Random Act of Kindness

I saw the coolest thing in LA today that helped reaffirm my faith in mankind. I had just come off the 405 (how LA residents put up with that highway is absolutely beyond my comprehension) when a fancy car to my right -- I think it may have been a Bentley, shot off to the side of the road on the right. The driver popped out of his car with a very serious look on his face. I turned around and saw that there was a guy in my blind spot in a wheechair who was struggling to get over the curb. This guy helped him get his wheelchair over the curb. At this point I had my window down to see if he needed a hand, and I heard him ask the guy in the wheelchair if he needed assistance, or even a ride home.

As he got in his car I told him that that was the coolest thing ever and that he made my day.

Sometimes it's the small things in life that really make a difference.

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In other news, the Mets got Johan Santana. Good for them. Hope he wins a lot of games for them. They sure did give up a lot though. Anway, far better for him to be in the NL versus playing for the Red Sox.

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I need some new music: all this time on planes/running and everything is getting old. Anyone have any recommendations? Three hottest things in my ipod right now are Hot Chip (not sure how to describe them, exactly, the new Iron & Wine (a bit on the mellow side but *very* good) and The Magnetic Fields (download "California Girls" if you want a sample).

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My man Wiley got me stoked yesterday so I signed up for the 50 miler. As did Wiley and Payro. Not I have to figure a way to finish it. The nice thing about running is that at the end of the day, it is a pretty easy equation: one foot in front of the other........

This Political Season

I've written on virtually every topic imaginable on these pages: life, death, cancer, music, Michigan football, running, triathlon and the New York Yankeees.

The one topic I haven't even touched upon, however, is politics. It's not that I am not interested; I follow politics avidly, especially during election seasons. And as a communications professional, I feel it's almost imperative to observe, and frankly, sometimes learn, from politicians. They are the consummate communicators, and in my viewpoint, they are all first and foremost in the business of selling themselves. But I'm not interested in delving too deeply into the subject for the purposes of this blog.

All that being said, we are entering the deep phases of this election cycle, and we've gotten to the point where it's become nearly 24/7. With that, I've surveyed the field carefully and listened to their respective positions and messages. And so without getting into a long diatribe on the subject, and for the purposes of relative brevity, I must say that Barack Obama is my guy.

I'm fortunate to have met him a few times when I lived in Chicago and I thought he was a decent, earnest, thoughtful guy then and I think the same holds true today. Without being over dramatic, he is inspirational and to me, represents hope and that is what I think the nation needs right now. Yes, he's young and perhaps inexperienced, but as the pundits put it, look where experience has gotten us. So .. Barack Obama for President.

I liked Bill back in the day; I thought personal foibles aside, he was a terrific president but that was then and this is now and I will confess to having a bit of Clinton fatigue. I also think that he hasn't exactly carried himself in the most dignified manner the past few weeks.

So ... to borrow a phrase the junior Senator from the Great State of Illinois, I'm for Change.

After Barack, you'll probably be surprised at my second favorite candidate: John McCain. If it comes down to Barack vs. McCain, I personally will have a tough choice to make and can go either way, but as of this moment, I'm again probably leaning towards Barack.

McCain is a good man though and I very much respect the fact that he's slightly off the reservation and not beholden to any particular special interest. Frankly, I think they would both make good President's.

So, that's my take on politics.

In other news, as soon as I am finished with this post I intend to go sign up for this. Yikes. A 50 miler in May is pretty daunting, but we need to do it to qualify for the hundo in the Fall. So, my season is looking like 50k in early March, 50 miler in may and 100 miler in October, with a few Olympic distance triathlons thrown in to keep it real. Should be an interesting season. I'm stoked that this will be my first season in two years that is uninterrupted by cancer treatments (knock on wood) and the hundo will be my biggest challenge since Ironman back in '99. My boy Payro will be running and hopefully Wiley too and all you Chicago folks are welcome to come out and crew.

Word.

Most Dominant Athlete of Our Lifetime?

Nothing too much to report from here except for rain, rain and some more rain.

I was watching coverage online of both the Australian and Buick opens, which got me to thinking: who is the most dominant athlete of our time (defined, let's say, as the last 10-15 years)? There's quite an array of options to choose from: Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretzky all quickly come to mind. All have thoroughly dominated their sport, almost like no other.

It's a close call in my book, but I think the overall winner has got to be Tiger Woods. And mind you, I've never in my life golfed and would not categorize myself as a fan. But the guy just so dominates and he's done it for so long now, that I don't see how he can't be the number one choice. Gretzky might be a strong number two: that dude set records that are unlikely to be broken in our lifetime, unless Sidney Crosby has a long career. Lance is a tough call; he's my hero after all, and I am convinced no one will ever break his record of six Yellow Jersey's, but my problem with him is that he never raced the Vuelta or Giro ala Eddie Merckx.

Michael? You can definitely make a convincing argument there. And Federer will likely be regarded as the best tennis player of all time when it's all said and done.

And then there is one ex-Michigan Wolverine QB who plays for the Patriots....

Still, in my book Tiger is the Man. I am curious: who is your choice?

Movies

I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging; back to back consecutive 14 hour days coupled with a trip to LA will do that to a guy. On top of that, the weather in both SoCal and NorCal is just miserable; non-stop rain. We are definitely having a very wet winter.

We have a new friend who just moved to our town from LA. He is a screenwriter and gets all of the latest hollywood films from the studios. He's lent a few out to us, which is super cool, especially as it's pretty rare these days to get out to the movies (much to my chagrin).

Anyway, without getting a deep review, Old County for Old Men is just terrific. I read it when I was in my radiation isolation, and it is one of my favorite novels of all time. In fact, I liked it so much that I read many of Cormac McCarthy's other books, including The Road, which is also pretty darn good. Anyway, the movie is incredibly true to the book and I think it was absolutely amazing. Josh Brolin and Javier Barden steal scenes and the Coen Brothers really stepped up their game. I would categorize this as a must see and I would not at all be surprised if it won Best Movie.

I also saw Sweeney Todd. I am a big Johnny Depp and Tim Burton fan and I wanted to like this one, but alas, I really couldn't. The problem isn't really with the movie itself, it has more to do with me: I struggle mightily with musicals. I will confess that I can't really follow them and in this instance, in my opinion the music was a bit much and the songs were quite long. Depp, per usual, was excellent however.

Tonight I will watch Juno and tomorrow Dan in Real Life. More on these two later.

A Deceptive Disease

A short post tonight because I am utterly exhausted, but if you get a chance, please take a moment to read the linked article on thyroid cancer from last week's issue of Newsweek. It's a great article and hits pretty close to home for me on many different fronts. Thank you Billy Z for forwarding; I can't believe I missed this one.

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I am certainly no economist, but I am fairly certain that our economy is in a recession. The market tanking and fed cut aside, my industry has always been a good bellweather on the state of the economy, as PR dollars are often treated as discretionary and are generally the first thing that is cut when budgets get slashed. And that is what I am unfortunately starting to see these past few weeks. Remember that you heard it here first; other industry's often follow suit three to six months down the road from us.

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On a better news front, at least American Idol is back. More on this some time soon.

Football

Over the last several years, my interest in professional football has diminished somewhat. This is due to the fact that it is impossible for me to give up the majority of Saturday and Sunday to watch football as well as the fact that my team, the Jets, stink.

I still follow football, but mostly through recaps and box scores. All that being said, as Americans it is our duty and obligation to watch the AFC and NFC championship games, as well as the Super Bowl. Having my boy Steve-O here during the championship games made the day even better. The Patriots game was a bit of a snoozer, but man, the Giants and Packers was about as great a pro game as I can remember.

It had all the elements of a classic: the frozen Green Bay tundra, a legendary quarterback and an emerging quarterback on the rise. The second half was about all well played as one could ask for, Brett Favre's interceptions and the Giants kicking game aside. I felt the Giants deserved to win that one; they simply played better on all fronts and I hope New York fans finally get off young Eli's back.

So far as the Super Bowl is concerned, here we go again: New York vs. Boston. I am not sure who I am going to root for. On one hand Tom Brady is my guy (Michigan alumn) and you have to appreciate their quest for perfection. On the other hand, however, I am still a New Yorker, I like this Manning kid -- he has a lot of character --and how can a New Yorker root for a team from Boston? I guess I have two weeks to decide.

My early prediction, though: Patriots: 34, Giants, 20.

The Weather

A couple of week ago I was reporting on the "bad" Northern California weather; the nasty wind/rain storms that we get several times a year. As posted, the storm a few weeks back was particularly bad.

Then, of course, there's the other side to the weather: 65 degree days in January, such as what we are experiencing now. Despite the fact that I have lived here now for 2 1/2 years, a fact that I still marvel at, as an East Coast kid who also spent a considerable amount of time in the Midwest, good weather in the dead of WInter is something I still can't quite get my head around. That said, i am starting to realize that once you experience this phenomena, it's not something you exactly want to give up. And I think this, in a nutshell, is the allure of the West that so many transients experience and what keep them here longer than they originally anticipate.
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My main man Steve-O is visiting this weekend from Chicago, and it is always great when he visits. He's my last bachelor buddy and he's always up for a good time. In fact, I am going to go and wake up his sorry ass right now so we can get this beautiful day started.

Nana Rules!

In the event some of you did not see the comment posted by my mother-in-law on my previous post, I have good news: my very heroic, tough and favorite Nana got a clean bill of health in regards to her breast cancer. Please join me in congratulating her - this news obviously made my day. Rare is it that a dude loves his mother-in-law as much as I do; she's a terrific woman who always puts family first, and I think I speak on behalf of the family when I say that we are very, very happy to hear that we'll have you around for many more years to come. I think your granddaughter's aim is to make you a great-grandma. I hope unlike Brittany Spears sister, she doesn't opt to do so when she's 16.

In far less significant news, for all you hip hop fans (who else y'all know who can transition from the above paragraph to hip hop in one sentence), you gotta get the new Lil' Wayne mini EP, The Leak, that's out on itunes. If this is a prelude to what we'll hear on the much anticipated Da Carter III, we are all going to be in for a treat. Dad, I will explain all this to you in the next lifetime.

I read today that Lance plan to run the Boston Marathon this year. Whoo hoo does that stoke me. My prediction: he doesn't come anywhere near the 2:46 (!) he ran in New York, though he will break 3:00. What would super stoke me would be seeing Lance return to his triathlon roots and give Ironman a whirl. THat would really be something. He wouldn't win but I bet he's capable of breaking 9:30.

On the subject of races, I'm just about done with my race calender for 08. Right now I am looking at Way Too Cool 50 K in early March, Bug Sur marathon in late April, a 50 miler sometime in Summer, and a few Olympic distance triathlon's interspersed. I also want to do an epic swim - 3.1 miles -- with my boy Dave. Then in the Fall, the coup de grace: 100 miler.

It's gonna be a tough year but at the same time, a hell of a lot better than the last two years. Got to make up for a bit of lost time.

Word.

The World Without Us

I am currently reading, among other books, The World Without Us, an unbelieveably interesting book by Alan Weisman that was named one of the top books of the year for 2007 my several reviewers.

The premise of the book is an in-depth analysis of how nature would reclaim the land from a micro to macro level if man were to die off tomorrow. It is part science, part speculation, part environmental treatise but it is an incredibly fast, easy and compelling read. I suspect that not all the "science" would stand up to rigorous analysis, but it is very thought-provoking all the same. Interspersed within are applicable analogies and models for this analysis: a look at the zoned off areas surrounding both Chernobyl and the demarcation zone that separates North and South Korea. In each of these areas, nature has quickly reclaimed the land -- in the instance of Chernobyl, despite massively high radiation levels. He also theorizes that the Panama Canal is a "wound" that is constantly attempting to "heal" itself. I'm not that far into it and at times it can be a bit pedantic, but I recommend it all the same. If anything, it makes you realize that Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with.

Cool New Apple Products

I got a really nice note from Paul Schaye, based on my posting yesterday. I thought that was very cool of him; he sounds like a terrific guy.

Today, as many of you know, was the keynote speech at Macworld, which is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for a tech dork such as myself. It's usually the one day of the year in which I don't get much done at work (in the am at least) but as fate would have it I was super busy today, so wasn't able to participate in all the fanfare. Though I add the caveat that "watching" the keynote is now fully rationalized from a work standpoint, as I have clients who are very interested in Apple product announcements, to put it mildly.

Alas, in my opinion (and evidently Wall Street's too) there were no blockbuster product ala last year's iphone announcement, though I must say that the new
Macbook Air is pretty damn hot. I need to take a closer look at the specs and read the reviews carefully, but boy is it cool looking. I travel quite a bit for work, and just *might* be able to rationalize this one, though I am a tad concerned about the lack of an optical disc drive (one more thing to carry), and the fact that it has no firewire port, and only one USB port. That is something I need to get my head around a bit more.

The other product that has me stoked is AppleTV. I balked at being this one last year, despite Tech Dork Dave and Tech Dork Michael B's pronouncements to the contrary, but I think in retrospect that this product wasn't ready for prime time (I think Steve Jobs would agree, based on his comments today). But it's clear they have evolved their TV strategy and version 2.0 is that much more compelling. So, I will give it consideration, though my client, TiVo, offers pretty much the same solution via their partnership with Amazon Unbox.

Lastly, the iphone firmware upgrade has me stoked too; can't wait to upgrade that puppy tonight.

So, that's my initial thoughts.

Anyone else have anything to add on this subject?

My New (Cancer) Hero

I was reading about this dude Paul Schaye in the recent issue of Outside (or maybe it was Men's Health) and I was just blown away. Schaye, who resides in New York City is a highly successful investment banker and a seriously accomplished endurance athlete who at the relatively young age of 55 was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of stomach cancer.

So what does the man do? A few weeks after the diagnosis, he runs the New York marathon. Shortly after that, he complete a half ironman. He's since done the Tour de Pink (200 mile ride) and multiple other races He refuses to call himself a "survivor" and instead refers to himself as a "thriver." He is always training for some epic event, even in the middle of brutal chemo treatments.

Paul has an indomitable spirit unlike anyone I have ever seen or heard of, Lance included. In my eyes, he is a true American hero. Forget about these nonsensical pro athletes, people. All of them. None of them can hold a candle to this dude.

If you have a few moments, please take the time to check out Paul's blog: http://thriveblog.typepad.com/thrive (Michael, can we add this to my blogroll?). It's pretty darn inspirational, to say the least.

My favorite blog posting came after he finished his half ironman. It read: "Paul: 1, Cancer: 0"

I know the feeling and the sentiment. Been there.

Godspeed, Paul Schaye.

Word.

Mavericks is Breaking!

Mavericks, in Half Moon Bay, is one of the best surf breaks in the world. When it breaks, which is only once or twice a year, it is host to one of the most popular surf contests of the year. The last few years, it's become so popular that it's the lead story in the Bay Area and they get upwards of 50,000 spectators.

If a genie granted me three wishes they would be:

-- good health to everyone close to me
-- a billion dollars
-- let me catch the barrel of a 40 footer at Mavericks.

Anyway, Mavericks is breaking and you can check out the action at www.myspace.com/mavericksurf.com. Promise it's worth your while, even if you've never surfed.

RIP, Sir Edmund Hillary

It's pretty ironic that I am currently consumed by climbing books, and in the midst of all my reading the greatest climber of all time (that statement is probably debateable, though more people would probably agree versus not) passes away.

Rest in peace, Sir Edmund Hilary.

To say that Hillary was an amazing man would be an understatement. He was first and foremost an alpine mountaineer -- the first to climb Everest, the accomplishment for which he was most famous --but he was also an adventurer an environmentalist and a tremendous humanitarian. In announcing his death, the Prime Minister of New Zealand called him without question, New Zealand's most popular citizen ever.

In this day and age of false heroes: the Marion Jones' of the world, who was sentenced to prison today, the sundry Tour de France and baseball steroid abusers, etc., it's worth a while to take a moment and remember a true global hero and icon.

If you aren't familiar with him, do take a moment and hit the above link. I am sure you will be blown away by all that he accomplished in his life, and the modest manner in which he did so.

Doctor's Appointment

Had an appointment today with my new Endo, who I think is just terrific. He's a little old school and a tad crusty but he's got a good sense of humor and more importantly, he's tremendously methodical. I feel like I am in good hands.

Anyway, everything seems good. He did mention that there is a small something in my neck which appears to be about 8mm in length. Evidently, the one problem with ultrasound is that it picks up everything and oftentimes it's hard to discern between what's "good" and "bad." Regardless, everything appears ok; he's going to keep an eye on it but isn't overly concerned.

He also took my synthroid level down from 150 micrograms to 137. Might be why I feel so amped these days; maybe the new dose will mellow me out a bit. Then again, amped is my my middle name, so who knows. He also said the fact that I was slightly hyper might have something to do with why my hair is thinning/falling out. Obviously, I was kind of stoked to hear this.

So, that's the update. All in all, good news.

On Growing Old

Went to the eye doctor this morning for the first time in years and learned that I need glasses, which is something I've suspected for a while. I had Lasik a few years back but there's clearly been some regression. Can't say I am too disappointed; I was warned this would likely be the case when I had the procedure. The good news is that it's only a "mild" prescription and I'll be able to get by without glasses in mots instances.

Along with this, I've been noticing that there's a lot less hair on my scalp these days. And the hair I DO have is quickly turning grey. Not sure if my hair loss is a manifestion of having no thyroid (which controls hair growth), or if it simply has to do with age

Lastly, earlier today I noticed a gnarly ass hair growing on my freaking ear, like an old man! I plucked that bad boy right out but based on all of the above, it's easy to draw a simple conclusion: I am getting freaking old.

Damn.

In other news, if anyone out there is interested, I am giving serious consideration to running the Big Sur marathon (Nicholas?) on April 27th (my birthday weekend I believe). I was really taken by Big Sur during our trip two weeks ago and I figure this marathon will be monumentally beautiful. My intent is to treat it like a training run and take it nice and slow.

Any takers?

Oh How I Hate Ohio State

Watching the BCS Championship right now and reveling in the fact that Ohio State is getting destroyed. I know, I know: I'm a Big Ten guy and am supposed to pull for the conference, especially against an SEC team.

Sorry, no dice. I simply cannot root for OSU. I wish I could bit I simply cannot. And yes, I will readily admit that there is an element of sour grapes at play here. I will also confess to complete and utter jealousy over the state of their football program versus ours, though for the first time in a long while, I feel very good about the future of Michigan football.

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The last light finally went on today in old Marin County. Our friends were set to sleep over again tonight but discovered just a few moments ago that their power was finally restored. So, the storm is officially over. Now I have to go about discovering -- and repairing, for that matter - the source of many of the leaks that my house sprung. This is not going to be a fun endeavour, but will likely provide motivation to do some work to the house that was been a long time coming, including redoing our floors.

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One last item on the above: one of the interesting aspects of natural disasters (not that this was a disaster per se; I'm using this phrase for lack of a better word) is that they definitely bring people together in a good way.

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I am reading several interesting books, including another climbing one: The Boys of Everest, which chronicles the era of legendary climber Chris Bonington and several of his contemporaries, who collectively led some legendary ascents on Himalayan peaks. I'm too early into it for a full review, but even though I'm not a climber (yet), I find something incredibly inspirational about the literary genre. I'll write more on this when I am finished. I also recently finished Ed Viesters biography, No Shortcuts To The Top, which was a good, solid holiday read.

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Damn, OSU scored. Hope I wasn't too early in calling this one. Better give this my full attention.

Order Restored

Things are starting to normalize here, though a LOT of people that we know still do not have power. Last night we had a party of sorts for a few of our friends who have no power, which was super fun. Tonight our friends Brian and Meghan and their two kids are sleeping over. I feel very fortunate that our power was restored yesterday; one more day of that and I would have lost my mind.

I went for a run today and the town is an absolute mess; power lines are still down, as are multiple trees. There is debris everywhere ranging from leave to trash (Friday, the day of the storm, was also trash day and virtually every garbage can was overturned).

Glad this storm has passed and as I stated yesterday, I hope never again to experience weather like that. This was a bit of a lost weekend, but one I likely won't forget for quite some time.

Power Back On

Power is back on -- for now. It was flickering on and off a short while ago but I am hopeful -- very hopeful -- that it stays. Man, I did not appreciate electricity until I did not have it for 24 hours. That was just brutal.

I truly hope I never again experience a storm like that one. At one point yesterday I had the kids go upstairs because I was certain the windows were going to blow out. Our house was buffeted by wind; they are saying 75 mph but I would not be surprised if it was higher, and at one point that house was literally moving on the foundation.

Last night we had to huddle by the fireplace for warmth and for light. It was primitive yet kind of cool in its own way, but let's hope it was a one night affair. We had breakfast downtown this morning and everyone was abuzz with stories about damage, lack of electricity, etc.

There is no question that this was a very, very powerful event. To make matters worse, the third storm of the past 48 hours just moved in. It's pouring rain out (goodbye, drought) but so far no wind, which is a fair trade off. Two other sets of friends our still without electricity, so we're going to have a little party here this afternoon, which should be fun.

Attached are pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Wow

i am typing this post in pitch dark from my Motorola Q. i am almost at a loss for words. that storm was almost biblical. it started at 3 am and lasted until aroun noon and it was beyond brutal. we had 75 mph winds and sustained a bit of water damage though nothing that cannot be fixed. some of our neighbors
got hit very hard. my next door neighbors chimney got knocked clear off his roof. i will post a picture tomorrow. according to news report this was the equivalent of a hurricane. anyway gotta get the family fed. will post an update tomorrow. the next few days should be very interesting.

Big Storm

Generally the weather in NorCal is pretty darn pleasant. Never too hot, generally not too cold. I've been on bike rides on both Thanksgiving and Christmas days, so I am not complaining.

That said, when it storms (and storms are usually relegated to January-March), it *really* storms, and it looks like we are about to get socked with a major one-two-three punch, with the worst of it scheduled to land some time tomorrow. The other bogus part of this is that our house is located smack in the middle of a major wind vector and so when the wind blows, it really comes through hard. So, if the experts are saying winds could get up to 60 mph tomorrow (and they are), we might see upwards of 70+.

Nice. Looks like someone is sleeping in the kid's room tonight.

I'll be certain to post pictures of the aftermath.

In other news, I have a new obsession: Yatzee. But I'll hold on to that one for another post.

Go Blue!

Well, after six and a half hours in the car with two whiny ass kids in the back, I'm glad to say we are finally back home. We took route 5 straight home (versus the far more scenic Highway 1) so it was a fairly mundane ride and not very noteworthy.

As stated, that was a great trip and one I would recommend highly. If any of you are interested in doing this next year, let me know. Though the Wife indicated she'd rather go to a warm weather locale, I think she can be convinced.

Though I am a day late on this one, I want to give some mad props to my Michigan Wolverines for upsetting Florida yesterday during the Capital One Bowl. I will be the first to admit that I am pretty hard on my Wolverines ("the most negative person in the world" according to my brother) but I think I've been so for good reason. This group of seniors, while a talented group, have had far more disappointments in their careers than successes, but man, did they rise to the occasion yesterday and play inspired football. While I am glad that the program will soon be experiencing a new era, that doesn't change for a second my opinion that Lloyd Carr is a good, honest and decent man and that is exactly the kind of send off that he deserved.

So, a big Word to the Wolverines. Always nice to start the year with a big bowl win. Let's hope for a lot more of the same this Fall.

Day Seven: Disneyland

The title says it all. I was not exactly looking forward to it, but there's no doubt it's the holy grail for kids. We went on the 31st under the false assumption that being it was New Year's eve, maybe it would be a tad quiet. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It was a freaking zoo, so to speak.

It didn't matter much to the kids though, and they had the time of the life, although The Girl got a little spooked on the Haunted House. She is such a complicated creature: she will go on the gnarliest roller coasters and laugh all the way through, but gets spooked in a haunted house. The Boy impressed: he went on Space Mountain with his mother (I freaking hate rollercoasters and don't even mildly get what all the fuss is about) and loved it.

After Disney we went to Kate Mantilini's in Beverly Hills for dinner, and then got crepes at the Fourth Street promenade in Santa Monica. From there, home, where we played Yatzee (crazy New Year's, eh?) for a while and then turned in before midnight.

This morning I went for a run and towards the end I ambled up to some old dude who was clearly on a long run (the multiple water bottles were a dead giveaway). I asked him how long he was running and he said, "twenty miles down, four to go." I said "Wow. What are you training for?"

His response was just classic: "Nothing, really. I just like to run."

Word.