Jim's Guts

New York, New York…

Greetings and random notes from 38,000 feet* aboard an Alaska 737-800 and making the slow slog back to Seattle – Do to prevailing winds this time of year, it's a 4 hour trip from Settle to NYC but a 5 hour 41 minute grind going back. Ouch.

Anyway I've in New York for Get Your Guts In Gear, office work (Thursday), a strategic planning workshop (Friday) and annual in-person board meeting (Saturday). Both meetings were hosted by the fantastic folks at cementworks, who also helped us by facilitating the strategic planning session. I'm very excited about all of the things that we came up with and look forward to a very exciting time for the Ride.

cementworks is based in Manhattan and I was staying in Brooklyn, courteously of our Ride Director (which meant I also got to spend time with Molly the beagle, which was great). Anyway, staying in one and working in the other means a morning commute and a trip on the subway. There's crowded, and then there's New York crowded. I've worked at Disneyland on the only day that we closed the Park due to guest capacity (July 4^th 1989), so I know what it means to pack people in, but getting on a subway car during "rush hour" in NYC is wild. You literally can't move, and it's not worth hanging on to the hand rail, because you couldn't fall if you wanted to.

To catch my flight home I took a town car from Brooklyn to Newark Airport which was kind of fun because I got to see some of the city (something you can't do from the subway). We took the Brooklyn Bridge out of the neighborhood, with the Manhattan Bridge to one side and on the other was the Grand Lady herself, the Statue of Liberty. Even though it was through a car window, and even though it a ways off in the distance, it still gave me chills and a sense of pride.

As for the flight home, I'm hoping it's quick (well at least not delayed), quiet, and calm. After finishing this post it's probably DVD time as my brain is pretty much fried. When I land I'll try to make a quick stop at the send off party for Coach Tammy as she gets ready to leave for Ironman South Africa. Then it's home to the L&T, the Boys, and my own bed…

* - Probably obvious but I feel compelled to say it anyway, while I wrote this onboard the plane home, it didn't get posted till after I had landed. Alaska Air still doesn't have in flight internet.

Quick hits…

I've been in New York City & Brooklyn for the last few days, which is always a trip. I've been told that Brooklyn is a borough and actually officially part of NYC, but it also has 3 million residents, which seems a little big for a "neighborhood" to me. Anyway I've been in town for a Get Your Guts In Gear strategic planning session (all day Friday) and annual in person board meeting (all day Saturday), both of which went very well. There was some discussion about trying to do something this (Saturday) evening, but honestly I'm exhausted, so I think we'll find somewhere close to have dinner and call it a day early.

New York is a unique place, I mean if you're a west coast guy like me, you grew up seeing this place on TV and in the movies. You see the stereotypes of the "Italian Guy", and the "Street Vendor", the "Crazy Subway person" but then you get here and realize that they're all based on real people. I didn't get the "subway guy" this trip (I did last trip though) but I did go to lunch at a little deli run by two women who you'd swear just got off the Sopranos' set. I mean right out of Central Casting. Highly amusing…

Last NYC thing… I respect that public transportation system that New York has but had never ridden the subway at rush hour till this trip. Yikes. There was literally no place to move or go, you just get on, hang on and try to get off at your exit. It made me wonder about summer, it gets hot in NYC, so you get all these hot, sweaty people crammed into a little metal tube. That has got to be uncomfortable to as the least. Yikes.

I heard a great dating story that I have to share – Women goes on a 1^st date / blind date with a guy for dinner and drinks. The date is going well and drinks turns into a far amount of drinks, or as she put it "smashed". So they had back towards her place and stop at a local dive pub near her apartment. They order a round when he decides to go to the restroom. She sits there for a minute or two, wonders what she's doing in this bar of all places, gets and pays the tab and heads home, completely forgetting about her date. The guy comes back from the restroom, sits down thinking that maybe she had gone to the restroom, and waits for her return. After about 15 minutes he asks the bartender if he knows what happened to the women he had come in with. "Yeah, she paid the bill and left". D'oh! The post script is that they ended up dating for a couple of years after that. And women wonder why guys get confused…

Finally medical news – Part of the joy have having IBD is regular colonoscopies, and while anything that would make that easier would be a welcome relief, I'm really not fond of the idea of putting "self-propelled devices" in there. Some things I don't want done by robots, "3 laws" or no…

Friday morning pick-me-up

This is a music video from a little indie film from Australia called “Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger” which I really hope shows up at SIFF this year. Bertie Blackman - "The Only One"

And for the "Classic" how about a great song, but a so-so video? Here's INXS with one of my all time 80's favorites, "Don't Change"

Why I love teh internets, part 268...

These kids (and they really are kids, still in high school) are awesome, and while the quality here isn't great check out their MySpace page because the stuff that they've had produced is excellent. The Wrong Trousers - "Video Killed The Radio Star" (live in Balboa Park)...

This also seems like a good place to post BNL singing a Bluegrass version of "One Week"

Starting #6…

I stewed a lot about whether or not to post something about the fact that the fine men and women of the US Military are starting their 6^th year in this seemingly endless boondoggle that Mr. Bush got us into, and the truth be told I'm not going to do much of the writing. But I did want to point out two pretty interesting pieces, written by two gentlemen who were originally in support of invading Iraq, but with the passage of time have seen the folly of it.

There's a temptation for some to say, "well that was the past, but we're beyond that now. No sense going over it all again", but I strongly disagree, and not because I want to hear them say "I'm sorry". Think of it this way – There's a problem with the wiring in your house, the electrician comes over, tells you how to fix it, and after you follow the advice your house burns down. An apology and restitution would be in order of course, but when the new house was being built, would you ask the same electrician to do the work? Of course not, equally if not more germane to the apology would be finding out if the electrician had learned from his mistake.

Look we all make mistakes, and God, the L&T, and my friends and family know that I've made more than my fair share, but just saying "let's not think about the past, but you can trust me going forward" isn't going to cut it. I need to know that you've learned. I think these two guys have;

John Cole – "My Iraq war retrospective"

Andrew Sullivan – "What I got wrong about Iraq"

Basketball can be a cruel sport…

The NCAA Div I Men's Basketball tournament started yesterday, and while there were some good games (Duke winning by 1 point), it would be hard to beat a couple of today's games. Two games (both in Orlando, man did they get their money's worth today!) went into overtime with the underdog winning I the last seconds. Both Western Kentucky and University of San Diego won with last second shots that crushed the favorites in both games. And the best part is that at least one of them will be playing next weekend. On the other hand the favorites (Drake and Connecticut [sorry Drew]) saw their season come to an end and the sinking of a last second shot. I think it was especially hard on UConn, as they fought back from 11 points down early in the second half, sent the game to OT, and seemed to have it in hand only to lose on a semi-heave. That's why I watch.

Speaking of watching – Thank God for teh interwebs!! Through the miracle of modern technology I was able to watch both games on my laptop at work. It was kind of background for most of the day, but I will admit to pretty much just watching the last 10 minutes of the USD v. UConn game.

Friday Morning Pick-me-up...

The Hives - "Tick Tick Boom";

And here's one for the L&T, Thomas Dolby's "Hyperactive";

Read the speech…

People a lot more eloquent than I (insert your own joke here) have already said a lot of great things about Mr. Obama's speech, but if you haven't read/heard the whole thing, do yourself a favor and check it out here. Look, it isn't Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" or King's "I Have A Dream" but it's still a very powerful and moving oration.

To walkers at 5k, 10k, etc…

Two very important points need to be made before I go further –

1 – I think it's fantastic when anyone goes out and does any distance at any speed. As far as I'm concerned, unless you're one of the pros there's no difference between any of us regardless of the speed at which we finish the course. This is not an indictment of people who walk, which leads me to my second point.
2 – There are times during some 5k's and 10k's when I walk. Again, this isn't about speed, it's about common courtesy, and when I have to walk on the route I follow these guidelines myself.

Having said, and meant, all of the above; if you walk, and by "walk" I mean that you're at the start planning to walk the whole course with no intent to run, but if you walk at these types of events, would you please try and follow some simple rules which will make everyone's day a bit more pleasant;

– If the event you're participating in has "flights" or "seeding" try to respect that. It's really not done so that you'll finish even later than the pros, it's so that those who are trying to run, maybe for an age group prize, or maybe just a personal best, but it gives those people a chance to realize their goals too.

– If for some reason you just have to start in the first wave, or with the 7 minute per mile folks, please try to stay to the edge of the route. You know you're not going to run there's no reason to be in the middle of the street in the middle of the pack. At that point you just become an obstacle.

– The subset of that is not to walk 5 abreast. It's great that you're all together, and shared suffering is one of the really cool things about group events like these, but again you become an obstacle for others to try and get around.

– If you ignore both of those and just decide that you've paid your fee and that entitles you to walk in the middle of the road from the front, then don't be angry when you get bumped and jostled and cut off. See the thing is, I paid my entry too, and I followed the event organizers' recommendations and I'm trying to run. There's a critical mass of bodies trying to fit into a small space, and you've become a very slow fish in a very fast tide. You're going to get bumped. I'm sorry, I'm not aiming for you, but honestly, I don't usually feel too bad about it either.

With that off my chest, the L&T and I did the annual St. Patrick's Day Dash this morning and with the exception of trying to dodge the reasons for my rant above, we had a good time. The weather wasn't great, but it wasn't raining so that was nice. This is a point to point run, with the start at the Seattle Center and the finish near Seahawks Stadium so you park at the finish and bus to the start. The line for those buses was unbelievable, it took us about 45 minutes just to board, but had the benefit of getting off the bus and starting within 5 minutes. Thanks to my offseason workouts (InCycle rocks!) my time was the best I've done in a long while (splits of 9.22 / 9.04 / 10.14 [I'm not sure what happened there]). After the run it was breakfast at the Blue Star Café, which we've decided to tell everyone is the worst place for breakfast in Seattle. It's horrible, and you should never eat there which will make it much easier for us to get a table…

Awareness test…

The best messages are the ones you don't have to overly explain – Go try this.

Really?...

The L&T's cousin has been home for a very short break recently. Why is this important? Well, because the break is from serving in the U.S. Army's Stryker Brigade in Iraq. He's on a 12 month (for now, it'll probably be increased) deployment at the very tip of the spear. I thought about his visit home, to see his wife and baby girl for a few short days, and then threw up in my mouth when I read this:

"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks,"

Really Mr. President?!?! What is it that you're envious of? The incredibly long hours? Getting shot at or possibly blown up in a vehicle that doesn't have enough armor? Or maybe it's the sleeping in tents (if you're lucky) or in a shelled out house? Oh I know, maybe it's the food, or being away from your family? What about watching good friends die or have their body parts blown off, is that it? Really, what part of the "romance" are you wishing you could experience?

Back in the day I was part of the Navy/Marine Corps Mobile Medical Active Response Team which was basically a rapid (well, rapid for the military) deployment force of medical personnel that could be sent anywhere in the world within 72 hours. One weekend, shortly after the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, we got an activation notice which basically meant to get all your shit in one sock, report to the base, and be prepared to deploy somewhere. Obviously we all thought we were going to Lebanon. Once everyone had mustered, gotten our gear squared away, and were ready to board the aircraft we were told to stand-down and that this was a drill. 99.9% of us were relieved as hell, but I remember one young officer who was disappointed because he just knew we were "going to war" and was pretty vocal about it. An old school Marine Gunnery Sgt, that I know spent time in Vietnam, took the young officer aside and while I don't know what he said exactly I can guess. Let's just say we never saw the officer make another outburst like that one again.

Why do I tell this story? Because it ain't like the movies. There is nothing "romantic" about war. The only people that want to go to war are either too young and stupid to know better, or those who are in no danger of being called to fight in it. And, as Matthew Yglesias noted, Mr. Bush had an opportunity to participate in the "romance" and "fantastic experience" of being on the front lines during Vietnam, and we all know how that went…

Two great quotes about war by guys who've been there;

"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell." – Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Gen. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Friday Morning Pick-me-up...

A new favorite of mine, not quite Ska but definitely some Ska influences, Vampire Weekend - "A Punk"

For the classic I wanted to go some true Ska, but there's a lot of rudeness to chose from; Prince Buster, The Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, in the end I decided to go back to one of the first "mainstream" ska bands. This is Two-Tone - "Gangsters" by The Specials

Hard “week” part deux…

After nearly 6 months my InCycle class is starting to wind down (it's over at the end of March) and as we get closer to the end instead of leveling out, the pressure has actually turned up a couple of notches. This week is another "hard week", but to be honest with the exception of rest weeks, they've all be pretty solid workouts usually lasting between 90 to 120 minutes (it's usually around 100 minutes or so after warm-ups and cool-downs).

This week is on the training plan as another "hard week" which means the intensity is way up there. Tuesday started with 6 repetitions of 5 minutes each at what is known as VO2 max. To put it less scientifically, you're going as hard as you can go and holding it for the duration of the time at 90 to 100 pedal strokes per minute (if you're interested, for me zone 5 is a heart rate in the 165 and up range I haven't had my VO2 max tested yet). Today was especially cruel with two sets of 6 minutes max then 6 minutes "rest" (never dropping below zone 3), 4 minutes max/4 rest, 3 max/3 rest then 2 max. The mathematically inclined will notice that both workouts total 30 minutes, but the variables in today's adventure made it seem much more difficult. In short, much like the previous ones, this week is kicking my arse.

As for the "guts" portion of it that I mentioned back in January, well Wednesday was no picnic, so we'll have to see what tomorrow is like. The body is an amazing machine and it's interesting what putting stress on one part of it will do to others. That said, if I'm faster this summer it will all be worth it…

They can’t say “no”…

The fight over FISA has a bunch of different aspects, the fear portion of which my friend Mr. Jones covers quite well here. I'd like to look at a slightly different talking point that is popular with the administration and its enablers - That Congress needs to grant retroactive immunity because failure to do so will make companies less likely to comply with future requests.

Here's the thing that's so stupid about this meme; they don't get a choice! If a government organization, be it FBI, NSA, or local law enforcement, has a duly authorized court order to get information companies don't get an option to say no! They are legally compelled to comply. It would be as if you were pulled over while driving and decided that you didn't want to take the ticket (or stop your car). That's not an option. You can fight the ticket and protest being pulled over, but you still have to follow the rules. There is a lot of stupidity in this debate, some from both sides of the aisle, but continuing to parrot the administration's talking point that companies will decline to submit to a legally obtained court order is both silly and disingenuous.

Campaign irony…

Admittedly I'm an Obama supporter, and I think the so called "3am phone call" ad was horrible, but I'd like to think that even if the tables were turned I'd find this funny.

Friday Morning Pick-me-up...

I'm making a small change to the "Friday Morning Pick-me-up" because there is just so much great new music out there, and a ton of fantastic "vintage" stuff as well. So as of today the FMP will be a double shot every week, with one newer band/song/video and one classic...

New - Here is a brilliant video for Spoon's "The Underdog". The song itself is a great, complex with a ton of layers, and the video reflects that using one long steady-cam shot around the studio;

Vintage - Billy Bragg's "Sexuality" a great pop(ish) tune featuring the late Kirsty MacColl;

Quick hits…

Brett retires – The greatest quarterback I've ever seen play is hanging them up. No doubt that Farve will be a first ballot Hall of Fame guy, but I'll just add my voice to the chorus that are saying thank you to #4 for making football a lot of fun to watch these last 17 seasons.

L&T got me Patrick McDonald's Mutts collection of Sunday morning strips called "Sunday Evenings" for Christmas and I was finally able to start reading it. The thing that has always impressed me about McDonald wasn't just the strips themselves, which are great, but the fact that he uses the "title" panel to tell a story within the story. Fantastic artwork and something that frequently makes you think.

Could we please put someone in the Whitehouse who can speak English? Heck, at this point I'd accept someone speaking American. Instead we get Mr. Bush:

"I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who were trying to defeat us in Iraq."-- George W. Bush to Lt. General Ray Odierno today, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Gary Gygax dead at 69 – Yep, I played D&D, and honestly I wish more kids today would pick it up. Besides the game, and fun, and hanging out busting on friends, old school D&D forced you to use math skills ("hit points", "roll for success"), to learn how to chart things ("where the hell are we", "how do we get back to that room"), to learn how to cooperate ("look we need to figure out what we're going to do"), and most importantly it taught us to use our imagination. It was up to the players to imagine the rooms they were in and the monsters they were facing. In the age of Xbox (and yes, I have one) and DVDs I'm not sure that kids are using their imagination much anymore. And I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks "Garfield" hasn't been funny in decades, but this site actually makes the strip funny and a tad disturbing by removing the cat (hat tip to the L&T).

Missy Higgins @ The Tractor Tavern

As I mentioned in yesterday's FMP, I got a chance to see Missy Higgins at Ballard's venerable Tractor Tavern this evening. I found this artist via Yahoo! Music (which has been surprisingly good at playing up and comers) and was excited to see that she was going to be headlining a small venue show here instead of touring in support of someone else. This was my first show at the Tractor, which while not especially comfortable, had surprisingly good sound and a warm, intimate atmosphere.

As for the show – Well besides being a talented singer / songwriter, she's very engaging. There were several stories about any number of things…The history of the songs, how she and her band mates are trying to tour "carbon neutral", about her trip to the Pike Place Market, pretty much whatever came to mind, which made for a very entertaining show.

I was also pleased to find that her albums haven't been over produced and that, with the exception of individual riffs, what you heard on the disc is what you heard in concert. She started with a 4 piece backing band who left for a few solo songs (Missy plays both the guitar and keyboards), then came back for the "big finish".

Speaking of the big finish – Missy announced that they didn't do encores, and I wish I could remember verbatim how she explained it, but the gist of it was that everyone knew that there would be another small set after a pretend break, so why not just play through it. Very refreshing. It was an excellent show and at only $18, I've paid a lot more for concerts I haven't enjoyed nearly as much. In the music business you never know who will make it, and who won't, but I have high hopes for Missy.

"But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer..." – "Steer" – Missy Higgins