Tempo Run

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 357 ft Location: Bryan, TX Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 09/12/07 Up/Downhill: [+190/-187] Time: 05:58 PM Difficulty: 2.6 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 81F temp; 69% humidity 85F heat index; winds NE 13 Performance Distance: 7.09 miles Goal: 7 miles Time: 1:20:16 Speed: 5.3 mph Attained: 101% Pace: 11' 19 /mi Calories: 915 Notes A good run. I wanted to maintain the under 11:00 mile for 5 miles but I'm pleased with my overall performance. Elevation (ft.) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 47 +0' 28 5.1 -0.2 -16 ft 2 10' 31 -0' 48 5.7 +0.4 +7 ft 3 10' 05 -1' 14 6.0 +0.6 -23 ft 4 11' 21 +0' 02 5.3 -0.0 +23 ft 5 11' 16 -0' 03 5.3 +0.0 +13 ft 6 10' 31 -0' 48 5.7 +0.4 -43 ft 7 13' 25 +2' 06 4.5 -0.8 +43 ft end 14' 17 +2' 58 4.2 -1.1 0 ft Versus average of 11' 19 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Riding Horses

C'mon Drew, Vera wants to go riding! The Comics Curmudgeon will have fun with this.

For the first time in months the background remains consistent between panels. No odd turns and shifts.

Pixelate!

My drive name conflict has been solved. Everything is working well. I start a new weight training regime today that focuses on strengthening my legs.


Fagin, learn to pixelate properly (it involves a computer and some image editing software) or just draw a paper bag over Wendy's head. The zip tone grid trying to look like pixelation is just lame and ruins the gag. Drabble sucks so hard that I can clean my floors with it and this particular strip is the hardwood floor setting.

Yes, I am aware of the irony of a person who draws a so-so web comic criticizing a syndicated cartoonist whose crappy comic appears in way too many papers. My crap does not have to smell like fresh baked cinnamon rolls in order for me to recognize the foul odor of a steaming pile.

Joy in small things

My IE7 is back in working order. Yeah!

Now to deal with my conflicting drive names problem.

Frankenbrowser

My browser is screwed up so I cannot download any comics. Right click does not function at all and several buttons on my toolbar are missing. It looks like I have some hybrid of IE6 and IE7. I cannot find out for sure because that option is missing. Until Friday, I had IE7 and it worked fine.

Attempts to download IE7 fail as well as attempts to download FireFox. I've sent a note to the IT guys and hope to have some help soon. I can limp along with the Frankenstein browser. I have most of my bookmarks memorized.

The first draft of the infinite project is complete and in the mail. Now, it's a matter of hanging the posters, brace for the bitchin', ahem, take feedback and produce another iteration in January. I might need to remind people of my limited Photoshop skills.

I was part of a productive meeting on Sunday. I was glad to help the Board President prepare the agenda for the upcoming board meeting. She lured me with ice cream. This process will make the meeting shorter, more focused and productive.

Running Log

This week I ran/ walked 19.63 miles, burned 2300.1 calories and weigh 175 pounds.

Wednesday: 8.03 miles in 1:37:42
Friday: 2.27 miles in 50:47
Saturday: 7.03 miles in 1:18:13 - I am speed!

Next week's training plan:
Monday: 30 minute easy run
Tuesday: weight training
Wednesday: 7 mile tempo run; 5 miles @ 10:58
Thursday: weight training
Friday: walk the dog
Saturday: 14 miles @ 12:23
Sunday: rest

Saturday Evening Run

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 355 ft Location: Bryan, TX Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 09/08/07 Up/Downhill: [+187/-190] Time: 07:10 PM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 84F temp; 79% humidity 93F heat index; winds S 8 Performance Distance: 7.03 miles Goal: 12' 31 min/mi pace for 7 miles Time: 1:18:13 Speed: 5.4 mph Attained: 106% Pace: 11' 07 /mi Calories: 904 Notes This route had a lot of nice steady downhills. I think I will use it for my tempo run. Elevation (ft.) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 30 +0' 23 5.2 -0.2 -26 ft 2 11' 50 +0' 43 5.1 -0.3 +23 ft 3 10' 14 -0' 53 5.9 +0.5 -26 ft 4 11' 23 +0' 16 5.3 -0.1 +20 ft 5 11' 21 +0' 14 5.3 -0.1 +10 ft 6 10' 53 -0' 14 5.5 +0.1 -27 ft 7 10' 45 -0' 22 5.6 +0.2 +20 ft end 10' 50 -0' 17 5.5 +0.1 +3 ft Versus average of 11' 07 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Now, That's Art!

The last panel of Saturday's Rex Morgan M.D. I will hold this image in my mind next time I find myself annoyed by a cell phone user.

Friday Evening Walk

Took Loki for a walk. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 360 ft Location: Bryan, TX Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 09/07/07 Up/Downhill: [+55/-55] Time: 05:35 PM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 93F temp; 50% humidity 102F heat index; winds SE 10 Performance Distance: 2.27 miles Time: 0:50:47 Speed: 2.6 mph Pace: 23' 05 /mi Calories: 313 Notes I did not work out Thursday, so I took Loki for a walk today. He did well off leash once we got to the nature trail. He did great on leash, too. He ignored other dogs and even layed down when some dogs approached on the nature trail. Since I walked with a dog you can probably guess what all the stops were about. Map Elevation (ft.) Speed (mph) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 21' 30 -1' 34 2.8 +0.2 -20 ft 2 23' 09 +0' 04 2.6 -0.0 +10 ft end 22' 18 -0' 46 2.7 +0.1 +9 ft Versus average of 2.6 mph

Posted from bimactive.com

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

I attempted to replicate Dawn's hand in the first panel. I dropped my phone. I couldn't balance it on my thumb. The man wearing the blue shirt in the second panel looks away hoping to find something more interesting. Alas, for the poor fellow all that's over there is Gil Thorp. Any bets on how long this break up will take?

I took the day off yesterday to wait for a repair man. He actually appeared when he said he would and had the parts he needed in his truck. Now I can dry clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them. I know using a clothesline is a greener way to live but I don't enjoy drying myself off with sandpaper and wearing cardboard.

I used the day to draw some extra cartoons and work on the new web design. It will probably officially launch in January 2008. I hope to have it complete by then. I had no idea just how big this thing has become. I may post the thing at the end of the month depending on how far I get in adding content. I've been building the pages then going back and adding the content so if I launch early there will be quite a few pages that do not have content. A lot of it is copying and pasting but I can make pages very quickly. I've found that my web updates with the new design will take the same amount of time as the current use of FrontPage.

Wednesday Evening Run

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 328 ft Location: College Station, TX Elev. Gain: -6 ft Date: 09/05/07 Up/Downhill: [+246/-252] Time: 05:11 PM Difficulty: 3.6 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 87F temp; 65% humidity 95F heat index; winds S 9 Performance Distance: 8.03 miles Goal: 12' 31 min/mi pace for 8 miles Time: 1:37:42 Speed: 4.9 mph Attained: 101% Pace: 12' 10 /mi Calories: 1032 Notes Had a somewhat long traffic stop right before reaching mile 4. I found that frustrating. I did not feel like I was moving that fast on mile 5. As usual the last half mile was the hardest. I've been unable to pick up the pace regardless of the distance. Map Elevation (ft.) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 12' 11 +0' 01 4.9 -0.0 -19 ft 2 11' 45 -0' 25 5.1 +0.2 -33 ft 3 12' 08 -0' 02 4.9 +0.0 +3 ft 4 13' 02 +0' 52 4.6 -0.3 +36 ft 5 11' 10 -1' 00 5.4 +0.4 -13 ft 6 11' 28 -0' 42 5.2 +0.3 -17 ft 7 12' 54 +0' 44 4.7 -0.3 0 ft 8 12' 41 +0' 31 4.7 -0.2 +37 ft end 11' 06 -1' 04 5.4 +0.5 0 ft Versus average of 12' 10 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Variations on a Gag

Bonus avatar courtesy of Rex Morgan MD:

Variations on a gag:

Sometimes, I feel like Dilbert in the last panel after going through yet another anti-racism/ anti-oppression/ embrace diversity workshop or presentation.

In the United States, the dentists wear masks to protect the patient. I would think that the set up in the last panel would make access to the teeth more difficult.

Who hasn't dreamt of this happening?

You might be a tad obsessed with Mary Worth if you find yourself attempting to imitate the poses as drawn. The hand pose in the second panel is doable but a tad painful. No, I can't draw hands any better. I know alumni from the University of Texas (t.u. for us Aggies) and other schools with that shade of orange as a school color would love to know where Dr. Drew purchases his lab coats. The matching pants can be found easily.

Silver Taps - Aggies remember 11 students in sacred tradition - News

Silver Taps - Aggies remember 11 students in sacred tradition - News

James O'Brien was the reason I attended this ceremony last night.

Silver Taps

I was out and about way past my bedtime last night. I attended the first Silver Taps ceremony of the new school year. I knew one of the students who was being honored.

In the silence, I thought about James, his family and the attitudes toward Texas A&M traditions that I sometimes encounter at church.

I find some of the attitudes toward the traditions rather frustrating. Many of the people who attend my church are affiliated with the university. We work on making sure that we do not assume that newcomers are also affiliated with the university. But there seems to be a bit of a disdain for the traditions of Texas A&M and the somewhat conservative views of the student body that leads some people to see the UU church as a refuge from all that. Others think that change never happens because of the entrenched traditions. Below the surface, where several people I've encountered at church refuse to look, the traditions evolve and new traditions form to replace out-dated traditions. This evolution may be a bit slow for some people's taste but it happens. Dr. Gates made some huge strides in diversifying the faculty, staff and student body while maintaining the goodwill of all the parties and I hope the replacement president can continue that tradition.

If those who have such disdain for Texas A&M traditions and the attitudes of its students would attend one Silver Taps ceremony perhaps they could learn to appreciate the spiritual value and the way that tradition can serve as a common experience that binds the student body and unites former students. I saw at least 1,000 students at this Silver Taps ceremony. I doubt very few of them knew the deceased personally and may not have shared much in common with the deceased students but they attended because these were Aggies and that was all that mattered. They stood silently in the darkness, listened to the footfalls of the cadets, listened to the 21 gun salute and the playing of taps and then dispersed in silence.

The strange thing about my church is despite the number of people affiliated with the university very few actually received degrees from Texas A&M. Only two or three members would stand up in the sanctuary and proudly proclaim that they are Aggies. In my nearly 10 years with this church I never heard anyone proclaim that they received their Aggie ring (this is a big deal at Texas A&M) or got their senior boots (I've never seen a member of the Corps of Cadets attend our services) during Joys and Sorrows or mention that their children got accepted into A&M and will attend. My church seems to value higher education as long as it is pursued somewhere else.

I don't think being an Aggie is incompatible with being a religious liberal. In my opinion, I think our church would grow and have more student involvement if we learned to appreciate the positive aspects of Texas A&M tradition and appreciate the progress that is being made toward embracing diversity.

You Cannot Escape the Mary Worth!

Whoa Nelly, Drew! Mary Worth has pulled out all the stops! The index finger of doom, the crossed arms and the withering stare break down Drew's defenses. He is dizzy and reduced to thought balloon asides. Mary's powers even messed up Drew's hair and made the room turn (wait the room always turns)! Drew you must tell Dawn you are dumping her now! Mary will not leave you alone until you bend to her will. She will stalk you in your dreams, lean over your bedside as you attempt to sleep and fly halfway around the world just to meddle in your life. You cannot escape the Mary Worth! Ask your father, he will verify Mary's unrelenting nature.


Nice dig at your own comic strip. Single and Looking just changed its name from Out of the Gene Pool. I like the old name better. It is a good comic strip that should replace any one of the zombie strips that have invaded the paper. It would be a great replacement for Cathy. Single and Looking has relevance that Cathy lost sometime during the second Reagan term.

Running Log

A bit late in posting last week's running log. The long run last night really wiped me out.

I ran 24.56 miles, burned 2954.7 calories and weigh 177.8 pounds.

Monday: 2.58 miles in 35:00
Wednesday: 7 miles in 1:22:04
Sunday: 12.01 miles in 2:30:23

This week's training plan:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - weight training
Wednesday - 8 mile run @ 12:31
Thursday - weight training
Friday - rest
Saturday - 7 mile run @ 12:31
Sunday - rest

Which came first?

I'm sure people in that line of work refer to themselves as cheese slicers. Machines probably do that kind of thing but someone has to run the cheese slicing machine. I bet the person who runs the machine has heard every cheese cutting joke there is. After 38 years on this planet I still giggle at "cut the cheese" jokes so maybe the cheese slicing machine operator really enjoys his/her job and loves to tell people that he/she cuts the cheese for a living. I would.

On the topic of UU classism and humor - would the hypothetical cheese slicing machine operator feel welcome in our churches and would we laugh at the cheese cutting jokes?

Great parody of Family Circus and playing with a semi-regular character.

The Egg McMuffin. I'm old enough to remember a world without the Chicken McNugget. I was in high school when the McNugget was introduced. I also worked at a McDonald's and know what a Chicken McNugget would turn into once it has passed its freshness time. It would turn into a briquette (a McBriquettte) when thrown with some velocity would leave a nasty bruise. It was unnatural the way the McNuggets would be fine at 19 minutes, 59 seconds but then suddenly turn into these little bricks at exactly 20 minutes. I ate and still eat McDonald's food but the short shelf life (7 minutes for a burger to 1 hour for a pie) of the food really bothered me during the time I worked at McD's.

Now that's some green living I can get behind.

Sunday Evening Run

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 345 ft Location: Bryan, TX Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 09/02/07 Up/Downhill: [+360/-364] Time: 06:20 PM Difficulty: 3.8 / 5.0 Weather: A Few Clouds 81F temp; 76% humidity 86F heat index; winds NE 3 Performance Distance: 12.01 miles Goal: 12' 31 min/mi pace for 12 miles Time: 2:30:23 Speed: 4.8 mph Attained: 100% Pace: 12' 31 /mi Calories: 1542 Notes Walter followed me in his truck for the last 1.75 miles. It became quite dark and he was concerned for my safety. I don't blame him because there were no street lights for most of the last 3 miles. I expected the park to still have lights on but there were very few lights. The last mile was somewhat lit. That will be the last double digit mileage run I will do by myself in the evening. I met my time and pace goal for this run. I really took advantage of the downhills on the way back. Map Elevation (ft.) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 51 -0' 40 5.1 +0.3 -16 ft 2 12' 34 +0' 03 4.8 -0.0 -23 ft 3 12' 42 +0' 11 4.7 -0.1 -10 ft 4 12' 30 -0' 01 4.8 +0.0 +40 ft 5 12' 25 -0' 06 4.8 +0.0 -33 ft 6 13' 34 +1' 03 4.4 -0.4 +20 ft 7 12' 22 -0' 09 4.8 +0.1 -6 ft 8 12' 00 -0' 31 5.0 +0.2 +10 ft 9 11' 51 -0' 40 5.1 +0.3 -6 ft 10 12' 20 -0' 11 4.9 +0.1 -6 ft 11 13' 06 +0' 35 4.6 -0.2 +17 ft 12 12' 59 +0' 28 4.6 -0.2 +13 ft end 21' 44 +9' 13 2.8 -2.0 0 ft Versus average of 12' 31 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Fleas and Parking

Aurora is in a new foster home. We are battling fleas here so we will not be fostering until things clear up. The flea situation has improved but according to a vet, the fleas this year are Frontline resistant. It will be easier to get the situation cleared with only one dog. We thought about using a fogger but we have birds and would have to leave the house for several hours with two birds in tow so we opted for a carpet powder. I think Loki enjoys having the house and his people to himself.

I helped with football parking at our church. The church is located within walking distance of Kyle Field so football season is a great source of revenue for us and some nice exposure for the church. I try to be extra nice and friendly. That attitude is a hold over from my days as an evangelical Christian. One should always behave kindly because you could be the only Christian that someone meets. I was not wearing anything identifying me as part of the church or standing on the end of the driveway that has our church sign (Only those who actually parked would have guessed that I was part of the church.) but I still felt compelled to smile, wave and say "Howdy" to everyone that passed by. I could be the only UU some of these folks ever meet.

The other two people working parking did a great job of maximizing space and collecting money. I just held the sign. We have a bit of an informal contest at church to see which team (thanks to the efficient recruiting efforts of our parking czar everyone usually has to work only one game per season) could get the most number of cars in our parking lot on game day. Today we got 43 in our lot and 14 in the lot next to ours (we share the revenues with the tenants or realtor (depending on occupancy) of the house next door) for a total of 57 cars plus a motorcycle. Last year the record was 47 cars in our lot.

Parking was $15, the smile, wave and howdy were free.

This was the first game (non-conference against Montana State). The parking lot filled a lot sooner than last year. The game started at 6:00pm, four cars were in the lot by noon, the lot was full by 4:00pm. I got a nice sunburn on the back of my neck. Yes, now I'm a redneck.

Walter's father will be leaving the hospital soon and will be back in his own apartment. Walter spent most of the day cleaning his father's apartment.