Looping the Hen

Lack of Pollution leads to Global Warming

At least that's what I think this says:

And a NASA study reported Thursday in the journal Science found that an important counter-balance to warming — sunlight blocked by volcanic gases, dust, pollution and other aerosol particles — appears to have weakened.

Didn't we hear forever that we needed to cut our aerosol usage? We did that, and now we get global warming because there aren't enough particles in the air. Shouldn't people worry that trying to prevent global warming might cause some other catastrophe?

This is one of the environmentalist's biggest problems. We live in a huge global ecosystem, and they keep picking bits and pieces to focus on. However, like they've always told us, the butterfly effect effectively prevents us from predicting whether any particular action we take is going to be better than any particular inaction.

I've heard it posited that we are actually in the middle of an ice age and that global warming is the only thing keeping the glaciers from covering huge swathes of land. I don't put a lot of credence into that theory, but the bigger point is that environmentalists, and the global warming fanatics in particular, keep wanting to flip climate switches when they truly have no idea what the ramifications will be.

If we turn off all the coal-fired power plants, will that cause the above problem to get even worse, causing even more global warming? Who knows. I for one would like to keep the electricity flowing so I can turn on whichever I need, my heater or my air conditioner.

Too many miles!

When I started thinking about doing a half-marathon last year, it was kind of a far-fetched goal. Too many years smoking 3 packs a day prior to quitting back in 2003, too many extra pounds to carry over a ridiculous distance, and an overall lack of discipline put it into the 'yeah, right' category. At least with jumping out of a plane all I had to actually do was obey the law of gravity; running 13 miles to me is more like defying it.

On top of that, when I was young, light, and (with no gray in my hair) in the best shape of my life while running track, I never did more than around 8 miles at a stretch. Track and cross-country at the high school level while I was running never topped out at more than 5k (3.1 mile) races. Doing any kind of distance was more for training and endurance.

So when I started actual training for the half-marathon back in January, I set my goal time (which you need to put into your registration form, due to the 20,000+ people who will run the Country Music Marathon) at a near-walk time of 3 hours even (13:45 mile pace). Well, part of that was trying to help motivate someone else who wanted me to run with her, and part of it was a safety net, because I was pretty sure I could at least shuffle along at that pace and finish.

However, my training has gone surprisingly well (for an old guy), and I jogged 10.5 miles (!!) yesterday at just under 10:00 mile pace (just under 1:44). Yes, more than 10 miles without stopping, and yes, I hurt pretty badly today, but proud. I continue to be amazed at the resilience of the human body, as it generally does most of what one asks it to. I started training at around 3 miles and 11:00 mile pace at the beginning of January and now I can run more than 10 miles at a faster pace. That's pretty cool! My new goal for the 13.1 mile butchery of my body is 2:12, or 10-minute pace for the entire distance. With the crowds that might be a little high, but even if I miss it by a minute or 3 (or 10 even), I'm not one of those who dwells on it as some sort of a loss (like many, many runners would!). And the lovely and talented Sara Evans, one of my favorites, is putting on the post-race concert, which should make it all worth while!

The race is on April 28, and I have 3 more 10+ mile runs between now and then, and a bunch of 6 milers, and even a couple of 5k races just to keep myself interested. With luck I'll make it to the big day healthy and under 200 for the first time since 1999. (One of the side benefits of training is the stone plus one pounds I've lost so far)

Shhh...don't tell G

About his new Prius...

Mileage will still vary, but the tests will reduce estimated city mpg by 12%, on average, and highway mpg by 8%, according to the EPA. Hybrids' fuel economy is likely to get a haircut of up to 30% for city driving and 20% for highway.

That's so...err...never mind...

So it is ok to make insulting and stereotypical comments about someone's religion, but defend yourself with another phrase in common usage and face punishment and a note in your file? Have we become the largest country of crybabies in the world? (I apologize if I have offended any 2-year olds with that term)

More political correctness gone wild in America.