reading a very interesting history of railroads in America, which has yielded plenty of interesting factoids and some interesting comparisons in my head about the benefits and detractions of laissez-faire government. It also makes me wonder why Congress is choking so hard on ponying up for Amtrak. It seems like simple math to me that people riding rails are people not driving their cars into the densest population centers. I've been on German trains and been passed by French ones running parallel to the autoroute, with hundreds of people and tons of goods moving a whole lot faster than our turbodiesel Vectra, and it makes my wonder if maybe Americans wouldn't prefer the shiny, efficient infrastructure of trains to the never-ending nightmare known as cars that brings us the freedom we claim to need so badly.
posted at 12:54 PM - comments
Monday, January 27, 2003
A great weekend indeed. Started in roaring fashion Friday night at the home of Chris & Nancy, continued Saturday morning with a speedy ride up and down LBK, rolled into Saturday afternoon and evening with framing and furniture excitement, carried over to Sunday with church, some cleaning, and of course - Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs showed that dominating is an art form, and stretched together three defensive showcases into one long stranglehold on offense known as 'the playoffs.'
posted at 12:40 PM - comments
Friday, January 24, 2003
In world news: Canada joined France, Germany, and China yesterday in denouncing a war with Iraq. Well done. That leaves the G-8 with 4 dissenting voices and 2 big bullies. We've come to expect this global emminent domain from the US, but we expect something more from the Brits. I doubt that Sir Winston Churchill would call this England's finest hour. A linebacker that I played ball with in high school was fond of saying "if you resort to violence you've already lost" - I think G-dubya and Tony Blair could use a good pop on the chin and some football wisdom right now.
On the home front, a busy weekend full of a party, hanging pictures, some riding, some freezing cold weather, and the big game on Sunday. Go Bucs!
Today's rant: colors that aren't colors, scents that aren't scents. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about distinctive labels (maroon v. dark red) and alliterative names (seafoam v. turquoise) and I understand that marketing is important, but I'm sorry: "Every Man in Portugal" is not a color. Nor is "melody" a legitimate air freshener scent. Imagine the chaos if this continues! Picture this on your 2006 SAT: "Is 'capri' a) a light blue tint, b) a tropical aroma, c) a pair of amputated shorts, or d) an island near Naples, Italy?"
Crazy.
posted at 12:34 PM - comments
Monday, January 20, 2003
The Buccaneers won big again yesterday, so now it's a week of Super Bowl anticipation mania, hopefully followed by a year of being the world champs in tackle football. In other news, a pair of rides this weekend and some new faces and names from the Sarasota biking scene. Sunday I was able to push up Longboat into the wind and scorch back down at a total average speed of 19.21 mph. That is a 0.5 mph improvement over last weekends' jaunt, so I'm feeling good about my shoes and my muscles. Also got my camera on Friday, which is cool. I'm very satisfied with it and ready to record my life in never-before-seen detail. Also got the news of several upcoming visits to the SunCoast by various groups from my life in Michigan...confuscious say "it's good to have friends in Florida."
posted at 12:45 PM - comments
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Some luck I've got! I won a free dance lesson over a month ago and last night I got an intro to foxtrot(ing?) and swing dancing. It was most enjoyable - so much so that I signed up for a few more. In other news, Circuit City finally got the Sony DSCP7 in stock so this weekend is going to all about pictures as I retrieve mine from the frame shop and make new ones with a new camera.
posted at 2:17 PM - comments
Monday, January 13, 2003
A good weekend, with football and Ferrarris, bikes and books, pictures and frames. Pretty laid back, all in all, just the way we like them. Now a week of anticipation about next weekend's pickup of my newly-framed prints and, hopefully, the arrival of a digital camera.
posted at 12:43 PM - comments
Friday, January 10, 2003
This must be the life. My weekend is planned around a thick harcover full of T.C. Boyle's stories, two bike rides, and a football game. I'm also hoping that pictures will get framed and maybe a digital camera will come home with me from Circuit City, but we'll cross those bridges when we get to them.
posted at 2:36 PM - comments
Thursday, January 09, 2003
Got the computer running again with quadraphonic surround sound once again pumping through #511. Also bought airline tickets yesterday so I'm really and truly headed to the northeast for some skiing late in February, with many stops to see friends along the way.
posted at 2:12 PM - comments
Tuesday, January 07, 2003
Starting the year off right by working out before work and eating more carefully, reading more, and trying to find more ways to volunteer. In other news, my new hard drive is scheduled to arrive this very evening so I'll be back up and running with my computer serving out the tunes and allowing me to figure out how much of my money I spent this weekend. Also, it is freezing here today: 52 at noon. Inconceivable!
posted at 12:47 PM - comments
Monday, January 06, 2003
A satisfying weekend full of shopping and football...half of the living room is now done, with the exception of a coffee table that is draining my creative juices and yielding no furniture. Also got my riding shoes set up, and, after a few diggers in the parking lot Saturday I was ready to rock and roll Sunday morning. What a difference.
posted at 4:53 PM - comments
Friday, January 03, 2003
Such a week! Worked substantially less than 40 hours on substantially easier stuff than usual, and got paid the same. Capitolism, you rule! Spent the midweek holiday in Ft Myers with Drew & Kim & Simba the dog, which was great fun. This weekend is going to be all about shopping for new stuff and riding my bike with my Christmas-present riding shoes. On the shopping list: frames for pictures for over my new sofa, a lamp, some new clothes, and potentially a pedal wrench and a Rubbermaid tub to contain the growing pile in the bike shop (the space formerly known as a dining area) that has overflowed its cardboard-box home.
posted at 1:09 PM - comments
Thursday, January 30, 2003