Yes We Can

I am reading this book called The Bunion Derby about a cross country race in 1928 .The race started out with 199 men, and now, 33 days into the race they enter the Texas panhandle and all the black competitors are besieged by the Jim Crow Texans. It makes me think how Americans maybe be basically racist to our very roots and our attack on Iraq is just another example. The slaughter of the Native Americans, the saga of Jim Crow etc. Now, seeing Barak Obama gaining such popular support is so exciting, but very scary for Democrats. Will the majority of Americans vote for an African American for President, or will the inherent racist tendenicies dominate their decision, when they go behind the curtain to vote? While Obama excites everyone I know, it seems Hillary has the opposite effect. Trusted rationale people whose opinions I value and whose judgment I have never questioned rank their choices for president as Obama, then McCain, then Romney. Billary is divisive, but I would vote for her before any of the GOP's candidates. All of the Republicans are old white men. How refreshing is the roster of the dems. John Edwards is the only of the traditional mold in contention. Yes We Can! how exciting, how invigorating, how scary. Hearing Barak's victory speech after he won in South Carolina was exciting! Hearing Carolyn Kennedy equate Barak to her father and saying he is the JFK of her children's generation was astounding! Now with Ted Kennedy's endorsement, the old guard of the Democratic party seem to be aligning themselves with Barak. Is it possible that we can see a new day in America? Is it possible that we can have a president for all Americans? can we build it? yes we can! oh, I just realized that Barak is borrowing his catch phrase from Bob The Builder- another old white guy.

just a note on the bike commute. today its going to be 50 yet I did not ride. After my flat tire I realized I have 3300 miles on my tires and they are noticably worn thin, the sidewalls appear a bit cracked, time for new rubber. I would hate to have a second flat as I hurry to or from work. no problem with the old tire on the trainer, but I fear its road worthiness. I have been pondering tires, tire sizes, tread designs etc. I considered buying 32s with some tread for the inclement weather then going back to some road worthy 28s for riding season. Or perhaps I should just get some new road tires? I definitely need some new tires though.

Jurus Prudence and frozen cajones

Baby its cold out there! -5 this morning with -20 wind chills. No doubt about it, waiting for the EL is the coldest experience available. My last bike ride to work, last Monday, was cold but OK, however, my return ride was not. Immediately I had a flat tire. It was snowing, the wind was howling. I thought about fixing the flat-- I was right in front of the med center, but knowing I had to pick up Ryder ASAP, I did the cowardly thing, returned my bike to my office, locked it up, emptied out my panniers, and rode the EL to Oak Park in my bike clothes. By the time I made it to the Oak Park Avenue El stop it had snowed 2 inches. Bummer! that would have been a great adventure ride. Since then its been snowing and/or bitterly cold (subzero plus the wind). I have resumed my EL riding career, striding vigorously up and down the platform to keep warm and keep my heart beating. I see so many folks standing still huddled in the cold. Moving around generates heat, why stand? And it amazes to see, in this weather, so many idiots with out hats! I guess they get what they deserve-- frostbite. DOH!

Last week I had the pleasure (really) of serving on a jury. I have been summonsed 4 or 5 times, but never picked to serve before. While some of the candidate jurors purposefully made statements to get themselves excluded, much to the scorn of us honest folks, I just went with the flow and sure enough, got picked. A criminal case. High theater.

It was quite interesting indeed, and I gave into it, accepting my role as juror, being pleased not to be in charge or having to run the meeting. DUI. Guy changed seats with his girlfriend after the accident so it would look like he was not driving. eyewitness saw him behind the wheel and pushing down the deployed airbag,but not actually in the collision. it was circumstantial. But the state's attorney gave a compelling argument about the validity of circumstantial evidence, the smoking gun, snow on the ground though you didn't actually see it snowing, you know it did. Jury was 7-5 to convict after the first round. 2 hours of discussion and it was 11-1. It was pleasant, and #12 acquiesced. The defense witness, the woman, was hardly credible, had the story wrong, would not admit they were lovers, just friends but admitted when they were out drinking they were buying lingerie! The defense attorney said of course she acted that way, she was embarrassed, just friends with privileges-- clever, persuasive. But the state's attorneys were better actors and more convincing. After it was over they came into the jury room and talked with us. it was a lot of fun, all and all. The defendant had three prior DUI's but that was not admissible as evidence. The female attorney said that when the defense witness said she was buying underwear, she thought "my goodness, this is going better than I'd hoped" we all felt pretty good knowing we did the right thing and were out of there at 3 PM. Glad it only lasted 2 days.

the harlequin resolutionist

It must be global warming, right? no, there is a January thaw every year, but 63 degrees on Jan 7th? Made for a nice day to ride, for sure. 4th work day for 2008 and I've ridden half of them (2/4). The clip on the pedal broke off, the side I always click in and out of at all those stops that punctuate my daily ride. I had to replace the pedal set but the bike shop couldn't get the left pedal off of the crank-- likely a latent causality from the bike-car incident I suffered in September. So, Dan the bike man cleverly replaced the whole crank with an OEM exact match-- except it was in carbon black, not chrome silver. So, the harlequin crank set which nicely matches my harlequin wheel set, one black, one silver-- also from the car incident. It gives that Cannondale a certain character now, in keeping with the fenders and big guy that rides it.

I reset my trip meter today. 540 miles since Apple Century. 3290 total. I had about 1100 year one, so that means 2007 I rolled nearly 2200 miles. My goal for 2008-- double that! I have thought that 5000-500-50 would be a good year of bike-run-swim. Man that's a lot of swimming! If I am going to Tri-again, so be it, I better get my fat butt into the pool.

We had our first Pilates class of the year today. Ugh! oh those cookies and ah that lack of exercise. I am lucky I only gained 3 or 4 pounds in the last month and not more. After Pilates I did ball squats, imaging I was still on the slopes in Colorado, carving my way through the moguls-- a near perfect run down Cat's Meow at Loveland! No doubt the Pilates and the ball squats have given me skiing back after I fractured my knees. But only skiing conditions you for skiing. The first wave of resolutionsits hit the gym today. The same 15 or so folks who are always there, and were last week were there today, along with about 30 new folks. Some quite earnest in their approach to the machines. Some quite confused and shy looking. We are fortunate to have such a great facility here on the west campus but it lacks one huge thing-- spin classes! I have a huge energy barrier traveling across campus to take classes. Not such an issue when I can ride to work-- once again, winter is on the way back, rain then sleet, then snow and much, much colder weather is on its way. those poor folks in California, 7 inches of rain in LA and 11 feet of snow in the Sierras. Oh to be stuck in Tahoe. Talk about skiing! No spin classes need.

A new day, another year

I expected the gym to be filled with "resolutionists" today, but instead, it was nearly empty, only the same old bodies I usually see there were busy with their workouts. There was a big crew working on all the machines, taking them apart for maintanence, still leaving enough avaialble to get a bit of a workout in. My new favorite, the adaptive motion trainer was in pieces, so I tread on the old mill for a meager 20 minutes and 1.6 miles. Bravely, I stepped on the scale-- I feared the worst after a week or more of indulgent eating, but was pleased to see I am right at 206, still down ~25 pounds from where I was at this time last year. Which brings me to New Year's Resolution #1: under 200 pounds and under 20% body fat (I am at about 24% now). I've lost 3 inches around my middle and I've lost 5% body fat, but still feel and look fat. I know the way now to achieve this goal. P-diet and exercise. DOH!

I braved the weather and rode in today. It was a balmy 24 degrees and mostly dry. I was excited to try out my new winter biking garb I received for Christmas, and I was indeed warm and dry-- until I encountered a snow bank I had to traverse, then my toes got cold and my cleats got packed with ice and would not engage my peddles. The bike path around the park was spotty, but navigable. All and all it was just fine riding. The brisk south west wind brings us this warm up so I guess I can't complain about how slow it made the ride.

It is an exciting time in world history. Last week Benizer Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan and the next day Kenya burst into flames-- reminiscent of Rwanda. The dollar continues its slide against other world currencies, sinking to the level of the Indian Rupee now. And how the world feels about Americans is at an all time low. Troubled times. Exciting times too. Last night Barak Obama won the Iowa primaries, besting both Edwards and Clinton. There were more voters in the caucuses than ever before, young Democrats. The electorate is excited and ready for CHANGE. I really like both Edwards and Hillary, indeed, but neither represent a new day in America. Barak, you da man, you are the one who will excite the youth vote. This time next year we will be looking forward to throwing the pigs out and making way for the new Obama presidency. Glory be.

Which somehow reminds me of my 2nd resolution. To be on time. I read a Tribune columnists reflections on turning 50 and one thing he observed was that promptness is a form of respect. My father oft repeated that if you aren't early, you are late. And of course Karen understands that I am late because I hate to wait and would rather make other people do the waiting for me. Which adds up to disrespect. Not malicious. Just habituation. I can change, sure I can. so, that is #2, be on time. There you have it. I have joined the resolutionists, but I did beat them into the gym.