Oct 26

WOW. Another hurricane takes out part of Florida. Man, I'm still destined to live there, but it seems like mother nature is trying to make me feel better for not moving there when I should have. As irony would have it, the job I was going to take has just opened up again (actually another position, same place, same hours). I'm not going to pursue it at this time, but it makes me wonder every time I see an opening down there....

Anyway, good to hear from the good Dr. Felton that he's alive and well. A bit waterlogged, but alive. Sounds like a total mess in South Florida, but they'll rebound. They always do. Hurricanes aren't exactly a new phenomenon....

Catch up time:

Work sucks. Actually, the conditions at work suck. You know.... the usual.... understaffed.... underpaid.... Boss almost cuts his finger off at his second job and is going to be out of comission for 8+ weeks....etc. etc. It's insane. I've been so mentally and physically beat from all of the BS there that I actually bailed on 3 training runs. That's not a good thing at this point in the game, but I'm also struggling through about 7 different injuries right now. I'm a walking/running mess. I know what it feels like to be 60 now, I think. Maybe a 1/2 marathon would have been a better option!!! At any rate, I'm trying to keep the training ship afloat, but it's getting harder and harder. I finished my 16 mile run, and I have a 20 miler scheduled for this weekend, but I might end up pushing it back until next weekend. I'm just not in any shape to be running 20 right now. I really could use a few weeks to heal up, but there just isn't time. So we'll see where this takes me. I'm still optimistic, but realize that it's going to be a long hard push to be ready in time...

Current Injuries by Anatomic Position:

Plantar Fascitis, Left Foot
Tendonitis, Right Ankle
MCL Sprain, Right Knee
Muscle Strain, Right Gastrocnemius
Muscle Strain, Right Soleus
Tendonitis, Left Groin/Lower Abdomen
Ileotibial Band Syndrome, Left
2 Black Toenails, Right Foot

So for anyone crazy enough to train for a marathon, see above. Seriously, I've learned alot about myself through all this, and I truly believe that the journey is more valuable than the destination. Which one way or another, is about to come to an end....

s42

Finally, cancer takes a major blow

BIG BIG BIG news from Merck yesterday. It seems their HPV vaccine has passed through clinical trials with an unheard of 100 percent effective rate in preventing the spread of the HPV virus. This is extremely important because HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, is responsible for over 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. With a successful vaccination program, medical science may very well eradicate a type of cancer. The key is going to be getting the vaccine to girls BEFORE they become sexually active in any way. In this day and age, that very well may mean approaching parents of 8 year old girls and convincing them to vaccinate their daughters against something that you can only get from sexual contact - not the exact topic a parent of an 8 year old wants to hear.

In years to come, it's entirely possible that this vaccine methodology may transfer to other viruses that cause other cancers. A glimmer of hope to all of us that have had loved ones and friends (or ourselves) affected by cancer. One step at a time.....

s42

Beer pairings

I know there are many people that like to pair wines with certain foods. I'm guilty of such an obsession, but only when in a nice restaurant. Otherwise I'm pretty much a beer guy. As such, I've learned over the years that beer, like wine, can be paired pretty successfully with a variety of foods.

One of the oddest beer pairings I've ever tried, but one that I particularly enjoy is pairing a nice DARK full-bodied stout with a piece of cheesecake. Sounds sort of strange, but it is a really nice combination. Another good combo is Corona (with lime) and crab legs or shrimp with Old Bay seasoning. A nice mid-range lager is a good match for steak. A wheat beer goes nicely with seasoned pork. There are many possible combinations out there. Try a few of them and see what your personal preferences are.

Back where we belong...

It was SO great to watch an official, meaningful NHL game last night. Despite the fact that my team, the Flyers, dropped a 5-3 decision to the Rangers, it was just a wonderful feeling to be sitting on couch, beer in hand, watching hockey again. While I was disappointed by the lack of effort in the third period by the Flyers (leading to the loss), I was encouraged by their early dominance, and realize it's only the first game. This team will compete for the cup this year, and should win. It might take 5-10 games until everything shakes out with the new lineup, new rules, etc, but the Flyers are built to win this year. They have no weaknesses up and down the lineup.

Some initial observations on the "new" NHL: Realizing it's only one regular season game (and one preseason game that I got to watch), I'm still in a "jury's out" mode on the game. While there were some very exciting moments last night, I almost felt like I was watching a slightly different sport at times. I think I've gotten so used to the clutching, grabbing, hooking, etc., that it looked like everyone was being really tentative out there last night - not engaging people on defense, etc. I know that's in response to the strict rules changes, but it looked like either someone would get checked hard, or the defense would back off and allow room. It sort of reminded me of an all-star game at times, where the "gentlemen's rules" would prohibit rough play during the exhibition. Then a minute later, Brashear would be putting Jagr on his head. It just seemed really strange at times. I am hopeful that the referees will allow at least a little contact in the defensive zone as time goes on. Maybe not clutching and grabbing, but at least allowing D men to clear the porch and such. I'm sure my opinion of the product would be a bit better had my team been able to hold on and win. I think it's going to work, but the players and fans need to get used to things a bit.

On OLN's coverage: The best quote I saw all night regarding the coverage came from ESPN's NHL blog. They said something like the set resembled a Bob and Doug McKenzie show. I thought that was great! For all the hype and publicity surrounding the OLN having the games, it really did seem like the set and graphics were a bit on the "cheap" side. Especially those computer generated graphics of hockey players skating down the ice. It looked like something I could have programmed on my old Commodore 64 back in the '80s. I was a bit confused b/c I thought Doc Emerick was going to be calling the game with Davidson. They had some putz out there and the combo was sort of weak. They also had Clement in studio, and I think he should be on the air, not Davidson. Jonesey is a great analyst, and would work either on air or in studio. Neil Smith is just there as window dressing. I think they could have found a better "expert" to put on the show. But again, as it's the first game, I'm willing to reserve judgement. I'm really glad that most of the Flyers games are going to be on Comcast. I really do enjoy having our familiar announcers calling and analyzing the game.

So overall, I'm elated to be able to watch games and follow the league this year. I'm sure this year, more than any before, it's going to take a while until everything settles into what the new "normal" is going to be, but that was to be expected. The bottom line is the league will tweak things until they really work. Scoring will be up...games will be more exciting...and the Flyers will win the Stanley Cup...

s42